3darcher2

I’m from over closer to Pittsburgh. PA has done a decent job of improving the whitetail herd over the past 15 years with point restrictions. Lots of 110-140” bucks with 8 or 10 points now compared to 20 years ago and the occasional Booner, and the black bear population has never been stronger. Always a few 700# plus bears and usually an 800#er in there.

Thanks! I even actually tried still hunting up in some of the aspens in the burn. I put out a few groups of deer under 50 yards including 3 bucks I got to within 35 yards of but no shot. I was using some eastern methods for sure. The key is to get them up but then get downwind of them while they are moving and lose track of you. Didn't work the few times I tried it but it did give me a look at some. Just too thick for a shot, needed my lever action in there.

So I wanted to wrap up this thread, I hate a thread with no ending. I wound up getting Covid in September and so did my wife. She actually spent 11 days in the hospital including 6 in ICU (I stayed with her for the last 9) and got out the last week of September. I had decided to not come to the Kaibab as she came home on oxygen and was still weak. Well we have two adult daughters at home, and she said bull-sh&#, you are going. You might never get this tag again. So Tuesday afternoon, 2100 miles later, I landed in Jacob Lake in my maroon Ridgeline with the white cap. Several members were kind enough to offer some advice and one even tried to go along with me for a couple days, but it just didn't work out. I spent a few days driving, scouting, glassing and talking to some other guys. Friday AM found me high in the burn along with what seemed like the other 374 tagholders. I saw some smaller bucks on Friday and a ton of people. Saturday was more of the same, and by Sunday I was pretty discouraged. The burn was producing a lot of hunters but based on the shooting, not many bucks. I had continued to check in with one other AZ hunter I had met on Tuesday and he wound up tagging out Sunday afternoon. With weather on the menu for for Monday night, I was feeling a little discouraged but my new friend offered to help see if we could find a buck on Monday with his friends who were glassing for him. I jumped at the opportunity. We checked out several places, found a few bucks, but still hadn't connected until I got an opportunity with this guy mid afternoon. My first mule deer, and I was tickled! We all went to the Inn for dinner afterward the I spent the night in the tent before heading home Tuesday. I made it home today. A few comments for other nonresidents - first, I way underestimated this hunt. I was too one dimensional, thinking only of the burn. What else was there? While I did see bucks there and up high, there are deer in the whole unit, and my deer did not come from the burn. Without my AZ posse, I would have been completely lost (and probably still there). Second, mule deer are huge. I'm 6'5" and 280. The buck I got was huge bodied, at least 50-75# bigger than me or the biggest IA whitetail I've taken - the pic speaks for itself. Third, as is always preached, be prepared for anything weather-wise. Fourth, bring extra gas cans for sure - unless you want to spend all your time running for gas. I camped close to Jacob Lake to get cell service so I could check in on my wife, and I put on a lot of miles every day. AZ hospitality was really nice - as a NR, I never felt like I was out of place, didn't belong, or was looked down upon. My AZ posse was just so welcoming. Helped me glass, extract, cut up, etc. It was like we were friends who hadn't seen each other in 25 years, not guys who only knew each other for 5 days. In the end, I had a great time, and thanks to the posse and all the CW members who helped me.

Yeah I’m more worried about flats. I’ve been in 12A one time in ‘99 and I only skimmed the surface. I don’t want to be 100 miles from the nearest tire shop with a truck full of flats. I’ve seen other posts about a lot of flats on the Kaibab as well. Better safe than sorry.

I posted a separate thread as I unexpectedly drew a 12AW early rifle tag. This was a great read from front to back, but I am so glad I just picked up a set of LT Toyo Open Countrys today from a buddy that put 1000 miles on them and took them off for something else. I’m mounting them up just for this trip. I hunted a couple goat paths the FS calls roads in CO 71 last year archery elk on a new set of P-metric General summer tires. Neither my tires nor my Ridgeline should have been there based on the looks I got from the guys in the Rubicon and the SxSs. I got lucky I guess, I was all over that unit with no flats. I didn’t feel like tempting fate twice, but it sounds like I might want to bring a trailer with about a dozen spares even with the LT upgrade. 😁 Great write up. Did not see the plot twist at the end!

I have to say of all the stuff I got before I went to CO last year, without a doubt the Crispis and Darn Toughs were the best thing I got. I did try some Meriwool socks too, and they were more "bulky" than the Darn Toughs and maybe warmer, but that Crispi/DT combo was one thing that really lived up to its hype. I had a lightweight Sitka beanie, but for sure, I will have something warm on my head too. I didn't really use the Mountain Jacket much, it was too warm, but the couple times the wind picked up it was nice to have the windstopper. Overall, I managed to dodge the big early afternoon thunderstorms common in that area in September, and I got there just as the last of the big snow was melting. They got like 12" 5 days before I got there but it was almost all gone by the time I got there.

I've been quietly getting prepared here on my end in PA. I realize that the weather conditions can vary widely from 70s and sunshine to below 0 and snow, but what would be most common from a clothing perspective? I archery hunted SW CO during the third week of September at 10-11K and I basically wore a light merino BL with Walmart Wrangler Outdoor pants on the bottom and a Rocky hoodie with a Sitka Mountain Jacket on top and a lightweight puffy up top as needed with Crispi Idaho GTX and Darn Tough Hikers. Obviously being from PA, I have a lot of cold weather but bulky/heavy stand type clothing as well, but that stuff is generally heavier than I'd want to wear. I also had lightweight raingear with me in CO, which basically never got out of the pack. Also, I have an older Dana Design Terraplane pack, but I also usually run a Badlands SuperDay here and I actually used it in CO as well, as I was also truck camping. Assuming that the SuperDay would be fine, and I have the Dana if I do need to pack out. Thoughts on clothing systems and needs?

CK, I’m from NE of Pittsburgh. I did wind up emailing the AZGFD email and they could not have done anything better. I told him what I was looking for and from what I gather, he personally surfed the web, found my projectiles and had them delivered straight to my house. They arrived today. Great job by AZGFD.

No worries Coueser, I wondered the same last year. The Alaskan guide is pretty well ventilated, and like many of the others, I mostly raan it in the evening and then before climbing out of the bag. I was on a legit air mattress and a 0 degree bag, and did OK with temps, but I wasn't real comfy. Stepping up to the cot this time. Truth be told, I did turn it on in the middle of the night a few times because at my age, an occasional pit stop needs to be taken during the night. Like the others, I also ran a portable battery operated CO monitor.

I can’t take credit for that. I’ve heard that term since I was a teenager. Fun fact, I killed my first deer ever in the 80s with a kit built TC Renegade 50 cal flintlock. In PA the traditional ML season is in winter and is flintlock/open sights/patched ball only.

Well I got it as a leftover. There were about 1000 leftovers when I got mine. I made the mistake of waiting for the rut and moon because I read several places that muzzleloader hunters had little to no impact for most archery guys. Well my little corner of 71 was the exception. There were elk around but they were up really high where I was and I just couldn’t get there. They were super skittish because of the muzzleloader guys too. I got close a couple times, but I felt like had I come a week earlier I would have been in them. If I ever return to CO for archery elk I promise I’ll be there before the frontstuffers get there.

My 8 man in CO Unit 71 looking for elk last September.

I definitely will not be taking any 700 yard shots. I'll be trying to get on some longer ranges here and try to stretch my legs some but most of our clubs have 100 and 200 yards and that's it. My club can go to 360 or so but it's only on special occasions. I have learned to be a little more patient over the past few years so hopefully I'll pick the right place to sit down and glass. I've read that a lot of northern NM is known for vandalism/break-ins, especially at trailheads where you might be packed in. I wasn't anticipating and issues in AZ, but I figured I'd ask. I had zero problems in CO last year.

Good to know on the bears and snakes, and the lack of lions. I couldn't find anything about bears so I figured few and far between at most. Just another thing to not have to deal with. I also hate snakes, so that's all good too. I didn't realize there were so many coyotes. Drawing this with one point was a blessing for sure. Really looking forward to it.

It's done really well and I spent 10 days in CO with no issues, but I overflexed in here in PA climbing up a slippery spoil pile in the rain, and it's not gotten all the way back. I need to find a new surgeon now, mine is now out of my network.