Elk in 7W

maddogpt · Feb 4, 2008

I am new to hunting in Az. How is the elk hunting in 7W. How many years do you think it will take to draw an Non- resisdent archery elk tag. My buddy has 80 acres out there and I have hunted deer once. I saw a few cow elk is all.Any info would help
Thanks

ClarkW · Feb 5, 2008

No ryme or reason when drawing in AZ. You just never know how long it will take, but that is one of the units with better draw odds so sounds like the right choice to try.

need4x4 · Feb 5, 2008

LAST EDITED ON Feb-05-08 AT 06:27PM (MST)[p]You could draw soon or it could take years.

Are you going to go rifle or bow?

Either way, you need to have a very good idea as you go into the season. In the rifle season, the bulls go underground after the first days shooting. And you need to be ready to shoot when you have a chance. They are not going to stand around.

After that first day, it is difficult. I have been a helper on one rifle hunt and had a tag one year. I believe you really need to know what you are doing and have a plan.

Logan

PS Saw you are archery. It is weather dependent. I was there this last year and they did not break loose into full on rut during the season, so it was a situation that you had cows around every good bull to sound the alarm, but bulls were not coming to calls. So, it was a tester.

ar4000 · Feb 5, 2008

Yeah, I agree with Logan...I have had two archery cow tags and got zero.

BTW Logan do you need a 4x4 truck or deer?

azcouesandelk · Feb 5, 2008

7W can be a very tough hunt but a very rewarding hunt. Like it has been stated this past season it was hot and windy and the bulls were not rutting like they should have been. I was lucky enough to draw an archery bull tag with only 4 bp's. With AZ there is no telling what can or will happen. If you are applying for archery cow I would say you have a really good chance but if you are applying for bull look for a 7 plus year wait most likely.

Here is the bull I harvested out of 7W on the 8th day of the hunt.

m1fan · Feb 9, 2008

I hunted it about 6 yrs ago. I camped close to 64 and saw a bunch on the west side of the unit for 2 consecutive days before opener. Come opener they were gone. I was hoping some of those unit 10 bulls would cross the road...

Overall, it is a good unit and the landscape is great.

MEANTTOBBUCK · Feb 10, 2008

I have hunted this unit on a general rifle tag four times. Logan is absolutely right regarding the opening day. I have tagged only one bull. I had a jerk purposely race by with a little white truck to spook the biggest bull that I had a chance at. Missed one in about a 40 mile an hour crosswind. This year settled with a raghorn with one antler coming out of it's forehead. It is like most of the units around there, they all have good bulls.