russd Report post Posted December 4, 2011 seems like a little excessive to me. i didn't have the tag but i wouldn't want to be out during this hunt. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
C.Shoemaker Report post Posted December 5, 2011 Sounds crazy. I had a 5BS cow tag years ago. It was the first time where I truly wished I was wearing orange. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
oz31p Report post Posted December 5, 2011 My cousins had this tag. They had two tags in camp both filled and they saw very few other hunters. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TAIL CHASER Report post Posted December 5, 2011 It does sound crazy but it is a very large area. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BASS Report post Posted December 5, 2011 Unit 9 over thanksgiving was absolutely nuts. We had three of us spread out glassing a canyon, maybe fifty yards apart if that and had two separate groups walk between us and not even know we were there. There were people everywhere (a total killing ground the first weekend where we counted twelve bulls leaving in trucks)I pulled my orange panel out of my 2200 and left it out and most of our camp did the same. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
russd Report post Posted December 5, 2011 i think i would pull out the orange also. is there enough elk in these units to sustain these hunts? maybe there is but wow. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BASS Report post Posted December 5, 2011 I was seriously thinking about just that. I have NEVER seen that many elk pulled out of one area (Coleman Lake Rd) in such a short period. Of course two weeks before we counted over forty in one herd (one herd bull, a couple smaller hang arounds only. We had been up there for the early archery/rifle, youth, all the deer hunts, and then this hunt. A very crowded area and a ton of game but there are a lot of hunters! The units are a good size, but who is really going to hunt the high desert for elk before the snow comes? It seems like smaller areas would/are getting destroyed each season. I would love to know what the actual numbers are. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
120carp Report post Posted December 5, 2011 there were more people cutting wood than hunters from we were. 5b in is north and south units combined not as bad as other years. my cousin shot a 6x5 on sunday. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
robertramsey61 Report post Posted December 5, 2011 The wood cutters were bad, you would be off the road almost a mile and then a old truck would just come drive past you, two guys would jump out and start cutting up trees. There were lots of people out, we did see a lot of elk and passed on 5 bulls looking for somthing a little bigger... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
120carp Report post Posted December 5, 2011 then there would be the trucks just looking for the left over wood that the first guys couldnt get in the trucks. heard more chain saws than gun shots. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NMdude Report post Posted January 7, 2012 Now live in NM but I'm a native arizonan. When my bro's in AZ told me how many permits AZ had from archery, muzzle, to rifle, it BLEW my mind... Back when I was kid growing up we archery hunted all the untis around Flag (when bowhunting wasnt hip). What the heck is AZGF doing...? I do know more average joe's are hollering more and more for "opportunity" vs "quality", but this number of permits seems very excessive in my opinion. Starting to hear thru hunt'n circles and family that the elk number and quality there is definately dropping too. Wildlife management isnt complex until wildlife mngmt makes it that way. One bro hunted Flag area last Archery season and said there were hunters everywhere. He left his AZ hunt early in frustration and met up with me on mine in NM (ended up helping me pack/process my bull... ). Utah so far, seems to be doing things fairly right. And, they're now leading each year with the quality bulls. My 2 cents... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Coues Sniper Report post Posted January 7, 2012 Arizona is whacked out on their tag numbers. All of 'em. Their main goal is to increase tag numbers and decrease success for more $$$. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sjvcon Report post Posted January 7, 2012 Now live in NM but I'm a native arizonan. When my bro's in AZ told me how many permits AZ had from archery, muzzle, to rifle, it BLEW my mind... Back when I was kid growing up we archery hunted all the untis around Flag (when bowhunting wasnt hip). What the heck is AZGF doing...? I do know more average joe's are hollering more and more for "opportunity" vs "quality", but this number of permits seems very excessive in my opinion. Starting to hear thru hunt'n circles and family that the elk number and quality there is definately dropping too. Wildlife management isnt complex until wildlife mngmt makes it that way. One bro hunted Flag area last Archery season and said there were hunters everywhere. He left his AZ hunt early in frustration and met up with me on mine in NM (ended up helping me pack/process my bull... ). Utah so far, seems to be doing things fairly right. And, they're now leading each year with the quality bulls. My 2 cents... I don't know I'd go as far to say Utah is doing it right. Two seasons back I had a muzzleloader tag for Mulies in an area south of Moab. Can't remember the name of the town that was right there. Anyway, one of my buddies knew a family in town, and all they could do was complain that their G&F department was mismanaging things so badly that they were surprised there was anything on the mountain worth shooting. Just going by word of mouth on that, but they were a big hunting family and seemed to know a lot about the issues. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Flatlander Report post Posted January 12, 2012 I would hardly look to Utah as the model for Wildlife management. Their hunters started screaming about "opportunity" so they instituted a general spike only season. Since the institution of the spike season the trophy quality has really plummeted. About the same time they opened up more late hunts in their trophy units to help create more tags, and their elk herd have paid dearly. I would say this should be a warning to hunters in Arizona about what demanding more "opportunity" can mean. I love to hunt as much as the next guy (maybe more than some), but there has to be some limits. Having lived and hunted in ID, UT and AZ over the past 6 years, let me say that the grass is not greener on the other side of the fence. I would gladly trade what those states have to offer for the opportunities we have right here in AZ. No, I don't hunt elk every year, but I can get a quality coues hunt every year, ample archery deer opportunities, and a chance at outstanding elk hunting every few years. I love this state and the opportunities it provides, I just hope we can maintain what we have had over the past 20 or so years. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chris Report post Posted January 12, 2012 I agree, way too many tags being handed out. At this point we know the elk are heading down the same path as the muledeer. Meanwhile the G&F will brag about the great job they are doing, and how the elk numbers are better than ever. I watch 3 units on a regular basis for over 30 years now.....the numbers of elk are way down. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
