My 6-point Arizona bull elk attests that you do not have to hunt a private ranch or hire a guide to enjoy quality hunting. Just play the hunting-tag lottery.

After a short hike, we skirted a steep canyon and set up on a slight depression that was a natural funnel. After I’d made a few cow calls, a bull let out a low guttural bugle from just over a rise, and a cow and calf emerged -- followed by antlers. The two lead elk walked by me within easy bow range. Our setup went undetected.

As the bull started up the funnel and followed the moves of the other elk, he reared his head back and curled his lips to catch their scent. He was hesitant to make a move; more than a minute passed, and I had to let down my draw. He started to rake a juniper, and I got a good look at his 6-point frame. Then, as if scripted, he walked down the cinder trail a little higher than the previous two, stepped into the wide open, and stood perfectly broadside. I snapped the string back, settled the pin on a piece of scuffed tawny hide, and drove the carbon shaft to the fletching into his chest, 38 yards away.

At the impact, the bull wheeled, ran back up the rise, and crashed through a dead oak, sending sticks flying in his wake -- and then all was quiet. After 45 minutes, Pete and I followed the sparse blood trail roughly 75 yards and found the bull piled up behind a blowdown. The hunt was done four hours into the season, and I was ecstatic. My elk was by no means a desert monster, but at 324 inches net, he’s my largest elk. And coming from public land, he’s a real beauty.

THIS HUNT ALL STARTED after work early one morning in July when I checked the Arizona Game and Fish website and saw the magic words “AWARDED ARCHERY BULL ELK” behind my name. I had to double-check to be sure I wasn’t dreaming because, with only four bonus points, I wasn’t statistically supposed to draw for a few more years. This was my first premium archery tag in the West, and it resulted from my strategy for applying for out-of-state tags.

Let’s face it -- quality hunting opportunities today that don’t break the bank are getting scarce. A few years ago I was paying significant money for small-acreage leases in my home state of Wisconsin. Trouble was, after the first couple of weeks of the season, with intense hunting pressure all around me, my private “honey holes” were no better than the large public areas five miles down the road.

At the end of one disappointing season, I decided to pursue a different strategy. First, with a little legwork, I uncovered a few private and public lands close to home that did not require me to pay the expensive lease fees.

Second, I researched every possible limited-entry, out-of-state hunting opportunity I could afford and invested the lease money in application fees, as well as bonus and preference points.

Applying for limited-entry hunts was by no means a new endeavor for me. In previous years, I had drawn a Montana elk tag, many Iowa deer tags, and a Wisconsin bear tag. In all cases, I’d had quality hunts due to the limited competition.