azelkhunter69

Sorry, have to add another photo. Just awesome. Daniel Gradillas of Spot-N-Stalk Skullz is doing an amazing job for me. He just keeps sending me great photos.

Almost done. Daniel Gradillas of Spot-N-Stalk Skullz holding him.

Nice bull and congrats to the kid but I don't think that bull goes 400. Mostly photo angles. Look at the size of the kid's hand compared to the tines and look how the guide(I assume) is sitting as far back as possible with his arm extended as far as he can. Not knocking it, nice bull. Just don't think it is the one you were talking about.

Talked to his dad. He is too busy and my bull is stinky. He told his neighbors no stinky ones. LOL. Maybe next time.

From what I saw in Unit 8, horn growth on the back end was horrible. Saw lots of nice bulls and almost every one had nothing on the back end. Other guys in the area said the same. Bulls were screaming, but only until about 8am at the latest. 8 was HOT. 1st 5 days were 85 degrees and still 81 on day 13. I saw a couple bulls killed but most went home empty handed from what I saw/heard. Unless my bull had horrible genetics, I believe he potentially lost 30 - 50 inches on the back end. His fronts were insane but he had 3 inch 5ths, and short main beams. Add a normal 5th for his size and even just 5 inches onto the beam and you add 30 - 40 inches. Just my opinion.

Back from 8 long enough to drop my kid off. Bugled all night Thursday, Friday, less Saturday, Only a couple after that. Bugled good in the morning Friday, got within 70 - 80 yards of 2 5x5's and a 6x6. Saturday, close again. Sunday I finally saw a good 6x6 but got busted by a cow. That was right at daylight, after that....silence. Monday it was dead and I heard 1 bull bugle this morning. I was closing in on him and had his cows walk by at 23 yards, then a freaking woodcutter comes driving up through the forest. Talk about pissed off. Anyway, it has been hot up there, 85. Add that into all the weekend hunters and this is what happens. Bulls go silent for a couple days until things settle down. Probably well over half the guys are gone already. Cooler weather tomorrow with chance of rain. It will pick up. Headed to the store and then back up. Good luck.

Gonna continue hot and dry if we can believe the 10 day forecast. It has been drying up quick the last 2 weeks. It went from super dry, to wet, and now back to dry. Had an ok 6x6 bugling behind my camp Sunday morning. Went up to check him out. He had bugled all night and was still at it at 7am when I left him. Unfortunately(or fortunately depending on your opinion) these hot, dry years happen. I'm sure a lot of guys will be fighting over water....but that happens every year. Get 'em early in the morning before they go lay down. I am headed up early Thursday morning and will be there until I get one, or the season ends, whichever comes first. Good luck guys.

Just got back from 8. Bulls kept me up all night bugling right behind camp. Watched a little 6x5 herd about 20 cows around for about 30 mins. this morning before I left. I think there were a couple herds together during the night and then they split up at dawn. The 6x5 stuck around and the other one took some cows and went elsewhere. Saw some big herds with smallish bulls herding them. Big boys haven't shown up yet. Couple more weeks.

Buck or Bull rub? Bull rub, thrashed a little pine tree. Wildwoody is right, bucks are still in velvet.

Was in 8 this weekend. Rained Friday afternoon and then again in the middle of the night. Then got more rain and hail about 4am. Hit or miss. Some tanks were really low and then I saw a pretty big one that would be overflowing with about another foot. Did see my first rub of the year though. Heading back in a couple weeks to check out some more spots and put some cameras out. Put one out this weekend on a wallow.

Awesome bull. Just because nobody else did.....it's "depredation".....just so you know. Not trying to be a jerk.

Here is the website and info. Tom will walk you through this and sorry for your loss and Thank You for thinking oh helping a Vet. https://www.arizonaelksociety.org/hunts-for-heroes I am pretty patriotic and served in the Air Force myself. We have several family members that have served in many wars, and I have a son in the Army and one about to go into the Navy. Getting a refund was never really an option. Hunts for Heroes was my first choice. When I talked to my dad and told him the options, he said "Donate it." Thank you guys. I will talk to Tom soon and get things taken care of. My mother is still out of state.

They're running late. My CC got hit at 7:08am for elk

My father finally drew a bull tag with a firearm instead of archery, but just lost a 7 month battle with cancer. 6A muzzleloader tag in November. He/we were really looking forward to it because he wasn't much of an archer but kept trying, he just loved the elk woods in September. He never did kill a bull. Before he passed, he told me to donate his tag to Hunts for Heroes. Can someone tell me who "Tom" is and how I can get ahold of him please? This just happened 3 weeks ago, so all I have done is briefly look on the website. I know there are some forms to fill out and it looks like one of them needs to be notarized. Not sure if this is something I can get done or if I need to have my mother do it. We both will be out of state on and off for about the next 3 weeks, so there isn't really anything I can do before then. Thanks.

http://www.coueswhitetail.com/forums/topic/78603-243-for-elk/

another one with low post count and no profile pic. And there's one of the other top 3. Another one with a high post count that feels the need to comment on every thread. Sometimes it's just better to keep quiet if you are just going to add negativity to a conversation. I don't want to engage and go tit for tat with you two because knowing the way you are, it would never end. I just find it humorous that 777 has such a high opinion of himself that he thinks nobody could have a poor opinion of him, other than the outfitter he stole from. I'm just a normal, good guy that loves to hunt. Have a nice day boys.

You know they don't have to give any sort of discount on anything right? Okay so you quoted me you want to go back and read my first sentence please thank you hoghntr, you have to remember who you are dealing with. One of the top 3 most negative people in this forum. I don't say much, but this guy has been working my nerves for a while now. How an admitted thief and liar got a job working for an outfitter is beyond me.

This is an age old question. Pretty much comes up every year. As others have already said, and proven, the .243 Win. is more than big enough. Some guys are always going to stick to the "bigger is better" motto, especially the guys that like to get beat up by the .300+ magnums. Personally, I don't like to get punished, or flinch. The .243 has been the starter rifle in my house as well. One of my sons also shot a cow with a .257 Roberts with a 100 gr. Sierra. Shot her in the neck and she dropped where she stood. Elk really aren't that hard to kill if you hit them in the right spot. And they have a BIG kill zone compared to most of the other animals we hunt. I also agree the Creedmoor is a good choice. I won one in an AES raffle and am currently working up a load of 120 gr. Ballistic Tips for my wife to use as a deer/antelope gun. Wouldn't hesitate to use them on elk either, although I would probably opt for the Partition if that was the case. Good luck to the kids, and post pics of the kids holding that .243 over another downed elk. Enjoy. Nothing better than sharing the experience of a kid being successful.

I don't think anyone has really said anything, but Game and Fish really seemed to have it together for this draw. They seem to be figuring it out. Everything happened pretty quick. I for one am pleased with the progress they have made....and that my dad and I are hunting bulls this Fall.

for the last deer draw, they posted results 6 business days after they hit CC's. Hit cards on Friday July 7th and posted results on Monday the 17th.

I have seen this picture before but this is the first time I noticed you shot him in the head. LOL How did that happen?

Thought I had a lot of points for antelope...sitting at 17....but I see so many guys ahead of me with 24+, I am seriously thinking about saying screw it and putting in for an archery tag. I am kind of stuck in the middle. Waited this long for a rifle tag but potentially so many years to go. Always said I would hunt once with a rifle and then put in for archery, but dang, it could still be a long time waiting for the rifle tag. Point creep is getting worse every year.

Just started boys. Chase just alerted me. Elk tag. Oh crap...just realized I got hit for 2 elk tags. My dad and myself.

UPDATED.....Let me start by saying that for a few reasons I have been building points for deer for several years. I spend most of my vacation chasing elk, whether it be my hunt(not usually) or my wife's, kid's, or my parent's. So, I find myself sitting on 10 pts. I was going to use them on a Strip archery hunt for myself. But, over the past 6 months I got to thinking about my dad's age and what little time I have left to hunt with him...he will be 78 in September. He has been my hunting partner for most of my life and I don't look forward to the not to distant future when he will no longer want to go, be able to go, or inevitably not be here to go. He and I have never been to the Kaibab and I for one believe that we should all go at least once in our lives. So, I have decided that I will use my points to potentially get us a tag there this Fall. An avg. of 6 pts gets us in the bonus round for either hunt so we should have a really good chance. Neither one of us drew elk tags so I think it is a good time to do it. Also, he has a Kimber rifle that he is very fond of and recently told me that he has never killed anything with it and he would really like to. So, I am looking for advice, opinions, scouting tips, hunting tips, camp spot tips, etc...anything really. Which hunt and why? We have an old canvas wall tent with a wood burner that my dad has been using for probably close to 50 years. It's seen a lot. Firewood availability? Might seem like some stupid questions but as I said, I have never been there. My guess is I will spend 3 to 4 longish weekends this Summer and Fall scouting there when/if we get tags. Might be more, I really don't know but my 1st instinct says that is about right. PS, anybody that wants to give me crap for "e-scouting" can suck it. Personally, I look at this site as just another tool, no different than Google Earth, maps, AZGFD, friends, etc. Also, I know there are many great people on this site that are more than willing to provide some helpful info. I have done the same for some others. That is one of the best parts of this site and what keeps me as a member. Any info I receive will stop with me and my family. Thanks guys. EDIT. My dad was sick leading up to this hunt and being a stubborn old timer, wouldn't go to the Dr. Made him go before the hunt and Dr. told him to come back after to get an XRAY on his lungs. Turns out he has lung cancer. Got biopsy and it has spread to his lymph nodes and possibly his liver. This may have been the last hunt we ever go on. The hunt was not what we hoped for, but I am glad I got to spend 10 days in the woods with my dad, best friend and hunting partner. Enjoy every minute with your family. You never know when it will end. As a kid growing up in NY, I have been lucky to spend many years here in AZ hunting animals my dad and I only dreamed of. Love you dad. Hoping for one more hunt.

Thanks guys. My brother-in-law tried to make me feel a little better and also make me realize how good I have had it over the years. He didn't have that type of relationship with his dad and wished he did. I have been blessed to have had many many years hunting with my dad and also other things we did together throughout the years. I know I've had it better than some, but it is still hard. We never want our parents to die. But we all do at some point. We will make the best of what time we have left.