Outdoor Writer

Really? I guess it must have become invalid after I sent $100 about two hours ago. 🙄

Not sure it would be considered "long range," but I have one I'll be listing for sale here in the near future that fits right into his price range. It was custom built for me by Robar Inc. with a Rem. M700 action, fluted barrel and McMillan stock. It's the same configuation they used on the sniper rifle platforms for law enforcement agencies. All the metal has a no-rust NP3 coating. Scope is Leupold varible w/50mm objective but I can't recall the exact model or powers without digging it out of the closet. I'm thinking it's a 2 to 9 or 3 to 10 Vari X III, however. Rings & bases are also Leupold. Right now, this is the only photo of it I have.

Good job.

From Duwane: Brett Kelly @couesicrew and I chased this buck for several days with different clients. One client missed this buck which was an absolute heartbreak. As a guide you know this is a once in a lifetime type of buck. Brett kept on this buck for five days. He is a tremendous glasser and has developed the ability to dig out big bucks. It would be no different with this monster. He continued to hide in really thick cuts but Brett stayed with it. The fifth day of hunting this brute would be the day that everything would change. Brett walked client Ron Maguire @rrmaguire Into this buck at 32 yards and Ron hammered him! Ron has paid his dues. He’s been out here about 6 different times with the OTC hunts, sometimes guided and sometimes on his own. He booked with us for the first time and this couldn’t have happened for a better guy. Anyone that knows Ron knows he has put in the hard work to set himself up for a buck like this. This buck is a true desert giant. This buck has ton of character with inlines, kickers and mass. Just a flat out stud buck and we couldn’t be happier for Brett and Ron. Great job and congratulations to the both you guys.

That summer sausage looks scrumpious. The last mule deer I killed was in Colo. about 10-12 yrs. ago. I had the local processor in Wellington make the entire thing into two different kinds of summer sausages; one with and one without jalapeno. Both were delicious, but the one with the jalapeno was the best. P.S.: I had to look up the word "charcuterie." Now I feel less ignorant. 😂 Thanks for that.

SOLD

This 256 pg. 1985 Arizona Wildlife Trophies is the fourth edition published by the Arizona Wildlife Federation. It contains a collection of articles, photos, records of Arizona's game animals. There also scoring sheet forms for the various species. It's in like-new, never-read condition. The title page reads: This is book number COMPLIMENTARY of the first printing of 1000 Belonging to _____________________________ I will consider reasonable offers but no trades. Payment via PayPal (buyer doesn't need an acct; just a CC or checking acct.) or cash only. Must be picked up near 67th Ave. & Camelback in Glendale, AZ or shipped at buyer's expense. ($4) SOLD

Nice bull & a very pretty lady. Good job.

Already answered.

????

I've seen porkies and badgers and plenty of coatis, too. Just no live skunks or racoons. I use to catch a bunch of coons in a homemade cage trap at our dumpster when we owned our resort in Colo. I kept one for a couple months but could never get it tamed, so I released it. Exactly. During the late '60s, we camped in Rattlesnake Cove at Bartlett Lake nearly every weekend, and over the years also camped oodles of times at Pleasant, Roosevelt, Apache & Canyon. Narry a coon in sight. Other than the lion I killed after a chase with dogs, I've seen only one other in the wild. That was in about 1966 on the side of a ridge on North Kaibab. I was on another ridge several hundred yards away and watched it chase two does around for five minutes. It never stood still long enough for me to try a shot.

So how unusual would it be to traipse around the entire state in the woods & desert and on the lakes for 50+ years and never see a live racoon or a skunk?? That's exactly what I've done. The only skunk I've seen was dead on the side of the road.

Hmmm, did you not notice that those on pg. 25 are ANTLERLESS or ANY ELK, while those on 24 are BULL ONLY??

Today's installment...

I can row, canoe?

What's that behind you????

In reality, there are a bunch of states where you can hunt OTC deer with a fairly inexpensive NR license. As long as you can drive to them, they're good options. The downside is finding a place to hunt in ones toward the east. As for me enjoying them, those days are sadly over. That's why I'm selling all my hunting, fishing, camping gear & memorabilia I've accumualated over the last 60 years.

I'll see your double telescoping light saber darth vader and raise you a Flash Gordon ray gun, circa 1954.

Without researching, I don't recall all the specifics for deer. I do recall from an article I did a while back that Colorado offers a variety of OTC hunts for elk and antelope, and Utah also sells some OTC for elk.

I would be a hypocrite if I held the same notion since I've hunted and/or fished in at least 39 other states and 11 Canadian provinces. 😉

That big increase for 2020 is probably an anomally that was somewhat caused by the C-19 issues. Lots of folks with nothing better to do than hunt. Still, as I mentioned in that reply, the only way to gauge the OTC deer effect is knowing how many NR OTC deer tags went out the door. Just becasue a NR bought a license, however, doesn't mean (s)he hunted deer or even hunted at all. Outfitter camps catering to NR hunters have been around a long time, especially on the North Kaibab for deer and during the elk season elsewhere. Despite what some folks believe, there ain't any "secret places" anymore. 🤣

I was musing while watching TV last night and figured there's one assumption we could make that has happened since mandatory purchase of a license before applying for the draw came into being: Because they had already bought a license, NRs likely began hunting here more even if they didn't get drawn for the primary species they applied for. That's obviously indicated by the uptick for # 3. BUT...without a thorough survey, it would be difficult to know what they hunted, i.e. maybe birds or maybe archery deer, as some here have surmised. The only way to even begin to know the latter would be knowing the # of NR OTC deer tags that were sold, which Flatlander is attempting to ascertain. Here are some more stats from the USFW annual hunting license reports. 1. Paid Hunting License Holders 2. Resident Hunting Licenses, Tags, Permits and Stamps 3. NR Hunting Licenses, Tags, Permits and Stamps 4. Total Hunting License, Tags,Permits & Stamps 5. Cost - Resident Hunting Licenses, Tags, Permits and Stamps 6. Cost - NR Hunting Licenses, Tags, Permits and Stamps 7. Gross Cost - Hunting Licenses, Tags, Permits and Stamps Year 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 2016 -- AZ 215,444 408,682 37,720 446,402 $11,614,363 $5,621,343 $17,235,706 2017 -- AZ 324,553 483,922 56,116 540,038 $13,803,232 $4,595,765 $18,398,997 2018 -- AZ 305,214 456,140 61,607 517,747 $13,358,303 $4,515,780 $17,874,083 2019 -- AZ 310,392 459,282 66,499 525,781 $13,375,848 $4,612,812 $17,988,661 2020 -- AZ 304,789 426,354 79,727 506,081 $12,431,069 $5,054,435 $17,485,504

Bingo! In the 1960s, my granfather and I hunted quail near Skunk Creek, 100 yds east of I17 & just north of Happy Valley Rd. and we hunted doves just east of and near the fence line of Luke AFB. I encountered & killed my first rattlesnake there. Before I quit 1 1/2 yrs. ago, I was playing golf on a course in the same exact spot. Payson & Pine were sleepy little burgs. It's been years since I hunted Chino Valley where I killed two 'lopes and my son killed his at 10 yrs.old. However, I had a guy who lived there train my GSP two decades later. When I visited there for that, I saw where the ranch we had hunted with permission near the railroad tracks was pretty much built up. I think it was owned by the the Keikeffer (sp?) family. In the early 1980s, we had record rainfalls. Water, water everywhere, and the deer population went nutso. Does were all having twins and their off-spring does were all having twins. Maybe it will happen again someday, but I'll likely not get to see it. 🤣

I'm not sure 20 dead deer by 112 hunters in a unit the size of 1 can be termed a "slaughter." 🤣