elkaholic22

So five weeks ago i went on a junior elk hunt in unit 6a az. We drove in on the 17 from phoenix arizona and on the way up 5 miles from our campsite we saw a herd of about 20 elk. We set up camp and woke up at 4:30 the next morning. We drove to the pine grove quiet area and started hiking around. We were hearing bugling elk everywhere but it was questionable if they were elk or hunters so we kept hiking and came across no elk. so we decided to go in pursuit of one of the supposed elk. we hiked about a mile towards a bugle that we had constantly heard and we came across a giant 6x6 elk. Only about 70 yards away. It was just absolutely screaming. it was one of the most beautiful animals i had ever seen. The only problem was we had a cow tag and this bull had no cows. So we watched it for a few more minutes until it ran off. then we headed off in the direction of another bugling elk. we found it too but it was much smaller and was heading off pretty quickly and he didn't have any cows either! We were soo frustrated that we started heading back to the car. on the way back we got a little mixed up in the pine as you can imagine everything looks the same. so we headed in the direct opposite direction as our car. on this little adventure, we found the exact same heard of elk we had seen the night before. we were now in pursuit of these elk and we couldn't get off a shot. we followed these elk for about an eighth of a mile and finally got a shot off. my son dropped the elk with an amazingly lucky spine shot. We had to then pack it out on a sled for 5 miles. it was very difficult. we got it to the car all gutted and tagged and we took it to the butcher. anyways i was wondering if cow elk won't venture into certain lands that bulls will. we didn't see any hunters witch was odd and both the bulls we saw were satellite bulls so we were kinda confused and like what the heck are we in the wrong place? please let me know your opinions on this anything will help. thank you

Muley Hunter

I can only guess, because I haven't seen the bulls. If they were satellite bulls. They won't have any cows of their own. They want them, but will get run off by the herd bulls.

Plus, 5 weeks ago the rut was pretty much over. The herd bulls have bred, and gone off on their own. The cows have done the same.

The satellite bulls you saw are looking for romance, but won't find it.

To see what you're expecting. You need to hunt archery, muzzleloader, or at the latest 1st rifle seasons.

elkaholic22

Thanks for the advice, It will for sure help on next years hunt. hopefully we draw. But yeah that explains a lot. this gives me more confidence in the area we were hunting in.

genesis27:3

Ya I agree with muley hunter. Those smaller bulls usually hang out in their own little herd because the bigger bulls keep them away from the cows. But once the rut is over Elk will all start to mix together and form bigger herds and usually stay in big herds through the winter, so if you can get a depredation tag between October and January they are usually pretty easy to fill.