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Left Over tag: Unit 1 Coon Canyon/Flat Top

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I count myself lucky to be hunting elk in AZ again this year - drew a leftover archery cow tag for the Coon Canyon/Flat Top area in Unit 1 for October 4-27. Reading about the area turned up that it's limited access for vehicles (actually a plus for me) and looking at the map shows it is a relatively tiny area.

 

I've never hunted anything, anywhere in Unit 1, much less this small sub-section. For those that know this sub-area, are there elk in there routinely? Any tips are greatly appreciated.

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I don't want to be negative or discourage you, but that is going to be a tough tough hunt! Depending on weather, the elk may or may not be in that area. If you like to walk you'll be fine, getting into areas, but finding elk will be your biggest challenge.

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My son had the hunt last year. They walked is a cople miles each day, getting deep into the canyon. Finding bulls, and lots of them was no problem, but the cows were few and far between. Last year was very warm during the first week of December and there were a lot of elk up high. More cows may move down when it gets colder. Good luck, and just be happy to have a bow in your hand and a tag in the pocket.

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We have a house just on the base of flat top, lots of cows at night feeding on the lawn from the trail camera.

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Had this hunt last November, it was just the Flat Top area. Only water I found was Nutrioso Creek which is the eastern unit boundary. Saw one cow with two calves on day 3. I was up on the rimrock above the creek and she was working her way up, about 400 yards away. We lost sight of her and after about 30 minutes my buddy got up to stretch and kicked a rock, next sound we heard was scrambling hooves. Looked over the edge and she was 200 yards below us, running flat out with her calves, headed east out of the unit. They ran up the other side of the draw, through a section of rimrock a human would have found difficult to scale, and when they topped out on the flat they continued running until they were out of sight. That was the last elk we saw in the unit, although there were lots of elk out to the east in the juniper flats, groups of 15, 20 and the first day I saw two really nice bulls out there. I found no fresh sign around or on top of Flat Top. Absolutely no motor vehicle access is allowed in the area around Flat Top, only foot, bicycle or four legged critters allowed, even to retrieve downed game. On the eastern portion there is a road that takes you almost all the way to the northern edge of the unit, on top of the plateau, and there is an old two track down in the bottom, but it was inaccessible for my truck. There is a lot more water in Nutrioso creek than it looks like from above, even with the long warm fall we had last year. What we surmised was that due to the abundance of forage and mild weather, the elk hadn't been pushed from their summer areas in Unit 1. Good luck to you and have fun.

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On 4/30/2013 at 9:15 PM, Vowell said:

We have a house just on the base of flat top, lots of cows at night feeding on the lawn from the trail camera.

I’m currently have a cow hunt and having trouble finding any sign or elk. Have you seen anything recently?

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14 minutes ago, AdamF said:

I’m currently have a cow hunt and having trouble finding any sign or elk. Have you seen anything recently?

Recent? Like sometime within the last 8 years since he made that post?

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59 minutes ago, AdamF said:

I’m currently have a cow hunt and having trouble finding any sign or elk. Have you seen anything recently?

Hey Adam PM sent

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1 hour ago, Flatlander said:

Recent? Like sometime within the last 8 years since he made that post?

Last couple of years should work.

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My guess is you could walk that entire unit in 1-1/2 days. If there is no sign, they probably aren’t there.

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2 hours ago, Flatlander said:

My guess is you could walk that entire unit in 1-1/2 days. If there is no sign, they probably aren’t there.

Are you up here?

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On 12/2/2021 at 8:55 AM, Vowell said:

Hey Adam PM sent

Currently on this same cow hunt, and have gone through the flat top and most of the coon canyon area today with just a couple signs but no luck. Any cow elk sightings Vowell? 

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7 minutes ago, sstauffer7 said:

Currently on this same cow hunt, and have gone through the flat top and most of the coon canyon area today with just a couple signs but no luck. Any cow elk sightings Vowell? 

No I haven't been up in a bit, house is getting remodeled. Pm inbound

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