12 A West N. Kaibab-Arizona Early Rifle Season Tags

J

jtpintail

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I have drawn a 12A West early rifle season tag for 2009. I'm looking for any information that anyone is willing to share about the area. I have hunted mule deer for several years in eastern MT. I may purchase Duwane Adams DVD/book on hunting the area as Arizona is much different than MT. Has anyone used any other hunting services from Duwane? I have heard the area gets hunted hard because of the large relative number of tags given out. I may be looking for someone to hunt with as well if someone has the same philosophies as I do when trophy hunting for Mulies. Let me know if you are interested and any information will be greatly appreciated. I don't mind getting away from the main roads.
 
I will second BigPig on Duwane's map service. I did it when I drew the same tag a couple years ago and it was well worth it. Give him a call and you won't be sorry.
 
LAST EDITED ON Jul-27-09 AT 02:20PM (MST)[p]I spoke to him this morning. He mentioned that service to me. He seems like a great guy but as many people have, I've had some bad experiences with the only two outfitters I've ever used. I'd like to speak to someone personally who has used this service coming from out of state. I'm interested in how the hunt ended up for you two. Thanks for the responses!
 
I think Caelknuts used him a within the last few years on his sons hunt. They whacked a good one. I maybe mistaken but about 80% certain. PM him or maybe he will see your post.
 
I had this hunt a couple years ago, and it sure was fun. I ended up with a decent 4x4, which isn't bad for my first muley. Duwane is the Kaibab authority and has a great reputation for a reason.
The crowds will be in the pines up on the plateau, and road hunters will be everywhere. So if you want to stay up there, you have to dig into some of the deep canyons. My buddy and I got our bucks in the transition areas heading west off the plateau.

One of the things I did was to Google pictures of buck kills in the Kaibab. Notice the surrounding areas where the buck was killed. Study your topos and Google Maps and you should have a general area where they will be in comparison to the pictures





"...I'd rather be tried by twelve than carried by six..."
 
Duwane's map service has a stellar reputation and I've witnessed first hand that he isn't feeding you a buch of bogus info. He'll give you areas that he and his guides hunt themselves.

He gives you information on where to hunt and when. Saves you a lot of time and headache during the hunt. You don't want to take chances, especially being a non-resident, you may not draw this tag again anytime soon.

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PM me if you want specifics, my buddy paid the big fee last year to use his map service. It was pretty general information. I actually got better info from guys off this website. He may have been more specific if we had better questions initally, but it took two or 3 trips up there to get familiar with the roads etc, After we were familiar with the unit and had some questions could never get hold of the guy again. He was probably out guiding, but for 4-500 bucks, you would think he would return a call. So I would scout before you buy the service, so you have very specific questions, but if you do that you probably won't need it anyway. I will give him this, if you do not plan on stepping foot in the area before the hunt, it will put you in the general area of the deer. If you are going to scout 2 or 3 times, and hit the forum here, definitely not worth the money.

T
 
If you ever have any questions during the hunt, feel free to stop by Duwanes camp. He is there during both the early and late hunts. That's what my buddy Orlin did and he got some good "real time" leads.

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I have used his map service and it was really helpful for a unit I didnt know. He really knows the Kaibab, and has a very good reputation. I would bet you spend more money on gas trying to figure out the unit. It may be worth your time to at least look into the map service..... Thanks, Allen Taylor......
 
So how bad is this hunt with 700 hunters and roads everywhere. I talked to a few guys that had this tag,and regret it.
I have the tag too, but being optimistic.
 
Thanks for the input guys. I'm optimistic about the hunt. At least it will be some new country to check out.
 
>So how bad is this hunt
>with 700 hunters and roads
>everywhere. I talked to a
>few guys that had this
>tag,and regret it.
> I have the tag
>too, but being optimistic.

It can get pretty crowded, there's no doubt. Each tagholder has 4 buddies road-hunting trying to see some big monster. However, you can get away from the crowds, and if you do, you'll definitely up your chances



"...I'd rather be tried by twelve than carried by six..."
 
it will be crowded alot of shooting and a lot of hunters, most riding the roads, get down into the quakie ditches away from the crowds, if it snows go low, ive been five times over the years and always love the kaibab
 

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