Arizona unit 27

[Tcole75]

I'm planning a trip this October with 3 buddies to go for otc bear. We plan to pack in a few miles. We are planning to hunt around hannagan meadows or the blue range primitive area. Ive been e scouting and from the satellite images it doesn't seem like there's much water in these areas. Can anyone confirm that there's water there. I'd rather not pack in several miles to find no water. One of the guys is an arizona native but never had the chance to hunt the unit. He just said it was extremely rugged. Any tips or recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Buckshotaz]

when are you planning to hunt?

 

[Tcole75]

October 9th to the 17th

 

[Feugomonkey]

Extremely rugged. The springs should be good if we get good monsoons. Haven’t had any winter moisture to speak of.

 

[fmyth]

Wife and I camped by Big Lake this summer and drove the RZR to Sprucedale Ranch and then on to Hannigans Meadow. We saw a large herd of Rocky Moutain Big Horns drinking from Beaver Creek that runs through the ranch and onto public. Also saw Big Horn and deer drinking from the Black River in 27. We passed a awesome looking meadow with water about 5 miles north of the 191hwy. Didn't cross over the 191 Hwy so have no idea what's there. Plenty of water holes and a couple streams/rivers in 27. I'd buy a Flatline Map. I have OnX but always buy a hard copy of any AZ unit I draw at Flatlinemaps.com. You should be prepared for the possibility of snow in October. Sunrise Ski Park is only about 20 miles from the Unit 1 and Unit 27 border. Lots of snow and some roads get closed and are not maintained in the winter. I live and hunt in AZ and don't know anyone that packs in to camp and hunt. Hard to get more than a couple miles from a road here. Most hunters camp in the unit and use UTV's trucks to get from camp to hunting spots.

 

[Tcole75]

Thank you for the info the guys im going with are deadset on hiking in a few miles and setting up camp id rather try several spots and find signs then dedicate the whole trip to a spot with possibly no bears.

 

[slick trick]

I would skip out on the hiking in a few miles first thing unless you have a bear nailed down to a water source- second that's the fall they will be on the move feeding for winter- we are talking about 20 square mile block.. you can't out hike a bear. Also on the west side of the blue you won't find many places that you can't walk a mile without hitting a road. And dog season will be open too. Best bet you have is to get in the Blue and glass- and not be tied down to one spot. Glass and glass and glass then when your done glass some more. Water is not easy to find in the Blue except along the river. Don't be afraid to hunt low down along the river- I have seen many a bear come down in the mornings and late evenings coming to the river to drink then heading back up into the nasty crap.

 

[Prestjd]

Any luck ?