Which Archery Hunt

[trphyhntr]

Correctly stated that a good % of the biggest bulls in Unit #27 have been harvested since the 2011 Wallow Fire which changed many dynamics. Additionally, the herd size is about 50% of what it was at the peak about 15 years ago. Saw lots of cow tracks in the snow last weekend though. If you put in and draw a 27 tag, and the snow all melts by next September.........my recommendation is to contact Becker...... as he seems to be the only one that knows anything about the unit

i think alpinebullwinkle has single handedly got people into thinking 27 sucks. hes been down talking it for years. i like your style Alpine. sounds like the draw odds will be in our favor this year

[jim]

I agree with everyone, 27 is shot out and no one should waste their hard earned points on a crappy unit. Matter of fact they should probably just turn it into a limited opportunity unit.

[Alpinebullwinkle]

I can't speak for the other state units and can only compare the two units I hunt.....27 and 1. Most of my comments though are comparing unit 27 guiding, hunting and wildlife viewing experiences as they have changed (for both good and bad) over the last +45 years of my personal experiences. I can also add some credible comments shared to me from the older generation that hunted and guided in 27 before me from the 1950's to 1960's as well. Becker seems to like to misquote me or maybe I just haven't explained my comments clear enough for his comprehension. Let me be clear as possible. Unit 27 is still a very fun unit to hunt bulls in. Cow hunters have really complained in recent years ironically. But my honest opinion is the quality of the September bull hunts are 50% of the experiences we used to have about 15 years ago. Cow hunting is even tougher. Unit 27 still offers lots of fun elk hunting but not what it used to be in the late 1990's because the herd size is significantly lower. Part of that has been on purpose by AGFD responding to rancher complaints about elk impacts on their cattle grazing. Another reason is due to the wolf reintroduction program. I believe a 3rd reason is due to higher hunter harvest rates due to better sight and sound post Wallow Fire. It sickens me to see how many elk carcasses I trip over on my hikes due to predation and possibly unclaimed hunter kills! Your choice whether you wish to put more value into posters that admit less than 10 years in the unit verses +45 years. Makes no matter to me but I don't appreciate being discredited by youngsters that think they know everything about a unit's history in only a decade or so of hunting experience!

[trphyhntr]

Makes no matter to me but I don't appreciate being discredited by youngsters that think they know everything about a unit's history in only a decade or so of hunting experience!

i heard 27 isnt as good as it was too. ^ i dont think anyone said that, i was being serious about less people putting in for it since th majority of your posts are about how bad the elk heards in 27 are.

 

not to derail completely, but theres kids that werent old enough to carry a gun 10 years ago that know these units better than anyone and kill better animals too. so that part irrelevant.

[Alpinebullwinkle]

I have never stated the elk herds in 27 are "bad". That is part of the misquotes that I have pointed out that are so frustrating to me. What I have stated, and stand by, is the elk herds are significantly reduced from the peak population about 15 years ago, hence that affects the hunting experiences. For those elk hunters that were lucky enough to draw tags in the 1990's I'm sure they will acknowledge a significant difference in herd size to the current situation. On the contrary..... due to the fire....... improved visibility, and better habitat/feed, the bulls harvested in the late gun hunt are generally larger than the early years (even with less bulls to hunt). It is misquotes and dialogs such as this that make a helpful poster on CWT want to just quit posting. I have a few friends that have given up posting just for that reason. Much less controversy to just be a reader....... or maybe neither!

 

Faulker over and out!!

[trphyhntr]

Dude I don't spend enough time in 27 to know a dang thing. Not enough flat ground in 27 for my liking

[Phil Beavers]

Why not unit 9 ?

[Flatlander]

Why not unit 9 ?

Unit 9 is so 2014.

 

 

 

And I don't have near enough pts to draw it.

[Explorer]

I would saw 10 only because it does not have a cow hunt at the same time and I see nice bulls there consistently.

[Mesabulls]

5bs for me, but i would like to have unit 22 all to my self and 24 other guys.

[BOHNTR]

10 may have it's own issues.......have you seen the press release from the BR on their newly implemented trespass fees? From what I've seen (measured), 27 has been well represented the last few years.

[Flatlander]

Well I'm in. Here's hoping.

[azbugler]

Me too finally

[pirogue]

I'm in

[osu92]

As a non-resident, I cashed in 12 points to archery hunt 27 last year and in my opinion it was a pain in the butt. Not the 12 year wait to hunt AZ that I had envisioned. Big unit but everyone seems to hunt in a pretty small part of the unit. And that includes 3 to 5 helpers for every tag holder plus all the cow tag holders. The terrain really wasn't that bad in my opinion. Sure, some canyons are fairly steep and deep, but that's elk hunting. The bigger issue is the cover. All the brush that's grown back after the fire can be downright miserable!!! It's either that neck-high, super thorny stuff that elk seem to not mind a bit but will tear you up like nobody's business, or super choked out Aspen regrowth. Either way, it can make it a pain to get around.

 

That being said, we were into elk every morning and every evening. Not the rut crazed, bugling bulls like we'd dreamed of. That ended opening morning (did I mentioned there were people EVERYWHERE?). But simply putting on miles and stumbling around like the lost out of staters we were put us into all sorts of elk. We went 1 for 2 with a decent, super unique bull I killed on day 8 of 12 hunted.

 

Now hoping I can get super lucky with no points this year! ;-)