AZ Elk anyone want to come along?
- Thread starter SC Living Outdoors
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SC Living Outdoors
Well-known member
Geez man. Relax. I got home at 10:30 last night. Iāve been Whitetail hunting in Texas otw home from AZ. I got up at the to go to work. Left work and went straight to the taxidermist. Iām not even home yet.
SC Living Outdoors
Well-known member
Hereās the update.
Iāve been hunting and driving. I left Arizona and drove 800 miles to Texas. I hunted on public land for two days. Killed a good buck. Drove 1000 miles home. Got home took a shower. Slept for 5.5 hours. Got up and went to work. Left work and drove straight to the taxidermist. Otw home now.
Tomorrow is Saturday. Iām going hunting. Sunday Iām going to church. Iāll post the story this weekend if I have time. If not, it will ill be early next week.
Iāve been hunting and driving. I left Arizona and drove 800 miles to Texas. I hunted on public land for two days. Killed a good buck. Drove 1000 miles home. Got home took a shower. Slept for 5.5 hours. Got up and went to work. Left work and drove straight to the taxidermist. Otw home now.
Tomorrow is Saturday. Iām going hunting. Sunday Iām going to church. Iāll post the story this weekend if I have time. If not, it will ill be early next week.
SC Living Outdoors
Well-known member
Back almost a year ago, I drew a really good elk tag in Arizona. I was actually tossing around the idea of just applying for a point because I knew I was still 2 to 3 years away from drawing one of the easier to draw late season elk tags. I was also thinking this might be a good year for me to burn my Kansas Whitetail tags on a late-season rifle hunt, but instead of applying for just a point I decided to throw my name in for a couple of really good tags that I never expected to draw. Results day came in my card got hit. That was a shock. Lucky.
Iād never set foot in this unit before or even driven through it. Id only hunted Arizona once previously for coues deer a couple years ago and it was a fun hunt, I knew this unit produced some really good elk. So I had confidence it would be a good hunt, but also didnāt want to set the bar too high for myself because we all know how hunting is. My goal was to kill a mature bull. I started doing some escouting, but honestly, I didnāt jump in too hard until about 2 weeks before the hunt because I was scouting and planning other hunt and once august arrived I was hunting.
When driving across the entire country to hunt I try to combine hunts or just add on an extra tag to spend more time hunting while Iām in new places. Iāve gotten pretty good at it over the years. Itās actually kind of crazy how much I enjoy the planning process of my hunts. Obviously, I enjoy hunting more but the planning process is a lot of fun and when it all comes together with the tags, the scouting, new places and success, itās pretty cool. This hunt wasnāt any different in that respect.
Back in early March my wife and I met a retired couple from Texas while we were sightseeing in New Zealand. The guy and I started talking and I discovered he liked to hunt as well and he invited me to stop in and hunt axis and whitetail next time I was driving through Texas. I also have another friend who used to live here in South Carolina and moved to Texas a few years back. He and I have been trying to get together for a Whitetail hunt for a few years on public land so this seemed like a good opportunity to try to make both hunts happen if time would allow.
I left for Texas on Thanksgiving after eating with my wifeās family. I drove for four or five hours that day and spent the night at an Alabama restaurant stop. I finished my Texas drive on Black Friday stopping at an Academy to buy my hunting license (that was a mistake..). My friend in Texas owns a small piece of property thatās only about 5 acres and I hunted right behind his house for three days. I saw a lot of whitetail and a lot of axis. Unfortunately, the 3 big axis disappeared right before I came and didnāt show up while I was there. We pulled the camera after my second day hunting and a big hill country whitetail had showed up that night. My friend was emphatic that if that buck came in, I should shoot it. That was the biggest buck heād ever gotten pictures of on his property behind the house. Wouldnāt you know it that evening that buck came in and I put a good shot on him. He went about 80 yards before going down. These deer have tiny bodies. I bet he only weighed 120lbs. He was a beautiful wide Texas hill country buck and my friend was happy for me and I was appreciative for the hunting experience. I hunted the next morning but I didnāt see anything before I headed out to finish my drive to Arizona. My friend and his wife were great host and I enjoyed spending a few days with them. They invited me to come back anytime to give the axis another try.
I spent the night in western New Mexico and got to my unit in Arizona Wednesday morning. That would give me a day and a half to scout. Iād gotten some info from a couple of people on areas that could be good for elk. One was a friend of mine that lives in New Mexico and the other was a fellow Hunter off Hunttalk. I appreciate both guys helping me out. I found somewhere to check my rifle then I loaded up my gear and I hiked back in 3 or 4 miles that first afternoon. I saw some elk right at last light in some thick cover, but I could not tell what they were. I made a plan to be back on the ridge at first light to start glassing again and trying to make a game plan for opening day.
That night is the coldest night Iāve ever spent in a tent. I donāt know what the temperature got down to, but it was very very cold. It had been snowing on me while I was hiking in that day and it was brutal that night. Close to single digits I would guess. I wore every piece of clothing I had and I was still cold. Not to mention my sleeping pad decided this trip it wanted to start leaking. Itād only hold air for about 30 minutes. I would get to sleep a little bit then wake up cold laying flat on the ground no air in my pad, so Iād blow up the pad. Try to get in a position to go to sleep while shivering and wake up again 30 minutes or an hour later laying on a flat pad. Iāve had better nights, but it also couldāve been worse.
The next morning, I got up to the same ridge and found the elk from the night before. 5 bulls. No shooters. Around 8:30am. I moved around to the other side of the ridge and glassed up three more bulls 1.9 miles away. One of them was a decent 6 point. I wasnāt sure if he was a shooter or not, but he was down towards an area Iād thought about hunting. I decided to head back and pack up all my gear, load up the truck and drive all the way around to the backside and hike in from the bottom. I got to the trailhead around 3 oāclock, and there was only one other truck there. I loaded up my gear and decided to head in with the spot I had in mind for the first day about 3 miles from the truck. I camped between a creek and a big Mesa with the plan to climb up on top and glass the backside on opening morning. This was a new area that I had not been able to see from my glassing point up top but I felt like it had good potential.
Iād never set foot in this unit before or even driven through it. Id only hunted Arizona once previously for coues deer a couple years ago and it was a fun hunt, I knew this unit produced some really good elk. So I had confidence it would be a good hunt, but also didnāt want to set the bar too high for myself because we all know how hunting is. My goal was to kill a mature bull. I started doing some escouting, but honestly, I didnāt jump in too hard until about 2 weeks before the hunt because I was scouting and planning other hunt and once august arrived I was hunting.
When driving across the entire country to hunt I try to combine hunts or just add on an extra tag to spend more time hunting while Iām in new places. Iāve gotten pretty good at it over the years. Itās actually kind of crazy how much I enjoy the planning process of my hunts. Obviously, I enjoy hunting more but the planning process is a lot of fun and when it all comes together with the tags, the scouting, new places and success, itās pretty cool. This hunt wasnāt any different in that respect.
Back in early March my wife and I met a retired couple from Texas while we were sightseeing in New Zealand. The guy and I started talking and I discovered he liked to hunt as well and he invited me to stop in and hunt axis and whitetail next time I was driving through Texas. I also have another friend who used to live here in South Carolina and moved to Texas a few years back. He and I have been trying to get together for a Whitetail hunt for a few years on public land so this seemed like a good opportunity to try to make both hunts happen if time would allow.
I left for Texas on Thanksgiving after eating with my wifeās family. I drove for four or five hours that day and spent the night at an Alabama restaurant stop. I finished my Texas drive on Black Friday stopping at an Academy to buy my hunting license (that was a mistake..). My friend in Texas owns a small piece of property thatās only about 5 acres and I hunted right behind his house for three days. I saw a lot of whitetail and a lot of axis. Unfortunately, the 3 big axis disappeared right before I came and didnāt show up while I was there. We pulled the camera after my second day hunting and a big hill country whitetail had showed up that night. My friend was emphatic that if that buck came in, I should shoot it. That was the biggest buck heād ever gotten pictures of on his property behind the house. Wouldnāt you know it that evening that buck came in and I put a good shot on him. He went about 80 yards before going down. These deer have tiny bodies. I bet he only weighed 120lbs. He was a beautiful wide Texas hill country buck and my friend was happy for me and I was appreciative for the hunting experience. I hunted the next morning but I didnāt see anything before I headed out to finish my drive to Arizona. My friend and his wife were great host and I enjoyed spending a few days with them. They invited me to come back anytime to give the axis another try.
I spent the night in western New Mexico and got to my unit in Arizona Wednesday morning. That would give me a day and a half to scout. Iād gotten some info from a couple of people on areas that could be good for elk. One was a friend of mine that lives in New Mexico and the other was a fellow Hunter off Hunttalk. I appreciate both guys helping me out. I found somewhere to check my rifle then I loaded up my gear and I hiked back in 3 or 4 miles that first afternoon. I saw some elk right at last light in some thick cover, but I could not tell what they were. I made a plan to be back on the ridge at first light to start glassing again and trying to make a game plan for opening day.
That night is the coldest night Iāve ever spent in a tent. I donāt know what the temperature got down to, but it was very very cold. It had been snowing on me while I was hiking in that day and it was brutal that night. Close to single digits I would guess. I wore every piece of clothing I had and I was still cold. Not to mention my sleeping pad decided this trip it wanted to start leaking. Itād only hold air for about 30 minutes. I would get to sleep a little bit then wake up cold laying flat on the ground no air in my pad, so Iād blow up the pad. Try to get in a position to go to sleep while shivering and wake up again 30 minutes or an hour later laying on a flat pad. Iāve had better nights, but it also couldāve been worse.
The next morning, I got up to the same ridge and found the elk from the night before. 5 bulls. No shooters. Around 8:30am. I moved around to the other side of the ridge and glassed up three more bulls 1.9 miles away. One of them was a decent 6 point. I wasnāt sure if he was a shooter or not, but he was down towards an area Iād thought about hunting. I decided to head back and pack up all my gear, load up the truck and drive all the way around to the backside and hike in from the bottom. I got to the trailhead around 3 oāclock, and there was only one other truck there. I loaded up my gear and decided to head in with the spot I had in mind for the first day about 3 miles from the truck. I camped between a creek and a big Mesa with the plan to climb up on top and glass the backside on opening morning. This was a new area that I had not been able to see from my glassing point up top but I felt like it had good potential.
Frequently Banned Troll
Well-known member
Frequently Banned Troll
Well-known member
For the love of all things spotted deer - can you get around to sharing a clear photo of a big AZ elk!?!?
SC Living Outdoors
Well-known member
I feel like this is all part of the hunt. I guess I could just post random pics of dead animals with no context, but I feel like explaining the whole story is better. At least that's what I enjoy reading.
I'll try to post the next part of the story today.
Frequently Banned Troll
Well-known member
I might be an outlier, but I donāt read anything unless Iām sucked in with an awesome pic or 2.
BAKPAKR
Well-known member
I might be an outlier, but I donāt read anything unless Iām sucked in with an awesome pic or 2.
Sucked in yet?
SC Living Outdoors
Well-known member
Opening morning I was up before daylight, climbing the ridge to the glassing point I had picked. I made it to the location just after daylight to find a guy sitting in the exact spot I had picked on the map, lol. There was one other truck at the trailhead and thousands and thousands of acres and we picked the same location point. He was a nice guy from Colorado. He even told me I could stay and glass with him, but he had the spot first and I didnāt want to encroach on him so I hiked about a mile south to a secondary point I had picked that would allow me to see some different country. I began glassing and did not see anything for a while other than some cattle and deer. There were lots of deer around, but no elk.
A little before 9:30 I looked to the northwest and saw a couple of gold dots moving up a ridge. I was in the perfect location to be able to see these two elk. It was between a couple of other ridges that Iām not sure if I wouldāve really been able to see from another location. I set my spotter up and immediately could tell one of the bulls was a shooter. The other bull that was with him was nice also, but one of them definitely was what I was looking for. Long main beams that stretched way back. I couldnāt tell what he had for first seconds or thirds but his 4ths and 5ths along with his main beams convinced me this was a bull I wanted to go after. The bulls were coming up out of the bottom, which explains why I had not seen them sooner, and I just happened to catch a glimpse of them for just a couple of minutes before they disappeared into the trees on the top of the ridge. I pulled up my map and begin exploring and I was able to pinpoint the exact ridge they were on. It was 2.7 miles away. The best option was for me to hike back down to my tent and pack everything up and hike to the truck. From there I could drive 4 miles to the next trailhead and hike in as close as I could to that ridge and camp. I wasnāt sure if I would make it in time to go after him that evening, but I had a game plan.
I hiked in and found a nice camping area 3.6 miles from the truck at the base of the ridge I would need to climb. I made it with just enough time that evening to dump my gear and climb up 200 feet or so to do some glassing. I did not see anything that evening except for some turkeys. The next morning I was up early. I knew I had a pretty decent climb in the dark, so I made some breakfast and headed out. I had a peak on an adjacent ridge picked out that would allow me to glass the hillside where Iād seen the bull and I would be about 1000 yards away if he came out in the same spot. After 2 hrs of climbing in the dark I was nearing the top of the ridge as the sun began to brighten up the surrounding country. For the first 30 minutes or so, I would just move slowly up the ridge glassing different pockets through the trees that would allow me to see the hillside. There was a lot of country to look at. Finally I peaked up over the top of the ridge and saw something gold on the adjacent ridge. I even said to myself āI donāt think that thatās an elkā. Iād glanced up that way a couple times before and had not seen anything but if thereās ever a doubt you look and sure enough, it was a bull. As soon as I looked at him, I knew it was the bull Iād come into that area for. When I had watched the bull through the spotting scope the day before I could tell he hit something kind of funky going on at the end of one of his main beams and I saw that immediately. I picked up the rangefinder and he was 880 yards away. There was a saddle that connected my peak from the ridge top that he was on and I began to work my way down this saddle. Keeping my eye on him and stopping anytime he would look my direction.
I got to a flat spot in the saddle and laid down to get a range. 528 yards. No wind. I got set up as he continued to feed and waited for the perfect opportunity. Finally he cleared the brush after about 10 minutes and I lightly pressed the trigger. The gun recoiled and the bull took off to the left stopping about 70 yards away to look back. I worked the bolt and fired again. When I looked up, I could not see the elk anywhere then to my left I heard and saw some movement. There was a good bull running up the hillside. I didnāt think there was any way that could be my bull, but I wanted to make sure. I grabbed my spotter and I looked at him as he worked up the hill. It was the other bull that Iād seen with mine the day before. He mustāve been down somewhere below me that morning, and the shots made him run up the hill. He was a good 300ā+ 6x6 but definitely not the bull Iād been shooting at. I had my phone on my spotting scope when I shot and I replayed the video to try to get an idea of what had happened. The first shot was perfect. I could not have gone up and placed the bullet in a better spot. As soon as I saw that I knew my bull was dead. I just had to go find him.
I worked my way over and began climbing the hill and looking back-and-forth for blood and the bull. After 15 or 20 minutes, I found him crashed over a downed log that was holding him on the hillside. He was an awesome bull. Not broken with beautiful long main beams. That funky thing that I had seen on one side were two small in-line points both 1.5ā long on his main beam. This made him an 8x7 with 56ā main beams. I began to work on him along with texting some pictures to friends because I had service up on top of the ridge. Before I left home, I had reached out to someone with horses about potentially packing out a bull for me if I killed one deep on public. I sent this packer a message and he notified me that he could get to almost the exact spot where I killed my bull. I was 5.9 miles from the truck and he told me he could pack out my bull in five hours. I knew it would take me 3 to 4 days to get the bull out solo so I sent him the coordinates, and it was the best decision I mightāve ever made. It took me the rest of the day to skin out the bull, cape him, skin out the head, debone the meat and shuttle all the meat and antlers down to the saddle where he could get the horses.
I hiked back to camp. When I got there, I was almost out of water, I hadnāt taken any food with me so I was pretty hungry, but I had accomplished my goal. It was cold, but not near as cold as it had been. I wasnāt even that worried about my pad not holding air. I cooked some food, but I did not even eat my entire meal because I was so exhausted. The next morning, I hiked back to the truck and took it easy. The packer showed up and got my bull out just like he said he would. The mules he had with him were amazing. The good news was since I finished up my elk hunt fairly quickly. Iād be able to stop and hunt public land for whitetails in Texas with my buddy on the way home.
A little before 9:30 I looked to the northwest and saw a couple of gold dots moving up a ridge. I was in the perfect location to be able to see these two elk. It was between a couple of other ridges that Iām not sure if I wouldāve really been able to see from another location. I set my spotter up and immediately could tell one of the bulls was a shooter. The other bull that was with him was nice also, but one of them definitely was what I was looking for. Long main beams that stretched way back. I couldnāt tell what he had for first seconds or thirds but his 4ths and 5ths along with his main beams convinced me this was a bull I wanted to go after. The bulls were coming up out of the bottom, which explains why I had not seen them sooner, and I just happened to catch a glimpse of them for just a couple of minutes before they disappeared into the trees on the top of the ridge. I pulled up my map and begin exploring and I was able to pinpoint the exact ridge they were on. It was 2.7 miles away. The best option was for me to hike back down to my tent and pack everything up and hike to the truck. From there I could drive 4 miles to the next trailhead and hike in as close as I could to that ridge and camp. I wasnāt sure if I would make it in time to go after him that evening, but I had a game plan.
I hiked in and found a nice camping area 3.6 miles from the truck at the base of the ridge I would need to climb. I made it with just enough time that evening to dump my gear and climb up 200 feet or so to do some glassing. I did not see anything that evening except for some turkeys. The next morning I was up early. I knew I had a pretty decent climb in the dark, so I made some breakfast and headed out. I had a peak on an adjacent ridge picked out that would allow me to glass the hillside where Iād seen the bull and I would be about 1000 yards away if he came out in the same spot. After 2 hrs of climbing in the dark I was nearing the top of the ridge as the sun began to brighten up the surrounding country. For the first 30 minutes or so, I would just move slowly up the ridge glassing different pockets through the trees that would allow me to see the hillside. There was a lot of country to look at. Finally I peaked up over the top of the ridge and saw something gold on the adjacent ridge. I even said to myself āI donāt think that thatās an elkā. Iād glanced up that way a couple times before and had not seen anything but if thereās ever a doubt you look and sure enough, it was a bull. As soon as I looked at him, I knew it was the bull Iād come into that area for. When I had watched the bull through the spotting scope the day before I could tell he hit something kind of funky going on at the end of one of his main beams and I saw that immediately. I picked up the rangefinder and he was 880 yards away. There was a saddle that connected my peak from the ridge top that he was on and I began to work my way down this saddle. Keeping my eye on him and stopping anytime he would look my direction.
I got to a flat spot in the saddle and laid down to get a range. 528 yards. No wind. I got set up as he continued to feed and waited for the perfect opportunity. Finally he cleared the brush after about 10 minutes and I lightly pressed the trigger. The gun recoiled and the bull took off to the left stopping about 70 yards away to look back. I worked the bolt and fired again. When I looked up, I could not see the elk anywhere then to my left I heard and saw some movement. There was a good bull running up the hillside. I didnāt think there was any way that could be my bull, but I wanted to make sure. I grabbed my spotter and I looked at him as he worked up the hill. It was the other bull that Iād seen with mine the day before. He mustāve been down somewhere below me that morning, and the shots made him run up the hill. He was a good 300ā+ 6x6 but definitely not the bull Iād been shooting at. I had my phone on my spotting scope when I shot and I replayed the video to try to get an idea of what had happened. The first shot was perfect. I could not have gone up and placed the bullet in a better spot. As soon as I saw that I knew my bull was dead. I just had to go find him.
I worked my way over and began climbing the hill and looking back-and-forth for blood and the bull. After 15 or 20 minutes, I found him crashed over a downed log that was holding him on the hillside. He was an awesome bull. Not broken with beautiful long main beams. That funky thing that I had seen on one side were two small in-line points both 1.5ā long on his main beam. This made him an 8x7 with 56ā main beams. I began to work on him along with texting some pictures to friends because I had service up on top of the ridge. Before I left home, I had reached out to someone with horses about potentially packing out a bull for me if I killed one deep on public. I sent this packer a message and he notified me that he could get to almost the exact spot where I killed my bull. I was 5.9 miles from the truck and he told me he could pack out my bull in five hours. I knew it would take me 3 to 4 days to get the bull out solo so I sent him the coordinates, and it was the best decision I mightāve ever made. It took me the rest of the day to skin out the bull, cape him, skin out the head, debone the meat and shuttle all the meat and antlers down to the saddle where he could get the horses.
I hiked back to camp. When I got there, I was almost out of water, I hadnāt taken any food with me so I was pretty hungry, but I had accomplished my goal. It was cold, but not near as cold as it had been. I wasnāt even that worried about my pad not holding air. I cooked some food, but I did not even eat my entire meal because I was so exhausted. The next morning, I hiked back to the truck and took it easy. The packer showed up and got my bull out just like he said he would. The mules he had with him were amazing. The good news was since I finished up my elk hunt fairly quickly. Iād be able to stop and hunt public land for whitetails in Texas with my buddy on the way home.
SC Living Outdoors
Well-known member
I post the last part of the story tonight or tomorrow.
