AzNative63

Way to go! I really liked reading where he just drew back and let one go and the picture of him smiling ear to ear is a great one. After 50 years of construction work my shoulders/arms won't let me pull back a bow much. 2021 was the last elk hunt I drew and shot the biggest elk of my life with a 50 cal muzzleloader at 30 yards. My hunting buddy of over 50 years was next to me walking up a Jeep trail when a good size herd just walked out from the trees and started crossing the trail, ignoring us right in the middle of it. My buddy stood motionless while I walked off the trail to shoot. It was the biggest thrill after the shot to see the bull just stop for a minute before keeling over. No tracking needed and I could drive right up the bull. Great for two old guys!

The first thought that came to me after seeing your pictures is they could be a modern representation of a Norman Rockwell painting. Really great to see them. Brings a tear to my eye. I was the first of my siblings that were born in Arizona after my family moved from New York to here in 1949 because my older brother had asthma and Arizona was a better climate. My dad hosted dove, quail and when possible, deer and elk hunts for the Eastern family members when they would come "out west" to visit. I had to pull out the family hunting pictures and reminisce. My wife was walking behind me as I looked at a 1950's picture of 6 of my uncles brother and Dad in red plaid hunting gear grinning from ear to ear and asked "who are THOSE nuts ?" ...lol

It's been a long time but the last elk I shot with an arrow was near Blue Ridge Reservoir. That's all I got...Good luck. And at that time, it was SO dry every footstep was like walking on potato chips. I was fortunate to have a very tired bull looking like he had run ALL day pull up within 60 yards and just stand there like he was posing for a picture. I guess even a blind squirrel finds an acorn now and then...

I really feel for you! My PREVIOUS insurance company DOUBLED my homeowners rate with no warning BUT it wasn't during the draw! There was never even a claim on any of my different policies in my "bundle" so they were cancelled them the next day.

Sorry you lost your binos. It took a 2010 Jeep with the flat front fenders to cure me of my flaw of using them for a temporary shelf. They were SO inviting to lay stuff on when I was loading up my Jeep to go out. I usually carry a sidearm and my fear of leaving a pistol on them scared me SO much I vowed to myself to NEVER lay anything of value on them. Of course that did not stop my buddy from laying his cell phone on them while we were gathering wood to bring back to deer camp. According to the tracks, only ONE vehicle went down the road after us. We could see in the dry dirt Jeep trail where someone got out, walked a few feet, and got back in the vehicle. We were SURE they were going to call one of the numbers in the address "book" so we could come get the phone. We both agreed that the phone broke on impact rather than think they just kept the phone.

I stumbled across this thread, so I gotta reply lol. When I was hunting in Alaska on a guided hunt the camp cook asked me to help him "unhook" a moose quarter so he could butcher it. When we dumped the burlap sack on the butcher table and pulled it out he started to unfold the deboned quarter. The maggots had the run of the place, conservatively a pound of wigglers. He expertly sorted out the mess then wiped the carcass of the intruders. Telling me to just keep it quiet on the "dudes" he brought it in the cook tent. LOL

My choice is Carl's Custom Meat's in Camp Verde. It's only a few minutes from I-17. I've never been to Millers but maybe they are having labor issues like a lot of places? Carl's has always done well for me, even having connections with a taxidermist. It was a one stop shop to have my European mount done AND butchering. The mount was there at Carl's when I picked up the meat. Last years elk included in one of the "packages" they provide included the usual cuts of meat, "beef " sticks, chorizo, summer sausage, and bunch of ground elk, which was great for passing out to friends. Okay, I kept all the good cuts for me and the immediate family :). All the meat (except the meat sticks) was wrapped in plastic wrap and paper enough to withstand freezer burn for a long time. I can only speak from my own experience although when I just looked it up to make sure it was IN Camp Verde and not a suburb, it had 4 1/2 stars . Last year it was a week or so turn around, if my memory serves right. It was an early muzzleloader hunt so things might have been a little different at that time. I didn't get drawn this year but last years personal best 6X6 bull was an acceptable end to a lifelong hunting after 70 years of living and 60 years of hunting in this state. Okay, getting wordy here, good luck to all!

Congratulations! I'm helping a buddy with his elk in 10 days or so (rifle hunt) and we'd be happy with a bull like yours.

Here's my disappointing story...My wife and i were hunting Coues about 10 miles this side of the Arizona/Mexico border. We saw one camp off about a 1/2 mile away as we headed toward our camp spot a day before the season. Opening morning we heard a series of shots the next canyon over. We had a great observation point to just sit and glass early opening morning so we kept our eyes peeled in that direction. Fifteen minutes or so later here comes a buck at a dead run down the mountain from us. I shot, and he ran another 50 yards and collapsed. It only took us 10 minutes to get to him. Within 30 minutes there was a group of 3 hunters coming toward us. One claimed he had shot it first and it died in front of us. I was pretty adamant about it was MY one and only bullet that made the hole in its chest. I even went as far as pointing where the blood trail started. They finally went on their way, but first asked if they could "HELP" carry the buck the 400 (+-) yards down to the nearest Jeep trail. I declined and told them we got it handled. It was going to be cold enough to skin, put a deer bag on and hang the deer in a mesquite tree without worrying about spoiling that night. I thought it was over and done with UNTIL about 9:00 that night I see headlights coming toward our camp. We were WELL off the beaten path. They pulled up to the hanging deer and put their high beams on it and got out and started spinning it around, looking for another bullet hole. I could smell the Tequila before I was within 10 feet of them. I did not want to walk out with my rifle when I saw what they were doing, but I DID strap on my .45 auto under my coat, just in case., I decided if they wanted the buck I would rather give it to them rather then have some serious sh** go down. After they did their "examination" and found no other bullet holes, they went on their way. We got out of there at first light.

Okay, here's my .02 ,part info and just part story. As a tradesman in construction for over 50 years, you learn a "few" things. The one saying I heard that I got the most kick out of is...a person can have 30 years of experience OR one year's experience 30 times. Some people just don't open themselves up to learning new things. All the contributors on here give you genuine YEARS of experience without the years it would normally take,, it's great! For me, maybe it's been just sure luck, I just walk slow and quiet in GOOD elk country and I would usually see elk. NO, I never called much. The last time I did I was taking my granddaughters on a ride up on the "rim " during an elk rut, when we saw an elk herd just a 100 yards off the road. I drove up another hundred yards and we walked out and I put my grandkids next to a big downed pine tree. I just whistled the 5 or 6 notes a bull would do . No actual elk call, just whistled. A couple minutes later we heard a "crack" behind us and as we turned there was a spike bull not 20 feet from us. We just stayed down until he lost interest. My guess was he didn't rate a harem and was really curious and hopeful. LOL. Having said all this, I've watched a whole bunch of Steve Chappell and other videos and again, free experience given.

Sorta looks like he's just about to jump the fence 😚

Thanks! My buddy of 50 years showed me this area a few years ago. He loves this spot but to try another area, his son put them in and they were drawn for 7W starting this coming Friday. They scouted their unit and saw only 1 bull . I'm hoping he does well.

Good luck everyone. IMO, it can be great hunting or you'd swear there's hardly and elk around in 6A. We hunted for 5 of the 7 days of the bull ML hunt that ended this week (11/12-11/18). All the dues I paid with walking, walking ....and more walking with my smokepole and my longtime buddy Fred so far not paying off. It seemed someone had stirred up the few herds we did see with no good shot to take. They were at a trot to other places. Finally on the last day, yesterday, as we walked up a Jeep trail, God smiled on me. A small herd crossed the trail just 75 yards in front of me just as we were in the shade of a pine tree. The third elk was a 6X6 and I sent a Barnes 290 grain into his lungs. He never took another step but did not go down. Actually, I wasn't completely sure I hit him because he had no reaction, but soon blood started coming out of the wound in his lower chest. I had time to reload and send one more, not 6 inches from the first, and he STILL stood motionless. Tough animal! He finally dropped after a couple of minutes. I will NEVER use another bullet than the Barnes TEZ either 250 or 290 grain bullets. The performance is outstanding. The round we recovered was exactly the same as what was printed on the box the bullets came in. And more good news, We were able to drive right up to him! Quartered at the butcher he was just under 400 pounds.

It's sorta funny that I just got done ordering tire chains for my new (bigger) tires on my Ram 4X4 when the alert to check this post came up. I don't like the idea of spinning around and going nowhere so I was checking last years wx in Flagstaff on my hunt dates. I was remembering that old saying "it's better to have them and NOT need them, then to...well you know how it ends. Then as a FINAL decision-making choice, I called my best bud to get his opinion just for the heck of it. He absolutely stated no reason to do it, so after we hung up, I instantly ordered them.....LOL

YUP! Not sure if first or second, but going elk hunting!