Arizona 7W Bull Potential

[wannakillabigbull]

All,

I drew AZ 7W late rifle and have never hunted there. I read stuff here and there about size of bulls. Some say this and some say that. Anyone who's hunted there that could give me a reasonable expectation of what size bull I should shoot vs pass up? For reference I'm from western CO and have never had a hunt that took more than one point to draw, and have taken one small 6x6 that scores in the 220s. To me a 300 bull is a whopper. But at the same time I don't want to shoot a 250 bull first few days of the hunt if 330 bulls are common. Thanks for the help!

Cody

 

[A-con]

Can I ask how many points it took ?
Check your private messages.

 

[RJH]

I hunted 7w 3 years ago and there are many bulls pushing past 350, it borders unit 9 and I believe 10 (premier elk units) 7w is a very choice unit that I apply for every year. You can hunt the tall pines to the pinons - all hold big elk. Start scouting now, find water, set up cameras and enjoy the adventure. And before you ask, NO I did not fill my archery tag but had a great time and saw lots of big bulls.
R

 

[wannakillabigbull]

I drew with 2 points, but as a resident. I'm from western CO but moved here for work a year and a half ago. It's pretty crazy the size of these bulls. In Colorado it takes so long to draw a tag in a unit with bulls that big on public. That being said I have no expectation of a big one, just hope to hunt hard and have an opportunity. I already have a full week and a half off scheduled for this hunt.

Luckily my wife is gone for 15 days in April to visit family so I'll get at minimum two weekends to head up and get to know the area this coming month. My father is visiting for July 4th so I'll head up then as well with him, see what he thinks. And unit 7 is open for OTC archery deer for late August and early September so I might as well hunt that area; use it to continue to locate good elk country and figure out where the hunters like to be. Looks like it's going to be a fun year.

RJH- thanks for the water advice. I'm not used to hunting such dry areas so focusing on water is new to me. I'll get to work on that and get those water sources marked on a map. Thanks for the advice everyone! Any help at all is certainly appreciated!

Cody

 

[Lv2hnt]

Finding a 300 (or better) bull is definitely doable on your hunt, but know that a lot of them will be broken some by then. Best to concentrate on getting to know the lay of the land, FS roads, and water sources. It'll be easy to get distracted seeing live elk on your earlier scouting trips --- don't count on seeing the bulls in December where you see them in the spring or summer.

It's only a 1-week hunt, so hunt accordingly! Get up there several days before your hunt begins to reacquaint yourself w/ what the elk are doing right then. That being said, an archery bull hunt is taking place the 2 weeks immediately prior to your rifle hunt --- give those hunters the respect you'd like to have if you had their tag! One good thing > the cow hunt doesn't start until the day after your hunt is over.

Best of luck to you!

 

[junior88]

Apply for the 7W rifle tag. A lot of permits available. Use that as an advanced scouting trip. That hunt takes place late October thru early November.

 

[MikeMaland]

Hopefully you'll be changing your handle to killedabigbull. I put in for and struck out in the draw on the late 7W tag. Keep us posted and goodluck!

 

[wannakillabigbull]

Lv2hnt I agree 100% with you. I had checked all the dates for additional hunts in the unit prior to applying, so yep those late archery guys will have the two weeks before me. I definitely will give them the space to finish up their hunt. I'm planning on taking off the day before the season to locate the elk, but maybe I can convince the wife and the boss to give me two days off before the hunt.

Junior88 a friend of mine suggested the same thing, the only issue being that's right when OTC Colorado elk is going on and I'm planning on taking a week to do that. If only they move the unit 7 deer dates a little this season to accommodate me.....

Thanks guys! Can't wait to head up and start finding good elk country.

 

[HighDesertSage]

How'd your hunt go?

 

[wannakillabigbull]

PM sent with more details. Saw a couple 350+ bulls but they were 1180 yards away. The locals said it was one of the toughest years in there with no snow and relatively warm temps. The bulls were less active than usual. Most other hunters I talked to were visibly frustrated by the lack of elk they were seeing.

 

[Desertdeer]

I know this is an old thread but my dad and I drew 7w late this year. Any advice on where to begin the scouting would be much appreciated. We have plenty of time to scout and learn the area but would love to hear from anyone who can help. I am new to this site but really enjoy the content.

 

[RJH]

Take a look at my previous post regarding water - the last two years the water has been good and the Arizona Elk Society has fixed many of the water catchments so that should not be an issue. In 7W you can literally see big bulls on Kendrick mnt all the way out to Daves Tank and everywhere in between. This is one of my favorite units - it does take time to learn though.
Good luck

 

[Desertdeer]

Just trying to keep this thread alive. Im scouting the unit right now heading toward bull basin this evening. Mostly just trying to learn the roads now. Any advice is appreciated

 

[ShootsManyBullets]

You could be hunting in a foot of snow or it could be 55. Last year they got dumped with snow and a lot of roads were closed as a result. The year before there was a bunch of snow too which makes getting around difficult.
Learning your way around is half the battle so mark some spots and be ready to move until you get into the elk. There's plenty of hunters and outfitters in there so the elk will move all over the place. I'd have some high spots for good weather and some lower spots if you're not able to get up high.
Pretty big area with lots of road hunters. It's Arizona so you'll see lots of ATV/UTV traffic too.

 

[Desertdeer]

Thanks. We have a few more trips planned before the hunt starts after Thanksgiving. Its only a 4 hour trip from my home in Southern utah.

 

[rustednuts]

Where you see elk today is where they won’t be for the late season. I’d save your time and come back a week before the hunt.

 

[RJH]

Sorry for the delay, Bull Basin is called that for a reason - kdo not forget to turn around and glass Kendrick - there will be elk there throughout the season. Also, there are elk throughout the junipers and I would check out the Hobbles now and when your hunt starts.

 

[AZgamefinders]

In my experience 7W can be tricky in the late season. If you get a chance at a younger bull think twice before passing. Like these pictured

 

[Desertdeer]

Thanks guys. I'll probably be back here asking more questions all the way through. We are definitely looking for opportunity over trophy on this one. My dad and who is 66 needs to kill his first bull!

 

[Desertdeer]

Hey guys wanted to thank you for your advice and help. This hunt was a grind. Frustrating and rewarding at the same time. We had some fun and hunted hard. Overall if I am maybe 50-50 on whether or not I would apply for this tag again. We had enough success to keep our hopes up til the end and enough frustration to maybe avoid this hunt in the future. Thats probably right where you should be at the end of a late season elk hunt. Thanks guys