2012 Arizona Late Bulls

It has been an extremely long time since a post..  We had several great deer hunts and some awesome late elk hunts with some great people.  We also were able to help Bill Karnes from Texas, who was the lucky recipient of the 2012 super raffle elk tag harvest an amazing bull that we had found.  We did not go 100% on our late elk hunts, but we were 100% on opportunity.  We were able to watch some huge bulls that are on the hit list next year!  With the warm weather and moon, we feel like this years late elk hunts were a huge success.  All of the clients had opportunities, and were hunting big bulls.  We are excited about next years late hunts as many bulls were located and will be back next year.  Special thanks to those who trusted us with their tags, and to the guides that put in days on end to ensure success.

First off we were able to help Melvin on his champ elk tag.  What an honor to take these guys who have been around quite some time and still have the will and courage to get out and push themselves.  Melvin wanted a bull more than anything, and although his legs could not really function, he was able to harvest this dandy at 83 years young!  These champ tags that the AZGFD offers provide those that otherwise couldn't hunt an opportunity to do so.  Mel dropped his bull across a canyon at 460 yards! Congrats Mel and thank you for letting us be a part of your adventure.

Mel with his big 6x6

Next up were the late archery elk hunts.  Anyone that has hunted elk in the late season knows that it can be tough, place a bow in your hand and it is even tougher.  Dale accidentally put in for the wrong hunt and burned 14 points.  He was discouraged that he lost his chance to hunt AZ Bulls.  Well, what Dale knew is that he had the heart to do whatever it took to get him a bull.  On day two of his hunt, Dale put an arrow in this huge bull as he laid in his bed at 74 yards.  The bull didn't make it 50 yards and piled up.  This bull scores 350" as is and if he wasn't broken, we figured he would score around 371".  Congrats Dale on your awesome late archery bull.

Dale with his huge late archery bull

Mossback AZ Guide Art also had his own late archery tag and had his eyes on some great bulls.  With only a couple days to hunt, Art did what Art always does and got it done on this great clean 6x6.  Congrats Art on yet another awesome bull.

Art with his late archery bull.

Finally we had the late AZ Elk hunts.  Cowen, who is the father of MBAZ Guide Lee had drawn a late season elk tag.  With his health not doing so well, plans to hunt certain areas were not an option and Cowen made the best of things and took down this beautiful and unbroken 359" 6x6.

Cowen with his awesome late bull

Rick contacted MBAZ when he drew his late season tag.  Rick knew what he was up against, and worked extremely hard and harvested his best bull to date with Drake. This 8x8 is a bull that had been scouted and watched up until the hunt. After many miles of hiking, Rick put this AZ beast down! Congrats Rick on your best bull to date!

Rick and Drake with his late season bull.

Dan also drew a late AZ tag and after several days of hunting, was able to take this clean unbroken 6x7, which is his best bull to date!   Congrats Dan, we had a blast hunting with you and your party!

Dan with his AZ 6x7.  Congrats!

 Bill contacted MBAZ when he found out he had drawn his late tag.  At 74 years young, he wanted to come out and see what AZ was all about.  Bill hunted hard for several days, and was able to hike into position to shoot this heavy old bull at 420 yards.  Congratulations Bill on persevering and getting that big bull you always wanted!

Bill with his big bull.

Lastly, we finished up our elk season with a bull that had been located early on.  Bill Karnes, who had drawn the super raffle elk tag, wanted nothing more than a "nice" 6x6 to put above his fireplace.  Knowing how special this tag was, we told Bill to wait for a bull that was worthy of this tag.  Luck was on his side, as after several months of looking, we had located a clean bull that we thought would work.  Bill came out and after several days of hunting he was able to harvest this giant.  We have hours and hours of video of this bull, and will post up more pics and video of the bull soon.  Congrats Bill on your 407" monster bull!

The bull just prior to shot.

Bill with his "dream bull".

Taking it all in.

Jay packing the head out.

2012 Early AZ Elk Hunts

Here are some pics of the bulls that we were fortunate to be a part of on the early AZ elk hunts.  We had a great time, and want to thank those that trusted us with their "tag of a lifetime"!  I also want to thank our guides who work harder than anyone out there, and it shows! We had another good year, with lots of great bulls that we have watched for years being harvested. We were also able to lay eyes on some incredible bulls, some of which we had never seen in person! These bulls did not disappoint and we will be pursuing them next year! 

Here are some pics of the bulls that we were blessed to be a part of. I will save the details of each of them for a later date. We were able to capture some amazing video and kill shots on many of the bulls.  Our average score on the early hunts was almost 370"!  Many of them we have years of trail cam pics and video of as well.

Steve with is opening morning 7x7 archery bull. 

Wendy's 1st elk hunt! She took this monster after many days of hard hunting! Congrats Wendy.

Todd took this great bull, dubbed the "Anteater" by many guides due to his broken nose. 

Forest took this awesome 6x8 bull we called "Cross" due to his brow tines. 

Cade with his awesome archery bull! This bull has some beams! Congrats Cade

Steve with his awesome 6x7 bull! This bull broke off an xtra browtine before he was taken and is 50" wide! Congrats Steve!

Jim with his AZ Legend we named "Transient". This bull roamed all over the place!

Jason with his 2012 AZ Bull. Congrats Jason.

Rich with his last day 6x8 bull that has an impressive 31" of mass a side! Congrats Rich

Rich's 15 yr old son Tevin with his 1st archery bull on his 1st archery hunt! He shot this bull at 20 yards on video! Great job Tevin!

Ernie with his best bull to date! Congrats Ernie on this great bull.

Mikes 476" Monster Arizona Bull!

Mike and his Arizona Giant

First off, I have to apologize for not keeping the blog going the last couple months. Things have been busy to say the least. We have been blessed to be a part of an amazing bull. Mike Gallo was able to harvest the most amazing bull I have ever personally seen. Never in my wildest dreams did I think we could turn up a bull of this caliber. I will share the story soon, but for now here are some pics of this amazing 8x8 bull that officially gross green scores 476 5/8" and nets an amazing 462 4/8".  This believe this is the largest public land bull to come from this great state.  The bull has a 34 2/8" spread credit. The bull has over 80" in mass, and a 49 and a 51 inch beam! Congrats to Mike on this trophy of a lifetime! I could have never passed on the other giant legends that he did to harvest this bull. I also would like to thank the Mossback Arizona guides who pound the hills day in and day out! Great work guys and a big congrats to Mike! Enjoy the pics

We were glad the bull had not broken off anything! He lost his left eye earlier in the day fighting with another bull.

This view really shows the big extras.

Mike and his good friend Bob

I really like the head on look of this bull. His 3rds are 24 and 26"!

The mass is incredible.

AZ Giant Hits the Dirt 440" Bull

Congrats to Corey Knowlton on harvesting a truly GIANT Az bull. Corey carried this special AZ commissioner tag in his pocket for nearly a full year before dropping the hammer on a bull of lifetime. This amazing bull grosses an incredible 440"!!

This was not a "one and done" hunt for Corey. Corey chased some incredible bulls throughout his year long hunt, including passing on a 420+" bull that was later harvested during one of AZ early season hunts. Can you imagine passing on a bull of that caliber?!! As Corey stated yesterday after harvesting his bull, " You can't kill a bull of this size if you don't pass on giant bulls". As I mentioned earlier, Corey chased some of AZ's biggest bulls including several typicals that are nothing short of world class. In fact, Corey hunted a particular bull with us over the last couple weeks with his bow. If killed with a bow, we are pretty sure this bull will surpass the current archery world record. Unfortunately, the weather has not cooperated over the last couple weeks and heavy rains have kept the bulls locked up pretty tight. With time dwindling on this year long hunt, Corey was torn between hunting the giant typicals that were not very consistent or hunt a giant non-typical that Doug Starr of Starr Guide Service and his guides had found a couple weeks earlier. Since that bull had not been seen in a couple weeks, guides from Starr Guide Service and our guides at Mossback AZ teamed up to try and turn this bull up. After a couple days of looking and having some other giants glassed up and bedded by our guides, Jay was able to find this non-typicl bull tucked away in a small opening amongst the tangled juniper jungle that AZ is famous for. After getting over 30 minutes of video, Jay was able to let Corey, Doug, and Chad come up with a game plan to move in for a shot. As is typical when hunting these big bulls, the final stalk was gonna be tough as the giant bull had not moved more than 30 yards in over 3 hours but his younger buddy stood feeding in the wide open. As the group closed in, the younger bull picked up movement and took this big boy up the hill into thicker cover to try and hide. Fortunately, the bigger bull had no idea what was going on so he kept looking back to try and figure out what was going on. Meanwhile, Corey got set up on the only place on the entire hill that he could possibly have a chance of getting a shot. Once again, Lady Luck smiled on this hunter and the bull moved through the only lane on the entire hill and Corey took advantage and touched off an extremely difficult shot at 420 yards. Knowing the bull was hit, the group backed out and returned the next morning. Doug and Corey picked up the track in the morning and found the bull bedded the several hundred yards away from where they left him the previous evening. Corey was able to get a couple more shots off as the bull darted through the jungle bringing this incredible hunt to an end. Congrats again to Corey for his well deserved, hard-earned, and once in a lifetime 2012 AZ giant. His trophy can be attributed to the persistent and very skilled guides from Starr Guide Service and Mossback AZ.

Ole Broken Ear

While out scouting we were able to sneak up on this bull and get some video of him. He ended up feeding right into our laps. You can see his broken ear, looks like an old bull.

Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose....

Here is a quick clip of a great bull that we chased for days during the archery hunt. We named this bull "Scoops" due to his huge front end. Several times we were in his home and the right shot just never presented itself. Maybe next time!

Big AZ Rocky Rams

Here are some great AZ Rams that we were able to film. Good luck in the upcoming draw!

2012 Alaskan Brown Bear

We got a kick out of this book that we bought to read.

I am blessed to have a brother that not only lives in Alaska, but one who enjoys the outdoors as much as anyone I have ever met. To say he is a fanatic is an understatement. To say he is generous with not only his finances, but also his time and resources is also an understatement. He is always putting together the next big adventure, wherever it may be. I truly am blessed. Some time ago, he mentioned to me that we need to go shoot a big brown bear. He had taken a great bear a few years ago, but when he saw the beast that went and fed on the carcass of his bear, any old sub 9 ft bear just wouldnt do. To be completely honest, I always wanted to kill a brown bear, but I never really thought of how amazing of a trophy these animals really are. I just returned from an adventure that will forever be engrained in my mind and heart. Many months ago, by brother Shane began the year long process of making sure everything on this hunt would be a success. He plans every meal, provides any needed gear, and does more research than anyone I know. I had drawn a coveted Kodiak island brown bear tag for this spring. However, we wanted my other brother to be able to hunt as well and after lots of research, Shane had determined that we could hunt big bears together on the Alaskan Peninsula.  As the hunt got closer, flights were booked, rifles were tested, and gear piled up. We carefully watched the weather from January and it appeared that it never wanted to warm up. Record snowfall and low temps were not a good recipe for a spring brown bear hunt, but we were going regardless of the circumstances. As the hunt got closer, the reports did not get any better, "Bears still denned up, lots of snow on the landing strips, etc." It did not look good. We flew up with my brother Brian, and good friend Joe G. Joe is always good for some off the wall trip, whether he has a tag or not, he will be there and go all out, that is the kind of guy he is. He is an amazing person and friend. I thank him for that. We knew the conditions were tough from the reports we were getting. Reports of 20+ guided hunters and not a single bear sighting! Record snowfall not only limited the areas to hunt, but also provided additional planning. I think we finally ended up on our plan E or F spot!

Record Snowfall and cold temps were going to be a challenge!

Well we landed at our destination and were decided to make the most of it.  We were at sea level, with a view over a large flat with some rolling alder hills, which kept most the bears during the middle of the day.  It wasn't where we wanted to be, but with limited areas we decided to make the best of it.  It didn't take long and we began to see bears.  They were a very very long ways off, making it difficult to tell exactly what we were looking at other than a dark blob rolling through the alders.  This went on morning and evening and finally we decided to get a closer look. I really wanted my brother to kill this black blog that was doing the same thing morning and evening.  We knew the winds were horrible, and it was a 5-7 mile hike to the bear, but we were ready to do it. Little did we know what we were getting into.  None of us had ever walked across such boggy, almost like quicksand country! It didn't just last a short while either, it was like this the entire way!  One day while making our way out to chase the big dark bear we watched everyday, we saw this bear just around a rise by camp.  We decided not to shoot this bear, as we felt there were better bears around and it was still early in the hunt.  We also saw another great bear being harassed by wolves that we decided to let go.

Ptarmigan were plentiful

Lots of wildlife was seen including this fox.

This was a nice bear, but we knew that the big one we had yet to see up close had the makings of a 9 ft plus bear! That was our goal.  

This is the kind of stuff we were dealing with.

Well we made it out several more times, setting up on the bear just perfectly, but he always outsmarted us.  He would come out after dark, or he would mix up his route just enough to not allow the time to get to him.  This game was getting very frustrating and after 50+ miles logged on the gps trying to get Brian a shot on this thing, we were just about spent!  I decided to give it one last shot, so we left at 3AM again on the hike in hopes that we could intercept this thing before he made it back to his safe haven.  Well luck was on our side, and as it got light, we saw the blob coming our way.  The only problem was the winds were getting crazy again, but we decided to make a gamble and try something we had not done.  Little did we know this would work just right.  As the bear made his way towards us, I remember Doyle saying that the big bears "articulate" when they walk.  Well this bear did just that, and I knew he was good enough for me.  As he closed the gap from 800, 600, 400, and then 200 yards my heart was racing.  I was going to shoot him at 200 yards but I never got the shot I wanted.  The bear turned towards us and followed a small cut right towards us.  I could never get a shot as I was laying prone on the muskeg and all I could see was his back.  I knew that when he popped up he would be in our laps! As he closed to 100, then 75, then 50, he popped up out of the cut and looked our way.
Here are some still shots taken off the video as he closed the distance.

When he took his look at us, he knew something didn't look right and he had no problem coming right at us.  We were in his house, and knowing that he was aggressive (he ran a bear out the night before), I was going to shoot him as soon as possible.  My heart was coming out of my chest and it took everything I had to keep my cool.  When he hit the 32 yard mark I let him have it with the 375.  The 300 grain bullet hit him hard and rolled him.  I racked in another bullet and for whatever reason, could not get it to fire!  So I racked round number 3 and hit him again as he moved off and dropped him.  I put another one in for insurance immediately.  I cannot explain the adrenaline rush that I had, it caused my to fade in and out and I almost fell flat on my face.  Everyone can laugh at me when we post the video of this hunt, but that is why I hunt.  Emotions ran high as we walked up to the bear and looked at the sheer size of this thing.   I didn't care if he was an 8' bear, or a 12' bear, he was big to me and was awesome.  We all took a guess and figured he was a 9-9.5' bear, but once we pulled the skin off him we realized just how much bigger he really was.  We continually squared him well over the 10 ft mark.  I figured we were doing something wrong.  His skull was huge as well. We were coming up with 28.5"!  Well to make a long story short, he was sealed and scored at 28 10/16" and stretched 10' 10.5" on his skin.  We kept joking that he was an 11 ft bear because he was missing his tail, which was bitten off at some point in his life!

The packout was extremely heavy, and we swapped packs as we all hiked out the 6 miles back to camp. Again, I am forever indebted to my huntin buddies for their help and sacrifice. Thank you Shane, Brian, and Joe for all of your help.  Never would of happened without you guys.  Thank you to my lovely wife for letting me go on these adventures.  She is the real trooper!

Here are a few of the pics.  Lots and lots of video was captured and I am still downloading all of it. Hope you enjoy the pics.

Blackie down for the count 

A hunt to remember

Thank you Joe!

The claws 

Me and my brothers laying on hide with my good luck coonskin cap I bought for my son 

The big packout.. 

Still packing

A beautiful sunrise