rockymtnhunter
Active Member
- Messages
- 198
I apologize in advance for my lengthy message, but I want to raise a concern and express a caution to Kaibab hunters as a result of reading the ?Kaibab Nightmare? post. These comments are mine alone and not intended to offend anyone - I only want to offer some food for thought.
Conflicts between hunters (both DIY and licensed guides) related to trailcams (and other factors) on the Kaibab have been brewing for years, but have come to a head this fall due to extreme drought conditions resulting from a virtually non-existent summer monsoon. Those conditions have resulted in extremely limited water supplies for deer. Mature bucks are vulnerable because water is a critical limiting factor for wildlife on the Kaibab.
Some background - a wet monsoon in 2018 followed by abundant fall, winter and spring moisture provided excellent forage and habitat conditions for bucks to achieve excellent antler growth in 2019. Word quickly spread through the hunter grapevine that this could be a red letter year for big Kaibab bucks. That expectation was confirmed when hunters hit the field for pre-season scouting, and numerous large bucks were seen & taken during the archery season. Guides focused on locating & patterning those bucks for their clients during the upcoming rifle seasons. But for trailcams, Kaibab bucks would be hard to find and pattern.
Kaibab bucks are especially vulnerable because of limited water supplies. That vulnerability is exaggerated this year because of drought-limited water sources. The scarce remaining water sources are being intensely monitored by trailcams - not uncommon to find 6-8 trailcams on individual water sources. Outfitters/guides intensely focus on those water sources, and some unscrupulous guides and hunters tend to claim them based on ?first in time, first in right?, meaning whoever places their trailcams first can claim ?ownership? of any buck photographed. Some guides have hundreds of trailcams so that buck movement and locations can be almost instantly tracked. Some unscrupulous guides state that they will do whatever is necessary to assure that clients are successful - clients who pay thousands, tens of thousands, and even hundreds of thousands of dollars to harvest a big buck. I've personally observed other questionable practices (and not just by a few unscrupulous guides) such as baiting, 24/7 shadowing of bucks, spotlighting, driving off roads, and verbal harassment of DIY hunters.
My concern is that unlimited & unrestrained trailcam use on the Kaibab leads to unnecessary disturbance that interferes with wildlife use of critical water supplies. Multiple trailcams on a single water source means almost continuous human disturbance when cameras are checked. A common comment I hear from late season hunters is that they expected it to be a wilderness-type hunt, meaning few hunters in a large wild area, but what I see is hunters tripping over one another in the proximity of water sources ? and that can lead to unfortunate encounters.
Having said all this, I believe most guides are honest and provide excellent service to their clients. Good luck to Kaibab hunters!
Conflicts between hunters (both DIY and licensed guides) related to trailcams (and other factors) on the Kaibab have been brewing for years, but have come to a head this fall due to extreme drought conditions resulting from a virtually non-existent summer monsoon. Those conditions have resulted in extremely limited water supplies for deer. Mature bucks are vulnerable because water is a critical limiting factor for wildlife on the Kaibab.
Some background - a wet monsoon in 2018 followed by abundant fall, winter and spring moisture provided excellent forage and habitat conditions for bucks to achieve excellent antler growth in 2019. Word quickly spread through the hunter grapevine that this could be a red letter year for big Kaibab bucks. That expectation was confirmed when hunters hit the field for pre-season scouting, and numerous large bucks were seen & taken during the archery season. Guides focused on locating & patterning those bucks for their clients during the upcoming rifle seasons. But for trailcams, Kaibab bucks would be hard to find and pattern.
Kaibab bucks are especially vulnerable because of limited water supplies. That vulnerability is exaggerated this year because of drought-limited water sources. The scarce remaining water sources are being intensely monitored by trailcams - not uncommon to find 6-8 trailcams on individual water sources. Outfitters/guides intensely focus on those water sources, and some unscrupulous guides and hunters tend to claim them based on ?first in time, first in right?, meaning whoever places their trailcams first can claim ?ownership? of any buck photographed. Some guides have hundreds of trailcams so that buck movement and locations can be almost instantly tracked. Some unscrupulous guides state that they will do whatever is necessary to assure that clients are successful - clients who pay thousands, tens of thousands, and even hundreds of thousands of dollars to harvest a big buck. I've personally observed other questionable practices (and not just by a few unscrupulous guides) such as baiting, 24/7 shadowing of bucks, spotlighting, driving off roads, and verbal harassment of DIY hunters.
My concern is that unlimited & unrestrained trailcam use on the Kaibab leads to unnecessary disturbance that interferes with wildlife use of critical water supplies. Multiple trailcams on a single water source means almost continuous human disturbance when cameras are checked. A common comment I hear from late season hunters is that they expected it to be a wilderness-type hunt, meaning few hunters in a large wild area, but what I see is hunters tripping over one another in the proximity of water sources ? and that can lead to unfortunate encounters.
Having said all this, I believe most guides are honest and provide excellent service to their clients. Good luck to Kaibab hunters!
