It Has It's Perks.

Living in the heart of Arizona's desert bighorn sheep country definatly has it's perks. I can leave the house at first light to do my scouting, get to my office by 8:00 am, then head back out for the evening scout and get home just in time for dinner. Most of these area's that hold sheep where I scout are less than 20 minutes from my house or work. Below are a few pics of rams so close to home I can almost glass'em up from the porch!

A Dollar Short and A Day Late

Yesterday evening I headed out with the hopes of filming some rams coming into water. These rams have consistanly been hitting the water after 4:00 pm. Well nothing shows up so I check my trail cam and discovered the last time the rams watered was the evening before. These rams have been hitting water about every 1-3 days. Since it's been hot they've watered every other day. So this afternoon I get all geared up and I'm really excited that I'm gonna have some good video action, right? Well I decide to check the camera and make sure my boys haven't showed up yet before I just roast in the heat. Low and behold all four rams watered this morning. So once again I'm a dollar short and a day late. These sonsabitches I'll tell ya.

We Haven't Started Sheep Scouting, We Never Stop Sheep Scouting

I have to admit, I do view other AZ based outfitters websites especially the ones who advertise sheep hunts. The one thing I do notice is how a lot of them say they scout year round for sheep. If I were the lucky tag holder who was shopping for an outfitter and didn't see any photo's or write ups of them documenting their trips it would make me wonder how true their statements really are.

 When SWHA & LHO (azdesertsheepguides team) claim they scout year round in the units they specialize in, we got the proof in the puddin'. Together this team logs more than 200 man days a year afield. Geof Moss and his Little Horn Outfitters crew keeps a running tab on their exploits on their blog (www.littlehornoutfitters.blogspot.com) . When viewing the LHO blog it ensures LHO's statements are in fact true. I generally like to have a date stamp on the photo's I take but lately I have been doing a lot of video and capturing images from my cam corder and haven't quit figured out to include the date stamp yet. So I figure if I make weekly updates of our trips here on this blog, a prospective client will see that we do in fact scout year round.

                               SWHA Team Member Eric Hunt - AZ Hunt Unit 44AE, 6-10-2012

LHO & SWHA - AZ  Hunt Unit 24, 6-2-2012 

  

                                          Troy Scott & Geof Moss - AZ Hunt Unit 24,  6-2-2012

                                                   Western AZ Desert Rams  6-10-2012

                         
                                                   Western AZ Desert Rams  6-10-2012

                                                     Western AZ Desert Rams  3-21-2012           

                                                   Western AZ Desert Rams  3-21-2012

Enjoying Your Hunt‏

Hunting Friends,

Summer seems to be getting a little more serious about smiling upon all of us in the Northern Hemisphere! Not only is it getting hotter but in just over a week, on June 21, it will be the longest day of the year with the "summer solstice" occurring once again. With this event, I'm always jolted to reality, knowing that fall will quickly creep up on us and that I better kick it into gear physically if I'm going to be prepared physically for my sheep guiding season. For each one of us, physical conditioning and getting into "sheep shape" can carry various connotations. However, if I have learned one valuable lesson over the years, it is simply this: Getting yourself "in shape", or finding yourself "out of shape" will dictate how much you enjoy your hunt, and many times will determine your ultimate success or lack of. I was talking with a buddy about this the other day, so I guess that is what triggered the following thoughts for you to consider.

I don't know about you but it gets tougher and tougher each year for me to keep my mind focused on fine tuning my physical conditioning during the summer season. Heck, there are just too many distractions such as the great barbeque's with friends, dutch oven cookouts in the mountains, and yup, you can't beat a cold coke (or beer for some of you) on a sweltering day! Everyone will approach the mental aspect of getting in shape differently but it all comes down to how bad you want to attain the goals you have set for yourself to ensure that you have done everything in your power to enjoy your hunt several months from now. For me, I always think of hunting season as my personal "olympic games" (senior) LOL and try to train accordingly. You may choose to paint a different picture in your mind to push yourself. The bottom line is to find something that motivates you personally. Luckily, I've never been one to be overweight. If your metabolism is a little sluggish and you put the pounds on easily it can make it even more difficult for you to reach your goals. I have also found that as we age it definitely doesn't get any easier to shed a few pounds or to push your workouts to a higher level.

Well, I just wanted to wish all of you the very best as you look ahead to the personal hunts you will be going on this year and how you are going to attain your physical goals. I've watched many of my hunting friends incorporate various workouts into their routines. For some of you, hiring a personal trainer may work or choosing a buddy who will push you at the gym. My advice is to not wait any longer to establish your conditioning program that should feature a training regimen of strength training with both aerobic and anaerobic exercises. You will need both to prepare yourself to enjoy the hunting season! I also strongly suggest that you take time to throw on a backpack and do some hiking each week on rough, uneven terrain. There simply isn't an easy substitute for this! You also need to find some time to do some target shooting both at the rifle range and somewhere safe out in the hills. And last, don't forget to monitor your calorie intake more closely this summer. Reduce those calories, ramp up your exercise program, and you will lose some unwanted pounds and get stronger.

It's my personal bias that if our children and grandchildren see us preparing and working hard when it comes to hunting then there's a good chance we will pass on our pure love and enthusiasm for "getting out on the mountain" to them. In return, they may also pass this perspective on to generations after us. If nothing else, preparing for our/your hunts will force us to look at life a little differently when it comes to our personal health and longevity.

Good luck everyone. Here are a few pictures I digiscoped last Saturday of some mountain goats as I made my annual climb to the summit of Delano Peak in the Tushar Mountains here in Utah. All I can say is the wind "damn" near blew me off of there and it was colder than you know what! Take care and be safe.

Randy

HIGH DESERT WILD SHEEP GUDES

www.highdesertsheeguides.com

 

                                 

                                                

Southwest Hunting Adventures & Little Horn Outfitters Have Joined Forces

Southwest Hunting Adventures was established in 2005 by Travis and Troy Scott and Little Horn Outfitters was established in 2006 by Geof Moss when he guided David Combs on the auction permit. Eric Hunt joined the SWHA crew in 2010, and LHO added Josh Flowers in 2007 and Bob Kyhn in 2009. Together, this team spends close to 200 man-days in the Arizona sheep mountains each year looking for that next giant ram. These two outfitters have been chosen as the CEI Outdoors "Top Pick" Arizona Bighorn Sheep outfitter for the past 3 consecutive years. As separate entities, each has enjoyed tremendous success and earned a reputation as hardworking, dedicated sheep outfitters that consistently put big rams on the ground. Their clients have taken 15 net Boone & Crockett Arizona Desert Bighorn rams over the past 6 years (12 over 170 net B&C), with two that officially netted over 180 B&C. LHO is again guiding the Arizona Desert Bighorn auction permit in 2012 and expectations are high given the caliber of rams taken over the past two seasons. While their individual achievements have been noteworthy, they realized in 2012 that by pooling their talents, they could offer even more to prospective clients. Having gotten to know each other over the years, they developed a mutual respect that has formed the foundation for a new collaboration. Each specializes in different areas of Arizona, including most of the top-end trophy units for Mexicana desert rams. With a year-round dedication to scouting and a true passion for big rams, SWHA and LHO are poised for many years of continued success.


You can find us on the web @ www.azdesertsheepguides.com or on Facebook @ Arizona Desert Sheep Guides. Also check out Little Horn Outfitters blog @ www.littlehornoutfitters.blogspot.com