Pope & Young Club Recognition
Outstanding Outfitter of the Year — 2024 and 2025
Billy Gonzales of AZ B and B Outfitters has been honored by the Pope & Young Club as Outstanding Outfitter of the Year in back-to-back years — 2024 and 2025 — for his commitment to fair-chase bowhunting and ethical guiding in Arizona.
About the Pope & Young Club
The Pope & Young Club is the leading bowhunting and conservation organization in North America. Founded in 1961 and named for legendary archery pioneers Saxton Pope and Art Young, the Club maintains the official records for bowhunter-taken North American big game and champions the principles of fair-chase hunting. Its members include some of the most respected bowhunters, conservationists, and outfitters on the continent.
To Pope & Young, fair chase isn't a marketing line. It's a strict ethical standard — no electronic devices, no extended-range tactics, no shortcuts. The Club holds its members and the outfitters it recognizes to that standard.
The Outstanding Outfitter of the Year Award
The Pope & Young Club's Outstanding Outfitter of the Year award is reserved for outfitters who exemplify the Club's standards: ethical guiding practices, fair-chase principles, professional service, and a meaningful contribution to bowhunting and the broader hunting community.
It isn't given out lightly. Recipients are chosen by Pope & Young leadership from a deep pool of working outfitters across North America, and the award reflects both how an outfitter runs their hunts and how they represent the sport. For an Arizona outfitter focused on Coues deer and desert mule deer — species that demand patience, optics, and disciplined spot-and-stalk hunting — the award is a direct validation of the way we work.
2024 and 2025 — Back-to-Back Recognition
In 2024, Billy Gonzales received the Pope & Young Club's Outstanding Outfitter of the Year award. In 2025, Pope & Young recognized Billy again — back-to-back years.
Two consecutive years is rare. It reflects sustained excellence, not a single moment of recognition. It tells you what the rest of the bowhunting world already knew: AZ B and B Outfitters runs ethical, fair-chase hunts at a standard the most respected organization in bowhunting takes seriously.
What This Means for Hunters Booking With Us
When you book a guided hunt with AZ B and B Outfitters, you're booking with a Pope & Young-recognized outfitter. In practical terms, that means:
- Hunts are run on fair-chase principles. We don't cut corners, and we don't bend the standard for an easier shot.
- Our guides are held to a level of professionalism, ethics, and woodsmanship validated by the leading authority in bowhunting.
- Trophy bucks taken on our hunts can be entered into Pope & Young's record book under the Club's strict protocols.
- The same work ethic and standard that earned us Outfitter of the Year is what you get on every hunt — Coues deer, mule deer, elk, javelina, turkey, and sandhill crane.
About Billy and AZ B and B Outfitters
Billy Gonzales grew up hunting Coues deer in southern Arizona's Sky Islands. His operation specializes in fully guided hunts for Arizona's hardest-earned big game — the gray ghost Coues deer, trophy Sonoran Desert mule deer, and high-country elk. The team brings decades of combined experience behind the glass and on the stalk, run on the 100% Opportunity Outfitter standard Billy built his reputation on.
Read more about Billy and the team, or see what previous hunters have said about their guided Arizona hunting experiences with us.
Hunt with a Pope & Young-Recognized Outfitter
Plan a guided Arizona hunt with the team named Pope & Young Outstanding Outfitter of the Year in 2024 and 2025. Trophy Coues deer, Sonoran Desert mule deer, high-country elk, and more.
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