varnco

Hmmmm. That's the opposite of what some folks here have been telling me: find the "I am not going into that deep canyon" and you'll find bulls there.

Ya, saddle mountain gets pounded as well. Don't think either locations are big opportunities in December. Did find one location with opportunity. Found quite a few closed/no longer there roads which is good to know.

Just finished scouting, having a bite at miz zips. Saw one 5x5, 24 deer, and a lot of area that are burned and have no trees. Didn't find a "deep I am not going there canyon" yet. Was on the west side around white horse hills. Good to get the lay of the land

Up till now, I've stored my ATV in my garage, but that will come to an end, as I've just bought a boat that will take up an entire lane of my 3 car garage, and cars still get priority, since they're more expensive. So, I plan on moving and storing the ATV outside in the back or sideyard. Any recommendations on how to keep the ATV in the best shape possible, given the sun here in Phoenix, or is it a losing proposition, no matter what, the seat and tires are going to get hammered hard. Any advice is appreciated. Thanks.

Thanks, so it looks like it can survive if I protect it from the sun via cover and/or port and bring battery inside, and maybe the seat too. No worries for the tires?

Thanks everyone for the tips/thoughts/discussion and pointing me in the right direction. It will be most helpful. Awesome pictures! Hoping everyone tags out.

So, after 4 years of no tag, I finally pulled a tag for 7E December Rifle (Dec 1 - 7). To increase my odds of filling my tag, and thinking I may have to take a long shot, I've purchased a Tikka T3 Lite 300 win-mag with a 4-16x Vortex Viper HS-T scope, temporarily replacing my 1891 Argentine, which isn't capable of longer shots. I have several months to practice - are long shots normally needed in this unit? I've also started my e-scouting, marking up over 130 water holes, ridges, etc. on 7E on google maps, to become familiar with the unit that I've never hunted, to get ready to go puts some boots on the ground. So, regarding boots on the ground in 7e to scout areas identified with my e-scouting: Is it too early to start scouting,say in July? Given that I have a late hunt, and 320 tags will go before me, and 550 of my fellow elk hunters will be with me on Dec 1, what exactly am I scouting for, as any bull in July will move after snow and 320 previous hunters putting pressure on the elk in Sep, Oct, Nov, not counting the numerous Peaks Hunts. For the actual hunt, is ATV advisable or better off with 4x4 truck? Thanks for the help. I figure it'll be 4 years before my next tag, and want to put forth my best effort this year with a hunt that has a 25% success rate according to AZGFD

Thanks!

Lol, done that before! It's amazing how traffic changes from scouting to opening morning.

Oh ya, it's a real winter up there...

Thanks... Ya, no problem getting away from the crowds for me, once I know where they are. There's a bunch of roads/trails criss-crossing all over the unit up there, so not sure how "away" one can get. Got myself a new pair of danner boots I am breaking in on local hikes before I head up to scout. I figured heavy glassing would be needed for the late as well as looking in "smaller" sections of the unit. Elk head high with pressure, which I assume means it's a safer-haven as mortal humans have extreme difficulty getting there? Thanks again for the tips!

I got my first choice. 7E Late Hunt Bull. Finally, after 4 years!

Chance. Someone has to win the lottery. If you don't play, you don't win.

You say finally....have you been checking every few mins and finally had it hit? Or finally because it's been a long wait? It's been 4 years

Finally! Late bull or cow. Don't care which.

Thanks! I put in for my top 2 yesterday, trying to use the draw results of 2016 to improve my odds.

So, I am looking at the report that is put out from last year draw odds, and I having trouble understanding the %. Given the attached chart, if I had 2 points, what was the draw success rate? 38.89%? If I had 1, it was 16.67%? How is it that a 6 point had a success of 50% but 5 had 100%? I'm pretty sure my head is going to explode and I'm just reading it wrong. Any help is appreciated understanding this data.

Okay, I think I'm almost there... for this one, example, I read it that the top row is the bonus pass, and that people with 5 pts and 7 points made the bonus pass, with just 2 having it as their first choice and then 7 people with 5 points made it their second choice. Of these 9 people, 6 got a tag, 2 first choicers and then 4 of the 2nd choicers. 2nd set of numbers is pass 1 & 2, here. You had 5 people with 4 pts put it down as their first choice, and 16 people as 2nd, but only 2 got drawn out of 5 people with 4 pts who put it in as first choice? So actually, people with 3 pts faired better than those with 4 pts in this particular drawing?

I can't seem to find the report you mention. Is it listed here?

went up today, wasn't bad. Went as far as rey campground, about 6" of snow above 5500 ft. a liitle at 4400ft. subaru and minivan were up there, so not treacherous.

So, I was planning on heading up to Pinal Peak area to pick up a few trail cameras I had setup and perhaps setup for a late afternoon hunt. I know the forecast was calling for up to 1 foot of snow and drifts at 5500ft or higher. Anyone know if it got blasted? I have one camera at about 6000. Thanks.

I am Instagram illiterate. More direction?

Thinking of heading up to Pinal mountains tomorrow or this weekend. I see there's some snow up there... how are the roads, especially towards the top? I have 4WD but my tires are quite a bit more worn than last year, almost time for replacement. I was able to make it through the 6-8" snow last December, but I had about 25K worth of more tire tread than this year.

Same spot today

Went up today, and it's not that bad until you get to the part where you go left to continue going up the mountains or, you can go straight and get to some buildings at the top of the hill. The GPS coordinate is here, afterwards it gets somewhat nasty. 33.29693, -110.83998 I posted a pic earlier in this thread with the service truck that slid/got stuck last year... I have a pic of the same spot this year.. look similar, but last year was a bit worse. 33.29693, -110.83998