12A West Advice??

[ctracingraptor]

Hi everybody, i was wondering if you guys could give me some advice on my upcoming 12A West Deer hunt starting Oct. 21st. I would consider myself a beginner level deer hunter, i've only shot two deer on the Kaibab before and neither of them are worth mentioning. I was up in the Kaibab this past weekend to do some scouting before my upcoming deer hunt. I saw well over 70 plus does and only 4 bucks, and about 30 turkeys. The bucks that i did see were all spikes, and all of the bucks were in a herd of all other does and fawns. I was up before dawn and out until dark to scout, i checked out multiple terrains and multiple elevations. The weather was hanging around 30 degrees before dawn and about 50 at dusk. Let me make this clear i'm not looking for a trophy buck by any means, but i'm looking for something better than a spike. I was unable to locate any deer that were remotely good looking. My question is where do you guys think they would be? I was told by another avid hunter that the mature bucks are higher in elevation, and more at the top of the elevation/terrain. I don't know how true this statement is? Can anyone tell me what they have noticed the habits of the mature bucks are? I would have loved to see atleast one mature buck this past weekend but i didn't. Also the Kaibab suffered a large fire towards the North Rim on the HWY 67, i checked inside the burn area and their was quite a few does in there and only one spike. Whats your opinion on hunting the burned area? Any advice on located the mature bucks would be greatly appreciated. Are the deer staying up high until the snow pushes them off? Or does extremely cold weather push the bucks off the mountains? I believe it was 5 degrees outside during my last opening morning without a drop of snow on the ground. Thanks guys in advice.

[azslim]

if the burn received moisture then yes, check it thoroughly, they like to eat the new green that pops up. Also find patches of cliff rose, it is one of their major sources of forage.

[ctracingraptor]

I'm not sure what cliff rose is, I guess I will have to look it up.

[AZP&Y]

Range

Cliffrose are most often found between 3,500 and 8,000 feet in the Rocks, Southwest, Great Basin regions and into Mexico.

 

HabitatCliffrose grow in pinyon-juniper woodlands and shrublands, often in dry rocky soils.

 

Description

Cliffrose is a many-branched shrub that grows up to 8 feet tall. In some excellent growing locations the shrubs can reach 20 feet high. In older shrubs, the bark splits into long, fine segments. Leaves are tiny, 1/8- to 5/8 inches long, and are mostly 5-lobed. The leaves are covered with tiny, glandular-dotted hairs that are sticky to the touch.

 

Flowers

Flowers are whitish in color and are 1/2 to1 inch wide. The five petals 5 many yellow stamens. When the seeds mature, they have a long-tailed hair that attaches to the seed. These hairs act like tiny parachutes and aid the wind in both dispersing the seeds and helping "drill" the seeds into the ground. Once the seed lands in the soil, the wind blows the curved hair that acts like a drill, rotating with the wind to push the seed into the soil.

 

Another Az G & F weblink referencing browse, etc: Winter Range:

http://www.azgfd.gov/w_c/North_Kaibab_Winter_Range.shtml

 

ADA's Take on Cliffrose (study) :

http://www.azdeer.org/news_from_kaibab.htm

 

Probably more than you wanted to know- LOL

 

Good Luck!

 

AzP&Y

[ctracingraptor]

That's funny, i was just looking at that same website. So do you think my best chance is hunting in higher elevations and not at the bottom of the canyons or bottom of the draws?

[CouesFanatic]

You will find big bucks at all elevations this time of year. Glass and hunt hard. You will find them.

[roninflag]

did you get one?

[izquik72]

Well what did you find?

What did you see?