Red Rabbit

Dave Mason, co-founder of Traffic and celebrated Rock & Roll Hall of Famer, died peacefully at age 79 on April 19, 2026 Dave Mason & Joe Bonamassa – “Dear Mr. Fantasy” Official Music Video

I have not been in several years as some of the towns which I used to go to died out. I had the most fun with a 22LR as opposed to my 22-250. I have some ELY high velocity hollow points waiting to test and see if they are more accurate than the CCI mini mags. Your kids should have a fun time if you find a good town that offers plenty of shooting.

It must be official since the sticky-back tag arrived in the mail today from AZGFD. Time to wear out some boot leather and tire rubber while scouting this summer to find the cows and green up areas that attract them. The 300 WSM rifle is in the shop being threaded for a suppressor. Ordered some new Lapua brass and 180 grain Swift Sciroccos to load up. Fresh diaphragms and cow calls have already arrived. This is going to be a fun DIY hunt.

I had only 6 points. In looking at the draw report, there were people with 1, 2, 3, 5 points who drew. If one is not in the max point 20% bonus pass pool, still apply. https://azgfd-portal-wordpress-pantheon.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/27091508/2026-M-Bonus-Point-Report.pdf

Guess I have been looking on the wrong side of the trees all of these years.

Thanks. I hear there is a 400" bull behind every tree in unit 9 😉 I've hunted east side, west side, pines and cedars on previous hunts. So many good locations to sift through.

I will try to update this thread with photos and words as the scouting and season progresses.

Ron, have a fun hunt and best with success.

Somehow with only 6 bonus points, I drew an early rifle bull tag in Unit 9. I figured I would be hunting antelope in Wyoming this fall, so I only put in for the long-shot early bull hunt in 9. Guess I should have bought a lottery ticket too.

I was pretty excited when I saw that $135 charge as I knew I had only applied for hunt #3004. Wyoming antelope will have to wait until next year. Now to work up some new handloads for the 30-06 and 300 WSM. Will try some Hammer Hunters and Terminal Ascents. I used the Hammer Hunters out of my 6.5 WSM on the last two cow elk tags. Already have 180 grain Nosler Accubond and Swift Scirocco loads for the 300 WSM, but tis fun to experiment with different bullets.

Maybe around Feb 20 ?

"Go'n down to where no mercy can be found and you pay for what you've done with your soul. Go'n down to where the darkest of angels circle round" What tune have you cranked up and had on replay?

Those are some tall G2s. Congrats. Are you still using the 6.5 WSM?

Here is a link to the elk and antelope bonus point report to see what your draw chances are. These are last year's hunt numbers and bonus point numbers. https://azgfd-portal-wordpress-pantheon.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/15151918/2025-Bonus-Point-Report.pdf

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and a Prosperous New Year to y'all. May your stockings be filled with deer, elk, and antelope tags for 2026.

I hope you were able to see the aurora earlier this week. This is what my camera caught here in Flagstaff just before 10pm.

Bet you saw some colorful ones. A trip to Iceland or the Yukon to see them would be pretty spectacular.

Is this an Arizona or national WTF raffle?

My favorite place to photograph fall colors is in Colorado, especially the San Juan Mountains. It had been a few years since 2022 when I was last in the mountains for the changing aspens. I had ten days for this trip and spent the first four days beneath Capitol Peak waiting for fall and winter to mingle. A storm on the third night made the fourth day memorable. It was nice hearing the elk bugle in the mornings, despite not having a hunt permit. Actually, I failed to draw any hunt permits this fall, so all shooting will be done with a camera. Afternoon spotlighting as the storm cleared. Sunset on Capitol. Along the Last Dollar Road near Telluride is an area of aspens which grow in many intersecting angles, an area I call the "wacky forest". I try to make photographic sense of it on each visit. Morning sunlight crept over the mountain to illuminate the tree tops.

https://www.fs.usda.gov/r03/kaibab/newsroom/releases/kaibab-nf-further-reduce-north-kaibab-closure-area https://www.facebook.com/KaibabNF/posts/pfbid029vqLUYECzqbJ9SxgMBpiW8K5wBUZFnK5EbydGnFVJbPBU3nnWvUHGhmQUb1TnQq4l?__cft__[0]=AZWGN3xojYNnGhysWRGN30gkmDVZ4CxzhENIDogxL61w-slLHmM0ZQhmvBPCWmZKzgh-qwTAEdBpwDHUlP0DxYfG4tTEcIfoBrLwrnD2QyGalPQHcSSOQl6Zxl0uFOivjCR-iDwtxQdtQ3dsw1uU3OFt26QdxykTlgQHT8mrURvSYQfY7wPSMeWVeBjXSulhOReXs99gA5fFZzDHADFG_JRm&__tn__=%2CO%2CP-R

Bet his dog and wife returned after he won the lottery 😉

Before and after an art show in Estes Park, Colorado, I was able to spend several days photographing the moose, elk, deer and landscapes. Here are a few of the moose which the lens encountered. Fuji GFX 100s with adapted Nikon 200-500.

It was special to see the moose in RMNP several times this year. I did not see any last year when in RMNP, and moose are not native to Arizona.

The Dragon Bravo fire began as a small lightning caused fire within a few miles of the historical lodge on the north rim of the Grand Canyon and has grown to a 112,000 acre monster on the North Kaibab. Earlier this week, I went to the south rim to observe and photograph the fire for a few days. Intense fire formed a dramatic pyrocumulus cloud. Smoke settled into the canyon each night. The scenes were dramatic, beautiful, saddening, maddening and depressing to me- a mix of emotions.