Wow!
Got to love the discussion here!
Mike & Tammy, good to hear from you, bet when you posted you never thought this discussion would occur!
Hey, I remember you burned all your deer bonus points (you had max if I recall) in 12B, how was that hunt? Never did hear.
Anyway, some of the posts are correct when it comes to NR's being able to draw a premium tag above the ditch.
AS many of you know, I purchase the list of successful applicants from G&F each year, and there is no doubt that only those with MAX bonus points are the ones with the PREMIUM tags (13B,12A West Late)for example.
Yes, NR's with less than max points can and do draw the 12A west (early) and the 12A east(early) tags.
But as we know, these are not generally known as PREMIUM tags.
And that is it in a nutshell.
Still a good hunt, but as it has been pointed out, some would question if it is worth over $150 per year for a deer bonus point or application for that particular hunt if you are a non-resident. That's up to you to decide.
That being said, it is better than MOST of the general hunts south of the ditch, with a few notable exceptions, in my opinion.
I have brought up the "fairness" issue to G&F in the past concerning those NR without max points being locked out of the draws for premium hunts and the response was lets just say, would be viewed as less than favorable as far as NR are concerned.
I suspect that until the dept. sees an economic impact from large numbers of NR's shying away from Arizona due to the this practice, nothing will change.
And from what I've heard NR applications and license purchases are still slowly going up--not down, so I guess you can figure out where this is all going.
That's one reason why I tell NR to use that $151 license and apply for many, and not just one species.
Arizona has excellent elk, sheep, antelope, Gould's turkey, and javelina hunts, plus some good small game opportunities.
That's what I do in Nevada. I apply for them all to try and stretch my hunting license dollar just a little farther.
So to Mike and Tammy, yes apply for the early Kaibab, as if memory serves me right, the successful NR applicants have NOT hit the 10% cap on those hunts in recent years.
And while there will always be a chance to see a "boomer", just understand what the "average" buck taken there is, and enjoy the outdoor experience!
Don Martin
AWO