12AW or 12BW ?

[oilcan]

Not sure were you find the report but does anyone know what the NR odds for 12AW Late with 18 points was ?

[Bailer41]

71%

[oilcan]

Thanks that's not to bad might just draw next year.

[couesmagnet]

A lot of the biggest bucks in 12 a winter or rut in 12 b. Early hunt in 12 b can be a rough one.

[azelkhunter69]

Went up Thursday for my son's junior hunt. Sat a tank that was getting hammered and he shot his first deer 1 minute after sunrise. He was very excited to say the least. Went out Saturday morning before we left and glassed up 7 bucks. I've seen some good ones so far. Just hope to find a couple next week.

 

[Heat]

Congrats to your son and good luck on your upcoming hunt!

[brian390]

Congrats on your sons successful doe hunt. Yeah, definitely let us know how your early rifle hunt goes up on the Kaibab. The Kaibab is a special place.

[brian390]

My brother is with some friends of ours up in 12B West right now. I will let you know you all know how their hunt went when they get back.

[brian390]

They both got three points yesterday and were back today. Is there anyone else out there that has returned from 12a east, 12a west, or 12b?

[208muley]

Just got back from 12bw on my wife's hunts. She took her first buck just a 2pt but she missed a solid buck and couldn't get a shot off at a big buck. Saw a ton of deer as usual , she actually passed bucks bigger than the one she took but it doesn't matter a first is a first!

[5nRamirez]

We also wrapped up our hunt on the East side my now fiancée took a great buck. ill try and post pics and story tonight.

[brian390]

Is anyone else out there with a Kaibab or 12b story that came back early? I thought that there would be a few more pics by now.

[azelkhunter69]

Well, unfortunately my dad and I struck out. We got home yesterday, my dad just couldn't take it anymore. We were first timers up there and inexperience really played a role. It didn't help that I found out my dad had basically been sick for about a month leading up to the hunt and wouldn't go to the Dr. I made him go the day before we left. Honestly, he was in no shape to hunt and in hindsight, we should have donated our tags.

 

After speaking to many many people during the hunt, this was a very strange year. I guess because of the extreme dry conditions, early snow and cold snap, and the prescribed burns, the deer went lower early. We just didn't have the experience to know how many deer we should be seeing or where to go after that. I did head lower for the last 2 or 3 days we were there but it just wasn't enough time for me to learn a new area and get on some bucks.

 

Our hunt really had some ups and downs, scary moments, etc. I went to the burn the first morning like I planned but all the bucks I was watching prior to the hunt were gone...poof. I also didn't experience the "war zone" that I had heard about the burn the 1st couple days. Alarm bells should have been going off in my head. I checked out several different areas where I had seen bucks scouting. Put 10 miles on my boots Friday and no bucks. 2nd day, my dad didn't even want to hunt so I asked him if he was up for some road hunting. Not a tactic we use, but since he is 79 and sick, it was all he could handle. Right off the bat we saw a decent buck and some does but not being professional road hunters, we had not perfected our technique. He couldn't get out of the truck fast enough.

 

2nd afternoon is where it got scary. My dad doesn't really hunt afternoons anymore so I went out by myself. I got back to camp just before dark and he wasn't there. Strange, he is ALWAYS back to camp before me. He went for a "little walk behind camp". I drank a beer, expecting him to be back any second. The sun set and I really started to get worried. I looked around and his gun was gone, he didn't have a warm coat or a light, only had 3 bullets and the worst part, I found his GPS in my truck. You have to understand, my dad is old school, he used to hunt deer in the Adirondack Mountains in NY with nothing more than a compass and his sense of direction. They didn't have GPS's back then. Apparently, he thought he was going to take a little stroll on the logging road around camp for a little bit. No problem right? After my scouting trips up there, I had been telling him how easy it is to get turned around. Anyway, it gets dark and cold and I am freaking out. I figured he had a heart attack or got lost. Neither was good. As time ticked by, I tried to keep it together and keep my head. Decided I need to force myself to eat. I really didn't want to because I was sick to my stomach, but knew I needed to. I took a page out of my dad's book and put the lantern on top of my truck so it could be seen for a ways(we were not camped right on the road). I said a little prayer every time a truck would pass, but no luck. Well, over an hour had passed and I was freaking out. I was about to eat a little something and I heard a truck coming. I grabbed my headlamp, headed down toward the road and said another prayer. The truck slowed and then pulled in. I said to the guy, "Please tell me you have my dad in there." He said, "What if I was to tell you I have your dad in here?" Thank God!!! Nightmare over. It was 7:05pm. I had been going nuts for an hour and 20 minutes. Scariest thing I have gone through in my life. Turns out, they had picked him up at 4:45pm about a mile and a half away on a road that went nowhere in one direction and the opposite direction from our camp the other way. It would have been a long night. They drove him up and down the 429 road trying to find our camp for a long time. They finally saw the lantern on top of my truck. I can't tell you how relieved my dad and I were that he made it back safe.

 

I won't bore you with breaking down every detail of the rest of the hunt. I will say, we did pass up a few small bucks in the first 4 days. We really regretted that. I talked to several people and they all said the same thing. This was a REALLY weird year, the deer went low early and big bucks were very hard to come by. Halfway through the hunt I heard that only 6 big bucks had been checked in. A couple of those were killed down around Sowats. Maybe the guys that stuck it out the last 3 days will get some big bucks. This hunt amounted to a very disappointing learning experience. It wasn't the first and I am sure it won't be the last. On the bright side, I learned a lot for future hunts, saw some pretty country, we did have chances to kill bucks, my dad saw a lion, met some nice people and I got to spend 10 days in the woods with my dad. I am not sure how many more times that will happen. After sleeping on it, I feel a lot better about the whole thing. Oh, and to ease my pain a little, I get to go pick up a new rifle. The night before I left, I got a call from the AZ Elk Society informing me I had won a new Weatherby Vanguard Synthetic in 6.5 Creedmoor in their raffle.

 

I want to say thanks to the people that threw out little bits of info here and there. Sorry for the long read on an unsuccessful hunt but I thought some of you that followed this saga for the last year and a half might want to know how it turned out. We'll get 'em next time. At least we stayed warm.

 

 

 

 

[azelkhunter69]

My dad was sick leading up to this hunt and being a stubborn old timer, wouldn't go to the Dr. Made him go before the hunt and Dr. told him to come back after to get an XRAY on his lungs. Turns out he has lung cancer. Got biopsy and it has spread to his lymph nodes and possibly his liver. This may have been the last hunt we ever go on. The hunt was not what we hoped for, but I am glad I got to spend 10 days in the woods with my dad, best friend and hunting partner. Enjoy every minute with your family. You never know when it will end. As a kid growing up in NY, I have been lucky to spend many years here in AZ hunting animals my dad and I only dreamed of. Love you dad. Hoping for one more hunt.

[goinhuntn]

Azelkhunter69

Condolences to you & your father enjoy every minute you can with him!!!!!