azelkhunter69

if it is 90%, that means it is 90% in the 1-2 pass. That means there aren't any left by the 3rd choice.

Most people don't know the reports exist, but if you want to increase your odds of getting drawn go to this page http://www.azgfd.gov/eservices/BonusPointProcess.shtml and study the bonus point reports for the bonus point round and the 1-2 pass by hunt number. If you have the 2014 regs, you can look up how many bonus points it took to get drawn in the bonus point round and get a general idea of your odds of getting drawn with X amount of points in the 1-2 pass. I used to print these reports out and study them for hours before I settled in on a few hunts that my family and I like regardless of how many points it takes. If you like to hunt as often as possible and don't mind what unit you hunt in, it is definitely worth looking at the reports. Good luck on the draw fellas.

Have decided I would like to get myself a nice spotting scope. I know they are nice, but I can't bring myself to spend $2k+ for a Swarovski. I have narrowed it down to the Vortex Viper 20-60 80mm or the Leupold Kanai 25-60 80mm. I have read the reviews and people love both. I would like some opinions from people on here that have had experience with one or both. Thanks for the info in advance.

Shot a whitetail doe in NY a long time ago and I saw she had a deformed rear leg. She had been shot the previous year. It broke her leg and it healed crooked. I even found the old slug in her leg when I skinned her. Tough animals.

Like a lot of other people, this is my first time trying to post a picture and I have no idea if it will work. This is my wife's 2nd bull in 4 years. She has had quite the run the last few years. Drew her first bull tag in 2011, shot a 6x5 and got her picture on the 2012 Elk and Antelope reg. booklet. Drew the same tag the next year and again this year. 3 bull tags in 4 years...must be nice. Proud of her, she came through and filled the freezer so I don't have to eat beef this winter. Went to my favorite spot the 2nd morning and spotted this bull down the hill before we even sat down. He was just standing there looking around. My wife sat down and got ready to shoot. He was facing up the hill and didn't provide a great shot so I told her we would just be patient and wait for a good shot. He finally moved, but moved behind some trees. I couldn't see him but my wife could...barely. After what seemed to be an eternity, another bull steps into the opening the 1st bull was in at the beginning. I start telling my wife there is another bull now but she can't see him. She is focused on the first bull. Eventually the first, and bigger, bull takes a few steps and is standing broadside in an opening. I am going back and forth looking at both bulls trying to figure out which provides the better shot and BOOM, she decided, and shot this bull straight through the heart at about 100 yards. He went 40-50 yards and crashed. Great job Zandora!!

I thought the same thing and have had her buy tickets but apparently she only has that kind of luck with tags.

I think they call them "quiet areas" because there is limited, or no vehicles allowed.

Too bad about the miss. Must have made you sick. The 2nd week is always better in my opinion. I had a bull tag 3 years ago where you are and they didn't start going crazy until the last 2 days.

You can try sneaking in on them. You may have better luck trying to intercept them though. If you know where they are headed, get there before they do and wait.

Congrats to you and your dad. Making memories with your dad outweighs the score of any elk. Especially when they start getting older. I will be in the woods in a little over a week with my 2 boys and my dad on the boys muzzleloader cow hunt. My dad just turned 76. I can't wait. Congrats again, may you enjoy many more hunts with your dad.

I agree, don't panic. It gets better as the season goes along. It's also supposed to rain and get cooler in the middle of the week. That will help also. Keep after them, you'll get your chance.

The new forest road management plan. If you don't have one you should get the new official map as to what is an open road. The new rules don't require a closed sign on a road to be closed. The road needs to be on the map as open to be open. That's how I understand it. Maps are free at the office or call them for one. No sign is a bunch of garbage in my opinion. My 2 favorite roads have gates on them that remain open but are closed according to the map. If you don't want me in there close the gate that's already there! Another ridiculous part is when you have to pack an elk 2 miles down a perfectly good road because forest service says it's closed. OUTRAGEOUS! <end rant> Wasn't there a bylaw where you could drive in to retrieve game on a closed road? But only to retrieve it? I could have sworn i saw something but could be wrong. As I understand it, the rule is, you can only drive up to 1 mile off of an "open road" to retrieve an elk. Some units you can't even do that, you have to pack it out. In unit 8 where I like to hunt some roads have closed signs on them and some don't. I know for a fact there are a couple roads that get a lot of use that are technically closed. They don't have signs on them so people keep using them. It would be nice if they would take the time to put "closed" signs on all the roads that are closed. Game and Fish has more or less said they won't enforce the rules because they are different from unit to unit, forest to forest which confuses people. This is the first I have heard of forest service guys handing out tickets. The rules have been in place for a couple years now, maybe they figured that was enough of a grace period and started ticketing people?

Where I was in Unit 8 this past weekend, there were bulls still bugling at 10am and started up again at 5pm Sunday.

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So jealous. Went deer hunting in 8 this weekend. The bulls are bugling, cows are bunched up and weather was good. Sunday there were bulls still bugling at 10am. They started again at 5pm. Wish I could hunt elk every year. Nothing better in my opinion. Think I will "hunt" with a camera this year to try to get my "fix". Good luck to all those lucky tag holders.

8 Archery

Also back to the topic at hand...I have never hunted antelope with a bow, although it is definitely a goal. I have read about it a lot but I would like some firsthand experience. Do you guys that are successful typically hunt in a blind over water or spot and stalk? Spot and stalk, on the surface seems like it would be very difficult.

I would gladly switch elk...... let the 40 or 50 rifle tags go in the second weekend of Sept and push us back to the end of sept beginning of oct!!!!!!! That would be awesome I would love to hunt when the rut is at its peak!!!!!!! Yeah! When every bull has been called to by a dozen hunters. I'm sure it would be alot easier for you. On the plus side, they wouldn't be running around looking like a pin cushion. Bringing up an old argument. Cuz gun hunters have NEVER wounded an animal, they always drop them where they stand right? Hunters, no matter what tool is chosen, should stick together not blame one another. Just helping the bunny huggers. A long time ago I sounded just like you. My dad had a bad archery experience and influenced my beliefs. As I grew older, I embraced archery hunting and now I love it. I love the challenge. I love the silence, no guns going off, typically less people in the woods, animals acting more naturally. If you have the patience, skill, and the discipline to wait for the right shot, there is no reason why you can't be as successful as someone with a gun. We are all on the same side guys. Good luck to all this Fall.

I have used Rages in the past and didn't care for them because of the blade containment system. The blades kept popping out so I was constantly putting them back into the o-ring. They do shoot just like my field tips though. Last year I shot a massive bodied bull with the Ulmer Edge. He died within 60-70 yards. Far superior to the Rage in my opinion. Their blade containment system works perfectly and they also shoot just like my field tips. I also like how the blades swivel around bone.

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6A is managed for quantity not quality. Has been for years. That being said, there are still good bulls in 6A just as any other unit. Just harder to find. I have always hunted the southern portion. That started when the unit was still split. Southern portion was easier to draw. Seems to be a few less people. If you can hunt the whole season you will experience plenty of time without seeing other hunters. The first weekend is a zoo and after that it dies down. Picks up a little on the second weekend and is dead the last week...my favorite time to hunt. I have hunted 6A and 8 over the last 10 -15 years. Can't get a bull to come to a call in 8 but have had plenty of luck calling in bulls in 6A. The first time I set foot in 6A I had never hunted elk before. Called in a 7x5 and he passed me at 4 yards. I actually looked around for an escape route. Unfortunately, I had a cow tag. Lucky for me after 2 minutes I was surrounded by elk, 5 bulls and 3 cows. I was fortunate enough to shoot one of the cows. 1st elk hunt ever, done by 7:30am. Not bad for a guy that grew up in NY hunting whitetails. I learned quick. My avatar is my wife. The picture was on the cover of the 2012 Elk/Antelope regs. Her first elk. It was in 6A. Muzzleloader season.

http://www.azgfd.gov/h_f/hunt_arizona.shtml looks like they haven't loaded 2013 version yet.

Come up with a magic pill that helps people stay calm, come up with a way to stop the wind, remove all tree branches from the planet, don't let people hunt that don't practice, get rid of bad luck.. You could say a million things. Plain and simple, there are too many variables that you can't control. Unfortunately, there will always be some wounded animals. I'm not pissed at you either but you need to be realistic and realize your "bigger is better" attitude isn't going to solve anything.

AZkiller, I responded to you on the other thread and voiced my opinion that the most important thing is shot placement, regardless of what you are shooting. I firmly believe that, as most do. That said, I get what you are saying. In general terms, bigger gear for for bigger animals. Common sense right? We choose our weapons based on what we are hunting. I 'm not going to shoot rabbits with a .300 Win Mag and at the same time I'm not going to choose to shoot elk with a .22 rimfire even though I'm sure I could kill it if I hit it in the right place. The problem most people have with your argument is that you just can't lump everyone in together and blame "light" archery gear for wounded animals. It has more to do with the person shooting and the situation than it does the gear. There are so many factors that go into choosing what you will be shooting. A young kid or a small woman isn't going to want to get beat up by a .300 Win Mag throwing a 200gr. bullet. They are going to be afraid of it, they will flinch, and they will make a poor shot, possibly resulting in a wounded animal. Bigger is not always better. I think sometimes people go bigger to provide a safety net thinking it will help if they don't make a good shot. What they should do is shoot something they are comfortable with and can shoot accurately. I would have absolutely no hesitation to shoot an elk with a .243 shooting a quality controlled expansion 100gr. bullet. As a matter of fact, my oldest son shot a cow in the neck with .257 Roberts with a 100gr. bullet and she dropped where she stood. Couldn't have killed her any quicker with a .375 H&H. On the flip side, I used to work with a guy that was the self proclaimed "worst hunter in the world" and I couldn't tell you how many elk he wounded with a .300 Win Mag. Once again, shot placement is the key. I know what you really want to talk about is archery gear though. Just wanted to illustrate some points using gun lingo. As far as arrows go, I am probably part of the reason you started this thread because on the other thread I said I am guilty of falling into the "speed game" and going with a light arrow/broadhead combo. Problem is, you don't know how well arrows, broadheads, bullets etc. work until you use them. I was shocked that my broadhead didn't come out the far side when I killed my bull last year. It was a quartering away shot at only 27 yards and I hit him right where I was supposed to. I got both lungs and he died within seconds but I can only assume that the arrow/broadhead didn't go through due to lack of weight. As I said before, I will switch to heavier arrows next time and see what happens. Point is, even using "light" gear, I killed him just as quick as someone shooting a heavier arrow/broadhead because I practiced for months, waited patiently for the right shot, and made a good shot. There is much less room for error with a bow. I wouldn't count on breaking a bulls shoulder with an arrow where I would have the utmost confidence that I could shatter it with a gun. I think it all boils down to patience, knowing your limitations, waiting for the right shot, and being accurate. There's my 2 cents....or as long as this ended up being...my $20.02.

Not sure if you hunt with a gun or are just an anti hunter but the honest response is...for the same reason those hunting with guns "litter the woods with hundreds of injured elk every year". Typically, poor shot placement. Sometimes due to nerves, branches getting the way, wind, or several other reasons. It doesn't matter what you hit them with, if you hit them in the wrong place, you won't recover them. Unfortunately, if you hunt long enough, it happens.