Hello Friends,
Well a bit of time has gone by without updating this blog. Won't happen again. In fact we are going to rev this baby up and bring it back to life. It's such an easy way to communicate our thoughts and the information that we feel the hunting community needs to hear. The hunting world can be a confusing business with lots of conflicting views and opinions. We will be sure to cut through the chaff and give it to you straight. As always, we will provide a direct and honest delivery on any matter we choose to discuss here.
The New Years resolution that we have chosen is to strive even harder to make A3 better than ever across all facets of our business. The fundamental feature that we want to drive home is the fact that we are a service company. We are here to serve our clients to the best of our ability and in as many ways as possible. From the first phone call, to the kill pictures taken with your dream animal, we want your precious time with us to blow away your expectations. It is our job to constantly strive to become better at all of our abilities and we are fully dedicated to doing just that. As the draw for Elk and Antelope pends, lets reflect on the 2018 season a bit...
While watching the snow fall heavy outside, its still not hard to remember that 2018 was the driest and most negatively impactful year for antler growth that Arizona had experienced in quite a few seasons. The rain gauges basically stayed empty from September of 2017 until July of 2018, besides a few isolated locations across the state. The spring green-up never really happened in most units and as the animals grew their bone they were relying on dry feed and what was left of old fat reserves from the previous year. To put it mildly, once the hunting seasons rolled around there wasn't much trophy quality expectation. Anyone that called and consulted with us was told this straight and blunt. The hunters that drew tags were told to turn their tags back in if they were hoping to maximize their trophy potential. It amazed us how many potential clients we spoke with that had been told by other outfitters that the upcoming season was going to be great and that antler growth was fine! I guess securing a hunt deposit instead of building a lasting relationship was more important to them. One thing A3 will never ever do is tell anyone some non-sense that is any less than 100% truthful just to get their deposit secured with no regard for the clients wishes or goal. Ever...
Once scouting season was upon us all of our concerns were verified. The antler growth was significantly down in almost all units statewide. Lucky were the clients that heeded our warning and either purchased bonus points or even turned their tags back into the Game and Fish Dept via the PointGuard option available. Once we had distilled our clients down to the hardy that were going hunting with us no matter the conditions, we launched into our season. One thing that our statewide scouting program has always produced for us is a list of the biggest and best animals in the units we guide, drought or not. Although our target animals were all down 5%-15% from the year prior, we still managed to find and harvest the biggest animals from each of the the units we guide. Now that the dust has settled it is plain to see that A3 clients again harvested the best animals statewide as compared to the other outfitters we compete with. Scouting has been the steady fundamental that has always paid off for us and our clients. We apologize that we can't offer a "free" or "zero" hunt program for clients looking to save money. I guess when your business model offers a free guided hunt, something has to take the hit and scouting is expensive...
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| Will's giant bull was the biggest bull harvested anywhere in Arizona in 2018 |
We kicked the year off with Will's absolutely giant 430"+ bull. This bull obviously found a wet spot to spend his growing months in. The east side of the state where this bull called home, and its higher elevations, usually provide a little relief from the worst effects of the drought when the rest of the state is suffering.
From the archery season to the early rifle to the late rifle, A3 clients hunted, found and harvested the best quality animals alive in their units.
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| Young Josh killed the biggest archery bull to come from famed unit 10 in 2018! |
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| Ryan and one of the biggest rifle bulls killed in unit 10 in 2018. |
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| Freddy with the biggest bull killed out of unit 9 with a bow in 2018! |
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| Emalie and her stud bull! |
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| Ben and his archery whopper. |
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| Jason with his late season brute from unit 27. |
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| Savannah and her monster buck! |
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| Brent with his huge hard earned buck. |
With the drought of 2018 behind us, we are very proud of the quality of game our valuable clients were able to harvest. We believe it speaks volumes about our program and our hardcore guides when we can still solidly produce even under the toughest of conditions. With the incredible amount of moisture the state of Arizona has been receiving this winter, to say the A3 family is excited for 2019 would be an enormous understatement! With the draw results soon to be released you owe it to yourself to call and see what we have to offer you. Our single focus is to serve you with the very best offering available in Arizona. We will treat your hunt as if it were our own. From A-Z, nothing will be spared to not only give you the experience you dream of, but to find and hunt the very best animals available in the unit you have drawn. Many have tried, but none have ever succeeded, in matching the A3 Trophy Hunts experience. We are eagerly look forward to speaking with you about what we provide...year in and year out. Thanks for reading and God Bless.
