Jay Scott

The scouting continues for Arizona Desert Bighorn sheep and we have been having a lot of fun looking at rams! The desert is in full bloom but finally looks like it will be drying out somewhat over the next few days. Darr turned me on to some socks that I really like called Darn Tough. We went on healthy hike the other morning and I thought the socks performed very nicely. I don't like a sock that makes my feet feel clammy. These did not disappoint. These are the full cushion over the calf model. I think I am going to get 4-5 more pair. On another note the gnats and mosquitos are absolutely the worst I have seen in a long time. You can see in the photo below those are gnats hovering around. November should bring more mild temps and that we be a nice change. The sheep seem to be grouping up and we are still continuing to see rams nosing around with the ewes quite a bit. If you are scouting for a sheep tag remember to give it everything that you got because it only happens once in a lifetime. Don't leave anything on the table that you will regret! We are updating our Jay Scott Outdoors facebook page and instagram everyday with videos and photos of the scouting adventures, come follow us if you are not already. View the full article

We have about 37 days until the general Arizona Sheep season opens and the range conditions are looking very good and green. The sheep are doing well and their bodies seem to be fleshy. We have been turning up new rams almost daily. We will be happy to get thru these records temperatures of 96 degrees and cool back down into the 80 next week. We keep saying any day now the weather should turn for the better as we start a gradual cool down into winter. It cannot come soon enough. Snakes, Snakes and more snakes! Be careful out there! The tall grass is hiding these little buggers pretty well. I had an unwanted glassing partner the other day coiled up next to where I was going to sit. We have been posting regular updates on the Jay Scott Outdoors facebook page so you might want to follow us there as well as our Instagram accounts at #jayscottoutdoors and @darrcolburn. We have reached a milestone on our YouTube Channel at 1015 subscribers. Thanks so much for subscribing and following our adventures. Lord willing this scouting will pay off for us and our client will be able to harvest a real nice ram! View the full article

By Darr Colburn Darr Colburn with a 100 inch early season coues deer buck. Lots of hunters will being hitting the hills over the next few weeks to hunt coues deer on the early hunts. The early hunts offer some great draw odds and you can usually draw a tag every year. These hunts are easy to draw but the high tag numbers, hot temperatures and low deer movement can make for a tough hunt. The hunter success rates on the early hunts are generally pretty low. We have been on these early hunts many times and had some good success. Here are a few tips that we have learned over the years. Good luck on your hunts! 1. Get to your glassing points before light. Lots of times deer are moving as it gets light and if you are not glassing you may miss a buck moving or feeding. Hot daytime temperatures can limit deer movement to a few hours a day. Take a headlamp and plan on walking in and out in the dark. Glassing until dark also increases your chances of picking up a buck right at dark. 2. Don't go back to camp during the middle of the day. Pack a lunch and stay out all day. Have you ever noticed from your trail cameras that coues deer usually hit water between 10am and 2pm? Lots of times the middle of the day can be your best chance to glass up a buck. By staying out glassing all day you may pick up a buck headed to get a drink mid day. Coues deer rarely stay bedded all day long. Even if the deer are not moving around very much due to hunter pressure, hot temperatures or a full moon they usually will get up and stretch and browse for a few minutes every few hours. As the sun and shadows change deer will often get up when the sun hits them and move back into the shade. This may be your opportunity to spot your buck. 3. When the temperatures are hot focus on the north slopes and shaded areas. The north slopes and shaded areas usually offer more cover and cooler temperatures. Coues deer will seek out these areas to bed in. Glassing the north slope and shaded areas usually means you will be glassing in the sun. Take a floppy hat and sunscreen to keep you from getting sun burned. 4. Mount your binoculars on a tripod. It does not matter if you have Swarovski or Bushnell, if you mount them on a tripod you will see more! When your binos are on a tripod your eyes are able to pick up movement and game better. The Outdoorsmans carries several types of mounts to attach your binos to a tripod. We like 12, 15 and 32 power binoculars for coues deer hunting. My 15x56 Swarovski SLCs are my favorite all around coues deer bino. 5. Be quiet and stealthy. When you get to your glassing point don't clank tripods, talk loudly or make a lot of noise. There could be deer within shooting range that you don't want to spook. I have hunted with lots of people that just don't get that you need to be quiet even when hunting with a rifle. Act like you would when you are bowhunting and you will seen way more game within rifle range. Turn your cell phones off or on vibrate! 6. Know the area or areas you plan on hunting. It really helps to know glassing points, roads and water sources prior to your hunt. Get online and put glassing points, trails, water sources and roads into your GPS prior to your hunt. I spend a huge amount of time looking at the areas I plan on hunting on Google Earth and my topo map program. I can have all the waypoints plugged into my GPS so I am not wasting valuable time while in the field. I know how to get in and out of areas I have never been to by plugging waypoints from Google Earth or my topo map program into the GPS. You can also find road less areas where there will be less people. 7. Get away from roads and other hunters. If you can hike into areas away from other hunters you will typically see more bucks. Most hunters are not going to hike very far from a road. Cross a large canyon or hike for an hour in the dark and you will be hunting bucks that are less pressured. If you can't hike very far look in areas that may be overlooked by other hunters like flats, lower desert country or thicker areas that are harder to hunt. 8. If you have seen bucks scouting before your hunt they will likely be close by. Bucks typically don't move very far this time of year. I feel that if you have a big buck spotted the early hunt is your best chance to kill him because they stay in a relatively small area and you get first crack at them. Don't give up if you don't spot him the first day or two. Change your glassing location and keep looking where you have seen him before the season. Persistence usually pays off. 9. Once you spot a buck you would like to shoot don't take your eye off of him. If the buck is in range get set up and shoot. If you have a buddy with you they can watch the buck while you get set up or move into position. If you are alone watch the buck until he beds before making a stalk. Take note of land marks and vegetation around where the buck is bedded. Move into position and wait for the buck to stand up and give you a shot. Sometimes this could mean waiting all day for a buck to get up and give you a shot. Be patient and don't think the buck is not there just because you can't see him. Also don't try and get to close. We usually never get any closer than 250-300 yards. We have found that anything closer you are more likely to spook a buck without getting a shot. 10. Know your rifle and where your bullet hits at different yardages. Most of the bucks we have shot have been at ranges from 300-500 yards. Sometimes the canyon country that coues deer live in prevent you from getting close. Carry a rangefinder and know your ballistics. Practice at the ranges you expect to shoot. Don't try and shoot a buck a 500 yards if you have not practiced shooting that far. View the full article

Darr and I have been having an incredible time scouting for the Arizona Auction Desert Sheep tag holder. We have found some very nice rams and have had many special moments while trying to look in every nook and cranny. Some observations that we have made over the past couple of months is that the country is greener than we have ever seen it at this time of year and the sheep seem to really be doing well. The seem very content and happy with the conditions. I am going to predict that in a few years we will look back on the growth rings and see a big jump on most rams during this year. With the greener conditions the sheep seem to really be spread out all over the place. This is something to remember if you are scouting for your upcoming December general season hunts. You may very well find sheep in places that you wouldn't think to look. Another thing that seems to be driven home each time we go out is that the rams never seem to be in the same place twice. Meaning the last place that you saw them is the worst place to look for them. We have bounced into many rattlesnakes while hiking and mostly in the dark. Be very careful with the tall grass and extra foliage this year in regards to snakes. Each day it seems we are turning up new rams and it is a very exciting time right now. We have been posting regular video updates on our facebook, Instagram (@jayscottoutdoors and @darrcolburn), and YouTube accounts. If you don't follow us yet, we suggest you come follow for the most up to date reports and videos of our scouting efforts. All photos and videos below are by Colburn and Scott Outfitters. , View the full article

We have been featuring KUIU Founder, Jason Hairston's Montana Archery Elk Hunts on our Jay Scott Outdoors facebook page. Click the link below to watch the playlist of the entire series. Each clip is around 3-4 minutes in length. We have just reached 1000 subscribers on our YouTube Channel! Subscribe if you like our channel. What a great adventure we had in Montana with Jason on his archery elk hunt! View the full article

Brady Miller of GoHunt.com and his first record book coues deer from Sonora, Mexico with Colburn and Scott Outfitters Photo Credit Brady Miller I would like to tell you that Darr and I had this buck targeted and knew his every move and Brady executed his job as the hunter perfectly. Only the latter is true. We are pretty sure that we saw that buck one afternoon one year earlier in the 2013 season in January. Brady won the hunt in January 2014 by winning the KUIU photo contest. Brady tried spotting and stalking for a couple of days with his bow and then decided to sit a water hole one morning around 10am. We chose the water hole because of its location to a couple of nice bucks that frequented the area. The buck came in for a drink and he made a perfect shot and the buck actually expired in the tank. Brady's buck net scored just over 110 inches and grossed scored over 118 inches. Congrats to Brady Miller on a trophy of a lifetime. Even though this particular buck was more a matter of chance in terms of patterning, I truly believe you can target coues deer bucks and prey upon some of their predictable patterns. Coues deer season is just around the corner. I know many guys that spend the summer patterning these deer and then harvesting them on the October tag. If you haven't hunted coues deer much, one of the most deadly things to know is that they have a very small home range. Most bucks don't travel more than one mile out of their core area their whole life. The Ockenfels study, shows that coues deer does have an even smaller home range down to about 1/2 of a mile radius in their home range. Coues deer bucks have a small range with the exception of the "rut" where they have been noticed traveling 4-5 miles from their home range. So how do you pattern a coues buck? The first step is to get out and do a lot of glassing. Time in the field is an important element here to success. Find a buck that you want to pattern then try to glass him during his every move. Get to know his patterns intimately. Learn where he beds and where he feeds. Look for travel patterns to and from his bedding zone. The more you can learn his pattern and movements the more pieces of the puzzle you can put together for the time of harvest. If you are not fortunate to have bunch of time prior to the season but do get out to scout once and see a big buck you need to assume that you saw the buck in his home range. Therefore, you need to place a concentrated effort glassing from different vantage points into his location. Be careful not to disrupt or penetrate his core living quarters. Stay back and observe until you have a good attack plan. One of the most effective tools and important things to remember is that you need to be extremely patient and keep telling yourself not to bounce around too much because the "targeted buck" is right in front of you. I have lost faith and been impatient thinking my buck has left only to be quickly reminded he has been bedded in the home area the whole time. More to come on this subject soon. I love getting others feedback on subjects like this. What have you guys witnessed when patterning bucks? What tactics work for you? I would like to remind you guys to visit and follow us on Instagram at #JayScottOutdoors, facebook at Jay Scott Outdoors and please subscribe to our You Tube Channel to get video updates of our adventures. View the full article

Have you guys noticed how tight the coues bucks home range is during 10 months out of the year?

I had the pleasure of getting invited to tag along on a great elk hunt in Montana with KUIU Founder and President Jason Hairston. For me it was a no brainer because I had already had plans to miss this Arizona elk season due to our responsibilities with the Arizona Auction Desert Sheep Tag. It turned out to be 5 days of elk hunting heaven and Jason harvested a really nice bull with his bow. Due to an injury Jason used his Matthews compound instead of his stick bow. It is always nice to share a hunt with Jason who is passionate about hunting and also just as passionate about making the finest ultra lightweight hunting gear on the market today. If you aren't using KUIU gear you are missing out! I would like to thank Jack Anderson and Cody Wetmore for the great time! I have been uploading the video sequences of Jason's hunt on the Jay Scott Outdoors facebook page and on our You Tube channel. I have some good photo updates on the progression of our sheep scouting that will be coming soon in some blog posts. I have been getting reports on the Arizona Elk rut and it seems that it has been a very lackluster rut so far. Antler growth is down and the cows seem to not be cycling like normal. Add extreme rains from the hurricane last week it makes for some tough hunting. Hopefully the last 4 days will heat up for the guys in the field. One more thing, My nephew, Jay set me up on Instagram and I have been adding quite a bit of content on there so come find it at #jayscottoutdoors That is the legendary call manufacturer Will Primos who came out to offer his congratulations to Jason on a fine bull. Will and his wife Mary were an absolute pleasure to share camp with. View the full article

Here is a video clip from our friend, Steven Rinella of the Meateater TV Show, and our own Janis Putelis who is an associate producer of that show. This video demonstrates the easiest way to remove elk ivories. View the full article

"Well I guess it's all about numbers & nothing about character anymore. I would be willing to bet that if Ghost was harvested he would be remembered as a legend far more that just the run of the mill 180 ram from 22. And far as learning how to field judge sheep most folks couldn't tell the difference in a 180+ unit 22 vs 165 40b ram. So all the hype on learning how to field judge sheep is ridiculous. The only real way to learn how to field judge is by being on lots of hunt where different scoring sheep are harvested. Just my .02 worth." azdeserthunter-it is not all about the number at all. I am sure when the Ghost gets harvested he will make a fine trophy for someone and I am sure he will be remembered as the awesome ram he is. As to the "hype" on field judging being ridiculous that is an opinion you are entitled to. I believe there are many ways to learn to field judge sheep including being on many hunts as you suggest but I think having some guidelines prior to going on those hunts sure help me and many others. Analyzing photos/video and comparing to other rams that have been harvested is a very effective tool for me. I do sense a bit of sarcasm in your double post and that is ok. Everyone is entitled to their opinion and I respect yours. HuntHarder I think you need to watch him from afar and not disrupt his pattern. I think he could put on his sombrero and head south for the Winter when he feels pressured. He could also just be chasing the feed or the he might like to tan in the beaches of Sonora...If you really want him, keep your eyes on him for the last 30 days prior to the hunt and you will more than likely get him. I hope you find him as he is AWESOME! The season is coming quickly...

azdeserthunter-in my opinion that ram is very cool in his own right but isn't the size quality that an auction hunter would look at. The ram may be sought after for his uniqueness but not for his size. His bases are not big and his curl is tight. Still a very awesome and unique ram but nothing of auction quality in my mind. That ram is nicknamed the "ghost" for a good reason. I hope the general hunter can catch up with him this year. This is just my two cents... Also, in regards to the original ram for which this post was created, tight curls and smaller bases do not equal big sheep. That doesn't mean I don't appreciate them it just means they will never be that "big". Love the full curl rams though. Remember, big bases, mass carried throughout the whole horn, depth of curl and long horns are the ingredients that make a ram big. Thanks for posting! Sheep season is coming quick!

Guys I am pretty sure that I have a bunch of photos of the same ram and had done a Field Judging Desert Bighorn Sheep Post on my blog on this exact ram a number of years ago, See this link on my website. Also, for those interested check out this link which has 23 posts on Field Judging and Scoring Desert Bighorn Sheep. I hope these links help you. We should have a fantastic sheep season this year with all of the great monsoonal moisture we have received. They might be spread out this year but they have lots of groceries to eat!

I know nothing about this video other than a guy catches a 30 inch brown trout out of a small stream. Amazing! It was something that I definitely had to pass on. View the full article

My phone buzzed at 3:45, Jay I can't get the trailer and the ranger because it is across the wash in the back of my house. My response, OK Darr lets just go in the truck. After a bit I got a OK....... What a cool morning! We headed desert sheep scouting and it turned into a gully washer tour. Love the Arizona Desert when it comes alive with water. 3.29" at Sky Harbor! Biggest rainfall in one day on record. View the full article

We made the voyage from Jackson Hole back to Phoenix and it is time to get ready for the fall hunting season. I wanted to share the photos of my last day of fishing in Wyoming. I had the privilege to float with a couple of Jackson Hole friends who are locals, Jay Pistono and Ken Rizzotti, and they caught a bunch of fish and we had a great time. Now that the fishing gear is all put away it is time to get serious about the upcoming fall season. Good stuff is on the horizon! View the full article

I had a couple of great fishing days with friends, Kelly and Christy Gibson, from Flagstaff. They caught some nice Snake River cutthroats on dry flies. The views on some of our floats on the Snake were awesome! View the full article

Elk hunting season is upon us in many states! These videos below are on How to Cape a Bull Elk. These videos would also be very practical for caping other animals as well. Subscribe to our YouTube Channel if you like these videos. Hopefully you will have a great elk season and harvest an elk of your dreams. Remember to cherish the moments and experiences of the fall hunting season. View the full article

We had the pleasure of hosting our good friend and JayScottOutdoors.com contributor Janis Putelis on the Snake River for one afternoon of flyfishing. We floated the Pacific Creek to Deadmans stretch and Janis was able to catch some nice cutthroat. Janis is a very good flycatser and fisherman so it was a pleasure to watch. I rowed, Janis fished and Jeanne supervised. We are very proud of Janis and his recent accomplishments of being named Associate Producer of the popular tv show the Meateater View the full article

My friends, Monty and Pam Parsons, floated with me on the Snake River near Jackson. We floated two stretches, from Pacific Creek to Deadmans and Moose to Wilson. Monty caught some real nice Snake River Cutthroats on large foam flies. The views were spectacular and the company was even better. View the full article

Monty Parsons and I had a couple of great days of fishing! We fished the Snake River near Jackson and the South Fork of the Snake River near Swan Valley, Idaho. These photos below are from our trip to the South Fork. We fished the canyon section which was a little more than a 25 mile float. That was probably the furthest distance I have ever floated in one day. The canyon is absolutely gorgeous! We saw many golden and bald eagles. Most of the fish in the section of river are Yellowstone Cutthroats and brown trout. Monty caught several of each. He fished caddis and pmd dry flies. View the full article

Our nephew, Jay Pyburn, came up to visit us for a few days and we had quite an adventure. It was Jay's first time fly fishing and he really learned a lot. We fished the Snake River from Deadmans to Moose and also the South Fork of the Snake River from Palisades to Spring Creek. We got to see many animals on the river including moose, raccoons, owls, eagles and many kinds of ducks. Jay even got to row the raft and did quite well! View the full article

Jeanne and I fished the Hoback River today south of Jackson Hole. It is a small but mighty little stream that meanders through a beautiful canyon. Jeanne turned a pile of Snake River Cutthroats and she fished the same foam fly all day. At the end of the float she said she wanted to retire that fly and place him in the hall of fame of her favorite one. Lots of fun! View the full article

By Darr Colburn Last fall I came across a product that was a game changer for me and the people I share hunting camps with. I have tried other wool socks in the past and have not liked the fit and feel of them. Until last fall I was wearing another well know brand of socks. These socks were fine but my feet tend to sweat a lot and at the end of the day my feet and boots smelled awful! I tried all kinds of foot sprays and powders but nothing worked very well. I was forced to keep my boots and dirty socks outside of the tent or trailer I was staying in. Last fall I purchased my first pair of Darn Tough Socks. I wore them on a few hikes and day hunts and really liked the fit and feel of them. I also immediately noticed that my feet, boots and socks no longer smelled awful at the end of the day. I even took this a step farther and wore the same pair of socks for three days straight on a coues deer hunt to see if they would start to smell. After three straight days in the same pair of socks I had Jay smell them to prove how good the socks are and that there was no odor (This is what good hunting partners are for!) . I was amazed that there was no odor to the socks, my feet or my boots after three straight days in the same pair of socks! I was totally sold and spent over a hundred bucks loading up on socks. You get what you pay for with Darn Tough Socks! These socks are made is the USA and carry a Life Time Replacement Guarantee. If the socks wear out just send them back and they will send you a new pair. The Darn Tough Socks feature a padded heel and toe and are made of a merino wool blend. The socks don't bunch or slip like other brands I have worn. These are the only socks in my bag now days! Here is a description of the socks from the Darn Tough web site. Darn Tough Scent-Lok® socks are knit with odor inhibiting, fine gauge, shrink treated, Merino Wool. Our hunting socks help socks conceal human scent while delivering itch free and breathable all-weather comfort in the most extreme conditions. More stitches per inch ensure a foot hugging fit. Less bulk. More comfort. Our Zero Friction Heel eliminates blisters. Cushioning along the bottom of the foot provides comfort and support. No slipping, No bunching. Darn Tough construction and Scent-Lok® technology create the ultimate hunting sock. See for yourself. Still made in Vermont. Guaranteed for life. Cushioned heel and toes on the Darn Tough Socks View the full article

My friend L Dean and I went to the South Fork of the Snake river in the Swan Valley in Idaho. It is a very scenic 50 minute drive from where we are staying. I really like the South Fork! We got caught in an awesome rainstorm on the last hour of the float. Guys in the drift boats were actually bailing water out of these boats with buckets. Of course we didn't have that problem in my self bailing raft. What a beautiful place it was. We also spent some time in the Wildlife Art Museum in Jackson. Good times! View the full article

I had a couple of really fun days fishing with my friend L Dean from Amarillo. The photos below were taken on the Green River. Most of the fish were taking Grey Drakes. We caught several on Chernobyl Ants and small mayfly patterns as well. There was quite a bit of ribbing on this day. View the full article