kennyazman Report post Posted July 14, 2013 So with the cards not really getting charged anymore my hopes of my Kaibab tag are slipping away...again. I decided a few years back while accompanying my dad on his late Kaibab hunt that I am going to wait however long it takes to have that tag for my own someday. Well after not hunting with a rifle in a while I'm starting to lose patience. So I come up with the plan that I'm sure a lot of you also have and that is to put in for the primo Kaibab tag every year and if unsuccessful in the draw, pick up a leftover tag and ill hunt every year. Problem is my experience hunting in this state is in the central units close to where I've grown up. These are units 20c and 42.(mule deer country). Although I have never taken a coues deer I call myself a member of this site because I find it to be the best group of hunters on the web regardless of the species. So I look forward to learning how to kill these elusive animals down in the southern units and I welcome any advice that comes my way. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wildwoody Report post Posted July 14, 2013 thats a great way to look at it . find some rough coutry and glass you'll do fine and you might find a new favoraite speices 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
oz31p Report post Posted July 14, 2013 Get out there and scout. There are probably more coues bucks in a left over unit that mule deer bucks in in 20c or 42. Ifbyou can scout and glass I think you'll find it Easyer to kill a coues Buck than a mule deer buck. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WinMag Report post Posted July 14, 2013 That has been my plan for years and I'm with you as a leftover hunter in the unit of my normal choice down south if not drawn for unit 12. Good luck which ever way you go and scout, glass, glass, and glass into elevation in the southern units. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DesertBull Report post Posted July 14, 2013 That is philosophy now. Apply for the tag I really want and pick up a left over every year that I have to wait. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
capoeirajosh Report post Posted July 15, 2013 Sound advice. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kennyazman Report post Posted July 15, 2013 Thanks for the advice everyone. My style of hunting for mule deer is to glass, glass, and glass with my 15's on a tripod so I think I will transition just fine. I have a baby due in early October so I'm really hoping that some of those late November/early December tags come up for leftover just to give me some time to help out at home when the baby arrives. Any suggestions on a specific unit? I would prefer to have some space between myself and the border. Maybe unit 31 or 32. I would love to see some images of what kind of country I would be looking at in these areas. If you guys don't mind posting up some pictures of the views from your glassing spots that would be sweet! Thanks! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sherman Report post Posted July 15, 2013 I took a left over tag 2 years ago and found a new spot I love to hunt so you never know good luck Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bigorange Report post Posted July 15, 2013 Leftover hunts are terrible...you should never try a leftover hunt. Especially down south. Worst. Hunts. Ever. In truth, all the hunts I've done have either been leftover hunts or I drew a hunt that ended up having leftovers. Have had great hunts and even a little bit of success. Of course I live pretty close to some decent southern leftover units. Shifted my approach this year and actually drew something that doesn't usually have leftovers...still waiting to find out where we'll be this year! Come on Kaibab! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
COOSEFAN Report post Posted July 15, 2013 Leftovers are awesome! We've killed a pile of decent bucks on leftover tags and have a blast doing it! The main thing is to keep your expectations in check. Expect to have a lot of hunting pressure, expect it to be hot, expect having to take extra precautions for safety when near the border and keep your trophy standards reasonable. If you do all this you'll not be disappointed and you'll have an enjoyable hunt! The #1 tip i'd give for most early season hunts is to pay close attention to areas that are easily overlooked by the masses. Hard to get to and/or overlooked areas will typically hold the bucks and especially the older, smarter bucks. Sometimes these spots may be right next to a main road and everybody just drives past thinking they need to get their vehicles as far in as they can, or these spots may be the highest and hardest to get to basins or canyons. It's not hard, especially after the first couple days of the hunt to notice where other hunters are pressuring and where they aren't. The #2 tip would be always glass with the sun in your face! By doing this you'll be spending more time glassing likely areas increasing your chances of spotting a buck. On the early hunts, with pressure and heat, lots of these bucks will be bedded at first light and usually in a spot that will stay shady for most of the day. It's very rare that I'll glass a sunny hillside on an early hunt! One thing that has worked for me many times is after identifying a low pressure spot or a spot that is surrounded by pressure, I'll sneak in as quietly and undetected as possible, low crawl over ridges, staying in the shadows, keeping brush between you and the area you'll be glassing and constantly tell yourself there is a bedded buck watching your direction. Even if it's only 100 yards across or 1000 yards across your glassing area, stay undetected and use high power optics to glass through and under the vegetation. Look for white rings, horizontal lines, white or black spots etc. The main thing is approach these areas undetected and stalk in as though you know for sure a buck is watching. A lot of folks skyline themselves when approaching a glassing spot. If there is a buck bedded across from you he most likely will have seen you and will never get up until after you leave. At that point you'd have to hope parts of him are visible and you can still glass him up. By always treating it as though there IS a buck watching your direction, you'll increase the chances that hidden bucks may stand and stretch mid day allowing you to pick them out. This is also why on early hunts, mid day can be the best time to be glassing! In short, glass into the sun, focus on shady, un-pressured pockets, glass close with high power optics and treat every situation as though there IS a buck watching your direction! If you do this, and stay out all day, you'll be surprised how many bucks you start diggin' up! Best of luck, JIM> 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kennyazman Report post Posted July 15, 2013 Bigorange congrats on the tag! Jim that is some very very good advice and I really appreciate it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bigorange Report post Posted July 16, 2013 Bigorange congrats on the tag! Jim that is some very very good advice and I really appreciate it. Thanks and excellent advice from Jim. I glassed him up on a leftover hunt a couple years ago. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ylclaret Report post Posted July 16, 2013 />Leftovers are awesome! We've killed a pile of decent bucks on leftover tags and have a blast doing it! The main thing is to keep your expectations in check. Expect to have a lot of hunting pressure, expect it to be hot, expect having to take extra precautions for safety when near the border and keep your trophy standards reasonable. If you do all this you'll not be disappointed and you'll have an enjoyable hunt! The #1 tip i'd give for most early season hunts is to pay close attention to areas that are easily overlooked by the masses. Hard to get to and/or overlooked areas will typically hold the bucks and especially the older, smarter bucks. Sometimes these spots may be right next to a main road and everybody just drives past thinking they need to get their vehicles as far in as they can, or these spots may be the highest and hardest to get to basins or canyons. It's not hard, especially after the first couple days of the hunt to notice where other hunters are pressuring and where they aren't. The #2 tip would be always glass with the sun in your face! By doing this you'll be spending more time glassing likely areas increasing your chances of spotting a buck. On the early hunts, with pressure and heat, lots of these bucks will be bedded at first light and usually in a spot that will stay shady for most of the day. It's very rare that I'll glass a sunny hillside on an early hunt! One thing that has worked for me many times is after identifying a low pressure spot or a spot that is surrounded by pressure, I'll sneak in as quietly and undetected as possible, low crawl over ridges, staying in the shadows, keeping brush between you and the area you'll be glassing and constantly tell yourself there is a bedded buck watching your direction. Even if it's only 100 yards across or 1000 yards across your glassing area, stay undetected and use high power optics to glass through and under the vegetation. Look for white rings, horizontal lines, white or black spots etc. The main thing is approach these areas undetected and stalk in as though you know for sure a buck is watching. A lot of folks skyline themselves when approaching a glassing spot. If there is a buck bedded across from you he most likely will have seen you and will never get up until after you leave. At that point you'd have to hope parts of him are visible and you can still glass him up. By always treating it as though there IS a buck watching your direction, you'll increase the chances that hidden bucks may stand and stretch mid day allowing you to pick them out. This is also why on early hunts, mid day can be the best time to be glassing! In short, glass into the sun, focus on shady, un-pressured pockets, glass close with high power optics and treat every situation as though there IS a buck watching your direction! If you do this, and stay out all day, you'll be surprised how many bucks you start diggin' up! Best of luck, JIM> I haven't figured out how to like post yet so I'm going this route. Just wanted say, after reading this post I feel like I just got out of an 8 hour couse hunting class. What great advice and some solid points that I had never considered. Thank you COOSEFAN! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
COOSEFAN Report post Posted July 16, 2013 Bigorange congrats on the tag! Jim that is some very very good advice and I really appreciate it. Thanks and excellent advice from Jim. I glassed him up on a leftover hunt a couple years ago. HA! Then you were in a good spot! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
COOSEFAN Report post Posted July 16, 2013 It's looking like I'll be taking advantage of a leftover tag this year and I'm just as excited about that as I would've been had I drawn my first choice! Leftover hunts are what you make of them. You can either treat it as just a "bottom of the barrel" tag or you can treat it as though it was your first choice. Whichever way you decide will dictate what you get out of the hunt in the end. I always treat the leftover tags as though they were my first choice. I spend the money scouting and preparing, I take the whole hunt off and I invite all my friends and family. The more you put into it, the better the experience and outcome will be. Life's short, you never know when it'll be your last hunt or the last time you'll get to sit on a hill and glass with a friend or loved one. Take advantage of it and make the most of it! JIM> 5 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
