Help for my Dad! Arizona Elk

[Falro]

So my Dad decided to cash in his points this year and drew an early archery elk tag. This will be a DIY hunt the whole season but with minimal scouting opportunity since we’re coming from Ohio. Planning on spending time on the Big Bo and nearby. If anyone has had this tag and is willing to share their experience or some Info It would be greatly appreciated, we want to do everything we can to make this an amazing experience for him. Also willing on sharing info on Colorado elk and Ohio public land whitetail in return. Thanks

 

[bsween8]

I know you said you guys want to do it DIY, but I would highly recommend at least looking into hunting with an outfitter if you aren't able to get out there much to scout and after burning all of those points. It doesn't hurt to at least call around and see what the outfitters have to say. I got the bull in my picture hunting with Shadow Valley Outfitters in Arizona and cannot recommend them enough.

 

[Falro]

I know you said you guys want to do it DIY, but I would highly recommend at least looking into hunting with an outfitter if you aren't able to get out there much to scout and after burning all of those points. It doesn't hurt to at least call around and see what the outfitters have to say. I got the bull in my picture hunting with Shadow Valley Outfitters in Arizona and cannot recommend them enough.

As much as we’d love to go guided it’s just not in the budget for this hunt. We’re all some what experienced elk hunters so hopefully we can find him a nice bull in the two weeks we have. That’s a beautiful bull! Congratulations

 

[Dwnw/theAltitudesickness]

If you are on the Bo, go 3 days extra earlier and scout. You don't need a guide although it will help if you do. Been in there on the early hunts, phenomenal experience.

 

[Brooks051]

In all reality, i don't think you need info from a forum or a guide. If you are out there for two weeks there should be no issue with finding a good bull. Archery success last year was upwards of 50%. Cover the unit and chase bugles. Cant get much better than that. Extremely jealous of your opportunity. Good luck and keep us updated.

 

[JBenz63]

I have a tendency to agree above. My buddy had the late tag last year and we scouted from September forward just to get an idea of access and hunting pressure throughout the seasons. It’s a huge unit and I have no doubt you will see/ hunt some big bulls

 

[Falro]

In all reality, i don't think you need info from a forum or a guide. If you are out there for two weeks there should be no issue with finding a good bull. Archery success last year was upwards of 50%. Cover the unit and chase bugles. Cant get much better than that. Extremely jealous of your opportunity. Good luck and keep us updated.

Everyone says that hunting the unit is a good experience. I think all of us have only Elk hunted Colorado OTC so we are curious how this will compare as far as finding Elk in such a big area.

 

[chizelhead]

I've seen where you can buy a scout package from outfitters/guides in AZ. They don't seem that expensive, but I have no experience on the quality of the service. It maybe something to explore.

 

[Brooks051]

Everyone says that hunting the unit is a good experience. I think all of us have only Elk hunted Colorado OTC so we are curious how this will compare as far as finding Elk in such a big area.

I don't know if you can compare an OTC unit in Colorado to a hard to draw, high harvest percentage elk unit in AZ.

 

[BBob]

Hunting Sept CO and Sept AZ bulls are almost two different things. Our elk act different than those north. Prepare yourself for much more action and don’t worry at all about the seemingly big spaces. They are there and not all that hard to find. The country is easy to get around in so moving around to check different spots isn’t a big deal at all.

 

[crouth87]

Good luck great tags!

 

[Nagant76254]

So my Dad decided to cash in his points this year and drew an early archery elk tag. This will be a DIY hunt the whole season but with minimal scouting opportunity since we’re coming from Ohio. Planning on spending time on the Big Bo and nearby. If anyone has had this tag and is willing to share their experience or some Info It would be greatly appreciated, we want to do everything we can to make this an amazing experience for him. Also willing on sharing info on Colorado elk and Ohio public land whitetail in return. Thanks

Been on several AZ elk hunts and over the past 8 years elk activity has changed drastically in warmer parts of the state. In 2021 there was little to no rut activity because it was so hot. 87 degrees during the day so the elk were only active first/last hour of the day. The muzzleloader hunt following the september archery hunt seemed to have peak rut action.

 

[Falro]

Been on several AZ elk hunts and over the past 8 years elk activity has changed drastically in warmer parts of the state. In 2021 there was little to no rut activity because it was so hot. 87 degrees during the day so the elk were only active first/last hour of the day. The muzzleloader hunt following the september archery hunt seemed to have peak rut action.

The dates this year are the latest they get and the moon phase looks good too (even though I don’t put much faith in moon stuff) hopefully they’ll be fired up by the 15th

 

[TheAntlerOutlaw]

So my Dad decided to cash in his points this year and drew an early archery elk tag. This will be a DIY hunt the whole season but with minimal scouting opportunity since we’re coming from Ohio. Planning on spending time on the Big Bo and nearby. If anyone has had this tag and is willing to share their experience or some Info It would be greatly appreciated, we want to do everything we can to make this an amazing experience for him. Also willing on sharing info on Colorado elk and Ohio public land whitetail in return. Thanks

I live about an hour south of the unit. We had a massive heat wave in July with very little rain. The monsoons are just now arriving. Not looking promising for strong monsoon rains the rest of summer but there will still be some. However last summer and winter had record moisture so I assume there should be some decent water on the ground still come September. Not sure how familiar you are to Az elk hunting but water is VERY important. I would focus on e-scouting water sources that look promising, and then arrive a few days early to check them for water level and elk sign. Find glassing points so you can see if anything is coming in to water and from what direction. Once you find water sources that are being hit good, chase bugles in the morning and sit water all afternoon. (If your dad wants the best chances of getting that bull of a lifetime he needs to be in the field for as much time as possible especially since y’all are DYI-ing it) Some water tanks will have stick blinds already, but bring along a pop up blind. The elk won’t move far from water that time of year and herd bulls will even come to drink during the middle of the day. If it’s a warm September with little to no rain, water will be even more important. A lot of the AZ giants you see on the internet are killed over water

 

[Falro]

I live about an hour south of the unit. We had a massive heat wave in July with very little rain. The monsoons are just now arriving. Not looking promising for strong monsoon rains the rest of summer but there will still be some. However last summer and winter had record moisture so I assume there should be some decent water on the ground still come September. Not sure how familiar you are to Az elk hunting but water is VERY important. I would focus on e-scouting water sources that look promising, and then arrive a few days early to check them for water level and elk sign. Find glassing points so you can see if anything is coming in to water and from what direction. Once you find water sources that are being hit good, chase bugles in the morning and sit water all afternoon. (If your dad wants the best chances of getting that bull of a lifetime he needs to be in the field for as much time as possible especially since y’all are DYI-ing it) Some water tanks will have stick blinds already, but bring along a pop up blind. The elk won’t move far from water that time of year and herd bulls will even come to drink during the middle of the day. If it’s a warm September with little to no rain, water will be even more important. A lot of the AZ giants you see on the internet are killed over water

Sure hope you guys get some more rain before September! I’ve been told the bulls have short front and tall backs this year up in those parts. Idk how true that is. We’re prepared to sit water but hoping we don’t have to. We’re definitely more of the calling and run and gun type of guys but we do whatever it takes . Thanks for the advice

 

[Traindriver]

There is a lot of cows seems like on the southern half. There is campsites along the main road that are nice to use if you’re not driving back to a hotel. There are a few decent hotels in seligman that are a nice place to shower and sleep. Bring a spare tire! The ranch hands are nice and try to help you. Make sure you leave gates as you found them.

 

[TheAntlerOutlaw]

Moisture update:
Rains have picked up the last month thanks to the heat wave going away and some recent hurricane/tropical storms to the west and east. Still slightly below average for levels so far but it will likely stilll rain in September. Y’all should have a good hunt. Also, from my experience the bulls will usually have small back ends on dry years not fronts. Thanks to the recent year of incredible moisture tho, this slightly bellow average monsoon season won’t be a negative factor imo. Bulls were fat and healthy last summer and all winter. It’s a great year to have an AZ elk tag!

 

[Falro]

Thanks for the update! I saw it looked like some more rain hit last night. Can’t wait to get out and start looking around. Won’t be long!