azbugler

I'm with you! Sitting on 8 (not 9 like I thought) and changing my mind every day. Today I am cashing in my points and going hunting this September....but I haven't hit "submit" yet...

My recommendation is buy a membership to hunters trailhead.com. There you can calculate draw odds based on bonus point levels. Unit 1 is one of the harder draw tags in the state and 27 is only a bit behind it. With the recent change (takes effect this year) you have a "chance" at drawing these tags. In previous years you literally had zero chance because all of the non-res tags were drawn in the bonus point pass round (only the highest point holders). This means it took 10 or more points to even be in the running. If you really want to hunt those two units, keep applying and wait. You will most likely be waiting a minimum of 5-7 years more unless you luck out. If you are open to any unit, start looking at units with better odds. A few easier draws are units 4a,4b,5a,5b,6a,6b,7e,and 8.

I was in 8th grade in yearbook class watching the whole thing. Sad day for sure.

So.....I guess you don't like the caps. Right?

Lol. Crypt Keeper! I guess I've been lucky. Never had a problem with the online system.

Hard to disagree but the night is young....

Right now with everything going on, I'd take it over 10 for sure. Honestly I don't have any personal knowledge of 27, so I really can't speak too much to that. I have just heard talk from others who regularly hint 1 and 27 that 27 hasn't faired nearly as well as 1. I would love the later season though.

Agreed. But that's not the main issues most have with this.

Fine then! I'll take my 9 points elsewhere! Lol. Unit 10 has great genetics and some great Bulls but I spent several weeks up there this year and saw maybe 3 Bulls above 350. Not too shabby for sure, but older age class Bulls are hardly tripping over each other. I mean they put 100 early rifle bull tags in 10 in 2015! Insanity I say. I am a true believer that there are big elk that die of old age in many of the overlooked mid-tier units. So I look for trends in tag numbers that could result in an increased age class.

Not sure if serious As a heart attack.

Not sure if serious

Take a look at the past hunt history in 4a. Reduced number of late tags and no early rifle or muzzleloader hunts for many years. I would also include 4b and like 5bs from your list. They've been hammering 27 and 10 hard for the past few years. Still big Bulls in these units for sure, but not the hunt I'm looking for right now.

Forlorn I'm with ya. Haven't been able to commit to cashing in my points yet or not. Plus waiting to see how much vacation time I'll have available this year from starting a new job. So many factors! Early season dates too..

Wow! That's just insane. $500 is a lot of coin for sure. I wonder if each "hunter assist" must pay this too. No doubt it will make the hunting much more enjoyable on the Bo but it's certainly affecting access to a ton of public land. Overall I'm sorry to see this happening.

Last year was the first year ever that the rifle hunt had been scheduled prior to the archery hunt (unit 9). I've heard conflicting stories on this. Some say hunt was great and some say that a bunch of the larger Bulls sought refuge in the GC and didn't come back until after the archery hunt.

I'm close with 9!

Grandpa's Winchester model 70 in .270. It's still my only hunting rifle..

I'm with ya! My last tag was 2007 and I've declared I'm sick of waiting. Going for my old stand by which I should have max points for.

No way! Not with how much everything has increased in cost. It would take thousands just to apply! Lol

Our Gus while playing in the snow this weekend.

Our Gus while playing in the snow this weekend.

Hmm not sure I remember. My best guess: 6 turkeys, 4 javelina, 1 Coues, 6 Mulies, 3 bull elk in 32 years hunting AZ.

If glassing is what your into, you'd probably be hard pressed to find a unit more conducive to that than unit 10. Other choices would be 5B North and 7.

Just breathe everyone. Deep cleansing breath. It will be open soon and everything will be just fine. The sky is not falling. Stressing about unit and hunt choices is acceptable though.