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Arizona Unit 1 Elk Late Hunt

Blacktailbc

Blacktailbc

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Nov 22, 2006
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Well, after 10 years finally drew the late hunt in unit 1. I've hunted all over the west for elk, but never in Arizona. Looking forward to it. Any of you Hunttalkers ever hunted this hunt? The advice I have gotten so far is pretty vague.....basically elk are all over. Looking to make the most of it, since this is a pretty tough tag to draw.

Thanks,
Buck
 
I had this hunt in 2015, I can give you some pointers but I didn't make the most of it. There was three raghorns running together 250 yards up hill from a road and my brother in law and I couldn't pass that temptation up. I know onxmaps is great but I still enjoy having a real map in my hands. Flatline maps offers great unit maps of AZ and they are bullet proof.
 
I drew this tag this year as well. In some ways this sounds like a slam dunk with the harvest stats, but I know it is going to take a lot of research, boots on the ground, and some luck to get a good bull on the ground.

Really looking forward to my first elk hunt in Arizona!
 
I hunted 27 late a few years ago and learned why the harvest rates are so high. Most of the guys there, especially the residents shoot the first bull they see. Including spikes. Those late hunts are viewed more as meat hunts. I was there for something 340" or above and was able to locate some good bulls pre-season, but as soon as the shooting range started the hunt went downhill fast. I ended up passing some small bulls and going home empty. IMHO I would try and find a bull you are good with before opening morning and then try and get him down fast. Otherwise, you're probably going to have to compromise if you're looking for a good bull.
 
I did a late bull hunt last year in AZ. You have a realistic chance of killing a really big bull on this hunt but you will have to work for it. You will also come across some big bulls that have broken up antlers. There will be a lot of shooting going on opening morning. There are a lot of tags so the elk that are easy access to vehicles are going to get pushed around. In my experience you won't see many other hunters if you get away from the roads. For as much shooting as I was hearing, I don't even want to imagine how many hunters are just driving the roads and waiting to bump into something.
 
BrianID said:
In my experience you won't see many other hunters if you get away from the roads. For as much shooting as I was hearing,
Click to expand...

That was not my experience, but I know the late 27 tag has a lot of tags compared to others. Not sure about 1. I packed in a couple miles into really rough country the day before the opener, froze my tail off that night and was run over by horse guys in the dark the next morning. They ended up hunting the bulls I had scouted like rabbits on their horses and shooting a really nice 350" bull I had been watching. One guy would ride his horse down thru the thick stuff and jump the elk to the guy with the tag. I spent the next 6 days just trying to get away from people and I never hunt anywhere near a road. Reminded me why I really only archery hunt. It was pretty country tho.
 
I hunted with my brother who had a unit 1 Sept. archery tag 3 years ago. We saw many BIG bulls but of course it was during the rut. He lives in Eagar and also tells me the locals tend to hunt the roads and shoot any bull. There are a lot of roads in unit 1 and it's hard to get very far from a road of some kind.
Depending on the weather I would look near the boundary of the Apache reservation. This winter there has been almost no snow to speak of even up high to drive the elk down lower. Unit 1 contains country from very high to the low P&J country near the New Mexico border. The Wallow Fire from several years ago is regrowing very well and we saw lots of bulls in the burn. Good luck on your hunt.
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Less than a week to go until the late season opens.

I've got a few places marked on the map, but still a little concerned about finding a good bull. Going to try to get there at least a day early to try to check some spots out.
 
I had an early archery tag in 27 this year and the bull quality was down. Good fronts but weak backs. I saw lot of small 6 points with weak backs. Only saw one bull pushing 350 in ten days, lots around 300. Overall I have heard that the bulls size is down because of the drought AZ had in this year. Get there early and drive the roads. It's a great unit and my favorite area in AZ. The foxfire in Alpine has great pizza if you are able to stop in.
 
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It was a fun hunt, saw tons of elk. Got there 3 days early. Hunted hard for 8 days. Never laid eyes on a bull over 300"
Saw very few 6 pts in general. Tons of raghorn bulls. Sounds like it was kind of a dry year in Arizona.
Took this bull on the second to last day.
Thanks to the hunttalkers that offered advice. Agiain, had a good time in AZ.
 
Congrats. That is a very fun place to hunt. I doubt I'll ever accumulate the points to go back.
 
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