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Hey all, My pop's, Mark senior finally drew his first elk tag as a non resident from Michigan after 6 years of applying. We would be hunting unit 8 for bull elk. As I spend 90% of my time hunting elk in 6a and 22 I had some work to do. I started by looking at topos to find transition areas from fall to winter range and canyons those bulls like that time of year. Mid summer I finally got boots on and confirmed that my research was well directed. Tremendous amount of older scat, great winter brouse, and good thermal cover. Hit the woods one more time in October to cut the canyons apart to log glassing points and it was time to wait. As the hunt got closer we realized the weather was going to be brutal and I now felt even more confident in our location. To make things even better 2 of my best buddies were going to fly in from Michigan to help out. We arrived at camp early Thanksgiving day and set up in the torrential downpour. The evening was spent playing cribbage and yuker, card games for those of you not from the Midwest with the woodstoves keeping our tents toasty. Day 1......woke up to tents wanted to collapse with 7 inches of heavy, wet snow. After cleaning them off we waited for daylight to fully assess and realized with visibility at 100' that we would be better off waiting for a break to head out. That break came at 10 am. We loaded the buggies and the 7 of us headed to the spot I had picked out. After a long hike to our vantage point the snow socked back in and we took refuge under a big cedar and built a 🔥. At 1 the weather broke briefly and we got behind some glass. In 10 minutes we had 3 bulls located and pop's wanted the bigger of the 3. Having never elk hunted before we had decided the first decent 6 point was in trouble. Pop's made a great shot at 400 yards accross the canyon with my 6.5 PRC and the next two days I was extremely grateful for all the help as the packout and drive out was brutal.....another trip for the books!!!!

So glad to hear this. Terrible tragedy but I inagine I would feel so much better as a parent to know my little girls body had been found and she could be buried. I pray they can start to find some healing as a family

Praying for the family for some closure

So I never really posted about my kaibab buck for 2018 so I figured I would now. Was lucky enough to draw the tag with very little points. A guide was on my mind but the I didn’t have the funds to make something like that happen. Made the trip up a few times with the family to learn the area and see what I was getting into. Also lucky that people are willing to share a little info on what the deer should be doing sense it’s such a lucky tag to have. The hunt time arrived and was lucky to have my buddy Devon with me for the hunt which I owe him a lot for being able to make it and I had my uncle and cousin there for the first three days as well to help out. The first three days were amazing and we cover tons of ground from north to south on the far west side of the unit. We saw tons of deer and some big deer but I never made an attempt to get in on them we just glassed and watched. What a show we got to see with them rutting all over. By the third evening my finger was getting itchy but I still didn’t make any attempts on deer. My uncle and cousin had to leave that evening and it left just my buddy Devon and I to hunt. Fourth day came and that morning we watched a big three by four that was very tall for a while plus some other smaller bucks chasing and we watched some other hunters go after him. Still didn’t go after anything that morning just watched. That evening we went to a different spot and I picked up a buck right away that had one doe and bedded right away. It was also my daughters fifth birthday and I felt it was the right time to make an attempt. We got into 450 yards and ran out of cover. Buck was bedded with his doe with a rock right in front of his vitals so I had to wait it out. Waited for about thirty minutes and then the doe finally stood up and the buck stood as well presenting a perfect broadside shot and I took it and the buck wobbled down hill and fell over. The celebration started between my buddy and I and I couldn’t of been happier. What a great moment and plus it was on my daughters birthday so I felt it was meant to be. I am sure I prob watched bigger bucks or maybe that was the biggest buck I saw which I have no clue as I had never seen that many shooters in my eyes before. It was a hunt that I will never forget and I got to do it with a my great friend Devon and my uncle that got me hooked on hunting from the start and his boy. I can’t wait tell I draw that tag again.

I agree with the comments above but let me know if you decide to put in for 6a. I should be up there this year helping or hunting. Just need to know where big boys go when pressure starts. Here's a bull in there I put a friend from New York on in archery season and he missed at 38 yards. He's currently in therapy 😂

My first buck will be tough to top. My dad and I cut his track one morning and I tracked him right to his bed. Made a 50 yard shot with my .243 and he never got up. It was November 2001 and I was only days away from turning 16.

Hey all, Been enjoying all of the great discussions for many years and finally decided to join. Been in Arizona 9 years now brought here kicking and screaming from Michigan by my lovely wife. I quickly fell in love with this incredible state and have harvested many animals in those years. This year my good buddy and I drew 22 south muzzleloader elk tags, him for the first time and my second. Killed a great bull in there in 2014 so was very excited to get back. We ran 12 cameras all summer and felt like we knew what our expectations should be. We had one bull in particular we were targeting we named El Diablo. We figured he'd go close to 370 and we kept tabs on him all the way up to 2 days before our hunt. Opening day came and we went to where we figured he was living but only turned up a handful of satellite bulls. Day 2......On the second morning I had an old bull with huge 3rds and 4ths at 185 yards and the temptation was to great so I dropped the hammer. Spent the rest of that day with 4 buddies packing him out. Day 3......my buddy and another friend headed to a spot that always had a herd with a great bull and I slept in recovering from the packout. At daybreak we had multiple bulls screaming outside of camp. I grabbed my binos and quickly found a big herd bull pushing cows around. Got a hold of my buddy and after an hour of cat and mouse in 6' Manzanita he dropped the hammer at 35 yards. Spent the rest of the day packing him out. Day 4....we spent the morning of day 4 cutting up and packaging elk as well as dropping off the 4 quarters to a processor in Payson. That evening we decided to go see if we could find El Diablo. We didn't locate him but found another great bull. We had a camp of two guys down the road from us with on gentleman from Wyoming having a tag. I offered to take him in to try and kill that bull the next day and a plan was made. Day 5.......we left before daylight and hiked into the mountain I wanted to start calling from. At light I called in a decent bull but no shot opportunity. I had a bull screaming across the canyon and he sounded mature so we took off. As I got closer I got eyes on him and realized it was El Diablo. He bedded with his cows just out of sight so we found shade and waited him out. At 1 pm he got up to move and Bill dropped the hammer. He had no idea what he killed but I did. After lots of celebration we packed him out and I put a tape to him....366". What a trip!!!!!!

Shot my first elk on Nov. 30th. Couldn't be happier with him.

Very nice Ruger model 77 in 300 Winchester Magnum. Has had very little use. Located south Tempe area. $450

My oldest son Auggie got his first deer this morning. Hiked in and got in place just in time. Glassed up a few deer then found this little guy. I said do you want to shoot a spike? He said "I'm freaking freezing, yes!". Got him set up and dialed in the scope and waited for a shot. 1 shot dropped him in his tracks, it was awesome to see through the 15s. Called Pickles to tell her the news and while he was on the phone with her a few deer right under our glassing spot busted out from under us. Of course the one taking it's time and offering some shot opportunity was a nice little 3x3! Go figure! Great morning with my boy though. Love you Auggie! You are one heck of a great kid and you make me proud! Now we gotta get grandma her first..

Awesome hunt. Congrats to your dad! We were in that snow too....fun times! Lol Way to get it done!

Way to get it done guys! That is awesome to have friends and family participate in a hunt like this. Excellent! Thanks for the report and pics.

After eleven years I drew my 12 AW late tag. Due to health issues two of my three doctors said I should not go deer hunting. Fortunately one of my doctors said I could go but not by myself. I knew I had to hire a guide and I decided to hire Duwane Adams. Duwane has been guiding on the Kaibab for 40 years and knows every two track road and ridge to glass from. Usually a hunter gets one guide but I had three, Duwane, Rick Wyler and Johnny Wyler. I had never harvested a mule deer so I was looking forward to a fun hunt. In addition I had spent one day on the Kaibab in the past 35 years so I knew nothing about the unit. Opening day was cool and clear after 3 days of snow. They found a nice buck at first light but I missed the 440 yard shot. I was told the shots would be long and they were right. The rest of the first day were multiple sightings of nice 150 to 170 inch deer. I was looking for something better after waiting more than a decade. Days two and three were much the same seeing multiple bucks but passing on them. Monday, day 4 was clear and bright but the weather forecast was for high winds later in the day with snow for days 5,6,7 and 8. I was concerned about the weather and the possibility of bad and dangerous road conditions so there was some concern in my mind. Mid morning Johnny found a buck bedded in some oak brush. We could see the buck' right side but could not see his left side. We could not tell if he had 4 points on his left side. So we glassed for 40 minutes and finally Duwane said get the gun and shoot that deer. We ranged him at 350 yards and I took the shoot with the 270 WSM. I could not see anything but everyone said he was hit hard. He went behind a tree and we lost sight of him. We waited an hour and found him. The shot was good. I did not know how vast the Kaibab is. It is a tough hunt to scout for because the deer are migrating every day and a person needs to know where the deer are going and how they get there. One thing I wanted in addition to a great deer was to have a fun time with lots of laughs. I got all of that and more. Another thing that was important to me was not to feel any pressure in case I missed a shot, could not keep up with guides, or could not go to certain areas because of my health issues. Having three guides with me caused me some nerves early in the hunt having three people watching me shoot. In addition when I took the shot three of Duwane's friends including a former client were behind me. I was comfortable because we talked about my nerves a bit and they alleviated my concerns. I want to thank Duwane, Rick and Johnny for a great hunt and an enjoyable experience.

Those are some awesome bulls! Congrats to all of you on a really great hunt, and thanks for sharing your story!

There are hidden Monsters in 22S! Great job.

Impressive!! Great effort to all.

nice story, great work

Fantastic bulls for 22 south! Great job!!!!

Great bulls! Welcome to the site.

Awesome buck!!!! Glad it all came together for you. Congratulations!!!

Nice buck Adam.

Shout out to Vortex for standing by their VIP warranty claim. I was flinging some arrows in my backyard last month and accidentally left my rangefinder in the yard. Came outside the next morning to find that my dog had mistaken it for a chew toy and did some real work on it. Photo below... I sent what was left of my rangefinder in to Vortex in a Ziplock and 2 weeks later I received a brand new rangefinder-- no questions asked. They even threw in a chew toy for my dog. Nice touch! All around positive experience. Wanted to take the time to recognize a company that keeps their word (w/ a side of humor).

sometimes wicked fun- in 1975 bob kyhn and i were archery hunting up around control road and sleeping in a pontiac ventura hatchback. one night the white stuff got heavy and in the early am the hatch came crashing down on our heads. when we got up in the morning it was like hunting on one of the moons of Saturn-no obvious sun to be seen, 3ft of snow and only a vague idea of where in heck we and the roads were. and then these big muley bucks started moving through-they were doing some migration right through our vastly reduced hunt area. we hunted hard for 2 days with those unsighted recurves and missed many nice bucks. back in those days many of my mentors were older vets and laughed at being snowed in during an elk or deer hunt. snowed in only meant a very good reason not to go home, nobody bothering around camp and the hunting was always good. by far the most important tool they had was an axe and the snow kept the game fresh and the beer cold. does anybody remember that bunch that would hang around Pertersens in downtown mesa back then? Coach Petersens' dad and his buddies? that three horned mule deer buck? sorry but i had fun just typing that. dang white shoot-i've seen enough of it, lee

Take/Hunt From A Vehicle (A.R.S. 17-301 B, R12-4-319) Pages 108 and 130 "No person may take wildlife from a motor vehicle, watercraft or aircraft, except as permitted by Commission Order, and under the provisions of the Challenged Hunter Access Mobility Permit Commission Rule (R12-4217). “Take,” as defined by law, includes pursuing, shooting, hunting and killing wildlife. You are unlawfully using a vehicle to take wildlife if you intentionally drive around until you see the animal you wish to harvest and then make an attempt to take. “Road hunting” is illegal; so is pursuing wildlife with a vehicle, chasing or heading off moving wildlife with a vehicle, and driving off-road to get closer to wildlife. You do not have to shoot from the vehicle to be in violation."