junior88
Well-known member
living vicariously right now
KHunter AZ archery Elk 2019
- Thread starter Khunter
- Start date
Khunter
Well-known member
it is noon here in AZ. Hiked from camp at 4:30 and returned at 11:40. We took our bows for a 9+ mile hike without seeing or hearing an elk in an area that has been covered in elk.
did see several groups of antelope in the ponderosas
last night was an elk free night as well...
9.5 more days to hunt. Not worried knowing the best is surely to come.
Also got tagged out on this Booner mylar ballooner! I challenge anybody to show me where they found a larger Mylar balloon while out hunting. I packed it out of course...
did see several groups of antelope in the ponderosas
last night was an elk free night as well...
9.5 more days to hunt. Not worried knowing the best is surely to come.
Also got tagged out on this Booner mylar ballooner! I challenge anybody to show me where they found a larger Mylar balloon while out hunting. I packed it out of course...
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Khunter
Well-known member
Khunter
Well-known member
lastnight was a bit of a bust. a new area looked great on aerials and topo maps and has good sign but no bugles heard.
wind was ripping throgh tge trees so that made it tough to hear.
reports from other hunters say little evening bugling which matches what we have seen in areas where we know we has elk.
This nice velvet buck walked by feeding at 35 yds
Back at it today, day 6
wind was ripping throgh tge trees so that made it tough to hear.
reports from other hunters say little evening bugling which matches what we have seen in areas where we know we has elk.
This nice velvet buck walked by feeding at 35 yds
Back at it today, day 6
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JColony
Active member
Good luck!!! Loving the updates!
Khunter
Well-known member
working it hard. consistent strong winds last three days have made it really hard to hear the elk so while I say bugling activity has been poor I’m also sure it’s because of the strong winds making it hard to hear.
My hunting partner has poor hearing he’s not hearing bagels unless the ball is within a couple of hundred yards so he can’t really help trying to hear the very distant bugles. He certainly more than makes up for it by having extremely sharp vision and ability to pick out elk in the trees for a long distance even without binos as we are still hunting.
Resorted to going out extra early and driving roafs to locate bagels this morning which worked out great. Hot close to la couple of bulls when we bailed out for promising sounding bugles but they weren’t big enough bulls to shoot.
The bugling is just really dropped off dramatically from 1st 2 mornings according to the many miles we are putting on our feet and in our vehicles and the other hunters we see out and about.
Tonight my partner sat water and had a spike in a spork come in and and play in the water for 10 minutes while I was roaming about trying to locate some elk. I stalked in to 80 yards of a rag and cow. while I would’ve tried to shoot that little ball the point was mood because when I saw an 80 yard someone was blowing straight from me to them ad they were calmly feeding.
Within about 60 seconds they decided they better skedaddle.
My hunting partner has poor hearing he’s not hearing bagels unless the ball is within a couple of hundred yards so he can’t really help trying to hear the very distant bugles. He certainly more than makes up for it by having extremely sharp vision and ability to pick out elk in the trees for a long distance even without binos as we are still hunting.
Resorted to going out extra early and driving roafs to locate bagels this morning which worked out great. Hot close to la couple of bulls when we bailed out for promising sounding bugles but they weren’t big enough bulls to shoot.
The bugling is just really dropped off dramatically from 1st 2 mornings according to the many miles we are putting on our feet and in our vehicles and the other hunters we see out and about.
Tonight my partner sat water and had a spike in a spork come in and and play in the water for 10 minutes while I was roaming about trying to locate some elk. I stalked in to 80 yards of a rag and cow. while I would’ve tried to shoot that little ball the point was mood because when I saw an 80 yard someone was blowing straight from me to them ad they were calmly feeding.
Within about 60 seconds they decided they better skedaddle.
fishing4sanity
Well-known member
Looks like you should consider swapping your elk and balloon tags for deer and antelope. Good luck and keep the updates coming!
noharleyyet
Well-known member
Khunter's as it happens accounts always make me feel like such a slacker....good stuff
Khunter
Well-known member
This morning we again left camp at 4:15 and listened for bugles along some sorry 2 tracks till we heard one.
The nearby bugle evaporated as fast as we committed to jumping out after it at first light but, still with roaring winds ongoing, I could just barely make out a bugle in the distance.
With sun coming up we headed that way....
m
Lots of Mullein herbs sprouting in burned areas
A framed picture on Lonnie my hunt oartner I can give to his wife perhaps.
The nearby bugle evaporated as fast as we committed to jumping out after it at first light but, still with roaring winds ongoing, I could just barely make out a bugle in the distance.
With sun coming up we headed that way....
m
Lots of Mullein herbs sprouting in burned areas
A framed picture on Lonnie my hunt oartner I can give to his wife perhaps.
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Khunter
Well-known member
time out for laundry.
And resupply on Hostess Donettes.
As prostaff for HD they drop ship super fresh products to a place nearest my hunting camps.
And resupply on Hostess Donettes.
As prostaff for HD they drop ship super fresh products to a place nearest my hunting camps.
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Khunter
Well-known member
This morning’s listen at spots along the road lead to close encounter on a 5 pt I did not want to arrow. Started with bugles we could just barely hear from a long ways in heavy wind to bull responding to us quickly once we got in closer which was fun and a big change in the bugling activity we have been seeing. Promising!! If it keeps up.
Khunter
Well-known member
Sept 20, evening of our 8th out of a 14 day season, after a brief break from all-day hunts mid day to do laundry and reload on Hostess Donettes nearby, we chose a new spot an hour south from camp that is walk in only “quiet area”.
Side story about laundry: Our days start at 3:50 wake up and end between 9 and 10 pm. Some days we get some napping some days not. This was a “not” day as we did laundry. During laundry I walked into the propped open shower room for my own wash and got an eyeful I should not have and may take awhile to recover from. I said apologies and turned around to see a door labelled “Cowboys” that was not in my sight line so I had no idea I was headed to “Cowgirls”.
Yikes! And one of the two big dudes hanging outside the laundry was surely the husband. Heck the wife could probably keel me over on her own. Man those washers are too slow when you need them to be fast! Five min later she came out and nobody got their ass whooped. Instead they invited me to their RV for a late dinner and drinks. (Ok all true except last sentence)
What a great choice for evening hunt. Nice flat wooded parks sloping to twisty canyons. Previously we has hunted the south rim of the canyons with some luck even when bugling was super weak and this time we drove in to north rim country with higher hopes. We were pretty beat tired but motivated. Saw few vehicles along the border of the area but had seen a two trucks parked on the edge of this area about a half a mile or so from where we decided to walk in.
At 5 pm with 2 hours hunting light remaining , about 600 yards from the truck we heard the lousiest hunter-created bugles up hill and toward the other trucks. flutey flute flute went one bugle after another.
We stood there scratching our heads when the scratchy screechy bugle sounded closer and more real. As fast as I could say that’s a bull and he’s coming our way! And Lonnie could say we gotta get in cover, the lead cow was dropping into out little park 65 yards away and the herd behind them. They were on a path to pass by within 30 or so yards. Pretty sure the lead cow saw our tentative and then stopped motion as we froze. she stared us down with cows and spikes stacking up behind her.
Cow lead the herd and +\- 320 herd bull away from us. the bull appeared briefly at 72 yards. The herd stacked up again and started feeding on thick cover hillside. We could see glimpses. Figuring they were in tight enough to challenge and get an aggressive response from the bull Lonnie bugled and I gave a couple cow calls.
Response was not what we hoped..The bull quickly pushing herd another couple hundred yards away where again they stacked up and seemed to feed a bit. We tried to keep marginal wind in our favor paralleling the herd but failed pretty quick....end of that opportunity.
We had more elk encounters that evening. Will post later....very busy waiting for elk to light up this evening with action to fill our remaining tag or is it both tags....
Baby buck fleeing from 10 feet not 4 minutes ago. He walked right to us from 200 yds and devoured acorns off a an oak...
Side story about laundry: Our days start at 3:50 wake up and end between 9 and 10 pm. Some days we get some napping some days not. This was a “not” day as we did laundry. During laundry I walked into the propped open shower room for my own wash and got an eyeful I should not have and may take awhile to recover from. I said apologies and turned around to see a door labelled “Cowboys” that was not in my sight line so I had no idea I was headed to “Cowgirls”.
Yikes! And one of the two big dudes hanging outside the laundry was surely the husband. Heck the wife could probably keel me over on her own. Man those washers are too slow when you need them to be fast! Five min later she came out and nobody got their ass whooped. Instead they invited me to their RV for a late dinner and drinks. (Ok all true except last sentence)
What a great choice for evening hunt. Nice flat wooded parks sloping to twisty canyons. Previously we has hunted the south rim of the canyons with some luck even when bugling was super weak and this time we drove in to north rim country with higher hopes. We were pretty beat tired but motivated. Saw few vehicles along the border of the area but had seen a two trucks parked on the edge of this area about a half a mile or so from where we decided to walk in.
At 5 pm with 2 hours hunting light remaining , about 600 yards from the truck we heard the lousiest hunter-created bugles up hill and toward the other trucks. flutey flute flute went one bugle after another.
We stood there scratching our heads when the scratchy screechy bugle sounded closer and more real. As fast as I could say that’s a bull and he’s coming our way! And Lonnie could say we gotta get in cover, the lead cow was dropping into out little park 65 yards away and the herd behind them. They were on a path to pass by within 30 or so yards. Pretty sure the lead cow saw our tentative and then stopped motion as we froze. she stared us down with cows and spikes stacking up behind her.
Cow lead the herd and +\- 320 herd bull away from us. the bull appeared briefly at 72 yards. The herd stacked up again and started feeding on thick cover hillside. We could see glimpses. Figuring they were in tight enough to challenge and get an aggressive response from the bull Lonnie bugled and I gave a couple cow calls.
Response was not what we hoped..The bull quickly pushing herd another couple hundred yards away where again they stacked up and seemed to feed a bit. We tried to keep marginal wind in our favor paralleling the herd but failed pretty quick....end of that opportunity.
We had more elk encounters that evening. Will post later....very busy waiting for elk to light up this evening with action to fill our remaining tag or is it both tags....
Baby buck fleeing from 10 feet not 4 minutes ago. He walked right to us from 200 yds and devoured acorns off a an oak...
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dirtclod Az.
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jan 24, 2018
- Messages
- 2,776
Mormon Lake? Look out in the middle of the lake,last time I was there the lake was full of Elk.
Deer eating acorns off a bush...An Acorn Bush? Ha!,Ha! Keep at it you are in a great area!
Deer eating acorns off a bush...An Acorn Bush? Ha!,Ha! Keep at it you are in a great area!
Khunter
Well-known member
Mormon Lake? Look out in the middle of the lake,last time I was there the lake was full of Elk.
Deer eating acorns off a bush...An Acorn Bush? Ha!,Ha! Keep at it you are in a great area!
botany expert? whatever.
everybody knows there’s elk n morman lake and park. a few crazy guys actually kill them out there in the middle of nothing bu head hogh grass and muck. several this year already...not my kind of hunt.
teej89
Well-known member
Botany expert
You always hear the phrase, “acorn doesn’t fall far from the.... bush”
Man threads like this make me think I gotta take more pictures. We get too wrapped up in the hunt when the day ends I’m like damn we didn’t log a single photo.
cmbbulldog
Active member
- Joined
- Aug 24, 2017
- Messages
- 117
Great write up Kirby, keep at it!
Summitthunting
Well-known member
Hopefully radio silence means good things.
Khunter
Well-known member
Daily start with prehunt prepped breakfast burritos. 15th in a row for these.
Todays version freshly fried in Bear lard from UT spring bear...at the usual 3:45 am.
Todays version freshly fried in Bear lard from UT spring bear...at the usual 3:45 am.
