If I draw an AZ elk tag
Elk
This year I might have enough non resident AZ elk points to draw an early archery tag in some units I have been wanting to hunt. I've decided that if I do draw I'm going to hire an outfitter. After putting in for so many years I want to make the most out of the tag. If I draw a tag in any of these units what are some tried and true outfitters anyone could recommend ? Early archery unit 3 A/C - 27- 7W - 5B North - 8
I'm looking for any good or bad info on outfitters that hunt these units. I've looked at the outfitter reports.
Steve Chappell guide service or HPO..... This is based upon contacts with both (not used either as an outfitter) which both were helpful and great to speak with and their past results.
I believe Ward's guides in some of those. If I draw 5BS this year, I'll be hunting with Wards.
There are lots of goods ones and some not so good. Some guys will guide in just about any unit while others will probably only guide in one or a few units. At this point it makes no sense to have five units in mind. Pick two, since that really is the likely scenario with the draw. Bull elk hunts do not make it to the third round of the draw, ever, so your third through fifth choices are just wasted ink and effort. Once you pick the two units it will be easier to narrow it down to the best guides or outfitters for your unit.
I'd never hesitate to call Jay Scott and Darr Colburn for any hunt in Arizona . If they can't help you they will recommend a top notch oufit who can. Steve Chappell is well regarded for elk. Pretty sure Duwane Adams hunts 27. He is also a great guide and very helpful person. Koury Guide Service and Sundowner Guide Service also do a lot of hunts in the 3A/3C area. For 27 I also would contact Ron Eichelberger with Ponderosa for sure. These are only a few of the names of some top quality guides. I have likely missed a bunch.
There are likely to be a ton of names thrown around but if you keep looking and do your homework and due diligence you will see a pattern or two. Go from there but keep in mind the best book early and quick!
Good Luck in the draw!
Heat, thanks for the info. I know how the AZ draw works I just put those units out there because I am not sure what units I'm putting in for. There are some units I know I can draw but even though they would be good elk hunting I'm not interested in them.
They are the ones I have a good shot at and they are some of the ones the outfitters I have talked to suggested. Hunting with an outfitter in AZ isn't cheap and I'm wanting to make the right decisions.
All the outfitters I talk to kind of say the same thing. Hoping to hear from some guys that have....been there, done that.
It will be hard NOT to have a good hunt in the places you've picked even without a guide. You've chosen your units well. Hope your dreams come true!
Yep! Steve Chapell and Duwane Adams.
Yep Steven Ward! Longtime Bowsite sponsor! Good luck!
So I guess by the comment, "Getting the most out of the tag" you mean....shoot the biggest animal.
Not how I max out a tag but if that is what you want find the outfitter that does the most scouting and has the most cameras out-which would probably be Doyle Moss
I hunted 5BN in 2012 DIY. You WILL see 330"+ bulls in that unit. I saw several that were 6x7 or 7x7's that I figured were 350+". I had 8points when I drew. Good luck with your adventure. I hope you draw! I can't wait to go backPete
save the 4plus grand go DIY no need to have your hand held in Az so many guys willing to help out on this site !! If you have money and no time to hunt then Doyle Moss is the go to guy !!
Keep in mind you hire an outfitter - but he usually sends a guide with you......
A good reputation is worth a LOT.
Louis, did we just say the same thing? I think i said it nicer- grin
So I guess by the comment, "Getting the most out of the tag" you mean....shoot the biggest animal. ...................................................................................................... No, it means I want one person from the unit I'm hunting in to know where to find some good bulls, help with calling bulls, help with getting it out if I kill one.
I have spent a lot of years trying to draw a good AZ tag and I know if I spend most of the hunt trying to figure the unit out I can't just put in and draw it again next year.
I've been DIY all my life but this time I need a little help getting to the promise land.
Good luck to you jdee. Some real good guides have been mentioned. As Heat suggested, some stand out for specific units so when you make that choice it will be easier to nail down. I would add Goose Howell of Howell Widlife outfitters especially in unit 7 or 5b north .
I'm not sure how many NR points you have but I predict this years draw odds will be skewed. This will especially affect the NR's. Due to the rule change that is likely to come down in 2016 with regard to no more than 5% of NR tags being set aside in the 20% pass. I believe many NR's, especially guys with max or near max points, are going to apply this year. They want to get in before the rule change. This will affect all NR's because more NR's will be applying this year. As a result, I think this years odds for NR's is going to be worse than the last few years in nearly all hunts(especially early hunts). Just something to think about. I have family in Nebraska that apply for middle of the road units in AZ and this is something they a keenly aware of.
As far as guides go, I can't help you there but some guys with good reputations have been mentioned already.
I hope you draw and have a memorable hunt/experience. Good Luck!
I am aware of that Knothead and I think you are right on. If things stay close to the same I should draw if not, well..........it wont be the first time I didn't draw a tag in AZ. Thanks.
I hunted with Dwayne Adams. I had a unit 1 tag but where we camped unit 27 wasn't far and there were hunters with unit 1 and 27 tags in camp. Great camp, Dwayne is fun to hunt with , I've hunted 3 times with him. His guides are top of the cream also.
I hunted with Duwane Adams in 2013 in unit 1. It was an awesome experience all the way around. As stated earlier, his camp is in unit 1 but is close to unit 27 and he will have hunters in camp hunting both units. I am like you, I have done many diy hunts and killed three respectable Bulls in Montana and Idaho..After waiting thirteen years to draw Arizona, and not having time or money to make scouting trips I researched and hired Duwane. It was the right decision. Duwanes price is very reasonable when you take into account it covers the entire 14 day season. Do yourself a favor and at least give him a call, he is very helpful even if you decide not to go with him. As far as beendare goes, this is why I don't post here much. Instead of just offering advice and positive enforcement, it seems a small minority of contributors always have to throw some negative statement in to somehow show their self proclaimed superiority .
In Dwayne's camp the guides do most of the guiding because as the name implies, that's what they do, but Dwayne tries his best to spend 1 or 2 days with each client if he can or they haven't tagged out yet.
Two solid trophies taken with Dwayne Adams
Try again, image tool wouldn't rotate picture?
One other consideration is a few outfits do have private land hunts available. This is a major differents in hunts from that on public land although I am sure a lot more expensive. Just another option.
Never have heard a bad word about Dwayne. I will be calling him. Thanks.
Nice bull gobbler.
Thanks, first day 9 am, broadside at 16 yds.
Hope you get a good one too
Here is a pic of my Unit 1 bull with Duwane jdee. Killed on day 11 after passing several 6x6's.
Great bull MW !!!
If I don't draw a tag this year I might have to move to AZ and try the res draw.
Would love to hear Beendare elaborate on his veiled comment. I think that I'd be trying to hunt for a really nice mature bull if I waited 10 or so years for a tag. Is something wrong with that? Perhaps you are hinting that you're not a fan of guided hunts.
MW, Great thirds and fifths on there! I hunted 1 in 2002 and hopefully again this year. Saw only one 7x7 bull that would equal yours. Excellent harvest.
Hunted 3A/3C a couple years ago. Did it DIY and scored the first night but I live in AZ so I had the time to scout. I believe you could do that hunt on your own but it would take some time. You are taking the right approach by trying to figure things out beforehand. Good luck and I've heard nothing but good things about both Chappel and Adams but have no first hand experience hunting with either one.
I know everyone takes some pride in being able to do a DIY hunt and be successful. That is something to be proud about. However, with it taking a decade or more to draw a tag in some areas that option is becoming more and more difficult to do.
If you could hunt an area every year after 2 or 3 years you learn the land and game movements In the area, but if you live 2000 miles away and never know where or even which state you may draw a tag in , then it's difficult at best .
Most people have a hard enough time getting off work to hunt much less time to scout 2000 miles away.
I'm not saying that an outfitter is for everyone, but for some it is a good option especially if it's in a state or area where you have never been before.
Just my opinion
Check out Exclusive Pursuits Outfitters. Guide Lee Murphy is excellent.
PM for the name of a guide mentioned above to not consider hunting with if interested.
3a 3c Daniel Franco Burnt Timber Outfitters.
I hunted 3a/3c in 2013 and booked through Steve Chapell. I have nothing but good things to say about my hunt and the guide he set me up with. Feel free to send me a pm and I would be happy to give you any info I can.
"Would love to hear Beendare elaborate on his veiled comment."
for you Alpine.
My post can more correctly interpreted as, "what is it you really want?" and its worth asking yourself this question. I do not like walking behind an outfitter with him essentially doing the hunting. I prefer to do the hunting and let the chips fall where they may.
No doubt some outfitters are better than others. My Australian guide was great letting me do the hunting [after a stern speech and signed release about the dangers] and in the vid of my WB hunt [on bowsite vids] you only know he is there 5 yds behind me when the bull starts towards me and you hear the click of his .375 rifle safety.
I know guys that had their hand held right up to the shot on some very big animals, shot them off the back of a quad with the guide driving, and many other similar 'guide did the hunting' scenarios. I think a guy just needs to decide whats important to him- a big animal at all costs....or a good hunt. UNVEILED; personally its not worth it for me to get the big animal and sacrifice the experience; Worth having that discussion with your outfitter to clarify.
I too have had a great hunt with Duwane Adams. I have been pretty much a DIY bowhunter, but I wanted to make the most of my tag. Duwane also wants you to make the most of your tag. His hunts are for the 14 day season and is less than some of the outfitters that hunt only 7 days. I took my 353 3/8 P&Y bull on the second morning. Good luck and have a great hunt.
No one is an expert in hunting multiple game species in multiple habitats.
I would challenge most flat land whitetail and turkey hunters to hunt them in the mountains of WV. It takes a while to learn how game use topography differently in the mountains versus flat land.
I've elk hunted several times but someone that lives in WY or CO that hunts every year can elk hunt circles around me.
It makes me no less of a man or a hunter to admit that. It's just the facts. On my farm after 24 years I can usually predict what deer and turkey are going to do before they do it. Sit me on a mountain in CO with an elk or deer tag and I will know basic hunting knowledge, know how to glass , know how to pay attention to wind. Know the type of habitat each tend to stay in. I might get lucky and kill something. But, I won't know which canyons the elk usually hang in, I won't know where the bucks really like to feed and bed. I won't know where game tends to go when they get some pressure . That's the kind of knowledge that a good outfitter knows and what you pay them for. Now if I could go and hunt that area for 4 or 5 years I could learn it. But when you can only draw a tag every 10 or 12 years a person can't do it.
I enjoy the adventure of a hunt, the scenery, and all the other aesthetics that you enjoy on a hunt. I also enjoy killing a good trophy animal, and I won't apologize for that. If I can only draw a tag in a given area every 10-12 years I'm going to use an outfitter to increase my chance of doing that.
First morning of my hunt with Duane Adams we had got on a bull at daylight and were working it but wind shifted and it winded is. We drove to a different trailhead and were getting ready to take off when 2 resident hunters came walking out of the area. We talked to them and said we would go somewhere else since they were there first. They said it didn't matter cause they were going somewhere else cause there weren't any elk in that area anyway. They took off, Duane kept getting ready. Of course, I asked why we were going in there after that. Duane just looked at me, winked and said "they don't know what I know". An hour later my arrow was slicing thru the lungs of my bull .
That's why I use an outfitter on a hunt like that.
Knowledge is power, Gobbler :-D
Which is why for my [first ever] elk bowhunt, I will most likely go with a guide and soak up each and every facet of the hunt itself, regardless of whether I kill a bull...'it's a bad day if we don't learn something new'
gobbler, you know how many times I've ran into hunters in the field and they ask, "see anything"?? same response every time. nope, nothing. If I can get one guy to turn away from a area im hunting, good for me. so take it with a grain of salt when someone says they didn't see a thing.
I thought that too as it's the same way here in WV, but these guys actually left the area at 8am on opening day.
In fact, I'd be keen to act as 'gopher/observer' to learn from those that have knowledge
