In 2008 some friends and I drew deer tags for 12A West. We went into that hunt blindly thinking big deer would be everywhere and ended up getting our butts handed to us. Wanting redemption, I've been trying to draw that tag ever since.
Fast forward to this summer, I got wind that cards were getting hit and was shocked to see a new charge on my credit Card from AZGFD. I giddily texted my friends and dad, "Holy sh__, guess what...We're going to the Kaibab!!!".
My dad is getting older and has been wanting to hunt the Kaibab for the last few years so I put him on our application figuring it would be his best chance since he didn't have many bonus points but I did. Unfortunately the hunt dates conflicted with a medical mission to Honduras he does every year with his church. He had already committed and bought his plane tickets so he begrudgingly transferred his tag to my nephew Mason who had just passed his hunter education class. Mason lucked into one heck of a first hunt!
In all we had four tags to fill, Mason's, my friend's (Nate and Brian) and my own. My brother in law, brother and Nate and Brian's dad came to help out as well.
Opening morning we took Mason and hunted the Warm Fire burned area. He was tempted by a tasty looking two-point that walked by at 100 yards but decided to pass. The second morning I went by myself to check out a mid-elevation area where the Forest Service had done some prescribed fires 3-5 years ago. I was still hunting along a series of finger ridges and spotted four does and a nice looking buck following a trail that would bring them right below me. An odd internal dialog began in my head, the primal part of my brain began shouting, "you need to shoot that buck, those does are going to get your wind in another 30 yards, you won't get another chance, shoot him now, SHOOT!!!"...BOOM.
The analytic part of my brain didn't have a chance to object that it was only the second day and that it took ten years to get back to this unit. I did feel a sense of relief when I tagged the buck and began breaking him down. The pressure was off, I could relax a little and help the rest of the crew fill their tags.
Day three found us glassing across a canyon, watching deer move in and out of openings in the oak brush. Mason is not only a new hunter but also new to pooping in the woods. Partway through the morning he summoned the courage to give it a try. About two minutes after Mason set off to find a secluded spot to do his business a big three point stepped out into an opening. Unfortunately the deer disappeared back into the brush just before Mason came back.
Day four we did some still hunting in the area where I killed my buck. My brother in law spotted a two point moving through the trees a few hundred yards out, the buck wouldn't stop and it was too far to chance a moving shot. The deer was traveling a semi-circular line so we decided to try and cut him off. As we came over a little rise the buck was now looking into the sun and walking towards us trying to figure out what we were. The buck turned broadside at 80 yards and Mason made a great shot, dropping the deer in his tracks.
We spent the next day skinning and cutting up meat. I helped Vince and Mason pack up so they could make it home for Halloween.
That afternoon I went with Nate and Brian to a lower elevation area where Nate had missed a long shot at a big buck the day before. After bouncing around to different glassing spots on this point for a half-hour my eyeballs about popped out of my head. I spotted the biggest bodied buck I've ever seen bedded in the shade of a juniper about 800 yards away. I couldn't get a clear view of his antlers in the shade but when the buck moved his head I could kind of make out a massive frame swinging from side to side. I called the guys over to have a look and Brian was up to bat. We made a plan and picked out some good landmarks around the buck. Nate and I stayed back to glass as Brian set off to a finger ridge halfway between us and the buck.
To be continued...
Fast forward to this summer, I got wind that cards were getting hit and was shocked to see a new charge on my credit Card from AZGFD. I giddily texted my friends and dad, "Holy sh__, guess what...We're going to the Kaibab!!!".
My dad is getting older and has been wanting to hunt the Kaibab for the last few years so I put him on our application figuring it would be his best chance since he didn't have many bonus points but I did. Unfortunately the hunt dates conflicted with a medical mission to Honduras he does every year with his church. He had already committed and bought his plane tickets so he begrudgingly transferred his tag to my nephew Mason who had just passed his hunter education class. Mason lucked into one heck of a first hunt!
In all we had four tags to fill, Mason's, my friend's (Nate and Brian) and my own. My brother in law, brother and Nate and Brian's dad came to help out as well.
Opening morning we took Mason and hunted the Warm Fire burned area. He was tempted by a tasty looking two-point that walked by at 100 yards but decided to pass. The second morning I went by myself to check out a mid-elevation area where the Forest Service had done some prescribed fires 3-5 years ago. I was still hunting along a series of finger ridges and spotted four does and a nice looking buck following a trail that would bring them right below me. An odd internal dialog began in my head, the primal part of my brain began shouting, "you need to shoot that buck, those does are going to get your wind in another 30 yards, you won't get another chance, shoot him now, SHOOT!!!"...BOOM.
The analytic part of my brain didn't have a chance to object that it was only the second day and that it took ten years to get back to this unit. I did feel a sense of relief when I tagged the buck and began breaking him down. The pressure was off, I could relax a little and help the rest of the crew fill their tags.
Day three found us glassing across a canyon, watching deer move in and out of openings in the oak brush. Mason is not only a new hunter but also new to pooping in the woods. Partway through the morning he summoned the courage to give it a try. About two minutes after Mason set off to find a secluded spot to do his business a big three point stepped out into an opening. Unfortunately the deer disappeared back into the brush just before Mason came back.
Day four we did some still hunting in the area where I killed my buck. My brother in law spotted a two point moving through the trees a few hundred yards out, the buck wouldn't stop and it was too far to chance a moving shot. The deer was traveling a semi-circular line so we decided to try and cut him off. As we came over a little rise the buck was now looking into the sun and walking towards us trying to figure out what we were. The buck turned broadside at 80 yards and Mason made a great shot, dropping the deer in his tracks.
We spent the next day skinning and cutting up meat. I helped Vince and Mason pack up so they could make it home for Halloween.
That afternoon I went with Nate and Brian to a lower elevation area where Nate had missed a long shot at a big buck the day before. After bouncing around to different glassing spots on this point for a half-hour my eyeballs about popped out of my head. I spotted the biggest bodied buck I've ever seen bedded in the shade of a juniper about 800 yards away. I couldn't get a clear view of his antlers in the shade but when the buck moved his head I could kind of make out a massive frame swinging from side to side. I called the guys over to have a look and Brian was up to bat. We made a plan and picked out some good landmarks around the buck. Nate and I stayed back to glass as Brian set off to a finger ridge halfway between us and the buck.
To be continued...
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