Arizona 3c elk help

[cmmorales3]

My dad and I drew Arizona elk 3c late season rifle...I read the late season is tough and I should take a spike if I see it...is there any truth to that?..I have talked with a few guides and they said they can put us on a bull but the price is a lot ...dad is 73 and it's our first elk hunt ever...does anyone have an opinion on weather a guide will be worth it or any info on the area.
Thanks guys

 

[RoosterKiller]

Areas: Elk populations in Unit 3C are scattered throughout the entire unit. However, since the Rodeo-Chediski Fire, elk densities are higher south of Highway 260 (which bisects the unit). For antlered and antlerless elk, good hunting areas the past few years include: Telephone Lake and White Lake just north of Show Low (accessed from Hwy 77), Juniper Ridge (FR 143) west of Show Low/Linden, Pinedale Ridge (FR 132) south of Clay Springs, near Deer Springs (FR 107, 161 and 145) Lookout Tower, the Aripine area (FR 332), the area between Phoenix Park Wash and Decker Wash (FR 146), the area around the Gentry Lookout Tower, and anywhere near Black Canyon Lake (accessed via FR 86 or from Highway 260). Scouting is critical to locating animals for your hunt.
A number of ranchers and farmers in the Linden, Burton, and Show Low areas will allow access to their private land to hunters, but you need to obtain permission first.

 

[RoosterKiller]

Alsore-season scouting is important to locating animals, especially on later hunts when bulls are not bugling. Success on the late bull hunt is largely dependent upon scouting. Mature bulls are still available on the late hunt, but they are much more difficult to locate.

 

[cmmorales3]

Thanks so much for the help...we just got back and saw some cows....no bulls...I heard the bulls will tend to go off by themselves later in the season....is there any truth to that?

 

[RoosterKiller]

Yes. After the rut they will disapear.They will be in thick timber or thick brush. Depending on the weather.

 

[sagebrush]

First time elk hunting and a late season hunt, a guide would be a great help if you can afford it. There are quite a few elk in 3A/C but they get hunted from September to December and are pretty spooky by the time the late hunt comes around. I would focus on the area east of Black Canyon Lake between the 260 and the reservation. The elk tend to be just south of the homes or just north of the rim. They seem to just move through the area in between. This is a big burn area with small pockets of timber. You can see elk moving through the burn at first and last light and will be close to the timber during shooting hours. Be prepared for snow. I was fogged in for 4 days while it rained and snowed last year during the late archery hunt which is a week earlier than your hunt. Never left the tent.