rockymtnhunter
Active Member
- Messages
- 198
The 2019 archery hunt is drawing to a close tomorrow so I thought I'd give an update and make some comments about it ? I know there many tag holders wanting to know how things went, and what it looks like in terms of the upcoming rifle hunts.
2019 archery hunt was a good one in terms of number & quality of bucks seen & chased. Conditions were generally dry, warm & smoky. Monsoon moisture was scant before and during the hunt which is unusual. Two managed wildfires that started in June were still burning, but didn't seem to affect deer ? although there were large areas closed to access that affected hunters, including a large area that I I like to chase bucks in. BTW since the 2006 Warm Fire (the ?Burn?), large numbers of deer are drawn like a magnet to it ? I don't see deer in places I archery hunted for 30 years prior to the Burn. A little perplexing to me because there's abundant forage & water & cover ? I'm sure there are deer in those areas but I sure don't see them like I used to during the archery hunt.
As usual, many bowhunters were in the Burn ? at times it seems like most tag holders are in the Burn. Puts a lot of pressure on bucks, but they just seem to move into areas where they can hide out. Given the thick cover it's easy for them to disappear. As usual I saw lots of hunters that just drive around road hunting ? not my cup of tea, seems like getting out and walking always puts me into good bucks within a ? mile of roads. I seldom see other hunters on foot off a road.
I scouted over July 4th, and then returned Saturday before opening day and scouted for 6 days. Plenty of bucks, including some real whoppers. Interesting to watch bucks move around as opening day got closer in response to increasing hunter activity and traffic. Plenty of trailcams on all water holes and salt licks. Clearly hunters were watching these areas closely. Saw at least 4 B&C class typical bucks and an 8x9 non-typical. Several guides and others were watching the NT and he was getting a lot of attention, too much attention in my opinion. Counted vehicles passing me on roads one evening ? counted 17 vehicles in 30 minutes. Ridiculous! And reports of hunters sitting on water holes 24/7, spotlighting, driving/surrounding bucks with vehicles and so on. Unfortunately it seems that success outweighs fair chase for some hunters.
Saw multiple big bucks (B&C 170 to 180 pts+) every day and hunter I was helping had a shot opportunity every day, just couldn't close the deal. It's a tough, but fun & exciting, hunt when you try to outsmart these big bucks on their terms.
In a strange twist of fate, 3 days before opening I received an e-mail from AZGFD that a Kaibab archery tag had been returned and I was next in line to receive it. I was already on the Kaibab scouting, but I'd sold my archery equipment earlier this summer thinking I'd probably not use it again (I'm 67 and trying to draw a Kaibab rifle tag so I've been trying to build bonus pts). Wasn?t sure what to do for a few minutes, but decided to decline the tag and let someone else enjoy it. Hope someone out there was blessed! Guess I'll see what next year brings.
I expect the early rifle & late rifle hunts to be good ones ? should be some big bucks to be found. Probably too many hunters will concentrate on the Burn during the early hunt. Likely to remain dry ?til Oct, but maybe some fall precip will come. Conditions could be similar to 2017, i.e. super dry.
I know hunter expectations for the Kaibab are high this year ? I've talked to a lot of hunters who believe this will be an exceptional year for big bucks given the abundant moisture from last fall, winter and spring. Based on what I saw during the archery hunt that may be true ? but as usual, hunters shouldn't let their expectations overwhelm the reality of what it takes to get a big Kaibab grey ghost. If anyone would like more info about what I saw during the archery hunt and my expectations for the early & late rifle hunt can send me a PM. Thanks and good luck to all!
2019 archery hunt was a good one in terms of number & quality of bucks seen & chased. Conditions were generally dry, warm & smoky. Monsoon moisture was scant before and during the hunt which is unusual. Two managed wildfires that started in June were still burning, but didn't seem to affect deer ? although there were large areas closed to access that affected hunters, including a large area that I I like to chase bucks in. BTW since the 2006 Warm Fire (the ?Burn?), large numbers of deer are drawn like a magnet to it ? I don't see deer in places I archery hunted for 30 years prior to the Burn. A little perplexing to me because there's abundant forage & water & cover ? I'm sure there are deer in those areas but I sure don't see them like I used to during the archery hunt.
As usual, many bowhunters were in the Burn ? at times it seems like most tag holders are in the Burn. Puts a lot of pressure on bucks, but they just seem to move into areas where they can hide out. Given the thick cover it's easy for them to disappear. As usual I saw lots of hunters that just drive around road hunting ? not my cup of tea, seems like getting out and walking always puts me into good bucks within a ? mile of roads. I seldom see other hunters on foot off a road.
I scouted over July 4th, and then returned Saturday before opening day and scouted for 6 days. Plenty of bucks, including some real whoppers. Interesting to watch bucks move around as opening day got closer in response to increasing hunter activity and traffic. Plenty of trailcams on all water holes and salt licks. Clearly hunters were watching these areas closely. Saw at least 4 B&C class typical bucks and an 8x9 non-typical. Several guides and others were watching the NT and he was getting a lot of attention, too much attention in my opinion. Counted vehicles passing me on roads one evening ? counted 17 vehicles in 30 minutes. Ridiculous! And reports of hunters sitting on water holes 24/7, spotlighting, driving/surrounding bucks with vehicles and so on. Unfortunately it seems that success outweighs fair chase for some hunters.
Saw multiple big bucks (B&C 170 to 180 pts+) every day and hunter I was helping had a shot opportunity every day, just couldn't close the deal. It's a tough, but fun & exciting, hunt when you try to outsmart these big bucks on their terms.
In a strange twist of fate, 3 days before opening I received an e-mail from AZGFD that a Kaibab archery tag had been returned and I was next in line to receive it. I was already on the Kaibab scouting, but I'd sold my archery equipment earlier this summer thinking I'd probably not use it again (I'm 67 and trying to draw a Kaibab rifle tag so I've been trying to build bonus pts). Wasn?t sure what to do for a few minutes, but decided to decline the tag and let someone else enjoy it. Hope someone out there was blessed! Guess I'll see what next year brings.
I expect the early rifle & late rifle hunts to be good ones ? should be some big bucks to be found. Probably too many hunters will concentrate on the Burn during the early hunt. Likely to remain dry ?til Oct, but maybe some fall precip will come. Conditions could be similar to 2017, i.e. super dry.
I know hunter expectations for the Kaibab are high this year ? I've talked to a lot of hunters who believe this will be an exceptional year for big bucks given the abundant moisture from last fall, winter and spring. Based on what I saw during the archery hunt that may be true ? but as usual, hunters shouldn't let their expectations overwhelm the reality of what it takes to get a big Kaibab grey ghost. If anyone would like more info about what I saw during the archery hunt and my expectations for the early & late rifle hunt can send me a PM. Thanks and good luck to all!