Red Rabbit

Good catch on the lightning.

Looks like it was a great show. Did the P51 take to the air during the show?

Squaring bonus points WILL in fact change odds in a big way. For example, say you have two applicants, one with 5 points and one with 10 points. The applicant with 10 points has twice as many points as the applicant with 5 points. Now square both of their points. The applicant with 10 points will now have 100 points and the applicant with 5 points will now have 25 points. So now its 25 to 100 instead of 5 to 10. He now has 4 times more points instead of only double the points. This system would give the applicants with higher bonus points a significant advantage over those with less. -Tracy I think what you're forgeting is the fact that your total number of points means nothing at all in Arizonas system. Rather it is your point total in comparison to all other applicants. You can square your points all you want but the "order" will stay the same. Those with more points than you will still have more points then you and those with less will still have less. Squaring bonus points will help those with the most BP, and hinder those with the least, but maybe not to the large degree some would expect. Setting up a hypothetical case where there are up to 10 BP. One hunter with 10BP, 2 with 9BP, 3 w/ 8BP...10 with 1 BP. With the squaring system, there would be 1210 random numbers generated for the BPs, and only 220 with the current system. A hunter with 7 BP would have 49 of the 1210 numbers and a 4.05% chance of drawing the highest random number with the squared system. In the current system, he would have 7 of 220 numbers, and a 3.18% chance of having the highest random number. So about a 33% better chance of drawing with the squared system. A person with 5 BP would have a 2.07% chance for the highest number in the squared system, and 2.27% in the current. With 2 BP, 0.33% in the squared, and 0.99% in the current. Note that the % of hunters in each BP group may vary in reality from this hypothetical case.

Not having signage for closed roads is absurd, imo, as is the 30' for parking to camp. There are designated areas for dispersed camping to pull 300' off the road and are shown with dots along the roadway on the map (see link below). Other non-dotted areas are 30'. Map of approved routes on CNF http://www.redrockcountry.org/about-us/tmr/tmr-home/ROD_Alt3_BW.pdf Also notice no driving off-road to retrieve elk in 5B. http://www.redrockcountry.org/about-us/tmr/tmr-home/ROD_MBGR_Alt3_11x17.pdf

Can one tell their 10 year old son that he will have to wait 23 years to hunt antelope? A preference system will not be good for recruitment or retention, imo.

If its wet, the top is snot, as you know. If it is dry, I would key on water still. Check the new Coconino NF travel management plan regarding road closures, designated camping areas, and driving off-road to retieve your elk. I would look near the edges of the mesa.

Last year there were 19,115 applications for 825 antelope permits (all weapons combined). If they would be awarded evenly, that would be an antelope permit once every 23 years. So you can see that patience is a key to surviving the dreaded words "draw unsuccessful" If you are drawn, count your blessings, have a fun hunt, and don't complain if you don't get a Booner because you put too much pressure on yourself to succeed after waiting years to draw. It took me 18 BP to draw a rifle permit a few years ago. I realize I may never draw antelope in AZ again. That is why God made Wyoming .

Save you some time; dead horses don't kick http://forums.coueswhitetail.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=13008&st=0&p=144034&hl="bonus%20point%20system"&fromsearch=1entry144034

Deven, the 20% pass and 10% NR cap are by individual hunt number, except for sheep.

Use the seventh column in the 1-2 pass (success-BPG/Applied-BPG % ) It will give the % chance of being drawn for having a certain number of bonus points. Notice though that the % numbers fluctuate (not changing evenly) since the draw is random, but there is a general trend.

See the post Terry made on TAH that he recieved from AZGFD about the draw problems. http://www.thearizonahunter.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=74&t=7258 Some forum posts remind me of the saying that we may not be able to control the situation, but we can control how we react to it.

look at the 1-2 pass report by hunt number

Those hunts only had 4 & 1 permits, not enough. Five are needed in a hunt to have a permit in the 20% pass. 5 x 0.20 = 1

James, good luck on your chupa hunt Rica and I are looking for a replay in unit 9 Doug~RR

Bonus Point Reports are linked here, if that is what you are looking for. http://www.azgfd.gov/eservices/BonusPointProcess.shtml

The CC problems people and G&F experienced may be related to the recent CC hack. http://money.cnn.com/2012/04/02/technology/global-payments-breach/index.htm

Congrats. Have fun scouting to find the one.

Jim, you may wish to run a couple of externals for backup, and keeping one in your gunsafe. There are also online backup services to consider also. http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2288745,00.asp

Looks like the server finally screamed "uncle"

Ilene, Go take that hike and let the cool mist rise in your face. You can check at midnight when the server is back up and enabled. I recall being in Yellowstone one summer decades ago and walking to the payphone at 2AM to get the draw results. Doug~RR

Unit 9 Rifle Bull Nov30-Dec6 no antelope

Has there been a study or any fishing results to indicate the effect upon the fisheries by the ash from the Wallow Fire and how far downstream the effect/fish kill was?

I had a 6.5-300WSM built a few years ago from a Win 70 SuperGrade chambered in 300WSM. Kirby Allen in MT did the gunsmithing. I chose a 1-9" PacNor barrel suited for 130 grain bullets. In retrospect, a 1-8 twist may be a better choice for the 140 gr VLD bullets. Targeted velocity was 3200 fps for the 130 grain loads. I chose to work with the 130 gr Berger VLD, Swift Scirocco and Nosler Accubonds. All shot about the same. Best powders for me were Ramshot Magnum and H1000. Retumbo did not give as good of accuracy. Nor much load data, and what is posted on the www varies quite a bit. I started with low charges went higher while shooting over a chronograph and watching for a tapering off of velocity and pressure signs. I resized 270 WSM brass and then neck turned. Dies are from Redding. From my measurements, powder capacity in the 6.5WSM is about 7% less than the 264WM, which would equate to only about 2% less velocity.

Did you see this? http://azgfd.net/artman/publish/FishingReport/April-3-Fishing-Report.shtml