SunDevil Report post Posted March 11, 2022 Christian, we need the last pic from your hunt Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
azcouesandelk Report post Posted March 11, 2022 54 minutes ago, SunDevil said: Christian, we need the last pic from your hunt Here is my buck and my buddies buck 8 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Code3 Report post Posted March 11, 2022 Do not return that tag! You WILL get a Lope. How big, or unique, will be dependent on your scouting and how fast you are able to move from area to area for your target Lopes ranked #1-#5 on opening day. I just took a great Lope in 19A, which is more condensed by AZGFD‘s huntable boundaries and private land owners wanting stupid amounts of cash for land access fee. I did all my scouting/hunting on public land by corner crossing with the use of OnX; my OnX map looks like a paint ball war occurred with how many waypoints I revealed by walking the land. Your hunt success is totally doable without land access fees & without guide service. Just put the time in 3mo before the hunt to know every road, every water tank, private land boundary, and range practice for that long shot. Good hunting! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JohnO Report post Posted March 11, 2022 @Code3, Thank you (and everyone else) that has sent such encouraging messages. I've used OnX for other hunts and if you saw my waypoints, you'd laugh at how many I have. I do really appreciate your comments. The published notes on the AZGFD's site about hunting in 19B are discouraging, but everyone on the forum has given me great hope. I PROMISE I'm keeping this tag and will be heavily scouting this spring and summer due to this unit's proximity to the valley. I'm a DIY'er when it comes to hunting, so I will be asking folks in the AZ Antelope Foundation and the helpful folks here for guidance in this hunt. Again, many thanks for your post above! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HighschoolHunter Report post Posted March 12, 2022 Good luck on this hunt! I’m excited to see what happens 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Roosevelt Mark Report post Posted March 13, 2022 Me too.G reat tag bro 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DBArcher Report post Posted March 16, 2022 John shoot me a message, I live in the unit and had the tag last year. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
StickFlicker Report post Posted March 22, 2022 On 3/11/2022 at 11:23 AM, Code3 said: Do not return that tag! You WILL get a Lope. How big, or unique, will be dependent on your scouting and how fast you are able to move from area to area for your target Lopes ranked #1-#5 on opening day. You do know he said he had an archery tag, right? Several of the landowners in that hunt charge trespass fees to hunt on their property. Although, I believe one of those ranches was sold to an anti-hunter and is not huntable anymore. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Roosevelt Mark Report post Posted March 22, 2022 8 minutes ago, StickFlicker said: You do know he said he had an archery tag, right? Several of the landowners in that hunt charge trespass fees to hunt on their property. Although, I believe one of those ranches was sold to an anti-hunter and is not huntable anymore. In 17b or 19b? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JSR Report post Posted March 22, 2022 Didn't one of the famous guides get caught using an aircraft to push lopes onto huntable ground a few years back in 19B? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
knothead Report post Posted March 24, 2022 On 3/22/2022 at 3:04 PM, JSR said: Didn't one of the famous guides get caught using an aircraft to push lopes onto huntable ground a few years back in 19B? I believe the incident you are talking about occurred in 18B near the Baca Float. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
257 STW Report post Posted March 31, 2022 Wow 5 points great units that was my second choice. I have 27bp going in to next year😠 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
maximus Report post Posted March 31, 2022 Don’t return it it takes 20 points or more to draw a good tag Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JohnO Report post Posted August 30, 2022 So this hunt turned out to be a Great Experience! Started on Friday 8/19 and immediately found antelope on State Trust Land. First two days I hunted a few sections that are close to the Deep Well Ranch, but there was no ground cover to get concealment behind. I had an antelope buck decoy but I was unable to fool them as I never got closer than 100 yards of any animals. After hunting that area for two days, I went to another section of State Trust Land that was recommended by a forum member. That section had a ridge running north and south for the length of the section and was covered in brush. The cover that is in this unit was a great help in getting close to the animals. On Sunday 8/21 and Monday 8/22, I got closer to some bucks because the rut had them chasing each other and herding up with the females. On that Monday I took an hour to crawl 50 yards and lay behind a foot tall yucca plant for another 40 minutes. My back was in pain, but a great buck got up came around a hill and I used that opportunity to set up to shoot, but I spooked two females I did not know were there and they all ran off. I was frustrated because I had missed 1 to 2 opportunities each day in the first 4 days of the season. In the morning of the fifth day there were 5 bucks chasing 1 female in heat. When I first found them I thought I spooked them, because they ran off perpendicular to me downhill in a west direction. As I cursed my luck, they turned 180º and immediately ran back up the hill. The female then turned 90º toward me and came within 30 yards at 40 miles per hour. I could hear the dominant buck huffing and puffing as he screamed by me - too fast to get an ethical shot. When they went out of sight, I scrambled to a location behind some brush to await them coming back, but they never did. That's when I headed back to my truck and stumbled upon 1 female and the buck I killed. As I crouched down behind brush they just meandered up through the brush toward me. After the female went by at 30 yards I raised my bow, with the buck decoy on the front, then waited for the buck to move forward. He stopped broadside and gave me the 2 seconds I needed to come to full draw and release the shot. Because I never shot an animal with an arrow before, I thought the "thump" sound was me hitting the tree behind him. He ran behind that tree and stood there. I reached down to get another arrow and when I looked up, he was gone. When I first got to the tree - there was no blood on the ground, so I thought I missed! After circling around, I found my arrow buried in the ground, but with VERY light colored blood from tip to nock. I knew I hit him good at that point. He wound up running to the next little finger ridge north west from me about 70 yards. The entry was right in the vitals. Took a while to get the meat off and started raining really hard while I was quartering him. I got him on the 5th day of the season and had MANY blown opportunities in the previous 4 days. All in all, a great hunting experience due to the number of opportunities that you can have on an archery hunt in this unit. I know I will have low probability of drawing again, but I will definitely be applying again! I highly recommend archers put in for this unit! 8 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HighschoolHunter Report post Posted August 30, 2022 Congratulations! Awesome story. I was wondering how this hunt was going to turn out 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
