Outdoor Writer

I know someone who lives on the westside of the valley that does leatherwork on the side. I've seen some of his work; he's very good. BUT...right now I'm in Mazatlan, Mex. so don't have his contact info at hand. We'll be home Nov. 5. If you don't locate someone by then, let me know.

A bit late, but nonetheless...........

Dead on!! Not necessary. TSA locks on an other luggage, however

Way to go, Noah. You and the other junior hunters of today are the future of hunting tomorrow.

Kyle should be proud of a fine trophy. Nice job to all involved.

That's what it's all about right there. I'm guessing your son has a name, so kudos to ________ for getting it done.

Here ya go: http://www.coueswhitetail.com/forums/topic/42282-fs-bushnell-yardage-pro-1000/ http://www.coueswhitetail.com/forums/topic/42276-fs-bushnell-yardage-pro-scout/ Will consider a reasonable offer.

John O'Dell, the small game guy at AZGF, has collected every species/subspecies of squirrel in U.S. I was at Chris Krueger's (Krueger Creations) dropping off my sheep while John was there picking up a couple squirrels. A few days later I brought the sheep horns to G&F to get plugged, and John did it for me.That's when I found out about his squirrel collection. As an aside he told me Kris was the best sqirrel taxidermist he's ever used. But be aware, he is not cheap. IOW, you get what you pay for.

Brad Penas poses with what could be Minnesota's next top elk. Brad Penas of Moorhead, Minnesota considered himself lucky enough that he had drawn an elk hunting license for the season, but the fact that he may have bagged a state record on his first hunt for the animal is just starting to sink in. Penas, 45, hunted Minnesota’s famed Kittson County, which produced two of the four largest elk ever found in the state. Elk were reintroduced to Minnesota in the first half of the twentieth century and thrived especially in Kittson County thanks to a land purchase in 1993 by the Nature Conservancy. Prescribed burns and conservation efforts produced wide stretches of grassland and other habitat well-suited to elk, which led to more healthy animals. So it is no surprise that elk hunters value the land so highly, or that licenses are in such high demand in the Midwestern state. “I applied the first time in 2008 but did not get drawn,” Penas told OutdoorHub. “I never applied again until this year because I would always forget about it until the deadline date, but luckily—and unbelievably to me—I got drawn this time. It’s an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.” Penas grew up near Kittson County and he met up with old friend Marty Lieberg to prepare for the hunt. Although Penas now serves as a Lieutenant in the Moorhead Police Department further to the south, he is familiar with the area and had hunted there before for deer. Elk were a whole new game for Penas, which is why he requested Lieberg’s help in pursuing the animals. For weeks prior to the season opener, Penas and Lieberg scouted the area. A few friends who work as local outfitters were invaluable in their search, but the hunters’ first week of scouting still ended dismally with no sightings and little to go on. Penas hunkered down and prepared for a long slough. Then, during their second week in the area, he spotted three different bulls. One of them stood out from the rest. “He was pretty distinctive,” Penas recalled. “He had white tips on his racks and he was really wide, really mammoth in size.” Pictured from left to right are Ben Lieberg, Marty Lieberg, and Brad Penas. The bull was spotted again later on by friends of Penas, at a much closer distance. They confirmed that the elk was monster-sized. On the day of the season opener, September 14, Penas returned to the woods with Lieberg and a Remington Model 700 chambered in .270 Winchester. The wind was working against them, forcing the pair to change up their plans. “The wind was a big disadvantage for us, definitely not in our favor,” Penas said. “We decided that at sunup we would work our way into the area and try not to spook any elk. About a mile in we were skirting the edges of swampland and we paused. We heard a bugle. It didn’t sound far. About 300 yards later I noticed the animal skulking through the trees. We made our way towards the sound and lo and behold, I saw large antlers sticking out of the brush.” It was the chance that Penas had been waiting for. With the elk only 70 yards away, he had barely any time to react. What Penas did have, however, was an excellent shot. “It was a real beauty shot and I took it,” the hunter explained. “The elk went down. At the end of the day, there was a lot of luck involved, and to use an old cliché, I was at the right place at the right time.” It was also the right animal, and possibly one for the record books. The next step was getting the elk of the woods, and since the Nature Conservancy does not allow motorized vehicles on its land, moving the animal was going to be a problem. “That was a challenge,” Penas said. “We shot it on the Nature Conservancy’s land but it was 70 yards from private land. Fortunately I was able to track down the owner and they allowed us access.” Penas and Lieberg returned to area with several friends and ended up hauling the bull 70 yards to the private property, where it was loaded onto a trailer for transport. The animal’s size was overwhelming. “When we saw him the first time we knew he was a very big animal,” Penas said. “We didn’t know what to expect up close and when we found him it really hit us what we had.” Brad Penas (left) is all smiles after bagging this bull elk. The elk weighed 820 pounds field-dressed and Penas estimated that it would have weighed over a thousand pounds before. The rack was even more stunning, with a gross green score of 433 and initial net green score of 404 on the Boone and Crockett Club (B&C) typical American elk scale. The scoring was done by the same taxidermist that is now preparing the elk for mounting. Penas says that the results are not yet official, as B&C requires a mandatory 60-day drying period before an official scoring can be conducted. “I think it’s going to be pretty accurate, I’ll probably lose a few points but we’ll see what happens when it dries out,” Penas said. One possible complication is the seventh tine on the rack’s left side, which extends 13 inches from the main beam. Because of this, the elk’s net green score was knocked down to 391. “When we first did the math we came up with 404 points and at that point, a lot of elk hunters thought we were kidding. [When] you hit 400 points, that’s a very large animal.” According to B&C records, Minnesota’s largest typical elk came in at a net score of 371-6/8. Penas remarked that his elk will likely receive an official scoring sometime around mid-November. When asked what he plans on doing with his possible record bull, the policeman said “That’s a darn good question.” A shoulder mount of a 1,000-pound animal is bound to take up space, and Penas is not sure if there is room for such a beast in his house. “There’s only one level in my house that’s going to support it and that’s on my wife’s level,” Penas said with a chuckle. “I’ll figure that out down the road.” Perhaps positive results in November and a state record will earn the bull a place in the Penas residence. For now, the hunter will just enjoy the memories of a successful first elk hunt. Images courtesy Brad Penas

http://www.snopes.com/politics/medical/kithil.asp http://voices.washingtonpost.com/fact-checker/2011/01/judges_letter_on_health_care.html

I have quite a bit of it laying around, but it'll take me a couple of few days to find most of it. Most is once-fired, but there could be some mixed in that was reloaded once at most. I'll see what I can find over the next few days.

I have one for my Pioneer license, but I had to pay $5 for it.

Given the terrain, that's a critter to test any hunter, even one with a rifle. Your videos reminded me of this photo of wild goats on the face of a dam in Italy.

Here's a bit more that might help: Two males and one pregnant female captured in the wild in Mexico from 1977 to 1980 and the uncaptured mate of the pregnant female founded the certified captive population of Mexican wolves. In 1995, the Mexican Wolf Recovery Team approved the addition of two other captive Mexican wolf lineages, representing four additional founders, into the certified population, based on state-of-the-art genetic analysis. One is known as the Ghost Ranch lineage, some of which were kept and bred at the Ghost Ranch Living Museum in northern New Mexico; the other is the Aragon lineage based at the Aragon Zoo in Mexico City. As of March, 1996, the total certified captive population in the three lineages stood at 139 animals; 114 are held at 24 facilities, mostly zoos and wildlife sanctuaries, in the United States and 25 are held at five facilities in Mexico. The FWS also has a captive population management facility on the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge in central New Mexico to hold surplus wolves from the other facilities (USFWS 1994a). These surplus animals would be the potential release stock if the FWS undertakes the proposed reintroduction effort. The Mexican Wolf Recovery Program All Mexican wolves to be released will come from the captive population, which now numbers 114 animals maintained in 24 zoos and wildlife sanctuaries in the United States. The Mexican Wolf Species Survival Plan (SSP) Management Group, made up of representatives from those facilities, coordinates the population’s management. Cooperation also occurs with the managers of a smaller population in Mexican zoos. The wolves have exhibited no major genetic, physical, or behavioral problems affecting their fitness resulting from captivity (Siminski 1994a, see Appendix K - Fish and Wildlife Service Response to Dennis Parker’s Comment on the DEIS). The SSP Management Group has paired the certified population for maximum breeding potential every breeding season since 1990 (Siminski 1994b). Also, the FWS has undertaken genetic analysis of two other captive lineages. In 1995, the Mexican Wolf Recovery Team found these other two lineages to be pure Mexican wolves and recommended that they be added to the certified Mexican wolf population, to enhance its genetic diversity as well as its size. The SSP Management Group’s goal of having at least 100 certified animals in the U.S. captive population prior to a reintroduction effort has been exceeded. The population is ready to support a reintroduction effort.

Jeff, Rather than rely on misleading rumors, do yourself a favor and research the subject on your own. Here's a good place to start in regards to the "bloodlines." The section that begins on pg. 24 is quite pertinent. http://www.fws.gov/southwest/es/mexicanwolf/pdf/Mexican_Wolf_RP_1982.pdf And this link provides all sorts of info on the reintroduction. http://www.fws.gov/southwest/es/mexicanwolf/documents.cfm

I quite unique bull. Good job of getting it done.

Oh, I think I have a pretty decent grasp of reading comprehension. It isn't a case of not understanding what was stated; it's a case of not agreeing with it. To wit, it will do zilch to create more "opportunity" without adding permits somewhere. If there are 200 permits for a 20-day season, and they are split to 100 per 10-day season, the "opportunity" has remained the same. And regardless how one applies, the odds of drawing a permit will not change. In fact, what will result is a trade-off of sorts: there will be fewer hunters in the unit for each 10-day season but it will also remove 10 hunting days for all 200 permit holders. I would label that as less hunting opportunity than the original single season.

Where can I buy one those calculators that create something out of nothing?

Great trophy! Congrats.

Very, very nice, whether it was your first or your 20th. Way to go.

Nice trophy. Congrats to John.

Nice work, Dale.

That's a very fine first bull. Well done..

Congrats! That's a good bull.

Very nice. Congrats.