The Watson Cattle Company Elk Page
Yep! We even hunt Elk in Arizona.


This World Record Elk coming in at 469 1/4 was taken by Mike Watson in 1998, in the unit 9 area of Arizona.


Since the 1998 hunt, we have applied and been drawn for unit nine 3 times, and unit six three times. Although unit 6 produces smaller Elk, we have still enjoyed the black powder hunts. As you can see the Elk just to the left of this big boy, is just a lil smaller and he came from unit nine, and was in the 330 class bulls, and was taken by Jason Watson and came in at 334, which by all rights is not a small rack.
The Elk to the left was taken by Chris Watson and scored 345. Chris got this bull in unit 6A. This unit produces some nice Bull Elk and there is several thousand elk to choose from.
I know you think I'm full of bull! but we counted herds of no less than 500 at a time and seen 400 class bulls with in 20 feet of our horses.
Just a short story
There are so many big bull elk in 6A where we hunt, that I can't believe anybody would have a hard time finding the bull elk of his dreams, providing you get out and hunt them. I am not talking about driving the roads in you're truck or ATV, I am saying walk the forest or get on your horse and hunt.
I guarrantee you, if you hunt you will find what you are looking for. But please play and hunt fair and be safe.

Matter of fact I will tell you a short story of how I ran into an old timer whom I believe did not play or hunt fair.

I had been in pursuit of one of these bulls, and chased him through a hunters camp, he was hit hard, and was losing blood fast. I stopped and spoke with the old timer, asking him if he had seen which way the bull had gone, even though I had a good trail leading to the camp site. The old timer replied, I seen him come through about ten minutes ago, and he took off to the south and he was not hit hard, just a small scratch is all he seen, and it would probably not put him down. Well I kind of had a weird feeling about this old boy, but I took his word for it and started looking for sign south of his camp. I did not find any sign south of his camp, so I searched in an ark toward the east and came around to the north with no luck. It was dark when I headed for camp and was pretty discusted with my shooting abillity by the time I made it back to our camp site. I talked it over with the guys at camp, and something just kept gnawing at me about that sign just dissapearing at that fellers camp. So the next day I started my usual hunting pattern and was with in a quarter mile of where I first seen that 400 class bull the day before, and not willing to give up on my tracking and shooting abillity, I decided to take another look. Well! I found out!! I did not miss, and the tracks that stopped in that old timers camp were brushed out, and that elk with the scratch on him fell 25 yards from his camp and was to the west. I also found where that old timer backed his truck up and loaded that elk with the scratch, and was now gone. So!! if I ever see the piece of crud hunter that took one of our bulls that I got up in 6A when he told us the herd split through his camp and the bull I was tracking went south. Well!!! I got a few southern words I would like to say to ya, but I won't because I guess you needed it more than me, and I can always get my own elk, and won't have to lie to do it.
Well !!! Thats my story, so be safe and hope you enjoy the pictures of our elk hunt'en.
These are a few of the picture's of the way we hunt and the schedule of our mornings during the hunt'en season.

Eat'en                                           Gett'en there                            Scout'en

Eat'en some more                 Gett'en back on after eat'en again     More ride'n

We eat again.                      We combine scout'en with ride'n.   and then we get lucky.
I may have a since of humor when I work on this web page, but these boy's hunt. Their hunt starts around 04:00 in the morning and they don't come straggl'en in until way after dark, in fact one of the old guy's carries a GPS and logged over 800 miles in 9 days ride'n horse back. If you think you can ride? then I would suggest putting you and your horse in real good shape and have a pair of them before you try to keep up with these young men on some of the best studs and geldings Watson Cattle Company have in their remuda.

Oh! by the way, if you want to hang out with us, and do some hunt'en? we need a camp cook this year, because we got drawn for Cow elk, and we are to scared to tell Chris he can't cook, not to mention he's ugly. So come and join the fun, and we'll try not to lose you.
2006 Cow Elk hunt with our Big Bad Cowboys.
Well!!!!
We did'nt have any body sign up for camp cook, so we had to eat Chris's bean burritos and greasy eggs and potato breakfast and something he called surprise dinner.

But we got our Elk, and had a blast, the first 4 days we got stuck on those 4 wheel scooters and explored the roads around where we hunt. We did'nt see any Cow elk but, we got sore butts and a lot of wind in our faces.

As we were riding around on them scooters, Chris got board and decided to pet a Bull Elk that was snoozing, and just relaxing. I thought I would put a few pictures on to prove just how board he was, and to back up my story. It was a bull, you know.



Well !!!
Now you know the camera man was just as stupid getting that close to a live Bull Elk.

The Bull Elk got tired of Chris wanting to pet him and decided to run us all off, and they went screaming like a bunch of school girls at a slumber party.

After they got under control the camera man went back and retrieved the camera that he dropped when he ran faster than Chris to get out of there, and we have no more photo's to show our great big brave cowboys running like scared rabbits. Sorry !!! But we do have more hunting photo's and stories if you have the time to read and gander.
Just click on the link below to began and continue the 2006 Cow Elk hunt'en saga.
 

You hunt, hunt, and hunt some more, and then you still don't get the biggest one.

This World record Elk was'nt shot by any of us at Watson Cattle Company, but it sure is some thing to look at.