Arizona Unit 10 Late Rifle

CareyJAF50

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Is the Arizona unit 10 late rifle hunt as mega shitty as I keep reading around about, or are those probably just road hunters? I drew it this year and when I started researching, thats almost all I've been reading. Was hoping there were dudes on here that actually get off the road that could simply tell me otherwise for a tiny bit of reassurance haha. Thanks!
 
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Carey, are you by chance also on CouesWhitetail's forums? Their elk forum is probably frequented by the highest number of serious AZ elk hunters. You may be more likely to get quick replies if you post there? Just a thought. Lots of guys on there with years of AZ experience
 
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CareyJAF50

CareyJAF50

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Carey, are you by chance also on CouesWhitetail's forums? Their elk forum is probably frequented by the highest number of serious AZ elk hunters. You may be more likely to get quick replies if you post there? Just a thought. Lots of guys on there with years of AZ experience

Copy, I am not, but I'll check that out. Was just curious if anyone on here knew. I've already got tons of intel from my father in law who conveniently is a game manager in that region, but I keep reading dudes saying your stupid if you pass a 280 but on that hunt. I guess I didn't wanna believe it. hahaha. Thanks bro.
 

ahlgringo

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I got off the road alot in unit 10 3 years ago. Also got sick as a dog and barely made it out. The time I was able to hunt though- slim pickins. I am sure there are good bulls in there- but I never found em.


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WRO

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Carey, are you by chance also on CouesWhitetail's forums? Their elk forum is probably frequented by the highest number of serious AZ elk hunters. You may be more likely to get quick replies if you post there? Just a thought. Lots of guys on there with years of AZ experience
I have several friends who hunt az as non residents.. they all say that as a rule, the Arizona resident elk hunters aren't the varsity team of elk hunters..
 

RoJo

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I wouldn't paint all AZ resident elk hunters with the same broad brush. Like everywhere else, there are a bunch that aren't so serious, but plenty who are, and know what they are doing.

I have not hunted 10 on the late hunt, but it is my understanding it is a tough hunt. I helped a buddy and his son on the early rifle hunt a few years ago. They hunted the Big Bo, and while there weren't a lot of elk running around they both knocked down some nice ones (350-ish?). I suspect that for the late hunts, many of the elk will have taken refuge in places like Cataract Canyon. Good luck, I imagine you'll get out of it what you put into it.
 

RoJo

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BTW, the hunt success rate for the late bull hunt in unit 10 last year was 38%. That is actually 2 points higher than 6A which has the largest elk population.
 

Jd259

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I'm not sure what time of the year your hunt is but I hunted the otc archery deer tag in unit 10 in early December a couple years ago and I saw several stud bulls in there my hunt overlapped the cow hunt and everyone I talked to couldn't find any cows but somehow I found more cows and bulls in the unit than I did bucks by a long shot I would be stoked if I were you to have that tag plenty of nice bulls in there for sure imo...
 

eagle#eyes

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There are a lot of road hunters in that unit with a lot of tags and cold weather. The further off the roads you are willing to go the better you will be. I have gone 3/3 the last 3 years in 10 for elk, 2 early rifle cow tags and last year an archery bull, so I haven't chased elk during your hunt but have been out there during the archery deer. I have 2 separate friends hunting elk this year in 10, one in October and the other on the cow hunt in December and would be happy to let you know any info I can pass on, just keep spreading the rumor that it was terrible though.
 
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I have several friends who hunt az as non residents.. they all say that as a rule, the Arizona resident elk hunters aren't the varsity team of elk hunters..

I would agree with that statement as a whole, but like many states there's a big difference between the average guys and the serious guys. Many of the serious guys frequent that forum and I'm sure would know the quality of elk in that unit.
 
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CareyJAF50

CareyJAF50

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I wouldn't paint all AZ resident elk hunters with the same broad brush. Like everywhere else, there are a bunch that aren't so serious, but plenty who are, and know what they are doing.

I have not hunted 10 on the late hunt, but it is my understanding it is a tough hunt. I helped a buddy and his son on the early rifle hunt a few years ago. They hunted the Big Bo, and while there weren't a lot of elk running around they both knocked down some nice ones (350-ish?). I suspect that for the late hunts, many of the elk will have taken refuge in places like Cataract Canyon. Good luck, I imagine you'll get out of it what you put into it.

Thank man, I have the most intel on Big Bo and some on the Williams side as well, so I have options. Im going to head over there a few time before the hunt as well as getting there early to try and locate. They did knock the late tags down by 100 this year which is encouraging. Im going into it with a goal of 300+ish bull, and just hoping something bigger makes a mistake. I will be going ball to the wall to be as successful as I can. I appreciate the reponse!
 
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CareyJAF50

CareyJAF50

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There are a lot of road hunters in that unit with a lot of tags and cold weather. The further off the roads you are willing to go the better you will be. I have gone 3/3 the last 3 years in 10 for elk, 2 early rifle cow tags and last year an archery bull, so I haven't chased elk during your hunt but have been out there during the archery deer. I have 2 separate friends hunting elk this year in 10, one in October and the other on the cow hunt in December and would be happy to let you know any info I can pass on, just keep spreading the rumor that it was terrible though.

Haha thanks man, I will be doing that! Im will to go as far as I need to find em, so we'll see what happens. Good luck to your buddies as well and congrats on your success!
 
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CareyJAF50

CareyJAF50

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I'm not sure what time of the year your hunt is but I hunted the otc archery deer tag in unit 10 in early December a couple years ago and I saw several stud bulls in there my hunt overlapped the cow hunt and everyone I talked to couldn't find any cows but somehow I found more cows and bulls in the unit than I did bucks by a long shot I would be stoked if I were you to have that tag plenty of nice bulls in there for sure imo...

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CareyJAF50

CareyJAF50

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I got off the road alot in unit 10 3 years ago. Also got sick as a dog and barely made it out. The time I was able to hunt though- slim pickins. I am sure there are good bulls in there- but I never found em.


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Damn that sucks man, sorry to hear that. What types of bulls were you seeing? Im not after giants, just a nice respectable bull.
 

Beendare

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Carey,
You may not know it but a huge portion of unit 10 is accessed by a private land easement that is horseback or on foot only. Nobody driving around in there. There are roots(roads siri roads!) the come in from the other side.

Fwiw, I've I've been in unit 10 but never during the late rifle season. I can tell you the best strategy is going to be getting up high and glassing a lot of country because those big bulls at that time a year don't move around much and you're going to have to get up high to spot them- doable in that unit.
 
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CareyJAF50

CareyJAF50

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Carey,
You may not know it but a huge portion of unit 10 is accessed by a private land easement that is horseback or on foot only. Nobody driving around in there. There are roots(roads siri roads!) the come in from the other side.

Fwiw, I've I've been in unit 10 but never during the late rifle season. I can tell you the best strategy is going to be getting up high and glassing a lot of country because those big bulls at that time a year don't move around much and you're going to have to get up high to spot them- doable in that unit.

Copy, are you referring to Big Bo and the other big private ranches that allow paid access or are these easements something else?
 
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Is the Arizona unit 10 late rifle hunt as mega shitty as I keep reading around about, or are those probably just road hunters? I drew it this year and when I started researching, thats almost all I've been reading. Was hoping there were dudes on here that actually get off the road that could simply tell me otherwise for a tiny bit of reassurance haha. Thanks!
Looks like you and I will be sharing the same trails this December. I am planning a few scouting trips. I can let you know what I find.

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1signguy

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Oct 6, 2016
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Unit 10 is close to us and we love the country there. Unfortunately there are lots of dirt bag road hunters (I am not saying all road hunters are dirt bags...) on four wheelers and UTV's who litter and leave elk carcasses right on the side of the road or in the middle of an existing campsite... The good news is that you can base right from where you park and hike into more inaccessible areas and find good elk. The best thing you can do is get on OnX and Google Earth and start finding likely areas to hold elk- which are places as far off the beaten track as possible. When you get there glass.

As for size- There are certainly 300 plus bulls in there but with all of the traffic the unit sees all year they are pretty educated and by December in deep country.
 
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Looks like you and I will be sharing the same trails this December. I am planning a few scouting trips. I can let you know what I find.

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Scouted the area last week. Saw lots of dear and antelope, but only fresh signs of elk. It rained a few times which gave use a lot of new tracks to follow. They didnt seem to move around a lot during the day, but obviously move around a bunch at night. A lot of roads are closed which made us a little more at ease as the map shows roads going everywhere.

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BuzzH

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I had some good intel when I had the tag several years ago. But, with most of the AZ late hunts, its all about staying engaged in the hunt for the full 7 days, scouting prior to the season if you can, and having realistic expectations.

I stayed out every single hour of every day I hunted (got mine on the evening of day 4).

The thing that kept me motivated is there are bulls there, and big ones, its just a matter of 2 things:

1. Finding them.

2. Getting them killed.

Sometimes you find them, but killing them can be another whole can of worms. Sometimes, you just cant turn them up.

I could have killed at least one bull 3 of the 4 days I hunted. Fortunately, I found one that was better than what I expected to get and was able to get him killed as well.

I will say, that in general, these late tags are NOT easy....as in, there isn't an elk around every juniper bush.

The good thing, IMO, you just lay it all out there for 7 days, do what you can, and have some fun along the way. If things go right, you may get a bull out of the deal.

AZ_Elk%20056.jpg
 
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