Arizona 5B Late Bull Hunt

[guyhaz]

I joined up on this site to see if anyone might know this area and might be willing to give me some advice. I have spent 7 days already in the area scouting and plan on spending another 5 days before my hunt. I an getting to know the area pretty well, but have never hunted bull and I am told the late hunt can be hard. My hunting buddy who knew the area pasted away about 2 weeks before the draw posted. I am not saying this to get sympathy...he was a great guy and knew this area well. I am trying to find where I should scout in this large area and get out and find the elk myself...If anyone can give me a general area and how the bulls act at this time of year would be helpful. Thanks for reading....

Guy

 

[BigSurArcher]

Try to predict if it will be dry or not. If there hasn't been rain or snow within about a week before you get there, then water holes could be a good bet. First decide (if you haven't already) how far from the roads your willing to hunt. Then go on google earth and search for some water holes and other features that should hold elk close by. This will not be a rut hunt, so you shouldn't be concerned with calling and all that stuff. Food and water are they need right now with winter coming and the rut being over with. You will probably see a lot of bulls with broken tines and beams. Just part of the game when you hunt them this late. About the unit itself: Elk can be found throughout the unit. The majority of the elk spend most of the year on forest service land. However, a small number of resident elk persist in traditional winter range, which is mostly on state trust and private lands. These lands are not public land, but they are open to hunting. Concern over the forage base (from elk residing year-round) and hunter distribution, led to the creation of the Two Guns, Twin Arrows and Grapevine subunits in 2001. Three large private ranches occur on the winter range: the Flying M, Bar T Bar and Hopi Three Canyon Ranches. The privately owned land sections of the Hopi Three Canyon Ranches are now Hopi Trust Lands. This effectively means that they have the same status as reservation lands. The Game and Fish Department and the Hopi Tribe have entered a cooperative agreement which allows the Department to manage wildlife on these lands. Access is granted to hunters on Hopi Trust Lands and all Game and Fish rules and laws apply. The elk population in 5B is strong but hunts over the past few years have been designed to reduce the population from its high of the 1990’s. The elk population is now being managed for the current forage conditions to prevent damage to habitat and to minimize competition with other species.

5B north
After opening morning of a rifle season it is unlikely to catch any elk out on Anderson Mesa during daylight hours. If you are not lucky enough to fill your tag first thing then it is time to look a little harder. Travel corridors to and from feeding areas are a good start. Elk will still use the open grasslands but primarily at night. Being on a travel route to or from a bedding area in the morning or evening is a good bet. Look for trails that connect a mountain or canyon bedding area to a feeding area. The area above and below the Anderson Mesa rim from Chavez Pass to Walnut Canyon has numerous well used travel corridors.

5B South
This unit is approximately half as large as 5B north but the elk population is estimated to be almost double that of 5B north. There is no part of the unit that is not elk habitat and as such elk can be found just about everywhere. 5B south consists primarily of national forest land but there are a few residential areas in the unit.

Late Season:
As with 5B north it takes a lot of snow to get elk to move to lower ground. A couple of inches of snow in the high country will not mean that all of the elk have moved out. Snow will only make them easier to track. Bulls can be found throughout the unit during the late season the best places to look are going to be those that offer security. Look for areas with low road density. Within these areas bulls will tend to gravitate toward canyons or hills as bedding and cover areas.

In 2010 the general season bull elk hunt combined both 5B North and 5B South into one unit that includes all of 5B. Hunters are free to pursue elk throughout the unit. This was done to address the high bull to cow ratio within the unit. By allowing hunters to pursue elk wherever they can be found within 5B the hope is that more bulls will be taken and the ratio will be brought to within their Department's guidelines.


Also, The Hay Lake property is now in public ownership and is open to hunting. However a vehicle closure for the area is in effect and there is no vehicular retrieval of game.

 

[BigSurArcher]

feeling extra generous today.

Here's a great glassing vantage point. Near Forest Service Road 132A.

34degrees 58'10.28" N, 111degrees 32'2.41" W

7800 Ft elevation.

There ARE elk to be seen from here. Getting in close enough for a shot and keeping track of them might be another story, but thats up to you.

 

[SoJo]

great research BSA...

 

[guyhaz]

Spoke with game warden last week and he said they expect November to drier and warmer than normal this year.

BSA...thanks for the coordinates and blurb from G&F website.

 

[BigSurArcher]

Your welcome. I found that info on another site and then basically ran across the same thing on the AZ G&F site. Looks like somebody basically paraphrased the same article. If that info has been looked at by every guy holding a unit 5b tag, then it might be best to hunt areas NOT mentioned in there.

I have been through that area though, and there are a ton of animals. The country I killed my avatar bull in was strikingly similar to that terrain in 5b. I was hunting the rut with a bow, which made locating bulls SOOOO much easier. But since you will have a rifle in hand, you shouldn't have a problem getting opportunities. It just depends on how big of a bull you want to hold out for.

 

[DLS]

You should have a very realistic opportunity to kill a 310-330 class bull in 5B. I've hunted it several times (helping friends with their tags) and we've seen some very good bulls on each hunt. My then 16 year old son took his first ever bull, a 334" bull, on an early muzzleloader hunt in 5BS.

If it were me, I'd hunt the Pinyon-Juniper country, and there is a lot of it in 5BS. Hunting in the Ponderosa habitat is easier, but at this time of year I wonder how many elk are found in the open after all the hunting that has taken place before you get there. If it were me, I'd spend most of my time in the rolling PJ hills.

PM me with your email if you'd like more specific information, as I don't want to publish specific spots we've hunted.

 

[AZ Jim]

Hunt low in the pinyon an juniper areas. The density in these areas will increase if there is snowfall in the higher elevations, but we have been unseasonably warm this year.


AZ Jim

 

[guyhaz]

Tagged Out!

After five days of hard hunting and cold weather the elk gods shined upon me with this beautiful animal...I could not be happier, as this is my first bull elk. What an amazing experience! I want to thank those that offered their advice on this site and hope some day I can return the favor.

 

[inchr48]

Beautiful! Way to go guyhaz!

You guys that posted some hints really rock!

 

[SoJo]

great job and way to use the research from folks who posted...this thread is really what makes this forum rock!

 

[Kentuck]

Congrats! You're hooked now!

 

[warren nelson]

Nice Bull, Hats off to the guys that help you with Information.

 

[AZ Jim]

Good Job ! Congrats !


AZ Jim

 

[ltdann]

Excellent! Nice looking bull.

 

[dustin ray]

Nice bull, thats what makes this forum hunters helping hunters

 

[sdnative13]

So would you guys also suggest 5bs for the archery season as well?

 

[theJester]

re:

How hard is it to get drawn for that zone?

 

[DLS]

All the units in that part of Arizona are good. 5BN, 5BS, 5A, 4A, 6A, 6AS, 7E, 7W and others will all give you an excellent elk hunt, especially if you're realistic in your expectations.

I've hunted elk 5 times in Arizona in 3 different units, and have yet to have anything other than excellent hunts. My next tag will be in unit 9, and I'll draw that in the next year or two. After that, I'll be putting in for units named above, almost excusively.