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Arizona 6a archery

My Dad and I have drawn 6A bull tags this year and are new to this unit. This will be his last Elk hunt and I want to make it a good one. I have some friends that live in the area so I am not going in blind. However I would like some input from any Bowsiters as to things to AVOID in this unit. If you want to PM me feel free, I know this is a large unit with alot of tags so any info on the subject would be great. Cant wait to get back to AZ. For you stat guys we drew tags 14 and 15 putting in for 8 first and 6a second with 8 points as NRs

Be prepared to be in the field with the almost 800 other tags and each hunters 2 buddies for a total of 2400 guys in 6a. I had the tag in 2011 and I ended up killing a 320" 6x but I had to be very versatile and constantly move from the crowds. I personally like the southern portion but so does 400 other hunters. If it stays dry look for a good waterholes and sit it. If it's wet look to run and gun and chase bugles or simply sitting a good used trail works good.

Pretty much what ruthunter said. A friend of mine has the same tag so I'll be one of the tagalongs. This coming fall has a big question mark on it because we have been so dry lately. It was 91 degrees in town yesterday. All we can hope for is a good strong monsoon season.

Ditto what the other said! I helped a buddy the entire two weeks in 2011 and there were plenty of elk, but also lots of competition. If I was going to hunt it again, I'd find the most remote part of the unit as possible and do a packin to try and get away from people. We camped and hunted up behind Mary Lake in the ne part of the unit and it was just too easy for a lot of people to go in and out every day on the main NF 2 track to access the edge of the unit on quads and then walk on in to hunt. If that road is now shut off under the new rules that area would be fantastic, but not if it's still open to vehicles.

Shedhead, Thought I would chime in on your thread to keep it going. I too drew a Unit 6A archery Bull Elk tag. I've just started my research and it looks like what we new when we applied. Lot of elk, lot of tags, a lot of hunters, and more hunters helpers, lots of roads, lots of quads, lots of pressure. Now that we have that, places we should avoid? Tips on tactics? Should we consider a tree stand or ground blind for the first week of the season? Bowsite, please help if you can. Thanks And, Shedhead, congrats on the tag for you and Dad! Going to be fun no matter what.

I'm personally a fan of tree stands for elk but blinds can work also. Make sure you lock your stands. In 2011 I had my stand stolen and any camera you think is hidden in 6a will be found. 6a west will seem like a walmart black Friday sale and Mormon lake, stone man lake will have the highest concentration of hunters. Unfortunately every Tom dick and Harry will be using cow calls so the elk will adjust and tend to rut at nite. Best advice is get away from the roads.

Was looking at a map and haven't done a lot of research but it looked like their are only a few roads on the south end and 1 or two on the north that are closed. That would take the feeder trails out of bounds too I would assume. Like I said I have to do a little more lookin into these closures. From my previous az experiences I didn't think their was a suare mile of ground that didn't have a road running through it. Imo 3 miles cross country on foot on that ground is a cake walk and consider that inbounds for 80% of the people. I might be wrong and be giving people more credit then they deserve. A friend was at a waterhole last year that had 14 cameras at it and they were all unlocked. Talk about the opportunity for someone to go shopping! As far as the number of tags, if you add up the land area of 6b,5bn and 5bs it is about the same as 6a and the tags are nearly the same. We are really looking forward to the experience and challenge!

Don't get hung up on where the roads are and aren't cause the elk don't. If your in 6a and you are not seeing other hunters while actually hunting you are probably in the right spot. Be prepared for the group of antis running around on quads firing automatic weapons. They are there. South end seems better for numbers and I would check out clear creek. It's not for the faint so the majority of hunters will not be there. Good luck! Post up here when your done.

+1 Mountain sheep. The damn antis/hippies are getting to be a HUGE problem in AZ. It doesn't even matter what unit really any more. 2 years ago on my deer hunt they were in the mountains thick. They were shouting, blowing air horns, shooting pistols, shooting semi auto rifles, and raising hell. I was able to still fill my tag (with a little 2x3) somehow. Once I got back to camp I was swarmed with them calling me a murderer and a lot of other things. It was very hard for me to control my anger. I was smart, and I played it cool, and I didn't let them get a rise out of me. I pretended that they weren't even there, and just went about my business. I called G&F and they never responded. They were handling something else at the time that was more important. I wonder how much trouble I'd get in for thumping someone with a blunt? Hehe. J/K.

There is a law in Arizona that makes it illegal to harass a hunter. However, you would obviously need to have them respond. Everyone should have the local wildlife manager for that unit on speed dial though, to try to get these people penalized so they will stop. Write down their license numbers, etc. and report them.

Thanks Mt Sheep, will check it out. On the Anti's, Christ feels so sorry for such losers of "Life". No productive actions in their feeble lives. They don't build bridges, they tear them down. Bulls are bugling out in the meadows at dawn, and all they can think off is making noise to scare them off. Such a pathetic group. Almost feel sorry for them. Almost.

If you don't have 14 days to hunt then I would recommend the second week. I have been fortunate to have 3 bull tags for 6a in the last 6 years and each time capitalized in the last 5 days of the hunt. During the last few days most of the hunters and their "helpers" are gone and the rutt activity isn't as suppressed during the day. During the first 2 days the elk will be heading into the drainages and canyons like water going down a drain. The elk hunting in this unit has been on a steady decline over the last few years. It is not the same hunt it was 10 years ago, but it is still pretty good. Be positive, have patience with the other tag holders(smile and wave), and persevere.

Is it a hard tag to drew for a Non Resident?

Takes around 7 or 8 points now for 6A.

I got my bull in 2011 on day 12 of 14. Hard tag to get plan to hunt all 14 days. No other hunters around the last few days and the elk know it! Good luck and have fun! C

My non res buddy drew it this year with 4 points

and with 4 points as a resident I didn't get drawn in 6a, bull 1st choice, cow 2nd choice. shedhead, pm sent.

With so many tags issued for this unit, how do they maintain such a large population of elk?

"With so many tags issued for this unit, how do they maintain such a large population of elk?"

There are plenty of cows giving birth every year to more than replenish the number of animals that are being taken in 6A.

I disagree, there are 2975 elk tags issued in 6a this year. the elk population has been declining in 6a for years. g/f is pounding this unit into submission. I spend a great time of the year working up in that area. I've talked to the ranchers up there who also say the numbers are down. I've hunted 6a for 20 years. also, would love to see g/f move the jr hunt to different units every year.

The numbers may well be declining, but we were into decent numbers 13 of the 14 days in 2011, so they can't be hurting too bad. Hopefully if they go below the carrying capacity of the unit the G&F will be smart enough to cut back the tags.

I agree with azarchery. I think poor recruitment along with substantial cow/calf pressure is the main contributing factor to our current low elk numbers in 6A. It's obvious that the Game and Fish is getting substantial pressure to maintain low elk numbers in 6A. I don't think that the current cattle grazing best management practices support a large elk population. That along with the number of car accidents involving elk on I-17 and Lake Mary road. I miss the days of driving down Schnebly hill road and counting 100+ elk on any late summer afternoon or seeing 2000 elk in the Mormon Lake bed. Now your lucky to see 1 elk on that drive down Schnebly. Not to be negative but all you see now are all these people tear assing around on side-by-sides, but that's a whole other subject. There are still areas with large pockets of elk, but they will get hammered in the first few days of the hunt. I like to focus on the areas with little elk sign in the beginning of the hunt. They get overlooked by the bulk of the tag holders. The elk will key into these areas once the hunting pressure is on.

Regarding being harassed by Hunter laws in Arizona. I Don't know about Arizona, but here in Alaska in order to have Wardens do anything about being harassed they require photo or video evidence. The 2 hunts that I was harassed by antis, when I finally got out of the mountains and called fish and game, both times they asked I f I had photos or video because with out those there was nothing they could do. Kind of hard to do back when this happened and I was 6-7000 feet up in elevation, and 8-10 miles from a road.

You might want to contact Arizona wardens and find out if they require photo/video evidence.

These days it is much easier to get photos and video with things like go pros, trail cameras and cell phone cameras.

Hope you Don't run into any of those loonies out there.!

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