Kaibab early archery deer

[Bakndhunt711]

Hello

 

I am recently returning to the hunting game. My son and I were drawn for the early archery hunt in 12a. I have never hunted Kaibab before, and its my sons first hunt. I am looking for some areas to start, not anybodies secret spot, just some areas to get the ball rolling. I have to have surgery so my scouting is going to be very limited. Also hunting methods up there blinds vs sot n stalk? Any help would be great. Thank you and good luck to all that were drawn.

[Sneaker]

Welcome to the site. Stay awhile, its nice. How old is your son? If it is dry(some of the Kaibab has received more than 5'' of rain in the last the 30 days though...) blinds can be effective on water. It is popular, especially with guides, to establish salt licks several months before the hunt that they will sit a blind on. Spot and stock is the way to go I would say if you have a young kid with you. That's what I did all growing up, and it was tons of fun. You see tons of deer(mostly does), and if he would be excited with any antlered buck, you should have no problem at all finding bucks(more often than not a group of does will have a small spike or two point buck with them). Most of the deer this time of year are up on top of the plateau east and west of the highway, and they have liked the large burn(2006 Warm Fire) the past several years. Alot of the plateau is pretty dense, even alot of the burn is also getting that way now, so I find it requires a mix of spot and stalk and still hunting to get to a spot that you can actually see them through all the trees and under brush. If you are looking for good bachelor herds, start hiking:)

[wildwoody]

tips springs by locus point rd is straight acrossed from the shell station about a half hr below jacobs lake. deer lake is were you turn , the burn or any water holes there will be deer everywhere. good hunten

[wildwoody]

sneekers given some good advice. also hunt the edge of the meadows just before dark

[Bakndhunt711]

Thank you both for the info. My son is eleven. He is pretty excited. He is one of the reasons I got back into hunting.From what I hear we were pretty lucky to draw that hunt since we both don't have any points. Sneaker which highway were you speaking of 89a? Any campsite locations you suggest? I will put your advice to work and hopefully have a great story to share when we get back. Thanks again.

[wildwoody]

no its hwy 67 runs from jacobs lake to the grand canyon north rim park youll see it on the map. hwy 67 to th 22 at deer lake to 294 by locust point also the in the meadows around deer lake in the evenings del monte holds some gooins also. lots of camping and a gas station store by deer lake. ask the gas station clerks what there seein also, there are also alot of deer up higher by jacobs lake. goodluck

[Mthomas]

I haven't been up there for a few years but during the archery hunt we saw some big bucks in the burnt corral area. We bought the key to the kiabab water hole map and it was a ton of help for us. We looked for water holes that were as far away from the nearest road and set up on those because there was a stand or blind on every single water hole we looked at. That time of year there up in the higher areas and there are deer everywhere. Good luck!

 

[Bakndhunt711]

Thank you to everyone. Getting excited! One other question, is camping restricted to certain areas or is it wide open?

[Lance]

Its still pretty wide open. There is a FS Ranger station at Jacob Lake if you want more info.

 

Lance

[lancetkenyon]

Buy a couple of cheaper tree stands. First time I ever used one was up in 12AW on an archery hunt. What a blast! I am hooked for archery hunting all game species now.

 

Site over a tank as far away from a road as you can get. Last light is great, but I have had deer (and turkey, mountain lions, coyotes) all come in throughout the day. The mountain lion snuck in and then sat the same tank I did for 30 minutes and he had no clue I was there. We were both waiting for a deer to come in (wouldn't you know it was the ONLY year I did not buy a lion tag, but he was about 70 yards across the tank from me).

 

Worst (or best) time I had was on a tank up there 30' up in a blue spruce. In one afternoon, I missed a big tom turkey, missed a huge 30+" heavy tall dark horned 4x4 buck at last light (long horrifying story), and thunked a coyote all in the same evening. Even though I missed the huge buck, that evening will remain in my memory (and nightmares) forever. Easily saw 25 turkeys, 40+ deer including 5 other bucks that day from 1:00PM until after dark.

 

And turkey are freaking smart and have the best eyesight I have ever witnessed.

[KaibabQ]

I have been hunting the bab for a few years now. I was up there on a scouting trip over the week end. All the deer we have taken over the years have always been at 10am no lie... I like to walk the tree lines on meadows, or glass the meadows right before sun down.

[BOHNTR]

Here's a good link on bowhunting the Kaibab plateau that may be of use. It's a beautiful and at times, a magical place. Good luck and have fun!

 

http://www.coueswhitetail.com/forums/topic/32500-how-do-you-hunt-the-kaibab/

[brian390]

Good luck on your hunt!

[azoutlaw]

Good luck. I think I just met u at the lodge. My brother killed a buck 5 minutes after we left you at the lodge.

[Bakndhunt711]

Nice job, we should have followed you. Lol... My boy is shooting his broads as we sleek. Hopefully he'll knock one down, we will be at it later. Thx again