azelkhunter69

My dad was sick leading up to this hunt and being a stubborn old timer, wouldn't go to the Dr. Made him go before the hunt and Dr. told him to come back after to get an XRAY on his lungs. Turns out he has lung cancer. Got biopsy and it has spread to his lymph nodes and possibly his liver. This may have been the last hunt we ever go on. The hunt was not what we hoped for, but I am glad I got to spend 10 days in the woods with my dad, best friend and hunting partner. Enjoy every minute with your family. You never know when it will end. As a kid growing up in NY, I have been lucky to spend many years here in AZ hunting animals my dad and I only dreamed of. Love you dad. Hoping for one more hunt.

Congrats Erik. That's awesome. You guys camp by the corral? Cherish it. We found out in November dad has lung cancer. It's very possible that we have gone on our last hunt. Would give anything for one more.

My buddy at work shot his cow Monday morning. Hiked around and checked water tanks, etc the 1st couple days and then figured out a spot he wanted to hunt. Sitting in his camp on his tailgate drinking coffee waiting for it to get light and just as it starts to, he grabs his binoculars and starts glassing. Sees three cows walking towards a canyon, grabs his rifle, lays down and boom. Less than 300 yards from his camp. Just as papajohn said, he was able to drive right up to it.

A guy at work got this hunt. He is going up Saturday. The ranchers want them killed. He contacted one rancher and the guy went so far as to send him a map of the ranch with 3 different areas marked "Elk". We'll see how it works out.

Well, unfortunately my dad and I struck out. We got home yesterday, my dad just couldn't take it anymore. We were first timers up there and inexperience really played a role. It didn't help that I found out my dad had basically been sick for about a month leading up to the hunt and wouldn't go to the Dr. I made him go the day before we left. Honestly, he was in no shape to hunt and in hindsight, we should have donated our tags. After speaking to many many people during the hunt, this was a very strange year. I guess because of the extreme dry conditions, early snow and cold snap, and the prescribed burns, the deer went lower early. We just didn't have the experience to know how many deer we should be seeing or where to go after that. I did head lower for the last 2 or 3 days we were there but it just wasn't enough time for me to learn a new area and get on some bucks. Our hunt really had some ups and downs, scary moments, etc. I went to the burn the first morning like I planned but all the bucks I was watching prior to the hunt were gone...poof. I also didn't experience the "war zone" that I had heard about the burn the 1st couple days. Alarm bells should have been going off in my head. I checked out several different areas where I had seen bucks scouting. Put 10 miles on my boots Friday and no bucks. 2nd day, my dad didn't even want to hunt so I asked him if he was up for some road hunting. Not a tactic we use, but since he is 79 and sick, it was all he could handle. Right off the bat we saw a decent buck and some does but not being professional road hunters, we had not perfected our technique. He couldn't get out of the truck fast enough. 2nd afternoon is where it got scary. My dad doesn't really hunt afternoons anymore so I went out by myself. I got back to camp just before dark and he wasn't there. Strange, he is ALWAYS back to camp before me. He went for a "little walk behind camp". I drank a beer, expecting him to be back any second. The sun set and I really started to get worried. I looked around and his gun was gone, he didn't have a warm coat or a light, only had 3 bullets and the worst part, I found his GPS in my truck. You have to understand, my dad is old school, he used to hunt deer in the Adirondack Mountains in NY with nothing more than a compass and his sense of direction. They didn't have GPS's back then. Apparently, he thought he was going to take a little stroll on the logging road around camp for a little bit. No problem right? After my scouting trips up there, I had been telling him how easy it is to get turned around. Anyway, it gets dark and cold and I am freaking out. I figured he had a heart attack or got lost. Neither was good. As time ticked by, I tried to keep it together and keep my head. Decided I need to force myself to eat. I really didn't want to because I was sick to my stomach, but knew I needed to. I took a page out of my dad's book and put the lantern on top of my truck so it could be seen for a ways(we were not camped right on the road). I said a little prayer every time a truck would pass, but no luck. Well, over an hour had passed and I was freaking out. I was about to eat a little something and I heard a truck coming. I grabbed my headlamp, headed down toward the road and said another prayer. The truck slowed and then pulled in. I said to the guy, "Please tell me you have my dad in there." He said, "What if I was to tell you I have your dad in here?" Thank God!!! Nightmare over. It was 7:05pm. I had been going nuts for an hour and 20 minutes. Scariest thing I have gone through in my life. Turns out, they had picked him up at 4:45pm about a mile and a half away on a road that went nowhere in one direction and the opposite direction from our camp the other way. It would have been a long night. They drove him up and down the 429 road trying to find our camp for a long time. They finally saw the lantern on top of my truck. I can't tell you how relieved my dad and I were that he made it back safe. I won't bore you with breaking down every detail of the rest of the hunt. I will say, we did pass up a few small bucks in the first 4 days. We really regretted that. I talked to several people and they all said the same thing. This was a REALLY weird year, the deer went low early and big bucks were very hard to come by. Halfway through the hunt I heard that only 6 big bucks had been checked in. A couple of those were killed down around Sowats. Maybe the guys that stuck it out the last 3 days will get some big bucks. This hunt amounted to a very disappointing learning experience. It wasn't the first and I am sure it won't be the last. On the bright side, I learned a lot for future hunts, saw some pretty country, we did have chances to kill bucks, my dad saw a lion, met some nice people and I got to spend 10 days in the woods with my dad. I am not sure how many more times that will happen. After sleeping on it, I feel a lot better about the whole thing. Oh, and to ease my pain a little, I get to go pick up a new rifle. The night before I left, I got a call from the AZ Elk Society informing me I had won a new Weatherby Vanguard Synthetic in 6.5 Creedmoor in their raffle. I want to say thanks to the people that threw out little bits of info here and there. Sorry for the long read on an unsuccessful hunt but I thought some of you that followed this saga for the last year and a half might want to know how it turned out. We'll get 'em next time. At least we stayed warm.

I came back from 12AW Friday. My 79 year old dad just couldn't take it anymore. We passed up a few small bucks early, that was a mistake. Unfortunately, we were first timers up there and learned too late that the deer had gone lower early. All the old timers said it was a really weird year, just not normal. It hadn't rained for like a month and a half and a lot of the tanks were dry. Talked to the Game and Fish guys at the check station halfway through the hunt and there had only been 6 big bucks killed by then. Most people were gone by then, just the hardcore hunters left for the rest of the hunt. One guy told me Mossback had killed a big buck sitting water in Sowats.

Went up Thursday for my son's junior hunt. Sat a tank that was getting hammered and he shot his first deer 1 minute after sunrise. He was very excited to say the least. Went out Saturday morning before we left and glassed up 7 bucks. I've seen some good ones so far. Just hope to find a couple next week.

Update.......Well, my dad and I drew 12AW early this year. Went up in September for 4 days. Saw lots of bucks. 6 - 8 really nice ones. Some big, some just with great character. Bought my first spotter and glassed mornings and evenings. Saw quite a few bucks with extras/cheaters/kickers, whatever your favorite phrase is. Definitely feel the bucks were bigger than last year overall. I'll be up there this week with my son for the junior hunt. I'll be able to do some more scouting then. Then, my dad and I will head up the Wednesday before our hunt to get camp squared away and scout some more. Getting close. We are all looking forward to it. My dad had his 79th bday a month ago and he is still up to the task. He still walks about 3.5 miles on a dirt road in the mountains almost everyday. Anybody want to recommend a taxidermist just in case we are fortunate of tagging something we feel is worthy of getting mounted? Thanks. I'll let you know how it turns out in a few weeks. Oh by the way, there was quite a bit of point creep this year. We had an average of 7 points(which was guaranteed the last 2 years) and we got lucky enough to get the last 2 tags in the bonus round...tags 99 and 100.

His 2nds are insane.

Well done sir. Especially on your first elk hunt. No offense to you, but I just have to say that people need to stop apologizing every time they post about shooting anything that isn't 350" or bigger. Kill ANY animal with a bow and it is an accomplishment. Besides, I would rather get drawn, get to go hunting with family, and kill 5 raghorns than wait 10-15 years for a tag and kill one big bull. But that's me. I just love to hunt. Don't get me wrong, I want to kill big animals just as much as the next guy. But having the opportunity to get out, hunt and fill the freezer for the family is much more important to me.

Happened all the time in NY. I lived there for 30 years. So many deer and so many yahoos. If the deer didn't go right down they just kept hunting. I used to intentionally go looking for blood trails in the middle of the day when there was snow on. Killed a lot of wounded deer back there.

Amazing story, hunt, bulls, location, etc. You guys are lucky to have access to all the things, and people, that made that hunt possible. I am truly jealous. Congrats to both of you. My wife and I loved the pic of the two little ones "glassing".

Supposed to cool off this weekend. Should help all you lucky tag holders.

Great buck. Congrats.

^^^ Need 2 good ones. One for me and one for my dad.

As you requested, we are notifying you of an online, phone or mail order charge. A charge of ($USD) 90.00 was authorized at AZ GAME & FISH DEPT on 07/07/2017 10:08:01 AM EDT. Dad and I are going to 12AW in October

Point creep. My dad and I got the last 2 tags in the bonus round(99 and 100) with 7 points this year for the 12AW October hunt. Saw on here someone with 7 didn't draw it. Last year all 7's drew it.

I didn't draw it with 7 points. Lucky Dogs Point creep. My dad and I had an average of 7 this year and got the last 2 tags in the bonus round. Tags 99 and 100. Thought we were going to get drawn last year with 6.

No reason to beat a kid up with a .300 Win Mag. heck, I wouldn't choose one either. The 6.5 is more than enough. My kids all grew up hunting elk with a .243 Win. and a .257 Roberts. Both shooting 100 gr. bullets. There have been a lot of elk killed with a .243. Also, I believe there is too much emphasis on the long range aspect. I've seen a lot of elk killed and the longest shot was probably about 125 yards. It's an age old argument. Shoot what you shoot well and hit them in the right spot. The last part should go for any caliber or bullet size.

My son also got hit for the doe hunt.

Here's a couple of my experiences, one has been discussed and one hasn't. The Bad...My parents shot 2 cows during the unit 8 muzzy hunt and it was really warm that year. We thought we needed to get the meat on ice as fast as possible and it would be fine. We skinned and boned out the meat right away and threw it in coolers with ice. Big mistake. Without letting the meat hang and cool, the coolers acted as insulators and the meat didn't cool fast enough. We ate it and didn't get sick but some of it did have an odd smell and taste to it. Huge lesson learned. The Good....A year or two later I shot a bull in the early archery season and even though it was warm, I told my dad we were NOT boning it out and putting it in coolers right away. I gutted it where I shot it, skinned it in camp, quartered it, and hung it in the shade. The next morning we boned it and put it on ice. Even though it was a big old bull, my dad still talks about it being one of the best eating elk we have ever had. Since I have gone this far(for the Clint fans)..the Ugly....I know a guy that shot a bull at last light in the 6A late rifle hunt and there was snow on the ground. He gutted it and left it lay overnight. The side that was on the ground was all spoiled when he went back the next morning. The snow, ground, hide kept it from cooling.

Well, they got over 100 people to blow their points, when they could have just gotten a tag as a leftover. I bought one today because it is only $48 and I will be up there on 2 deer hunts. So, if I get lucky and run into one, I will shoot it. Talked to a game biologist up there last year and he said they want them all gone because those units are the premier deer units in the state and they want to keep it that way. Last year was my first year up there and all I could think was what great elk country it was. He said the elk that are there come down from Utah. While I was there, I talked to a lot of people that spend countless days/weeks up there and they had seen a grand total of 8 elk. 3 of them were where they hunt buffalo, and God forbid if you go anywhere near there if you don't have a buffalo tag. Those dudes are nuts.

I wondered the same thing, that's why I started searching. Apparently, they originally scored that deer at 207 and change. Once officially scored, it was less. https://pope-young.org/records/top_ten.asp?sid=14

http://pope-young.org/information/news_detail.asp?news=91 Awesome forks!!!

How fast do you guys normally get your refunds? They refunded my license fee on the 12th, but haven't refunded the tag fee yet.