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.

Arizona Draw Results Up

Arizona Draw Results Are Up

If you are one of the fortunate Arizona bull elk tag holder this could be the best year we have seen in a long time. Well above average precipitation should make this years’ antler growth outstanding. I just wanted to tell you all about the units I think hold be the best chance at a 400 inch class bull. Units 9, 10 and 23 are, in my opinion, the best chance at a giant bull this fall. These are my favorite units to hunt during the rut. Unit 9 has a great abundance of 320-360 class bulls and usually has a great rut. Unit 10 is more glassable and has had incredible rut activity in the past, hopefully this year won’t be the exception (320-360+ bulls common). Unit 23N is a great unit with a good number of 300-350 bulls with the capability of 400+ inches and has the lightest hunting pressure of all of these units. I think a couple of giants will be killed in each of these units between the archery and early rifle hunts. Any unit in Arizona may produce a trophy class bull this fall (350 inches and up) with the feed that will be available. I will be available to guide in these units and others if you are interested.