Outdoor Writer

Can't they print in white ink, too? -TONY

Outdoor Wire snippet: The U.S. Forest Service is imposing travel restrictions on off-road vehicles across the country, reversing a principle that said areas were considered all areas open "unless designated closed". The new regulations seem to establish that all areas should be presumed "closed unless designated open." The net of the ruling means that off-road vehicles will only be allowed on trails marked on new travel maps currently being drawn up for each national forest. Those new maps, we're told, will exclude some very popular existing routes. The reasoning behind the decision is the burgeoning popularity of off-road vehicles. Land managers say they can't adequately handle the network of illegal trails created by ATVs. In fact, the land managers say there are thousands of miles of illegal ("user-created") trails in the national forests. And ATVs continue to grow in popularity with hunters, anglers and recreational riders who have purchased more than 10 million four-wheelers and dirt bikes since 1995. That number of ATVs, officials say, even if only 1-2 percent stray off-route produces a cumulative impact that is tremendous. The maps are being created today, and will gradually be phased in over the next two years at which time all routes will be either open or closed. ATVers caught on the closed routes will be ticketed. Today, there are complaints that the maps - available at only a few locations - aren't really much help. Critics say they're printed in black and white and don't show any landmarks, making navigation difficult. The federal travel rule isn't really new. It was established in 2005 but has only been applied to a few national forests nationwide. The chances in each district become official as soon as the maps are available, with some not expected until 2010, creating the potential for varying rules across boundary lines. At this point, however, the Forest Service has closed 2 million acres that have been open to cross-country travel. Ultimately, the Forest Service says it is seeking to restrict motor vehicles to designated routes on all 193 million acres. Conservationists are praising the decision, and as you can imagine, some ATV proponents are livid. But not all. Jack Welch, of the motorized users advocacy group Blue Ribbon Coalition, says most people he's been in contact with think the decision "appropriate." But both sides have admitted concern over which trails make lists of "official" routes.

Yeah, I bet those were Gould's around that area at the time. I don't recall exactly when they disappeared in AZ, but it was after that. I agree on the original Big Ten, especially with the introduced RM sheep. Wasn't Bob Householder the one that originally put together the AZ Ten thingie? That Houserock hunt was going on when I first moved to AZ and continued for quite a few years after. Getting rid of it was a no-brainer in reality, though the movie, which I have seen several times, likely hastened the demise. I just started applying for a bison tag a couple years ago, mainly because I haven't had much desire to shoot one. If drawing a tag goes the way drawing my sheep tag has gone, my bones will be long rotted into dust. -TONY

If these proposals take effect, I can see lots of citations resulting, providing the ability to enforce the rules materializes. -TONY

Bill, I think I would prefer not getting a tag rather than going through all you went through. I still need to harvest a buff in addition to a sheep for the original AZ 10. I guess it's more like 12 now with the addition of the Gould's turkey and RM bighorn to the state. I already harvested a Gould's in Mexico, but it doesn't count. -TONY

Many, many people thought the earth was flat, too. They even tried to convince others. So feel free to show how each of the activities cited meets each of the five criteria. Something can be inhuman yet not be cruel. One is emotional in nature, the other is physical. Or it can be both. cruel adj. 1. Disposed to inflict pain or suffering. 2. Causing suffering; painful. in·hu·mane adj. 1. a. Lacking kindness, pity, or compassion b. Deficient in emotional warmth; cold. 2. Not suited for human needs: an inhumane environment. 3. Not of ordinary human form; monstrous. It is inhumane to allow a pet to suffer, but hanging it from a tree limb is a cruel way to kill it. -TONY

Guess I wasn't very clear. The activity must fit ALL FIVE criteria, not just a one or more. Try again. -TONY

With all due respect for Jim Beers' opinions, he's somewhat off base. The one thing I do agree with: the USSA rep did a terrible job of addressing O'Reilly's questions. It's too bad Rick Story didn't take on the task. Now, here's a test. Match ALL of the following to any activity that involves live animals and humans: Inhumane Cruel Sheer entertainment money-oriented wasteful -TONY

I was wondering what books to have my wife get at the library for next week. Thanks, Kevin. -TONY

Keith, Did your wife you get any of Box's books yet? I just finished Free Fire, the latest. It was a good read. -TONY P.S. Though it's not a "trip," I put this thread here since no other section seemed appropriate.

I would bet those same dictionaries will show the word "fax" as a verb. There ain't no such word. Dictionaries, such as the two cited, often contain words or definitions that have crept into our lexicon because of MISUSAGE. I wouldn't doubt "googled' has already made its way into them, too. I doubt you'll find the definition for harvest applied to killing individual animals in a REAL dictionary. The ONLY time harvest should come into play when using it in reference to live sentient beings is an after-the-fact collection. If the game department does it's job, there will be a harvestable surplus of game, and when hunters kill that surplus they have amassed a collection of DEAD animals that can be expressed with the word, harvest, i.e. the total deer harvest for 2007 was 50,000. Before they became part of the harvest, however, someone had to kill them. Saying, "I harvested an elk," is akin to implying shame that one killed it. And the non-hunting fence sitters aren't naive or stupid; most people over 5 year old know hunters don't walk into the woods, pluck animals off the trees and put them in their pockets. Apple pickers do that when they harvest the apple crop. For that, there's no need to kill the apples first. It reminds me of an incident when my oldest son was about 4. We were watching a Dumbo (the elephant) movie on TV. I said to him, "That thing is humongous." He said, "Yeah, it's really big, too." Analogy: Non-hunter standing in my trophy room and asking me where my moose came from: I say, "I harvested it in British columbia. She says, "Yeah, looks like you killed it, too." Geez, the non-hunting public certainly doesn't use harvest in the context of the domestic critters we eat everyday. They no doubt are well aware that one can't effectively butcher a cow or a chicken until it's killed (slaughtered) first. Likewise for a deer or an elk. If some here want to "soften the blow" by using harvest rather than kill in their conversations or writing, knock yourselves out. Just realize that no one is being fooled by its use. Now, I'm done with this topic. -TONY

Maybe someone should call 911? -TONY

Yup. That's exactly why I would try to get them to put 15s in the line. But right now for as much hunting I'm getting to do, the 12s would be more than enough. They will work just fine to see the pigeons on the light pole acorss the street. -TONY

Great buck. Good job! -TONY

That's a neat 'lope mount, Doug. -TONY

Well then, here ya go. -TONY MY FIRST DEER HUNT The sun was rising as I crawled up the hill. At the top, I looked across the canyon and spotted a deer standing alongside a tall saguaro. Slowly, I rested my rifle on a limb of a palo verde tree and peeked through the scope. After three days of hunting, I finally had found my buck. He was standing broadside, providing a perfect shot at his lung area. I put the crosshairs behind his front leg, and a second later the 140-gr. bullet was on its way. It connected with an audible whap and a small puff of dust. If all went right, the bullet penetrated and exited the hide on the far side. Almost immediately, the buck reacted to the hit by hunching his back. He then wobbled in place and fell where he stood on the hillside. I had finally shot my first deer, and the many pounds of venison for the freezer would no doubt make my wife happy. I walked across the canyon to the dead buck and tagged it. Then, with hat in hand, I gave thanks to God for giving me the chance to kill such a magnificent trophy.

The euphemistic, PC version of my first deer hunt: My Initial Search For An Ungulate The roundish, orangey orb was just moving upward in the sky, as I slowly moved on both my elbows and knees toward the acme of the rise in the earth. When I reached the apex and peered afar across the sharp-edged depression in the ground, I saw the object of my search standing on the far away incline next to some vegetation with myriad spines protruding from its shape. With deliberate movements, I lowered the wooden and metal tool in my hands until it came to rest on a slim wooden growth sprouting from the lateral edge of a major piece of flora. The iris of my right orb quickly peeked through the optical instrument, and it revealed the grayish ungulate I had diligently sought over the last three time spans that covered 24 hours each. I now realized my quest to gather sustenance was nearing its end. I centered the instrument's crossed wires on a spot that would cause the immediate expiration of the now motionless fauna. Short ticks of the clock passed as I let the index digit on my right hand nestle into the metal semi-circle and come to rest against the tool's thin, curving activation mechanism. A short tick later, the digit moved rearward, causing the tool to jolt against the area where my arm connects to my upper torso. At that point, I realized the 140-gr. hunk of pointed metal was well on its journey across the abyss to its intended impact point. The sound of the collision with the hair-covered, untanned leather was quite audible. If everything went as planned, the projectile would grow in size, enter the area where air is produced and exit the untanned leather on the opposite side. That's exactly how the remainder of the event transpired. Almost immediately, the results became obvious. The little mass of metal had let out all of the air, causing the impacted target to teeter and waver aimlessly. Finally, it made contact with the sloping earth and went still. I then realized I had just caused the passing of my first wild, four-footed fare for the dinning room table. The human female I had said "I do" to would indeed express her gleeful enthusiasm over my success of providing a multitude of consumable repasts. I walked to the motionless hulk now resting peacefully on the terra firma. After removing my head covering, I recited some religious-like words to our male parent, used my hand to make a crude cross on my body and extended my gratitude to the big guy up in the skies. The harvest was complete.

Marc is no longer located there. His shop is now in Campe Verde. -TONY

Welcome, Riley. I hope you realize you will be getting many requests from theses dudes to come hunt in your backyard, especially if you have salt or corn available to keep those bucks still in one place. -TONY

In case anyone doesn't know what we're discussing here, below is an earlier message from another thread. -TONY Since there's no General discussion section here, I wasn't sure where to put this, sooo...here it is. If no one here has ever read any of the C.J. Box FICTIONAL mystery novels, you might give them a try. Box is a very capable, Wyoming-based writer with a nice style for easy reading, and for the most part, I'm found very few factual errors in them in regards to the hunting/outdoors aspects. His books, listed below, are all based on Wyoming game warden Joe Pickett, who usually gets involved in solving some sort of murder in each novel. There are lots of well-developed characters within each plot, too, and many of them carry over from one book to the next and even beyond. So if you decide to read any of them, I suggest you read them in order. The list starts with his first and goes from there. You can also read sample chapters on the C.J. Box web site. Open Season Savage Run Winterkill Trophy Hunt Out of Range Blue Heaven Free Fire I'm now about 1/2 way thru Free Fire, which takes place in and around Yellowstone NP. I read all the rest over the last year, and they were all good. -TONY

Thanks, guys. That's good to hear. Now I'm looking forward to trying them out. I have a set of 10X B&Ls for around-the-neck use, but the folks at Alpen have been wanting me to test some of their products for two years now. So I finally relented, deciding to try the higher power glasses for now. It's too bad they don't have 15s in the line. If the 12s are good, I might talk them into adding the 15s. -TONY

Did you teach her that??? -TONY

Well tell him I hope he enjoys them as much as I did. And tell him to make sure he reads them in order! And tell his wife I said "thank you" for making him more literate. -TONY

That's approximately 36 sheep refund checks for me. -TONY

Tony, Now you have money to give back to them for the next draw!!! Not likely! I don't do the spring hunts any longer, and by the time the elk/'lope draw rolls around, that $265 will be long gone. In fact, it will probably go toward the $1,000 or so I'll have to pay for my life-size wallaby mount in a couple weeks. -TONY