Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting AZ Antlerless Elk Hunt 2012

I suppose a write-up is due, I was able to accompany family and friends on their antlerless elk hunts this year in northern Arizona. We ended up with a total of 8 tags in camp, which is the largest elk camp we've ever had. I was not drawn this year but was able to get the time off to help find/skin elk for family and friends. My camera died fairly early into the hunt which was a bonehead move on my part not to charge it, so a lot of these pics are cell phone pics. Anyway, better than nothing I guess.

Here's a partial view of camp, we had a another tent and a camper set up but we were in thick enough junipers that I couldn't get a whole view. Wasn't snow on the ground like last year, but that wood stove in the wall tent sure feels good in the mornings:



The first morning I was hunting with my little brother. Here's what we spent a long time looking at:


We didn't see a single elk all morning but about 3:30pm we heard a shot that we figured was our old man. Sure enough, he got on the radio and said those oh so awesome words; "cow down." We headed for his whereabouts (I love GPS radios) and he had it gutted as we walked up. I helped him go get the truck while my little brother kept hunting.

My dad was still hunting the thick bedding areas and came up on a cow and calf grazing. Shot was broadside at about 50-60 yards, clipped the aorta above the heart. It dropped about 1/2 mile from a road but we were able to get the truck right to it. It's SOOO nice to be able to drive to them:


Skinning her back at camp:



We had her skinned, quartered, cleaned and hanging just after dark when my brother rolled up in his truck and said "You boys ain't done yet, I have a cow down too!" Him and I took a quad and my cousin and his buddy followed us in a Polaris Ranger and we followed the GPS right to his downed elk. He had seen them a few ridges over and miscalculated his sneak. Popped onto a ridge and jumped the elk he thought were still a ridge away. They ran across a ravine but he shot this one at about 200 yards. By the time he got on the tracks and found her dead it was about dark so he just headed for camp to fetch the cavalry. Here's how we found it:



I would like to take a minute to tell y'all about how awesome the Polaris Ranger is. That thing will go a lot of places and a gutted cow elk fits PERFECTLY into the bed. We used the Ranger on my elk last year and I recognized it's genius, but this year it really got a workout (hauled 4 elk) and it is definitely a sweet deal. 3 guys in the cab and a whole elk in the bed... Saves a whole lot of sweat and tears.

Anyway thanks to the Ranger we got this big old cow back in one piece and got to work. Here's my brother doing a skinning job. It's one of the bigger cow elk we've ever killed:


Over the next few days a total of 5 tags were filled. My brother in law James and his old roommate Tyler had tags but they could not get on any elk. Tyler had to leave after 4 days and I think he only saw 3 elk in 4 days. I spent the last 3 days with James trying to find him a cow but was unsuccessful. I think I only saw 5 elk in daylight hours the whole hunt and 4 of those were bulls. This particular hunt can get pretty tough compared to others, but it is still discouraging to hunt 7 days and not find a cow elk to shoot. Could have killed bulls easily, but no cows. So it goes sometimes, we'll be ready next year.

I can't complain too much, I got to be out for 7 days and I helped skin 5 elk. My sister shot a small bull the week before (I don't have pics ) so once again we're putting about 500 lbs of boneless meat in the family freezers. Good stuff. I'll leave you with some meat pics. Having meat hanging is a wonderful thing:

[img]http://i359.photobucket.com/albums/oo33/wankerjake/IMG_20121209_104130.jpg[/img]

Pile o' elk:
[img]http://i359.photobucket.com/albums/oo33/wankerjake/IMG_20121210_114006.jpg[/img]

Hope y'all have full freezers too, and good luck next year.

Good deal, looks like a fun trip. Nothing better than hunting with family.
I leave on Christmas day for New Mexico. I bought 11 hunts for my employees this year. Turns out three of them begged out of the hunts. My wife my nephew and I are happy they did Got two bull and a cow tag, guess who gets the cow tag I guess I am alright getting the cow tag since my nephew will probably never be able to go kill another bull, and the wife has never killed one. At least I get to hunt this trip last trip I was just there as a gun bearer and turret spinner.

That's a lot of meat...send burgers

I want to work for you!!!

Haha, was thinking the same thing. You hiring?

Very nice...500lbs of elk meat is a lot of good eating.

Congrats.

I want some Jacob!

and yes, those Rangers are awesome! They're great for Coues hunting too!

I'll tade you some elk for a 30 round Pmag. Think about it

Ill trade you a 30 round, for 30 pounds.

Diker meat later. What in the the world did they use to get them?

Firearm-wise? I know my dad and brother were both shooting 30-06. My dad had handloads or the 150gr Hornady SP variety. I believe my brother was using 150gr Core-Lokts. One other guy Greg was using 150gr Core-Lokts as well, 30-06. I don't know what my cousin and his friend were shooting. 300 Mags I think.

Is it hard to get a cow tag there? You can get them as a 2nd pick here.

Some tags are easier to get than others. This particular hunt is one of the easier cow tags to draw. It's later in the year and cold, it's a tougher hunt, and it's far away from Phoenix. I think draw odds for this hunt are around 50%. It was everyone's second choice, with a bull hunt being first choice.

You shoulda had your brother use the beowulf! That would have been sweet!

The Beowulf may indeed see action next year, I think this hunt will be the second choice again. It's a great brush gun, and I need to get it bloody. We still hunt the thick ass bedding areas during the day, would be perfect for that.

I have some 300gr frangible bullets I want to hit a coyote with at ~50 yards.

Congrats on a good time and some fine eats!