AzRaised08

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Opening night update: Still no bull. This afternoon we tried to go down towards the Hannagan Meadow area but on our way down there a truck flagged us down and told us that an 18 wheeler jackknifed on the highway and was essentially blocking the 191. Snow was getting pretty deep in the Alpine area so we tried a spot a little further south to see if we could find some opening day worthy bulls. We searched for a few hours and ended up coming across another herd that only had a few spikes. I’m hoping that we’ll be seeing more than spikes this trip! Quick question for all you elk hunters. If we are finding herds of cows and spikes are the bachelor groups close by? I know the cows and bulls tend to split up after the rut, so I’m thinking we’re not really in the right spots if all we are coming across are cows and a few spikes. We also saw a javelina with her two little ones running through the snow, which was kind of odd but cool to see! All in all it was a fun day given how bad the weather was. Any time seeing elk in the woods is a good thing. And we’ll be up again early hoping to find some bigger guys! I’ll post another update soon and hopefully we’ll get a chance to punch the tag.

Wow your nephew has found some really nice bulls! Those are bigger than any we’ve seen this trip. I hope he get to tag the big one!!

Opening morning update: We woke up at 3:30am in the hopes the weather would be in our favor. Not quite. It was raining quite a bit in Alpine but we decided to head out anyway and hope for a good opening morning. We got to the spot we decided on last night but there’s a river we have to cross in order to get there, and it was running way too much from snow melt and rain. We decided not to risk a crossing because we still would have been battling quite a bit of wind and rain. Driving out of that spot, we came across a small group of cows and took it as a sign of good things to come. We drove further in fo find some new (and accessible) areas and ended up finding quite a big herd. There was a spike bull and a decent sized 4x5, but those were the only two bulls in the herd. I had a chance to take a shot, but decided not to fill the tag opening morning on a small bull. (I pray that won’t be a mistake in a few days time since it would be my first bull and I would love to leave here with one.) A little later in the morning we came across another smaller herd with two spike bulls. The wind and rain were coming down hard so we didn’t spend too much time watching them. We ended up coming back into Alpine to buy a Christmas tree permit at the FS office and on our way in we encountered pretty heavy snowfall. Looks like it’s been snowing a good bit here with no signs of slowing down. We’ll be braving the snow and winds to check out another area this evening, so we’ll see what comes from that! Hoping for some better weather and coming across a good bull. Hope everyone’s enjoying their Friday!

Thanksgiving night update: We scouted a couple more spots this afternoon, but we could hardly get into the Hannagan Meadow area. Snow was about 8 inches deep and was coming down steady when we tried to make our way in. With another 16+ inches projected to land over the next 24 hours I’m not sure we’ll be able to get back in there on the south side. We drove a couple of roads as the snow really started coming down a little later in the day. We checked out a couple of smaller canyons and ran into a cow and her baby. Not sure where all the bulls went. But it was encouraging to see quite a bit of sign and the elk (even though they’re not what we’re after). We’ll be up well before light tomorrow and hope there’s not a foot of snow on the ground. Weather reports seem to change every hour but some of the worst I’ve read project 1+ feet above 7,000 feet with 2-3 feet projected higher up and 50mph wind gusts. Not sure that’s the best elk hunting weather, but we’ll be out there making the best of an iffy weather situation. Hope you all enjoyed a wonderful thanksgiving meal, and I’ll update tomorrow!

Hey everyone, Here’s the Thanksgiving midmorning update. A couple inches of snow fell over night but it seems like the weather is only supposed to get worse this evening and tomorrow. It is currently snowing in Alpine and from what I’ve been told, it’s been like that one and off throughout the morning. Unfortunately didn’t come across any bulls this morning, but we did come across tons of sign. Might have just missed them and I don’t think the wind was a factor. I will say all the snow makes this place look awesome, so hopefully the weather isn’t too crazy tomorrow. I’ve never had this happen to me before but my buddy and I were walking under a tree and this super fat squirrel dive bombed my buddy. It missed landing on him by a foot or so and then took off chirping. Anyone know why it did that? Protecting its nuts? Also the tree we placed a trail cam on while scouting ended falling down. Maybe we got that on video? Anyways, hoping to spot a few bulls this afternoon and evening. Not sure how much the weather will affect their behavior tomorrow if the snow is coming in hard. Still a bit to new to understand all the nuances of elk’s daily habits. Here are some photos from this morning. Hope you’re all having a wonderful thanksgiving! Stay warm and safe.

Hello everyone, I am a first time DIY elk hunter. My father-in-law and I are heading out to Unit 1 for a late season bull hunt. I did not grow up hunting but have done a little over the past few years. All of my hunts have been DIY based on lots of reading and trial and error. We were able to spend the Thanksgiving weekend (Fri-Sun) scouting & glassing sun up to sun down but were unable to locate many elk. I was hoping that some of you would be gracious enough to share some advice about hunting late season elk in Unit 1 Arizona. Are most still up at higher elevations? Are bulls still generally sticking to secluded areas this long after the rut? Is it beneficial to still use calls occasionally? I have done quite a bit of research, but nothing beats picking the brains of an expert. Any advice/help you could give is much appreciated! John

Thanks everyone for your replies and input. We will definitely be spending some more time in a few canyons and glassing the Wallow burn areas. In regards to scouting nastier country, what should I generally be looking for to find a good spot to set up shop and watch elk move from their feed area to bed? I would think its best to catch the elk moving in the morning/evening than trying to pursue them through super nasty country? John