Elk Hunts: Rifle, Archery and Muzzleloader

Bull Elk Hunts 

Our rocky mountain bull elk hunts are featured in northern and eastern Arizona. Hunters need to be prepared to endure all possible weather conditions. Clients need be in good physical condition to endure the rough and rocky Arizona terrain. The average bull scores 300+ inches depending on time of the season and unit. We hunt for big mature bulls with the possibility of harvesting a “trophy Bull” in respective units in Arizona. You will be given the same professional service no matter what the time frame is or the unit you will be hunting. 

Early Archery Season 

During the peak of the rut, in September, we feature our archery trip in the country as well as the high desert terrain, consisting of sage brush & cedar trees. We hunt in vast terrains within the state. You will hunt in forests surrounded by ponderosa pines, pinion pines, juniper, and vast open cedar sections. 

Early/Late Season Rifle 

We offer two types of rifle trips. For those lucky enough to draw an early season rifle tag, your hunt will find you setting up on post rut bulls. This hunt is especially exciting when we find bulls finishing up the rut. It is our chance to get you within rifle distance of those bulls. Your guide will utilize calling, spotting, and stalking to set up a strategic ambush site. The late season hunt is slower paced hunt. We will spend time calling and glassing up bulls to make that stalk of a lifetime. As these solitary bulls regain their mass, it’s not uncommon to find more than one bull together. This will give you, the hunter, a opportunity to “pick” your bull. Because the rut has ended and their senses are on high alert you can expect shots out as far as 800 yards. 

Rifle, Archery and Muzzleloader Hunts Offered 

The Coues deer is the smallest species of the whitetail family and also known as the "Gray Ghost" of the desert. Since the Coues deer is so small, they will vanish before your eyes, even in the Arizona open terrain. Due to their natural predators within their habitat, Coues deer are always on edge. In order to hunt this elusive animal, a great pair of high power 15x binoculars with a tripod for glassing is a must. Make sure you are in good physical condition to endure the rugged Arizona terrain. 

Rifle Season 

Rifle seasons are in October, November, and December. In late December these rutting bucks will be busy in rut mode, chasing other bucks away from their doe. This will make the hunt somewhat easier. The rifle season will be cool to cold temperatures and the bucks can be up and about all day. You will mostly see them up in the mornings sunbathing so early morning hunts are recommended. During the afternoon they bed up in the shadows making them hard to find. Shots can be as close as 300 yards and as far as 800+ yards. If you draw this hunt, start practicing shooting long range to hone in on your accuracy and familiarity with long range shots. It would be wise to shoot with a bi-pod or shooting stick in different positions—you never know where that huge buck will appear and you must be ready. 

Rifle, Archery and Muzzleloader Hunts Offered 

The most abundant deer in Arizona is the Rocky Mountain Mule Deer. Arizona is known for it's monster Muleys. They are found on all terrains, from the low southern deserts to high forested northern and eastern mountains. Generally, these mule deer prefer the more rugged Arizona high country and southeastern areas. 

Rifle Season 

Rifle seasons takes place in October, November, and December. In late November through December these bucks will be busy in pre rut and rut mode. Because they will be chasing other bucks away from their doe, this adventure will be even more exciting. The rifle season will be cool to cold temperatures and the bucks can be up and about all day. Shots can be as close as 300 yards and as far as 800 yards. If you draw this hunt, start practicing shooting long range to hone in on your accuracy and familiarity with long range shots. It would be wise to shoot with a bi-pod or shooting stick in different positions—you never know where that huge buck will appear and you must be ready. 

The AZ  Mule Deer draw takes place annually in June. Don’t miss it! 

Archery Season 

A western archery mule deer hunt during the peak of the rut is a bow hunters dream. When the mule deer come into rut, generally in mid December and January in the lower elevations, it's exciting to hunt them with your bow because their sense of awareness is only concentrated on their doe. Either in the high country forest or the high/low desert terrain your shots will range from 40 out to 70 yards. With precision and accuracy, you will have a higher chance of a successful harvest. If you are ready for a challenge this trip is for you. The OTC tags & licenses for our AZ Mule Deer trips are purchased at an authorized dealer and do not need to be drawn. 

RATES: Guided Deer hunts $4,000 (1x1) Outfitted Deer hunts $6,500 (1x1)

Rifle, Archery and Muzzleloader Hunts Offered 

Rifle/Archery 

Arizona's Javelina season starts in January with archery & continues with HAM and finishes off with the general rifle season until the end of February. We offer three types of hunts, Archery, HAM which includes Hand gun, Archery, & Muzzleloader. If testing your stalking abilities is what your looking for, then these animals are for you. Getting within bow range to take one of the jaw popping critters is a heart pounding experience within itself. We use several different methods in locating and taking these animals. Our most popular method is spot and stalk. These animals are a lot of fun to hunt, and the country they live in is magnificent. 

RATES: Guided Javelina hunts $2,500 (1x1) Outfitted Javelina hunts $4,500 (1x1) The AZ Fall Javelina Draw takes place annually in June. The AZ Spring Javelina Draw takes place annually in October. Don’t miss it! 

Contact us for any application or hunt questions. Visit https://www.azgfd.com/hunting/ to buy a hunting license, access AZ hunting regulations, learn about the hunt draw deadlines and hunter education opportunities. 

Archery OTC 

Our OTC Archery Javelina season takes place during the whole month of January. If testing your stalking abilities is what your looking for, then these animals are for you. Getting within bow range to take one of the jaw popping critters is a heart pounding experience within itself. We use several different methods in locating and taking these animals. Our most popular method is spot and stalk. These animals are a lot of fun to hunt, and the country they live in is magnificent. OTC tags for javelina are purchased at an authorized dealer and do not need to be drawn.

RATES: Guided Javelina hunts $2,250 (1x1) Outfitted Javelina hunts $4,250 (1x1) 

Rifle, Archery and Muzzleloader Hunts Offered 

Arizona offers extraordinary color phase bear hunting with many record book boars harvested every year in the southwest. Bears come in many unique color phases, black, chocolate, cinnamon, and blonde. We primarily hunt in late summer to early fall August - November. During this time bears are very active during the day time and spend majority of their day exploring for food. 

On this hunt, expect to do a great deal of glassing, walking, and hiking. So, you must be in good physical shape. We use two main techniques to harvest bears; spot-and-stalk and calling. The spot-n-stalk technique involves hiking to a good glassing point where a few square miles of terrain can be seen at one time. Once a mature bear is spotted, we plan the stalk. Expect to take rifle shots across big canyons, so a bi-pod or tall standing shooting tripod, good high-power riflescope, and a big, flat-shooting caliber is highly recommended. Rifle shots on spot n stalk average 500+ yards, but be prepared for any distance (longer or shorter) if the need arrises. If you are a bowhunter, this Arizona spot and stalk bear hunt is the ultimate challenge. 

As a proven second technique, we use electronic predator call and hand calling. Sometimes black bears prefer to stay in the thick oak brush, dense Pinon pines, tall Manzanita, prickly pear slopes, and juniper thickets where they eat acorns, Pinon nuts, berries, cactus fruit, or juniper berries. These areas have thicker vegetation and allow for limited glassing. If this is where the bears are located at the time of your hunt, we may use limited glassing and use a predator call. This technique is an exciting way to pull a bear out of the brush and within shooting distance. OTC tags for bear are purchased at an authorized dealer and do not need to be drawn. 

RATES: Guided Bear hunts $4,500 (1x1) Outfitted Bear hunts $6,500 (1x1)

Shotgun, Archery and Crossbow Hunts Offered 

The turkeys we hunt are primarily in remote areas and live many miles from human civilization. Unlike Nebraska or other transplant States, these are truly "wild turkeys." They live in their natural forested, mountain habitat with no food plots, no farm fields, no feeders or other human influence. Since Merriam's are mountain dwelling turkeys, our hunts take place in the Ponderosa Pine forests at elevations around 6500 to 8500 feet. The mountainous hunt area has breathtaking scenery and great temperatures of around 75 degrees in the day and 40 degrees at night. Arizona Shotgun Spring Season Merriam's turkey tags are on a lottery draw. We typically hunt for northern Arizona Merriam's turkey within public land, such as the Coconino National Forest. 

Since Arizona is such a vast and arid (dry) environment, these native Merriam's turkeys tend to have a very large home range and are more spread-out than other turkeys. These birds live in the mountains with large canyons. Therefore, hunters should be prepared for hiking away from the road and into the prime turkey habitat. Primarily, we walk large ridges and set-up when we strike a gobbler. We also set-up in known corridor areas and "cold call" in blinds or against pine trees to see if a weary gobbler will come to investigate. Calling birds off the roost in the early morning can sometimes be effective, if the birds aren't henned-up. The guide will typically call for the hunters, but experienced turkey hunters can join-in with calling as well. If you are looking for a very original turkey hunt in a challenging remote setting where you will be hiking and hunting native, indigenous mountain birds, then this is the Merriam's hunt for you!  

RATES: Guided Turkey hunts $2,500 (1x1) Outfitted Turkey hunts $4,500 (1x1) 

The AZ Fall Turkey Draw takes place annually in June. The AZ Spring Turkey Draw takes place annually in October. Don’t miss it! 

Contact us for any application or hunt questions. Visit https://www.azgfd.com/hunting/ to buy a hunting license, access AZ hunting regulations, learn about the hunt draw deadlines and hunter education opportunities. 

Rifle, Archery and Muzzleloader Hunts Offered 

Pronghorn are found through the state but the quality of these bucks are located in the northern & eastern part of the state. Our most productive method of hunting these unique animals is Spot and Stalk. On this particular hunt we spend a great deal of time glassing, trying to locate the buck of your choice. The key to harvesting a quality buck is the preseason scouting. Additionally, the ability to accurately field judge these bucks is a must. We hunt the open country, cedar flats, and the tall pines of northern & eastern Arizona, so long distance shooting is a must. It is not uncommon to take rifle shots over 400 yards on a antelope. We recommend a flat shooting rifle cartridge, a good high-power rifle scope and a mounted bi-pod, or a tall standing tripod. The spot and stalk hunting methods are mainly used for our rifle and muzzleloader hunts. 

 RATES: Guided Pronghorn hunts $4,500 (1x1) Outfitted Pronghorn hunts $6,500 (1x1) 

Our AZ Pronghorn Draw takes place annually in February. Don’t miss it! 

Contact us for any application or hunt questions. Visit https://www.azgfd.com/hunting/ to buy a hunting license, access AZ hunting regulations, learn about the hunt draw deadlines and hunter education opportunities.