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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.

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 🤦🏼‍♂️

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.

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

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.

Steve Ward, the founder of your outfitting company, currently has his license revoked for 5 years from azgfd. STFU

You guys are the best! Thank you all for being you and may you all have the most joyful and wonderful Holidays ever! May God bless each of you and your families and friends. Yes, even the keyboard giants! Thank you all for your associations, dealings, friendships and advice! You ARE the BEST!!!!!

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

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

Figured id post here to reach the largest audience. If anybody is looking for a sandhill crane guide in the future I strongly discourage using Wards Outfitter, calling themselves a crane guide is bold. I have never used them for other hunts so cant speak to that, but after my experience I wouldn't be booking any hunt with them. When booking a few weeks after being drawn I was told they keep blinds at 4-6 people and hunt over decoys. We paid to stay in his hunter lodging which included dinner, day of we were put in a nearby motel, no dinner. Still not major, but two of us paid, hotel room was half the cost of what we had paid him for lodging, so he made money there. Morning of the hunt we meet where we were told to find 10-12 guys loading up. Thinking maybe we are splitting up everybody, hits the road. Arrive at the spot, everybody is hunting together plus 3 “guides”. At this point its almost light out, they say alright lets hike this way. We walk about 100yrds to a fence line and they say “everybody find a bush to hide in” me and my buddy are looking at each other like are they serious? At this point we might as well be dove hunting. No decoys, no blinds, no calls. We are told to wait until the birds clear the fence to shoot, which puts them nearly vertical. Sun comes up, lots of birds are flying, but about 800yrds to the west and 500yrds to the east. They were avoiding the smoke stacks of the plant that the guides had put us in front of. Guides had us move around after about 45min of watching birds fly by, pretty hard to do w that many guys trying to follow. almost had a few birds fly over, but some young kid in the group shot when they were about 2-300yrds away. for the early afternoon guide brings us to another spot and says the birds sometimes hit this pond, its just a little walk. Sends us in the direction, turns out it was 1.75mi. Sat the tank from 11-2:30, no birds in sight. Get back to the truck about 3:30 to ask what the evening plan is, they dont hunt the evenings, they take everybody dove hunting. So at this point me and my buddy are done and take off. Sorry for the long winded read. But was not quite the sandhill crane experience we thought we were signing up for.

Bow means any hunting instrument designed for the purpose of propelling arrows which is drawn and held by and through the efforts of the person releasing, but does not include crossbow.

For the purpose of accuracy and to correct several misstatements, the following facts are provided for the record: 1. Client Count A total of eight (8) clients participated in the hunt, inclusive of you and your companion. 2. Lodging and Meals Ward’s Outfitters covered the cost of your hotel accommodations. Meals, including dinner, were not included in your hunt package. This is expressly stated in your signed contract, which governs the terms of service. 3. Hunting Setup and Conduct During the morning hunt, your position was oriented facing north. Additionally, statements made regarding a 12-year-old hunter allegedly interfering with your hunt are inaccurate and inappropriate. Youth hunters are legally permitted to participate and were in full compliance with all applicable regulations. 4. Blind Configuration and Hunting Method Placing six to eight hunters in a single blind significantly increases the likelihood of confusion regarding harvested birds. For this reason, Ward’s Outfitters exercised professional discretion to hunt using an alternative method that morning. 5. Duration of Hunt On the second day of the hunt, nine (9) sandhill cranes were harvested. You voluntarily elected to book a one-day hunt, thereby limiting your field opportunity. 6. Nature of Sandhill Crane Hunting Sandhill crane movement and behavior are highly variable and unpredictable. Clients are routinely advised to book multiple hunting days to increase success. 7. Season Results During the current season, Ward’s Outfitters clients harvested a total of sixty-eight (68) sandhill cranes. As is customary in guided hunts of this nature, harvest success is not guaranteed, and some clients did not harvest their full legal limit. 8. Communication of Concerns Ward’s Outfitters encourages clients to communicate concerns directly and promptly so they may be addressed in real time. Public complaints made without prior contact do not accurately reflect the opportunity provided. 9. Good-Faith Resolution While Ward’s Outfitters maintains that services were rendered in accordance with the contract, we regret your dissatisfaction. As a good-faith gesture, should you draw again next season, we are willing to provide a complimentary three-day hunt, during which you would have increased opportunity consistent with the nature of sandhill crane hunting. This response is provided to clarify the factual record. Ward’s Outfitters fulfilled all contractual obligations associated with your hunt.

Headed back out tomorrow for the rest of the year. Hoping this cold front gets the bigger bucks out looking.

You really gotta get something more substantial to protect that scope bro.

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.

For those interested the 2026 AZ Pronghorn and Elk Regs are posted a little earlier than normal. https://azgfd-portal-wordpress-pantheon.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/23143704/2026-Pronghorn-and-Elk-Regulations_251223.pdf

No dog in this fight, but I'd also be upset if a guide buried me and a bunch of other dudes in the weeds with no blind, no decoys for a paid, guided crane hunt. Im far from an expert, but every time I've hunted them, we had a great blind and a ton of decoys.

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.

Saw more coues deer today. In 24a then I've even seen in 1 day in my life time. At least 40 plus does and 9 bucks . I giant one with 4 does. Then a spike and a nice size forky. Then two small 3 points. And a smaller 3 point with two dang nice 4x4 and those two were fight and chasing each other . No does where with or near them. They fought pretty hard for about 10 minutes. Then went up over a ridge. Also saw about 30 coatimundai. And my nephew stuck one at 47 yards. Pretty dang good shoot for a 12 year old. I didn't have a camera today with me. Going to take one tomorrow and Saturday. Taking my 6.5 creadmore tomorrow. NO MORE CROSSBOW. I bought this yesterday.

Anyone looking for coal? Asking for a friend.

Please Don’t!!! Go on a hunt and post pictures and stories instead! I doubt we need more classified ads. Haha

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