Let's see those 4x4 Squares On Dirt!

[AZ Highlander]

I forgot to share photos/video from my son's first elk hunt back in October, just south of the Grand Canyon. We scouted the first day, before Opening Day, then went out with our friends in their LandCruiser, found a shed antler within the first hour, tracked a small herd all day, then my son got his cow a half hour before sunset. We went to work next to a small campfire while it lightly rained, ending at 9pm with all the meat in the longbed.
What a great memory in the old Squarebody!

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[AZ Highlander]

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[Bextreme04]

I forgot to share photos/video from my son's first elk hunt back in October, just south of the Grand Canyon. We scouted the first day, before Opening Day, then went out with our friends in their LandCruiser, found a shed antler within the first hour, tracked a small herd all day, then my son got his cow a half hour before sunset. We went to work next to a small campfire while it lightly rained, ending at 9pm with all the meat in the longbed.
What a great memory in the old Squarebody!

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Awesome, what great memories. I remember finding a huge set of 6x7 sheds while hiking outside the park when I was a kid. We had family working at the park and visited/stayed with them at the south village during holidays.

It's convenient you could drive right up to it. The area I am hunting up here in Oregon now is blocked off for motorized access, so you have to hike in and hike out. We ended up hiking out a 4x4 bull this last November through some fairly rough terrain and creek beds.

 

[DoubleDingo]

Awesome, what great memories. I remember finding a huge set of 6x7 sheds while hiking outside the park when I was a kid. We had family working at the park and visited/stayed with them at the south village during holidays.

It's convenient you could drive right up to it. The area I am hunting up here in Oregon now is blocked off for motorized access, so you have to hike in and hike out. We ended up hiking out a 4x4 bull this last November through some fairly rough terrain and creek beds.

Are horses allowed?

 

[Bextreme04]

Are horses allowed?

I think so. It is just closed to motorized travel. We will likely use mountain bikes this year to at least get in closer, but it is pretty heavily forested area with some major elevation. You are usually only a few hundred yards away form any area accessible to mountain bikes, but it could be a few hundred feet of densely forested and steep vertical terrain in the way as well. You aren't allowed into the area until 1 hour before first light also.. so you have to get into your early morning spot as fast as possible, so you don't spook anything on the early morning graze in the clear cuts.

 

[AZ Highlander]

I think so. It is just closed to motorized travel. We will likely use mountain bikes this year to at least get in closer, but it is pretty heavily forested area with some major elevation. You are usually only a few hundred yards away form any area accessible to mountain bikes, but it could be a few hundred feet of densely forested and steep vertical terrain in the way as well. You aren't allowed into the area until 1 hour before first light also.. so you have to get into your early morning spot as fast as possible, so you don't spook anything on the early morning graze in the clear cuts.

Never heard of such a regulation where you can’t even enter a hunting unit until a certain time. Is that only the opening day morning, or every day of the hunt?

 

[Bextreme04]

Never heard of such a regulation where you can’t even enter a hunting unit until a certain time. Is that only the opening day morning, or every day of the hunt?

It's not a state regulation. State regulation is that you can't shoot 30 minutes before official sunrise or 30 minutes after official sunset.

This area is within a hunting unit, but is private land owned by a timber company that is gated. They open the gates during hunting season to allow people to hunt the land, but they have their own regulations to do so and require people to apply for a permit. Some of the timber companies will only issue a limited number of permits and charge for them(Weyerhauser specifically), but this one issues an unlimited number of permits for free. They will trespass you off the property if they catch you doing dumb stuff, but the old retired Marine that manages the permit and regulation system for them is a pretty good dude and is very cool about stuff in general if you don't act like an entitled doushe. We usually run into him while scouting the month before the season opens and he will give some general guidance for where he has seen the herds roaming and good places to focus. He's usually spot on and we get on them quick.

The hunt unit also includes a bunch of state forest that is open 24/7, but it is more actively hunted and the elk are smart enough to bed down and avoid the easily accessible areas that people are road hunting aggressively during the season.

 

[AZ Highlander]

It's not a state regulation. State regulation is that you can't shoot 30 minutes before official sunrise or 30 minutes after official sunset.

This area is within a hunting unit, but is private land owned by a timber company that is gated. They open the gates during hunting season to allow people to hunt the land, but they have their own regulations to do so and require people to apply for a permit. Some of the timber companies will only issue a limited number of permits and charge for them(Weyerhauser specifically), but this one issues an unlimited number of permits for free. They will trespass you off the property if they catch you doing dumb stuff, but the old retired Marine that manages the permit and regulation system for them is a pretty good dude and is very cool about stuff in general if you don't act like an entitled doushe. We usually run into him while scouting the month before the season opens and he will give some general guidance for where he has seen the herds roaming and good places to focus. He's usually spot on and we get on them quick.

The hunt unit also includes a bunch of state forest that is open 24/7, but it is more actively hunted and the elk are smart enough to bed down and avoid the easily accessible areas that people are road hunting aggressively during the season.

Ah, private land with gates. That makes sense then.

 

[Derick C.]

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[Jawzjeep]

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Lots of firsts on this trip. First dedicated camping/wheeling trip, first time it's been in four-wheel drive even since before I swapped the 60 in, and it hasn't driven further than 30 minutes from my house.

So I did the right thing and tested nothing and packed up and drove 5 hours away to go have some fun at Tollgate in 4ish feet of snow for the weekend. (Trip was easter weekend)

A metal band around my radiator came off and got slung around by my fan and cut a tube on my radiator. Pinched the offending tube and wrapped it a bunch of times. Tossed an egg in the radiator for good measure.

On the way back at 11pm my 700R4 dumped its guts all over the cars behind me. So I called AAA and got to ride inside of my Suburban on the back of a flatbed going down the road. I was a little nervous until I saw we still weren't taller than the semi trucks.