unit 22 - archery back country hunt questions

[Soul Archer]

hi all,

im new to the state of arizona having moved here from washington and Im eager to hit the back country this winter.

 

really looking hard at the hells gate wilderness (unit 22)

 

given that it's a little smaller than most wilderness areas, I was curious what the likelihood of running into other hunters was in the deeper parts of the wilderness? does this place get hammered pretty hard?

[kidso]

You always have the opportunity to run into other hunters on public land, but the lack of motor vehicles in wilderness areas usually means the hunters you run into are less numerous.

[naturebob]

You might just find a good Buck back there too. Good luck. Something I allways wanted to do..whoops ,just remembered I was thinking of the Mazatzals in 22. Anybody ever gone in deep from the Bartlett side? ...........BOB!

[Soul Archer]

is it better to hunt the area in august focusing on water or in january

[mattys281]

I dont know hells gate that well but have hiked into the mazatzals several times on several different trails. Never seen anyone past about five miles in.

[wildwoody]

Theres a reason why they call it HELLS GATE. be very careful, carrying a spot wouldn't be a bad idea either

[MULEPACKHUNTER]

Hells gate is in 23

[MULEPACKHUNTER]

Oh and hells gate is steep as heck and good bear country. Get a flatline map of 23 north and do some study time

[Big Browns]

Hells Gate is in 22 South & 23 North

[Coues79]

Hells Gate is in 22 South & 23 North

Yep; this is correct. Sure drops off into some pretty nasty rugged stuff.

[Guest akaspecials]

Lots of bears, lots of deer, some elk. If you get deep and off trail you won't see a soul. There is a reason most folks don't go too far in. You're looking at steep terrain, thick brush, and not much water. An animal's paradise and a hunter's heck.

[azslim]

I backpacked from Bear Flats to Gisela in the early 90's, steep rugged country, in 5 days we ran into 3 bears, good fishing, didn't get far enough out of the creek bed to comment on the deer but should be good. If you go along the creek you need to waterproof your pack and be ready to swim.

[Soul Archer]

my apologies, I had meant hellsgate in the northern part of unit 23 (still learning the ropes.)

 

it looks real nasty which is what I like about it. plus, it has water, but not too much and that is what really has my attention

 

I've got 5 or 6 spots picked out on google earth that stand out. My thinking is that remote water (no other source within a mile radius) will likely be supporting deer and that a water hole in this country might be more important to a deer in august than in january

 

so currently (and I am about 2 days into my planning) im looking at sitting a treestand or groundblind over a remote water source inside the wilderness during the early season.

 

I've done a bit of backcountry hunting, and I own one of the first generation spots.

 

am I barking up the right tree? any advice you would offer to a first time coues hunter?

[Str8Shot]

heck's Gate is some great wilderness and varied in terrain majority pretty rough.... depending on which way you are going to head out or what trails you choose to take water can be found .... Monsoons can bring some serious water down Tonto Creek and side creeks so be prepared to change your route if bad weather comes... you should not see many others after a mile or two... as with any unit get a mile or two from the roads and you lose 90% of hunters ... I think you can still get a detailed guide on the trails and rules of that area at the Payson Ranger Station... Good Luck

[Soul Archer]

You could be a bit warm sitting still in a blind in that country in August. You would need both shade and a breeze to be comfortable below 6,000 ft. There are a few exceptions like hitting a nice monsoon but that's my experience. It's not hard for that country to maintain 100F.

 

I tried backcountry groundblinding in the Superstition wilderness area one August season at 5500' and it was unbearable with spiders, rattlesnakes, stink and sweat. Don't mind the red X, that would have been my shot in that circumstance, though.

MDGC0015.JPG

If I tried hunting a remote water source like that again in August, I would only do so with a treestand in the shade.

 

In my August experience, If I can get into a tree stand in the shade above 6,000' I enjoy my hunts a heck of a lot more. There is a lot of remote country in higher elevations that doesn't require the effort of Hells Gate. If it's solitude your after, go to Hells Gate in August.

 

Good luck whatever you decide and post pictures!

wow, this looks very similar to the areas im looking at in the hellsgate, same kind of setups. it's somewhat ironic, i've spent the last 7 years troubleshooting hunting out of treestand for 11 hours in freezing temps. Even after considerable effort toward fighting off the cold it is still a pretty miserable sit, looks like ive found the ying to that yang

 

bugs and snakes are a real bummer... im pretty sure that the sound of me screaming like a 12 year old girl would alert the deer and prompt them to avoid the area, even if they were thirsty... are you hunting out of a pop up blind or a hand built? how do you deal with a ground blind and undesirable invaders, flash bang, napalm?? i freakin HATE spiders and the ones you have here in arizona are spectacularly nasty

 

So, that picture absolutely rocks dude, how often are the deer coming in there? daylight versus night? about how many deer were hitting that spot?