AZ Elk Semi-Live

cmbbulldog

cmbbulldog

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Was a post a while back with folks asking for some "live" hunt threads. I can give it a shot if folks are interested and Brian is good with it. If not, ill just post pics when we get back. I should have pretty good service and always thought these would be fun to do... minus the second guessing and such, but alas. If we get some positive interest, will give it a try.

Good luck to everyone on their hunts.
 
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Well, opening morning and opening weekend will be a bust for me as I am still sitting in Denver. Letting opening weekend go, while I spend time with the family. Headed down on Sunday and will be hunting Monday morning. Have the final 11 days of the hunt to get it done.

we have 2 tags for this hunt. Mine and my buddy Clay. Clay is headed down on Wednesday For the final 8 days of the hunt.

should be a blast, cant wait.

real good season dates and no moon to speak of as we wind down the hunt.
 
Hearing that the bulls are starting to get going... makes sitting here tougher, but know the best is yet to come!

have had the tag a couple times before. Here is the result from 2017:

75F11A92-EE0B-44D3-9E7A-7CB395ACB143.jpeg
 
tkjwonta said:
Sounds like an awesome time, I've got 10 AZ elk points starting to get pretty warm in my pocket, so I will be following intently. Thanks for sharing!
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Shaping up to be crummy antler growth for 2021. We've had drought already and with La Nina coming the forcast is for drought. If you pull the trigger on your points next year swing for the fence because guys with lots of points will probably sit the sidelines. You could see point creep go in reverse.
 
Setcams4u said:
Shaping up to be crummy antler growth for 2021. We've had drought already and with La Nina coming the forcast is for drought. If you pull the trigger on your points next year swing for the fence because guys with lots of points will probably sit the sidelines. You could see point creep go in reverse.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the insight. I'm probably still 2-3 years out, as I need another season or two to iron out my elk hunting abilities before embarking on a coveted AZ archery elk hunt.
 
Made it to camp. Its hot and crunchy here. Smart thing to do would be to sit water... but not that patient. We will see how the morning goes. See you all at o dark thirty.
 
Well one bull turned into 2, which turned into multiple. Way too many bugles to count, probably a couple hundred. They went strong until 730, then shut off pretty quickly. Had 2 groups of cows walk within range, but no bulls. Saw one really nice bull.

20200914_063502.jpg
 
Had a pretty good evening. Sat for 90 min, then thought i heard a faint bugle. That was enough for me. Slowly worked my way to him. Cow called once and he responded, got a pretty good location on him. Worked into him slowly. Then i could hear him raking a tree... it wss noisy but i eventually made it 20 yards. Decent 6x6, but under 300. It was real thick in there, not sure i could have killed him... but cool encounter. Got into another group with a smaller 6x6 and 10 cows on the way out. No real talking to speak of tonight, other than 2 i heard.
 
What a weird morning. Would have been fun to watch on a map my ride or something. The bulls never were to consistent. But we go one way, hear a bugle bwhind us, chase that one... that one shuts up and we chase a different one. Back and forth all morning in here. Had 4 cows walk by 50 yards, no bull in tow
 
Hawk
Hawkeye said:
I love this thread. There is nothing better than archery hunting elk during the rut!

When you are calling, are you primarily bugling or cow-calling?

Hawkeye
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I try not to call to much, if they are talking i sneak in. I do a little of both though if not.
 
What area (don't need unit) are you in? Buddies in 6A and 9 are having a blast. Seems way east in 1 is a little slower.
 
Awesome thread! Keep it going!

I believe if I tried to do this on my local whitetail hunts, all you guys would fall asleep! "Sitting here in my stand. Haven't moved in 2 hours. Wait! what's that??!!! Oh, a squirrel...ZZZZ...Huh? What was that??!! Oh, another squirrel...think I'll eat my lunch now. But it's only 9 am..." :D :D
 
Pretty fun evening. Went to a new place. Had elk all around me for a bit, got in between 2 herds... all cows and spikes though. This spike walked up 10 yards to say hi. Didnt hear a bugle until it was too late to shoot, then they shot off all around me... which is encouraging and frustrating at the same time. Was 80 degree though, so im sure that has something to do with it. Been within bow range of elk both morning and evening sessions so far, just not the one. Headed to another new spot in the morning.

20200915_183624.jpg
 
Cool thread. Thank you. Taught kids about Joseph's special coat and jealousy tonight. Didn't learn much myself tho, lol. Wish I was there.
 
Thanks for the updates. Just curious, are you hunting during the middle of the day? And if so, what techniques are you using?
 
Saw a bull. Dont think its the one that bugled, but pretty nice 5. Bugger than a few of the smaller 6s weve seen. Dont think hes a shooter though
 
Well, that was a fun evening. Heard first bugle at 430, then had a few going enough to get in them good. Actually had to back out of elk 3 times to get around and get to more elk. Hood problems to have. Saw a decent 6, pictured, that i decided to pass on. One really nice 5 point, a couple other 5's and a whole slew of elk. Was inside 100 yards of elk almost the entire night.

20200916_183034.jpg
 
Buddy clay comes in tonight. New blood is always good. Time to focus on getting him a bull. Going back to my first morning spot where we heard the most bugles and saw the best bull.
 
I'm headed back up from Prescott this afternoon in time for the evening hunt. been tough since they seem to stop bugling around 7 30 in the morning. Hopefully things will start cranking soon!
 
Did a 9.5 mile walk this morning, but the elk shut offby 715. 80 degrees at 11:00 when we got back to the truck. Feeling really bullish about the evening. If the elk follow the same script as the past 2 nights, should be right in them again.
 
So that bull never got up so we moved Around him... when we did, we noticed he had been hit back, not sure if was guts or further back, but he wasnt in great shape. Never got up. We actuallt discussed punching a tag vd having him suffer.. but wanted to give him a chance or see if the hunter could find him.
 
We felt pretty crappy after that, we 5 min later we got into Nother group with a small 5. Kept going and got into a few more elk. Didnt talk until last 15 min... we did a big circle, running, and got in close right at dark to find he wasnt as big as he sounded. Oh well, fun evening... need to cool down a bit to keep the elk more active.
 
Well, rough morning so far. It is dead. Couple of half hearted bugles, but the rut is extremely slow right now where we are. Even when we are seeing bulls, they are showing no signs of rut, no chasing, nothing. Could flip at any minute, so we will keep at it
 
Sounds like an awesome time. Just need the right bull to come in. Your friend picky or and mature bull do?

See any other hunters around to talk to to see if they hit that bull?

Keep us updated.
 
rmanwill said:
Sounds like an awesome time. Just need the right bull to come in. Your friend picky or and mature bull do?

See any other hunters around to talk to to see if they hit that bull?

Keep us updated.
Click to expand...

Hes not quite as picky as me, but something 270 to 280 and above would likely do the trick.

We didnt see another hunter in that area last night.
 
Did quite the loop this morning. Over 21K steps on the watxh. Not enough elk for the country we covered. They are in there... looks like the weather starts to get a touch cooler each day for the next couple. Hopefully that gets them going!
 
Tonight was a nice walk in the woods... not. A peep and didnt see an elk. We did over 33K steps today per my watch. Alarm is set for 330. Going to the place we have heard the most bugles in the morning. Hopefully they start to get going. We wi grind it out.
 
Think i jinxed it or something. Didnt hear another bugle after i made the post, haha. Maybe this will reverse it. But they shut up for good by 5:00 AM this morning. At least the 3 to 4 bulls we were hearing
 
So the days are syarting to tick by. Elk still not really cooperating. Bumped a bedded bull at 600 at about 15 yards in some thick stuff. Got a couple to answer right at last light a ways doqn the canyon. We will keep at it! And hope they turn on soon.
 
It's almost going to be sad when you harvest. I really look forward to reading about your adventures. You have certainly earned one, I hope it's a dandy when you connect!
 
Thats more like it. Great morning so far, been chasing since 5. Think we have one pinned where he slowed down. Couple hundred yards out working in...
 
Something got them up, clay actually drew twice on the bull, but vitals covered. So close. They moved down a couple hundred yards, but we are still right in them
 
Got into one hroup this morning, but no talking. Fired up the coffee and set up on a pinch point with lots o fsign. Maybe we get lucky.
 

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