I was curious if anyone has been out to Arizona to hunt predators. In specific i am interested in huntig the San Carlos Indian reservation. Lots of yotes ,fox and bobcat. Mountian lions are abundant also but the guide fees are a bit steep. I was just wondering if anyone went unguided and what your experience was?

Check with these guys: LINK

Two of the admins hunted it recently. They can give you all the info you need.

I hunt around the prescott national forest and Yavapai national forest unguided all the time. If you atleast know the basics of varminting and good survival skills you could hunt on your own without any problems just besure to have a survival kit that deffinately has a good first aid kit and a snake bite kit also have a good supply of drinking water and some food incase you have to spend a night or two in the bush just to be prepared for the worst, for example a buddy and I were hunting the low lands last weekend and it began to rain not thinking about it on our way out yarber wash was flooding and there was no way to cross it untill the rain settled some so we ended up spending the night waiting for the flood water to slow enough to cross.

Heres a list of the possibles it would be wise to have with you:

1:A map of the area you are in and a good compass ( i prefer a lensatic compass) and binoculars
2: A first aid kit and a snake bite kit
3:atleast 2 gallons of bottled water per day you plan to stay in the bush
4: A few day supply of canned food or MRE's and salt and pepper
5: A whistle and glow sticks and some water proof matches ( during the dry season its not recommended and some places its illegal to make a camp fire). In that case have a propane stove and a propane space heater for heat sources but just keep matches anyway just incase.
6:A cell phone, 2 way radio and or weather radio, GPS some form of communication is always a plus. and you may want to stay up on the weather.
7: flash light and extra batteries
8: some form of shelter, tarp, tent, camper, camper shell, etc.
9: sleeping bag, blankets, bed roll, change of clothes, rain suit and a good parka or over coat. it might be warm during the day but night time can get very chilly.
10: a basic tool kit, hatchet, axe , hand saw, hammer never know when one of those may come in handy it also can be wise to have a chain saw.

those are some of the basics i keep in my truck some may think its to much but I like to be prepared for anything. Anything else you would add or think would be important you should have with you also. good luck and always have fun

where in illinois are you from?, I grew up in the midwest, kansas city,Mo to be exact. I moved to arizona a year ago.

Thanks for the replies. I live in a small town called manito in central Il.Im just south of Peoria. Im considering a guide for my first visit at a mere cost of $150 a day for predator guide service. If I choosoe to take a mountain lion the indian guide would like a tip of $1000. Not a bad price for a cougar, I just didnt have budgeted in to this trip. The reserve is 1.8 milloion acres in size and im not much on navigation so im prob. best with a guide. Im getting more reserve guides calling back and thier price is getting lower and lower. I originaly wanted a bobcat, as i have only taken coyote. but when i saw you can take cougar my mind started wondering.we'll have to see.

If you want a cougar san carlos indian reservation is deffinately the place to go. I'm at 5500 feet elevation and have only seen a few signs of cougars around here, but driving through the white mountains which is at 6500 feet ive nearly hit several with my truck, if you get out there soon you may catch some snow still and that is the time to hunt cougars they are the most active in the snow also the easiest to track. I dont know what means you would use to hunt the cougars Id use a pump shotgun with buck shot because up there in the dense ponderosa pine forests you are not likely to get a real long shot and half the time you think you are stalking the cat its actually stalking you, in that case i would deffinately have a guide being from out of state, cougars are unpredictable and vert stealthy creatures.


I was unaware of it untill today but arizona no longer considers cougars as a predatory animal they are now listed under big game so you cannot use buck shot on them any more.
methods of taking big game animals is restricetd to centerfire firearms, shotguns with use of slugs, archery and muzzle loading. good luck

Is there any Prairie dogs out there?