B
BrianC
Guest
It's been 12 years of waiting and not being drawn for anything but FINALLY got a tag for 9 Bull. Even bigger surprise, my wife also drew one for 9 Bull as well, after waiting the same amount of time, so we get to hunt together, which is great because we would have gone together anyway. A friend of mine told me about this web site only a couple days ago and recommended it to me and said there are a lot of folks with more knowledge than me here and they are very helpful. I read the post by Mike111 and found it very good so thought I might ask for info as well.
What I have going for me is close access (live in Flagstaff) and lots of time available so I will be doing lots of scouting. I DIY hunted the unit one time before (12 years ago) and shot a small 6x6 that's a trophy for me, mostly because of the white patch across its face. I actually didn't learn much of the area on that hunt as my time was much more restricted then and mostly what I learned was that nearly every water hole I found had a blind or cameras on it before I got there.
What works against me is two knee surgeries that have substantially reduced my ability to walk long distances and my wife has a major back issue that involves titanium rods and screws BUT we are both healed now, as well as we'll ever be, and can still get out there, just much slower than before. Also, we ONLY hunt by walking in, only using a vehicle to get to our hunt area jumping off point from camp if we can't camp close enough and we don't even own an ATV because we would never use it.
What we're looking for is some ideas for a few decent areas to walk in on to scout in that are far enough from roads that we won't get disturbed, but not miles and miles in. Figuring out what the elk are doing, finding our own good trails and ambush spots and just having a chance at a good elk are our criteria for a good hunt, not necessarily getting the biggest bull in the unit. We want to DIY and not hire a guide, mostly because we always have. I figure this might be be the last time we can ever hunt this unit so thank you in advance for any help that is offered and if you have any info you want to share I would truly appreciate it. Emails or PM's would be appreciated.
What I have going for me is close access (live in Flagstaff) and lots of time available so I will be doing lots of scouting. I DIY hunted the unit one time before (12 years ago) and shot a small 6x6 that's a trophy for me, mostly because of the white patch across its face. I actually didn't learn much of the area on that hunt as my time was much more restricted then and mostly what I learned was that nearly every water hole I found had a blind or cameras on it before I got there.
What works against me is two knee surgeries that have substantially reduced my ability to walk long distances and my wife has a major back issue that involves titanium rods and screws BUT we are both healed now, as well as we'll ever be, and can still get out there, just much slower than before. Also, we ONLY hunt by walking in, only using a vehicle to get to our hunt area jumping off point from camp if we can't camp close enough and we don't even own an ATV because we would never use it.
What we're looking for is some ideas for a few decent areas to walk in on to scout in that are far enough from roads that we won't get disturbed, but not miles and miles in. Figuring out what the elk are doing, finding our own good trails and ambush spots and just having a chance at a good elk are our criteria for a good hunt, not necessarily getting the biggest bull in the unit. We want to DIY and not hire a guide, mostly because we always have. I figure this might be be the last time we can ever hunt this unit so thank you in advance for any help that is offered and if you have any info you want to share I would truly appreciate it. Emails or PM's would be appreciated.
