joeybari Report post Posted October 28, 2010 I acually sleep out in the sticks for 2 days and come back to camp then head out the next day i hike out far Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
firstcoueswas80 Report post Posted October 28, 2010 Welcome to Arizonas opportunity theory. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
longshooter Report post Posted October 28, 2010 Thats why I will never apply for a early hunt in this state and rather archery hunt in January with my bow. You usually have hot weather, full moon and tons of hunters pushing deer on the early hunt. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
200"mulie Report post Posted October 29, 2010 Ok is it just me or did it seem like there was alot more hunters out this year. I mean they were everywhere we had a nice spot picked out for camp got there on thursday and opening mourning it seemed like a major highway we had people hunting 100 yards from our camp. I have come to realize that if you dont take a deer opening day its better to leave and come back on like tuesday cause the deer disapear its really frustrating oh well what unit? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
200"mulie Report post Posted October 29, 2010 250 tags is not a lot of tags. (unit 31). only saw 4 people hunt same spot we were right off the forest road!! no road hunters no annoying quads going up and down the road all day. also daw 3 of the biggest deer i've ever seen (that i couldn't get a shot at) high concentration of bucks but really thick, rocky, steep hills. missed a fork but i will be out there in dec./jan. so i'm not giving up on my spot Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
naturebob Report post Posted October 29, 2010 If they didn't have as many tags most of You Guys whould be bitching about not gettin drawn. I had a leftover tag in 36b and only saw 1 group of other hunters . Hike in aways and You can get away from people in most units. I am 54 and I bet I hiked more in 3 days than 85% of You guys. I think more Guys are hunting 31-32-33 as they dont want to hunt the border units. Had no problem. Have You heard of any hunters being killed in recent years down south? I can't recall any. Maybee go south next year. And Me and My buddy did kill. You gotta adapt. Game & fish aint gonna change squat....BOB! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lacouesniper Report post Posted October 29, 2010 Yeah, I went back to a place from when I was seven and it used to seem like the middle of no where. Now it seems like it is a suburban area, of course this year was the first year I really hunted. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Simple Hunter Report post Posted October 29, 2010 The first day, Oct 22, I glassed up 15 hunters within a mile radius and only two does. I even saw one hunter walk left to right about midway up the ridge all the way along about 2 miles. The following day we shot our buck at the same spot that guy was walking along. I think we had our deer back to camp before most of the yahoo hunters had even started out. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Weston Report post Posted October 29, 2010 I saw one other group of hunters this year and its been about like that where I hunt in 33 every year get off the roads and into the sticks! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
billrquimby Report post Posted October 29, 2010 The first day, Oct 22, I glassed up 15 hunters within a mile radius and only two does. I even saw one hunter walk left to right about midway up the ridge all the way along about 2 miles. The following day we shot our buck at the same spot that guy was walking along. I think we had our deer back to camp before most of the yahoo hunters had even started out. Fifteen hunters inside a circle two miles in diameter (that's a one-radius) is not excessive. Nor is the number of people hunting deer in Arizona in all the various seasons today . I began hunting long before permit-only deer hunting, stratified seasons and all the other dumb things that pass for wildlife management today. We bought our tags at sporting goods, hardware and grocery stores and hunted wherever we wanted during a month-long season. There was no limit on tags sold, so 80,000 to 100,000 of us got to hunt deer every year. (That's more than twice the number of hunters we have now.) We were satisfied with 13 percent to 18 percent success rates, and we blamed ourselves instead of game department policies and crowded conditions when we didn't kill a deer. Despite all those hunters, it was easy to avoid other people --- we crossed the highest ridge or we stayed home on opening weekends and the first week of the season. There were fewer deer then, but the amount of public land open to hunting hasn't changed much. What is different is the number of locked gates denying us access to public and private land as well as the closing of hundreds of access roads by federal land management agencies. Also different is that we had only one opening day. Today we have five-day seasons and three or four or more opening days in the same limited area. There also is a stupid emphasis on trophy size today. We didn't judge our skill as hunters (or our manhood) by the size of the antlers on the deer we shot. We hunted for the experience and the meat, and not to get our names in record books or to impress our peers with our prowess. If you want to blame the game department for something, blame its lack of an aggressive and effective campaign to restore access to our public lands. I can think of at least three mountain ranges in southern Arizona with highly restricted access. This results in crowding along the few open roads and complaints of "too many hunters," even though there are thousands of acres of public land and many hundreds of deer that never see a hunter. Bill Quimby Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AzHuntingAddict Report post Posted October 29, 2010 Nuff said Bill! We hunted unit 27 in the blue wilderness area and saw many roadies along the way. We hiked into the back country and enjoyed the nice clean air away from the dirt road. We came out with nothing but stories, but I am pleased to have had the chance to get out. We saw alot of people along the way, but I can not say if this was alot as this was my first deer hunt. I look forward to next year and the chance to bring home somthing, whether it be a spike or bigger, don't care either way. At first I was a little bummed that we did not see a single buck, and cursed the many does we saw, but looking back it was a freakin awesome adventure. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CRAZYBUCK Report post Posted October 29, 2010 Ok is it just me or did it seem like there was alot more hunters out this year. I mean they were everywhere we had a nice spot picked out for camp got there on thursday and opening mourning it seemed like a major highway we had people hunting 100 yards from our camp. I have come to realize that if you dont take a deer opening day its better to leave and come back on like tuesday cause the deer disapear its really frustrating oh well what unit? unit 21 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AZLance Report post Posted October 29, 2010 never saw another hunter in 5 days of hunting... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Outdoor Writer Report post Posted October 29, 2010 Ditto, Mr. Quimby! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
