azelkhunter69

Went up to 6A the last two days to get away from work. Was shocked at the lack of bugles. I think last week might have been the best week, with the cold snap. Back to warm. Heard one half hearted bugle Sunday morning about 9am. After that, it was all before light. Didn't even hear many at night. Weird. That being said, the last couple days are always my favorite. Only die-hards left.

This point creep is getting ridiculous. I have 8 pts and that was enough to draw the archery Kaibab hunt last year. Looking like it wasn't enough this year. Was counting on it since the whole family got skunked on elk tags this year.

Strange, seems to going awfully slow. Typically comes mostly in one big wave the morning of.

$135 is elk

Interesting. Mine shows the tag number also. Doesn't help me know what unit though, could be either. Does make me think that we may get results Monday though. If they can post the tag number, obviously they know the unit.

Last year, they hit CC's on a Wednesday and the results came out the following Tuesday.

Interesting. I can't remember seeing this happen before. Anyone else?

Early archery

Yep, too early. Usually between 7:30am-8:30am

Elk draw deadline was Feb. 8th last year. CC hits on March 2nd. 3 weeks and 1 day after draw deadline. Deer draw went smoother. Deadline was June 14th and they hit CC's on the 28th. They will put out an announcement soon with the "Update CC deadline" date and they will hit CC's the next morning. At least that is the way it has been going. Since they haven't announced that yet, my bet would be that they hit CC's on March 7th. Just a guess though.

You need to keep in mind that we are spoiled here in AZ. Most people in the country would love to kill a 300" elk. There is a reason why the Pope and Young minimum is 260". 99% of hunters will never even get that. I get your point though, we do live in AZ so we can set our goals higher. Achieving them is another thing, especially with a bow. Nothing wrong with a 300" 6 x 6.

Congrats!! Can't always shoot big ones. Nothing like the reaction of someone that has never shot anything before!! Priceless.

The way things have gone over the last few years, I hate to throw info out on the Internet but I also don't want to be the guy that doesn't give an update. The guys that said they would be in the usual spots were kind of half right. There was a rain/ice/snow storm the Wednesday before the hunt. We didn't see an elk until Saturday afternoon. Sunday was a nice day with highs in the mid 40's and elk were everywhere in the morning. My brother-in-law scored on a 3x2, his first big game animal. You would have thought he shot a world record, it was awesome. We dropped him and the meat off at my mom's on Wednesday and my wife and I went back for the last day and a half. She was finally able to get it done on a 4x3 the last morning. That was the biggest bull we saw the whole hunt. Other than two days, it was windy and cold. The last day topped out at 50, but started at 19. I have discovered in 20+ years of hunting elk, that they are pretty soft for such a big animal. I have witnessed a bad rain storm(with some hail) drive them into the canyons to hide. This hunt was no different. The storm(and the snow storm the week prior) drove the elk lower. The big bulls never came back. I am not a biologist, but it makes sense to me that after expending so much energy during the rut, once they went lower, the big bulls weren't going to expend energy to travel back and/or to fight the cold. Everyone we talked to said/saw the same things we did. No elk, then cows and spikes/rag horns. In the end, I am glad we were able to give my brother-in-law a good experience and that we filled the freezer again. We want to shoot big elk as much as the next guy/gal but the meat and the opportunity to get in the woods is the most important. Definitely learned some lessons, as I do every elk season. Happy Thanksgiving and good luck to those that still have tags. I don't know what's going on with the pictures. I know this is a common problem, but not one I have ever had before. But, you get the idea. I

We'll be comfy with the wood stove going. Nothing better then a good wood pile. Good luck.

Hey guys. My wife and her brother have tags for the 6A muzzleloader hunt next week. His first big game hunt. We have had this hunt many times over the last 15 years and had good luck but, if the forecast holds, never that cold for that long. Typical hunt the temps are 60/35, this one looks like 45/23. The water is going to freeze and the bulls will go lower. We usually hunt 7000+ ft. I don't think that's going to work on this hunt. I have some ideas but, anyone have any experience hunting the southern part of the unit when it gets cold and they move? Please send me a private message. Those of you that have talked to me in the past know I don't share the information I am given. Thanks.