Kaibab recap

rockymtnhunter

Active Member
Messages
198
Congrats to all the successful Kaibab hunters this year. There were some good bucks taken. Now that the 2017 seasons have ended I'll recap some of this year?s highlights.

First, here?s a photo of a buck taken on day 7 of the late hunt by the hunter I helped. Congrats to Ken for a memorable hunt and a good buck. He put in the effort needed to take this buck, a trophy to be proud of. We faced the usual dilemma of whether to hunt ?high?, ?low? or ?in-between? during late hunt because it had been super dry and warm (mid-70s) prior to opening day ? thought that the migration might be delayed. No snow or real cold weather prior to late hunt so I thought bucks may still be ?high?, but decided to 1) focus on water given how extra dry it was and 2) go ?low? hoping that bucks had moved low despite the weather and because of the relatively late start of the hunt this year. All of the trick tanks had from 2 to 6 trailcams on them so I knew other hunters would be focusing on water too. Scouted 4 days prior to opening ? saw some great bucks so figured my choices were on the mark (hopefully). First 4 days of hunt were tough, lots of deer and smaller bucks, but bigger bucks were tough to locate. Warm weather had them laying low. Cold front arrived Monday eve dropping temps 15-20 degrees and presto the bucks were active and chasing does. Saw 2 great bucks on day 5 but they gave Ken the slip before he could get set up - reminded me how important it is to be ready for a quick shot. Ken finally got his chance to connect on day 7 with this buck. He focused on patience, persistence, with a little bit o?luck. It continues to amaze me that the bucks I see during the late rifle hunt are the same ones I chase around on the high plateau in August-Sept.

Backing up a bit to the bow hunt ? did some pre-season scouting and saw some great bucks. The monsoons seemed lean this year ? not the usual standing water and many water holes were dry. Spent opening day with a hunter, saw some good bucks but no shots. As usual the ?burn? got tons of pressure during the bowhunt. I there during the early rifle hunt but expected that hunt would be tougher than usual due to dry conditions. Based on what I've heard that seemed to be the case.

Already thinking about next year ? I turned 65 this year and time is slipping away hoping to draw a rifle tag. Love to bowhunt the Kaibab, but I have to admit it's probably the toughest hunt of all. I like the early rifle hunt ? have had great success then. Maybe I'll draw a rifle tag this year, only have 5 pts but maybe lightning will strike.

Finally, I'll be finishing my book this winter and have it available by May-June next year.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all!

596982017113095082412.jpg
 
>Congrats to all the successful Kaibab
>hunters this year. There were
>some good bucks taken. Now
>that the 2017 seasons have
>ended I'll recap some of
>this year?s highlights.
>
>First, here?s a photo of a
>buck taken on day 7
>of the late hunt by
>the hunter I helped. Congrats
>to Ken for a memorable
>hunt and a good buck.
>He put in the effort
>needed to take this buck,
>a trophy to be proud
>of. We faced the usual
>dilemma of whether to hunt
>?high?, ?low? or ?in-between? during
>late hunt because it had
>been super dry and warm
>(mid-70s) prior to opening day
>? thought that the migration
>might be delayed. No snow
>or real cold weather prior
>to late hunt so I
>thought bucks may still be
>?high?, but decided to 1)
>focus on water given how
>extra dry it was and
>2) go ?low? hoping that
>bucks had moved low despite
>the weather and because of
>the relatively late start of
>the hunt this year. All
>of the trick tanks had
>from 2 to 6 trailcams
>on them so I knew
>other hunters would be focusing
>on water too. Scouted
>4 days prior to opening
>? saw some great bucks
>so figured my choices were
>on the mark (hopefully).
>First 4 days of hunt
>were tough, lots of deer
>and smaller bucks, but bigger
>bucks were tough to locate.
>Warm weather had them laying
>low. Cold front arrived Monday
>eve dropping temps 15-20 degrees
>and presto the bucks were
>active and chasing does. Saw
>2 great bucks on day
>5 but they gave Ken
>the slip before he could
>get set up - reminded
>me how important it is
>to be ready for a
>quick shot. Ken finally got
>his chance to connect on
>day 7 with this buck.
>He focused on patience, persistence,
>with a little bit o?luck.
>It continues to amaze me
>that the bucks I see
>during the late rifle hunt
>are the same ones I
>chase around on the high
>plateau in August-Sept.
>
>Backing up a bit to the
>bow hunt ? did some
>pre-season scouting and saw some
>great bucks. The monsoons seemed
>lean this year ? not
>the usual standing water and
>many water holes were dry.
>Spent opening day with a
>hunter, saw some good bucks
>but no shots. As usual
>the ?burn? got tons of
>pressure during the bowhunt. I
>there during the early rifle
>hunt but expected that hunt
>would be tougher than usual
>due to dry conditions. Based
>on what I've heard that
>seemed to be the case.
>
>
>Already thinking about next year ?
>I turned 65 this year
>and time is slipping away
>hoping to draw a rifle
>tag. Love to bowhunt the
>Kaibab, but I have to
>admit it's probably the toughest
>hunt of all. I like
>the early rifle hunt ?
>have had great success then.
>Maybe I'll draw a rifle
>tag this year, only have
>5 pts but maybe lightning
>will strike.
>
>Finally, I'll be finishing my book
>this winter and have it
>available by May-June next year.
>
>
>Merry Christmas and a Happy New
>Year to all!
>
>
596982017113095082412.jpg


+1
 
Wow!, beautiful buck! Any chance you can post a frontal picture of him, showing the spread? Classic clean four point with deep, deep forks.....my dream buck!
 
LAST EDITED ON Dec-07-17 AT 06:31PM (MST)[p]That's an outstanding buck. I really like hearing updates on the kaibab from you.
 
I was the lucky hunter that took the buck that RockyMtnHntr posted in this thread. Overall, the hunt was a lot of fun and definitely worth my 14 bps it took to draw it. Saw lots of bucks and even passed on a couple that I never would have in the past. I was definitely concerned the weather would be more than I could handle, but it turned out the weather was actually too good!! Very very warm and dry for early Dec.

I really appreciate the time that RockyMtnHunter and I spent scouting over the Labor Day and Veterans Day weekends - getting to know the low country. Can't thank him enough for all his help and willingness to share what he knows about the Kaibab. That took some real dedication especially during Labor Day to go a couple of days without seeing a single deer or even a track when scouting. Hopefully we get a chance to hunt together again soon (maybe when he draws a tag)!!

Overall, I am very pleased with the deer. By far my biggest. Will try to get a front-on pic posted. Deer was narrow - maybe 23-24" wide, but he was pretty tall and had decent forks as the picture shows. Just couldn't pass him up (especially when your rifle is sited in for 300 yards and the deer stands broadside at 290 yds)!!
 
Great deep forks, Got to like those. Very nice Buck.

"I have found if you go the extra mile it's Never crowded".
>[Font][Font color = "green"]Life member of
>the MM green signature club.[font/]
 
Dan, thank you for the re-cap. I miss wandering around up there, so its nice to hear your detailed observations each and every year.

Congratulations to you and your hunter on that pretty and symmetrical buck.

I cant wait for your book to be released!

Goodluck in next years draw!
 

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