AZ - Scouting for my elk hunt.

[NelsErik]

I have a late cow tag in AZ Unit 23 and went up this weekend to try to figure out where I want to be. The elk should have come down the mountain by then.

I drove up this weekend to scout out a few possible spots. I have never seen it this wet up there! I was told to try to find a saddle on a hill between a meadow and a watering hole and sit above it where I can hit them from above as they go from the meadow to the watering hole. I doubt this will work. Standing water is everywhere and grass is too. I have never hunted elk before in this type of terrain and this late in the season (12/6 - 12/12). All the books that I read talk about an earlier hunt, usually during the rut. Any words of wisdom? It doesn't seem like hunting the path to the waterhole will work.

We did see tons of mule deer including some really big bucks and a couple coues deer on the back side of Roosevelt. We also saw probably 50+ turkeys off of FR 411.

My savage lightweight hunter in .30-06 that I bought specifically for this hunt just went back to Savage. Somehow I managed to break off a claw on the bolt. I ended up with a Browning A-Bolt in .300 WSM with a Leupold VX-3L 4.5-14X50mm with Talley rings.

 

[NelsErik]

I wasn't going to post this video because I was a little disappointed in my nephew (kid filming the video) and his brother for their behavior. Generally I don't condone people chasing game, especially in season, but I wanted to show how many turkeys we saw.

Scouting elk... errr turkey.

 

[Blue Brick]

Keep the updates coming....

 

[Lennyjoe]

For the late season hunt you'll want to work the wintering areas, including heavy cover. After being pressured from black powder, bow and early hunts, they will stay in heavy cover during the day and most likely feed at night. Water holes are nice to hunt by depending on the weather and drought conditions. It doesn't sound like that's an issue there with all the water you see.

Seems like all of the late hunts we did, we found the elk in very heavy cover. Find waterholes in heavy timber, away from roads and work those areas. They worked for us...

I'm sure you already read the hunt unit reports for that area on AZDNR website right? If not:

The late bull hunt in November and December will have the bulls pushed into remote often rugged areas of the Unit. These areas include Armer Mountain, the south slopes of Naegelin Rim, Christopher Mountain, Horse Mountain, and the Mogollon Rim.

Scouting for the later hunts should wait until elk begin their seasonal shifts, which occur after the weather changes and things cool down significantly. There will be areas where elk are common in September, but are absent in December.

 

[NelsErik]

Thanks Lennyjoe! The problem I am having is that by looking at the maps it appears that almost every section of Unit 23 has a forest road going through it.

I will probably end up starting out opening day looking at one of the south faces of the Naegelin Rim, probably in an area burned by the Poco fire. I can't decide if I want to be walking uphill or not in the morning or the opposite. The wind is very hard to figure out in this area.

If you want to know about a particular area in 23 let me know. If it is in the northern half I have probably been there recently. I still can't believe how wet it is up there, green grass everywhere!

 

[Lennyjoe]

Not sure the burn area is going to be the ticket for a decent bull. Since it is lacking adequate cover, it may be a waste of time hunting that area. We've noticed that pressured animals find tight cover during the day and feed at night. We've seen most of the bulls and majority of the cows at water right around sun up and then again towards evening. They bed down in the heavy cover during the day.

Best bet is to beat the brush and see if you can pattern them closer to the hunt. Maybe get with the local Forest Service crews and see if they have any insight on where they winter.

Best part about the hunt is trying to out smart the big guys. Enjoy the hunt. I'm about 80% out of elk meat and didn't get drawn this year. Took a rag horn out of 5B last year the day after I got within 60 yds of a 5x6 before he spooked and disappeared like Houdini without even giving me a chance to lift the rifle.

Oh well, maybe next year. I'll live the hunt through those of you that did get drawn. Enjoy!

 

[NelsErik]

I only have a cow tag, I'm trying to fill the freezer, the wall is already filled.

I was thinking about trying the burned area because it has one of the main chutes that lead down from the Naegelin Rim to the pasture below. In the burn area the grasses and other new growth are really out and will probably still be out in December. Along the edges of the burn is pretty dense cover and several watering holes. A lot of the burned area is on the south slope too. Do you think this is still a bad idea?

I will have to go find some watering holes in the wooded areas in the northeast of 23 otherwise.

 

[Lennyjoe]

They may feed on the grasses in the cover of darkness and retire to the dense cover and water during the day. Its worth a look.

 

[NelsErik]

Here is what I ended up with for this years hunting season.

Browing A-Bolt RMEF Hunter in .300 WSM with a Leupold VX-3L 4.5-15x50mm with Talley lightweight rings. This is pretty far from what I originally wanted. I had bought a Savage 11 Lightweight Hunter in .30-06 and a Leupold VX-2 3-9x33mm. The Savage had a broken extractor claw after 3 shots and I couldn't get it apart to fix it, it was all jammed up.

The Browning shoots pretty awesome for a hunting rifle but my dad says it looks like a circus prop with the big 50mm objective. He does like to shoot with it though...

The gun could use a little higher weld, does anyone know a good way to increase that? I figured with the Talley low rings that I used it would be fine, but it could be better.

 

[sixgunner455]

"Temporary" comb raise fix, no stock surgery, cheap = foam and duct tape, or athletic self-stick wrap. Experiment until satisfied. Upside, it's easy and anybody with opposing thumbs can make it work. Downside, looks a bit odd, even ugly.

Non-permanent, minimal expense, and less ugly = Voodoo Tactical (or similar) cheek rest with ammo carrier. $20 or so. Uses nylon straps around the stock.

Permanent, minimal change to stock = take a piece of wood, shave to shape, put a couple of dowels in it and drill corresponding holes in stock (said it was permanent). Glue in place when satisfied, finish new comb riser to match original stock. Can look very nice, or very amateurish depending on your woodworking skills.

Permanent, minimal changes to stock = DIP cheek riser (piece of kydex attached by two bolts through the stock sideways). Personally, I would only do this to a Tupperware stock.

Permanent, major stock surgery = cut the stock comb off in a square "U" shape, add bolts between the now removed comb and the remaining stock. You now have an adjustable comb.

 

[NelsErik]

By the way, I am coming from benchrest shooting to the hunting world, which is why I had to buy a rifle this year. I have hunted in the past, although I have never owned a rifle just for hunting. I will probably leave the stock alone, but wish I could could carry a 21 pound rifle around with me hunting, which I can't.

 

[sixgunner455]

Well, you *could*, but you probably wouldn't enjoy the experience much.

 

[Lennyjoe]

Heck, my Savage 110 30-06 gets heavy after about 5 hours of walking and glassing. I couldn't fathom carrying a 21 lb rifle along....

 

[NelsErik]

Especially after looking at the land that I am going to have to walk through to check out the tanks on Christopher Mountain! That area looks good and I am going to try to check it out this weekend. It doesn't look there is a good way to get there, and since I don't have 4WD, it looks like I am either taking my horse and using the fire roads or walking straight up hill through the thick stuff.

Do you know anything about the tanks on Christopher Mountain? It looks like there are at least three and maybe five of them up there. The land looks steep and the growth very dense.

 

[Lennyjoe]

By looking at the topo, Christopher Mountain is just south of 260 by Sharps Creek Campground right? I haven't been in that area to be honest. We hunt more North up by Mormon Lake. Unit 5 B mostly.

 

[NelsErik]

Yes, it is just south of the 260 is one of the most remote areas with the very tough terrain. All my sources keep leading me back to here. I think I can get in during hunting season, but I'm not sure I can get an elk out. I don't have an ATV or anything like that. We do have horses, but none of them like the smell of blood, I learned that the hard way! By landing on my head!