Unit 9 archery bull

[CRAZYBUCK]

Well I lucked out and drew this tag with 2 others with 5 points but bad time to get this tag seeing I know nothing about this unit and am starting a new job at the post office I will be working 6 days a week 10 hours a day so I will have almost no time to scout and very little time on the hunt maybe 5 days so what I am asking is can anyone who knows the unit well give me some insight on where to start and how's the rut been there the last few years I know the amount of water has a lot to do with it again thanks for any input one might have

[Santana Outdoors]

I am not familiar with that unit, but just wanted to say congrats and good luck.

[elkaholic]

be prepared for lots of hunters/ guides - one of the most sought after tags is bull unit 9- expect lots traffic -you'll find every water source has a trail camera or stand /blind.

 

find water and then backtrack to bedding areas -if possible

 

or ambush at a fence crossing close to water

 

pray for rain as this helps to get isolated patchs of water - find a hidden wallow along a little creek some where - use google earth to get an idea of possible spring areas off the main drags

 

great tag!

[metau]

I had that same tag a few years ago. I was also in a similar position as you are in. Virtually no one hunts that tag by themselves(was called crazy when mentioning that as my plan). Plan on 2-5 people being in that unit per tag. Every drop of water will have a trail camera on it. There were several tanks that had 10+ cameras, the most having well over a dozen. I did manage to find a bunch of small seeps, springs and depressions with water in them, and each one was under the watch of a camera. Every tank with water that I found also had a minimum of one blind or treestand, either at it or on a trail to it.

 

You have what some believe to be one of the best elk tags in the country, let alone the state. Do yourself a favor and spend more then 5 days on that hunt. You will kick yourself in the arse if you don't. As for the rut in unit 9, some say it is the thing dreams are made of. I would say that is a gross understatement. My season started out with bugling about 10-12 hours a day, peaked at 3 days nonstop, and finished at about 18+ hours a day. I saw elk every day(sometimes 100+ a day), was spit on, nearly stepped on multiple times, had branches thrown over my head, watched a dozen fights and had a plethora of shot opportunities(missed more than once). It seemed like 60%+ of bulls were broken by the 2nd week, and understandably so, but even that didn't slow them down.

 

As for where to start, my suggestion would be the 'where to hunt' section on the AZGFD website. Everywhere listed there has elk, and if you have any specifics, give the local Wildlife manager a call. There are several elk hunting seminars/events in the state throughout the summer that I recommend you attend if possible. Take several of your days off and get up there and drive the roads. Learn them. Visit the tanks. Find the sign. Find the beds. Find the out of the way water holes. Learn to cow call. Learn to use a diaphragm call, and bring several. Travel lightly as you will need to travel fast. Have good boots/shoes. And of course, practice, practice, practice!

[Schmitty]

If you have no time to scout and only five days to hunt, you might want to pony up and hire a guide for this hunt as you have one of the most desired elk tags in the world. Might as well make the most of it.

[SirRoyal]

If Im not guiding . I'd be glad to help you for a few days . Dont worry about the people they are all trophy hunters on top of each other and competeing against each other! Strange I never have that problem in 9 even after 25 years of hunting it ! We have taken alot of bulls out of there!

Pm me if your interested!

[out2hunt]

Your a gentleman Sir Royal!

[SirRoyal]

I have 3 units I specialize and love to hunt in 9,10,6A. Your tag ,my tag, anybodies tag lets go hunting!

This will get the juices flowing! Last year !

 

[Kaffer62]

Sir royal! That is a great bull! I have the late rifle hunt up there. That picture gets my heart pumping.. Cant wait!

[COOSEFAN]

Congrats on the tag! I've yet to have one personally but hopefully in the next year or two I'll get to know what it feels like to have that tag in MY pocket!

 

I know a little about that unit and those early hunts. There will be multiple people for each tag and it can be very frustrating when those folks interfere with your hunt. If you plan on sitting water, plan on getting frustrated! 1st problem with water is guys will go up early and set up multiple treestands or blinds on multiple tanks and "think" they own them. 2nd problem is guys will have their "non-hunting" friends sit their other stands in order to keep other hunters from sitting there, you won't know if the guy in the blind has a bow or not and that's not fair to the respectful tag holder that turns around and leaves thinking another "hunter" beat him to the tank. There are a bunch of water sources in Unit 9 that most people don't know about and if you scout hard enough you'll find some and have a better chance at not having any competition over it.

 

I HATE sitting water but sometimes it's all you got! Every year there will be evenings during the hunt when the bulls just won't talk and it's a bad thing to go bumping around in their bedrooms, this is when sitting a tank is best. I don't know which year or where Metau hunted in 9 but I must've missed that one or was in the wrong spot! Rut action like that in Unit 9 isn't common and I definitely wouldn't expect action like that, but it can happen if you are in the right spot. Overall, lately the rut has been decent in 9 but there will be areas where it turns on and areas where it flat out turns off! So remember, just because the rut action is slow where you are, it may be on fire somewhere else in the unit, sometimes just changing elevation can change the whole hunt! One thing you can do is drive to other areas at night so your not burning hunting time and listen to find better rut action.

 

Like was said before, there will be areas with a lot of hunting pressure i.e., cameras, blinds, traffic etc. Those areas are typically the "famous" spots, not because there are a bunch of big bulls, but because there may be 1 or 2 really big bulls there. The truth is, this is not the case for the whole unit like some believe. There are areas with big bulls and even giant bulls that get overlooked and will have little to no hunting pressure. Having to compete with other hunters or guides takes all the fun out of the hunt and if your willing to shoot any 350"+ bull you'll have a much more enjoyable hunt elsewhere and you can find that class of bull anywhere in that unit! If you are only wanting a 400" bull then seek out those areas with all the cameras and traffic, put your game face on and be willing to go home frustrated and quite possibly empty handed! Those 400" class bulls are big for a reason and it's typically because all that scouting/hunting pressure pushes them to areas where they can't be hunted. Thus, all those hunters are wasting their time trying to kill them, happens every year, I know this first hand!

 

If SirRoyal is offering to help for free for a few days, take him up on that offer! He knows what he's doing and that's basically a tag of a lifetime so use all the help you can get!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[metau]

Jim-

My tag was in 2010, and it was my first rut hunt. And yes, I realize that what I experienced was not the norm, at least according to everyone I ran into that year. Only one person in camp said they had seen it like that, albeit 15ish years ago, if memory serves me right. There was a bull bugling all night long, every night, right behind our camp. If you ask my wife, she would say that the bull was practically in our tent. Bugling lasted a solid 2 hours every morning, with the 3 day peak lasting till about 1030-1100, with a bugle every 15-20 minutes till about 1630-1700 before picking back up again for the evening, then it slowed down the last few days of the hunt.

 

CB-

Definitely take Sir Royal up on his offer if he is able to help. Jim's 3rd main paragraph is spot on. I saw people camped 'on' roads to tanks, parking 3 across to prevent people from accessing the tanks by vehicle. Others placed signs on roads indicating elderly/disabled hunters on water, please do not come near. Heard rumors of verbal confrontations, though only through hearsay. After deciding to give up on the bull I wash chasing, I ended up switching tactics and moved to an area that few people go to. Ultimately, I managed to take my bull there. It was very nice there as I only saw one person in two days, who happened to be a fellow CWT'er, and he was coming to pick up his tree stand that had been there a few days.

 

Between the hunt and scouting, I'd say I drove, walked or glassed approx. 45% of that unit. The one major area I did not hunt/scout also had elk(again hearsay). Everywhere I went, I either found elk or fresh sign of elk. The areas of densest elk had the most people, and rightfully so. The areas that had the least amount of people still had elk. It really comes down to what you want your hunt to be.

 

This below is some great advice.

One thing you can do is drive to other areas at night so your not burning hunting time and listen to find better rut action.

But be careful when driving at night. We came across a Toyota that had flipped when the driver swerved to miss a cow elk.

 

Feel free to shoot me a PM if you have specific questions. Lastly, make sure you have a lion tag

[SirRoyal]

Thank you for your vote of confidence, Jim

Very well said about 9.

 

Kaffer62. That is a 10 bull . Its basically a monster 5 point!!!

 

Here is a 9 bull from the 2011 archery bull hunt!

This was a week after just about every guide and hunter in 9 was scrambling to salvage thier hunts! See the rains rolled in the evening of the first day and rained for 5 days straight. Everybody was back to even no matter how much they had scouted!

I landed in 9 at this time . Here is the very first bull I found that morning. and there was over 15 bulls with least 3 others that would score above 360. No hunters even close by! We killed a 365 the last evening in this hot spot!

[JUSTCUZ]

SirRoyal are you going to offer to help me when I get drawn, if I ever do

[SirRoyal]

JUSTCUZ Welcome to the site. And no I wont help you . But when I draw again up there you can help me You Big Bull slayer you!!

I always step aside for a great Elk hunter like you!!!

[Norell]

I drew this tag with my son and CRAZYBUCK. I was excited when I discovered my credit card was charged. Now, after reading all the posts on this thread, I can think of nothing else. I had no idea that unit 9 was a premium tag. Now I know why CRAZYBUCK wanted it to be first choice. All of my elk hunting experience is in 5BN so any help/advice is appreciated. What maps do you suggest?