Red Rabbit

I prefer a ladder stand over a hang-on, as I fret the awkward transition from the steps to the stand and vice-versa. Picked up a Double Bull to use this archery season, as the proper tree is not always in the right location, and those stand seats are mighty uncomfortable after a few hours (could try a lounger type seat). RR

"Bump" means to bump or bring the post back to the top, sometimes as BTT. There are also fire restrictions on the Kaibab NF and the Red Rock district of the Coconino NF. http://www.fs.fed.us/r3/coconino/news/2007...trictions.shtml There are no smoking or fire restrictions on the Apache-Sitgreaves, according to their website. Doug~RR

http://www.azgfd.gov/eservices/draw.shtml

Plug CARMEN into the search feature. There have been a couple of threads in the past few years. RR

Noticed in the fire news about a new 2000 acre fire a couple miles NW of Lochiel. 0% contained. Don't know if it is in anyone's coues hunting grounds. http://www.nifc.gov/fireinfo/nfn.html Fire season could be a bad one this year. We have already had several small fires this past weekend around Flag, including one of about 100 acres at Lake Mary. Also the Promontory Fire along the rim above Christopher Creek.

I have always used the horizontal pins, and prefer the fine 0.019" fibers. I have not used the Trophy Ridge, but can envision trying to pick a pot with one of the center pins and have the shaft of the pins above and below surronding the pin. I would be looking at and only seeing two sides of the pin, as opposed to three with a horizontal setup. I have not had a problem with the horizontal pins covering too much target as the trophy ridge ad implies. I have replaced all red and yellow with the green fiber on my Montana Black Gold sight, as I see them better in failing light. I have not had a problem seeing the pin at last light, just the target, so cannot personally see a need for long wrapped fibers. Some say they can be too bright in daylight and the resulting halo makes for difficult pinpointing. Doug~RR

Casey, What unit has your dad put you all in for? I am assuming your dad's friend also. My first choice will be late Kaibab, then Dec coues. If we don't draw, we will have bow in hand. Doug

The 405 is the total number of first and second choice applicants. The draw odds published in the regs are based on only the first choice applicants drawn. Yes, the draw odds for 1st and 2nd choice applicants combined is 24.69%

Is this finalized? June 8&9 (Fri, Sat) at Marshall Lake? Let's hope the forests are still open. I am thinking that there may be fire restrictions before Memorial Day. Doug~RR

The Conetrols get my eye for looks, but I have none on my rifles. Otherwise, I like the looks of the Leupold dual dovetail bases (no rear windage screws to give problems like loosening or a weaker connection under heavyrecoil) coupled with the Burris Signature rings with the synthetic inserts. I like the better finger access into the receiver with the two-piece bases over the single-piece base. RR

There is a campground and RV hookups at Sunrise. http://www.sunriseskipark.com/rvpark.shtml You can drive a couple of miles past Sunrise Lake and be back on National Forest land, or you can go west on 260 past the turn to Sunrise and be in NF

Josh, Not I. I still have that pewter Chevy with shell. Could be Casey? He has a white, jacked-up chevy with grey lower panels. Doug~RR

I read on another forum of an impending closure of Molly Butler Lodge, so I called. All that the lady could tell me was that it is for sale and is open. Bill, do you perhaps have any more information? Doug~RR

Have had tags every other year in 36C and have not had a problem yet at camp or in the field. Have glassed illegals running across the flats below. Still, I am more concerned about the truck left behind at the trailhead than about meeting someone up in the Babos. Did have some illegals walk through camp one night last quail season in 35A, but I was camped next to a north-south dirt road. RR

Advantages and disadvantages to both ways. For elk and turkey or treestand hunting, I would prefer to have a pair of lighter 8x or 10x alone. For antelope, I would still want the higher power of 15s or spotter along. For coues, would want 10 and 15 and spotter preferably. Cost wise (new prices from BearBasin): 10+15 Duovids = $2500 15x Swaro @ $2000 plus 10x Swaro @ $1450 = $3450 total Weight: Leica Duovids - 45oz Swaro 15s - 47oz Swaro 10x50 - 41oz 10x42 - 27oz I would highly recommend anyone look at the IPI Bino Manager over the Crooked Horn Harness, especially if carrying heavier Duovids, 10x50s, of 15s around the neck, or if you crawl/lean over and don't want the binos swinging out away from the body. The wider elastic neck strap also helps with the weight and gives less bounce. Doug~RR

The Leica Duovids do not have a threaded hinge and come with a base and rubber strap mount, as seen in the post of the tripppler review. These work with many binos and seem stable to me. The Swaros are threaded and have a machined adapter that fits between the tubes. RR

In your pic, try that unburnt aspen grove 2/3 up Kendrick on that north side above Bull Basin RR

Swarovski (aside from the big aiming circle), then Leica 1200. I was not impresed with your dad's Leupold as the view was dark and it would not range a bale of hay at 42 yards, and the reports are that they don't range out to distances very well. Try to look up the dispersion of the laser beams for various models; when I got the Leica (before Swaro was out) it had the lowest; the lower dispersion wlii help range smaller targets on a flatter range (like antelope). Doug~RR

Casey, Elkhunter and I spent the evening from 6:30 to dark down at the meadow at Kachina Village comparing the Swaro 15x56 to the Leica 10+15 Duovids. Also had my Cabelas spotter and Jim White tripler. Binos were set on two tripods and were side by side, an inch apart. I tried resting/stacking one atop the other, but the top rested boino was too unsteady to make a valid comparison. My impression was that the Leica was sharper by just a very tiny amount, judged by looking at pine needles, license plates, dead limbs under trees from about 400-600 yards away. At dusk, the Swaro was a little brighter, but not enough to make a difference in a hunting situation that you would spot a buck 1/2 mile away across a canyon and have enough time to move and get in a shooting position. The brightness factor is probably just a couple of minutes at first/last light. The Swaros had just a very slight blueish tint. Edge to edge sharpness seemed comparable, and both showed some curvature to the field of view when a poweer line was passed from the top to the bottom of the field of view. The tripler aligned up with the center of the Swaro eyepiece better than on the Leica, as the Swaro has a smaller outside diameter of the eyepiece. The tripler would help judge a distant buck in daylight hours better than 15x binos alone, but the spotter was definitely brighter and sharper than the tripler on a bino. The tripler would save weight and space over a spotter, but if one is really needing to judge a trophy to the nearest inch, the spotter would be the better way to go. My conclusion is that the Leica Duovids would be a better way to go rather than a pair of quality 10x and Swaro 15s, if one needs to carry both powers on a hunt like coues or open country muley. This opinion is based on nearly identical sharpness, no significant loss of brightness, savings of a couple of pounds and only having to carry one pair of binos, not having to switch back and forth between two separate binos on a tripod (just turn the dial). I also liked Elkhunter's Manfrotto 770 fluid head. Doug~RR

When I was up there last August, many areas of the Warm fire were sterile, but still patchwork of green. Might scout for a spot bucks are hitting the new greens, especially aspen shoots. Too much competition for water spots. RR

Lance, A wider canoe will give more stability. The shallow-V like on mine or Mad River Canoes give a higher secondary stability when tilted some already. Flat bottomed canoes have a higher initial stability. For lots of kids, I would be inclined to get a plastic laminate canoe for banging around, like a longer, wider Old Town Camper canoe. (I can't see kids, gelcoat and rocky shorelines being compatible.) Longer canoes are also more stable than a shorter canoe. http://www.oldtowncanoe.com/canoes/anatomy...ossSection.html http://www.oldtowncanoe.com/canoes/generalFamily/ I have two canoes and use this one about once every other year. Doug

**sold** Doug~RR

Ditto on the Kroil. I usually mix it 1 part Kroil: 3 parts Butchs solvent. Yes, after cleaning with the ammonia based copper removers, neutralize it with oil. I believe that the problem with the ammonia based copper removers is that it reacts with absorbed water from the air and the resulting chemical can lead to pitting of the barrel.

Will sell separately: Shotgun $325 shipped or f2f in Flag. Barrel $150 shipped. RR

Price lowered to $175 shipped. RR