AZ elk advice in flat/roaded country

[mdbrown]

Ok i have some questions about hunting elk in flat and places with quite a few roads {i drew az 5bs} but it could be anywhere . most of my elk hunting has been in steep mostly lodgepole country with minimal roads.since i will be hunting AZ early archery this year its going to be totally different type of hunt for me. first where do the elk go when they are pressured in country like that? from the looks on the map they arent going to get very far from us elk chasers. second in this semi flat ponderosa forrests does the wind usully stay honest?
{unlike steep lodgepole country} with a high bull to cow ratio 30/100 does it make the bulls easy to cow call in? what about herd bulls? i hunted a great unit in WY and it was tough to call anything but satelites in because the big bulls had all of the cows they needed and there was constant harassment from the satelites in open country , it was tough. Larry

 

[Deerlove]

If there are no vantage pts you might have to hunt more with your ears. Find water sleep outside maybe bivy and chase bugles.

 

[ducksbucksandbulls]

>If there are no vantage pts
>you might have to hunt
>more with your ears.
>Find water sleep outside maybe
>bivy and chase bugles.


Scout at night with you ears works great too.
Listen to them rutting at night. Lots more action.
good luck...

 

[AZWALKER]

I've hunted Elk in both Arizona and Wyoming. To me its like night and day. Elk behavior is the same but the country is so different. Here in AZ you will be concentrating alot more on water. Here, we don't have those big areas of deadfall and dark timber. The closest thing you find to dark timber here is big stands of heavy Cedar. And yes they do bed in them. You may not hear any bugling during the day at all. Especially on warm days, which are common. The nice thing about AZ(depending on the unit) is that the Elk seem to be alot more visible. Just because the timber isn't near as thick. I know in Wyoming I had bulls screaming 20 yds. away and I never even saw a tan hair. I think you will like hunting here. Locate Elk at night and get close during the day.

"The deadliest weapon in the world is a Marine and his rifle." General John J. "Black Jack" Pershing, US Army
"Most men go through life wondering if they made a difference, Marines don't have that problem." President Ronald Regan

 

[muleymaniac]

LAST EDITED ON Apr-06-11 AT 07:52AM (MST)[p]LAST EDITED ON Apr-06-11 AT 07:50?AM (MST)

believe me it's not all flat land - some of the "Hills" are good sized and they do have dense timber on the north sides - which elk prefer to bed on -

I've yet to find a hill which didnt have elk beds -

there are draws / canyons in most units -

hunting the flats is a challenge as the junipers/cedars are usually dense. the elk can bed anywhere -

often after feeding/buglin in the meadows - they head for any cover- and will actually bed down just off the meadows if not pressured '

On your way to 5b - take time to stop at Morman lake bed - Normally there shpould be 500- 800 elk on the 1 mile lake bed ! out inthe wide open! all day - allnight for a couple months.

spot and stalk mornings and afternoons - evenings find me at a waterhole ! mm

 

[AZWALKER]

Also, the wind does the exact same thing here.



"The deadliest weapon in the world is a Marine and his rifle." General John J. "Black Jack" Pershing, US Army
"Most men go through life wondering if they made a difference, Marines don't have that problem." President Ronald Regan

 

[glacial21]

I've hunted both AZ and WY too. There's no question the terrain was completely different and the number or roads in AZ was crazy.

Even though there were roads everywhere, the elk were still around. They just got bounced around a lot. I was told that they were "used to" the roads and the traffic and would not dissapear into some hell-hole, and that's exactly what I witnessed in 14 days in AZ last year. The roads did not seem to affect the elk. Another note about the roads: at least in the area I hunted, the latest maps did not show nearly all of them.

The thick vegetation down on the flats was a big challenge to me. When the bulls were bugling it was pretty easy to get within 50-70 yards, but getting a clear shot before being spotted by one of the herd was a big challenge. It was a blast getting in close on big bulls nearly every day, but did get frustrating.

I'll second the part about being out there in the dark. Those first 2 hours before daylight were critical to having a good morning for me last year. I found that the elk got quiet by 9AM and did not pick up activity at all until dark. I felt a lot of pressure to succeed in the morning because the rest of the day was hot and quiet. From what I heard and saw, shooting one in the afternoon takes a massive stroke of luck. That part was quite different than my experiences in more northern places (WY, ID, CO, northern NM, and SD).

 

[CraigS]

LAST EDITED ON Apr-08-11 AT 06:58AM (MST)[p]LAST EDITED ON Apr-08-11 AT 06:56?AM (MST)

Scout from a far... Stay off roads during the early morning & late evening. Either sit a tank or glass from a vantage point. You can even glass the thick stuff, lots of big antlers will move around in that stuff before you see them in the meadows.

I like to try & let everything be natural as I can while scouting. Find sign before the hunt, fresh wallows(trail cams, if you use them), tracks, rubs (fresh rubs)& it never hurts to drive around after dark & listen. Get up early & listen as the rut approaches...

Around Sunday-Monday of the rut hunts you might see a slow in the action & it's probably because the elk have crossed paths & smelled 300-500 NEW predators in their house. 5BS doesn't have a great bull to cow ratio, more than likely the rut will be dull until mid-way through the first week. Once all the small bulls catch onto what's happening, the bugling should pick up. Don't be fooled the big boyz will start searching early & a lot of breeding takes place when it is SILENT!

It's two weeks of HARD hunting, but the real work is DONE prior to the season. Scout your ARSE off & hunt HARD!!!