AZ elk

[Dan Moss]

Anyone have any pointers on Arizona archery elk units. Looking into trying some hunts there. What areas have larger populations of animals. What hunts may be easy to draw. Bull hunts or an antlerless hunt will work for starting out. Anything will help.

 

[azbiggame]

"ALL" units around the area of Flagstaff have GOOD elk numbers.MY favorite unit is 6A,largest herd numbers here.Unit is HUGE,has a North and South hunts.For Archery,and "NEW" to the area,I'd go with 6A North Bull Elk1st. choice #3108 and the COW hunt in 6A North 2nd. choice #3132,I believe with increase in tags for BOTH hunts in 2003,even a "First timer" will draw something.Good Luck---

 

[Dan Moss]

Thanks for the info this will give me a starting point.

 

[widgnwhacker]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div>

What hunts may be easy to draw. Bull hunts or an antlerless hunt will work for starting out.[/b]

Ain't NO Archery Elk Hunt in ARIZONA easy to draw. Now ( AZBIGAME) might think so but it ain't gonna happen that easy. I have been archery hunting elk in Arizona for over 10 years and live here year round. Have a LIFETIME bonus point among others and still have not drawn an Archery BULL tag

AZ , Is telling you to apply for 6A , It has the highest amount of applicants of any unit in the state. Which in turn makes it a harder draw.

Not sure where he is getting his information but you may want to think differently.

WW

 

[Dan Moss]

Thanks for the info. Maybe AZ has had some success in this area this is why he mentioned this area. Is there any antlerless hunts worth applying for as a second choice that a person would have a better chance of drawing?

 

[widgnwhacker]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div>

Maybe AZ has had some success in this area this is why he mentioned this area.[/b]

That may be , I am just merely stating the facts. Last season for the 6A Archery Bull hunt which had 75 tags there were 1517 applicants which produced draw odds of 8%.

6A is a great area don't get me wrong , I have harvested some nice animals from that unit. But what I am telling you is this. It is not the best chance of getting drawn as a Non-Resident. You have to remember this one small fact. Only 10% of the total number of BULL ELK TAGS go to Non-Residents. So when they are gone so is your chance of being drawn. 6 A north had a 15% sucsess rate which is not bad for archery , but there are many others that had sucsess rates of 30% or better. Again a sucsessful archery elk hunt is based upon many things. Knowledge of the area in which you plan to hunt. Knowledge of the local animal populations and their habits. How much time you put in afield pursuing your quarry etc. Most important is being absolutley sure of your shooting ablilties and taking a good close shot as not to injure an animal that ou will not be able to recover. Well if you need any more information on 6 A , I have hunted there for the past 10 years when Im lucky enough to draw a tag as a resident.

Oh yeah I forgot to put this in here for ya. This is a link to the AZ Regs online. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view them. If you look on pages 76-78 it has the data for draw rate sucess and harvest sucess.

http://www.gf.state.az.us/pdfs/h_f/fall_hunt_regs.pdf

WW

 

[azbiggame]

"MAN",offer a little "Free Advice" and some LOCALS get a little "Twisted".

Again I was under the impression,that YOU had never applied or Hunted in AZ.for Elk and wanted a GOOD starting point/hunt ???Drawing a tag,a 1st. tag is always difficult.I never pay much attention to "Hunt Success",Draw ODDS to ME are more important.What do THEY say,10% of THE HUNTERS harvest 90% of THE GAME.Anyways,I'll still stand by 6A North for a "First Timer".

Lots of Good Units though,but I don't see to many others offering "Better"choices for a First Timer,with NO B.P.One thing I look for when trying to pick a New hunt in a different state is "increase in tags".This unit has this,right ??? 75 Bull tags to 150 and here is the tag you will probally draw,Cow tags 200 to 400,I'll take those odds.In 2001,the Cow hunt here was split two 7 day hunts.1st. hunt 190 tags was 100% draw and second with 190 tags was 77% draw.

Good Luck with an attempt to draw a ELK tag in AZ.Again make the Bull hunt a 1st. choice followed by a COW hunt for second.3-5 choices only consider Cow units that were a 100% draw in 2002,as YOU will be put into another draw for these choices.

 

[widgnwhacker]

AZ

Im not pissed , Im just saying that 6A is really not the best choice for a 1st timer. You may have been the exception more than the rule by drawing that tag. Remember that only 10% Bull tags go to Non-Residents. Everybody and their mother puts in for 6A. If you add up all the people that apply for that area to include rifle permits you could fill a small city. There are much better choices if you do a bit of homework.

That hunt you are refering to in 2001 was one of the worst decisions that F&G had made in many years. It caused alot of heartache throughout the archery community. It put hunters scouting on top of hunters that were in the field hunting , and had a very poor harvest sucess ratio. They caught hell on that one and it is back to normal now 14 days with the exception of the area being spilt into 3 sections North , South and West.

Good luck to you all. If ya want to see a few animals from that area check out my website at:

http://www.elkivorycreations.50megs.com

WW

 

[Dan Moss]

Thanks for your input guys. I'll take a look at some of those odds in the book and see if I can start building some points. I have been apply for the Kaibab deer hunts but I heard that people put in for that for years on end and never see a tag.

 

[Mt Goat]

What zone is the area south of Springerville in the White Mt. I was up there last year and saw several very nice BIG bulls a couple 6 points a five point and 3 four points. If I was hunting Elk thats the spot I'd try. How many If any tags are drawn in this area ?

Larry

 

[azbiggame]

That would be unit 1,Great unit for BULLS,but unless YOU have 6-8 Bonus Points,probally not much of a chance to draw.150 Bull tags for Archery is the Norm there.No archery Cow tags as G&F has the Herd Capacity right where they want it.Unit 1,9 and 10 are all just about Hunts of a Lifetime because of all the "PRESS" that these Great units all recieve---

 

[spectr17]

I've been applying for 6A for a few years now. Someone please miracle my ass this year.

Here is the info on 6A from the AZGFD webpage.

http://www.gf.state.az.us/h_f/hunting_units_6a.html

 

[muskrat89]

Well, I've been here 6 years, and finally dusted off the hunting gear. No points (well, unless my hunter ed one sneaks in, on time) Here were my choices. They were based on a lot of different factors, including a TON of advice, studying draw odds/success rates, and I need to be reasonably close to home.

1st Early bull 4B
2nd Late bull 22
3rd Late cow 22 All archery

Wish me luck!

 

[azbiggame]

muskrat 89 Good a "CHIOCES" as any,especially with only Limited bonus points.A friend drew the 4B early bull hunt the last time it was here,AZ. G&F rotate these "EARLY BULL"hunts to selected units about every 5-6 years,so as not to "Wipeout"the mature Bulls,and only saw 6 Bulls in 6 days of "Hard Hunting",but on last day took a GREAT "390" class Bull,tough unit.Your second choice is considered a "Good Sleeper" unit for a general Bull hunt,with few Bonus Points,this hunt YOU could draw.If drawn,most ELK are in the Mazatal Wilderness area at this time of year.The late Cow archery hunt is a Spot and Stalk hunt and will be tough also.Good Luck in 2003.

As long as WE are telling where,We applied.My first choice are ALL Early hunts.With 6 Bonus Points,1st. choice is Unit 7 and 2nd. choice is 23N,but "Some Day"when I'm Lucky enough to draw a "EARLY BULL'hunt and MY bonus points begin with only the Permanent Point once again,choices will be 1st choice 6A North Archery Bull 2nd choice 6A North Archery Cow ---

 

[muskrat89]

Well, I'm glad they look reasonable to you. I put a lot of thought into them, and I am brand new at this. I've never hunted elk, so on the chance that I get drawn (yeah right) I'll have a TON of questions.....

 

[DonV]

Not wanting to ruffle feathers but keep in mind the avg. joe applying probably has 3-4 bonus points so whatevery odds you see are really many times worse. Unless you have the $70 "true" odds book you see # of apps vs. tags - and that it.

NR have worse odds (since they only get up to 10% of tags). With all this considered the odds you see are probably 10 better then they really are (for a NR). 8% draw odds typically when then adjusted for a NR with no pnts. are surely really below 1%.

When you really look at how tough it is you realize the need to apply to other states too. Not to mention you need to buy the license and plan to apply for 30 years.

Not to be a wet blanket but after 5 years of playing the tag lotteries in almost a dozen states for 5 different species and never getting a tag you begin to realize odds are odds and you need to play them, you want luck go to Vegas and let it ride.

Just some thoughts to anyone trying to pick a unit where they might actually get a tag.