Taking any advice on Arizona 16a

[Mustangs Rule]

I have a pair of turtle skin gaiters. They help you walk with a little more confidence in snakes country and while warm, are not as miserable as snake boots.

I checked them out, they look very workable. What I like about my Chippewa snake boots are the non-lugged soles with softer rubber for stalking. When new, I used a sander to take off the sharp edge again for more silent walking.

The leather upper being smoother, does not grab at brush and make that hint of scratching sound.

What is a pain, is putting them on again when they get a little damp and are no longe dry-slick, and allow my foot to slide in easy, especially so if my socks are damp.

I keep always keep a spare pair of dry cotton socks and a small container of talcum powder which when sprayed in allows them to be put on easy.

I really do not find them to be hot and sweaty. The leather is strong enough to stand up like as stove pipe without being tied tight at the top, thus air moves through. Ideal, in the heat no way! Hard to beat Clarks classic Desert Chukka ankle high boots but they offer no snakebite protection.

 

[Mustangs Rule]

Here are a few more tips regarding desert big game hunting that might seem counter intuitive.

Bring a small container of the most potent mosquito repellent. The Arizona Tropical Monsoons go from mid-summer to the end of September. With climate change these tropical rains are going on longer, stronger and being pushed further north.

The mosquitoes these storms bring up from the jungles are the meanest little biting tropical disease carrying bastards ever. All over the desert hi and low are these mucky cow ponds and these mosquitoes' lay eggs that hatch in a few days plus eggs from last season hatch.

The worst ever mosquito explosions i have ever experienced have been when on our SW Deserts after a monsoon rain. Just unsufferable.

Next in your scouting keep your eyes open for caves or big rock piles that never get a hint on sunlight. These rocks get real chilled overnight and are great places to stash meat. They are not cold but cool and every degree helps.

Next, there are times when tracking takes you through a ravine, and you of course check for falling or rising thermals before going in with a squeeze bottle full of ashes.

Be careful hunting these areas with long stretches of cold boulders. They can reverse a weak rising thermal, and cause your scent to drop right into a lower mesquite grove where deer and desert elk are feeding on sweet mesquite pods. That happened to me, blew away two days of tracking and spooked a herd.

Lastly, and this may be ancient history, our desert southwest used to have lots of outhouses everywhere.

Before using one, take stick and circle the crapper hole to break up a web a black widow spider spins to catch incoming shit seeking flies. Women are safe but without breaking up the spider web, a man's manhood could disturb the web, bring the black widow out and get bitten.

This is not BS. I still have an old Arizona health bulletin warning about this. It is not life threatening, but from infection and necrosis of tissue often the first inch had to be amputated.

Have fun !!!,,,have lots of fun,,,I sure do miss my great solo "Sky Island" desert hunts so long ago with my .257 Roberts