Capt. Don Martin

Just wondered what muzzleloader hunt you had that allowed you to hunt for two-three weeks? Was it that Unit 42 hunt? Awesome desert buck! Don Martin AWO

I want to share with you the experiences of a 16-year-old young lady from Maryland who had an awesome combination mule deer/javelina hunt in Unit 18B. Allison Kilroy is a bubbly young lady who lives on the East coast. She doesn't get to hunt there, but she has become very partial to hunting in Arizona. Her father, Ron Kilroy lives in Las Vegas, and he fully supports his daughter's desire to hunt deer and javelina in the Grtand Canyon state. Even though Allison as a junior, is still limited to not more than 10% of the tags for deer/javelina, she has been lucky in the past. On her first big game hunt, she was paired up with Mike Cobb of Arizona Wildlife Outfitters and depsite some ugly weather, she bagged her very first big game animal on the first day she was out with Mike. A couple of years later, she drew both a deer and javelina tag, and while she got herself a big javelina, she never got the chance to squeeze the trigger on an Arizona mule deer. Undaunted, she kept aplying and this year hit the jackpot drawing both a deer and a javelina tag. Her guide for this hunt would be AWO's own Tad Levandowski. This mountain of a man knows this unit very well, and has in the past assisted a number of young hunters take mule deer and javelina there. There was a twist to Allison's hunt. Due to Allison's school schedule, she would miss the first week of the hunt and would actually fly into Las Vegas the night before Thanksgiving Day. She would have just four days to hunt. Allison and her dad would drive to Kingman and meet up with Levandowski and head into the sticks on Thanksgiving Day. Turkey dinner would just have to wait! As it turned out the timing was great! On her first morning just after daylight, Levandowski saw a big mature buck feeding by himself near a thicket of turbinella oak. AS Tad and Allison moved in, Ron stayed back about 300 yards to try and keep and eye on the big buck. However before Tad and Allison made it to where the buck had last been seen, he seemingly disappeared. But Tad knew the buck had to be there, somewhere. He started glassing and soon picked up just the antler tip of the big buck's rack. He got Allison to within 80 yards of the unsuspecting buck and got her set up. Their patience was rewarded when the big buck stood up and started to stretch. "You on em Allison?" Tad whispered. "Yes" was the soft reply and the young hunter slipped off the safety of her trusty 243 rifle and took deliberate aim. At the shot, the mighty buck literally dropped in his tracks! He nver knew he had been in the sights of a now very happy young lady! Tad said it wasn't until they reached the buck that he realized what she had just taken. "The buck was HUGE!" Tad said. "He had to weigh over 200 pounds and his rack was heavy with points all over it!" He was right. The buck sported a heavy rack that was just under 26 inches wide! Plus there were eight scorable points on one side and seven on the other! Later on Levandowski would learn that the buck grteen scored (gross) just over 200 inches! How many of us have ever taken a buck like that? Not many... Bu the young ladies hunt wasn't over. She still had an unfilled javelina tag. On the last morning she could hunt Levandowski relocated a herd of pigs they had previously seen, and Allison took her javelina at 50 yards! It had been a perfect hunt and I wondered what she was going to do for an encore. Then her dad called me, "Allison wants to go elk hunting," he said. Don Martin Arizona Wildlife Outfitters

Thought I would give you all the story about a ram AND the best sheep hunter I have EVER had the pleasure (or was it torture?) to hunt with. Dana Hurt lives in Lincoln Nebraska and this year hit the Arizona sheep lottery when he drew tag 1 in Unit 15B West, a unit he had never set foot in before. And he had drawn the tag with JUST 8 bonus points! Dana had called a number of other guides and outfitters before we spoke, but it didn't take long to get him on board after we talked about our past history in this unti. Hunting for a big sheep is without a doubt one of the toughest challenges that a sheep hunter in Unit 15B West can have. It is an area where the ram numbers and quality of rams have been low for many years. One of the factors that makes this hunt so tough is that it seems most if not all of the older age class of rams really like to broom off their horns. Finding a ram with longer horns is really tough here. For the past few years the boys and I at Arizona Wildlife Outfitters have spent a lot of time in this unit. The unit is in our backyard, less than 60 miles from my house! We always try and find every ram we can, and then have our hunter take the best and oldest one out there! Matter of fact, including this year, we have taken the largest ram out of this unit in two out of the last three years, and the ram we took this year, is the THIRD largest ram taken in this unit since 2004! Not bragging, just fact! Here are some intersting stats for those who might be thinking of applying for this tag in the future. 2008: Tag 1, 155 2/8, tag 2, 117 4/8, tag 3, 142 4/8 2009: Tag 1, 148 7/8, tag 2, 151, tag 3, 149 2/8 2010: Tag 1, 145 2/8, tag 2, 126 6/8, tag 3, 164 6/8 (largest ram taken since 2003) 2011: Tag 1, 144 2/8 (broken horn) tag 2, 151 7/8 2012: Tag 1, 153 1/8, tag 2, 135 2/8 2013: Tag 1, 157 1/8. Tags 2,3,4 scored (not in order) 146, 154 and 145. So you get the point. This is NOT the unit to apply for IF you want to take a Boone & Crockett ram! Best off looking at the other Black Mountain units, 15D, 15C South and 15C North for those kinds of rams! This year, when the Arizona Game & Fish Department flew aerial surveys in this unit, they did not see even one Class IV ram! But when a hunter has a sheep tag in hand, you just go out and do the best you can. This year when Dana came out he brought a good friend Justin Davison with him. These two were a hoot to hunt with! Though they had never hunted sheep before (like most sportsmen) they caught on quickly. Fortunately they had good glass which as we all know makes or breaks sheep hunts. They were also in the best condition of any sheep hunters I have the pleasure to hunt with. The hunt started and we heard that one of the other hunters had taken a ram that scored 146 on Day 1. This is the first ram band that we spotted though we had spotted other rams during the first few days of the hunt. This group had 8 rams in it, and one in particular was very nice. He was long and had great overlay. Even though Dana said he would be happy with him, I told him we needed to pass as we had a lot of time to look for maybe a better ram. And we did. Just an hour or so later one of the other hunters in the unit took this georgeous ram. As I put my hands around at Jerry's ram, I started thinking "Had I made a mistake in passing this one?" Later we were told the ram scored 154. An awesome ram in this unit for sure and ended up the second largest ram taken on this year's hunt! Now there were just two of us left and we met up with Greg Guyett, the other hunter. We developed an immediate friendship with him. Heck of a nice guy, and he was hunting alone. That makes it as tough as it gets. We offered to assist him anyway we could, and him being camped just down the road from us made it easy to see him every day. As the days wore on, Justin got into the rythem of finding sheep and he found another ram band that had 10 rams in it from over two miles away! Good friend Jay Chan and I closed the distance and when we got a better look at them we passed on all of these rams. There were two rams in the group that were old, but they were both brommed off to about 26-27 inches. The hunt would coninue. Then we had a trajedy in our camp when we learned that Justin's mother had passed away, and so we lost a good friend when he caught a midnight flight out of Las Vegas back to Nebraska. On Day 10 Dana and I went to take a closer look at a couple of rams that Dana and fellow sheep guide Tad Levandowski had found early that morning.. While we were working our way to those rams, Greg had found a couple of rams and had decided to take one of them. We had previously looked at the ram and while he was good looking, we had decided to pass him. However for Greg, this 7 year old ram was the one he wanted and he made it happen! Number 38 had a lot of mass and is a great looking old ram. The next day, it was down to only Dana and I. We got lucky when I spotted a ram band on a far away hillside just as they were starting to bed down. Through the Swarovski spotting scope I saw a couple of rams in that band that I knew we needed to get a closer look at. Here is the mountain the rams were on. They were behind that brown rock outcropping. Dana and I moved up the mountain and got to within 770 yards of the bedded rams. I determined that there was not one, but two shooters in the group. One of the rams however, had great mass and a lot of age, and I told Dana he had the green light to take him. I stayed back on the scope while Dana started the stalk. Turned out the rams got up and moved and went behind a rock knob and out of my sight. Dana found them but they bedded down and weren't where he could shoot. He ended up waiting over an hour and a half beofre he got the opportunity to shoot. Finally, just before sundown, the rams moved back up the mountain and Dana put down the big ram with one shot at 88 yards! It was getting dark and where Dana was at was very treacherous, so I told Dana to head off the moiuntain. The next morning, we had AWO guides Dan Reed and Tad Levandowski with us as we headed back up the mountain to recover the ram. It was just over 20 degrees that morning, and the ram was fine when we got to him. There was still snow in the shady pockets of the canyons we had to cross to get to him. He was everything we thought he was. Game & Fish aged Dana's ram at 9.5 years old, and he scored exactly 159 (gross). With deduction he scored 157 1/8, making this the third largest ram taken since 2004 in this unit!

Airmark: That really looks like a old regression buck! What did G&F age him at? Awesome! Don Martin AWO

Several folks have asked me to post our Kaibab deer hunt story on this site and I'm more than happy to do it. "Sorry I'm kinda late on posting the results from my Kaibab hunt but I went straight from the Kaibab to my grandson's junior deer/pig hunt in Unit 18B, and then straight to a sheep hunt in 15B West! Here is the scoop on my 12A West hunt. Kenny Turner, who has guided for me in the past, drew a tag as did a 74-year-old sportsman from Oregon named Tom Peterson. Tom had one point under max deer points and knew he couldn't draw a 13B rifle tag so he applied for the late, 12A West hunt and got tag #13. Tom was going to have his son Eric out with him on the hunt. Kenny and I did all of the preseason scouting and the day before the hunt opened we actually found not ONE but TWO good bucks! Kenny glassed up an awesome 4 X 4 that we thought would go at least 180+ and I found the buck that had a 26 inch main frame with double stickers on both side. We thought that buck wold have a 31-32 inch outside spread and would score in the 190's. Opening day, Kenny and our friend Eric Hawkinberry got to where they were going to glass from way before daylight and waited. Then just before daylight a truck drives right past them and parks 30 yards away IN FRONT OF THEM! We had seen these two bucks in the same general area and Kenny said he had no problem with Tom taking the first crack at either one of them (Yep he is a nice guy!) At daylight other rigs started driving into the area, so I decided to check a canyon behind where we were at. It didn't take long to locate a big group of does (20) which had an almost 30 inch 4 X 4 with them. Tom, Eric and I started to move on them when the wind gave us up and off they ran. The big boy got right in the middle of them and Tom wasn't going to chance a shot like that! Later that morning Eric and Kenny did find that big 6 X 6 and a doe bedded down but Kenny in an attempt to film the shot ,ended up not getting a shot at that buck! We never did see him again! That day we saw 13 bucks of various size, but no shooters. Saturday morning we were back in the same area and there well again before daylight. At dawn a pickup drives up to within 100 yards of where we were parked and 3 guys get out. They start walking behind my truck so I get out. I ask if they are going to go down the ridge from us and they say "Yes." Cool, after all its public land. Then one of the guys walks over to the edge of the canyon about 100 yards from us, and sets up his tripod with the 15's on top and starts glassing right in front of us! Hmm, quickly decided that we didn't want to be part of that scene, so we packed up and left the area. Later on we heard four distant gunshots and a game warden told us that a guide's client had taken what he thought was a 190's 4 X 4 in the same area we had been glassing. Later we saw a photo of the buck and it was indeed the big 4 X 4 that Kenny Turner had glassed up Thursday morning. On Saturday we looked at 14 bucks, but again no shooters. Sunday we decided to give up on the area we had had done a lot of scouyting in and went to "fish in some new water." Turned out to be a good move. We saw lots of bucks and virtually no hunters. At sundown, I see deer moving through a sage covered drainage. I can't see what they are but hear Eric say, "Big Buck!" Then I get the 15's on a great trashy buck going up the hillside right on the tail of two does and one fawn. I say, "Trash," and Tom let's the 300 Win Mag bark. I see the buck's left front leg kick out, he stumbles then heads uphill light out! We gather up the gear and head up there but now it is starting get dark. We do a quick check and find no buck. I tell them that we will come back in the morning, that I didn't want to risk pushing an injured buck in the dark. Plus if he was alive, you can't shoot anyway. Not even to finish him off. Oh that buck was the 27th buck we had seen that day! After a pretty much sleepless night we are back at the scene. As we start to walk up the hill, I hear Tom say, "Don I just saw a flash of antlers at the end of the ridge!" Great, I think we got ourselves a crippled buck who just ran off. We decide to go straight to that spot and see if there is any blood. As we are looking around, Eric sees two guys walking up towards us. It is Office Todd Buck and a young man. I tell them we are looking for a possible injured buck on the ridge where we were at and did they happen to see a buck running off the ridge as they walked up. "Yes" Officer Buck tells us. "It was a small 3 x 3 with does." Well at that point I decide to head back to the original spot where Tom had shot from and start tracking. It was less than 10 minutes later when I found the old buck on the hillside. He had went uphill and then had done a change of direction and had headed back down the hill where he collapsed. I bet the buck was dead within 30 seconds after Tom shot him. The buck was everything I had seen and definitely didn't have any "ground shrinkage." Tom and his son were ecstatic and so was I. Kenny and Eric came up and helped with the photos and field dressing chores, and helped carry the old buck to the truck. We took the buck to the G&F check station at Jacob Lake where Ray and Sue Lee were at. They were in charge of checking in deer. Ray aged the buck at 6+ and said he was a 6 X 6 and that with the stickers had an outside spread of 28 inches. He said it was a great buck, and dang I agree with him! Tom has never taken a non-typical mule deer before so this worked out great for all of us. The final tally was we had looked at 44 bucks in three days. Only saw two other shooters though. Lots of young (under four years old) bucks were seen. Guys who think there are 180+ bucks behind every tree up there are kidding themselves. Department personnel will tell you that if you see a 180 or better on this hunt you might want to take it. I agree. Kenny named this buck Captain Hook as he has a big hook on the back of his right antler. Here are some photos that I recently received from Randy Elmer of the buck that he got when the buck was obviously in the summer range. Thanks Randy! Awesome photos and thanks for sharing! Don Martin Arizona Wildlife Outfitters

Wow that is a great ram and awesome video! Congrats Brian and crew! Don Martin Arizona Wildlife Outfitters

Recently I had the opportunity to hunt with a young man from California who had received a tag transfer for the early Kaibab deer hunt. He is 11-years-old and his name is Zach. Zach has went through more illness in his short life than many of us ever will. He needed a heart transplant at birth (he got it) and was diagnosed with Celiac disease at age 4. He takes 6 medications twice a day. He is short little guy, about 4 feet 3 inches and weighs just 60 lbs. But he has smile that is just awesome! When a member of MonsterMuleys contacted me about donating the tag to Arizona Hunt Of A Lifetime, I was happy to do the guiding for Zach and his family. In 2012 I had an elderly hunter on that same early Kaibab hunt and found a game water that deer were hitting night and day. In three days we saw 36 bucks at the water. I thought we would put up the pop up blind and sit near the water, and that it wouldn't take long for Zach to get a buck. Boy was I wrong! Opening day we are in the blind. We are Randall, Zach's dad, Zach and myself. Zach's mom Rori and cousin, John, went out looking at other areas. When it was 8 a.m. after the only thing that came by was three guys in a truck who drove by the (1) HOAL sign I had put out and (2) past the ROAD CLOSED sign that the U.S. Forest Service had put up and (3) us in the blind, I knew we were in trouble. The recent snow had left water everywhere and the deer wouldn't have to come to ponds or trick ttanks to for water. It was going to be a spot n stalk hunt for the young man. Despite the odds, we went out hunting and later on opening day, Zach's dad located a really nice 3 X 2 that Zach got a shot at. Unfortunately he missed, but hey we all have been there, right? We had a super steady Manfrotto tripod that we used for support for the gun the young hunter was using. Over the next two days we saw plenty of deer and bucks (25 in all) and turkeys, and of course lots of those unique Kaibab squirrels. I did manage to find the best scoring buck I have ever seen on an early hunt, but he ws too far away and Zach couldn't find him or either of the two bucks who were with this giant, in the scope. On the last day he hunted, Zach was on a 2 X 2 at 96 yards that was bedded down. Despite our efforts with the young hunter, he just couldn't find the buck in his scope. And so he went home with an unfilled tag but I think a lot of joy. This was his first time out hunting, and I'm hoping he will come back for one of thos eleft over juniors javelina tags that are available, and that his folks put him in for the juniors antlerless hunt next fall. Zach is a neat kid and his family is wonderful! I enjoyed being with them and can't wait till we do it again. Hunting isn't always about the taking, its always about the experience. And to all of us, this was a successful hunt. Randall-John-Rori and in front Zach Don Martin-Zach-Randall and Rori Sign I had up that the three guys in a silver truck just drove around. Note the ROAD CLOSED sign a few yards back. The knuckheads drove right past that to. Don Martin Outfitter/Guide Coordinator AZ Hunt of a Lifetime

No tag in Unit 35A despite haviing 9 points. Good thing I have a San Carlos tag for 2014. Did draw tag # 2 for the HAM pig hunt in 18B. Time to bring out the old Knight muzzleloader. Tired of shooting em with the Savaga Striker in 22-250.. Don Martin Arizona Wildlife Outfitters

No Gould's tag in 35A despite having 9 bonus points. Got 10 now... I hope to draw this before I die of old age..LOL Don Martin Arizona Wildlife Outfitters

Awesome, think I've been in the area of that first picture. Friend took a 27 inch 4 X 4 toad there a few years ago! I'm going up for the late 12A West hunt and I'll be there looking for Mr. Big! Good job to you both! Don Martin Arizona Wildlife Outfitters

As someone who is really into "Freaks and Geeks" I would take that 6 X 2 in a heartbeat. I've got 15 bonus points and apply only for the AZ Strip, but I'd take him in a minute... I like those freaky guys! Don Martin Arizona Wildlife Outfitters

good job, nice buck! Don Martin Arizona Wildlife Outfitters

Not a Kaibab, 13A or 13B buck according to my hunter list. Kaibab hunt not open, 13A doesn't open until next. 13B hunt open now, but he doesn't have a tag for that unit. Where ever it came from it is a toad! Congrats to all! Don Martin Arizona Wildlife Outfitters

That first ram is so cool...If I were with you, I'd say take him! My ram also had bad sinusitus and I was afraid he would break off off when I shot him. He didn't though and still is the second largest ram EVER taken in 15A-15B East! 153 7/8 and he was aged at over 11 years old! Don Martin Arizona Wildlife Outfitters

MPriest. Might want to check on the number of sheep that have used the sheep overpasses on Highway 93. From what I understood no where near the 1,500 you refer to. Don Martin Arizona Wildlife Outfitters

Awesome! What magazine did the story appear in? Don Martin AWO

Fellow anglers: Despite the full moon, the striper fishing at night on Lake Mead has been smoking! Our trips are seeing anglers and myself bringing from 73 to 157 fish brought in per night, and that's not a fish story. Here is the proof, the photos! These are all from June! Got some room for mid week July bookings (weekends all booked), and if you bring a youth under 18 as one of anglers, I'm reducing the nightly rate a bunch! Basic rate is $450 a night for two adult anglers. Two more adults can come along for $100 each. Do the math, four adult anglers come, you split the fee it is about $162 each. Bring a young angler, basic cost is $250 for two adults and $50 each for anglers under 18. Take home all the good eating fish we catch. No limit on stripers under 20 inches. Trips included filleting your catch and packing them in ice. Soft drinks/bottled water included. NO ALCOHOL allowed! Got plenty of references for you to call to verify my operation. This is the real deal. Perfect for a family who wants to see the wife and kids catch fish. I even furnish loaner rods/reels if you don't have them. You need only a fishing license and a Arizona Colorado River stamp. I'm the only licensed fishing guide on the east end of Lake Mead. I am a licensed captain by the U.S. Coast Guard. Striper Hunters is also licensed by the Lake Mead National Recreational Area, and I am a licensed hunting/fishing guide through the Arizona Game & Fish Department. I use a 21 foot Chico Chevy powered jet boat in my fishing operation that is equipped with a Eagle color fish finder that also has GPS. Been doing this for many years and have lots and lots of satified clients, who ultimately become friends. Some of my past clientsfriends are members of the Arizona Game & Fish Department! I exclusively use Hydro Glow fishing lights in my fishing operation! Give me a call at 928-681-4867 or email me at info@striperhunters.com Let's go fishing! Capt. Don Martin Striper Hunters Meadview AZ Anderson family trip 127 fish Butler family trip 73 fish Gonzales trip 157 fish Powell family trip 96 fish Sunset on Lake Mead

Well July is upon us so I thought I'd share a few of the latest trips we had in June. Got opening for mid week for the first two weeks in July. Sorry all weekends taken. Bring the kids and wife and catch a bunch! Glad to furnish references. These gals from Yuma are anglers for sure! 104 fish, 100 stripers 4 cats Best trip of the year as far as wieght of 40 fish is concerned! We got 108 stripers that night! Bill McGriff brought these boys up and they wore em out! I was fileting fish for two hours! Keith, his son and a friend came up and they took home bunch of striper and catfish filets! Capt. Don Martin Striper Hunters 928-303-9481

The key to keeping stripers fresh is to get them on ice as soon as you bring em in! I have four chests with ice just for the fish. They don't fare well if they are not on ice. If the skin turns brown---well not fit to eat in my opinion. Don't worry about the red meat on the fillets Unless you catch fish over 10 lbs you'll not even notice it. My lady washes and cleans the fillets, pats them dry and then uses a concoction of eggs, milk and some kind of special crumbs and then fries them up. Heck of a tasty meal! Capt. Don Martin Stripers Hunters Meadview AZ P.S. I have a 30 fish policy on my guided night time trips on Lake Mead. If we don't get 30 in the boat, you get a free trip when they are biting better! I don't think any other striper guides will make that offer! Gonzales trip on 6-23-2013. 157 fish, 150 stripers, 7 catfish

Looks like you guys were near Temple Bar to me. Striper fishing tough during the day, awesome at night! Bass fishing good too, just like you said. Looks like you had fun and that is what counts! Capt. Don Martin Striper Hunters Meadview AZ

Big Browns. Take a look at my post on the night time striper fishing on Lake Mead. I'm offering a July special for those with young anglers that won't break the bank. Capt. Don Martin Striper Hunters