The Firing Line Forums

Go Back   The Firing Line Forums > The Hide > The Hunt

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Old November 1, 2015, 06:56 PM   #1
huntinaz
Senior Member
 
Join Date: September 21, 2010
Location: az
Posts: 1,332
Early Elk Season 2015- A Successful Bust

Well the first wave of elk hunts have come and gone for me this year. This write-up is a week or more overdue, I didn't take enough pictures unfortunately and for that I apologize. I was able to play guide for 2 weeks in mid-October, the first 7 days were for my wife's antlerless tag and the next 7 were for an out-of-state friend who drew an any elk tag.

Week 1:

My wife got the bug to kill an elk and she did that last year on a successful cow elk hunt. This year she had the same hunt and as it turns out the bug seems to have left her. We hunted 4.5 days of the 7 day hunt and unfortunately she seems to be less up to the challenge. I love to hunt, my wife can take it or leave it. Last year we were able to drop a cow first thing on day 2 and that is how she likes it. Hunting days on end is not her thing.

The huntress, day 1:


This particular hunt is called a "limited opportunity" hunt by Game and Fish. The area in this unit is much smaller than most in AZ and the terrain is aggressive. There are a good population of elk in the area but getting to them and getting them out can be exhausting. The average fat guy looking to shoot one from the road is going to be SOL on this hunt. For these reasons the post-rut hunts in this area are easy to draw. However, you'll have your work cut out for you. The mantra of hunters familiar with this area is 10,000ft. That's where the elk are during daylight hours and that's where you have to be. I don't buy into this theory 100%. Surely there are elk at 10,000ft on this mountain every day but having hunted elk all over the rest of the state, my observations of elk are: 1. Elk don't typically migrate 3000 vertical feet twice daily. 2. Elk are everywhere, and I can find them.

The view of the hunting area from my front yard (convenient!):


Last year we were able to find a good spot in a recent burn. This area is the lower foothills of the San Franciso peaks and is by far the easiest country to traverse that still holds elk. The problem is that the elk have mostly learned to stay out of this area in daylight hours. They can head north out of the unit before daylight or they can head straight up the mountain to over 10,000ft before daylight. SOMETIMES you can catch them hanging out in the burn at daybreak and that's what we were shooting for. Unfortunately, the elk didn't cooperate. We made the 45 minute hike in before dark 5 times and the only elk we saw were 4 lone bulls. We could have likely killed them all, especially this little 5x4:


Despite my promise not to attempt to get to 10,000ft, we did attempt it several times and largely unsuccessfully. The mountain is so steep and thick it is not feasible for an otherwise in shape person to climb 2000 vertical feet without a good trail. We learned several places NOT to go and my wife thought this was mostly an exhausting waste of time. She was at least half right, but it was good information and saved me time on the upcoming bull hunt.

I was really looking forward to putting some meat in the freezer but the hunt proved to be harder than last year. Some important lessons were learned; my wife is not me and she does not want a hard hunt. Next year will be an any elk hunt in this unit so she can shoot the first elk she sees, or she can put in for easy early cow hunts that are hard to draw. Or she'll sit out for awhile

Morning stars hiking into our morning perch:

__________________
"When there’s lead in the air, there’s hope in the heart”- Hunter’s Proverb
"Feed me, or feed me to something. I just want to be part of the food chain." -Al Bundy
huntinaz is offline  
Old November 1, 2015, 06:57 PM   #2
huntinaz
Senior Member
 
Join Date: September 21, 2010
Location: az
Posts: 1,332
Week 2:

Rewind to last year, a good friend's boyfriend (Paulie from NY) called me up and inquired about hunting elk in AZ. He lives in NY, is an avid deer hunter, and a western elk hunt has been a dream of his. I'd met him 2 times but my assessment of him was very good. I could tell by our brief meetings that we got along, that he knew what he was doing with regard to hunting, and that he gets ate up by it (like me). The trouble was that it is hard to draw a bull elk tag in AZ, especially for a non-resident. Furthermore, it isn't cheap. In fact, you're a few hundred dollars in just to apply and for the average bull hunt you're looking at waiting a few years. This is where the limited opportunity any elk hunt comes into play. I told him his best odds of drawing a tag are in these hunts, but it's going to be a tough hunt (i.e. we are going to hike a lot and see few elk) and the odds of shooting a big bull in this area at this time of year are not good. However, I thought I could get him a 2.5-3.5 yr old bull (and maybe bigger, this is AZ after all) and he said "let's do it."

He drew the tag and we talked about gear all year. He worked up a hot load in his 7mm Mag with a 160gr Barnes TSX and got his CDS dial from Leupold to match. He got here a few days before his hunt and was able to accompany my wife and I on the last day of her hunt. We did not see any elk but he was able to get a feel for the terrain and what we were up against. 2 days before the hunt had us checking his rifle to make sure the scope was still on. He was banging steel at 300+yards and we were feeling good. To be honest, I was looking forward to this hunt about as much as he was. This was to be my second true attempt at guiding and it was to be the biggest challenge. We hit it off just like old friends and couldn't wait to get started on Day 1.

Day 1:

Found us at our spot in the burn called "the rockpile." I had seen 4 bulls from this spot over the last week and had seen them here last year. I was confident this was our most likely spot to kill an elk. We glassed for around 3 hours and didn't see an elk. We did see a coatimundi however which is rare to find them this far north. Didn't shoot him or get a picture

Me glassing the burn:


Next we headed to a particularly nasty hill that I call "spike hill." The only elk I've ever seen on the side of this thing have all been spikes (intell says there are bigger bulls). However I once previously made the mistake of climbing to the top of it (trying to sneak on one of the aforementioned spike elk) and while getting to the top is quite a trek, the top of this thing was flat and absolutely full of elk sign. Spike hill is just how I remembered it and originally assessed it. It's a good spot to see elk from but killing them is another story. A shot across the canyon to the side is 500 yards and further, and getting up it is a terrible thing to do. It is as steep as steep gets while still allowing you to get up it. An hour of complete exhaustion for about 45 minutes of still hunting doesn't seem worth it but we decided there was a good chance to kill and elk so we did it repeatedly on the hunt. I will compare this to the miracle of childbirth-the miracle being that after a woman survives it she inexplicably desires to do it again a year later. I don't know if the endorphins cloud the memory or what but plan B was to hike up spike hill on day 1, and we did. After reaching the summit, Spike Hill was again just as I left it; full of elk sign but void of actual elk. I don't understand it. It is a "daytime" spot for them, it has to be. It's remote, thick, small, and allows numerous escape routes. I have never seen so much elk sign in any one spot, and mostly bull. Rubs literally everywhere, droppings everywhere (very little calf sign if any), it reeked of elk... but no elk.

Here's a pic, there are actually 5 rubs in this pic but I can only make out 4 now when I look at it. The tree surrounding me here all have rubs. These are small ones:

The last spot to hit on day 1 was an area I'd honed in on for last year's hunt via Google earth but just before the hunt a friend showed me the burn and I never had to go check this spot out. It is an area that allows relatively easy walking the majority of the way up the mountain so my thinking is that it can hold elk from the peaks herd OR from the herd that occupies the area north of the unit. In the early afternoon we got snuck into the bowl and sure enough walked upon a small 5x4 bull elk feeding at around 60 yards. We had talked about expectations and the goal was a 3+ year old bull for the first 3 days, then would probably settle for a 2 yr old type bull. Despite 5 points on one side this was a small bull, a 2.5 year old class bull that I thought we'd have other chances at. So he passed. We watched him for a minute or so, he saw us and actually walked towards us a bit trying to identify us before he winded us and was gone. We talked after passing on this bull and were both OK with it, I had seen 3 bulls the week previously that were as big or bigger and we had 6.5 days ahead of us. So it goes sometimes.

We spent the rest of the evening in this area and it had good amounts sign. On the short drive home we checked the weather report and what was 1.5 days of stormy weather the day before had turned into 6 days of bad weather

Day 2:
Rockpile before shooting light. Just as it's getting light we hear elk cows/calves chirping not far away. Just as our eyes could potentially make out shapes a thick fog rolls in and cuts visibility to about 40 yards. This lasted until we left 3 hours later. Next up spike hill. No elk up there either. Rain set in early afternoon and I had a tire leaking air fast so we beat it for home and changed the tire. Half a day wasted.

The fog lifting briefly, like a fool I took a picture instead of maximizing the 3minutes of glassing that was to follow:

Day 3:

Rain/Lightning at the rockpile. No elk and we are wet. Splendid. Evening found us on the outskirts of a small alpine meadow surrounded by thick fir and aspens. The plan was to hopefully catch one just at dark. Sure enough, just at dark when we are about to get up I see a cow elk coming thru the trees. He gets set up to shoot and I can see a larger, lighter colored elk coming from behind (telltale bull characteristics). I say "that's a bull coming" and as he came into a shooting lane I hit the cow call. He stopped broadside at ~80 yards and I had the binos on him. His head was behind a damn tree but I could not see antlers so I knew he wasn't big. As I hesitated he bolted to catch up with his cow and I saw he was a smaller bull than the one we passed, guessing 4x4 class. After the no-shot Paulie confessed to me he would have shot anything bigger than a spike. Lesson learned, I knew by his body he was at least a 2.5yr old bull. I could/should have said it as that bull would be dead.

Day 4:
Nothing again at the rockpile, the honey-hole. Very windy and cold with 30-40MPH gusts. We circled and jumped a cow, calf and spike. Could not have killed them. Next we hit the plateau, jumped 3 cows/calves. Hiked spike hill again, same as we left it. Rained out the evening.

Day 5:
Forecast called for rain/thunderstorms all day. As we parked the truck an hour before daylight, lightning crashed all around and the sky poured rain. We took a nap in the truck, morning wasted. At around 8 the radar showed the first large storm passing and it'd be some hours before the next one set in. We headed to the other end of the unit on a hunch I had. Sure enough we spotted elk about a mile away on top of a hill. The light was bad and it was drizzling but I could see 2 looked like cows and I could tell by the bodies that 2 were bulls. One had a larger body than the other, expected likely a 3.5+ yr bull. We pulled a sneak in the rain/sleet hoping to get within 350 yards for a shot. We got there and the distance was still 600 yards and the elk were not visible. I knew they were not leaving that spot until the evening so we had time if the weather held. Our only choice was to get up there with them and hope to get a close shot. After another hour going up another hill the rain quit and the wind picked up which was in our favor. I figured the elk had moved out of the wind to the west side of the hill. As we crested it I saw Paulie stop and raise his rifle. To the left I saw a nice bull starting to go, head swiveling to watch us as he went. Paulie ripped off a shot and he disappeared over the hill. We'd jumped him from his bed at ~30 yards. Without time to really assess him, I'm gonna say 3-4yr old and he had 6 points on his right side. He had some mass. This was the bull we had held out for.

We followed his tracks for about 200 yards, not a drop of blood. His tracks met up with the elk we had seen from the road and they all scattered and disappeared. Damn. After about 2 hrs retracing tracks and looking for blood the radar showed the next storm about to hit. We then scoured the hillside his tracks headed last to no avail and then the rain and snow set in and that was it for the day.

Day 6:
Back to the spot to look for him, it's easier than you think to miss a running elk at 30 yards but they carry bullets so well that it's hard to tell. I truly don't know, a 160 TSX at 30 yards should have left some blood but... It should have been a hit. No sign of the bull anywhere and our hearts were heavy. He got away.

Jumped a small 3x3 type bull on a nearby hill and that was it, no shot.

Day 7:
I'm proud to say that we kept our chins up. All you can do is keep trying. We were tired having hiked ~10-15 miles a day in country that is steep and rugged. This was day 12 of 14 for me. Ground so steep it's uncomfortable to stand on. Deadfall and blowdowns blocking every path. Loose rock making stalking next to impossible. Weather every day. And we still kept ourselves in elk.

Morning came and we decided to change it up. We decided to still hunt the plateau in the morning. A light rain came with the daylight. We still hunted for around 2 hrs up the ridge and sure enough, kicked a big herd of ~30 elk at 30-50 yards. He was ready to shoot any elk by that point and not a one offered a shot in the thick junipers/ponderosas. At least 2 bulls in that herd I could see through the trees but as I said no shot was offered. Rest of the day did not turn up any elk and the journey had come to an end.

Aftermath:

I have come to expect success and I do my best to earn it. I put my heart into what I do, I've put miles on my boots and I've put my years in and I've generally been able to punch an elk tag. We could not make it happen this time. That said, this was one of the best hunts I've ever been on, definitely the best unsuccessful hunt I've ever had. We put our asses into this hunt and we had our chances. We found elk 6 of 7 days in the rain, wind, snow, hail, sleet, lightning and terrain. We found elk where hunters say they aren't. We could/should have killed bulls still hunting, sitting, and spot and stalk. We experienced about everything this area has to offer. I bet we hunted more than any other tag in the hunt. I learned a lot about this area and about guiding. I now have a good friend who wants to make this an annual thing (draw willing) and the next one will be all the sweeter when we make it happen.

I'm still ok with passing the bull that first day, given what I had seen the week before and given our chances the remainder of the hunt it was the right call. We made a good gamble and should have cashed later. It's as I thought it would be, we just faltered on the next two chances. All we can do is learn from our mistakes and try again.

Me and old Paulie, hunt is over:


Lessons were learned. Re-assess expectations daily. Day 3 should have produced a dead elk, my hesitation cost us that bull. I knew he was a 2.5 yr old bull at least by his body but I thought we were still holding for a 5-6 point bull. Had I known he was happy with anything bigger than a spike I would have just said "shoot him" when he stopped.

I've said before there's nothing for me like seeing an elk fall down. The culmination of desire and preparation and anticipation and adrenaline and sweat/blood/tears comes crashing down to resolution when they fall, and it's yours. This time all those dreams and success ran away with that bull as he crested the hill. Now we have to wait an eternity to go and try it again. Until that day.
__________________
"When there’s lead in the air, there’s hope in the heart”- Hunter’s Proverb
"Feed me, or feed me to something. I just want to be part of the food chain." -Al Bundy
huntinaz is offline  
Old November 2, 2015, 05:00 AM   #3
upstate81
Senior Member
 
Join Date: October 20, 2011
Location: NY
Posts: 801
Great story and write up! Sounds like you guys had a blast. At least elk were seen and he got a shot off. Im sure he will be back for more.
upstate81 is offline  
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 12:28 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
This site and contents, including all posts, Copyright © 1998-2021 S.W.A.T. Magazine
Copyright Complaints: Please direct DMCA Takedown Notices to the registered agent: thefiringline.com
Page generated in 0.04129 seconds with 10 queries