Jay Scott

Thanks guys for all of the kind remarks! Claude was a great guy to hunt with and it was special to see him get such a nice ram.

Congrats to Claude Warren of Saco, Maine on harvesting a giant Nelsoni ram on his Arizona Super Big game raffle sheep tag. We have lots of great photos and video to post but this photo will have to suffice for now. AZGFD score is 183 1/8 gross and 179 2/8 Net. Special thanks to our great friend Fred Ashurst for his hospitality. Much more to come soon! View the full article

Here are some more photos from the 2013 Arizona Big Game Super Raffle Sheep Hunt with Claude Warren. We are blessed to be able to have such a magnificent animal to hunt like the desert bighorn sheep! View the full article

It was great to get out into the Arizona desert and do some scouting for the upcoming AZ Raffle Desert Sheep hunt. We are very fortunate to be chosen as the guides for the hunter from Maine. This will be the third year in a row we have guided this tag and just feel honored to be involved. We are all excited to get the hunt started and begin our adventure. The Good Lord has blessed us with awesome weather for scouting with highs in the upper 70's and lows in the 40's. The late summer rains have the western desert very green and fertile. There is no doubt this year the sheep seem to be feeding very well and are in good shape. We have found quite a few rams and many wild burros. The burros seem to be taking over and multiplying like rabbits. We will keep you posted as our adventure unfolds. View the full article

cess, that is a remote control for my video camera. I use that tripod for my video camera as well. The remote is made by Canon. Hope that helps!

Darr and I just got home from 30 days of elk hunting. We have lots of stuff to post about our elk hunts this year in Unit 9 on both the archery and muzzy hunts. Here is a pic of Lori Benson's Muzzleloader Bull that she harvested on the six night. Also a pic of Bryan Otts first elk on the archery hunt. More pics and video to come soon........ View the full article

I hear what you two are saying but remember guides are like attorneys.....you hate them until you need one...................

Guys- I just got in from out of town but was overwhelmed with the PM's and emails on this post. AZBorn and I obviously see things differently on the subject of this years season. Actually, I think I am paying him even more of a compliment by saying again that I am glad that he helped his friend get a great bull in Unit 9 this year! In my opinion, their accomplishment is even better on a year like we have had. I have spoken and received messages from many guides, hunters and sportsman on their opinion of antler growth in Units 9 and 10. I have not talked to one person that thinks the antlers were normal this year. All have expressed their opinion that it was well below normal. The reality is it doesn't really matter at this point. Excuse or not, some years you get a big one and some years you don't. I respect AZborn's opinion as a member of this site even though I don't agree with some of his views. This site has always seemed to be different from the others and that is why we chose to be a sponsor. I am happy to be a member and sponsor of this site. I actually completely disagree with AZBorn's opinion of guides in this state. I have found most hunters and guides in this state are very respectful to other hunters in the field. Quite honestly my experience in most all cases is that most guides in this state are very professional and a class act. I really don't want to degrade this site with trivial stuff. I am happy to discuss all aspects of the hunt with anyone at anytime. My performance as a guide and hunter will always be subject to critical judgements and that is ok. When its all said and done I think I can be proud of my efforts. Give AZBorn a break because he is a fellow hunter who just has a different opinion on a few issues. Lets move on. Its time to keep scouting and find some great sheep and coues bucks for this upcoming season. Sincere Congrats to AZBorn and others who harvested giant bulls this season in Unit 9 and 10!

I met Craig Benson while helping a friend for a day in Unit 3B in 2008. His wife Lori drew the tag for Unit 9 muzzleloader this year. They decided to hunt with Darr and I and we had a great time looking for a bull for her to harvest. Lori and Craig are two of the nicest and funnest people that you could ever expect to hunt with. Lori harvested a beautiful 6X6 on the sixth evening of the hunt. Congrats to Lori, Craig and their son Hunter! The wildflowers were awesome this year in Unit 9 and made for some good photos. Lori's hunt will be featured on Cabelas Out West in two weeks. View the full article

Here are a few more pics of Caseys 2013 Giant. Rough measurements are 51-52 mainbeams, 33-34 on mass, 447 3/8 gross. Congrats again Casey and thanks for bringing it by and hanging with us. View the full article

I had the pleasure of helping Darr with his archery client in Unit 9 this year. He was hunting with Bryan Otts of Mesa, Arizona on the archery hunt. Darr and Bryan, along with Cabelas Out West producer and cameraman Drew Yarkosky, hit the hills running looking for Bryan's first archery bull. After scouting 11 days prior to the hunt we still were in search for a great bull. I mainly focused on glassing while the guys tried to run one down on the ground. It was evident early on that antler growth was weaker than normal but we still worked hard to find some good bulls. We had some close calls during the hunt on several nice bulls and we all had a great time elk hunting. As you will see from the photos the unit was extremely wet and very green throughout. Congrats to Bryan on his first elk with a bow that he harvested late in the hunt. Bryan and his girlfriend Dawn had a sincere love for the outdoors. Click on the video link below to see both episodes of Bryan's hunt on Cabelas Out West. Scroll down to the hunts on 9.18 and 9.25. I really like the new Outdoorsmans Butt Pad Friend Cody Goff using the Outdoorsmans DigiAdpater for the I Phone Testing some more elk calls Photos below are courtesy of Drew Yarkosky View the full article

AZborn- You Said,”Jay, its just a different opinion of what Unit 9 was like for me this year. Please don't feel a need to say I have a "personal beef with you" just because I have a different opinion from yours. You asked for it remember. I have said some nice things about you too. Sure I have thrown-in a lil sarcasm... that's what guys do, so don't play the victim card that I'm someone who has a beef with you personally. And then play the hero card and say "leave cmag out of it", "deal me me if you have a beef". Come on man, We are just talking here, why make this more than it is? Stay on topic . I know you're not comfortable with people with a differ opinion than yours on your sponsored forum(mix with some sarcasm, I know I know). Instead of rallying the troops against me, why not ask me some clarifying questions about my experience to demonstrate you actually are interested in others opinion, including those who don't support yours.” Again, I am glad you and your buddies had a great time in Unit 9 and found some “monsters”. I have tried to be nothing but complimentary in this conversation. I have not rallied any troops against you. I am perfectly fine with opinions that are different from mine. I actually usually learn something everytime I have a healthy debate. I would prefer this specific debate be between just you and me. I am perfectly fine with having a debate or conversation about our topic. Do I appreciate some of your sarcasm? No I do not. Do I honor your opinion as a member of this site that we all like because it is so different than others? Yes I do. To your statement about great hunters, I am perfectly aware that there are some great hunters out there that are not guides. I know some guys that are not guides that are twice as good of a hunter and elk caller than myself. And yes, I am aware that lots of people help other hunters for free and that is great. It is so nice and pleasant to see friends rally around other friends to help out. I too help a lot of people for absolutely no compensation at all. Also, once the archery hunt began I did not go on foot chasing bulls in the thick jungles. I mainly glassed the whole time trying to find a good bull for Darr and his hunter to go after. We did not feel that it was a good thing for me to going charging through the brush chasing bugles when someone had a coveted archery tag in their pocket. If you see that as another excuse for not finding a giant than so be it. We thought that was the courteous thing to do considering that some guys had burned 16 years to get this tag. You asked me for some questions? Ok. Here you go. 1) Did you find a specific area where every bull had a big back end and not droughted? Or did you find a random bull over 360 in the midst of droughted bulls? (not asking or looking for specific areas or names of areas on a map) I did not find specific areas where the bulls were not droughted in general. 2) Are you agreeing that antler growth overall was less than normal? I believe it was down overall. 3) Do you agree that there were far less bulls under 360 than a normal in Unit 9? I believe there were far less bulls under 360 this year than normal. 4) Did you find one specific type of browse that you feel the bulls that you found that were over 360 were feeding on? I did not find one constant that I could put my finger on that made one bull have big antler and his buddy did not. 5) The two bulls that were shot over 400 came from one area, do you feel they fed on something to make them big like normal or do you think their age allowed them to be big regardless of feed throughout the spring and summer? I do not know what they fed on other than grass at the Best Western in Tusayan to be that much better than most of the other bulls. 6) Do you feel that those bulls over 400 spent the entire summer in one spot then remained there for the rut or do you feel they moved to rut? I think the two giants that got killed must have summered together in the “promised land” 7) Do you mind posting a picture of the bull you harvested so we can admire? You Said, “You say u stand by your statement that poor antler growth is your answer to diehards question of him expecting to see larger bulls from you in 9. I think its a true statement and you should stick with it. Its true that you guided Mr. Ott to the 'location' where antler size was smaller than usual. Location, not smaller antler is my opinion of the best topic this year... and not to say that unit wide "extreme droughted" bulls was your problem... and topic you started. To diehards observation, Remember, you were the one who created this expectation that people have of you and your skills. Own it when you have an off archery hunt in 9. The spot light is on you more than anyone else because of the endless flood of vids/pics when someone simply googles elk in Arizona. ( sarcasm again... I apologize in advance). Its just an observed fact nothing more.” I believe antler growth was way down in general in Unit 9 this year, I think the spring was too dry and too cold. I believe that I got a lesson in need for getting bulls started off great in the spring in order to have normal to good antlers. As to the Google comment, I cannot control google searches. You might have to take that up with Google. As for Diehards statement I agreed with him in being disappointed with the size of bulls seen and harvested this year in unit 9 by us and others. Overall, I believe the majority of other hunters in Unit 9, 10, 8 and 7W were disappointed with antler growth. I still believe that this year was way down on antler size quality. Was it still a great fun hunt? Absolutlely. Did we still try very hard to find a good one? Absolutely. Did other hunters give equal effort? Absolutely. Is it my opinion that Unit 9 was nothing like what we are all used to? Absolutely. Did a few fortunate hunters harvest some fantastic bulls? Absolutely. As far as expectations of my findings or performance, no one has higher expectations than myself. I push myself to great lengths to do everything I can to find trophy animals. The reality of hunting and scouting is sometimes you find them and sometimes you don’t. I go out each morning with high expectations for what might lie in front of me that day. I will say again I am so glad that you found a few great bulls. I would argue that if you believe that overall antler growth this year in Unit 9 was anything close to “normal” then we have a different opinion of “normal”. I will also say for the record that trail camera pictures and seeing the bulls in person are two totally different things. I am not in any way saying you didn’t see these monsters with your own eyes or that you are strictly talking about trail cameras but I did want to make that point. I have seen the 7-8 giants on the top five guide services in Unit 9 trail cam pics. There is no doubt that this summer the same monsters were on the cams like always. Only two of those bulls were harvested (Scratch/Rhino and Scooby/Flare). Typically those bulls run for the park and stay there once the hunt starts. This year was no different in my opinion. You Said,”Location, location. location. You're familiar with that, right Jay. Every year is different in 9 and scouting is always necessary. Some years only vary slightly where bulls are... this year varied widely from past years. I only can assume it was the massive monsoon we had up there. We were lucky (blessed) and went out looking in unconventional places. Elk were using these places in numbers unlike past years. They seemed pocketed more that most years. But it didn't happen unit August. All summer we found them in the usual places. Then the rains fells an forced us into scramble mode.” I am familiar with location and agree that location is everything. I will say that I literally covered every inch of the unit except for the upper basin because I had some friends hunting there and did not want to intrude on their area. I never found a constant variable where the back ends weren’t droughted. I think the pines seemed to be a little less droughted but not by much. I want to be clear that I still know that a few good bulls were harvested in all areas of Unit 9 this year. I just never saw anything (other than 1) that was over what I thought was 360. This brings up another point, what I think is 360 some might think is 350 and some might think is 370. It is hard to have this debate when the constant variable of scoring is all over the map high and low. I am more conservative than some and more aggressive than others. To your other point, I found elk in all corners of the unit. I never had trouble finding elk anyplace I went. What I had was a hard time finding bulls over 360 inches. You Said, “Location is the topic for me; Elk are mostly grazers. Elk burn a lot of energy in the fall (cows included). God has wired them to know how to find the best energy source available at that time of year. It still amazes me how they find these places for fast. Look for the good grasses (growing densely together in large expanses). Grass is everywhere but there are many pockets that will make you look twice.” I agree with this last paragraph. Elk are plentiful in Unit 9 and this year was no different. I look forward to your pics and response. Hopefully, I can learn something from this.

Anthony- That is a great question and is one I have thought a lot about. My opinion is that with the extreme moisture the elk were spread out and not congregated like on more normal drier years. When its dry its seems they all meet up at the watering hole for a drink and it they get more animal interaction thus they tend to get more worked up. The elk seemed very spread out this year which was awesome because the people were spread out too. The drawback is a little less bugling early in the hunt. Another thing that I noticed is when elk don't have to move long distances between feed, bedding and water they seem to be way quieter because they are already content with their cows. In wet monsoon years, there is feed in the trees and they don't have to move big distances to find good grass. Glad you saw some nice bulls!

azborntohunt you seem to have a specific beef with me personally and for that I am sorry. I applaud you on your success this year in Unit 9! I still stand by my statement that Unit 9 was not like normal this year. I never said that there were not a few good bull out there. There were a few good ones killed and I think I have been nothing but complimentary to those that have had great success this year. I believe I have been the first to admit that others found some good ones and that we didn't. I suggest you leave couesmag out of this and just continue your BEEF with me. As to this statement, "Over-rating the need to master an elk call and marketing other gadgets is leading new elk hunters down the wrong path. I say, Simply with a Primos external mouth call such as the Lip Service... and nothing else... a guy with a little know how can down any big bull out there. Knowing how to move on elk is way move valuable than thinking you need to know how to call one in. Know-how comes from a willingness or ability to spend time out there." If you ask anyone that as ever hunted with me, I actually call very little. I do use the cow call effectively at times though as do others. You do make some valid points and I do respect your opinion. I bet out of 100 archery tags there were only 5-10 bulls over 350 inches that were harvested. On a normal year, my bet is that number is twice to three times that. Again I am so glad that you had great success finding some giants. As for protecting my "rep" I think I have proven to be a hard working, god fearing elk loving person. As a matter of fact just for the record I did not even take a hunter for the archery season in Unit 9. I decided to spend time with my buddy and help him and his hunter. I have learned a long time ago that the hunt is way more than inches buddy and that some years you get a big one and some years you don't. It is sure fun trying to find those big boys though! God Bless you in your adventures and the rest of your hunts this year. As to the rest of you guys in 8,9,10 and 7W, what was your thoughts on rut intensity and antler growth? I like to hear others opinions and findings.

CouesMag, I appreciate you trying to substantiate our record. My opinion of our record is that we do fairly well most of the time but some times we don't. I know you guys have killed some awesome animals over the years and you don't have to answer to anyone. As to AZBorntoHunt, you sound like you had a great year and that is fantastic. I still believe Unit 9 was way off of normal on antler growth. I saw many bulls that had weak fifths and short main beams. With that said there were a few giants over 400 killed in the very unit we pounded for 30 days. I obviously did not find any of those bulls but tried very hard to do so. My hats off to the Mossback Az crew for their tremendous success this year on harvesting one giant after another. They always work extremely hard. I am not making excuses for having an off year. It is what it is. My theory is that the bulls had a very weak start and the spring was very dry. Obviously some bulls found a way to pack on the size but the majority did not in my opinion. I think the grass fed bulls were extremely droughted and the few big ones must have found some specific type of browse to get them through. I can only speak for Unit 9 this year as this was the only unit I spent 30 days straight in. Most years in Unit 9 my experience is that there are many 340-360 bulls and a few giants. This year it seemed that there were many 320-340 bulls and a few giants but the gap seemed to fall in the 340-360 range. We have photos and video of many droughted bulls throughout the entire unit. With that being said we gave thanks every night to have the opportunity to chase this majestic animal that God created. It should also be noted that that was the greenest from edge to edge that I have ever seen any elk unit in Arizona. I just think it came to late. Again congrats to Azborntohunt on your success of finding a great bull. I can't wait for next elk season and the adventure that awaits. I hope to keep learning and experiencing the great outdoors for years to come.......

Me too Diehard......There were a couple of giants killed that wandered from their sanctuary in the park in Unit 9 this year. I would say 98% of the rest of the bulls were severely droughted in the fifths and main beams. Worst antler growth year I have seen in 20 years of doing this. Still a great time and a blessing to be enjoying Gods creation during the month of September. I can't wait to hear others perspective on antler growth in Units 8,9,10 and 7W. We saw one bull over 360 between Darr and I in 30 days of working it over pretty good. Got to say Mossback Arizona absolutely knocked it out of the park this year and I take my hat off to them for their success in these conditions. Going to be posting some theories and other thoughts in the coming days. For me it was a good year to learn a few things about elk.......

We get questions at JSO Blog quite often and I thought this would be a good one to share with you guys, "Hi Jay, I have a question maybe you could help me with. I have had luck calling bulls in by myself this My brother finally drew a bull elk tag after 17 years, my question is when I set up behind him to call and a bull comes in that I can not see and I continue to call will it blow the bull out. How do you determine when not to call and when to call when set up behind a hunter." Answer from Jay Scott: I like to try to stay close enough to my hunter so that I know what is going on. I can read the bulls reaction and the communicate with my hunter as to whether the bull is a "shooter" or not. The single biggest problem with getting out of sight from your hunter is if a bull comes in that is not large enough and the hunter shoots it thinking it is a big bull. It is a very dangerous position to be in when you have finally drawn a premium tag. I have been bit several times by leaving a hunter alone then fading away while working a bull. Fading away can be one of the most deadly tactics to calling in a bull in to your hunter but it comes with huge consequences. If your hunter is very good at field judging then I would say this is one of the best methods for killing bulls. My archery hunter in 2009 Todd Brooks harvested an awesome bull by this very method. Once you have the bulls attention and you know he is coming in just fade away and he will walk right into your hunters lap and usually give him a great shot. In regards to when to determine to call, I like to get their attention and get them coming then just give them enough to keep coming. Don't overcall because if you keep them guessing your position they will most likely not hang up. If you call while they are approaching they will try to see you and then recognize that there is no elk where it should be. Get them fired up then let them walk. Fight the urge to call. When you do call make it count and it needs to sound perfect. Hope that helps. View the full article

We had some good rain and the fish seem rejuvenated. They were looking up taking dries and Jeanne gave a few a brief ride in the blue boat........ View the full article

Just want to clear things up. I had absolutely nothing to do with the harvest of the bull. Casey is a friend and he stopped by our camp in Unit 9 on his way home and stayed the night with us. Him and I finally put a tape on his bull. Sweet bull for sure!

My friend Casey Brooks just shot another giant bull. We rough scored him at 447 and change last night in camp. He was passing thru unit 9 on his way home to Washington. I will post a bunch more pics today. Congats to Casey on his 61st elk with a bow! View the full article

My oldest son Parker (age 11) and I headed out this past weekend for the opening weekend of the Arizona archery deer hunt. Parker made a perfect 30 yard shot on a mule deer buck the first evening to harvest his first big game animal with a bow. I was super excited for him. He practices with his bow almost every night and it paid off! Here are some pictures and the video. View the full article

Well it is the time of year that all sportsman look forward to. Some hunts across the West have been kicking off already and pics are circulating with lots of fine trophies. Arizona has already seen some phenomenal deer harvested on the Strip and I am sure some great sheep and elk pics are soon to follow. We are busy getting ready for elk, deer and sheep hunts this fall and the excitement level is high and optimistic. We are proud to be involved with Cabelas again this year on the Cabelas Out West video series. 2013 should bring lots of smiles and laughs along with some blood, sweat and tears. Tomorrow is the first of the Cabelas Out West videos to air and should feature the giant AZ Raffle deer hunt in which a 230+ buck gets harvested. We want to encourage you guys to hunt hard and don't forget to thank the Lord above for all of the great opportunities to enjoy in his creation. We are going to try and keep you posted on our upcoming hunts! Good Huntin' to you. View the full article

Sorry I misunderstood I thought when you said early bull you meant early rifle/muzzy. I think the archery hunt is better than the muzzy hunt. I think your chances of getting a bigger bull are better on the archery because of three reasons: first crack at bulls, not as many broken antlers and 14 days to hunt them. Set your own sights. Let your scouting dictate your goals and harvest objectives. Lots of elk to go around for everyone in Unit 9. Be patient and take the good with the bad and roll with the punches. Hope you have a great experience. God Bless. PS-340 is extremely achievable

Crzy- Congrats! 25 tags makes this one of the most enjoyable elk hunts in the state. Lots of 340-360 type bulls and a few giants. Here are a few pointers: Enjoy the hunt, don't let others expectations spoil your experience, and scout your brains out. PS-keep in mind that year in and year out only a couple of bulls over 370 get killed on this hunt.

67-No I have never been in 7W. I will be in Unit 9. Seldom-Bugling has never worked for me on old big smart Arizona bulls. Works great on small stuff but I have better success with being sweet than salty. Glad it works for you though! Lots of fun!