Unit 10 Big Bull Success and Family Fun

Travis Bedlion's big bull.

Phil's 400 class bull
Travis with Phil's big bull

We sure had a great time in unit 10 for the late bull elk hunt. My whole family and father-in-law was able to be at camp and enjoy Thanksgiving along with Travis Bedlion and his hunter Phil Burch. We deep fried a turkey and had all the trimmings with it- the best Thanksgiving I have ever spent in the woods! The hunt was a great success as well. Phil harvested and absolute monster unit 10 bull on the first morning of the hunt. This bull scores 380 7/8 SCI and has at least 20 inches of broken points. Travis killed another great bull on the second morning. His bull would have been mid 360's but had broken his right antler off after the 4th point. As most late hunts go in unit 10 most of the bulls were really broken up. I was able to harvest a nice bull with my boys and father in law watching the whole thing early opening morning. The look on my 3 year old Levi's face was priceless after the shot. He was all smiles (and really cold!!) After the shot we went back to camp and picked up the rest of my family so all could enjoy the fun of packing one out (haha). This is also about the time my oldest came down with the flew and started throwing up- he was quite a trooper as he hiked all the way back into the bull and helped pack it out. Enjoy the pics. We had 1000 inches of bone in camp within 24hrs!! The regulations are coming out soon for elk and antelope so if you are looking for a great hunt give Bedlion Outfitters (928-606-1788 Jim) (928-220-1282 Travis) or Preston Mercer (928-970-0041)a call.

Here is a pic of nearly 1000 inches of antler from the first 24hrs in unit 10 during the late rifle hunt.

Levi helping cut up the bull.
All the boys!!

One happy little hunter!

Left over cous tag with the boys

My boys and I were able to spend some quality time together down in southern AZ during the first week of November. I bought a left over coues tag for unit 36A and we braved the nasty storm front that moved in on the opener. My boys Coleden (8), Garrett (6) and Levi (4 in December) all enjoyed the time in the sonoran desert. We saw a lot of does (64 in a day and a half) and one buck. I told the boys that I would shoot the first buck we saw and held true to my word with the buck you see here. I am still surprised that we didn't see more bucks with all the does we glassed, but that's public land coues hunting. I sure wouldn't trade the experience for anything. I enjoyed every minute of it and hope there are a lot more hunts to come (except for the 40-50 mph winds).

6B Early Rifle Bull

Brandt killed a great bull on his early rifle bull elk hunt in 6B. On the first morning of the hunt Brandt was able to connect on a great 364 typical 6x6 bull elk. 6B has been on the declince as of the last few years due to a huge increase in tag allocation, yet Brandt, Travis Bedlion and myself were able to harvest a great bull. This bull had 57 and 58 inch beams, was 44 inches inside and had 29 inches of mass per side. A great bull and a very fun hunt!

Joe Fisher takes a nice bull elk

Joe Fisher had the good fortune to be drawn for late rifle bull elk in central Arizona this fall. Joe and I made the most of a pretty tough and over hunted unit by bagging a very respectable 330 class bull north of Payson on the first day of the hunt. Although a fairly short hunt we had a great time and will remember the pack out for a long time to come. Congratulations Joe on a fine bull!

Successful Muzzleloader Hunt

I was fortunate to be able to take Wes Jensen on his early muzzleloader hunt in central Arizona at the end of September. Wes is a great guy and was a lot of fun to hunt with. I was able to find a few good bulls before the season began, but as a lot of you have experienced the bulls were really broken up by the time the hunt came around. Wes was able to harvest this nice bull at 15 yards. As you can imagine he didn't travel far after being hit with a 250 grain slug at that distance. Way to go Wes and thanks for the fun hunt.

Successful Bear Hunt

Two of my boys and I were fortunate to be able to hunt bears with Jim Bedlion and his son Travis a couple of weekends ago. We sure had a great time as we treed a couple of bears and were able to harvest a great bear with a bow. My boys can't quit talking about it. We estimated the weight of the bear to be around 300 pounds. If anyone is looking for a great over the counter hunt here in Arizona I highly recommend Jim and his dogs for a lion or a bear. His dogs are second to none on dry ground and his long history of success speaks for itself. Last year he killed over 30 lions in Arizona!! (thats good news for a guy that likes coues and mulies!)

Kaibab Turkey Hunt

I was fortunate to get a turkey tag for the North Rim this spring. My boys, father in-law and I headed up this past weekend and braved the bad weather. We had a great time and I was able to harvest this nice tom on saturday at 1230 with my boys just up the hill listening. My eldest son found this unique horned toad while shooting his bb gun in camp. Hope you enjoy the photos.