12 A W Oct hunt

[trophyhntr]

I know this is a couse deer site but I couldn?t resist. My father, older brother, friend and I were drawn for this 12A W October rifle hunt. I have never hunted the rifle hunt. I usually hunt the archery hunt but the family wanted to try this. Anyways, I am not asking for hunting spots. I just wanted bounce some ideas around based on knowledge of an area I've hunted for many years during the archery hunt, what to expect with the other hunters, weather, and hunting methods. I assume it is not more of a problem with other hunters as it is during the archery season.

 

PS. My little brother has the 22 Dec. whitetail hunt and hopefully he can improve on the one I harvested a few years ago . Here is the link to the story.

 

http://www.coueswhitetail.com/hunt_stories..._with_eddie.htm

 

I don?t post much but I enjoy reading all the post here. Keep it up everyone.

 

Thanks

elweazel@yahoo.com

 

Eddie

[coueshunter]

Eddie, there is nowhere near the problem with other hunters on the rifle hunt like there is on the bow "Free for all". Your biggest issue will be "are the deer down". As you well know this is all weather dependant. I have two friends that are going on this hunt and I am praying for weather for them right now. I cant go and help out, I will be in Colorado so I really hope it gets nasty, snowy etc. I was up there last season on the late hunt and some monsters were killed. I helped out in Duwane Adams camp and saw Dana Younts 221" and the two clients I helped with killed really nice bucks. 195" non-typical by Brent Hill and Dave Nygaard shot a beautiful 198" typical. I sure hope you get the weather and as you probably know now, your hunt and where you will be in the unit will all depend on the weather. Shoot me an email if I can help further........www.environmentalfiltration@msn.com

[111]

I drew the tag this year also along with my father, fathers friend and brother. Also have a friend who drew the late hunt. Knew a guy last year who took a 200+ buck on the early hunt with snow on the ground. I helped a family member on the late hunt last year, tons of bucks but still hard to find a monster. Duwane Adams camp did do very well last year and all three of those bucks were awesome! Most likely where I hunt will all depend on the weather, just hope we get some snow. Good luck to everybody with a tag it will be fun!

[Red Rabbit]

I have bowhunted the Kaibab a few times, but have not been drawn for the rifle hunts.

I wonder how the increase in number of early hunt tags to 1000 this year, compared to 500 last year, will affect the hunt quality and deer herd (i.e. future buck population).

 

RR

[111]

Throughout the years my experiences of archery hunting the kaibab I've noticed much less does and smaller bucks. I hope it will change soon the drought and fire has really destroyed the unit over the last 9 years. I also heard even with all the buck permits and doe permits issued this year there will still be a about an 8% population increase on the Kaibab. I find it hard to believe but it would be nice if it's true. The last time the Kaibab had 1,000 tags was back in 2001. Tags then went to 635 in 02', 300 in 03', 500 in 04'. Winter moisture will be a big contributor to how many tags we see in future years.

[trophyhntr]

For the sake of this discussion and information that may be helpful to others, let assume some situations.

 

1. Assume that the weather is cold but no to very little snow has fallen and melts that day. The freeze at this point has not killed all the browse.

 

Would elevations between 6500 and 7000 feet still be a place to start? (That where I been hunting during the archery season). The area is mixed conifers where you cannot get on a high point and glass (like I like to hunt).

 

2. Assume nasty weather in which there is snow on the ground and it doesn't melt off during the hunt. Most of the browse is brown and appears dead.

 

Would elevations between 5500 and 6500 feet be a place to start looking?

 

 

Should I be looking in and around canyon? I assume that waterholes are visited less frequently and only at night during this hunt.

 

There will be three to four scouting trips before the hunt. Should we scout in the month of October or start in the middle of September. I would think that the closer to the hunt the better. Right?

 

By the way, I do not expect that we will get a bruiser like what you guys are describing but it would be nice to able to see buck(s) while we are out.

 

coueshunter,

I sent you an email.

[megahunter6969]

Just hope for SNOW SNOW SNOW!!! AND THEN YOULL GET A BIG ONE!!! and yes it is true that the babs deer numbers are at an all time low!!! And they are giving way to many tags away up there!!!!

[111]

trophyhntr what you described about elevations and weather sounds perfect. Yes scouting closer to the hunt will be better. Also hope it snows a lot!