Capt. Don Martin

Well some good news and bad news. Good news getting all packed up for the trip. Bad news is that some thief took my new Caldwell Lead Sled DFT out of the bed of my truck as Page and I were having lunch at Chilis! Did some ammo check and used Winchester Long Range in my Remington 1100 Magnum 12 ga. with a Hastings barrel at the range. At 40 yards, wasn't impressed. Could be the gun/choke combination though. Tried Hevi-Shot blend, better results, but still not real happy. Then I tried the 10 Ga. Hevi-Shot blend and other than jerking the trigger (trigger is hard on that gun-bet it is 10 lbs) pattern was great! Dead turkey at 40 yards for sure. I have a Remington SP-10. Can't wait, bet birds are gobbling...

Chris, I wrote a letter to Director Voyles, and as of today, no response. I sent emails to EACH of the G&F Commissioners, as of today, not response! I have spoken to Mr. Jim DeVos, from the Department. The 2015 contract will be sent to me. When the 2016 contract is signed and in hand, I' ll get that too.

While some of the Arizona Wildlife Outfitters team was hunting with Jerry Weiers in the Garden of Eden in 15D North, another of our guides Tad Levandowski, was with Colorado resident Jerry Uzyn who had drawn tag 1 in Unit 15B West, which is like the Sahara Desert of northwest Arizona. Uzyn had drawn the tag with just 7 bonus points. With sheep numbers way down in this unit, it became obvious that just finding a decent ram here was going to be tough. In the G&F aerial survey of the unit they spotted just ONE ram that they felt would score over 150! For the last two years our hunters have taken rams that scored between 154 and 158 and that was what we were looking for. But as former sheep guide Larry Heathington stated, "You can't kill what isn't there!" We learned that on Day two one of the other tags holders spotted a group of rams coming across one of the sheep overpasses on Highway 93. When the rams were safely in Unit 15B West he took the oldest ram in that group that scored 150! Then a couple of days later, the other tag holder took a 6 year old ram that scored 135! By now some of the AWO team were done in Unit 15D North, so we all packed up and headed over to help Tad and Jerry. There were a few rams found, but nothing that we were interested in. We hunted for a full 11 days, and looked and looked and looked some more. We just could not find any older rams, and actually saw very few sheep at all! Then on Day 11, Ryan Chan once more spotted a group of about 16 sheep, including 5 rams about 3 miles up on the mountain This was the largest ram we had seen in the unit and we made the decision to make a stalk. With rain, snow and hail coming down, Jerry anchored the 6 year old ram at 226 yards! This was without a doubt, the toughest sheep hunt that we've been on in many years! My advice to hunters who may apply for a tag here in 2016? DON'T! sheep numbers are dropping and quality rams are few and far between,

FYI, hunter is Patrick Scrogin, a Wounded Warrior and the smaller guy is Cody Jalbert, one of my guides at Arizona Wildlife Outfitters. This is a bull that Patrick took on a early rifle hunt in Unit 10 last year. Guy is a stud! They hiked over 30 miles in 4 days on this hunt. They had this bull opening day. but passed hoping to find one larger and not broken. Didn't happen. They relocated and got him on the morning of the 4th day. Was just on the Sportsman Channel, Long Range Pursuit and was a Gunwerks production. As to Boquillas Ranch situation, I filed a public records request and am getting the 2015 contract for the ranch. Would you believe that right now there is no 2016 signed agreement, but it is believed everyone agrees and it will be signed next week. To all the conspiracy theorists, think the the reason the draw results haven't came out is because the Department is waiting on that agreement to be signed? Department would be hard pressed to recall 1,000-1,1000 elk tags in Unit 10 IF that agreement isn't signed. Would cost the Department about $200,000 too in lost revenue. But it seems it is a done deal. I've asked for and hope to get a copy of the agreement. I have a good idea what it says, but will wait until I have a copy before I share, just in case I'm wrong.

Well now its just about a week away, got my ammo in, my targets in, Lead Sled DFT ready to go to the range. Can't wait to hear that first gobble-gobble! Don Martin

Big Browns is right on...Every situation is different, you just got to get that "feel" and then, some of time you are wrong! LOL I like using decoys (I use Avian X) and they have really worked! One time a few years ago on San Carlos, my friend Eric and I had a pair of gobblers walk in on us while we were in a blind with the decoys out front. On video it was 1,2,3, BAM and both long beards hit the ground! Man I can't wait till April 2 and that San Carlos opener!

Knothead. I think we are all gonna camp at Point of Pines Lake and spread out from there. I will have my beat up beige 2006 Ford Super Duty, and will be staying I think in a converted cargo type trailer. Stop by and say HI. I am thinking with this being an early, warm spring, we should be right on the money! After San Carlos is over, gonna head to Oklahoma and hunt with my boys and grandson(s). That ought to be fun too! I didn't buy a tag for San Carlos next year, decided to go to Florida and get an Osceola and finish up my slam! Would like to go hunt the Hualapai Reservation, but they are really proud of their tags..$450... But they are less than 75 miles from the house. Course with costs of fuel and such, in the end, might be about the same.. Didn't draw in AZ for Gould's, or Nevada for Rio's but this San Carlos hunt ought to be a good one. My 2015 Nevada bird! My 2015 Goulds My buddy Eric is a "hard core" turkey hunter and I'll stay up there till we are BOTH done, no matter how long it takes. Oh well..Gobble-gobble!

Some great footage guys! Congratulations! Come on San Carlos, two weeks away!

Here are the official results of the 2016 Arizona Wildlife Outfitters Big Pig contest. I hold this contest each year primarily to gather good data on what the size are of the javelina populations in Unit 18B, but we also try and collect data from hunters who take pigs in other surrounding units. This year we had 35 entries in the hunt and 21 of the hunters bagged a pig. Our Big Pig winner was Joe Hererro who bagged a monster sow that weighed 44.68 lbs. Our smallest weighed 19 lbs. 4 oz. I want to thank all the hunters that entered this year. The data I collect I use when I go to meetings with the Region 3 folks and we discuss javelina, which by the way, is Arizona's second most hunted big game animal. Don Martin Arizona Wildlife Outfitters Here was the pig I took near the end of the general rifle hunt. This is an average adult pig for this unit, 36.61 lbs.

I have been hunting javelina since the 70's and have taken my fair share of the little Grey Ghosts of the Desert. I've taken them with a shotgun shooting slugs, a 50 caliber muzzleloader, open sighted 357 Magnum handgun, scope handgun (Savage Striker in .223) and several rifles in various calibers. This year, I was hunting with my friend Jay Chan on the last Tuesday of the general rifle hunt in Unit 18B after just about everyone else in our camp had tagged out. Jay was using his son's new 6.5 x 284 while I was using my Rock River Fred Eichler edition AR-15. At the first place we stopped, I got lucky and glassed up a herd of about 10 animals feeding on a sunny hillside at 675 yards away in a canyon. We saw that the herd had several large adult animals in it so we decided to make a stalk on the herd. Wind was right so off we go. Note I had sustained a pretty severe injury to my left knee in December so I have to walk very slowly and use a walking stick to stay upright. There was an old two track road leading into the bottom of the canyon and it was still in the shade, so the set up was just about perfect for us to slip up onto the unsuspecting herd. Jay and I slowly worked our way down the old road and got to within 200+ yards of the herd and set up. I had identified the herd boar and Jay had picked out a couple of old, adult sows as our targets. Problem was we could never get two of our targets in the scopes at the same time. I would have the boar in my scope, but Jay didn't have one of the mature sows in his. Then Jay would have a target, but I couldn't see the old boar. This went on for almost TWO hours as we "bird dogged" the herd around the mountain. It is the longest I have ever been on pigs without firing a shot! However when you are selective, these things can happen. So finally the pigs spook a little and run around the backside of the mountain I had first found them on. As we move around the mountain I see the boar about 200 yards above us, slowly walking at the base of some rim rock. Not wanting to take an off hand shot at that distance, we moved on till we were on the back side of the mountain. My knee was hurting bad, so I sat down on a nice rock had had a concave face, perfect for sitting on. I told Jay I wished I had brought my J-13 javelina call, as I had left it in the UTV. Jay said he had a call, an old Circe jackrabbit model that he he has used successfully in the past for locating javelina. So Jay starts to call and I have the AR sitting next to me. Jay goes through the first series and I see nothing. He starts a second series when at the 7 minute mark I hear teeth clacking, snarling, and woofing as a large adult javelina comes running around a Palo Christi tree not 15 feet in front of me! In a flash the pig runs past me, but it was very, very close. Later we measured and it was TWO feet from me! I hollered at Jay as the pig went by and I looked around to see what looked like Jay and the javelina doing a "dance." I stood up, grabbed the AR and watched as the pig ran off into a canyon. I saw him coming out of the brush at 100 yards and got him in the scope and fired! Missed, hit behind him. He kept running and I shot again as he emerged from behind some turbinella oak. "Did I get him?" I asked Jay as the pig disappeared from view. "I don't think so," Jay said just as the pig came out of the brush and up the side of the canyon. Jay started calling again and I walked over to look into a large deep ravine. Then I saw them. Two pigs were headed towards me about 70 yards away. When I stepped out in the sunlight, they stopped and backed up into a small Palo Christi tree. I could see the pig in the scope and fired, but the bullet hit a branch and deflected into the ground, at the feet of the pig. Now one would think this would cause the pigs to run away, but NOPE, these two headed into the deep ravine in front of me and were out of sight in a flash. Suddenly I looked up and at 10 yards, the two were walking straight at me! I stepped back and the lead pig stopped. When she turned her head I aimed at her neck and fired! She went straight down, but the other pig started running towards me and went by at a distance of about 20 feet and straight towards Jay! I saw Jay trying to get the pig in his scope but it was gone in a flash. I recovered my pig and asked Jay to sit on the rock where I had been when the first pig ran by. I had him put my pig where the pig had beento show just how close the encounter had been, The only difference is that the pig was running at me, while the pig in the picture is facing away from Jay. Never in my hunting career have I been so close to a javelina who was so heck bent on fighting some unseen predator who was putting what it thought was the hurt on a young pig. One thing is certain, this should tell the average hunter that you should never go into the field without some kind of predator call! They really do work!

Today I have scheduled the last Supplemental class for NR's in 2016. The class details are this. First in order to take this class you MUST have taken a recognized Hunter Education class in a state other than Arizona since 1980 and be able to prove it with a state issued card! This MUST have been a state class; not the NRA, or some gun club class. This is the FIRST and most important requirement to take this class! You must send me a copy of that card via email at info@arizonawildlifeoutfitters.com or by FAX 928-681-2838. After I receive the card, you will be put on the class roster. The class is done one day, Saturday April 23, 2016 and starts at 7 a.m. (Arizona time) till about 6 p.m. and will be held at the Mohave Sportsman's Club 7 Mile Hill Range, which surprisingly, is located 7 miles west of Kingman on Old Highway 66. You MUST register on the Game & Fish Department Website. While it shows it on the website is a online field day, it is NOT! It is the Supplemental class. Look for the date, April 23, 2016 in Kingman Arizona! Once you complete the class, you will receive your graduation card from Kalkomy! You will not be issued one after the class. You will receive the permanent bonus point on your account prior to the Sheep/deer draw! I promise... If you have any questions you can call my cell at (928-303-9481) text, email (Info@arizonawildlifeoutfitters.com)or FAX me at 928-681-2838. Note I will be on vacation on turkey hunts in Arizona and Oklahoma from April 2nd through the 19th, so I recommend you don't wait till the last minute to register. There is a strict limit of 40 persons who can take this class due to the room size restrictions. If you want that permanent bonus point for sheep or deer, this is your last opportunity to take this class and have it on your record PRIOR to the 2016 draw.. And yes, with the new rules, having the most amount of bonus points on your account is recommended! Don Martin Chief Instructor Arizona Hunter Education Region 3

There is a difference, not only in the instruction, but also in the final test given. The Supplemental class covers in depth a lot more of the rules and regulations that NR hunters need to know. And now we do have a shooting component in the class, but again it is different that would be given to the online or regular resident hunter ed classes. If you are an Arizona resident who took Hunter Ed in another state since 1980, you too are obviously eligible to take the 1 day class. The Department set the rules for what was needed to take the Supplemental class. I'm not sure when online field days are offered. I know they are listed on the AZ G&F website. We have had them (online field days) up here in Region 3 before and I'm sure we will again. The last one I attended though had more instructors than we had students! Jim Rich is the other Chief Instructor in Region 3 and he does the scheduling of the resident classes and the online field days for this area. Don Martin Chief Instructor Region 3

Since this is primarily to keep track of the weights and sex of the animals in Region 3, it has restrictions (have to be weighed on camp scale) folks from other units haven't bothered to enter. The other thing I am tracking is the success for those who get TWO tags every year! So far, they seem to have a much higher success rate than those who get just one tag! Why do you think that is? These I think are great "talking points" when meeting with AZ G&F personnel. Pigs are allowed from northwestern Arizona; Units 10, 18A, 15's, 16A, 18B and 19B. Remember I am collecting data from the javelina in these areas. We had entries this year in Units 19B, and 16A this year, but no one brought in a pig. Pigs must be weighed on the scale at our camp! You wanna drive a long ways to weigh a pig? Then come on over. Obviously most who enter are hunting in Unit 18B cause that is where we camp... Remember this isn't some "BIG CONTEST" where prizes are given. It started out just friends a clients, but it has gotten bigger over the years. It would seem that those who were a top of the board this year just got lucky..they didn't really know they were shooting big pigs..At least that is what they told me. As for the "yawners" come on over next year and get in. Costs just $10.. Then go out and bring us YOUR heavyweights! By the way wildwoody, I believe it is "whoopee" not whoopy..But I may be wrong. Always those out there that like to criticize..lol. Pigs are completely gutted when weighed. No heart, lungs, or entrails allowed.

And yes, Jay went over and looked for blood, on pig 1 and 2, no hits!

Today, I have scheduled the last Supplemental class for NR's in 2016. This is for all those that want to hunt in Arizona! The class details are this. First in order to take this class you MUST have taken a recognized Hunter Education class in a state other than Arizona since 1980 and be able to prove it with a state issued card! This MUST have been a state class; not the NRA, or some gun club class. This is the FIRST and most important requirement to take this class! You must send me a copy of that card via email at info@arizonawildlifeoutfitters.com or by FAX 928-681-2838. After I receive the card, you will be put on the class roster. The class is done one day, Saturday April 23, 2016 and starts at 7 a.m. (Arizona time) till about 6 p.m. and will be held at the Mohave Sportsman's Club 7 Mile Hill Range, which surprisingly, is located 7 miles west of Kingman on Old Highway 66. You MUST register on the Game & Fish Department Website. While it shows it on the website is a online field day, it is NOT! It is the Supplemental class. Look for the date, April 23, 2016 in Kingman Arizona! Once you complete the class, you will receive your graduation card from Kalkomy! You will not be issued one after the class. You will receive the permanent bonus point on your account prior to the Sheep/deer draw! I promise... If you have any questions you can call my cell at (928-303-9481) text, email (Info@arizonawildlifeoutfitters.com)or FAX me at 928-681-2838. Note I will be on vacation on turkey hunts in Arizona and Oklahoma from April 2nd through the 19th, so I recommend you don't wait till the last minute to register. There is a strict limit of 40 persons who can take this class due to the room size restrictions. If you want that permanent bonus point for sheep or deer, this is your last opportunity to take this class and have it on your record PRIOR to the 2016 draw.. And yes, with the new rules, having the most amount of bonus points on your account is recommended! Don Martin Chief Instructor Arizona Hunter Education Region 3

Today I have scheduled the last Supplemental class for NR's in 2016. The class details are this. First in order to take this class you MUST have taken a recognized Hunter Education class in a state other than Arizona since 1980 and be able to prove it with a state issued card! This MUST have been a state class; not the NRA, or some gun club class. This is the FIRST and most important requirement to take this class! You must send me a copy of that card via email at info@arizonawildlifeoutfitters.com or by FAX 928-681-2838. After I receive the card, you will be put on the class roster. The class is done one day, Saturday April 23, 2016 and starts at 7 a.m. (Arizona time) till about 6 p.m. and will be held at the Mohave Sportsman's Club 7 Mile Hill Range, which surprisingly, is located 7 miles west of Kingman on Old Highway 66. You MUST register on the Game & Fish Department Website. While it shows it on the website is a online field day, it is NOT! It is the Supplemental class. Look for the date, April 23, 2016 in Kingman Arizona! Once you complete the class, you will receive your graduation card from Kalkomy! You will not be issued one after the class. You will receive the permanent bonus point on your account prior to the Sheep/Deer draw! I promise... If you have any questions you can call my cell at (928-303-9481) text, email (Info@arizonawildlifeoutfitters.com)or FAX me at 928-681-2838. Note I will be on vacation on turkey hunts in Arizona and Oklahoma from April 2nd through the 19th, so I recommend you don't wait till the last minute to register. There is a strict limit of 40 persons who can take this class due to the room size restrictions. If you want that permanent bonus point in time for the sheep or deer draw, this is your LAST opportunity to take this class and have the point PRIOR to the 2016 draw.. And yes, with the new rules, having the most amount of bonus points on your account is recommended! Don Martin Chief Instructor Arizona Hunter Education Region 3

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to go out with my friend Joe Hererro on his HAM hunt in Unit 18B. Joe had just one day to hunt and so we decided to make a quick trip from Kingman to a spot in the north end of the unit that I had not been to for a couple of years. It was close to town and Joe wanted to be out of the field by 4 p.m. as he had a party to go to. It was to be a quick dash and glass..I didn't really expect to see anything. So we get there at daylight, glass a couple of areas on a flat and see nothing but a few antelope. I decide to have Joe drive to the top of a mesa and we'll look over some far away canyon country. Once again the Swarovski spotting scope is money when I see a group of at least 5 pigs at a range of 1.5 miles as the crow flies. I ask Joe if he wants to go on a hike. Joe hasn't got a pig in about 6 years and it was 10 a.m. so he said sure, and off he goes. I couldn't go with him as I have a messed up knee and am awaiting an MRI... Anyway, Joe makes good time and I tell him how I think he needs to go to get within range of the feeding pigs. Then Joe disappears and so do the pigs. For a couple of hours I don't see Joe or the pigs. Seems he had got to the edge of a GIANT canyon and decided to walk down in it and up the other side! When I finally hear from him, it is via a text message as we had no radios. He tells me that he is on the end of the point where the pigs were first seen. I look in the scope and see a single pig up and feeding. It is now close to 1 p.m. I tell him to look at the juniper tree to the east of him and he texts, "I see em." I watch through the spotting scope as he sets up and fires. He is using a 50 caliber muzzleloader. Next thing I see is a text that says, "I probably shot the wrong pig!" Seems the herd of 8 had detected him and were starting to get up and move away. This one old sow was standing just 25 yards away so Joe made her take a dirt nap. I watch as he field dresses the pig and gets packed up. Now it is 1:30 p.m. I watch as Joe starts hiking and then once again he disappears. At 4:30 p.m. I start to get worried. Where the heck is he? Has he fallen down, broke a leg, knocked himself out, had a heart attack, etc. I have not got a text from him since 1:30. I move up onto the mesa so I got a better view and text reception but I see and hear nothing! At 5 p.m. I hear a shot down below the mesa and figure its Joe at the spot I had originally dropped him off. I drive back off the mountain, and sure enough there he sits, with this blank stare on his face. I give him water, and a sandwich and ask what happened. Seems I couldn't see that the canyon I had been looking at was a lot longer than I thought it was, and he had to walk an extra mile to avoid crossing it. "I'm whipped," he said. It was then I looked at the javelina by his side. IT WAS HUGE! He says something like is it bigger than Gary's? (Gary is my brother who had screwed up on Wednesday and shot a 19 lb. boar) I went to pick it up and I told him that the pig was way, way bigger than Gary's! Ultimately, around 8 p.m. we met friends Jay Chan and Jack Gunnoe at Jack's camp which was by the Big Sandy River. See Jay had the "official" scale we use for our Big Pig contest. Joe's pig--and Jack's too, had to be weighed on this scale. Jack, who was also in the contest, weighed his first. The boar pushed the scales to 39.68 pounds, which is a big pig in our area of the state. Then Joe put his pig on the scales. I gasped when I saw it weighed 44.79 lbs! In all the years I have been guiding and doing studies on javelina in northwest Arizona by hosting Big Pig contests each year, I have seen just one javelina that weighed more than that one did. Dan Reed brought in a giant sow a number of years back that weighed 44 lbs 10 ounces. That is the largest pig I have ever seen, field dressed. So know I know why Joe was completely worn out. He had carried that old girl on his back for about 3.5 miles!!! Obviously Joe is on the lead in our contest, and in second is one of my archers who thumped a pig that weighed 41.8 pounds in January. Bryan Beckstead came down from St, George Utah and he bagged his first javelina last week, a sow that weighed 40.05 lbs. He is in third place. We have 9 hunters still in the contest that have rifle tags next week in Unit 18B so it will be interesting to see if anyone can get a pig over 40 lbs, which is rare. For Joe, he is looking at getting a half mount of this old sow on a rock as he has never had a javelina mounted before. I told him I'd be willing to bet that he'll never get a larger one in his lifetime! Oh, Joe missed the party and his wife dislikes me even more! Not bad though for a quick dash and glass! Official weight! Scale doesn't lie! Joe is 6'2" and 270 lbs. He is holding the queen of the desert, Pigzilla! Pigzilla looking to the right. Note how big her shoulders and head are! Another view of the big shoulders and head of this desert pig.

In December I was able to assist a young man from California who had drawn one of the muzzleloader deer tags in Unit 16A. I got him a companion javelina tag, which those juniors hunters there are allowed to buy. First day out, within 5 minutes of glassing at the first spot, I got lucky and spotted a group of 10 pigs. The young man had never even seen a live javelina, so we decided to go after them. Long story short he made a good shot on the herd boar at 85 yards. That's when it got interesting! When we checked, the pig had NO TEETH other than his tusks! NOTE! I put the rock in the pig's mouth to keep it open for pictures! Took the pig to Region 3 where Game Specialist Erin Butler looked at it and said she believed it was 9+ years old! That is really old for a javelina, especially in that unit which is over run by predators, including mountain lions and coyotes. Wished I would have brought my scale, would have liked to weigh him. He was big bodied! Unfortunately after he got the pig, they got a call about a family emergency, so we didn't get to hunt anymore. Because of the age of the javelina, and it being his first one, Dad decided to have it mounted. Amber Kirby at Down and Mount Taxidermy got the call. Good kid, a great experience, and a super old boar! Don Martin Arizona Wildlife Outfitters

I didn't have a scale, but did pack him out and by the time we got back to the truck I though he weighed 100 lbs! LOL Young man kept saying, "You want me to carry him?" Fun hunt, Don Martin Arizona Wildlife Outfitters

Me and the guys at Arizona Wildlife Outfitters had an awesome time last weekend in Unit 18B on the juniors javelina hunt. Cody Jalbert assisted 4 young men on their hunt and they all got shots and two of them bagged pigs! AWO guide Tad Levandowski and myself, along with Jay Chan assisted Golden Valley residents Ryan and Laura Borden on their hunts. It was tough on opening day, we found just three pigs despite some serious glassing all day. Our young hunters didn't get a shot! Score pigs 1, hunters 0 On Saturday it started off better when a pair of porkers ran across the road in front of us as we were driving to our first glassing spot. Tad and the young hunters headed after them, but lost them in the thick brush. Score Pigs 2 Hunters 0 20 minutes later we had just started glassing when Tad found a group of 14 pigs coming out of a den on a nearby hillside. Up the mountain they went while Jay and I kept the eye on them. Laura never got a shot, but Ryan got on a sow and fired three times. Two of the shots were hits. Score Pigs 2, Hunters 1 An hour later Jay glassed up a herd of 10 pigs about 3/4 of a mile away feeding on a hillside. Jay and tad took Laura on the stalk but the swirling wind gave them away, and Laura ended taking shots at 210 and 230 yards, but unfortunately missed! Score Pig 3 Hunters 1 Later on that day after lunch we split up with Tad and Jay taking Laura with them, while Ryan and I glassed from a good vantage point. With about an hour and a half of daylight left, I glassed up a large group of pigs about two miles away on a flat. Tad, Jay and Laura made a fast climb up the mountain and Laura bagged her boar with one shot at 185 yards with my Rock River Fred Eichler Edition AR. Tad was even able to get the shot on video. Final score, Pigs 3 hunters 2! Laura's boar weighed 38 lbs. 7 oz and currently in second place in our Big Pig contest. Had a great time with all the kids and everyone left happy. Glad we were able to get them on pigs! Next up is our friends coming in with HAM tags, then a few more coming with general rifle tags. Unit 18B is our favorite javelina hunt and we constantly have high success there. If you have a 18B tag and want some professional help, give me a call. Don Martin Arizona Wildlife Outfitters 928 303-9481

Titanium700, IF you've had a hunter safety class in ANY state since 1980 you can take a one day class here in Kingman. I'll be posting our class date on the AZGFD website soon, and that class is also limited to the first 40 that sign up. All day class, starts at 7 a.m. ends around 6 p.m. Guaranteed you will earn a lot about Arizona and our rules and regs, and especially how the draw system works. Don Martin Chief Instructor Region 3

I was able to assist a young man from California who had a muzzleloader deer tag in Unit 16A, along with a companion javelina tag. The young man and his dad had hunted for two days and had not seen anything. We went out early one morning and I got lucky when I found a herd of pigs after glassing for less than 5 minutes. We made a stalk and the young man bagged his first javelina with one shot at 85 yards! This may be the oldest javelina that I've ever seen! He had no front teeth at all, and Erin at G&F aged him at 9+ years old! Note, I put the rock in the pig's mouth to hold his mouth open for the photos. Right after we got the pig, they got a call about a family emergency and had to leave. But at least he got his first javelina. Deer hunting was really tough this year in Unit 16A for a lot of the kids. Always glad to help out our young hunters, who are the future of hunting in America! Don Martin Arizona Wildlife Outfitters

For those who don't mind coming to Kingman, we are TEACHING a two weekend Hunter Education class that starts on the second weekend of March. Note that I say TEACH as that is what we do! Our students don't just get exposed to the concepts of Hunter Education, they are TAUGHT it and walk away with a lot more knowledge than they will ever get in an online class. You must register on the Department's website. Go to Hunter Education, and follow the prompts. I know its a long ways to drive, but in my opinion it is well worth it! Class is limited to the first 40 who sign up! We make this class exciting and a lot of fun. Some of our graduates will also receive a new pair of 10x50 binoculars, courtesy of the Mohave Arms Collectors Association, a couple of kids and their parent or guardian will get a free overnight striper fishing trip this summer on Lake Mead with me, and some lucky graduate and a parent will get to go on a one day varmint hunt with an experienced local varmint hunter. It truly is an awesome learning experience for the kids. Don Martin Chief Instructor Region 3 AZ Hunter Education 928-303-9481

Review the 2016 fees. I commented on this in a thread on Monster Muleys, but couldn't get it copied to here. High Demand tags??? Wow, here we go.. Don Martin

I had the honor to assist Jerry Weiers on his sheep hunt in Unit 15D North. Jerry had waited something like 23 years to get a tag. Helping on this hunt was Arizona Wildlife Outfitters guide Cody Jalbert, along with friends Ryan and Jay Chan. In the end, we had a couple more friends Johnnie Hoeft and Ryan Borden who helped pack the ram off the mountain. We saw a lot of rams and lots of burros too..BLM ought to get off their donkeys and do something before something bad happens again like it did at Cool Springs many years ago. Jerry had a lot of choices and on Day 3, he decided on this long horned giant that Ryan Chan spotted. Ram was scored by AZ G&F in Region at 168 6/8 (gross) and 168 2/8 (Net) and was just 6 years old!