Couple of the bulls we are watching grow right now!

Here's a few bulls that we are watching right now. You'll notice that most of these are also in our "Hit List" video as well from last season and unfortunately because of the drought conditions in the areas we hunt, these bulls will be smaller this year. They also have changed in antler configuration a bit, but they are still great bulls! Stay tuned as I'll have more updates soon with pics illustrating how these bull finished out! Thanks!

2012 Hit List

The Draw Results Are Out!!!

Finally, after much anticipation the results are finally out! We at Mullins Outfitters are very excited for the upcoming 2012 season and are already preparing and scouting! Congratulations to those that have drawn your dream tag, or any tag for that matter! And to those of you that didn't draw, don't forget about the great Over The Counter tags that are available! If you need help with a tag you drew or are interested in an OTC hunt with us, please call us or email anytime! We'd love to help you out!

A Great First Hunt In Old Mexico!

.

Well I'm back for a couple days from a great trip to old Mexico! Myself along with a couple friends headed south for our first hunt a little over a week ago. Knowing the moon would make it tough along with being an early hunt our expectations weren't very high. Immediately on the first day we started glassing up bucks and the midday activity kept us busy and hopefull that a giant buck would present itself!

It didn't take long before we finally had a great buck spotted and the stalk was on! Closing the distance quickly, my hunter and I made it to 513 yards from the feeding buck. I had the priviledge of trying out Swarovski's brand new 10x42 EL Range binoculars with the built-in range finder and those things are AMAZING! With these new binos on the tripod I was able to range the buck and watch the shot without taking my face away from the binos! My hunter made a great 1 shot kill and the buck was down immediately! We were both very excited to walk up and see

this massive 117" beast up close!

.

Next up was our other hunter and after relocating to check out a different ranch we immediately had another great buck spotted! Again, the stalk was on and the distance was cut from 700 yards to 270 yards and with 2 well placed shots the 110" 4x4 was ours!

.

So now with 2 great bucks in camp and several tags left we kept hunting! On one evening we located a pretty 103" 4x4 at 685 yards and my friend decided with the challenge of the shot, this buck was worth a try. He's practiced at this distance and with full confidence he proceeded to make a great first shot and followed it up with a perfect second shot to anchor the buck at 685 yards! It's not a giant but it was a great experience and some incredible shooting! We also had a pic of this buck on trail cam...

.

So there's the result of our first trip! We had smooth crossings at the border and we all felt safe and comfortable while on our trip. I can't wait to run out the door and head back down! Thanks and stay tuned to see what we turn up next! JIM>

Tony Get's His First Archery Bull!

.

During the archery elk hunts this year I was fortunate to experience an awesome hunt with good friends Tony and Craig! Tony and his family have hunted Coues with me for the last few years and we've had some great times together. I knew this hunt would be no different. Tony had drawn the archery elk tag and despite the slow rut and bad weather he kept his spirits up the whole time and I knew it was just a matter of time until he got the shot he wanted. The time frame between the first and last shot was a roller coaster full of emotions with it's highs and lows but in the end we were rewarded for all our determination and persistence! Thanks Tony for letting me experience it with ya and congrats on a great first bull and great job stickin' with it!

Here's Tony's story.....

"We'll, we spent 10 days hunting in solid rain with almost no rut activity and finaly got a shot at a nice Bull and I hit a little bit back, not the best shot. After givin him plenty of time we started tracking we'll we followed blood until it stoped then we were able to track him in the soft ground. At 12:30 and two miles later we GPS the last track and went back to camp. After a night of no sleep we picked his tracks back up and followed them for another two and a half miles were we spooked him off his bed and he blew out like nothing was wrong I just knew we were not gona recover this bull. So we stayed put and gave him some more time after what seemed like forever we were back on his tracks. He had only gone 200yards and beded this time we were ready we closed the distance to 45yrds man I was shacking so bad but I took a deep breath and sent the arrow and place a great shot hitting both lungs. He blew out again and went 60 yards where he crashed and we recoverd him. What an awsome hunt and a great track job by Craig and Jim. It pays to be persistant!"

.

Cole Smokes A Beast With A Muzzleloader!

Here's another great bull we had the great fortune to help with this year!

I got the call from Bob Horchler early on stating his son Cole had drawn a great muzzleloader bull tag this year! Cole only had a couple days to hunt as he just started college, so we knew we had our work cut out for us! The tag he had is one that you don't want to just shoot any bull, even with limited time you still want to take a good bull and that was our goal!

As everyone knows, the rut was very difficult this year but we had some great bulls lined up and the hunt was on. On our first morning, Jeff and I took Cole to an area where we had 2 bulls located. Both bulls would bugle very sparingly early and late but we knew their bugle and basically where they lived. We had Cole's mom and dad, Bob and Heidi, with us on that first morning as well! Right away we had the bugle we wanted. This particular bull is named "Floppy" because of a damaged ear. We moved in on the bull and played cat and mouse for a long time with him. Floppy was very educated and was smart enough to keep brush between us and him the whole time! It was frustrating being within range of him but never getting a shot! We didn't get the shot that morning but to have the family there to experience it all made it very cool!

I had to leave for home that evening and Jeff took Cole and the family back to the same area. The evening was quiet so they split up on two different waterholes that were close to each other. Cole's dad and brother were on one and Jeff and Cole were on another. They had only waited for a short time when Bob clicked the radio indicating a bull was visible where he was at! Jeff and Cole snuck over to the waterhole and got a visual on the bull that was now in the tank and right in front of Cole's dad and brother! Jeff knew instantly this wasn't a bull to pass on and Cole sent a perfect shot into the bull! The bull wasn't even down yet as the celebration started, everyone knew the shot was perfect and the family had a front row seat to the show!

.
It was great meeting the Horchler family and hunting with them! Cole is a great hunter and we were all excited that he tagged a great bull! Congrats Cole!

.

2 Hunters, 2 Great Tags, Over 750" of bone!

I'm not going in order here but I'm excited to share this story with you all!

We had 2 hunters, Davey and Gene, in Unit 10 this year on the early rifle hunt. Bryan would be the guide and my brother and myself would be helping throughout the hunt. Bryan did a great job and scouted for weeks before the opener and had some giant bulls picked out! Our hunters, Davey and Gene and Gene's brother Robert, are great guys and the atmosphere in camp was awesome and I only wish I could've been there during the whole hunt! Camps like that are why I love doing what I do and killing big bulls is only icing on the cake on those ones!

Matt and Bryan took both guys out seperately, Matt with Davey and Bryan with Gene. Bryan had some big bulls hitting a tank so he took Gene to sit it. I'm very surprised anything came in because I know how much I laugh being around Gene and I know Bryan had to be rolling in the dirt trying not to laugh out loud in the blind! Gene is one of those characters that even when he's not trying he gets ya laughing! Bryan would keep getting out of the blind to splash in the water in hopes a bull could hear it and come to investigate, but I know he was just needing a break from Gene! LOL! Eventually a big ol' bull came in to check out the noise and Gene was ready for him! Gene laid the smack down on him and tagged the biggest bull of his lifetime! Matt and Davey were close enough to hear the shot and they all were excited to see Gene killed a great bull!

Now it's Davey's turn! Matt and Bryan tag teamed and even with the help of Gene's brother Robert they relocated a bull that Bryan had some history with from the earlier archery season. Bryan had his archery hunter on this bull on opening day and his hunter shot him with what they thought at the time was a high lung shot. Unfortunately another guide ran in on the bull even though they knew Bryan's hunter already shot him! A whole mess of unfortunate events followed and everyone thought the bull ran off and died....but that wasn't the case! The arrow had actually passed through the back straps just above the rib cage and the bull was healthy and rutting his harem of cows 2 weeks later!

Matt, Bryan and Davey hunted this bull hard for several days with some very close calls but no shots fired. Bryan knew this bull intimately and everytime he moved Bryan knew exactly where to relocate him! Matt had to go back to work so I headed over to take his place. On my first evening there I watched as Bryan and Davey moved in on the bull but unfortunately bumped him again. Bryan told me exactly where to find the bull in the morning and the plan was set!

The next morning Bryan headed to a high point as Davey and I moved into the country where Bryan said the bull would be. Sure enough just after light we hear a bugle! There are no other bulls in this area so we knew it was him! I grabbed Davey and moved quick into position just as his cows came across a clearing at 200 yards! I threw the tripod down, Davey dropped his gun into place, I ranged the opening, here comes tines....It's him, 210 yards.....BOOOM! WHOP!!!! He's hit, He's down!!!!

I called Bryan and assured him that 5 weeks worth of watching him and all the drama he's endured with this bull, it was finally over! Davey and I walked up to the beast first and it never gets old for me, something about walking up to a giant bull and seeing the emotions on the hunters face is why I do what I do! Bryan came up shortly after and it was dead quiet. Davey and I didn't say anything and I could see through Bryan's watery eyes as he picked up the rack what he was feeling. He spent a crazy amount of time trying to kill this bull and had gone through some crazy bullcrap with other hunters in the process. This was his second hunter to shoot this bull and getting to put his hands on the antlers was a long time coming!

Even though I loved every second of the short time I spent with Davey and Bryan, it should have been my brother Matt standing there with Davey when he killed this bull. Matt had been there for everything but the kill and I felt bad just showing up for the finale...but I'll get over it, I had a blast!!! LOL!! Here's the beast named "Sidekick"! Average 61" on beams, over 44" wide, 390" straight 6!

Again, it was a great hunt, and I know it was an awesome camp with great folks! To kill two great bulls in the end was just icing on the cake and I'm glad I got to at least see one of em' hit the dirt! Bryan and Matt did an incredible job and their hard work was obvious to all that shared in the hunt. Thanks to Robert and Glen for all your help in camp and Dad and Gary for their help as well early on! Congrats to Davey and Gene on your great bulls! Mullins.

.