Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting 2022 AZ Elk Success

Well another very busy year. We did luck into some elk tags and we filled them, our hearts and freezers are full! I don't have the energy for full writeups these days so this will have to suffice.

My buddy Casey and I drew archery bull tags in Arizona. Very lucky draw for us. I held out for a larger elk and was unable to bag one. Casey has already killed a big ass bull with his bow so he wasn't picky. The rut was slow to start and we finally got a travel pattern down that was short lived but on day 6 we set up in a route and Casey thumped a 5x5, made a great shot at 56 yards, 4-blade Slick Trick Magnums crushed this bull:


Had a very awesome time on this hunt. I hunted all 14 days and had some close calls on some pretty good bulls and passed a couple small six points on day 3. Here's me passing the sleeping small 6x7 bull I walked up on. Passed his buddy too, he was about the same size. Pic is 50 yards from the bull, he's asleep:


Had some great times with Casey and my brother and my buddy Al from NY and my dad and my buddy Mike that I grew up with. Hunting bull elk with a bow during the rut is freaking great. I must do it again



The last hour of the last day I was able to make it happen. Got into a herd and a big 330+ bull was running the show, keeping his cows bunched up and moving every other bull along. Al and Casey were finally able to pull a satellite close enough for a shot. 59 yards and the shot felt good but we couldn't find the arrow or any blood. So we looked around before dark and then it got dark and Casey had to get back to Tucson and I had to work the next day. I was sure I hit him, the guys were not convinced but Al went out to look the next day and I knocked off early at work to help. I was on my way when Al said he found him. He was only 350 yards from the shot, I hit him a little back in the liver, but he'd hooked hard left and there was no blood. Arrow passed through him and we never found it. I was sure the meat would be bad so I was actually upset but we got him cut up and actually saved most of it. I lost a decent amount of the hind end around the femurs but his backstraps and fronts and half his hinds were good. Al forced me to take pictures and then forced me to smile. I was not in the mood thinking he'd be rotten. So happy we got him:


Italian sausage:


This was my first archery elk and man what a thrill it is hunting this animal this time of year. Amazing. Hope I get to do it again. Al and I were happy as hell he wasn't rotten: