Outdoor Writer

Oh such slippery slopes...and I know I'll hate myself in the morning, but... To quote a well-known unnamed philosopher, "if it's legal, it's ethical."

Very nice trophy! Good job.

Governor Jan Brewer has named Robert Mansell of Winslow as her choice to fill the Game & Fish Commission seat being vacated by Jennifer Martin in January 2011. Mr. Mansell was one of three candidates the Arizona Game & Fish Commission Appointment Recommendation Board forwarded to the Governor for consideration. The other candidates were Brian Pinney and Susan Bitter Smith. We anticipate the Senate will consider his confirmation in early January. Mr. Mansell formerly served as Superintendent of the Winslow Unified School District and has been a lifelong Arizona resident and outdoorsman, hunter, fisherman, boater, pilot and community leader. His ancestors date back to Arizona's territorial days. This year, after more than forty years of trying, Mr. Mansell was fortunate to get a desert bighorn sheep tag in unit 16A, east of Lake Havasu City. As a school administrator for 33 years, he supervised as many as 350 employees, a budget as high as $16 million annually and oversaw physical assets of $60 million. He developed the prototype for an outdoor education program for the Winslow Elementary Schools in 1992 which he coordinated with the Arizona Game & Fish Department and U. S. Forest Service. Mansell grew up in Cornville, Arizona living on a small farm. His Father and Uncle (now deceased) retired as Arizona fish hatchery superintendents, so he has a unique perspective on preservation and harvesting of wildlife and fish. As a pilot he flew various aircraft, including bush planes, and volunteered for numerous search and rescue operations.

Interesting article from USA Today writer: Is it safe to travel to Mexico?

And to everyone..............

Amanda, I'll be adding this as an item to my Dec. 20 AZ submission for the NSSF's Hunt & Shoot site.

Contact Robby at Robar Inc. His place is in Deer Valley near the airport, and they do a slew of different coatings. He built my custom .300 and also did the NP3 nickle on my ol' M70 .264. You can see what he does here: http://www.robarguns.com/

Great ram, Nick! Congrats.

What is the ACTUAL cost of the tickets??

daryl, Bill has it pretty much dead-on. We had this discussion a while back and even had a map in the thread of where the various Mexican whitetail subspecies hang out. Although deer do exist at the loweer elevations all the way south, don't forget the spine of the Sierra Madre goes far south all the way through Sinaloa. And there are lots of deer -- and turkey -- to be seen at those higher elevations. I've seen both along the shorelines while bass fishing the lakes. Bill's mention of seeing Coues near Puerto Lobos is also quite accurate. In fact, I killed the one pictured with Duwane Adams and me on the back cover of our book not too far from Caborca and Lobos, basically at sea level. Although the desert floor was close to sea level, the small hills we glassed from gave us a good view of the Gulf. In reality it was typical desert mule deer (and javelina) country, and that's the reason we were there rather than northeast of Hermosillo. One of Duwane's clients had tags for both deer species and killed good ones of each. I hunted only Coues.

I spent 5 days in an RV on the late Kaibab hunt. It was pretty danged cold, and since we had planned to stay the full 10 days, we tried to conserve the 10 gals. of propane in the 26' RV. For the first few days, we ran the furnace on low at night, about 50 degrees, and I raised it a bit during the day. Plus in the morning, we occasionally supplemented it a bit by running the truck engine with the heater and fan on high, which quickly heated the entire RV. About the 3rd day, Duwane's cook, Tim, brought me an extra 4K-9K BTU Mr. Buddy heater and a 5-gal. tank. The Mr. Buddy is touted for INDOOR use. He had another one in his 8'X8' tent, which he ran day and night on low as he has done for a couple years. He said it really kept it toasty. Soooo...we ran the one in the RV on low at night, and during the day, I turned it up to high. The furnace rarely clicked on at night, and during the day, it truned on for like 5 mins. maybe one every two hours, even though I had it set at 65-70 most times. I don't recall seeing it mentioned, but the Mr. Buddy does have a low-oxygen cut off. It will shut down automatically if the oxygen drops below a safe level. Also, the RV had a carbon monoxide monitor. Despite having no windows open in the RV, it never buzzed.

Great buck, Allen. Wish I had been there to see it.

My son Keith and I are outta here in 15 mins. to head to the N. Kaibab on our mule deer hunt. We're prepared to stay the 10-day duration. Won't have internet access during that time. Good luck to everyone else out there hunting.

Will you be there for the late hunt? If so and you get in the neighborhood of the intersection of 422 and 429, stop by Duwane's camp for a cup.

I did some "investigative journalism" on this tale today. As a result, I have put Steve in touch with someone at G&F who will try to assist him in getting his antlers returned without having to go through the auction BS. No guarantee, but it MIGHT lead to a nice reunion.

About a 1/2 mile south of my house. My wife had to drive around the crime scene on her way home from the grocery store, located at 67th and Indian School. We're just off 67th and Camelback. ******* Phoenix police investigate homicide of man by Stephanie Russo - Nov. 12, 2010 06:57 PM The Arizona Republic Phoenix police are in the initial stages of investigating a homicide that took place Friday evening. Police were at the scene where a man was killed in the 4500 block of North 67th Avenue, police spokesman Sgt. Tommy Thompson said. No further information was immediately available. Check back for updates. Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/community/phoenix...l#ixzz15B4xYV2M

From the U.S. Embassy website: Millions of U.S. citizens safely visit Mexico each year. This includes tens of thousands who cross the border every day for study, tourism or business and at least one million U.S. citizens who live in Mexico. The Mexican government makes a considerable effort to protect U.S. citizens and other visitors to major tourist destinations. Resort areas and tourist destinations in Mexico do not see the levels of drug-related violence and crime reported in the border region and in areas along major drug trafficking routes. Nevertheless, crime and violence are serious problems. While most victims of violence are Mexican citizens associated with criminal activity, the security situation poses serious risks for U.S. citizens as well. It is imperative that U.S. citizens understand the risks involved in travel to Mexico, how best to avoid dangerous situations, and who to contact if one becomes a victim of crime or violence. Common-sense precautions such as visiting only legitimate business and tourist areas during daylight hours, and avoiding areas where criminal activity might occur, can help ensure that travel to Mexico is safe and enjoyable. U.S. citizen victims of crime in Mexico are urged to contact the consular section of the nearest U.S. Consulate or Embassy for advice and assistance.

Yup, all of the above is true -- stuff I always heed. BTW, this part "Extreme threats of violence along Highway 15/Benito Juarez Autopista have lead to the prohibition of travel between Estacion Don and Guamuchil, Sinaloa" refers to the OLD free highway and not the toll road. Why? Because about two weeks ago, members of a drug cartel ambushed a police patrol, killing several of them. Stanley, So far, in the area of Mexico we travel, I've heard of only ONE incident of an innocent American being involved. It was the one with a hunting outfitter who had his truck stolen and then was later found dead. If I recall, he was quite a ways off the beaten path. I think we even had a thread about it here. Lastly, ANY incident where an American tourist is victimized would be prime fodder for the U.S. media; the headlines are pretty much nonexistent. And....your mother sounds much like my 89-yr. old mother. My daughter is almost as bad.

Thanks for the lecture, Casey. I neither think I'm bullet-proof or stupid, and as a grown-up feel quite capable to make my own decisions about my well-being. See, I just look at it real simple: the dangers of anything happening to US in Mexico is greatly exaggerated. In fact, I feel less safe driving in the area where I live, especially if I should inadvertantly cut off someone whose first reponse is to shoot me. And it happens quite often in the PHX metro area. Last week, two guys were shot in their car while driving. They don't have a clue who did it. This past weekend an 18-yr. old kid out jogging at 7 a.m. to lose a few pounds was shot and killed. They don't have a clue who did it. So it appears "innocents" also get killed here for no reason. Actually, I often drive to Mexico more than once a year and will continue to do so. And I'll continue to take the same precautions I take here: do not get involved with the wrong people; stay out of areas where I don't belong and obey the laws. Most importantly, I'll try to mind my own business. BTW, do you have any figures on how many American tourists have been crime victims there over the last year or so? I would be willing to bet that number is quite low, probably not more than the number of crime victims in Phoenix last weekend.

Whoops. I should have read on and saw where you addressed it.

Hmmm, I'm not real good in calculating things, but the above is off according to the laws of physics. A vacuum still has gravity at work. Thus the bullet will still drop just as fast and as far as in the normal atmosphere. The only difference: it will travel farther before doing so.

A hearty "Way to go!" to Kristi!

A bit east of the intersection of 422 and 429 at Castle Springs. Hector, Allen, my 48-yr. son and I will be in Duwane's camp. Stop by and say hello.

The fact that I look Mexicana probably helps a bit, too. Every time we hit a check point, they speak to me in Spanish to start. My standard reply is "no comprende Espanol," which usually gets a surprised look and a "No Mexicano?" in response. I answer with, "No Mexicano, Italiano." The exchange usually results in a "passe," -- go ahead. Now here's some humor. While traveling in Mexico away from the border, I questioned several folks about their opinions on SB1070. Not a one of them had the faintest idea what I was talking about, even after I provided a short explanation of what it was. Evidently the only one down there that has heard about it is Caulderon.

Good point! I did bring back 60 albuterol inhalers -- my yearly supply until my next trip. I guess those are drugs.