Outdoor Writer

Well that certainly didn't take long. TR it is! Good job guys. Considering some of the recent discussions here, I thought this part was kind of interesting, even though it was uttered many decades ago. -TONY "...and the rich people, who are content to buy what they have not the skill to get by their own exertions----these are the men who are the real enemies of game"

Hmmm interesting, Elmer. I wonder if I can get Sasha to stucco the outside of my house. -TONY

Got to meet my new girlfriend this morning. Her name is Sasha. I pick her up at her foster home tomorrow afternoon. -TONY

Scott, So far, Sasha has been super. Her obedience training is a lot farther along than what we thought. She does well with sit, down, stay and walks very calmly on her leash with no tugging. She even ignores the cats that frequent the backyard. So far, the only drawback with her is her desire to follow me anywhere I go. She's lying next on the floor next to me as I type this. I was wondering about the house. Have you started it yet? -TONY

Superb buck, Tim! Congrats. -TONY

I just got my subscription copy last week. I think the newsstands get them about two weeks later. Incidentally, I noticed today that my editor screwed up by using "Photo Couresy of Tony Mandile." When I sent it, I DID tell him it was courtesy of you. Sorry for that. -TONY

Noel, I didn't either until last week. Then I googled them and found out a bunch. BUT...now that she's with me, she sure looks like she has some Weimie in her even though I saw her AKC papers. Of course, makes no diff to me since papers are about as important to me as antler measurements. I wanted a canine companion, and that's what I got. I picked her up two hours ago, and we went shopping for her crate, a doggie door and other assorted goodies. She behaved super. I folded up the rear seat in my Quad cab and she just laid on the floor wherever we went. In the store, she was the perfect lady. When we got home, she investigated the house, and now she's lying next to me on the floor. So did you find a copy of RM G&F?? -TONY

Great, Amanda. I had decided not to mount that Mexico deer because about 5" of one main beam had busted off. But Marc Plunkett looked at it a while back and said he could fix it up where no one would notice the repair. -TONY Thanks. -TONY

Doug, I think a bit of Dutch chocolate tossed in, too. She hasn't had any formal retriever training and will likely not get any because I won't be doing much bird or waterfowl hunting in the future. She did great at the park with the red ball in the one photo, though. She fetched it with great enthusiasmm. She grabs it, brings it back, drops at my feet and then watches it intently, hoping for another toss. When I quit tossing it, though, she would move about 5' in front of me and start jumping and barking to convince me to toss it again. Sooo...the ball will likely provide her main exercise, although I still have a retreiver dummy that I used with my GSP. When I met the foster parents at a nearby dog park yesterday, Sasha came right to me for some petting and readily warmed to me. She was very mellow and got along great with all the other dogs that wandered over to investigate her. In contrast, even without a leash, she remained close at hand unless we tossed her ball for her to retrieve. So I closed the deal on the spot. The rescue group has a rule that the dog has to be in a foster home for at least 24 hrs. before adoption, in case there are any real behavioral problems. They had just picked her up and took her for the mandatory checkup at the vet's yesterday morning. That's why I can't get her until today. -TONY

Doug, When the silvers first started appearing, some lab breeders claimed the same thing. Supposedly, the silver trait is due to a recessive gene in a chocolate, however. When the folks at the AKC examined a bunch, they proclaimed them pure-bred labs. They must be registered as chocolates because the AKC recognizes only black, yellow and chocolate versions right now. Elmer, Agreed! -TONY

Yeah, my wife said the same thing. Maybe I'll just give her a healthy green bean meal for her BD. Until the rescue gal mentioned Sasha to me a week ago, I had never heard of the silvers either. Once I saw them, I was intrigued, but the rescue group wasn't quite sure they would get her until last Sat. Do a google on "silver labs" and you'll find a lot of stuff on them. Ironically, I was supposed to meet a yellow girl Fri. afternoon, but at the last minute the owner decided to keep her. I was a bit upset at the time because she was about everything I was looking for, as well. Now I'm glad it didn't happen. -TONY

I adopted her from the local AZ Lab and Giant breed rescue group, where I've had my application in for a couple months. Her previous owners bought her from a Colorado kennel as an AKC registered chocolate, but she is what they call a "silver" lab. AKC will list them as only black, yellow or chocolate. Silver lab puppies generally sell from anywhere from $1,000 to $2,500. Sasha will be two years old on Dec. 5. She's spayed, housebroke and crate trained already and also has some rudimentary obedience training. Her adoption fee was $200, which included a thorough check-up at the vet, license transfer fee and a microchip implanted. She even comes with her own collar, leash, bag of toys and her fav blankie. Right now, at 83 lbs. she's about 10 lbs. overweight. So we'll need to work on that. -TONY

Way to go! Nice bull. -TONY

Noel, The only place I know of for sure is the Fry's grocery stores. -TONY

Okay. The 2nd one is the one I use too. I'm guessing it is still a browser setting somewhere since only a couple folks are having the problem. I'll see what else I can find. In the meantime, if you have the phishing filter turned on, uncheck it and try logging in here a couple times. If that doesn't help, turn it back on. -TONY

Check your browser settings under TOOLS/Internet Options. Click the Security tab, then click on Custom Level and scroll all the way to the bottom under User Authentication. You should have one of the Automatic ones checked. -TONY

Scott, The RM G&F issue with the article I did on your 2006 NM Coues and Marty Hendrickson's AZ bow kill is now out. Did you see it yet? -TONY

Nice wide buck, Shane. Good job. -TONY

Hope everyone has a

Gobble, Gooble!!!

Way to smoke one, lady!! Super buck! -TONY

Very nice, Dennis. Congrats to both of you. -TONY

Sweet bucks, guys. That 3x3 mulie buck has a very similar antler configuration as the one I killed in Colorado. -TONY

I'm outta here bright and early tomorrow on my way to the Ft. Collins, CO area where I'll be do a "cull" mule deer hunt and also a bit of waterfowl hunting. I will have a high-speed connection so I'll try to file daily reports and maybe some photos. Now y'all play nice. -TONY

Super job and congrats to all! -TONY