AZ Draw Results are out!

PHOTOS BY COLBURN AND SCOTT OUTFITTERS

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Winter Kill

When I told the DOW officer that I had never been witness of an actual winter kill and that being late March, I thought he would've made it through the hard times already, he answered, "Winter weakens and spring kills."  It was sad to see this bull laying on his side, antlers caught in a service berry bush, a light dusting of snow laying him to rest.  Everyone in the neighborhood had been watching this bull for two weeks in anticipation of him dropping his antlers.  I think we all would have much rather picked up his antlers this spring and hunted him this fall.  It's a harsh reminder of how cruel nature is, and how tough these animals really have to be to survive.  Being that these animals are so fragile this time of year, I'm certainly going to refrain from any serious shed hunting until May.  It's not worth a piece of bone, to bump into some bucks or bulls and push them up some hill and sap them of their last bit of energy reserves. 

Better Turkey Callin' by Scott Ellis of Woodhaven

Scott's tips have really helped me out with my turkey calling.  I actually want to spit my call out and quit when I hear these guys that are really good.  I will keep practicing and hopefully one day it will click.  Hope you get as much out of them as I have.

Two Bulls Fighting

Last archery elk season, Jerry Cook and I came across two bulls fighting.  The smallest bull broke off part of his main beam in the fight.  Check out the video.

CA Turkey Hunt Rained Out for a Week

 This is the creek that we have to cross to get to the ranch we hunt in California.  This photo was taken last year.  The rancher called yesterday and put out trip on hold for a week due to this creek being a raging river.  We were supposed to be heading to CA right now but we will wait and see if the country dries out a little.  Coming from a ranching family I would never talk bad about rain but I am ready to get it on this spring.

Will, Jay and Uncle Jay with one of our Rio gobblers from  last year.

Slate Call Demonstration

2011 Youth NWTF Turkey Calling Champ

Check this kid out!  He sounds great!

Big Colorado Bull Photos

Ok, elk hunters, what does this bull score?  I underjudged this one for sure.  He is a beauty?  The answer is below so make your guess and see how close you are.

When these photos were sent to me for my guesstimate here is my response, "

L-15,17,18,19,15,29,52=165
R-14,18,19,19,15,29,52=166
35 wide
366 Gross

Here is what they score apparently the sheds were scored by a P/Y measurer. We actually have his sheds from the previous two years also. He was 335 then last year 352 and now 382.  Fantastic bull thanks for sharing!

R2R2R Training Update

I have been training for a Rim to Rim to Rim Grand Canyon hike.  We are scheduled to do the trip on April 30.  The hike will total around 46 miles in one day.  I have been running and hiking 4-5 days a week.  My workouts have been 3-11 miles.  With the big hike a few weeks away I wanted to do a long hike to see how I felt.  I started my hike in the Cave Creek Recreation area at 6:40 am and finished at 12:15 pm.  The hike totaled 20 miles.  I felt pretty good at the end.  I ate 2 Wilderness Athlete Bars and 2 Gels.  I drank two bottles of WA Hydrate & Recover and 6 liters of water.  The Wilderness Athlete products really helped keep me going.

Showdown in Elk Town

Guess the Score-Bull Elk 13

How to Field Judge and Score Arizona Bull Elk.  Check out the pictures and video of this big Arizona Bull.

Click Here For More on Elk Field Judging and Scoring

Spring Break Crappie Fishing

My dad almost always took me fishing on my spring break when I was growing up. We had some great times together and I want to continue the tradition with my boys. We loaded the boat and headed out Thursday morning at 3:30 am for San Carlos lake to fish for some crappie. San Carlos is about a 3 hour drive from my house. We stopped in Globe for some minnows and a license and continued on to the lake.
We got on the water at 7:00 am and had action right off the bat. Parker caught a fish right away. Paul landed another slab a few minutes later and the boys were excited. We ended up catching 3 in the first 10 minutes of fishing. We moved around and got a few more fish before the sun was up over the mountains. This was the first trip that both boys did everything themselves from baiting their jigs to hooking and landing the fish. I was in charge of tying knots and netting the fish. There were around 75-100 other boats out fishing for crappie. The boys were not shy about telling everyone how many fish they had caught and showing off their catch. We got on another good bite from 10 to 11 and Paul caught the big fish of the day. We headed off the lake around 2:30 with 15 crappie in the cooler. We ended up catching all the fish on a 2 inch Kalin grub tipped with a minnow. The water temperature started at 60 degrees and warmed up to 64 degrees by the time we left. The fishing should remain good for the next couple of weeks if we don't have any cold fronts move through. We got home and cleaned the fish and ended up with a nice sized bag of fillets. There is nothing better eating than crappie.

Paul with the big fish of the day

Parker with the first fish of the day

 



Backyard Bulls

I've started glassing recently in anticipation of seeing bulls without their headgear.  After an hour of looking, these two popped out with four others.  Now I'm eagerly awaiting elk season!

Score the elk

Here is my guesstimate:
L-15,15,13,17,12,52,29=153
R-15,16,14,17,11,51,29=153
36 wide
342 Gross