6A Archery Bull September hunt

[Devil Diver Down]

I know 6A is a large area unit but I'm a little concerned about the number of tags for the early bull archery hunt--650 bull tags and 75 cow tags makes for a pretty big crowd. Anybody else hunt the early archery hunt in 6A recently? Is it even possible to get away from other people to do a set up?

[bonecollector]

Havent been up there since they made the unit 1 whole unit instead of the 3 sub units N, S, and W. Good luck on the hunt.

[kimberx2]

I had this tag last year, and 1 year befor that. Last year there were hunters everywhere. They were really huge numbers around the mormon lake quite area. The first weekend there were people off of all the main roads in the northern part. By midweek it cleared out a lot then was way wosre second weekend. A lot of the hunters that were hunting the quite area moved away to try to get away from all the hunters. By the last week there were very few hunters. I hiked into rattlesnake quite area and didn't see anyone. Three years ago there were not half as many hunters and the hunts were divided into north and south units.

Lots of hunters, but hike away from the roads and into areas with no easy access and you will find the elk. You still will run into people and another hunter shot a bull I was set up on, but that will always happen on public land hunts.

Also had problems with people not respecting you getting to a water hole first. They would just go off 100-150 yds and start calling. I had three other hunters around me at one hole. As the elk started moving in they all started calling and moving in on them pushing them out. I have always had people respect you being first till this year. Had 4 or 5 days of people just hunting right around a hole I was on.

[AZHUNTER05]

I had that tag in 2010 when the unit was separated into 3 units. (6a west,north,and south) I had the west unit there wasn't too much hunting pressure in that area. I was in bulls almost every day of the hunt off schniebly hill rd west of the 17. Its a pretty good unit but with that many hunters its going to be a tough hunt! I would suggest getting up there and claiming some water holes before they are all claimed. We killed 3 bulls off of water just south of schniebly hill rd. (A 5x5,6x2, and a 6x6). Its a pretty good unit but its probably going to be really crowded on the weekends. Congrats on the tag and good luck.

[ruthunter]

Figure 700 tags with 2+ buddies with every hunter and your looking at well over 2000 people in the woods at the same time. I had the tag last year and hunters were all over but i was very mobile and found areas that had few hunters and alot of bulls. You will see alot of elk and depending on the weather water could be the key. Here is the bull i shot last year at 62 yds. Congrats on the tag!

[ruthunter]

Here is the pic.

[AZHUNTER05]

Here is the pic.

 

 

Nice bull!

[Devil Diver Down]

Awesome bull, ruthunter!

 

I don't expect the quiet areas to be very quiet that first weekend. I'm going to scout them well but I'm pretty sure I won't be in them Opening Day. I'd rather hunt some of the areas that might not hold as many elk if there aren't going to be as many bodies--I'm a relatively new archer so I'm probably not going to beat anyone on a race to a bull. Facing a deal like kimberx2 did might sour the hunt pretty fast. I'm planning on staying the whole hunt and don't have a problem heading in deep, so maybe I'll get some 'days off' from other hunters and even worse, their tag-less buddies.

 

Thanks for the input!

[BIGAZHUNTER14]

my dad had this tag 2 years ago and this year me my little bro and dad have archery bull in 6a and the quite area and the pavement part of stoneman lake road was just filled with trucks. every couple hundred yards all the way to dirt was a pickup and the rattlesnake quite area with the closed gate had 5 or 6 trucks parked there. i wont be hunting there if i see one pickup (unless i see a COUESWHITETAIL.COM sticker on the truck) lol but i can get up high on some hills around there and spot if there are any bulls in there but most likely be as far away from there as possible. there are a lot of other places to be with big bulls other than with all the hardcore road hunters down stoneman lake. good luck!!

[lugnuts]

I was in there at the tail end of last years archery hunt helping out. I actually end up doing more hanging out because the hunt was disheartening. There were camps every 50 yards. You also have a lot of people in that unit just camping and riding around on atvs. So yes, it is very crouded and even though its a big unit, it seems very small. They are giving out way too many cow tags let alone bull tags anymore. You can tell the numbers are down just by checking out the size of the herd that hangs out at Mormon Lake. I would suggest checking out the nasty canyons like Fossil Creek, Clear Creek, Jacks Canyon, and Beaver Creek. Thats where I would hide if I was a big bull when the unit turns into a zoo. You could also check out the canyons south and West of Clints Wells. Also check the cedars closer to the I-17. There are spots along the I-17 where you can set up on a hill and glass for days. PM me your phone number and I can explain where they are. Mormon Mountain used to be an awesome area but I heard last year it was full of hunters tripping over each other. We used to have bulls walk right through camp there but thats a thing of the past with all the tags and combined units.

[AverageJoe]

Dont let everyone get you down. Its not as bad as some say. Just dont hunt where everyone else is. Who cares about people camped everywhere. I had the hunt 3 years ago and saw one other guy the whole time. I was there for seven days, saw plenty of bulls, even one that was around 370 just couldnt get him. I ended up with a smaller 6x6 but was happy about it.

 

I would definitely NOT hunt water as that is where everyone is. I picked the areas between water holes and listened for bugles. Do not cow call, just chase the bugles and bugle yourself occasionally. Find a plateau in between two canyons with nearby water and have fun. Every other reject will be around mormon lake rd, schnebly hill rd, and stoneman lake rd. just keep away from those and you will be fine.

[COOSEFAN]

Dont let everyone get you down. Its not as bad as some say. Just dont hunt where everyone else is. Who cares about people camped everywhere. I had the hunt 3 years ago and saw one other guy the whole time. I was there for seven days, saw plenty of bulls, even one that was around 370 just couldnt get him. I ended up with a smaller 6x6 but was happy about it.

 

I would definitely NOT hunt water as that is where everyone is. I picked the areas between water holes and listened for bugles. Do not cow call, just chase the bugles and bugle yourself occasionally. Find a plateau in between two canyons with nearby water and have fun. Every other reject will be around mormon lake rd, schnebly hill rd, and stoneman lake rd. just keep away from those and you will be fine.

 

Yep, do what he says! I'll add that in 6a, some of the biggest bulls and least amount of hunting pressure will be in the lowest elevations.

[AZHUNTER05]

-1 For not sitting water. If your a new archery hunting sitting a treestand or blind can be a great way to get your first couple kills. Other then that i agree with average joe.

[ruthunter]

I think game and fish screwed up by adding another 50 bulls tags this year. Stay off the roads and hike in and you will do just fine. Seems like every tom, dick, and harry last year was road hunting. I passed 7 bulls before i shot mine so the oppurtunities will be there.

 

 

[ruthunter]

Here are some bulls from last year!