2018 12 A W late vs 12 B W late?

Going into the 2018 draw I have 19 non resident deer bonus points. Having recently retired I can not afford a guided hunt should I draw 12AW late or 12BW late tag. I'm seeking advice from knowledgeable Arizona hunters about which unit they think is better. In addition, is it possible and/or advisable to book a USFS cabin at the Big Springs campground in the Kaibab Ntl Forest and hunt 12AW late? If I draw 12BW late could I stay in Fredonia and hunt west of there? Any advice or recommendations would greatly be appreciated.

I have hunted 12B-West three different times, once late and two early. The late hunt we got screwed by the snow storms coming early and they killed all the big deer on the early hunt. All we had was melted muddy roads, and sloppy hunting. The deer do love to roam around in the thickets tho, and drink out of the two-track puddles. The 12A units I have been in, and scouted but never had a tag or accompanied anyone who was hunting.

It is an easy hunt, it's well roaded, and generally holds lots of deer. The Pauns deer that cross the highway (the entire 20 miles east of Kanab) sometimes hold up right on the state line in the big cedar thickets. Have a good GPS as wardens from both sides watch it closely. We have always managed to kill older deer, of average antler size, up on the Plateau or Buck Pasture Canyon or Rock Canyon. Some nice ones are killed every year in the sagebrush flats where they bed all day, before getting up to come back to water at night. Not saying you can't find a monster but not as many of them there as in 12A, either East or West. As much as I am familiar with it and enjoy it, I would not waste 19 points on 12B-W myself.

As for accommodations, if you are hunting out on the canyon rims or the lower Buckskins, then staying in Fredonia is fine. We stayed at the Grand Canyon Motel, right on the highway at junction of 89A. 100 years old, small clean hunting cabins, and cheap. Run $40-50 a night, always had TV and hot water, and reasonably clean. If you want to shorten up the driving out towards Johnson Canyon area, hunt the east end of the buckskins, or the sage desert then I would stay in Kanab. Bigger selection of motels, more restaurants, stores, lots of gas stations. You can stop into Muley Crazy office and see if there is any info they will share.

Good luck

Thank you for this helpful information. The advice as to where to stay is for 12 A West late. Is that correct? I've read several conflicting opinions as to whether 12 A west late is better or 12B west late. This year 12 B west late had tougher draw odds. There's a lot out there about 12 A west late having heavy hunting pressure compared to 12 B west late. For example, every guided hunter in 12 A west late having 5 - 6 spotters tagging along. One thread or post said there was a truck with several spotters at every point in 12 A west late at "the burn". Is that correct? Any input from Arizona resident hunters would greatly be appreciated.
Stu

Yes, you can rent a cabin @ Big Springs (not sure what the $rate is) and reach many good hunting areas for 12AW late hunt in 30 min to an hour. Nice facilities there-I lived there when I worked for the USFS. You can read my posts about the 12AW late hunt, should give you some relevant advice. I've never hunted 12B, so I don't have an opinion about it other than what read or heard from other hunters. I think I agree that 12B probably isn't worth 19 pts, but I do know that 12AW late is worth 19 pts based on 40+ years of experience (and results) there.

The truck at every place in the burn comment was a comment for the early hunt, where they give out a lot more tags and the deer are more concentrated in the higher country. For the late hunt, a lot less tags... and tons of country. The popular spots will still have guides with multiple spotters, but there are places with less people and plenty of deer. Also, in my experience (2 hunts) lots of people still leave after the first weekend.


>Thank you for this helpful information.
> The advice as to
>where to stay is for
>12 A West late.
>Is that correct? I've
>read several conflicting opinions as
>to whether 12 A west
>late is better or 12B
>west late. This year
>12 B west late had
>tougher draw odds. There's
>a lot out there about
>12 A west late having
>heavy hunting pressure compared to
>12 B west late.
>For example, every guided hunter
>in 12 A west late
>having 5 - 6 spotters
>tagging along. One thread
>or post said there was
>a truck with several spotters
>at every point in 12
>A west late at "the
>burn". Is that correct?
> Any input from Arizona
>resident hunters would greatly be
>appreciated.
>Stu

Thank you cmbbulddog for your insight. If I draw I plan to hunt the entire 10 days. So as an Arizona resident who seems to know the area would you say 12A west late or 12B west late?
I have 19 non resident bonus points going into the 2018 draw.

I've been on the 12b west late hunt once and the 12a west late hunt four times. In my opinion I liked the 12a west late hunt much better. The 12b west unit is small and not as good in my opinion.