PowellSixO

Thank you for flipping that photo. I couldn’t figure out how to. 😆

Sorry for the late response. Had a family member pass away, and life’s been hectic. We ended up getting the big Bo pass, and we ended up camping in my trailer out there. Before the hunt there was some pretty good rain in that area, which made for some very muddy roads. But it dried up for the most part before the hunt started. In two scouting trips I found 4 different groups of elk, and a few nice bulls. On opening morning we set up on a spot where we had found the biggest bull. It was a nice 6x7 in the 340-360 range. Unfortunately on the way up, my dad fell really hard and landed on the gun. We hoped for the best, but our fears were confirmed. We got a good shot at the bull and my dad missed. We went and sailed the gun back in and went back to work. We never could turn up that bull again, and some other hunters moved in. We went to another few spots, and saw bulls, but they were always too far for a shot. We tried a few walks through the thick stuff, and it was productive. If I had the tag we could have shot a few nice bulls. My dad was always just a few seconds too slow. On day five we lowered our standards, and went to a spot we had seen elk crossing in the mornings, and set up. When I looked through my binos for the first time that morning I instantly saw three bulls. 2 decent 6s and this little goofy bull. My dad couldn’t make out which bull was which, and took the clearest shot. It was a nice 282 yard shot from my shooting tripod I put together for my kids. It was an absolute pleasure getting to help my dad on his last elk hunt, and have my son there with us. His Parkinson’s is definitely getting the better of him, and it was hard to watch him suffer. But he was a trooper and we put 3-4 miles on our boots every day, with some being longer. I just want to say thank you to everyone who offered help, and gave me pointers. I really appreciate it. You guys are awesome. That’s one more great memory I’ll have of my father, and I wouldn’t trade it for any amount of money. My dad figured that since it’s likely his last hunt, he’d have extra jerky made. It’s his favorite thing to eat. The look on the processors face when my dad told him to make half of it into jerky was priceless. 😂

Yeah it’s been tough to watch my dad. He’s gone from the man I always looked up to as an athletic super hero, to someone who walks like a slow robot now. That’s why this hunt is so important to me. 👍

Thank you for the information. I appreciate it. 👍

The biggest problem I’ve found so far in 10, is it’s extremely dry. Not a lot of good feed in the areas I’ve been looking, and most of the dirt tanks are dry, or almost dry. I looked over some great looking country, and found very little sign. But that’s why we scout right. I’ve had my son up with me on all these scouting trips which has been great. It’s great teaching him what my dad taught me. The circle of life baby! Note to self, don’t sleep next to the train tracks. There’s a lot more train traffic than I anticipated. 😆

Yes it is 165 for the hunter, and 120 for each helper. I was unclear on that part. I thought I was going to have to pay the $700 guide fee. So it's not as expensive as I initially thought. So it will only be 525 for my dad, myself, my wife, and my little brother.

I believe it is 165 a person now to enter. It would be my dad, myself, my wife, and my little brother. I appreciate the offer, but I couldn't ask that of anyone. I have never personally been on the Big Bo, but I could justify the cost if I knew it would pay off. It's just such a big area, with so little time left, I'm up in the air about it. Thank you for the offer, but I just can't ask that of anyone.

Thank you. I'll give it a try.

Quick question for you guys. My dad drew a late 10 rifle bull hunt this year, which he has been putting in for for some time now. Unfortunately he has been diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease within the last year and a half. It's progressing pretty badly. So this is likely his last hunt, which breaks my heart. It's going to be pretty brutal getting him around as it is. I just turned my wife's tag (also a unit 10 late rifle bull) back in to AZGFD, so that I can focus exclusively on him. So the good news is, someone can expect a call from AZGFD shortly about getting a tag for 10. I've done a lot of scouting so far, trying to find him a bull, and honestly I have been striking out. I'm looking at going up to another area the next couple of weekends to do some more scouting. The areas I'm thinking about going to, are near or on the Babbitt Ranch, and AJA Sheep Co property's. I've sent emails to both property owners, but have yet to hear back. I've also tried researching it on the internet, but not really getting a clear answer. Before I drive all the way up there, just to be locked out, can someone please help me with accessibility to these properties? I would really appreciate any help you can give me. I don't want any spots. My legs work just fine, and I can get out there and do the hard work to find the elk. But any help in gaining access to these properties would be awesome. I've thought about going to the Big Bo, but the price of the entry would be hard for us to swing. Thanks for taking the time to read this. I plan on starting a post, to track the hunt. So more to come.

I was able to fill my archery bull tag this year with a dandy. I was lucky enough to put an arrow through this mature bull at 37 yards. I got a complete pass through, with a 125 gr tooth of the arrow broadhead. It’s incredible how tough these things are. At first he didn’t know he had been hit. After a few seconds we walked up a hill, and looked around for a few seconds. He got wobbly legs, and piled over face first. He got up and did a 391 yard death run, breaking trees in half the entire way. I’ve been after a bull of this caliber for a long time. Very fun hunt.

Daughter drew her first deer tag. Happy dad right now.

My elk tag came in the mail yesterday. 👍

I’m running a 6” bow finger out front with an 8” bow finger out back. It’s made a world of difference in acquiring my target faster, and has cut my pin floating in half or more. I’m running a Mathew’s halon 6. Just put a new string on last month. Mathew’s makes a great bow. I have all the confidence I need with this old bow. I’ve killed a deer and a bull with it. Hopefully I get another one this September.

226 and 227, west side early kaibab.

Same. I about had a gd heart attack!!!