My good friend and co-conspirator John Coit is putting out some great videos. He and some of the other guys are really getting this down to a science - shooting video and slaying gobblers.

Have a look at their stuff America’s Outdoorsman

If you are an outdoor related company - guns, bows, camo, optics, etc., then we should talk. I am a freelance outdoor writer and I specialize in press releases, profile articles, web content, and more - for rates far less than the big marketing companies charge.

I can be contacted at mmacATcenazcom.net Don’t use “AT” though - use @ hehehe

Also, I have a products category on this site. I’m happy to look at your product and provide reviews, profiles, etc. I will start posting those soon.

Of course, we do have advertising for sale as well.

Thanks for stopping by!

Those of you who know me may know that my political leanings are definitely right of center. My friend Arthur Majoor is running for Mayor in the City of London, Ontario. His platform is fiscally conservative with a little libertarian mixed in. His site can be found at Arthur Majoor

Javelina Carnitas
With a Tomatillo Mole

2 lbs. Javelina, cut into 1″ cubes
2 Tbsp Cooking oil
1 medium onion, diced
2 Jalapenos, diced
3 large garlic cloves
2 tsp salt
1/2 teaspoon dried leaf oregano, crushed
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp garlic salt
2 Tbsp flour
1 Beer
1/2 Cup Orange Juice
Chicken Stock to cover meat

Place meat in a 3-quart pot. Add water to cover, onion, garlic, Jalapeno, salt, oregano and cumin. Bring to a boil, reduce heat. Cover and simmer 2 hours and until meat is tender. Uncover and cook in high heat until water is gone. Add cooking oil. Fry meat until it turn’s light brown. Sprinkle with garlic salt and flour. Fry additional 2 minutes stirring frequently.

Serve with a Tomatillo Mole (recipe below) and a side of steamed white rice, make flour tortilla burritos and top with sour cream if desired.

Tomatillo Mole

2 Lbs cooked Tomatillos (canned works well)
2 Cloves Garlic
1 Medium onion, diced
1 tsp Cumin, ground
1/4 cup Cilantro Chopped
2 Jalapenos, diced
1 tsp salt
2 Cups Chicken Stock
8 corn tortillas

Place onions into a 2-quart saucepot, sauté until translucent, add Tomatillos, garlic, onion, cumin, jalapenos, salt, and chicken stock. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes to combine flavors. Cut tortillas into four pieces and add to Mole. Cook for an additional 5 minutes; blend with a hand blender, or in a food processor.
Enjoy!

We’re quickly building an Arizona website Arizona Hunting Today and will be needing contributions. Send me your tips, photos, stories, recipes, whatever!

Attached to the website, we have also created a message board - to visit, go to Message Board

We’re part of a large family of central sites, message boards and blogs that are spreading rapidly across North America! To learn more about what other states are up to, visit US Hunting Today

I went on my first elk hunt last year, and it sucked. (Well, I sucked). I’m hoping for a chance to redeem myself this year, but odds aren’t in my favor.

Hopefully, I’ll draw something!

Anyone else getting squirrely?

Volunteer for wildlife: Check out the opportunities with Game and Fish

Are you an outdoors enthusiast? Would you like to learn more about Arizona’s wildlife? Do you have outdoor skills you would like to share?

If so, you may want to check out the opportunities that are periodically available through the Arizona Game and Fish Department’s Volunteer Program. The program assists department personnel in accomplishing their duties and provides opportunities for volunteers to participate in wildlife and resource recreation management.

The department has also produced a new “Volunteer for Wildlife” brochure, available at all department offices, which describes the program.

“There are a variety of opportunities that become available at different times of the year,” says Sandy Reith, the department’s volunteer coordinator. “These include habitat restoration and cleanup projects, Adopt-A-Ranch projects, work with our boating safety, sport fishing, hunter education and shooting sports programs, and volunteer work either at the Adobe Mountain Wildlife Center or the Ben Avery Shooting Facility.”

Specific projects and opportunities are posted on the department’s Web site at azgfd.gov/volunteer. More information is available by contacting the department’s volunteer coordinator, Sandy Reith, at [email protected] or (602) 789-3680.

Arizona Outdoor Hall of Fame Banquet set for Aug. 25

Make plans to attend the ninth annual Arizona Outdoor Hall of Fame Induction Banquet at the Scottsdale Resort and Conference Center, Friday, Aug. 25. Three individuals and two organizations will be honored for their outstanding contributions to Arizona’s natural heritage.

Sponsored by the Wildlife for Tomorrow Foundation, the induction ceremony and fund-raising banquet will start at 6 p.m. at the Scottsdale Resort and Conference Center, 7700 E. McCormick Parkway, Scottsdale. This year’s honorees are:

Bonnie Swarbrick
Bill Quimby
Richard “Dick” Brown
Salt River Project
Phoenix Herpetological Society
Tickets for the gala evening, which will also include door prizes and a silent auction, cost $65 per person ($650 for a table of 10) and can be ordered by calling Wildlife for Tomorrow at (623) 399-8721.

Bighorn Sheep Workshop Dates Announced

News Media
Jun 16, 2006

Hatchery tour available to those interested

KINGMAN, Ariz. — The majestic bighorn sheep of Arizona will be the feature presentation on consecutive weekends at the Arizona Game and Fish Department’s Kingman regional office.

The annual Bighorn Sheep Workshop offers wildlife enthusiasts an opportunity to learn about these sure-footed animals and view them in their native habitat during two separate two-day workshops on July 28-29 and Aug. 4-5.

The first day of each workshop involves mandatory classroom education from 6-8 p.m. at the Kingman Game and Fish office, followed the next day by a field trip on the Colorado River from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. The sheep-viewing boat trip will depart from Willow Beach.

These popular workshops are open to the public, but space is limited to 40 people per session. Preference will be given to those who have not attended the workshop in the last two years, but those who have participated are still encouraged to apply for a spot.

For more info see : Workshop

We all know that these are tense times in the southwest, due to drought, years of forest mismanagement, and a host of other factors.

For up to date forest fire info, here are some useful links:

Southwest Coordination Center

National Fire News

AZ Fire Info

Arizona Wildfire Situation Reports

Fire Restrictions

Please be careful when outdoors. Much of Arizona is listed as High or Extreme when it comes to fire danger.

Personal Note: I used to be a smoker, but throwing cigarette butts out of vehicles is beyond stupid and irresponsible. People caught doing this should be shot with a ball of their own fecal matter. If you witness this, write down their license plates and call the cops. Stupid. Arrggghhhh

Take action to support funding for wildlife conservation
June 21, 2006

Dear Wildlife Conservationist:

Arizona’s wildlife urgently needs your help! Please help secure funding for programs necessary to ensure that the next generation of Arizonans has as diverse and wonderful a fish and wildlife legacy to enjoy and pass on as we do.

As humans flock to the Southwest, for a thousand good reasons, wildlife habitat and wildlife populations face greater and greater pressures. Even the wildlife-friendliest of developments, whether rural or urban, inevitably impact some species in ways that lead to population losses. Fortunately, it is not too late to ensure that the Arizona Game and Fish Department has sufficient funds to meet the rising challenge of responsible stewardship of Arizona’s wildlife public trust.

Funding wildlife conservation on a statewide basis is not an easy task. Arizonans from a variety of backgrounds and interests have been working for a decade or more to ensure that diverse sources of funds are dedicated to wildlife conservation. Despite rising costs, inflation, and huge problems with habitat loss, a strong public-private partnership is helping many species hold their own, while some others gain ground that has been lost over time. Even so, some species continue to decline and need help in holding their own.

If you are interested in wildlife conservation and in working to protect Arizona’s invaluable wildlife legacy, please visit www.azgfd.gov/signup and subscribe to “Working for Wildlife,” a self-subscription newsletter the Department is establishing to keep the public apprised of efforts to secure the funding needed to meet the challenge. Whether game, sportfish, nongame, or endangered species, Arizona’s wildlife needs your help right now, more than ever. So, please sign up for the newsletter and keep abreast of how you can pitch in.

Meanwhile, there is something that every Arizonan can do, right now!

For the past several years, Congress has funded a program of State Wildlife Grants that allocate federal funds directly to state wildlife agencies and tribal governments. These funds are dedicated to wildlife conservation efforts that states have previously been unable to fund from their traditional revenue sources. As you might know, Arizona is typical of many states. Its state wildlife agency, the Arizona Game and Fish Department, receives no General Fund tax monies. The Department’s programs are funded primarily by hunting and fishing license sales, matching funds from federal taxes on various sporting goods, a voluntary nongame wildlife checkoff on our state income tax form, and specific annual allocations from the Arizona Lottery and the Indian Gaming Fund (casino revenues). All told, these revenue streams total about $60 million per year, perhaps half of what is needed to stem the tide of wildlife habitat and species losses.

The State Wildlife Grants Program has provided about $1.5 million in federal funds to Arizona in each of the past few years. These funds require the state wildlife agency to match the federal commitment on a dollar-for-dollar basis for on-the-ground projects, and on a 3:1 (federal:state) ratio for planning projects. State Wildlife Grants funds enabled Arizona and the other 55 states and territories to complete Wildlife Action Plans last year that will guide the next decade of wildlife conservation by state wildlife agencies and their partners.

Unfortunately, State Wildlife Grants funds for the coming year are in great jeopardy. The U.S. House of Representatives has recommended a severe cut in the 2007 budget requested for this program. Only strong support from the U.S. Senate can restore the appropriation to the requested level of $85 million, a modest increase over last year. If the funds are not restored in the next few weeks, much of the Arizona Wildlife Action Plan that was just completed (at Congress’ request) will gather dust on the shelf instead of stimulating much-needed growth and recovery of wildlife habitats and wildlife populations. You can help make the right thing happen!

Please, take a minute and call your Arizona senators, the Honorable John McCain and the Honorable Jon Kyl. Ask them to aggressively support the State Wildlife Grants Program by restoring the funds cut by the House of Representatives. Ask your friends, neighbors, and the organizations to which you belong to call, too. It’s easy. It’s needed. It’s time to take action.

Both Senator McCain and Senator Kyl can be reached through the Capitol Switchboard, at (202) 224-3121. Other, local phone numbers for the senators are listed below. You can also send an e-mail, or even a letter or postcard, but post-911 security procedures may prevent letters and cards sent through postal mail from arriving in time.

I found this online at Archerytalk:

The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) is allowing the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) to place its anti-animal use rhetoric on postage stamps, and use money gained from the sale of the stamps to further its anti-hunting, anti-animal use mission. Sportsmen’s action is needed immediately to stop this outrage.

Zazzle.com, the company offering the HSUS stamps, reports that through its Community Giving Program 20 percent, or more, of the sales of the HSUS stamps goes to the HSUS.

Earlier this year, Congress amended an 1872 law that forbade advertisements on U.S. currency, including postage stamps. The amendment paved the way for an experimental one-year trial period allowing companies such as Endicia.com, Stamps.com and Zazzle.com to offer customizable stamps via the Internet. These stamps can be printed with everything from baby photos to corporate logos, and in the case of the HSUS stamps, anti-animal use slogans.

Sportsmen must stop this now! Every penny earned through such fundraisers is another penny that will be used to bring an end to hunting, fishing and trapping in the United States.

Contact the USPS and make your outrage known! Send letters to Postmaster General John Potter, 475 Lenfant Plaza SW, Washington, D.C., 20260-0010. Faxes can be sent to Mr. Potter at (202) 268-5211. Convince him that it is unacceptable for the USPS to promote and raise money for the HSUS.

Most importantly, call, write and fax your U.S. senators and congressman. Let them know that you expect them to put an end to this exploitation of the U.S. Mail to benefit an inflammatory organization such as the HSUS.

So, I did some research, and did indeed find this, via a search of Zazzle.com

The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) is the nation’s largest animal protection organization. Whether we’re protecting the animal victims of disasters, promoting the lifelong bonds between pets and their people, raising awareness about the needs of farm animals, or fighting to save wildlife - including seals - we depend upon the help and support of people who care about animals. With this HSUS postage, you can send a message on three important issues: the need to help animals in a disaster, the effort to stop the killing of baby seals, and the ability to improve the lives of farm animals.

20% of the net sale for all Humane Society Postage goes to support the programs of The Humane Society of the United States. Net sale is defined as the difference between the sale value and the face value of the postage.

For more information regarding The Humane Society of the U.S. programs and services, please visit www.hsus.org, or write to: The Humane Society of the U.S., 2100 L Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20037