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My 16 year old Zane drew a sheep tag this year. it was nowhere on our radar but the hunting gods smiled and the $300 charge was a sight to behold. Tag 1! i immediately reached out to my hunting buddy @buglethemin who had the same tag a few years ago and happens to be a sheep guide with Arizona Desert outfitters, which made the situation a whole lot more doable. On a side note If anyone needs help on a sheep hunt, they are a top notch outfit. We Scouting started in July, and we located some good looking target rams. One of the problems when a 16 year old draws a sheep tag is school. When the hunt finally rolled around, he missed a Friday and a Monday, and we hunted four hard days. But there were final projects, finals, etc. We located a couple possible shooters but not anything that was an immediate go in the first couple days. When we came back the next weekend, we found all the sheep had moved and that many days away between hunts was going to be a problem. We were not able to find the previous rams. After a couple more 12-15 mile days, we were still looking for that mature shooter ram. The late rains and green up and changing weather had them doing strange things. Zane finished finals and we headed back out on Friday the 19th. At this point, he had been in school or hunting sheep for 19 days straight. We had split up to cover different areas.That afternoon, @buglethemin called and said he found a mature ram in a bowl they were glassing. We hurried over (hurry means mile or two hike then 30+ minute drive then more hiking) but got to the other side of the bowl before sunset. The ram and 3 smaller rams came over the top to our side. It was too late to make a play, but we bedded the ram and had a plan for the morning. The next day, we were there before sun up and immediately located the rams. The shooter ram and a smaller ram then immediately went back over into the bowl. We hiked a three mile loop around and picked them back up. We were looking into the sun and the rams never stopped moving, and no shot presented. The rams eventually fed onto the bench on top of the range and moved west where we lost site of them. We climbed the mountain , and started working the edges looking for them. By early afternoon, we had one cut left to cover. About that time, another buddy called and said he had found them in that cut. We worked our way to about 300 yards from the edge they were over. The wind was in our face, and the plan was to wait for them to feed up and cross over and present a shot. It was a great plan, until the wind shifted, blowing directly at them. They spooked down the cliff face. We hurried to the edge, and hurriedly got a range and the rifle set up. The first shot was a miss low, and they ran another hundred yards up the opposing mountain face, bearing the top before they stopped broadside. We got a new range, and Zane sent it. The sheep ran a bit, wobbled, then was down. After 8 hard days of hunting, he had his sheep. Old ram with a ton of character, and a scarred up old nose. Game and fish aged at 9 laying down the 10 ring. i cannot thank the sheep hunting collective of friends and family that showed up to help enough. It was a grind of a hunt but ann amazing one.

Decided to go try a new hunt in Wyoming with a buddy. He has hunted the area a few times and had good success. Arrived on a Friday morning and drove a fair amount of country trying to cut tracks in the snow. The day was a bust on sightings or tracks. Next day we split up and the morning was a bust, however the evening I hiked into a canyon and found a couple bulls and a few cows but last light with no time to make a play. Day 3, I hiked into a drainage near where I spotted the elk the day prior and found 10 bulls. I closed the distance to 270 yards and put 3 bullets in this one. Beautiful country but man the wind sure does blow up there…almost every day it seems. Great cap on an awesome season!

First drop tine I’ve seen in the desert. I don’t post much, thought I’d share

I was able to get out a few weeks ago and check out a new area I’ve had my eyes on. I almost never find sheds, so this was a nice treat. I glassed up this shed at 700 yards away first thing in the morning. I noted the spot and continued to glass as I didn’t want to waste the prime glassing hours. Late morning I went over and picked up the shed, and just on the other side of the bushes was the match. Big or small, finding sheds always gets me excited, especially if I can find the match. Sorry for the sideways pics. I’d fix it if I knew how 🤦🏼‍♂️

Sorry for the late response. Had a family member pass away, and life’s been hectic. We ended up getting the big Bo pass, and we ended up camping in my trailer out there. Before the hunt there was some pretty good rain in that area, which made for some very muddy roads. But it dried up for the most part before the hunt started. In two scouting trips I found 4 different groups of elk, and a few nice bulls. On opening morning we set up on a spot where we had found the biggest bull. It was a nice 6x7 in the 340-360 range. Unfortunately on the way up, my dad fell really hard and landed on the gun. We hoped for the best, but our fears were confirmed. We got a good shot at the bull and my dad missed. We went and sailed the gun back in and went back to work. We never could turn up that bull again, and some other hunters moved in. We went to another few spots, and saw bulls, but they were always too far for a shot. We tried a few walks through the thick stuff, and it was productive. If I had the tag we could have shot a few nice bulls. My dad was always just a few seconds too slow. On day five we lowered our standards, and went to a spot we had seen elk crossing in the mornings, and set up. When I looked through my binos for the first time that morning I instantly saw three bulls. 2 decent 6s and this little goofy bull. My dad couldn’t make out which bull was which, and took the clearest shot. It was a nice 282 yard shot from my shooting tripod I put together for my kids. It was an absolute pleasure getting to help my dad on his last elk hunt, and have my son there with us. His Parkinson’s is definitely getting the better of him, and it was hard to watch him suffer. But he was a trooper and we put 3-4 miles on our boots every day, with some being longer. I just want to say thank you to everyone who offered help, and gave me pointers. I really appreciate it. You guys are awesome. That’s one more great memory I’ll have of my father, and I wouldn’t trade it for any amount of money. My dad figured that since it’s likely his last hunt, he’d have extra jerky made. It’s his favorite thing to eat. The look on the processors face when my dad told him to make half of it into jerky was priceless. 😂

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and a Prosperous New Year to y'all. May your stockings be filled with deer, elk, and antelope tags for 2026.

No sir. My wife, 3 month old baby and I got out opening day. We hiked 6.6 miles and were at a decent spot. It was hot out so we had to stay down by a creek under trees instead of going up our normal hill and getting roasted by the sun. We got to glass for about an hour. Got some good pictures with the baby and hiked back out. Didn't see anything. When we got home I realized I messed up my shoulder some how. We took Saturday and Sunday off. We picked the toddlers up from daycare early Monday and went back out. We hiked all around with all the kiddos played in the creek and had a good time. No glassing was done at all. We drove up to Humbouldt MtN observation and the kids ran around and we got some more good pictures and saw the sunset. We live in the heart of Phoenix so really dont ever see good stars. We drove out slow so it could get dark. We stopped at Sears Kay ruins and the 4-1/2 year old got to see real stars for the first time. We dropped toddlers off at daycare the next day and took the baby with us. Went to a different spot. I hiked up a nice hill and actually got to glass for a while. It was hot and didnt see anything. I could hear and see the wife was having a hard time with the baby. Hiked down and asked her what she wanted to do. She was frustrated and we drove home. My wife let me go solo the last day of the hunt. Was sitting on a hill before the sun came up. Saw three does in the first 30 minutes of light. Never saw another deer. It was 42 degrees when i hiked in and 82 degrees when i hiked out. The thing I have learned about hunting Coues is you need to put in the effort. I have been very successful hiking in to places. With toddlers and a baby it makes it very hard. Will need to wait until they get a little bit older or keep going solo. It was still great to get out with the family.

Here’s some of the antelope that came in this year - all ready to be home by Christmas . Merry Christmas to everyone !

Had a day to goof off Friday and put the boat in the water, ocean was like glass. Hit a school of yellows 12 miles out, and it was non stop for an hour. They tore every hook off our two Sabiki rigs, so we switched to jigs and kept rolling. We landed 22 , and had to lose that many if not more. They weren't the big boys we find further down south, but they sure fought like it. Finally lost the school on the reef.

One of my pest control customers had a remodel going on and this mount fell off the wall and jacked its ears up, and a gash on the backside that can be seen. I saw it in his garage and didn't see it there before and asked what was up. He was gonna take it to the dump. I said heck no I'll take it! Dude killed it in Nevada 40 years ago, treed with dogs and got it with a bow. Dude has probably 100k worth of mounts already and apparently felt it was worth letting go. After some super glue and stain pens this dude is gonna go above the TV in the living room! Gotta repair some of the habitat too. It was a 130 lb Tom. Hopefully when I actually finally kill a lion I can reuse the form and base... Hopefully.

Saw 2 coues bucks harassing the ladies today. Nothing too crazy but enough to get the blood pumping. This was the first time seeing coues bucks with does. 2024 deer hunts_1.mp4

I can not believe all the complaints of the changes. Been abused and finally getting resolved. Some elk camps in 9 all the hunters had crossbows. Archery is true archery now except for the few true exemptions needed. If can’t hunt with a bow then don’t put in for archery.

Glassed muley country today and still found 4 coues bucks. 2 singles and one double. No coues ruttin activity yet. Did find this muley pushing a group of about 10 or so does pretty good throughout the day.

Just returned last week from a Dec hunt. We killed 2 good bucks for it being full moon and hot. Crossing into Mexico and coming back to the USA was super smooth.

That's hardcore. Success isn't always measured by killing something. Good for you guys!!!

Where are the elk at in the otc units? Not looking for a giant just a decent 6 point.

It's almost time to enter your kids!!! Get them entered for a chance to win! Prizes this year are as follows 1st Savage vrx 110 scoped in 308 comes with ammo to get started, vortex 10x42 binos and harness,Gerber multi tool ,hat ,small cooler and more. 2nd Savage axis 2 in 6.5 Creedmoor scoped,ammo,Vortex 10x42 binos, harness, hat,rangefinder,small cooler and more 3rd Stoeger m320 compact 20 gauge,ammo,vortex 10x42 binos, harness and more Rules are simple! Must be Arizona resident All guns must be transferred Healeys in mesa takes care of this for me. Must be able to put in for youth only hunts Sets my age limits ( 10 to 18 ) must be 10 by the time of the first youth elk hunt. **** new is a picture of the kids at the time of transferring **** This will help with future donations For the under 10 kids there's a special draw for a savage rascal 22lr and ammo It's only open to the kids under 10 Entries accepted January 1st Deadline is the last day in August at midnight! Drawing is the first week in September Enter at youthgungiveaway@outlook.com It's all lower case. Make sure to include Your name Your kids name and age And the big one is a contact number . Thanks !!! Complete rules and prize pictures are in the contest and giveaway section here

Got lucky and killed a good buck in NM this year with the drought. Was a very physical hunt and it was a true cat and mouse game with an old solo living stinky old troll buck. Very difficult country but was rewarded.

34a we found several bucks with a big group of does. Some sniffing around but the bucks were still hanging together. Decent pre-rut. 2 bucks took a dirt nap. My phone won’t upload pic for some reason. Will try later and post again.

This little guy on this does tail all over the mtn. IMG_3226.mov

That gypsy band of midget strippers?

Grilled a burger, onions, double cheese, few fat slabs of bacon and bbq sauce with broccolini and garlic, sweet potatoe and some avacado!

Steve, I am local here. 2nd week of this hunt is best as training activities will be low, thus more open areas. Download Fort Huachuca off Avenza maps (isportsman) if you haven’t already. Call or shoot a text tomorrow and we can discuss some of the areas that produce decent deer. 520-two six six-1312. bill

So after a month between when we found the bull and when I went back in and got a look . He had been cleaned up by the scavengers . Not much left of him at all . I did recover the head and give it my best at a euro . I do think it came out good but it's definitely not something I would do again. It's a chore and it's better for me to just pay to have it done . What do you think?