Unit 22 bull elk tags 1,300 some perspective

[stanley]

5 hours ago, AZBIG10 said:

Maybe raise the price of elk tags and have a cool down after a hunter draws.  1 yr

Same money generated greater odds for bp holders and less folks in the hills during the hunt.

Sorta get the sentiment, but don’t really agree.  
 

You wouldn’t need to raise the price of tags, because even with a 1 year cooling off period, they would still be selling out the tags each year.   

Regarding better odds;  The number of applicants far exceeds the tags issued in any given year, plus with so many bonus points across the board, I feel like that saturation would keep the increased odds negligible.   Suppose there would be some effect, but my gut tells me it wouldn’t be significant. 
 

I remember  back in the late 70s when I started hunting as a kid, there was a THREE year ‘cooling off’ period if you got drawn.  Don’t think they had a bonus point system then, though.  At least not that I remember…

[AZBIG10]

2 minutes ago, stanley said:

Sorta get the sentiment, but don’t really agree.  
 

You wouldn’t need to raise the price of tags, because even with a 1 year cooling off period, they would still be selling out the tags each year.   

Regarding better odds;  The number of applicants far exceeds the tags issued in any given year, plus with so many bonus points across the board, I feel like that saturation would keep the increased odds negligible.   Suppose there would be some effect, but my gut tells me it wouldn’t be significant. 
 

I remember  back in the late 70s when I started hunting as a kid, there was a THREE year ‘cooling off’ period if you got drawn.  Don’t think they had a bonus point system then, though.  At least not that I remember…

Great points

[Explorer]

2 hours ago, stanley said:

Sorta get the sentiment, but don’t really agree.  
 

You wouldn’t need to raise the price of tags, because even with a 1 year cooling off period, they would still be selling out the tags each year.   

Regarding better odds;  The number of applicants far exceeds the tags issued in any given year, plus with so many bonus points across the board, I feel like that saturation would keep the increased odds negligible.   Suppose there would be some effect, but my gut tells me it wouldn’t be significant. 
 

I remember  back in the late 70s when I started hunting as a kid, there was a THREE year ‘cooling off’ period if you got drawn.  Don’t think they had a bonus point system then, though.  At least not that I remember…

In Arizona? 

[yotebuster]

Just be glad AZ has picked some units for opportunity and left some for trophy areas.   It’s a great blend.  I can promise you your chance of shooting a 6pt bull in 22 is SIGNIFICANTLY better then nearly all units in Colorado, Montana, or Utah.  In a vast majority of the elk hunting world, a raghorn is a trophy and hunting all week in the rut might yield getting to hear a few bugles.  I’ve spent a little time in 22 in the rut and it was a shoot show of rutting activity.  Maybe not on par with 1, 3, 9,10, 23, or 27 but still a world class elk hunting experience that you can’t get in most of the country.  

[stanley]

1 hour ago, Explorer said:

In Arizona? 

Yep.  In the old days, if you got drawn for elk you couldn't hunt elk again for 3 years.  I was a kid then, and my dad would handle all of the applications and stuff, so I'm not really sure specifically how it was administered.

I'll bet some of the old-timers around here likely remember that.....

[Sam]

8 minutes ago, stanley said:

Yep.  In the old days, if you got drawn for elk you couldn't hunt elk again for 3 years.  I was a kid then, and my dad would handle all of the applications and stuff, so I'm not really sure specifically how it was administered.

I'll bet some of the old-timers around here likely remember that.....

Well, I'm not super old -  but, I stared hunting big game in the late 70s. I remember a waiting period and there definitely were not bonus points. I also remember over the counter archery elk tags and left over whitetail tags for the December hunt.  

[PRDATR]

11 hours ago, Sam said:

Well, I'm not super old -  but, I stared hunting big game in the late 70s. I remember a waiting period and there definitely were not bonus points. I also remember over the counter archery elk tags and left over whitetail tags for the December hunt.  

You could also get a second rifle tag in units like 26 where there were 1000 tags issued for a hunt. Of course back in the late 70's the population was 2.5 million compared to over 7 million now.

[wish2hunt]

18 hours ago, stanley said:

Yep.  In the old days, if you got drawn for elk you couldn't hunt elk again for 3 years.  I was a kid then, and my dad would handle all of the applications and stuff, so I'm not really sure specifically how it was administered.

I'll bet some of the old-timers around here likely remember that.....

Antelope as well.

[rkv09]

I drew my first elk tag in 22N and was successful with a 5x5 raghorn. That unit is managed for opportunity and I am grateful for that. As long as people understand that it is an opportunity hunt not an Arizona  "trophy" bull hunt. Do all the tags hurt the population? heck ya. Are you gonna see a bunch of other hunters? heck ya. Can you draw the tag every couple of years? heck ya. Have I applied since that tag? heck No. Did my unit one bull look pretty much like my 22N bull? Yup. Can I pass on bulls? Nope. 

AZ has some of the best elk but it takes forever to get that trophy early hunt. My wife has never gone elk hunting but is committed to an early rifle bull tag, thanks to her father. 18 points later and the tag still isn't in sight. Now I have drawn three late bulls tags and an early archery bull tag in the same time frame and been successful. None are of trophy standards, my only 6x6 is from CO, but I would rather have those memories and experience over waiting for a trophy elk tag. Keep the trophy units managed as such and have some opportunity hunts as well. Just know what you are applying for. We can't all hold out for that 4B archery tag.