Worst elk hunt I ever had

[cosninocanines]

I'm very sorry for your expierience this is one of the few problems I have with todays world, anybody can buy a gun or a bow draw a tag an go "hunting" without ever understanding just what hunting is. With all that happened on this hunt to you I can't say as I blame you but keep in mind you can run but you can't hide, not sure that this isn't happening all over the west.

Best of Luck on your Coues hunt!

 

 

.....I was ahead of their efforts and the bull wasnt interested in cow calls anyway... but my buddy who was throwing out occasional calls was also carrying a Montana decoy. The fella who was also stalking the bull actually came to full draw on my buddy before my friend threw down the decoy and motioned for him to piss off.

 

I think if I use that technique in the future I would have that person AT LEAST have some florescent orange/pink marker tape dangling on his hat or the top of the decoy.

 

With a combination of Bull and Cow hunts at the same time in many units nobody should be walking a decoy! that's my 2cents

[4Falls]

this is all part of the "opportunity" over quality direction that gf is headed. more and more hunters, less and less game. Look at mulie hunting and antelope hunting as an example. Elk and coues are headed down the same road.

 

All this added pressure has made us turn on each other as well, courtesy is gone. heck during my elk hunt this year it was a foot race to get to the elk first a few times. Compound this with an unusually late rut and you have a recipe for a bad hunt. Mine was a complete dissappointment. If there going to keep these hunts so early Im going back to late archery hunts instead. At least I dont have to wait so long in between tags and its just as easy NOT to kill an elk in Nov as it is in Sept.

 

Congrats to all of those who killed this year, you sure earned it.

[az4life]

Been there done that... It is not fun. Had a nice antelope in my sights about 350yds this morning and just as I am about to shoot, a pheasant busts out from the brush about 3 feet from me , and BOOM I touched the shot and missed. Then 4 more running shots in vain. Try again later I guess.

 

I do have to ask how you could see the bull was in the 340 class but you could not describe it?

[hawkeye]

I didn't say that he scored 340. I said he was a 340 class bull. If you have been elk hunting for any amount of time you can look and see in an instant what class of bull it is without describing every point. He could have scored anywhere from 325 to 350. The description he was trying to get me to describe was that he had an unusually large diameter 4th point on his left side. It looked like a stump. I was on his right side and could tell he had the type of rack I would settle for in this non rutting hunt. If you have ever had a non rut archery hunt you will settle for a lesser bull after about 7 or 8 days of hunting. The day before I had turned down a 320 class bull that I got a very good look at. He stood broadside for a few minutes at 50 yards. When a bull comes in from behind you and you are trying to get a shot at the kill in an opening you are concentrating on your shot more than identifying every point. I guess if I ever hunt again I had better take pictures of the bull I am going after. I am more angry at the way the punk kid game officer acted than anything else. I don't know what kind of training they are going through these days but I am tired of being treated like a criminal by these punk butt kids with a badge. He asked me for my e-mail address and told me he would send some pictures of the rack. The lying piece of crap probably didn't even write down the address. Because guess what? No pictures. Also he wanted the rack more than any type of game conservation. I was willing to tag this rack because I felt bad about shooting this elk and not recovering it. This is the first elk I have shot and did not recover. He would rather me shoot another one and keep the rack for himself. When I told him I didn't feel right about hunting after I had killed this elk, He had the gall to ask me if I was going to go home and not hunt anymore.

[AZantlerhead]

Sorry about your personal experience with a not so friendly G&F officer, I've never ran into one of those here, I'm sure they are just like the masses of regular people though, and theres just a few that are bad people deep down. I've allways found law enforcement of any kind here in AZ to be some very cordial folks, in their job and on a personal level.

 

It's obviously to the point where it's very crowded on AZ hunts, just like most places and Blaze orange should be warn or mandatory? Getting shot would just down right be a bad deal, especially with a broadhead. I'm very sorry to here of your close call. Glad ya'll are ok. That's scary stuff!! Scary knowing theres "hunters" that would do that

[Snapshot]

I forgot to mention earlier, that you did the right thing by getting your son out of there. Don't give up your passion. If we hunt long enough, we will all have bad hunting trips and experiences. Hopefully, the person who shot the arrow learned a lesson after you let your presence known.

[archerman]

Holy smokes!

I woulda put a "stalk" on the peice o' turd.

Man, I would have been red faced mad!

Glad tou are both good to go though!

[DesertBull]

When the guy shot, you should of let out a bugle and crashed and thrashed on the ground. Maybe the guy would have thought he scored. When he comes over to claim his prize, you kick him in the sack.

[hawkeye]

When the guy shot, you should of let out a bugle and crashed and thrashed on the ground. Maybe the guy would have thought he scored. When he comes over to claim his prize, you kick him in the sack.

 

Yea after the fact we thought the same thing. I think if we could have found him we would have beat the heck out of him. The guy sure laid low. We were in an isolated canyon and should have been able to find him but it was just a few minutes until dark. It was a long rugged two mile walk back to the truck in the dark.

Our first thought was that he was shooting at an elk. Then we realized we were the elk. We didn't contact the Game and Fish because I know what would have happened. I could take them in to find the arrow but how would we prove who's it was.

[hawkeye]

Hammy

I didn't make the decision in haste. It was a long thought out decision. I am getting older and the enjoyment of the hunts lately seem to be outweighed by the hasle. My whole life has been dedicated to hunting and fishing. I still have memories of years past when the hunting was very enjoyable, even if I saw no game at all. I will still hunt from time to time but I have given up on Arizona. I have spent years going to the Game and Fish meetings and voicing my opinions. I will pick and choose my hunting opportunities with a little more thought. I spent the summer in Canada and Alaska and will be doing some research for some hunting in the future. As for hunting in Arizona, I have a ton of antelope and sheep points and I guess I will eat them. Heck they might taste better than sheep or antelope.

[jeffcros]

I've delt with some good G&F officers and bad, Its amazing to me that the G&F officers were out in the woods looking for downed game. Its too bad they cared nothing about getting the horns to the owned. Do you think the same thing would have happened if the bull had been a small raghorn or spike. I doubt it. The dumbass that shot at you guys-- you just hope carma teaches him something in the future!

[az4life]

I agree it sounds like a bad experience with the G&F and if you could have given him something like 6x7 and 325-340 and right side was .... I would have thought he should have given the benefit of the doubt. The AZ G&F lost me years ago and I'd bet many others before and since. I'm sure there are some good ones too.

As for the bonehead taking a shot at something he thought was an elk, he should have learned a major lesson and if he has any self respect he will think twice about better target identification.

Stay safe!

[Coach]

Sorry this particular hunt was such a bad experience. I don't think giving up is the answer, but that's just me. Hold on to your stuff, let some time pass and get back at it. It can only get better!

[BowNut]

Sorry this particular hunt was such a bad experience. I don't think giving up is the answer, but that's just me. Hold on to your stuff, let some time pass and get back at it. It can only get better!

+1 Give it some time.

My son and I had some Yahoo's shoot at a spike wt that had run up on us at about 5-10 yards while glassing.(With a rifle)

I was pissed and ready to quit saying the same as you. I was done here! I also still blame it on to many tags in that unit. But by the time it comes to put in to hunt the next year time has passed and all your buddies are talking about what they are putting in for its hard not to give it on last try. I never forget about it but I have had a ton of great hunts and I'm going to do my best not to let G&F or a couple Yahoo's take that away from me.

 

[luvdemcoues]

Hawkeye, you should file a formal complaint with AZGFD about that officer. I don't know if anything would come of it, but at least if they ever got another complaint on that guy they would know something is up. Sorry to hear about your hunt. It's too bad that 30 of goo hunting experience can be thrown away because of some bad experiences on a hunt. Can't say I blame you... it's just too bad, that's all. Hey there's always those Sonora hunts. You know those are pretty regulated, and if you can handle to wait and $$$ for the reservation bull hunts, there are those too. Good luck!