azelkhunter69

Well, I got "unsuccessful" in my first/desperate attempt. Bad enough I already got "Not Drawn" here in AZ. I'm going to start drinking......oh wait, I haven't stopped since our results came out. Congrats. Good luck.

^^^^ That's what I thought. I bet everybody puts down 4 or 5 choices instead of the usual 1 or 2.

Applied for NM for the first time this year and noticed that they do have mandatory reporting. If you don't report, they won't give you a tag. There's some motivation.

Maybe it was your turn then... Apparently so. I guess I can't(or shouldn't) complain. The next tag I get will be the 1st tag that I will draw with more than 4 pts, and that only happened once. And that includes 3 archery bull tags. I'll be up to 6 pts. after they post them. My wife has never drawn with more than 3 pts., and she has had 4 bull tags in the last 6 years. Guess the odds caught up with us. Just spoiled I guess. I don't think anybody is going to feel sorry for me. LOL

At this point, the only results I'm worried about are NM. I already know my entire family is going to see nothing but "Not Drawn" for AZ. Can't believe it, 1st time ever we have not drawn at least one tag.

^^^^ True story.

They seem to think they have their act together this year. Got an email saying "draw results will be out later this month". That is a step up from April. Kids waiting for Christmas morning. Good luck guys.

https://www.google.com/search?q=Broc+Drifter+Mule+Deer+A3&espv=2&tbm=isch&imgil=2RaY5CLsWfQ76M%253A%253BMi2hMM_rLH9xiM%253Bhttp%25253A%25252F%25252Fwww.imgrum.net%25252Ftag%25252Fauctionbuck&source=iu&pf=m&fir=2RaY5CLsWfQ76M%253A%252CMi2hMM_rLH9xiM%252C_&usg=__UAEQqJoh_ksUExnd6snFhtDNb_A%3D&biw=1600&bih=794&ved=0ahUKEwjPiJ3-ibnSAhWIKGMKHZKYB5IQyjcIJw&ei=qri4WM-LHYjRjAOSsZ6QCQ#imgrc=jel_Z3L5GuCblM:

Wow, if this is true, a lot of people, especially non-residents, could save themselves hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars by using a fake license number until drawn.

How did you guys make out on your hunt?

They tried that I think but problem was those guys were hunting deer and buffalo on a once in a lifetime hunt. Nobody wants to pop a cow elk during something like that. Several of you are right. I was up there during the turkey season. Talked to some buffalo hunters and a "buffalo biologist in training" that worked for the game and fish. They had a bull, cow and calf elk on camera at one of "buffalo tanks" and nobody would even consider shooting them because they didn't want to chance spooking the buffalo. The buffalo hunter had seen 2 big elk bulls earlier and said IF they tagged out on the buffalo, they thought about getting an OTC tag and trying to find the elk. The Game and Fish guy said another AZGFD guy had just seen a couple cows and calves in the "center of the unit"(12AW). We talked about how a lot of that country looks like elk country. The AZGFD guy said the elk come down from Utah and they want them all dead because "it is the premier deer unit in the state" and they don't want elk competing with the deer.

Depends on where you are and how well you know the unit in my opinion(we've been hunting the same spot for 15+ years)....not trying to put you down. Not trying to be an a$$, but, we were on the same hunt(6A muzzy). Saw multiple bulls every day. Only had 4 days to hunt due to wife's school. Killed this bull the 3rd day. Her 3rd in 6 years. Her 2nd bull...2014...same type of weather, just earlier in the morning..

My wife has drawn this tag 4 out of 6 years....crazy lucky. I wish I had her luck getting tags. Out of the 4 tags, this is the 3rd bull she has gotten. She always wants to shoot one bigger than the last one but that is becoming increasingly difficult. We were pinched for time because she is in school right now and Monday morning was the last day we could hunt due to scheduling constraints. We saw bulls every day but couldn't quite get the opportunity we needed. On the 3rd day(Sunday), we hadn't seen anything and went for a good hike. It was starting to get warm and we were almost back at the quad. I wanted to go check another hillside for bedded elk, but she had different ideas. She wanted to go walk the ridge back to the quad where we had been seeing elk bedding the prior 2 days. As it was her tag(and she is my wife...you know how it goes), I relented and went with her idea. As we walked a logging road to get the wind in our favor, we didn't get 50 yards and I saw and elk between a couple of trees. Looked through the binoculars, saw it was a bull and got her sticks set up. He was facing at her at probably around 100 yards. She drilled him right through the heart and he didn't go 50 yards. It's the smallest of her 3 bulls but we got the job done. Filled the freezer again. He is a little 6x7. Main frame 6 with a little devil point.

Oops. Guess I had the same problem a lot of other people have. Got a rotated pic. I would have really liked to have seen what this bull looked like in a few more years. He had nice 3rds for his size. But really short main beams.

Report came out. Unfortunately, we were not in the 30% with 6 pts that got drawn. 7 pts was a sure thing again. Next year for sure, as long as my dad is willing. Looking forward to it.

Apparently you guys are all forgetting the "Assault weapon ban" in 1994 while Bill Clinton was in office. You couldn't have more than a 10 round magazine either. That was when all the AR's and similar guns started selling for a minimum of about $1500. It lasted for 10 years but they couldn't get it renewed. And, if you REALLY think nothing has changed in the last 7.5 years, you have had your head in the sand. Thanks to Obamacare, I basically pay medical costs myself. We have a high deductible HSA where we used to have insurance where we didn't pay hardly anything and only ever had to pay co pays when we went to the Doc. I could go on and on but I really don't want to get started.

Gotta agree with Jack on this one, he killed dang near everything with the .270. They don't call it "The rifleman's rifle" for nothing. Personally, one of our favorites. My dad and I own several .270's and .270 WSMs.

Awesome story. One you all will never forget. What an experience.

I am putting in for the early hunt. Should get drawn for sure with an avg. of 7 points. Talked to a couple Game and Fish guys and they said the bucks are getting bigger. He said the archery guys were having too much success so they started cutting the archery tags back.

Made my first trip up to 12AW this past weekend. Beautiful country and a great experience. Learned a lot. We covered a lot of ground. My 16 yr. old and I had turkey tags, which I got only because I thought we would be taking a scouting trip for the deer hunt....just didn't know it would be the 2017 deer hunt. It rained and we didn't get any turkeys but in 3 days we saw 150+ deer and 30+ bucks. A lot of small to medium bucks but we did see a few big bucks and one great big sucker. Saw a group of 7 bucks Sunday morning and I would have shot any one of them. Can't wait to get up there again next year.

soooooo, does that mean we have pics on the way or no?

Don't sell yourself short. Nice bull. Especially for your first. Congrats. Great job.

From what I have seen and heard, same as every other year....hit and miss depending on where you are. I hunt 8 a lot and have seen/heard people say 8 is super slow this year, but talked to a guy that said he was shocked at how great it was considering the early opening day(the 9th), said the bulls have been going off the whole season.

I can relate to the lack of respect. Last year there were guys fighting over water holes, guys intentionally walking a circle around other guys just blowing on a bugle. As long as I have hunted that unit it has always been horrible with road hunters. The first time I hunted deer there, I called the game warden for some info....his advice, "Drive the roads until you see one." I couldn't believe he said that. That was the end of the conversation.

Finally!!! We have a winner. 1st elk pic posted. Great bull. Congrats.