Memac63

A friend and I with Late November rifle tags in 29 went scouting in the Chiricahuas yesterday. We saw a few coues does and a black bear sow with cubs inside the National Monument boundary where we went looking for printed maps, we saw a few turkey in Pinery Canyon and one more Coues doe browsing down by the mouth of Turkey Creek Canyon but other than that nothing. We were there all day, dusk til dawn scouting for where to hunt but got almost zero usable data. We saw a fair amount of sign in Pinery Canyon by the creekbed but couldn't locate a good spot to glass from. We hiked up in Turkey creek over Turkey Pen saddle and spent a few hours glassing Turkey Pen Canyon. Lots of green ground cover, the area looked great but we saw absolutely nothing. We spent the last of the fading light in Rucker Canyon in a spot that looked good but again saw nothing. I think we're going to try North and Eastern areas like Emigrant, Wood, Brushy, Oak, East Whitetail, and Jhus canyons next time. I'm only third year into Coues whitetail hunting and have had little success previously, though I've hunted hard and hiked a lot. Rifle hunted 34a and 36b past two years, plus a lot of time last year with a bow up in Redington Pass and a bit down in Madera Canyon. I usually look for water sources near slopes with ocotillo, manzanita, and oak. I saw very little of that in the western chiricahuas yesterday, found some ocotillo and manzanita in Rucker canyon. The AZGFD write up says try the upper reaches of the major drainages but those areas look more like heavily forested pine with limited visibility for spotting. And there's the very real possibility that access to those upper reaches will be difficult and unwise come late November and snow. Soo, any tips? We stopped near Fort Bowie in the morning and I liked the terrain but we didn't spend much time there, that area is where I plan to start scouting on our next trip.

I bought the bow for hunting deer and elk, I have taken it deer hunting these past two seasons but my success at even locating bucks has been a bust so far. Got a rifle whitetail hunt in the Chiricahuas coming up late Nov with a buddy, I may take the bow. I'll look at local shops next time I buy arrows, thanks for the tip, sounds worthwhile. I tend to try and save $$$ wherever I can by doing things myself but it's not always the right answer.

Every so often when I'm practicing in my back yard I miss the target and hit my block wall, which generally ends the life of that arrow. So I've been using inexpensive Allen eliminator carbon arrow from Walmart for my target practice. I'm using a Diamond Infinite Edge set for about 65lbs of draw weight and a 27.5" draw length. The Allens are 29" arrows but seems to work well enough. I busted another leaving me with four so I went to get a couple more but picked up some 30" Carbon Express Speak Freaks instead. At $7 a piece I might as well start getting arrows from Robinson's or Bull Basin or Sportsmans Warehouse but I thought I'd spend a few extra bucks this time and give them a try. I'm thinking I should shorten them however, the 29" Allens weren't so long that I have been concerned but I think 30" arrows might be longer than I should be shooting. Should I shorten them? Should I shorten the Allens while I'm at it, I'm thinking I should trim to 28". I haven't trimmed arrows before but I think I have the right tools and can make it happen, willing to try at any rate. Any wisdom, thoughts, guidance before I try?

Thanks both, good places to look. Tucson sure has spread out over the years.

Anywhere in particular Edge? I thought from overhead maps that area would be good. I did see some droppings (rabbit or hare I wouldn't know the difference), lots of cattle tracks, some deer sign and one juvenile bunny but no jacks. I was pretty close to Colossal Cave, I doubt the owners allow hunting on their property, I tried East of Pistol Hill Rd. Not far from the Cave.

I took my son out near Colossal Cave off Pistol Hill Rd. this afternoon but saw only one small bunny and no jacks. I used to see lots of antelope or blacktail jackrabbits on the shoulder along Houghton back when it was still a two-laner with a wide dirt shoulder. According to Recreational Access Arizona (check Land Ownership under Additional Data Layers) there's a lot of BLM land along Houghton but I think it would be hard to get 1/4 mile from any occupied structures and I don't know if I can hunt those areas inside city limits, so I looked further out. No dice so now I'm going to be doing more scouting to find someplace close by. I may have to head down Arivaca way or Three Points and South but I'd prefer something closer. Maybe I'll try off Houghton South of I-10 or off 83 down towards Sonoita, there's some good land between I-10 and Marsh Station I might try as well. I'm near 22nd and Harrison, looking for someplace close enough to take my son out evenings once in a while. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

0 Problems? You obviously haven't spent much time in the Santa Ritas! I work there on a daily basis, and there are several Rip Crews working the Santa Rita's. And on top of it the amount of drugs going thru there should concern everyone. I don't go to the Santa Rita's a lot but I've hiked Mt. Wrightson, Spent a week hunting on the West side North of Box Canyon, hunted the East side near Hidden Springs and spent a couple days last year during OTC archery down in Madera Canyon, could be I've just been lucky but I haven't seen a single illegal, coyote, or drug mule. My wife and I did hear some guys on handheld radios when we were in Madera Canyon, sounded like CBP but we never saw who it was.

Congratulations!

P.S. If you get drawn in 34a, zero problems. The Santa Ritas are a great unit, I hunted there two years ago solo and would go again in a heartbeat but have been targetting Kaibab hunts and didn't get my mail in leftover choice last year. 34a will be high on my list this year if I have to resort to leftover draws again.

I took my 9 year old son hunting Coues in 36B last year, never had an issue. I spent a lot of time in the Tumacacori's and never saw any sign of any activity, saw lots of other hunters and hunting campsites, I also took my wife hunting in the Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge and in Brown Canyon, which are reputed high traffic corridors. We met a husband/wife in Brown Canyon who were out hunting with their 12 year old daughter, they said they saw a group of drug mules hauling heavy packs and called in CBP but I didn't see them or anything at all that made me nervous. There are places with a lot of activity, the closer you get to the border the higher your odds of course, Scout areas that don't have major access routes like canyons and ridges that run North South for any distance. Bring a side arm if you prefer, I did but all the good it did me was to weigh my pants down. You'll see plenty of CBP agents, I tried talking to a few to see if there were any areas I should stay away from (or any that they'd seen deer in) but I got little usable information, maybe my approach was off.

While I did take out a doe many years ago topping a rise on 83 halfway to Sonoita, that barely missed herd of elk crossing 180 one night North of Flagstaff was a lot scarier. I've seen several elk lying dead on the shoulders of I-40 too. I bet we are a lot higher on the elk roadkill scale. As often as I've heard about New York deer getting hit I'm surprised they're not high risk.

My wife got a tag in the leftover draw for 4A North, August 8-17, general firearms cow. From what little I've been able to gather I'm thinking either up north near the Little Colorado or down south near Sitgreaves National Forest, West of Chevelon Butte. I've also been trying to gather information on where the O'Haco ranch borders are, AZGFD says their west ranges aren't open to hunting until after August 15, the O'haco's seem to be very hunter friendly and have received several wildlife awards so I may write them to see if my wife and I might be allowed earlier access. I should have an opportunity to scout in mid June, does anyone have any experience or advice on this hunt?

I got drawn for a late rifle cow hunt, before the draw results came out I was looking into Colorado hunts. They have a great website, their elk university is well worth a look. From what I can tell the price is reasonable and the opportunities there for those willing to go the extra mile. If you go I'd very much like to read your feedback. Best of luck.

Been hunting Redington, can find four muley does in the same area plus other onesie does here and there, no bucks at all. Should I keep on these does until a buck shows up? New to bow hunting muleys, often I can only get out in the evening, that shouldn't stop me from seeing bucks once the rut sets in though? Lots of track, droppings, and beds, haven't identified any rubs. Shooters and offroaders everywhere, maybe the bucks are just very scarce and careful? Maybe I should try somewhere on the desert floor over by the San Pedro, Little Dragoons, or Whetstones?

We had this talk at work waiting for the elk draw. My card got hit the day after the card update deadline, took a week or so before the draw results were posted. Those whose cards got hit, got drawn. I just bought a bonus point for deer, waiting for the leftovers, I'm hoping Monday the 15th for draw results so I can start planning my leftover draw but it probably won't be that soon.