Elk 4B North Early Bull Tag

[nripepi]

Hi all,

Any advice on the 4B North Early early Bull Tag? I put my 12-year old son and I both in for this hunt as Epic Outdoors said it was a new hunt (1st week of August) and that you could hunt on the Forest. Well, I got hit for $650 so either one of us drew it and he could shoot my bull if I transfer him the tag, but you can't hunt on the Forest according the regulations!

If anyone knows anything about this hunt off of the Forest, I am all ears, PMs work. Once it is confirmed, I will start making some calls.

Still looking forward to the hunt, but it is a game changer for us that we can't hunt the forest. Totally makes sense to me why it is off forest as they want to shoot the elk down low, but Epic had it wrong and I never read the regs before applying.

Thanks!

 

[CactusPepper]

From what I'm reading you can hunt the whole unit. Usually it says (Restricted Access see note...) next to your unit number in the regs if some places are off limits. It should be an awesome hunt. Congrats.

 

[OutdoorWriter]

Hi all,

Any advice on the 4B North Early early Bull Tag? I put my 12-year old son and I both in for this hunt as Epic Outdoors said it was a new hunt (1st week of August) and that you could hunt on the Forest. Well, I got hit for $650 so either one of us drew it and he could shoot my bull if I transfer him the tag, but you can't hunt on the Forest according the regulations!

If anyone knows anything about this hunt off of the Forest, I am all ears, PMs work. Once it is confirmed, I will start making some calls.

Still looking forward to the hunt, but it is a game changer for us that we can't hunt the forest. Totally makes sense to me why it is off forest as they want to shoot the elk down low, but Epic had it wrong and I never read the regs before applying.

Thanks!

It sounds like the hunt you won is the Limited Opportunity one -- #3070. Still could be a good one, though.

 

[nripepi]

From what I'm reading you can hunt the whole unit. Usually it says (Restricted Access see note...) next to your unit number in the regs if some places are off limits. It should be an awesome hunt. Congrats.

Thank you for the confidence! I am definitely excited, but if you read through to the end of the regulations it gives a description of the unit as follows:

"4B North Hunt Unit - That portion of Unit 4B that lies north of the Apache Sitgreaves National Forest boundary"

I think Epic might have done the same thing and assumed it was the whole unit.

 

[nripepi]

It sounds like the hunt you won is the Limited Opportunity one -- #3070. Still could be a good one, though.

Correct, that is the one and I understand now why that is outside of the forest service area. Will be really strange hunting elk in those temperatures in early August.

 

[OutdoorWriter]

Correct, that is the one and I understand now why that is outside of the forest service area. Will be really strange hunting elk in those temperatures in early August.

The good news: at least there will only be 9 others in the field with you.

It will no doubt be quite hot, kind of like antelope season. The hardest part of the hunt might be getting the meat cooled before it spoils. That could be a bit more difficult with a much bigger bull elk.

I don't know that area at all, so I can't be much help in that regard. Hopefully someone else here who knows about the area outside the NF will pitch in.

Good luck.

 

[yotebuster17]

I saw that in their description and thought “someone is gonna burn points on that and be PISSED!” If you’re after a big bull I would hire someone that can be there and scout it and point guard it if they don’t find one. If you just want a bull that shouldn’t be a problem. They’ll be in the farmland around dry lake. There’s some tweakers in those little ranchette areas up there so watch out.

 

[chipc]

Call Daniel Franco at Burnt Timber Outfitters. He lives there and knows that country like the back of his hand. Great guy and outstanding hunter.

 

[CouesFanatic]

It's not a unit wide tag. It's designated North. If you hire a guide you are wasting a lot of money on this hunt. It's a hunt that the Game and Fish are trying to eliminate or severely reduce the elk herd in the northern part of the unit. They did this with 7E a few years ago and several other units have the same thing. It's in the limited opportunity hunt for a reason. I'd get out there in the summer and find the bulls. Finding bulls in the summer is easy. There isn't a ton of elk that far north so I'd be on your scouting game and kill one opening morning.

 

[chipc]

Obviously from his post the OP understands that its an off the forest hunt - not unit wide. The area north of the National Forest is about 20 miles wide by 40 miles North / south. In other words 800 sq miles. As you noted this is a limited opportunity hunt. Its open grasslands mixed with Junipers. I would argue that "finding the bulls is easy". The Elk population is low and widely scattered. From the $650 charge I take it that the OP is a non - resident and will have his 12 year old son with him. This scenario screams "hire a guide!!" Franco is up there scouting for deer often. He knows that country and he knows his sh*t.

 

[nripepi]

Thanks to all for chiming in, I really appreciate it and did not expect much of a response for this tag! I will send you all a PM, thanks again. My son is the one that ended up drawing, it should be more fun!

 

[DanMan]

Call Daniel Franco at Burnt Timber Outfitters. He lives there and knows that country like the back of his hand. Great guy and outstanding

If you book with Daniel your odds of getting the best available bull will skyrocket.
Besides that he is a very pleasant guy to spend time with. It'd be a no brainer for me.

 

[CouesFanatic]

It's no secret where the elk are usually. Do some googling, or just read this thread.

If you can't find elk in their summer pattern, you might as well quit hunting elk. Seems like every person on here recommending guides talks about how hard it is to find elk. Who cares if its dry or wet from the monsoon? If you like to hunt, go hunt it.

Unfortunately a lot of people have lost the point of the hunt. Half the fun is the summer scouting, camping, shooting coyotes, glassing for bulls, checking tanks, getting your gear/vehicle/gun ready, studying maps, taking the family on a truck/quad/utv ride, talking to ranchers/fellow hunters etc. Paying a guide takes most the fun and accomplishment out of the equation. This isn't a high quality bull hunt.

Id suggest coming 3 days early with your son and have a great time learning the country and shooting a bull. This isn't the hunt to drop money for a guide.

 

[money]

It's not a unit wide tag. It's designated North. If you hire a guide you are wasting a lot of money on this hunt. It's a hunt that the Game and Fish are trying to eliminate or severely reduce the elk herd in the northern part of the unit. They did this with 7E a few years ago and several other units have the same thing. It's in the limited opportunity hunt for a reason. I'd get out there in the summer and find the bulls. Finding bulls in the summer is easy. There isn't a ton of elk that far north so I'd be on your scouting game and kill one opening morning.

that hunt is right in the middle of the Arizona monsoon season. finding elk will not be "easy". it is flat enough out there and should be wet enough that finding elk will take work. We have areas we hunt out north that have elk all over them during the rut but have absolutely zero elk during the summer. There are some good bulls out there and if you can afford an outfitter Daniel Franco is 1000% the best option for that unit. he doesn't typically guide in 4b due to guiding in other units but with it being early in the year he may be able to do it. you could possibly even ask him if he'd do a scouting package or something for you. his knowledge and info is rock solid. if you know how to hunt his info may be all you need because his info is legit.

 

[Zona]

I drew a Leftover 4A north antlerless hunt a few years ago. It was very dry. I had a good map. Ended up tagging one on the first day I hunted. It probably wont be dry when you hunt. I'd take my bugle tube and do some night bugling around terrain features that look like they'd hold bulls. If it was me I'd contact gameplannermaps.com . He will talk to you about a map if you want to go DIY. https://gameplannermaps.com/

 

[yotebuster17]

I drew a Leftover 4A north antlerless hunt a few years ago. It was very dry. I had a good map. Ended up tagging one on the first day I hunted. It probably wont be dry when you hunt. I'd take my bugle tube and do some night bugling around terrain features that look like they'd hold bulls. If it was me I'd contact gameplannermaps.com . He will talk to you about a map if you want to go DIY. https://gameplannermaps.com/

His hunt is in late July. I don’t think they’ll be doing much bugling.

 

[Zona]

His hunt is in late July. I don’t think they’ll be doing much bugling.

You're right; they're not going to be bugling much. I would not expect to bugle in a bull on that hunt. However, If your hunting a limited opportunity tag, what do you have to lose? It's doesn't hurt to throw out some late night locator bugles in open country like that. I'm not a stranger to that part of my state. AZ bulls bugle in August. I've heard bugles May - December and it's almost always bulls bugling at each other. It only takes one reply to make it a hunt!

 

[ArizonaBuild]

I believe those 4B North hunts used to be for north of the Hutch Ranch Road. Going all the way to the Apache Sitgreaves boundary opens up some pretty good areas. I think it will be a fun hunt! My wife just got a cow over there on a management hunt and there were no shortage of elk. Good luck!

 

[Zona]

Also, You're likely hunting bulls in velvet. Velvet bone doesn't care for thick bush.