Leaderboard

I was fortunate to draw and early 12AW rifle tag with my good friend and hunting buddy Dan. He was guaranteed to draw with all the points he had and I just happened to get lucky. I was not able to get up before the hunt to scout due to work and my sons baseball commitments but was not to worried about that. I have spent quite a bit of time up there in the past and had some good friends provide some great info. My buddy Dan drove up the Sunday before the hunt to get familiar with the unit. He had never been up on the Plateau before so this was a whole new experience for him. I arrived on Wednesday with a couple of my good friends that made the trek up to help. We got camp set up before the rain started and got a good night sleep. Woke up Thursday morning to scout and were greeted with Thunder snow and rain. We ran a lot of roads, glassed lots of fingers and points but did not turn up a mature buck, just lots of younger 4x4's and does. Opening morning we greeted by a parade of guides and helpers cruising the roads at 3am spotlighting trying to find a good one for their clients. this would be a common theme throughout most of the hunt. we hit the areas we wanted to hunt hard and saw several deer but nothing that we wanted to fill or tag on. For the first 3-4 days we hunted everything from the Warm Fire (a zoo opening weekend) at 8800ft down to Sowats in the winter range. We saw and passed may deer in all the areas we hunted. By Tuesday of the hunt I made the decision to stay in the area i felt gave me the best chance a mature deer. I really didn't have a number in my head of how big it had to be, I just knew i would know when I laid eyes on a good one. We continued to run and gun, glassing every point in the burn we could and picking the country apart. It was starting to become a little frustrating to be this far in the hunt and yet to lay eyes on a good mature deer. I just kept tell my buddy Dan and myself that we just needed to be in the right place at the right time and good things would happen. Friday the 31st comes and neither of us had laid eyes on a decent buck. I told my Buddy Dennis that this would be the day and we would finally get lucky and tag out on a Halloween buck. We hit several good looking glassing spots and picked them apart but nothing. Dennis decided to take a two track that looked like would get us out into some smaller cuts in the burn to glass. As he parked and got out to glass I saw a deer bedded about 100yds from the vehicle on the edge of a cut. I through up the binos and immediately knew that it was a decent buck and by far the biggest one we had seen thus far. I grabbed the Seekins 7mmPRC and chambered a round, got settle in on him and let a round fly. The buck jumped out of his bed and started to run, he made it about 30 yards before he piled up and expired. It all happened so fast that my buddy an I were in shock and could only laugh at what just happened. All the work, time behind glass, miles on the boots and to have it happen just like that off a two track road was unreal. We got the buck taken care of and checked in pretty quickly. My buddy Dennis and I decided to stay Friday night and Saturday morning to help my friend Dan try to fill his tag before heading to flag to drop the meat. Unfortunately we were unable to turn up a good one for him. We headed home and as I was cleaning up and putting stuff away I got a text from the guys and Dan was able to fill his tag on a cooler older buck. When you think of the Kaibab you instantly think about the land of giants. I was never fortunate enough to lay eyes on one of them, neither did my buddy Dan. We did have a heck of a hunt with great friends that we will remember for many years to come. Hopefully in a few years luck will strike again and we will get a second chance! only time will tell.

Congrats on (2) nice bucks. I also had that tag and I held out for a giant until the last day. Passed up (1) buck that was 170” with trash and another 4x that was 160”. Saw (1) legit 190-200” buck but he wasn’t sticking around for a shot. I ended up killing an old big bodied 3x on the last day to fill my tag. I think I’ll stick with the archery tag for now on.

This was my buck. I Forgot to share the picture got him on the 9th day

How much is access to the Big Bo? I'd be willing to help you out on the cost. Send me a pm

Just got back from seven days afield with my boys chasing the Grey Ghost and had the best time. The desert was super green and just beautiful ecerywhere. Saw water in places I have not seen since late 90s. It was interesting to observe different behaviors and patterns as a result of decent rain leading up to this hunt. Noticed less browsing on scrub oak and more heads down grazing. Tanks and seeps used less frequently while water is available elsewhere - yet some come in probably out of habit or convenience. Hiked into higher elevation areas but noticed general deer density and bigger bucks at lower elevation. Bugs... dang, once that fireball came up in the sky we were bombed with a constant cloud of pesty little flies / gnats. Once the sun went down, it was like a switch was thrown and they stopped, then sent in the mosquitos to finish the job. Haha. Wildflowers - everywhere! Never seen these flowers out here before in October. Took lots of scenery pics, might have missed a few ghosts passing by while caught up in the beauty of it all. I did not observe cattle munching on prickly pear pads. They seemed pretty content with the green stuff on the ground. What were your observations afield as result of the rains?

Last October kill. There still there. Good luck to you late hunters IMG_4384.3gp

Just wanted to throw this out there in case the right eyes see it. Have received quite of bit of calls in regards to members having truck issues while on the hunt, some tough spots to be in. On that note I’ll supply parts at cost to any of you guys who need things done so you can avoid being in those circumstances. Thanks again, hope all is well

We also have this tag this year. Just returned form our last scout trip today for our first tag in 36c. Spent all day in there and did not see anyone else and only one BP at the 286/212 rd, last few trips BP was everywhere. I am also embarrassed to say the trash at the campsites from what I would say were campers/hunters from the first WT hunt last weekend was bad. Not as bad as I've seen on the rim from the "non hunting a holes" but bad enough, I cant blame the ranchers for saying keep out. Also saw the new orange posted no entry signs that we didn't see last month, and they were oddly placed I guess due to easements like you said. Had me second guessing a few times if I was in correct area. I really like the dead man pass area "south" of the ranch. I'm getting to old, or maybe just to lazy lol, to climb into those steep areas like Shaffer & Brown Canyons below the peak. With the access so limited due to the ranches and layout of the unit as whole I am very curious to see how dense the hunters will be, I feel like we are all goona be in one of three areas. Good luck to all, and pick up your trash.

Only if she is 5'3"

Remington Model 700 SPS Stainless, factory 28” barrel with integrated muzzle break from the Remington custom shop, chambered in 300 Rem. Ultra Mag. Has Leupold rings and bases. The scope is Leupold Vari-X III 6.5-20x50 with Fine Duplex in great condition. Must show Ariz. drivers license, Not be a prohibited possessor and sign a bill of sale. Asking $1600.00 O.B.O. Please PM me if you have any questions. Thanks for looking, Gary

I think it’s like 165 for the hunter and around 120 for each “helper”

Congrats to all the lucky Elk Hunters. Please give me a call if you need a Euro give me a call. All my Euros are done using Maceration, no boil or pressure washing. Prices: Elk $200 Deer $100 928-595-1554 www.bigbrownstaxidermy.com

John Bellushi as Bluto... Animal House 1978, for all those confused Now your on Double Secret Probation!

Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? 🤣 Great news and now fill that tag. Eddie

B&H is having a great sale on Sirui T024SK and VA5X fluid head combo for $169.99. Heck of a setup for that price. https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1828767-REG/sirui_t024sk_va5x_t_024sk_carbon_fiber_tripod.html

Not sure why this made me think it but Lil Abner’s always smells good driving by. I think someone else already mentioned it. @Kev that’s a bit north too depending on where you are.

I purchased this rifle used from Healy Arms in 2016 for $375. Below is the classified link to it. Offering it up for the same price. Its been dead on since I bought it from Healy and never had to do anything to it. Zeroed at 200 yards. Definitely shows some field wear and thats how it was when I got it. Functions perfect and is ready to hunt. This is the model with the 3 position safety. I have taken a few deer and other critters with it and has been a back up gun for the past 5 years or so and needs a new owner. Let me know if you have any questions. I can meet at the Mesa bass pro or Chandler mall area.

Covid shutdown brought out a new class of campers and hunters. State also has 3 million new residents. It sucks but we’re going to have to clean up other peoples trash if we want these areas to stay open and it still may not be enough. My favorite shooting spot in the desert is getting trash on a regular basis now. Myself and friends have been trying to keep up with it to the point I have pallets on side of my house waiting for bulk trash. Eventually I’m sure BLM will say enough. Times change.

dang what’s wrong with these pukes! You don’t hear very often that hunters out of a lack of respect refuse to work with ranchers! I’m embarrassed that fellow hunters would act this way. So many wonder why ranchers have shut so many areas down in the last few decades! Well there you go!

Bushmen Spartan long curve 62” two piece bow 59#@28” Comes with a few extra strings. I had it custom built so I’m the only owner. 1250 located in Tucson IMG_5709.mov

A few from this week.

Was fortunate to help my father in law take a good buck on his unit 7/9 champ hunt. About the time I met him 20 years ago, he was diagnosed with MS. For quite a while, he had minimal symptoms, but these last few years it has gotten a lot worse. He has taken a number big animals with a bow in the past but with the progression of his symptoms, archery is no longer an option for him. He did draw a 7e bull tag a few years back but even with a crossbow it was still a struggle and we never even got close to tagging out. When he drew this tag he was really motivated to not just shoot a deer but shoot a really good deer. I had been scouting religiously before his hunt, primarily in 7e but really struggled to turn anything in an older age class up. Opening morning we decided to try 7w and right at first light found one of the widest bucks I have ever seen. He lacked height and had shallow forks so we decided to pass on him. We came back to the spot we found him at 10am and found him again bedded. We decided to sleep on the decision to shoot him, being opening day. It was a decision we regretted as we never saw him again. We hunted all over 7e and 7w but would return quite frequently to that spot looking for him. We did find a number of smaller 4x4s but nothing that came close to the wide buck. On day 4 we did find a better 4x4 in 7e but it was out of range and in some country my father in law could not traverse. This morning we were starting to contemplate lowering our standards a bit when we glassed up this nice buck in a new area. He was at 500 yards from the road we were on so we decided to get set up for a shot. I brought a shooting bench out for him to help with his shooting. As soon as we got set up the buck bedded behind a rock in a field. We waited an hour until the buck finally stood up and my father in law made a perfect shot at 500 yards with my 6.5 prc. He was beyond happy with the buck and it was great to see the joy he had getting out and hunting again.

Here are some recent skulls I've finished.

They look amazing in the pictures but even better in person!!