Not until the Fat Lady Sings

[Red Rabbit]

I was fortunate to again draw a late rifle bull hunt in Arizona’s premier Unit 9. The last time was four years ago for a late bull hunt. In the previous 20 years since moving to Flagstaff, I have enjoyed three archery bull, two late rifle bull and one rifle cow tag in Arizona’s Unit 9. I have also had three other elk tags in other hunt units.

 

Interestingly, this would be my first big game hunt in two years. About 30 years ago, I began hunting after graduating from college and hunting replaced my passion for fly fishing. Hunting became my preoccupation for many years. Burnout or what-not. Four years ago, I took up landscape photography, and now enjoy it more than hunting. I have purchased over the counter archery deer tags, but have not gone afield with bow in the past few years. This year, I forsook a rifle Coues whitetail hunt in late October to go photograph Coyote Buttes in northern Arizona. This spring, I let a javelina season pass as I felt no urge. Now, for the first time in two years, I was looking forward to a hunt and its scouting.

 

What rifle to use for this hunt? I have nicely stocked 6.5 WSM and a HS Precision 300 WSM with Alaskan Walnut. A new scope arrived for the 6.5, so I moved the 4.5-14 Leupold to the HS and sighted in again. Guess these 180 grain Accubonds would work <wink> but are not condor-friendly <roll eyes>. I also have a load with the Nosler 180 E-tips that put 4 shots under an inch, so I would run with those to see their performance on elk. I do like how they worked on the berm behind the target.

 

 

First Scouting Trip

 

Two weekends before the hunt, I left Saturday afternoon with Rica, my German Wirehaired Pointer, to scout a few places old and new, now that the rifle deer hunters are finished. I have had an archery elk stalk blown by scouters on ATVs once, so I prefer to stay out of the woods while other hunts are occurring and not mess up someone else's hunt. Also, the bulls should now be away from the cows, and closer towards their wintertime locations. To scout for specific bulls before mid-October is somewhat pointless as they leave their cows and migrate toward wintering or post-rut hiding spots, sometimes 25-35 miles away from their rut areas.

 

Probably more than any other GMU, unit 9 seems like home to me. As on heads north on Highway 64, there is the welcome sign.

 

 

Also, there is the beacon of Red Butte that can be seen as one drives from the south out of Unit 7. I have never hiked to the top, but it may be a good vantage to glass the elk too far way to hike to. Gotta wonder how much water flowed to wash everything else away and leave just Red Butte resting atop all the layers of the Grand Canyon.

 

 

After a nice slow drive along just a "few" miles of rocky dirt roads, I reached my target spot in late afternoon. The plan was to watch from a distance and hope the dry weather keeps the elk coming to water. Only a young five point appeared after sunset.

 

 

The earth shadow was rather nice this evening towards the east. Layers of pink and blue with white clouds above the elkless cedars.

 

 

Sunday morning revealed only a bovine unit near the tank while observing from pre-dawn until past sunrise. Not even a howling coyote was heard. After an ATV and a truck passed by the tank, I decided to head south and find an open draw that I had seen using Google Earth. I hoped its fingers would provide peaceful feeding undisturbed by road traffic. This draw is almost a mile from a road, and has a fence running through the middle. I did find two well-used jumps that both could be covered by a well-positioned rifleman. Wonder which side of the fence will the elk prefer?

 

 

Most of the tracks along the fence and over the jumps were from cows and calves. But the elk are there. Maybe even a bull mixed in.

 

[Red Rabbit]

Thanksgiving Weekend Scout

 

The last weekend before the hunt had the west side of Unit 9 chosen as the scouting area. I wanted to look at the large opening which I hunted 4 years ago, and also scout a few different locations.

 

The Promised Land

 

 

I had heard of these hallowed hunting grounds that harbor giant bull elk, but was dismayed to find out about the excessive trespass fees involved and the depth of federal paperwork one cannot go through.

 

On the Edge

 

 

If one could just push the elk to the edge of the giant ditch, one should have their pickings. I heard it was tried once for Kaibab mule deer many decades ago by cowboys on horses on the north rim.

 

Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My

 

 

I glimpsed some shiny spots in the dirt road leading to an opening. I stopped and got out to look, and was surprised to see these bear tracks. The diameter of the lens cap is 2 ¾ inches.

 

Yes, there are Elk

 

 

 

Three young bulls came to water at a secluded trick tank Saturday evening. They spooked when they had enough of hearing my camera shutter in the still evening air.

 

Sunday morning I glassed the large opening, but saw no elk or deer. I did see a bobcat in the meadow carrying back his bounty from the morning hunt. That was cool to see. I of course had left my 22-250 at home.

 

After driving miles of roads laden with powdery silt that drafted unmercifully into the camper shell, I was unimpressed by the more desolate western reaches of another area of the unit. It held some, but few elk tracks. Thus, I returned to a tank Sunday night to see what may be in that area. The dirt was covered in elk and deer tracks. While driving in the draw below the tank, I spooked 3 javelina, but they disappeared before I could get the telephoto lens attached to the dslr camera.

 

At the tank before sunset, two groups of deer came in. The first group had a doe, yearling and young buck.

 

 

Just Practicing for Olympic Equestrian Show Jumping

 

 

The second group of deer included a small 4x4. No elk came in before end of glassing light.

 

Mule Deer Reflections

 

 

One of the avian friends that kept me company at the tank.

 

 

With the scouting trip over, it was time to fly home one more time before the hunt starts Friday, November 30th.

 

[Red Rabbit]

Heading Out

 

I had drawn the elk permit along with my long-time friend Russ. We left our homes in Flagstaff on the Wednesday morning before the hunt to go up and scout two more areas before the hunt began, then and make a decision where to be for the opener on Friday morning. Since it was dry, warm and had not rained in several weeks, we figured that water would be the key. Plans would be to sit water from a distance at dawn and dusk. The hunt also began with a full moon, so we figured that most activity would be nocturnal, especially after the continuous hunt pressure all fall.

 

Driving north from Willams towards Tusayan, the highway warning sign indicated elk for the next 20 miles. Only problem was that we would be driving almost 40 miles. <grin>

 

 

Wednesday afternoon we headed into the more openly vegetated southern part of the unit. Two tanks near to each other had numerous elk tracks, but most seemed to be those from cows and calves. Russ would sit a hill and overlook the areas leading to the tanks. He glassed a couple lone cows and a group of 16 cows calves and spikes.

 

 

In addition to the earthen tanks, we hiked into a water catchment/trick tank installed by the Arizona Game & Fish Department. The dusty soil surrounding the water and the trails leading to the catchment were covered with many fresh elk tracks. So many tracks were at the tank and trails leading to it, that we had very high hopes for this spot. A small ridge 200 yards above the trick tank provided an ideal vantage. I sat there Wednesday evening and Thursday morning, seeing only one wasting cow elk Wednesday evening. I surmise the drawn cow was aged and of poor health.

 

 

Thursday morning at the trick tank brought only the setting moon in the colored morning sky. I did pick up some busted antler points on the hike out.

 

 

Rica, my GWP, on a late afternoon scouting hike.

 

 

Late Thursday morning, we headed north to where I had hunted four years ago. It is an area with a long opening that the elk tend to cross mainly in the evening to travel westward to an earthen water tank. This area seems to hold mainly bulls and few cows. Just south of the opening is a secluded trick tank at which I had seen 3 small bulls Thanksgiving weekend. Russ had not been in this part of the unit before, so I was wanting to show him this area as I thought highly of it.

 

The Thursday evening before the hunt, Russ sat the trick tank and I watched the northern half of the long opening. Guess it was the wrong time, as both of us saw no elk. We decided to stay and hunt the area opening day.

 

 

Let the Hunt Begin

 

With sunrise at about 7:15 on opening morning of our bull hunt, we were in our locations at 6 AM. Russ sat on a ledge overlooking the trick tank, but at 6:30 had two other hunters come in and construct a blind only 30 yards away from the water tank. We wondered why one on a rifle hunt would set up so close and risk scent. Russ left and still hunted up the ridge, finding some fresh sign but no tan bodies in the thicker junipers.

 

My vantage along one edge of the large opening allowed me to see across to the far treeline. I could see over a mile of edge, but no elk were in the opening at first light or appeared along the treeline.

 

 

Evening of the first hunting day brought a cow, spike and two small bulls, 5 and 6 points, into the opening and into shooting range. While Russ was looking for a “mature” bull primarily for the freezer, I was looking for trophy antlers. I passed on the small bulls as they still sparred, raised dust, and pushed against each other’s antlers.

 

The next morning was fruitless (aside from another moonset).

 

 

That second evening had Russ sitting a small rise that overlooked where the small bulls came from the previous evening. I went to the western edge and a little further south, and glassed a couple of draws in the large opening that he could not see from his perch. Only about 20 minutes after we settled in, shots rang out from Russ’ direction at 4:30. A six point bull with nice curved fronts succumbed to the 180 grain Accubonds from his 300 Win Mag. With only an hour of light, Russ radioed that he wanted me to stay put and wait if anything else came out for me. Well, no more elk appeared and I went to help him finish his field dressing. Concerning about his bull was the declined body condition of the bull as the rear quarters were drawn and bony, and the backstraps were about half the thickness. He had no body fat. His appearance was nearing that of the lone cow I saw and photographed a few days before. The bull still had teeth, and the antlers did not have the stubby appearance with mass like some old bulls have, but rather the beam lacked mass and the points were of normal length.

 

The next two evenings had me sitting in the middle of the upper opening. I have faith in this area and am willing to bide time for the time when a bull crosses. Both evenings had a group with 2 cows, a calf and a spike make their way across the same part of the opening, as if to go to the distant water tank.

 

 

On the second of these evenings, I was startled and ducked for cover as 2 shots rang out behind me. Throwing up the binos in the direction of shot, I peeked and saw a truck with the doors open. After a total of 8 shots and then darkness set in, I made my way towards them to see the bull which two hunters were gutting in their truck’s headlights. It was the small 5 point I had seen opening evening and had decided to run in front of them as they were driving to get to a tree line. The 6 final shots were the hunter’s attempt hit the downed, but still alive, elk in its swaggering head.

 

For the past few days, I had been talking with a very nice guy and his uncle who had a bull tag. They were still-hunting the thick pinyon/juniper forest above the large opening. Each day, they could get close to a group of large bull in their beds, but could never get a clear shot. I had hopes that one of these bulls would make it across the opening to water at the distant tank, but they never appeared during hunting hours.

 

Since mornings were being rather unproductive at the big opening, I chose a different spot a few miles away to glass a relatively open area with stringers of trees from an elevated rim where I might catch a bull returning from another nearby watering spot. Surprisingly, appearing were two small 4 and 5 point bulls about 150 yards away in the morning sun.

 

Again the quandering question arises of between trophy antlers and meat in the freezer. It seems that I have almost always been a trophy hunter for the majority of the hunting seasons. Four years ago, I passed on a pair of 340 class bulls in the large opening as there was a legitimate 400 residing in the area. I went home with tag in hand that year, just as I have done on some Coues whitetail hunts. I reason that if the hunt is just for the meat, then I could save the tag fees and gas money and buy lots of tasty tenderloin from the butcher. To me, the hunt is a combination of the outdoor experience and the trophy. I enjoy having a nice shoulder mount on the wall and having the instant memories when I view it.

 

Mornings were colder in the mid-20s, so we all wore heavier jackets. Some had frozen water bowls.

 

 

Daytime temperatures were near 60 and breezes were low except for windy afternoon.

 

Last of the Days

 

With only two evenings in the hunt to go, Russ and I moved camp further east to be closer to an earthen stock tank and a trick tank separated by about a mile. I had talked with another hunter whose wife had shot a bull off the dirt tank earlier in the hunt. Hopefully the area had settled down and no one else was hunting it. Both the trick tanks and earthen tanks had well placed ground blinds built of similar construction. Each also had 3 shiny 308 Winchester casings suggesting success and/or poor shooting.

 

I sat the trick tank Wednesday evening and Russ observed the earthen tank. I saw nothing in the evening.

 

The trick tank as seen from the blind 250 yards away. One can see the corrugated metal roofing used to collect water from rain and melting snow

 

 

The hide the previous hunters built into the small pinyon pines.

 

 

Russ had a 5 point bull come in right at 5:30 the evening (sunset was about 5:15) and stay at the tank while I drove by to pick him up after dark. Our talking and shining the headlights on the bull after dark did not faze him.

 

Down to the Last Day.

 

Russ drove back to Flagstaff to tend to work, and I decided to sit the earthen tank all day. The solunar table said that 11am-noon would be a minor period of activity and best from 5:30-7:30PM. In the hour before noon, several mule deer including one fleming spike came in.

 

 

Right after the deer watered and left, a lone javelina came to water to drink and bathe.

 

 

 

Down to the final light.

I had decided that it was now “any bull” time. But right at sunset, I began to hear voices. No, not those in my head, but those from someone else. Earlier in the afternoon, I had glassed a cow elk hunter (presumedly doing some last minute scouting) walking across the sage opening half a mile below the tank. The rifle cow hunt was to begin the next morning on Friday. Now it seems he was standing on the ridge upwind of the tank talking LOUDLY to someone on his cell phone. The talker finally silenced and later I heard his truck drive down the gravel road.

 

 

 

The evening light faded, and the fat lady sang.

 

 

 

 

Doug~RR

 

 

 

Hunt photos were taken with a Canon SX260HS purchased from CameraLand.

[6ANut]

Great write up and those are some great photos. That one of the mule deer Buck jumping the fence is just amazing.

[200"mulie]

Awesome photos!! Thanks for sharing and still beats being at work

[yumabowhunter]

Great story.

[Snapshot]

Nice pic and great story. Sorry you had to bring the fat lady along on your hunt.

[lucky2hunt]

Great write-up and pictures Doug. Throughly enjoyed sitting here on a Sunday morning with coffee in hand reading this! Thanks for sharing!

[bigorange]

Great story and photos...thanks for sharing! Felt like I was right there with you through the hunt.

[SWDesertRat]

Awesome trip report. One of the best reads as well as catalog of photos.

 

[azcouesfanatic]

I really enjoy your write-ups and photos.

[longshooter]

Awesome write up and pics Doug.

[Bryson Bendall]

Great write up Doug... What lens(es) do/did you use for these pictures?

[Red Rabbit]

Thank you for taking the time to read my ramblings and commenting.

 

Bryson- I used the Canon SX260HS point & shoot.

[SDHunter11]

Great write up and photos as usual. I really enjoyed the moon sets and pics of Rica. You have one heck of a hunting partner there.