Outdoor Writer

Jason, Next Dec. issue of Rocky Mountain Game & Fish magazine. Covers and is distributed in seven RM states. -TONY

Hi Jason, I don't buy photos when I'm writing an article on someone's hunt. Any that are used do have the photographer's byline on them, though. -TONY

Whoops. This was a dupe. -TONY

hey guys, I had a castastropic hard drive crash about two weeks ago, and although I was able to recover most of my data I lost all of my email addresses and saved emails that were in my Outlook folders. Among those were contact phone numbers and photos for an upcoming article I have to do on Coues bucks killed in NM and AZ during the 2004 seasons. Now, among those that I need to contact for sure are Scott Adams, Josh Epperson, Tommy Maldonado (sp?) and Ron Price. So if you guys would send me an email at tony10(remove this)@outdoors.net ASAP, I'll let you know what I need. Amanda, I'm posting this message here and in the NM section. Hope that's OK. It's an emergency. -TONY

AZ, My two cents worth: The ballistics for a 130-gr. bullet from your .270 are very close to what I get in my .264 with 140-gr. bullets. Since I quit reloading several years ago, I've been using Winchester's factory loads with 140-gr. Powerpoint. My son also now uses them in his .270 because I no longer reload for him either. Over the last 2 years, that load has accounted for 11 of 12 African critters from a warthog up to a kudu. Only thing I shot with my .300 WM was a zebra. I used more than one shot on only one -- a black wildebeest -- that I had hit a bit far forward while it was trotting thru the brush. Although the first shot did put him down, I decided to finish the job quickly. Below is a bullet from a blue wildebeest. He was facing directly at me at about 175 yards, so I aimed just below his jaw. Bullet stopped up against the hide next to his tail. He went down where he stood as if someone had chopped off his legs and never twitched. In BC, a month prior to the African hunt, I killed a 7'6" black bear with one shot at about 100 yards. He was standing nearly broadside but at a slight angle facing me. I nailed him through the front shoulder. The bullet took out both lungs, traveled through the rear ham and stopped up against the hide. Bear ran about 20 yards and died. Bullet was nicely expanded and held together quite well considering what it went through. In New Zealand in 2004, the same bullet dropped a red deer stag, chamois, tahr and Arapawa ram -- all one shot kills. Only the tahr went a few yards before dying. If you decide to use another Winchester bullet for bear other than the Powerpoint, I would go with the Accubond rather than the rapid expanding bullets. Save the latter for Coues deer. -TONY

Diamondbackaz, That's an excellent site for FACTUAL information. The paper CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE: IMPLICATIONS AND CHALLENGES FOR WILDLIFE MANAGERS by Beth Williams is a good overview. One FACT to pay attention to is the incubation period of CWD. The minimum time that has been proven in wildlife has been 15 months from EXPOSURE. That was the reason I had asked someone the question about how long it takes for the disease symptoms to appear. Now if anyone here really wants to learn something about CWD, instead of citing the expertise of Murphy, attend the 2nd International CWD Symposium in July. The first one in 2004 was quite informative since those taking part DO KNOW what they're talking about. -TONY

Hunterdude, And you remind me of the typical big mouth who thinks ad hominen attacks change facts. They don't. All they do is make the point that you have no facts to put forth. Grow up. Have a nice night. -TONY

Newbe, Yes, no need to tell anyone. It's obvious. Here's the pertinent one -- once again. The cause of death was confirmed as Creutzfeldt-Jakobs Disease (CJD) NOT Chronic Wasting Disease. NO game animals anywhere have ever tested positive for CJD. Even Murphy can't change the above. -TONY

Kevin, Yuppers. That would be Tom Thorne and Beth Williams. I had spoken to them several times over the years while researching articles on CDW. Good people and probably the most knowledgable in the world on CWD. They also did a lot of research on brucellosis. -TONY

Lark, >>heard this weekend that a good friend died from what they think was cwd.<< You can start with the above as hearsay and rumor. It's the first sentence of your first message. I THOUGHT I had a heart attack several months ago; it was indigestion. >>it isn't a disease that just happens, you get it from something that has it. from what i can gather,<< The above also isn't necessarily true of CJD. That's why it's referered to as random or sporadic. In many cases, all the symptoms are identical to Alzheimer's and even an autopsy of the brain requires much testing to decide whether it CJD or Alzheimer's. Both affect brain tissue in a similar fashion. The same tests also show whether the prion is CJD, CWD or Mad Cow related. As for what the "scientists" think, I've been covering CWD since the very first critter with it was discovered in the wild during the 1970s. Same with whirling disease in trout. The FACTS, however, are what I posted. Anything else is nothing but specualtion. Are you even aware how long it normally takes for the symptons of any "prion" borne disease to appear in humans and how long it takes before they actually die from the diseases? Are you aware that INGESTION appears to be the only way humans have contracted mad cow disease to date? Covered the CWD stuff earlier. -TONY

Bingo! Rumors and hearsay too often grow legs of their own. I've already interviewed several folks for a piece I'm writing on this, and so far there is NO indication any of the hearsay and rumor bear any resemblance to the facts. -TONY

Grizzly, The cause of death was confirmed as Creutzfeldt-Jakobs Disease (CJD) NOT Chronic Wasting Disease. NO game animals anywhere have ever tested positive for CJD. Nor is there any known case of a human EVER contracting either CJD or CWD from a game animal. Do you have some other factual information that contradicts any of the above??? -TONY

A message for the public about Chronic Wasting Disease and CJD Arizona Game and Fish Department Feb. 3, 2005 Some Arizona Game and Fish Department customers have called us because they have heard rumors that a hunting guide diagnosed with Creutzfeldt-Jakobs Disease (CJD) may have gotten the disease from handling a hunter-killed elk in Game Management Unit 2B. The rumor is that there is a link between CJD and a disease that affects deer and elk called Chronic Wasting Disease. All available science shows that there is no link between these two diseases. CJD occurs randomly in humans. Chronic Wasting Disease is a wildlife disease. Chronic Wasting Disease has not been found in Arizona The Arizona Game and Fish Department initiated a surveillance program for Chronic Wasting Disease in 1998 and has sampled 3,511 deer and elk. No cases have been found in Arizona. There is a difference between CJD and new variant CJD (nvCJD) CJD is a disease that occurs randomly in humans. It has not been linked to any other disease in human beings or in wildlife. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says CJD occurs throughout the world in one out of every one million people. It is different from nvCJD. nvCJD occurs in humans but is not linked to game meat. It has been linked to a disease that occurs in cows called Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy. There is no evidence of a link between nvCJD and deer or elk. Enjoy the sport of hunting A recent study published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reviews the best available information on CJD and Chronic Wasting Disease and concludes ?The lack of evidence of a link between Chronic Wasting Disease transmission and unusual cases of CJD, despite several epidemiologic investigations, and the absence of an increase in CJD incidence in Colorado and Wyoming suggest that the risk, if any, of transmission of Chronic Wasting Disease to humans is low.? Learn more about Chronic Wasting Disease on the Web Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cdc.gov Use their search feature to search the site for Chronic Wasting Disease Arizona Game and Fish Department azgfd.gov\cwd Chronic Wasting Disease Alliance cwd-info.org

Got it! Thanks, Tommy. -TONY

Tommy, Can you put me in touch with this hunter? I have a slot in Rocky Mt. Game & Fish for Dec. 2005 and need a NM buck to go along with two AZ bucks I'm doing. BTW, any idea what this buck scored? -TONY

Nice recap of your hunt, Amanda. -TONY

Doug, There's an area in Unit 36B just off the road into Warsaw Canyon that is literally teeming with coatis. My son and I ran across a flock about 50 a couple years ago, and we saw some nearly every day regardless where we hunted in this same vicinity. I'm guessing it's about 4-6 miles in on the road and before where the camp that the national guard had in there several years ago. I do recall that hunted the right side of the road, just before it climbs up sort of steep to several tight turns. There's a nice flat area where we camped on the left just before the hill. -TONY

To clarify, I posed the question to an AZG&FD higher up in the big-game branch about two years ago. Baiting deer in AZ or other game other than bears and migratory birds is LEGAL. -TONY

Griz, Spoke to the printer yesterday. Hard cover version is at the binders as we speak. There was a delay getting the chipboard material needed for the covers from the supplier. It is due to arrive today, however. So it won't be done until Oct. 15th. -TONY

Mr. "Guest, " There was no "scam." It was MY mistake that was simply caused by inserting a phoo entitled FMORALESBW2.TIFF for FMORALESBW1.TIF. Unfortunately it went unnoticed during the editing process. -TONY

Northstar Productions is John McClendon and Mike Whalen. One of my elk photos was on their first video, BUGLIN' BIG BULLS. -TONY

Mark, Here's some info on 36B from HOW TO HUNT COUES DEER. -TONY Unit 36B, located west of Nogales, shares its southern border with Mexico. Although a small portion of the western half of the unit is on the Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge, most of the unit is within the borders of the Coronado National Forest. The Pajarito, Atascosa, and Tumacacori mountains all harbor good populations of Coues deer. Despite the drought, the deer numbers have remained fairly constant. There?s also a better than average buck-to-doe ratio Main access into the unit is on the Arivaca Road (Amado exit on I-19) and the Ruby Road (Pena Blanca Lake exit on I-19). To get to the Tres Bellotas Ranch, travel south from Arivaca about 3/4 of a mile and then bear right at the fork. Access into Sierra Canyon at the Tres Bellotas is through Mojonera Canyon. The Ruby Road starts out as paved Highway 289 and runs west from Interstate 19, then becomes a winding, narrow dirt road after it passes Pena Blanca Lake. It provides access to many of the oak-studded canyons between the road and the Mexican border. Two of the more popular areas are the hills near Warsaw and Sycamore Canyons. The well-signed road into Warsaw leaves the main road just east of Ruby, a tiny mining settlement. Hunting is good almost anywhere along the road. There are also many little two-track 4x4 roads that branch off the main dirt road. The Sycamore Canyon area is more rugged and there are few roads into it, making it more difficult to hunt. This translates into lots of walking, but the reward can be outstanding. Farther east, about halfway between Sycamore and Pena Blanca Lake, the Summit Motorway road climbs a ridge top for miles and leads to plenty of places for effective glassing. A particularly good area is in the San Luis Mountains just south of the Arivaca-Sasabe Road. There?s a hunter access point in the Buenos Aires Refuge at mile post 7. Duwane?s Advice: This is probably the best unit for big bucks on public land in the state. The late hunt is an excellent one for a trophy.