AzRaised08

Wow that is awesome you guys went 3/3! Congrats to you and everyone else for what I’m sure was a memorable hunt 😃

Congrats on the hunt! Definitely some really tall spikes. It’s funny that this thread just got started. I’m currently in the process of a DIY Euro Mount for my bull. If this doesn’t turn out too good, now I’ll know who to contact for the next one haha

The first year was my father in laws tag and we came up empty, but the last 2 have been mine. I think as a group we’ve been more motivated after coming up empty in 2018. But even in our first year, which ended in some disappointment, I loved every second of elk hunting!

Good luck on your hunt Eddie! I hope you’re able to punch your tag

Thanks Kev! I appreciate the kind words. After 3 years of freezing my butt off, I’m definitely starting to feel more like an arizona elk hunter. I love doing it every year. Maybe I’ll have to put a pause on the late hunt and start saving points for an early archery

Well, last year it took 3 days to get a bull down. This time it only took a few hours. It wasn’t quite the way we drew it up, but I couldn’t be happier for another year with an elk-filled freezer. We left the camper at 0500 this morning and got set up on a small incline overlooking some meadows we’d seen elk in this past Tuesday. After hearing a few different shots around us, we figured the elk must have been in the next valley over and we missed our opportunity for an opening day, first-light kill. Around 0815 we decided to relocate to another ridge line a few miles south so we hiked back to the car and piled in. As we were heading back into the spot, my wife and buddy spotted 2 bulls trot across the road about 150 yards in front of the car. They said one was likely a young 4 point and the other was a more mature bull but they didn’t get a good look at it. We decided to park the truck and see if we could get on their trail. Luckily, a little bit of snow this morning helped us pick up the tracks of the 2 bulls and we were off! As we hiked up the hill, I spotted the younger bull and thought to myself that I was blessed enough with a beautiful 6pt last year, and this year I would be thankful just to fill the freezer and enjoy another year of elk meat. If I caught up to him and had a shot, I’d take it. Unfortunately, the young bull crested the hill and went out of sight. My buddy continued following their tracks while I stayed a bit to the right, trying not to directly follow their trail. All of a sudden we hear a truck somewhere else in the valley. I couldn’t see it, and I didn’t even know another road came back into this same area but all I could think was “this truck is gonna scare these elk off and I’ll never be able to catch up or find them again”. Well maybe that truck confused the elk because all of a sudden my buddy half whispers, half yells at me. I turn and look over in his direction and couldn’t believe what I saw. I was so focused on where I thought the elk had topped the hill that I wasn’t even paying attention to where my buddy was or what he was seeing. I look over and there is the mature bull, broken on both sides, trotting 20 yards in front of my buddy’s face and 40 yards from me. My buddy immediately drops to the ground and I bring my rifle up only to realize that I’m zoomed in at 9x and can’t locate what part of the bull I’m aimed at. I quickly dial back to my lowest setting (3x) and re-aim at the bull, but it dawns on me that my wife, father-in-law, and my buddy’s girlfriend were a couple hundred yards behind us and in the general direction I’m now aiming. I take a second to double check my shooting lane is completely clear, aim at the vitals as the bull continues trotting past, and squeeze the trigger. The bull stumbles about 200 yards before finally laying down under a tree, and a few minutes later I know he’s gone. It still amazes me how fast everything happened and how much I had to adjust/take into account for my quick, 45 yard shot. From my buddy spotting the bull coming back toward us to me pulling the trigger might have been 5-6 seconds but it felt like a lifetime. He’s not quite the bull I tagged last year, but he’s perfect to me. I couldn’t be happier for another successful elk hunt and another year of great elk hunting memories. I’m slightly disappointed we’ll be heading home earlier than planned this year, but it’s for the best of reasons: tag filled.

This year has been incredibly dry and it looks like there won’t be much (if any) snow for the late season bull rifle hunt. I’ve hunted the last hunt the past 3 years and there was plenty of snow each week of the hunt, so it did not seem like water was too much of an issue. How important is it to find a water source for this years late hunt? Also how far will elk typically travel each day from where they are watering/feeding to where they bed down? Already have been out scouting a few times but not seeing elk in the same spots as last year, probably because of how dry it is?

That’s awesome they’re taking advantage of the break from athletics to get out and get some bulls! Congrats to all

Yes, we’re usually within 2-3 miles of a water source. However I think some of the tanks that normally have had water in past years are dry. And also there has been snow so there have been small runoff streams here and there that they likely could have been using in past years

So in your experience, elk tend to stay within the same 2-3 mile radius?

Unit 27. We hunted up here last year and saw quite a few elk, but again they don’t seem to be in the same places as last year. At least that’s been our experience scouting. We also hunt the northern half of the unit so I would think it would be less affected by the warmer temps/less water but maybe not? I appreciate all the insight! Just trying to get an idea for how much closer to water we need to look/set up at

That’s awesome you spotted a bear! Looked like it was having fun

Holy smokes what an insane bull!! Congratulations on getting it done

Good luck! Any updates?

Can’t wait to follow along 😃 prayers for your Dad and a successful hunt! Good luck!

Wow that is an amazing bull! Congrats on a spectacular hunt! Really happy you were able to bring home a big one this year after last years crazy cat adventure!

You can really tell how crazy the wind was in your videos. Definitely makes it difficult to hunt! I’ve loved following your adventure, thanks for all the photos and good luck 😃 hopefully you get the big one down!

Awesome! Glad you were able to get one down

Fantastic job getting your cow! Congratulations on a successful hunt 👍

Very nicely done! Congratulations and thanks for sharing the great video!

That is so so awesome! Congrats to your daughter on an amazing first bull 😃

Heading out tomorrow early! Can’t wait to get out there again after not going out last year. Excited to see what’s out there

That is awesome! Way to get your first one down! 😃and thanks for sharing the story and letting us enjoy it from the sidelines

Good luck! Post any updates 😃

Geez that second one at the end was spooky 😳 Is their eyesight really that bad? I know their sense of smell is incredible and that their eyesight isn’t great, but I didn’t realize it would be that bad