NoFear,
Uhhhh....my ht. & wt were exact. Just like my archery accuracy! So what that's not so big. I only mentioned it because I have been physically able to get a lot more done than my hunting friends as far as hiking, backpacking, haulin. But I think it's more because I've worked out regular and done physical work my whole life. I still play 10-12 pickup games of roundball with the boys in the hood each week. They call me "Old School". I am embarassed to say I have guarded several kids from my son's HS class recently. Coached them in soccer 10 years ago! That is pretty bad. I think it's time to quit. I've done this regardless of one severed ACL in my left knee (8 years ago), and 30% of my cartiledge in my right knee removed (9 years ago). Also the year I had the back problem in NM, forgot to mention I had an angiogram (came up clean) 8 days before I left. I was not able to exercise while healing in prep of that trip. Doc didn't want me to go. I'm not one to let physical problems slow me down, and I push myself to the limit. I think it's healthy, just like the mountain air!
I find your comments about whitetail pretty odd. Every time me or anyone else mentions you are free to apply for whitetail here, the animal seems to get zero respect in replys, as if it is some kind of inferior varmit. I don't get this because we got the biggest a$$ whitetails in the world in our breadbasket of the country. You are free to apply for those tags, and I would urge you to give it a try. Some of your fellow residents have, I've met them in Illinois. The tags aren't always easy to get, but you can draw a top unit in Iowa or Kansas every 2nd or 3rd year. Illinois every other year if you have speed-dial!
Of my 4 hunts, only one you would be ineligible for, and that is a 2 day park hunt in Indianapolis (I've complained beacause NR were not allowed). The other is a two day military gun hunt for which you could apply. These are both draw hunts with a 50% chance if you have a bow-ed card. I did not draw these yet - just spplied. May not get either. My 3rd deer tag is the regular IN tag, one buck only. 3 best weeks of archery followed by 2 weeks of gun. You can get one of these OTC. I hunt my private 40 acres in Porter County, and drive an hour to get to a public land wildlife area. Not great trophy areas. Maybe comparable to your hog or coues deer hunts? My 4th deer hunt is the best! That is an Illinois archery tag. I will be hunting federal land where you are eligible to hunt any time. This is where I saw the two B&C bucks last week.
It's been mentioned to me several times I can just hop on a plane and fly down there to take your AZ hunter's ed class to gain my permanent bonus point. No big deal. Well if it is indeed that simple, I'd definitely encourage you to hop on a plane to Midway Airport, because this spot is only an hour from there! Just a cab drive. You do that and you are welcome to hunt my land too. I wait in line like everyone else to draw Iowa and Kansas. Seen AZ hunters in both those places too.
As far as trash pickup, I have to laugh. Each day when I returned from elk hunting in NM my buddy got a kick out of all the junk I dump out of my fanny pack. Been doin that for years. Makes me feel like one of those granola crunching Sierra clubbers! On the contrary, I really have been disgusted by mainly yocal locals dumping SERIOUS trash in canyons I have seen; Washing machines, bottles, glass, car parts, refrigerators, transmissions, ovens. I took video pictures once in NM it was such a sad sight. Why the hell do these people have to drop off appliances off a 60' cliff? How many of these people do you think hauled their refrigerators from Indiana or Illinois? With regards to a better hunting comp, I can't tell you how many times I have been disgusted by yocal local bear hunters in several states. I'm talking about beer drinking, can throwin hillbillys. When I was at the Book Cliffs these two guys stopped to ask me if I had seen any bear (I had one in bow range one hour earlier). I told them ya on the other side of the unit. He had his tailgate open and beer cans were falling out all over the place as he departed. I picked them all up and swore to myself what an ***hole. Even complained to a CO there they shouldn't even have both seasons open at the same time with this going on. The R elk hunters thought the same thing.
BTW, the kids from the community college hauled my junk collection off that NM mountain too, for free. So something good came out of it! Afterwards I mailed letters to both the college president and rescue instructor. What a way to go. Pretty girls from all over the world, feeding me water and fish crackers all the way down the mountain! Not bad at all.
