Kaibab 12A East early hunt

[JPinAZ]

Hey guys, I'm new to the site and there is some incredible stuff here. I was drawn for the Kaibab 12A East early rifle hunt. I've only hunted the West side before, so the East is new to me. I went up last weekend and did some scouting and spotted some serious bucks. The bucks I saw this year looked slightly smaller than those I've seen before. I'm curious if this is because of the drought conditions we've had this year. Let me know what your thoughts are on this. Has anyone else hunted this area before.

I located a couple of spots that seem to be honey holes holding a few 25"+ bucks. I don't know if they will still be there after the archery guys get through with the area. Any opinions on this are welcome.

Also, what kind of cammo seems to work best in the area?

Good luck to all and happy hunting.

 

[utaz]

A question: how did the burn look on the East Side? Was it real dry up there or have they received any moister? Were the deer in pockets or spread out pretty well?

I predict the antler growth is going to suffer a lot this year. Arizona in general hasn't recieved much moister.

 

[utaz]

Also, from the last Archery hunt and the number of vehicles, ATVS and camps. I would bet those honey holes will either have a tire mark, a lost arrow, toilet paper or something in it besides the bucks. Just pray for early moister (i.e snow) I know the 12 A hunt in I think 04 had a snow storm. So when us 12 b west hunters cam in for November, a good majority of the big ones had been shot.

The archery hunt is a mad house.

You think you find a place off the beaten path and you in counter either another road, an ATV parked in a meadow, a few guys in treestands pointing at each other or the trees start moving because everone is decked out in the same camo walking your way.

You got to love the Bab.

 

[JPinAZ]

The area has received some rain in the last couple of weeks. The burn looks like a pretty typical burn. I spent 4 years on a Hot Shot crew fighting forest fires and have a pretty good idea of what the burn has done to the land and how it will regrow. This burn was pretty hot in some areas and very healthy in other areas. I didn't see much of the major deforestation that I saw in the Rodeo-Chedeski fire. There was no new grass growth in the burn, yet. I'm not sure if we will see any new growth in that area this year, but it should be an awesome spot in future years. Over all the fire was spotty and healthy and left lots of islands withing the burn areas. Those islands should hold some pretty good deer.

The weather could be interesting this year. I'm not sure whether to hope for snow or not. I'm usually a billy goat on the mountain and am able to hike back in areas that would scare most people. I'm hoping that the deer will stay holed up there at least until the archery guys are finished. It is too thick, steep and ugly for most archery guys to do a good spot and stalk routine and the way the area lays out there is little probability of a monster walking within range of an archer.

As far as seeing an ATV back there, I sure hope not. Most of that area is restricted to off road vehicle use. If I find an ATV back there, I'll be sure to write down the make, model and vehicle number, take some pictures and report it to the nearest game warden. ATV people be warned - if you can't hike back in there on your own, you have no business hunting the area.

All in all, I'm not too sure how the burn is going to be put into play. If anyone else has seen the burn, I'd like to know what they think.

 

[utaz]

Thanks for the info. Your lucky to have the hunt of a lifetime. I'll do the same with the ATV's. The archery hunt will be over for over a month before your hunt. So I think you should check out those honey holes a few days before the hunt. As with most hunts the weather plays a big factor in Kaibab.

I'm surprised you mentioned no new grass taking root. I have seen several threads on this site and other sites that mentioned the grass was three inches in some areas of the burn.

Good luck with your hunt. Please post pics of your success or send me a PM with a picture.

Thanks,
Utaz

 

[JPinAZ]

what other sites do you look at?

 

[utaz]

I sent you a PM.

Utaz