CEI Report post Posted September 23, 2013 It's now the last week of the 2013 Arizona Archery Elk hunt. The rut is slowly picking up and there are some areas that are really starting to go, but many are still hit and miss. Above, Joe Decker poses with his mid 390 AZ Archery Bull. He took this stud in central AZ with the help from his brother John Decker Jr., owner of Bull Basin Archery. The bull above has the 2nd best backend we have seen this year in western AZ. We have been in the field for 2 weeks now and it's a tough year to find bulls over 370, even in units like 9 & 10. There was a 450 bull taken by Payson, which will probably be the biggest bull taken on a Arizona draw hunt this year. Units 21-23 have produced some of the best bulls in the state. Region 1 has produced the most 370+ bulls this year. This is the result of average antler growth in eastern Arizona and poor antler growth in western and parts of central AZ. With that said, there are still some big bulls that will hit the dirt, between now and the early rifle hunt. The bull above has a typical under developed backend, which is caused by poor nutrition during and before the antler growth stage. View the full article Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
