Arizona Unit 1 Elk Late Hunt

[dirtclod Az.]

Great Bull,any hunt in Az. is a good hunt .Successful or not.

 

[Buschy]

Congratulations on a very good looking bull. A fun place to hunt for sure!!

 

[JohnCushman]

Congrats!

 

[prhunter]

sweet. Congrats!

 

[naturebob]

Nice Job................BOB!

 

[Spitz]

Congrats! Thanks for sharing!

 

[Gr8bawana]

Congrats on a hard earned bull!

 

[npaden]

Congrats. I keep meaning to post up a hunt report but have been having a hard time getting around to it.

I also got there a little early and scouted and was there for 5 days of the hunt. I posted earlier on the wolf encounter which was probably the highlight of my trip.

https://onyourownadventures.com/hunttalk/showthread.php?286607-Arizona-Elk-Wolves

I ended up shooting a wounded 5 point bull on day 5 of the hunt. I don't understand how whoever shot the bull I ended up putting down couldn't have tracked him. My buddy dropped me off about a mile and a half away and I hiked through a spot to get back to the road. I noticed the track first, there was snow on the ground and you could see that it was bleeding every step as well as dragging one foot in the snow. I followed the track for a bit and he crossed a creek and I decided to go tell my buddy I was thinking about tracking him down and then I saw him standing there. He was so weak he could just stand there. I watched him for a while and hiked the 300 yards that was remaining back to the truck and thought about it for a while and talked it over with my buddy. It was going to eat me up leaving the bull there to suffer so I went ahead and put him down. He was shot in the right hind quarter and the femur was completely shattered. Bullet fragments everywhere but it was just the one hindquarter. Not the bull I was hunting for but I don't think I would have felt very good leaving him there to suffer while I kept on hunting for a bigger bull.

2018 AZ Bull by naathan2, on Flickr

I could have shot a 5 point or better bull every day of the hunt (all bigger than the wounded one I ended up shooting), most of them at 100 yards or less without the bull even knowing I was there. I did have a very good opportunity on a 320+ bull on opening morning. I was just under 300 yards away from a group of bulls but none of them were of any size. 3 or 4 small 6's but nothing good. They eventually got up and milling around and about that time I realized one of them was a really good bull and got on him. He had a smaller bull in front of him and I just needed the small bull to clear to take the shot. They both walked into the trees together at the same time.

I saw another really good bull the next day but about 800 yards away and moving, and then another decent bull on day 3 but it was probably 1,200 yards away and across a big canyon and he wasn't much over 300" so I didn't even go after him.

Overall saw a ton of elk and really enjoyed myself. Beautiful country. It did hit -8 on my truck thermometer one morning so it does get cold in Arizona.

I still might try to post a full hunt report with some more pictures.

Nathan

 

[WapitiBob]

Congrats on the hunt, well done.

 

[Cerebral Stalker]

Sincere respect for shooting the injured animal. Nobody has a hard time shooting a 350"+ bull when given the chance, but not everyone would do what you did. So, I'm more impressed than if you had shot a big one. Well done, sir!

 

[Loon]

Like those before me, I ended up drawing the late rifle hunt this year. I thought it might be a good idea to resurrect this old thread for anyone who wants to talk unit 1. It will be my first hunt in AZ and I'm still giddy from drawing. My only source of data now is the unit information on AZGFD's website, anyone know if that stuff is usually a good representation of what's actually going on in the field? Seems like AZ gives more details than other states share, curious how accurate it is.

 

[rustednuts]

Like those before me, I ended up drawing the late rifle hunt this year. I thought it might be a good idea to resurrect this old thread for anyone who wants to talk unit 1. It will be my first hunt in AZ and I'm still giddy from drawing. My only source of data now is the unit information on AZGFD's website, anyone know if that stuff is usually a good representation of what's actually going on in the field? Seems like AZ gives more details than other states share, curious how accurate it is.

It is a really big burn in that unit. I would stay away from the spots AZGF recommends as they tend to be swamped with people. Find the nasty canyon blown country in the burn and you'll find elk. Good luck!

 

[dirtclod Az.]

Hunt the burn if possible,Lots of rain this year.Plenty of new growth.Good Luck!

 

[lazorwolf]

It is a really big burn in that unit. I would stay away from the spots AZGF recommends as they tend to be swamped with people. Find the nasty canyon blown country in the burn and you'll find elk. Good luck!

After 5 years I finally got drawn for the late rifle hunt in unit 1. I have a cabin in unit 1 so I am very familiar with the terrain. I usually do the spring shed hunts so I have a lot of hours in the unit walking it and have a good idea where I will be come day 1 of my hunt.

 

[lazorwolf]

Like those before me, I ended up drawing the late rifle hunt this year. I thought it might be a good idea to resurrect this old thread for anyone who wants to talk unit 1. It will be my first hunt in AZ and I'm still giddy from drawing. My only source of data now is the unit information on AZGFD's website, anyone know if that stuff is usually a good representation of what's actually going on in the field? Seems like AZ gives more details than other states share, curious how accurate it is.

 

[dididraw]

Congrats. I keep meaning to post up a hunt report but have been having a hard time getting around to it.

I also got there a little early and scouted and was there for 5 days of the hunt. I posted earlier on the wolf encounter which was probably the highlight of my trip.

https://onyourownadventures.com/hunttalk/showthread.php?286607-Arizona-Elk-Wolves

I ended up shooting a wounded 5 point bull on day 5 of the hunt. I don't understand how whoever shot the bull I ended up putting down couldn't have tracked him. My buddy dropped me off about a mile and a half away and I hiked through a spot to get back to the road. I noticed the track first, there was snow on the ground and you could see that it was bleeding every step as well as dragging one foot in the snow. I followed the track for a bit and he crossed a creek and I decided to go tell my buddy I was thinking about tracking him down and then I saw him standing there. He was so weak he could just stand there. I watched him for a while and hiked the 300 yards that was remaining back to the truck and thought about it for a while and talked it over with my buddy. It was going to eat me up leaving the bull there to suffer so I went ahead and put him down. He was shot in the right hind quarter and the femur was completely shattered. Bullet fragments everywhere but it was just the one hindquarter. Not the bull I was hunting for but I don't think I would have felt very good leaving him there to suffer while I kept on hunting for a bigger bull.

2018 AZ Bull by naathan2, on Flickr

I could have shot a 5 point or better bull every day of the hunt (all bigger than the wounded one I ended up shooting), most of them at 100 yards or less without the bull even knowing I was there. I did have a very good opportunity on a 320+ bull on opening morning. I was just under 300 yards away from a group of bulls but none of them were of any size. 3 or 4 small 6's but nothing good. They eventually got up and milling around and about that time I realized one of them was a really good bull and got on him. He had a smaller bull in front of him and I just needed the small bull to clear to take the shot. They both walked into the trees together at the same time.

I saw another really good bull the next day but about 800 yards away and moving, and then another decent bull on day 3 but it was probably 1,200 yards away and across a big canyon and he wasn't much over 300" so I didn't even go after him.

Overall saw a ton of elk and really enjoyed myself. Beautiful country. It did hit -8 on my truck thermometer one morning so it does get cold in Arizona.

I still might try to post a full hunt report with some more pictures.

Nathan

That is a tough choice, kudos to you for doing the honorable thing! I let a bull go once that was injured and I still feel badly about it - he looked to have been hooked by another bull in a fight that had opened his abdomen. I was in a DEEP canyon, he had lost half of one antler, and I didn't know how long he had been in that condition so was worried that the meat may not even be edible. Still wonder if I did the right thing letting him suffer.