aznate

Opening morning my brother shot a 3x3 bull. I was not able to fill my tag this year, I only saw a few elk in 5 days of hunting. Most of the elk have dropped into their winter range. I heard there was a lot of elk sign on the west side, but everything has gone nocturnal. I found the most sign way out in the flats where the trees almost stop. I saw 17 elk one morning walking a field at 800 yards, there were two small bulls. I put a stock on, but got busted by the cows. From what I experienced, I would say the elk are really spread out from the storms. Elk from Valle all the up to Tusyan and everywhere in between. Good luck! It could be a tough year. It all comes down to right place right time. Scouting can make the biggest difference.

The video is awesome! Nice job! Thanks for sharing!

Nice Bull! Glad your hard work paid off.

I have a friend who will eventually inherit part of 1,000 acres in Colorado. I asked him why his family doesn't charge or lease the land to hunters. He said that - once people have paid they feel entitled to trash the place. I hope the ranch knows what they are doing.

Congrats on your tag. You drew that tag with like a 3% chance or something ridiculous like that. I have a friend who also drew a unit 9 archery bull tag. He had 13 bonus points. I hope you realize how lucky you got. Dido on studying google earth, don't forget to get a Kiabab national forest map (Tusyan, Williams district). If you are stating from no where the national forest map has most of the tanks on it, even some of the trick tanks.

Awsome bull and a great write up! Better than reading a field and stream article, thanks for sharing.

So taking only (1) unit 9 early bull tag for auction when there are only 25 tags, um that's 4% of the tags for that hunt. (1) archery bull tag in a unit with only 50 tags is 2% of the tags, I could go on... but hey it is only .02% of the available tags right?

A few more groups and bills like this one and the citizens of Arizona could completly lose some of the best tags\units\public resources in the state. Oh don't worry our "organization" will take care of that unit\tags\etc...from now on, and look how much more revenue we generate from auctioning off all the tags to our members,.02% could go to a high percent in a hurry. I hope there are no more bills like this one. Some things should remain "for all" and the system inplace works and is fair. Thanks to everyone who made a difference

In response to bonuspointjohn All revenue that is generated by the auction tags are paid directly to the AZGFD. All costs for preparing the auction / raffle are paid for by the conservation group that auctions the tag. That is law, and strictly adhered to. If you doubt it, check with the department. A. Each year the department shall reserve certain hunt tags for taking big game species as specified in subsection b of this section for a qualified organization to resell rights to the reserved tags by auction and raffle at an annual sportsmen exposition in this state under the auspices of the qualified organization and at annual banquets in this state of any of its chapters. The proceeds of resale shall be used as authorized in this section. Within thirty days after the effective date of this section, the department shall contract with the qualified organization that has made the requisite payment and advance deposit under subsection C of this section. The original contract shall specify the terms and conditions consistent with this section for sale in bulk of rights to reserved tags, for the qualified organization to exercise its authority to resell rights to the tags at the annual sportsmen exposition and county banquets and for the department to issue the reserved tags after resale. This is the first line in the bill- from what I read yes AZGFD will be reimbursed for the tags but the resell value will go to what organization? so AZGFD gets their 121.50 and the"qualified" organization gets the other $49,898.50 on a tag that auctions for $50,000.

Most non-profit organizations are only required to use 10% of the money they bring in for the stated purpose, 90% of the money goes to salaries and advertising for more money. It doesn't seem to matter what the non-profit is, and executive salaries are commonly $250,000.00 on up. Why can't the bill be written so that all the money goes to AZ Game and Fish as a fund, specifically to help big game species? This is my opinion- Please do not proceed with HB2072. This bill does not help AZ Game and Fish nor the average hunter of Arizona. This bill will create more "big game hunting tags for auction", creating an unfair and unethical system of tag distribution, while generating funds for only one non-profit organization. Many people wait years for a quality tag, and as our big game are a finite resource, the tags should remain available to all, not just those who can afford to buy a tag at auction. No matter what a non-profit organization says, large amounts of money always seem to be paid in either salaries or advertising for more funds. There are already big game tags given to several non-profit organizations, which are then auctioned for revenue generation for the non-profit. Please, NO more state tags should be allocated to generate funds for any non-profit groups! These groups should be given donations by the members of said group, and should not be involved in big game tags.

I think I will take a spare gun from now on. I don't want to leave it in the truck or in camp in case it get stolen, but ending your hunt because of faulty equipment is terrible!

I just hunted in 29 on the Nov. 4th hunt. I went on the south side of the unit. I found that access can be a problem in 29. Almost every road ends at a ranch with private property signs posted. This means that you either have to hike around the ranch or find a rach that allows access. The mountains are of course national forrest or wilderness area meaning no vehicles, getting there is the problem. Luckly, I found a way into the area I was planning to hunt.READ THE GAME AND FISH REPORT FOR ACCESS INFORMATION AND WHERE TO HUNT! The fire did little damage where I hunted, a few scorched trees, but the grass was waist high, it got annoying. I took a long shot and missed on a day 1 on a 3x3 and saw one other 2x2 running on day 2. I had glassed a canyon for about 30 minutes looking 300 to 500 yards when all of a sudden a buck and a doe take off about 75 yards across the canyon. By the time I chambered a round and got him in my sights he was sky lined and went over the hill. I saw about 15 does. Unfortunatly, I could only hunt for two days. All the deer we saw were within one mile of water. Pretty sure I saw the buck that I shot at the first day on the second day on my way out, another hunter harvested him in the same location I was hunting. Glass in the very steep canyons near water!

Thanks for a great write up and pictures! Nice buck!

I am new here, but have followed the site for a while. I am planning a coues hunt in unit 29. I have never been there before, probably won't get to scout. I am not looking for anyones secret spot or anything just looking for answers to a few questions. I hunted unit 36b 2 years ago. There was a lot of trash and sign of illegals. I didn't see anyone, but the trails through the mountains looked as well hiked as bright angel trail in the grand canyon. You could tell a lot of people move through that unit. How is unit 29 with illegal activity? I didn't think it would have much or at least nothing like 36b. I plan to camp down there. Anyone ever have any trouble? I have heard about hunters along the border coming back to camp and finding their camp has been stolen, not necessarily illegals. Are their many dirt bags around? Just looking to make sure we have a safe and great time down there. I ended up with a spike as my first coues in 2009 in 36b. As put in my sons hunter ed course "every animal you harvest should be a trophy to the person that takes it". We had a great time on that hunt, my brother took a spike and my brother in law took a 3x3. Nothing exciting but way better than tag soup.

Other hunters pushing deer up to us is how we were successful last time in 36b. The deer actually came up behind me in the saddle I was sitting in. I heard it walking and turned around, and thought "well I guess my hunt is over". About ten minutes after the shot another hunter hiked up and said he was chasing the spike I shot all the way up the hill. The next day that hunter got a real mature 3x3, I am terrible at guessing scores but I think it would have been in the 90's. I hope it works out this year! Thanks for all the info- This site is awesome!

Nice write up! Too bad you couldn't find the big one again, but meat in the pot is always best. Congrats!

Thanks for the info- I will definitely be cautious. I am most nervous about drug runners after reading what you guys have said. I read the game and fish report and it says there are deer almost everywhere above 5000 ft. Is this true? Is it worth it to hunt the canyon country in between roads around 6,000 ft or is it better to head up a trail into the high country to 7,000 ft+? We shot our deer at about 4500ft in 36b. Every unit is different.

I was on the turkey hunt fri-sat. I took one shot and either missed or didn't get a good hit. I can't believe I missed as I had a bead right on that turkeys head, at any rate it flew off and I couldn't find it. I hope I missed it and it didn't become coyote food. Tell your wife great job!

Congradulations! What a great couple of successful hunts

This is going to be an interesting hunt right after the burn. I picked up a leftover tag. I am brand new to this site. I kept reading all the post and decided I better join.