Ar Unit 1 early archery breakdown
Elk
Keeping positive thoughts of drawing a tag (16 NR points) I’m continuing to research the best area to focus my hunt. Worst case I’ll be discouraged when draw results come out & have an extra year to study & scout.
While not an official statistic (more based on experience & opinion) I’m attempting to identify the area(s) that have the “lowest number of hunters per 350 class bull”. Probably the same thing everybody strives to find.
If you think this sounds ridiculous feel free to laugh; I wouldn’t blame you. It’s simply the result of too much thinking about a once in a lifetime hunt that one has been anticipating for 15 years.
In an effort to break down the unit I describe the following general areas:
1)Mideast – Escudilla Wilderness / Loco Knoll area
2)Midwest - Big Lake / Mt Baldy Wilderness / Pole Knoll, Burro Mtn area
3)Northwest – Greens Peak, San Juan Mtns, Saint Peters Dome
4)Central – west of Nutrioso / Milligan Valley area
5)Southwest tip – Centerfire Creek / Kettle Holes area
I plan to scout in some manner prior to the season and am researching areas to hunt in a variety of avenues.
Would very much appreciate any advice from folks who archery hunted unit 1 in recent years - general areas to check and/or avoid for various reasons. Feel free to PM me with any experience you prefer not to make public. I hope to be able to return the favor by sharing my post hunt experience / knowledge with those who have helped me, along with some homemade black raspberry jelly.
I’m a simple, honest family man looking to enjoy some of nature’s finest hunting. My long time elk hunting buddy (only person I know w/16 NR points) is not able to go this fall due to work…my preference is to share this hunt (or at least camp) with someone in a similar situation. Able to offer some of the amenities for a good camp. Would also give my wife piece of mind if I don’t go solo.
Thanks in advance for any words of wisdom & good luck in the draw.
You mean AZ. AR is Arkansas.
You are way behind when outfitters like MB have hundreds of trail cams looking for bulls. MB killed two 350 bulls across the hwy from where I spent most of my time. I had it circled but never made it there.
If 350 is your goal I would spend a lot of time looking. The problem is that it takes time to drive to a spot, time to get in there, and time to spot the bulls. Without a lot of days, you'll never cover all the potential spots.
I had a guy speed past me on his quad one day as I was going out a ridge to look over some remote area. I will look that area up and send it to you. It's the steepest deepest country I saw. Centerfire is real popular and not a spot I would go back too myself.
Bob how long ago did u hunt this unit .
I hunted there in '12 and my experience matches Bob's when I spent quite a bit of time over in that area.
It seems to me that locating a 350+ bull in one is only 1/4 the battle.....
...fending off the other 20 guys that know he is there is the bulk of it. Unfortunately its the same story in many of those Az units
If anyone needs help in Arkansas unit 3 for elk I'll be glad to help. my son got a nice one there this year!
I hunted AZ 1 in 12 with a friend. I saw a lot of bulls but we only hunted one day. PM me and I will look for my map to reconstruct where we were. We passed 9 bulls 6 pt or bigger the first day and we did not see a bull until 8:30 in the morning. I was expecting a slow start with a great finish but the first day was the best day of hunting I ever had. I was told it went downhill after the first couple days. In 12 there was a lot of barley ( I think ) the was planted due to the earlier fires. Seemed like it fattened the elk and maybe brought them off of Fort Apache, but I assume that is now longer there.
Thanks for the note glunker. Sure the burn area continues to change each year since the burn. Will need to learn what areas have changed since last year.
Thanks again for the note.
Contact me. I lived in the Unit for a month. I can help. This bull was broadside at 20 yards and I passed. Drawing a Unit 1 Arizona archery elk tag is the same as dying and going to Heaven.
deserve2bworked Judging racks while adrenaline flowing will be tough, a challenge I hope to be faced with a few times. Is the first bull 320-330? Anxious to hear how the month went. Sent PM. Thanks for the offer & pics.
Hi all, Looks like I'll be in Unit 1 this Fall....card hit & unit 1 was my only choice. No better motivation to hit the weights & bike. Now starting to narrow down the particular area to focus my hunt and order Topo's. May be talking to a few of you soon and look forward to sharing my post hunt stories (and hopefully a picture). Good luck to you all this fall.
Congrats to you! Hope you have a blast.
A few summertime bulls that end up in unit 1. Good Luck
Thanks for the pics Fred. The anticipation is now entering my dreams...last night I dreamt I took my boy squirrel hunting and we ended up finding a Matthews dealer (in the middle of the woods no less) that had the new NoCam on sale for $690.
If I have half the hunt most people describe I'll be elated. Really just looking forward to spending a couple weeks in beautiful country with bugling bulls, a couple encounters with a 350 would be bonus.
Talking to you all, seeing pics, are gonna make it difficult to think about anything else the next 5 months....but guess I waited 15 years for this feeling so should enjoy it.
Thanks again,
A NoCam for 690 would have woken me up instantly, because I would have been reaching for the credit card my wife does not know about. A couple of words of advice on location either fall in love with spot and stay there through the bad days or stay mobile. Also, if you see a guide and he tells you he has seen a giant somewhere and you should go after it, stay right where you are. I took this pic in October
Yes, I'm upgrading from a Z7 Matthews and $690 is about $300 low for the NoCam. I too would have jumped at that price.
Thanks for the advice, my current thought / research is to identify a "base camp" location (may still drive to various locations within some radius of camp). If I select base camp wisely then stick with that general area in order to obtain better knowledge of that terrain, elk travel, etc. vs. trying to go from, say the SW part of the unit to the NE part of the unit. But may have a backup plan just in case aliens abduct all the bulls around base camp.
Just be careful the camp grounds become camp cities.
So I get off the exercise bike, take a shower & start to settle down for the evening, flip on Outdoor Channel and they're archery hunting Arizona (didn't say what unit) and of course took a nice bull. So now full of adrenaline....gonna be a long 5 months!!!
Got tag today, guess I'm really going...still hard to believe it. Plans coming together, can never prepare too much though.
Short break for Turkey season then back to full time Elk planning.
Best of luck to you all,
2012 unit 1 bull ....did not see another hunter but did see a couple bigger bulls
Wow! Thanks for the picture Mike-TN, he has everything. I think I'm going to print that out as my new inspiration of what can happen with lots of hard work and, in may case, a fair dose of luck.
At the risk of embarrassing myself what did he score...370ish?
That makes me feel very happy with my choice of Unit 1. If I have half as good experience of what everyone says I'm in for a memorable hunt.
Thanks again,
Five months??? Think of it more in terms as being nineteen weeks, give or take....
Barty1970, You know 19 weeks doesn't sound very far away when I look at my TO DO list...agree 5 months sound like forever away. Once I decide between Mathews No Cam or Hoyt Nitrum I'll be getting closer. Both seem like good bows.
Take care,
Mike-TN I never get tired of seeing that Bull.
My fly fishing partner sent me this pic from the White Mountains about 7:30 this morning(Sunday) --- close to 6 inches on the ground since 7 p.m. last night ...
