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Good luck to the early Bab Hunters. Be safe and shoot straight. Post pics when you can.

Selling my Vortex Kaibabs 18x56HDs. I've owned them since new, they are maybe 2 years old. Glass in great shape. Plastics in great shape. Always stored in Marsupial case. I've got lense covers, uni-adapter, lense cloth and I think the original case lying around somewhere. Obviously comes with vortex lifetime transferable warranty Upgrading to swaros is reason for sale. $750 Located in Prescott but can meet in Phx

Stage 1 fire restriction will begin 8am Thursday May 5, 2022 on the Coconino, Tonto, Prescott, and South Kaibab National forests. No campfires, charcoal, smoking except in developed sites. No recreational shooting on the Tonto and Prescott. https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/coconino/news-events/?cid=FSEPRD1016513 https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/tonto/news-events/?cid=FSEPRD1016530 https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/prescott/alerts-notices/?aid=72537 https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/kaibab/news-events/?cid=FSEPRD1016523

Hello I was lucky enough to draw 12aw early rifle in Arizona with one point as a NR, unfortunately I am not having much luck turning up bucks. I’ve been glassing mainly around west lake point, burnt coral point, down around sowats area, and a little in the warm springs burn. So far I have only glassed up one group of deer with a little fork horn down on sowats. I’ve seen plenty of does/fawns cross the roads while driving, just for some reason I cannot glass any up. My question is am I bad at glassing/looking in the wrong areas or are these bucks mostly nocturnal at this point? Thanks for the tips in advance, much appreciated!

howdy all, who else here has a 12a archery tag this year? I'm familiar with the east side and becoming familiar with the west side now as i've already been up there this year once and by the hunt plan to be there another 3-4 more times to do some further scouting. As it seems the usual for me when i pull a kaibab tag my hunting buddies aren't able to make it up there with me this year as they have other hunts planned at the same time not in the bab so I will be hunting solo. So far i've focused on area's to hunt in and not so much "camp" or drop my trailer in. I'm looking for some suggestions on roads to look at in regards to having a decent amount of camping spots open, cell phone isn't required either but naturally it would be nice for the evenings. I know cell reception would be limited to say a 5-8 mile radius of jacobs lake where the tower is. If you've got suggestions for area's besides the burn, joe's mud hole for me to take a look at i'm all ears but by no means am I here asking or looking for secret spots. I'm determined to get time in the field using my boots and glass to make the best of it, but open and truly thankful for any suggestions to help me narrow down my focus a little bit. Pic for attention and to spur the excitement of the upcoming bab hunt!

Selling my spotter and binos. Both are in great shape, the spotter is only a season old. Binos are Kaibab HD 18x56 and spotter is straight Razor HD 27-60x85. Outdoorsmans stud is not included and Phone Skope Adapter is included with the spotter. Binos-$800 Spotter-$1300 $2000 if you buy both.

Brand new Kaibabs for sale with all of the accessories(tripod mount, strap, etc). Sent in my older ones for a repair and Vortex sent back brand new ones due to an issue with my old pair's diopter. These are the 20s, not the 18s. $1200

My wife drew 12AW early hunt, got out there Thursday evening after a long drive from Queen Creek got camp set up by just before sun down and there was already sooo many people.. After at least 10 other hunters drove right by our camp scouting that night,the morning hunt was looking crowded to say the least... Set the alarm on our phone to be up at 4:30am to beat the crowd hoping everyone would turn around once they saw us there..Opening morning woke up after a sleepless night anticipating what the morning would bring, I did not see one truck light as far as I could see!! Wow, maybe we got lucky and everyone had better spots... After sitting for what seemed like an eternity and wondering WTH was going on thinking the horizon should be lighting up by now and still not one truck driving around..How weird ,I must be going crazy!! That's when it my wife looked at me and asked"WHY DOES THE TRUCKS TIME SAY ITS 3:30 AM?"....it's on satellite time by the way..uh oh.. No wonder there's no one out😂Long story short we fell asleep in the truck to wake up late with three trucks next to us...Not the way we wanted to start out.. After we got to our spot I picked up 2 small bucks pushing each other around about 400yds away with about 3 does...I watched them for 15 min hoping for a bigger buck was with them to no evail..Started glassing other areas and saw just does.. 15 min later a shot in that general direction where they were fighting but not at them.. After another 10 min From below them I see a big bodied deer feeding but still no antlers yet... All of a sudden he looked up and my stomach dropped, huge 4x4 with nice spread..I knew we had to act quick due to all the orange specks propped up on every ridge around us.. I ranged him 387 yds broadside with 10 million burnt trees in the way lol...After an agonizing 5 min of my wife trying to find him in the scope she finally said those words we all want to hear" I Found Him"...Hallelujah now take the shot I said...Before I could finish saying that she shot and he dropped where he stood.. I could not believe what just happened...This was her first deer hunt ever and I couldn't be more proud of her!!

Everyone knows that the draw results are out! If you want a quality Outfitter for your Kaibab deer hunt gives us a call! Check out this video from last year. Subscribe to our youtube channel for more videos to be posted over the new few weeks. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3OeBvkqkgY

$900 Vortex Kaibab 15x56 HD in perfect condition. Glass is flawless. $275 Vortex Ranger 1000 in perfect condition.

Looking to sell the following optics Vortex Razor 10x42 hd. Bought one year ago - on one turkey hunt. excellent condition 950 tyd. original owner Vortex Razor 65mm scope. bought one month ago - original owner. comes with variable eyepiece and fixed eyepiece (no reticle), 1150 Vortex Kaibab 15x56. bought one year ago - original owner. Never on hunt. excelent condition. 950. only trade for swarovski atx or stx eyepiece or 65mm module. thanks seven four zero six two four six six eight zero - please text if interested.

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Bagged this 4x4 in 12AW opening morning. We spotted him and a couple of 2x's coming up a draw to my left from about 500 yards out. I cut over and watched him come up to the top of the draw about 250 yards out where I dropped him when he stepped out of the thick stuff. First Kaibab hunt and buck - had an amazing time and looking forward to getting a late hunt tag in the next few years (with some good luck).

http://www.coueswhitetail.com/forums/topic/50623-2013-tlo-mule-deer-season-pics/ See these great bucks and a dozen more!!!! Follow the link to our Blog page and see all the hunts we were blessed to be a part of during our 2013 Mule Deer Season! http://www.coueswhitetail.com/forums/topic/50623-2013-tlo-mule-deer-season-pics/ Thank you for looking, I hope you enjoy the pictures. Lance

sold

Back on the market. I'm selling a pair of 2013 Vortex Kaibabs 15x56, HD's. I used them all last year, great glass with the best warranty out there. Extremely small blemish on outside of one of the lenses that does NOT affect the glass in anyway, send them to Vortex and they will return them like new.I own three pairs of them, they are a great glass for the price. The Vortex VIP warranty can't be beat. I will be in the Phoenix area this Friday and Saturday( Feb.7&8)Need to sell just upgraded. $975 Thanks

Here is a video from our hunt last December, I finally finished putting it together, hope you guys enjoy! Click the link below, then click on 2012 Coues Whitetail. http://www.youtube.com/user/19gaps/videos

I've been very blessed to have taken another great Kaibab Buck. A fUn spot and stalk ended with a 50-yard heart shot! The big Kaibab Buck went 40 yards, stopped to look back, and dropped dead. he never knew what hit him. Lance Crowther Timberland Outfitters

My son got drawn for his first big game hunt for 12A W in early Nov. - doe tag. I've hunted turkey up there in early Fall and I've seen plenty of deer up on the plateau that time of year. When do the deer start to move? Is it all dependent on the snow? If there is heavy snow what is best access to the area? Thanks

In light of the recent draw results being processed, I thought I would share a handful of unit 12 Kaibab bucks from recent years TLO hunts. These are just a few of them. For more Kaibab bucks (and buffalo!)and bucks from all around Arizona check out our Website Mule Deer Photo Gallery at http://www.tlohunting.com/gallery/cat.php?cat=2 Its full of fun and priceless memories! We are looking forward to making some more memories with you all real soon! Good luck in getting the tags you want! I hope you enjoy the pictures. Lance Crowther Timberland Outfitters http://www.timberlandoutfitters.blogspot.com/2013/06/tlo-interactive-seminar-and-class-by.html

So miraculously, after only spending 1 bonus point on it, I drew a coveted Kaibab muzzy tag! What made it better was a bunch of friends and family had also drawn archery and rifle tags for the same unit as well so I would have a ton of scouting knowledge prior to my hunt! The bad thing with everyone drawing tags is they wouldn't have any vacation time to spend on my hunt, so I would be doing my hunt solo. The first couple hunts came and went and the outlook wasn't as good as I had hoped. The antler growth wasn't great, deer were scattered and there was very little activity. The only thing going for me for my hunt was a dark moon and several areas that supposedly held a big buck. What i didn't anticipate was 60mph winds!!! And to make it more interesting I planned to spend my first couple days in the burn with all those dead trees! I had my first camp set up in the middle transition to make travel easier while hunting between there and the top. I had been running cams for several days and was disappointed in the results. Even though it was a dark moon, most of the deer were nocturnal and I wasn't seeing the mature bucks at all. My first day started off with a huge hike planned in a roadless section of the burn. The winds were incredible and I heard later that they were around 60mph! What made it more fun was all the dead trees that were falling and it sounded like bombs going off! Anytime I stopped to glass I had to make sure I wasn't in line with a tree! My plan was to hike up and down all the fingers glassing tight into the un-windy sides and cuts. This turned a mile long section of rim into 5 miles because of the zig zagging but in theory it was the best way to find the giant that supposedly lived in there. I did this for the entire day and unbelievably found only 2 does!!! I couldn't believe it and that's when the frustrations of the hunt kicked into high gear! I did find a broken arrowhead on that hike so it was just a little highlight to the day.. My biggest problem with the wind, other than the crazy cold and falling trees, was that my camp consisted of only a Jumpin' Jack trailer and it's not exactly designed for high winds! I'd lay awake all night listening and watching as the beds lifted up and the frame twisted and creaked. I actually had to brace the inside with tripods and a walking stick in hopes it would take pressure off the beating it was getting. Plus, every morning I'd have to drop it down and put frozen 5 gallon water containers on it so I wouldn't have to worry about it all day! That's basically how the first handful of days went. I transitioned into less hiking and more glassing trying to cover more ground and still couldn't find a decent buck, actually, nothing bigger than a forkie! Most everyone else I saw or talked to road hunted and stayed warm and I heard most of them were seeing way more deer than I was! I just kept at it thinking any second I'm gonna find the giant buried up under a tree but that never happened. I did get to fully enjoy the upper elevations of the unit for the first half of my hunt. I have never spent much time up top so a lot of it was new to me and it's a beautiful place! So now, after a little bit of snow fell and still no sighting of any decent bucks, I decide it's time to move my camp for a 3rd time and hit the country that I'm familiar with. I was excited to hunt the low country and after making a mid day run down there I saw enough sign to know there were mature bucks down there and it would be my last move. The temps were in the low teens and it was crazy cold! I swear Jumpin' Jacks are the worst trailer to have in cold weather!!!! It's gotta be because of the air that circulates under them, but this is how I spent most of my time at night while outside of my coveted Butler Bag! If it was 15 degrees outside, I guarantee without the heater on, it was single digits IN the trailer!!! BUT, I was fine with it because the winds had finally subsided! First thing on the first morning of glassing down low I finally found a true Kaibab beast! This buck was moving and acting rutty which was bad because he was way up high in the wilderness area and I knew it would take me several hours to hike in there. I watched this buck walk nonstop up and over the highest peak and could only hope he stopped to bed. I could tell that he had a huge frame and possibly an extra inline on one side, a definite 190" plus deer even if he didn't have the inline! I sent a text out to my family and friends letting them know where I was headed and to come help if they didn't hear from me by nightfall. I spent several hours hiking up there and just like I'd expected he was nowhere to be found. The views were awesome and yet again I was seeing country I hadn't seen before so there was a silver lining to the adventure. So now it's the 5th day of the hunt and the 8th day of the adventure. I set up glassing the same country where the beast was the day before. I never found him but I did find a small group of does with a forkie and a small 4x4 in tow. I watched them feed for a while and then drop into a cut where i figured they would bed. These deer were yet again way up in the nasty stuff and it would be a long and difficult stalk. I texted my family and friends again and told them I've had an incredible experience but I'm tired of the cold and I'm sore from the previous days hike. I told them that if I could pull off this stalk, I'll be excited to smoke this 4x4. It would be a huge effort getting to him and an even bigger effort packing him out of there by myself! That effort, plus the fact I'm using a muzzleloader, would make this a great trophy in my book.. so off I went! It took me almost 2 hours to get where I planned to do the final stalk. I basically was just guessing that they had bedded in the cut and picked a tree out on the rim to sneak to. As I got closer I realized that my adrenaline was starting to get a little crazy! I kept laughing to myself because this wasn't a big buck but I was losing it!! I actually had to stop about 20 yards short of the rim to try and compose myself! I figured with all the planning, effort and frustrations leading up to and during this hunt, it had just built up to this point. I knew then that it didn't matter how big this buck was, I'm killin' em! So, after calming myself down I moved up to the tree. As soon as I rounded the tree deer started blowing out below me. I dropped the pack, threw the gun on it, found and ranged an opening ahead of the trotting buck at 135 yards, waited for him to get there and then I yelled to stop him.....Snap.......BOOM...Whop! I knew I hit him but for some reason my muzzleloader delay fired and I knew I pulled the crosshairs off him a little. I noticed he was humped up and still standing and that's when I REALLY lost it!!! I had reloading stuff flying EVERYWHERE! My primers went flying, I spilled half the first speedloader that i used, it was crazy! I finally got the gun loaded again, ranged the buck and lined up....Snap.......BOOM...Whop! I hit him again and he went down but again there was a delay fire and I pulled the crosshairs off. I saw he needed another round and this time, after frantically getting it loaded again, I shoved shooting sticks under the butt of the gun and made sure to get much steadier in case of another delay but finally the last shot was a BOOM..WHOP! Here's where the circus took place.... And here's my hard earned trophy!! I completely boned him out and was able to get it all into the Outdoorsmans frame pack. I don't know what that pack weighed but carrying it out physically sucked while emotionally it was very gratifying and I kept thinking the whole time that it will always be one of my most memorable hunts and cherished trophies! No doubt, the harder you work for something, the more it'll mean to you! My favorite part was realizing that I still get all worked up like when I was a kid, even when it's not a giant! I had cell service right where I shot from so the first thing I did was call my dad and he thought it was just as funny that I lost my composure and was having to pick up reloading items that had flown all over the place! Great times! Thanks if you read thru it all! JIM> .

Pardon Me while I eat a little Humble Pie!!! Those that know me know of my passion for hunting, the love of hunting is only replaced by the love for my family. I am sorry to say that my passion has been a tiny bit tarnished after my recent 12A East hunt, I disappointed myself. I was thrilled with the prospects of hunting monster bucks on the North Kaibab, I realize this is a special tag and I know it is a proven area for giant mule deer. I have never, ever been someone who scores my animals, it never has seemed important; until this hunt… When asked about scouting the first question asked when I stated I’d seen deer was “What do you think he scored”? I would answer that I didn’t know, and I just wanted to find a decent buck. I kept up that pretense until opening day. My husband Roger and I arrived in camp 4 days before the hunt, although we had spent time this fall scouting, I knew watching the deer the few days before season opener was imperative. Every since I drew this tag, I was counseled to “Pray for snow” to move the deer down off the rim. Prayers going unheeded, with virtually no snow and the forecast called for temps to remain close to 60* every day, we started looking up on top of the rim. We saw a lot of deer; a bunch of small fork horns and 3 pointers, herds of does but very, very little rut activity. In those 4 days we did not see the big Kaibab buck we had all read about. Opening day is upon us, we glass and see deer but not much until we find a good buck bedded. The problem is he sees us too. I get set up and get him in the scope, I keep asking Roger if he’s a good one, he answers that he thinks it’s a really good buck. Again I ask, “No but is he a REALLY good one” then I ask something that I have never asked “What do you think he scores”? Roger was slightly dumbfounded and looks at me, he says he doesn’t know the score but it’s a big deer and I should shoot it. I then explain to him that I don’t want to shoot unless it has “this… and that.. and whatever”. Gee, all of a sudden I’m putting scores ahead of anything else. The shot was too far and we couldn’t get any closer so the big buck walked. I thought about my reaction, I made excuses to myself about how this is a trophy hunt so I need a trophy deer. As the days went by we were not seeing the bucks any longer, we would see some does but the number of deer diminished. Word came that a friend guided a client to a 190 buck way down low in the Houserock Valley. The next day we decided to pack up camp and move. The deer were even more elusive, we had a hard time finding anything, the tracks were there but we couldn’t see the deer. I hiked and hiked, glassed and glassed; getting more and more frustrated as the time went by. Weather conditions were bad, 60 plus degrees, and a bright full moon. After a bad morning where Roger and I only saw flashes of 2 does and a butt of a buck, I had my meltdown... I was upset over something as dumb as not being able to find trophy deer and our ideas of what to do next clashed, I actually yelled and cursed at Roger, my amazing husband, the same guy that has been my #1 supporter, the guy that drops everything to help me, the guy that has been getting up in the dark cold mornings for 9 straight days to help me accomplish my goals Roger stayed in camp and I went to sit a trick tank. The days were so hot; I was hoping that maybe the deer might have to water during the day. As I sat in the ground blind, I started to reflect on what had happened, I had turned my passion for the hunt into a ‘numbers’ game, who was I trying to impress? I have never even shot a mule deer, now getting a trophy is the most important thing of this hunt? I was ashamed and embarrassed, I text Roger and apologized, knowing that I owed him more than just that. I sat there for 6 hours, I reread some of the text and emails from friends and ppl from this site that were sent before the hunt started, several stood out and helped me remember why I was there For example: Remember to enjoy every minute of it. Another: Don’t get too wrapped up in scores, how many points, or impressing anyone but yourself. And last: Stay positive, this is supposed to be fun! I had lost the ‘fun’. I decided to take the next decent buck I saw, I decided it wasn’t worth being this stressed, getting in a fight with my husband, and trying to answer the question “Is it big enough?” Not two minutes later I look up and this guy is already at the water, I can’t see his antlers but I put the crosshairs on him just in case, he lifted his head and after seeing his high rack I unquestionably squeezed the trigger. There was no measuring, no counting, no figuring, I simply said to myself “Wow, nice buck”. I am pleased with my Kaibab deer, nope he’s not the monster that inhabited my dreams for months, but I worked hard, I spent a lot time in the field scouting and hunting with my husband who is also my best friend. I saw some of the most beautiful country in our state, there were times when glassing I caught myself looking at the beautiful scenery, it was spectacular watching the sunrise on the Vermillion Cliffs. Thank you to all the friends on this site for the advice, knowledge, and camaraderie. Chef, thank you so much for checking in, and for keeping my spirits up! CosninoCanines, thanks for being there and for the friendship and support! Maybe I’m just not cut out to be a ‘Trophy Hunter’ I found out I really don’t like that kind of pressure. I lost track of who I was for a short time; but I’m back and ready to put those Spring tags to good use!!!

Allen is 3 for 3 in his consecutive draws and harvests on the Kaibab. Yes folks, this was his third time drawing the coveted Late hunt tag, IN A ROW! Couldn't happen to a nicer guy and boy does he make the best of them! As a bonus, his son Travis killed his first mule deer this year too! Duwane Adams camp comes through again! I'll let Allen fill in the details but I'll start with what everyone is waiting for, photos! Kicking things off is Travis' first Kaibab buck... Below is one of Duwane's clients and new found friend of ours, Scott with his 191" buck! Now here are both bucks together...

A good friend of ours has been chomping at the bit all year for his son's Kaibab hunt. I know Greg put a lot of thought and effort into making sure his son Carsten enjoyed his hunt. Not only was he hoping for a good buck, but he wanted Carsten to enjoy the hunt in it's entirety. All of Greg's hard work and scouting paid off! Congratulations Carsten! I wish I could have been as cool as you when I was twelve years old! Here is the story in Greg's words: "What a super hunt... We use several hunting tactics that Carsten learnt from. We set up and spotted with tripods and binos...I was able to get a couple large 4 pointers chasing does in the field of view for Carsten to watch, he also saw a smaller buck come in on a doe and a large one chase it off. We went on a pretty good hike and did some spot and stalk. We followed a monster buck on our hands and knees in the juniper trying to get a shot. We set on a water tank and had over 30 deer come in one evening...we were within 20 yards and could here them drinking and bleating with each other, several were bucks I would have taken on any other hunt. And we finished it up with Carsten calmly adjusting his scope power, making sure he was on the right deer, while I am screaming shoot beneath my breath as the Buck was taking his last step into some oaks, and most likely disappearing forever, Carsten shoots and calmly says, I got him... At the shot, the buck jumped and took off...we walked/ran to where the buck was and put a piece of paper towel marking the spot. (I didn't see any blood at the time) We then waited for a very long 30 minutes before searching around. Carsten actually was the one that found the blood from the shot, and was better at trailing the blood trail than I was...spotting little specks of blood on sticks and rocks. The buck ran about 100 yards where we found him. Carsten hit him right behind the shoulder and double lunged him. One shot was all it took! We had an all around amazing time, and I think Carsten is hooked on hunting!" 29" outside width...