AZHunter
Iowa Boy At Heart
I finally found some time to get my AZ elk hunting journal started. Sorry for the long read on this first entry, but it’s been a busy spring and summer getting ready.
My excitement started back in April (9th to be exact) during a staff meeting in Phoenix when my wife sent me a text message letting me know that the draw results were posted. This was one of those days where my habit of sitting in the “peanut gallery” behind the big boss (runs all 3 of our AZ FWS offices) paid off. I suppose it was also fortunate that the online system was crashed from everyone else across the country accessing it. I wonder how much trouble I would have gotten in had I actually gotten through right then and then not be able to contain my excitement. That was the longest 2 hour drive from Phoenix to Flagstaff then a long soccer practice for my daughter. When we finally got home, I was able to log on and the system worked after several attempts. What a sight to see: “Draw: Successful; Hunt: Archery bull elk Sept 14-27; Unit: 6B.” I actually had to do a double take because I didn’t remember putting in for the hunt in unit 6B. 5A was my first choice and with 6 points, I was certain I would get my first choice. Then it hit me that I had decided on 6B for my 2nd choice because it was closer to home and I had a couple of friends that knew the unit fairly well, including a friend that took a 330” bull last year on the 2nd day of the hunt. And to add to that excitement, I was issued tag #1 of 129 for my 2nd choice.
All of the planning began in earnest shortly after that. The first step was to get new strings on my bow. My string was borderline needing replaced and there was no sense in getting my pins dialed in now, just to need a new string and then have to correct my pins in August or early September. I typically shoot 40 yards and occasionally dabble at 50 and 60 yards to make sure I can make something work if I can’t sneak in close enough. After talking to a friend of mine, I decided this year, I would spend more time practicing at 50 and 60 yards in case the bull of a lifetime hangs up at 60 yards, which has happened to him. I have been shooting at least 3 times per week since early May and can shoot a group the size of a baseball out to 60 yards.
With all of that falling into place, it was time to start scouting my unit. Another good buddy (also a neighbor) of mine deer hunts that unit religiously and scouts it constantly. He said he’d have me on a big bull on opening day. It sounded great, except his idea was for me to hang my treestand about 200 yards up the drainage from a stock tank that elk and deer frequent. This tank is about 15 minutes from our house and he loves to sleep in his own bed. He’s also a diehard Pennsylvania treestand whitetail hunter. I certainly don’t mean anything disparaging towards my buddy, but I want to camp out in the middle of the elk and be on the ground at eye level for my first archery bull hunt. Don’t get me wrong; hunting from a stand was great last fall back in Iowa, but I want to be on the ground with my elk, although I haven’t ruled that area out as an option. On May 29, I hung a camera in there about 200 yards up from the tank, along a well used elk trail leading into the tank. Shortly after that, I was downtown one day for lunch and ran into another friend. We got to talking hunting and I told him where I got drawn. Did he ever get excited! He has been running a mineral lick in that unit for 4 years now and a friend of his took a 360” bull out of that area last year. He knows where the elk bed and where they roam pretty well. Because he’s a fellow Midwesterner, he agreed to show me the area. We met up out there on the morning of 2 June and reworked the lick a little and hung his camera nearby. He promised me pics of big bulls.
After a very hectic schedule with work and family, I finally went out last Friday night (22 June) to pull the card from the tank camera and then Saturday morning to pull the card from the lick camera. I was also worried about a Forest-wide closure due to wildfire danger with no rain predicted anytime soon, so I really needed to get those cards and check the batteries. I checked Friday’s card pull Friday night and in the month it sat there, it had almost 300 pics. I enjoyed seeing several cow elk, including a couple with spotted calves, a few mule deer, including 2 small bucks, one lone bovine cow, a couple of spike bulls and one bull with potential. He showed up on 10 June as a smallish 4x4 with time left to grow before the opener, although I think he’ll grow into something big next year. I’ll keep my camera out there for a couple of more weeks and if there is nothing special, I’ll pull it and find another area (I’ve got some ideas).
From the Stock Tank Cam:
2 future trophies hanging with their moms:
Curious girl:
Young boy with potential for next year:
On my way out to the lick camera the next morning, I almost hit a muley doe as she jumped out of a ditch right in front of me. Then there was the herd of 12 mule deer (does and yearlings) standing in the middle of the road that I had to stop for. Shortly after that was the herd of 12 elk (cows/yearlings) 20-30 yards off the road staring at me as I slowed down to look.
I got to my camera site and began the short hike in to pull the card, drop off a trophy rock, and dump some Deer Caine (elk love it, too) in the area. As I approached the camera, I noticed it was facing the wrong way, dangling down slightly, and the bungee straps were gone (my friend isn’t worried about losing it, so he just bungees it to a tree). The card was still there and there were no boot prints, so I figured it wasn’t people messing with it. It had to be the elk knocking it around. After getting the trophy rock situated and Deer Caine dumped, I repositioned the camera (tightened the strap), reset it, and switched the cards. I noticed that the card said 132 pics in the 3 weeks it sat there. On the drive home, I had a hen turkey run out in front of me and down the road a ways followed shortly after that by 2 hens crossing the road with their poults right behind. That was cool to see. Of course, I saw the same dozen elk in the same general area, followed by the same dozen deer. The next big surprise was the 5 pronghorn out in the middle of a large lake (currently dry “wet meadow”)! I had a very busy Saturday planned with both kids having soccer games and then company coming into town, but my wife graciously let me put the card into the computer and start looking. As it turns out, all 132 pics on the lick cam were taken the day we hung it and the next morning. After that, the elk had it all discombobulated, which means it sat for over 2.5 weeks without taking a picture! All 132 pics had at least one bull and several pics had 3 or more bulls at various stages of growth. Three or 4 pics had a cow or two in them, but they were with bulls. There were 4 bulls that honestly took my breath away. As of 2 June, they were high, wide 6x6s (starting to branch that 6th) that are easily 330”+. I have to take a closer look at the pics, but I may have 5 different bulls of that caliber.
Pics from the Lick Cam (4 target 6x6s):
Las Manos
Beaters
Captain Hook
Shovels
I’ve decided not to let the lick cam sit for another 3 weeks. We’re still in a high fire danger, so I want to get out there as often as possible in case there is a forest closure, but I also need to make sure the elk aren’t busting it all up again. I’m planning on heading back out there this Sunday morning (soccer all day again, Saturday) to swap cards, hang a 3rd camera in an area that interests me, and dump some more Deer Caine, so stay tuned. I will continue to upload pics into my journal here instead of in the Trail Cam Forum, so be sure to keep up with this if you want to keep seeing pics. More pics and more discussions on broadhead selection, as well as general ramblings will follow soon!
My excitement started back in April (9th to be exact) during a staff meeting in Phoenix when my wife sent me a text message letting me know that the draw results were posted. This was one of those days where my habit of sitting in the “peanut gallery” behind the big boss (runs all 3 of our AZ FWS offices) paid off. I suppose it was also fortunate that the online system was crashed from everyone else across the country accessing it. I wonder how much trouble I would have gotten in had I actually gotten through right then and then not be able to contain my excitement. That was the longest 2 hour drive from Phoenix to Flagstaff then a long soccer practice for my daughter. When we finally got home, I was able to log on and the system worked after several attempts. What a sight to see: “Draw: Successful; Hunt: Archery bull elk Sept 14-27; Unit: 6B.” I actually had to do a double take because I didn’t remember putting in for the hunt in unit 6B. 5A was my first choice and with 6 points, I was certain I would get my first choice. Then it hit me that I had decided on 6B for my 2nd choice because it was closer to home and I had a couple of friends that knew the unit fairly well, including a friend that took a 330” bull last year on the 2nd day of the hunt. And to add to that excitement, I was issued tag #1 of 129 for my 2nd choice.
All of the planning began in earnest shortly after that. The first step was to get new strings on my bow. My string was borderline needing replaced and there was no sense in getting my pins dialed in now, just to need a new string and then have to correct my pins in August or early September. I typically shoot 40 yards and occasionally dabble at 50 and 60 yards to make sure I can make something work if I can’t sneak in close enough. After talking to a friend of mine, I decided this year, I would spend more time practicing at 50 and 60 yards in case the bull of a lifetime hangs up at 60 yards, which has happened to him. I have been shooting at least 3 times per week since early May and can shoot a group the size of a baseball out to 60 yards.
With all of that falling into place, it was time to start scouting my unit. Another good buddy (also a neighbor) of mine deer hunts that unit religiously and scouts it constantly. He said he’d have me on a big bull on opening day. It sounded great, except his idea was for me to hang my treestand about 200 yards up the drainage from a stock tank that elk and deer frequent. This tank is about 15 minutes from our house and he loves to sleep in his own bed. He’s also a diehard Pennsylvania treestand whitetail hunter. I certainly don’t mean anything disparaging towards my buddy, but I want to camp out in the middle of the elk and be on the ground at eye level for my first archery bull hunt. Don’t get me wrong; hunting from a stand was great last fall back in Iowa, but I want to be on the ground with my elk, although I haven’t ruled that area out as an option. On May 29, I hung a camera in there about 200 yards up from the tank, along a well used elk trail leading into the tank. Shortly after that, I was downtown one day for lunch and ran into another friend. We got to talking hunting and I told him where I got drawn. Did he ever get excited! He has been running a mineral lick in that unit for 4 years now and a friend of his took a 360” bull out of that area last year. He knows where the elk bed and where they roam pretty well. Because he’s a fellow Midwesterner, he agreed to show me the area. We met up out there on the morning of 2 June and reworked the lick a little and hung his camera nearby. He promised me pics of big bulls.
After a very hectic schedule with work and family, I finally went out last Friday night (22 June) to pull the card from the tank camera and then Saturday morning to pull the card from the lick camera. I was also worried about a Forest-wide closure due to wildfire danger with no rain predicted anytime soon, so I really needed to get those cards and check the batteries. I checked Friday’s card pull Friday night and in the month it sat there, it had almost 300 pics. I enjoyed seeing several cow elk, including a couple with spotted calves, a few mule deer, including 2 small bucks, one lone bovine cow, a couple of spike bulls and one bull with potential. He showed up on 10 June as a smallish 4x4 with time left to grow before the opener, although I think he’ll grow into something big next year. I’ll keep my camera out there for a couple of more weeks and if there is nothing special, I’ll pull it and find another area (I’ve got some ideas).
From the Stock Tank Cam:
2 future trophies hanging with their moms:
Curious girl:
Young boy with potential for next year:
On my way out to the lick camera the next morning, I almost hit a muley doe as she jumped out of a ditch right in front of me. Then there was the herd of 12 mule deer (does and yearlings) standing in the middle of the road that I had to stop for. Shortly after that was the herd of 12 elk (cows/yearlings) 20-30 yards off the road staring at me as I slowed down to look.
I got to my camera site and began the short hike in to pull the card, drop off a trophy rock, and dump some Deer Caine (elk love it, too) in the area. As I approached the camera, I noticed it was facing the wrong way, dangling down slightly, and the bungee straps were gone (my friend isn’t worried about losing it, so he just bungees it to a tree). The card was still there and there were no boot prints, so I figured it wasn’t people messing with it. It had to be the elk knocking it around. After getting the trophy rock situated and Deer Caine dumped, I repositioned the camera (tightened the strap), reset it, and switched the cards. I noticed that the card said 132 pics in the 3 weeks it sat there. On the drive home, I had a hen turkey run out in front of me and down the road a ways followed shortly after that by 2 hens crossing the road with their poults right behind. That was cool to see. Of course, I saw the same dozen elk in the same general area, followed by the same dozen deer. The next big surprise was the 5 pronghorn out in the middle of a large lake (currently dry “wet meadow”)! I had a very busy Saturday planned with both kids having soccer games and then company coming into town, but my wife graciously let me put the card into the computer and start looking. As it turns out, all 132 pics on the lick cam were taken the day we hung it and the next morning. After that, the elk had it all discombobulated, which means it sat for over 2.5 weeks without taking a picture! All 132 pics had at least one bull and several pics had 3 or more bulls at various stages of growth. Three or 4 pics had a cow or two in them, but they were with bulls. There were 4 bulls that honestly took my breath away. As of 2 June, they were high, wide 6x6s (starting to branch that 6th) that are easily 330”+. I have to take a closer look at the pics, but I may have 5 different bulls of that caliber.
Pics from the Lick Cam (4 target 6x6s):
Las Manos
Beaters
Captain Hook
Shovels
I’ve decided not to let the lick cam sit for another 3 weeks. We’re still in a high fire danger, so I want to get out there as often as possible in case there is a forest closure, but I also need to make sure the elk aren’t busting it all up again. I’m planning on heading back out there this Sunday morning (soccer all day again, Saturday) to swap cards, hang a 3rd camera in an area that interests me, and dump some more Deer Caine, so stay tuned. I will continue to upload pics into my journal here instead of in the Trail Cam Forum, so be sure to keep up with this if you want to keep seeing pics. More pics and more discussions on broadhead selection, as well as general ramblings will follow soon!
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