NewlyMinted Report post Posted October 4, 2019 I've seen this mentioned in a few replies to threads on here, but wanted to add my own 2 cents since I'm (a) new to hunting in general (b) have my first big game hunt coming up with my muzzleloader Coues in a few days and (c) couldn't have predicted how amazing it was to spend the morning with Duwane learning where and why to look. I met Mr Adams at 5a in Oracle and we meandered into the Catalinas. I brought my own tripod (too short) and bino's and we pulled up on to a road and started glassing. Duwane is constantly letting me know why this spot is good and, as we timed it for sunrise, we spotted a ton of deer. Does with their fawns and plenty of bucks. It was the first time I'd seen bucks tussling with my own eyes. We scanned and Duwane kept pulling me to his binos to see the detail he was noticing and slowly I started to be able to spot the deer first (not too often), and even saw a pack of coyotes working the hill side between two big deer groups. We went to a couple of other spots so that the I could see first hand what the angle of the dangle was all about and it was impressive. We never glassed the same ridges or sections of mountain, but the formula of when and where the deer move was reinforced every time we stopped. Mr Adams fundamentally changed everything I will do in the future with my binos. Admittedly I don't have the sort of experience most of the forums members do, so I'm still years behind most of y'all with equipment that is right at the beginning of the journey, but I feel a lot more comfortable heading into my first hunt. He's a gracious and generous man, and talking with him put so much of the info from books and podcasts either into context or allowed me to change how closely I adhered to it. Highly recommend it, and can't say enough positive things about my morning with him: It was incredible. 13 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CatfishKev Report post Posted October 5, 2019 Dude, you just shortened your learning curve by years! When I started hunting I was clueless. I spent weeks sitting in bottoms of canyons just waiting for a deer to come by me (archery guy). Although I was successful to some degree I wanted to be better. My first post here was about guide schools and someone mentioned Duwanes apprentice program. A couple years later I went for a glassing lesson like you did and man it was a game changer! Not only is Duwane a very good teacher he's just a great guy to be around. Not being savvy to the tripod and 15s after my lesson I came home and took the wife out glassing off 15s for the first time. We spotted 17 deer in about 1 hour of glassing. It was crazy to me that I spent literally months worth of days in canyons with my bow with little to show for it. Now I consider Duwane a mentor. Last year I joined him and his guys in camp for the early and late kaibab hunts and it was an amazing experience. I felt like a kid at disneyland glassing giant bucks. After my bison hunt and kids elk hunts next week I'm planning on being up there again for deer camp. Good luck on your hunt, you got this bro. Maybe someday our paths will eventually cross. 6 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AZHunter1 Report post Posted October 5, 2019 I've never met the guy but I know several people that know him and have helped guide for him. Ive learned from the other guys and they always refer to Duwane a dang good guy. Cool that you got to hangout with him. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Outdoor Writer Report post Posted October 5, 2019 18 hours ago, NewlyMinted said: I met Mr Adams at 5a in Oracle and we meandered into the Catalinas. The text below is an excerpt from the Foreword of our book. It happened sometime in the early 1990s on the road to the observatory in 34A. We had vehicles passing alongside of us while we were glassing. "... I don’t recall the exact year, but my oldest son and I drew Coues deer permits in a unit we had never hunted, and we hated going to a new area cold, so to speak. I called Duwane for some suggestions with the idea to head down to the area and scout on my own. Instead, he offered to meet me the weekend before the season opened. My momma didn't raise a dummy. Knowing Duwane’s reputation for finding big deer, I quickly accepted. Long before I talked to him, however, I had heard about his skill with a pair of binoculars. I wasn't too surprised when he asked me during our conversation if I had a pair of decent ones. He laughed when I told him I had 7x50 Nikons. "No, no. I mean REAL binoculars. Something with lots of magnification." I had recently acquired some inexpensive 8x to 24x zooms and mentioned them. Duwane said they would be perfect for our scouting trip and also recommended a tripod. I met him at a rest area, and we drove to a spot he had picked out. We parked the truck on a dirt road before daylight, and waited for sunrise. We hadn’t left the road but instead set our tripod-mounted binoculars high enough to peek over the metal guard rail bordering the edge of a steep canyon. During the first hour we spotted seven deer, and one was a real bruiser buck. By the time we had left, we saw 17 other deer in that canyon. I was shaking my head. Just that single experience convinced me that Duwane Adams knew his stuff." 6 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Snapshot Report post Posted October 23, 2019 I have an autographed copy of that book. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
naturebob Report post Posted October 23, 2019 I used Duwane on My Kaibab hunt last Year and what treat. Even to a 45 year Hunter. I happened to be one of the 3 Guys plus Him sleeping in a Huge tent with a big Stove to keep in warm in there. The other Guy was a Buddy of His of several years a very nice older Fella that was in charge of cutting wood for all 5 or 6 tents He had there. Between the 2 I heard some great stories from over the Years. What a treat it was. Had Him autograph His Kaibab book He wrote To My DAD that was 98 and passed away this Spring. Just a genuine careing and knowledgable Human..............BOB! 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lancetkenyon Report post Posted October 23, 2019 I have a buddy who is being guided by him on the Bab in November....I am jealous. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CatfishKev Report post Posted October 23, 2019 1 hour ago, lancetkenyon said: I have a buddy who is being guided by him on the Bab in November....I am jealous. Sweet. To many obligations to make it to the early hunt but I will be there for the late hunt. Which side did he draw? 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Outdoor Writer Report post Posted October 23, 2019 On 10/4/2019 at 3:44 PM, NewlyMinted said: I'm (a) new to hunting in general (b) have my first big game hunt coming up with my muzzleloader Coues in a few days and (c) couldn't have predicted how amazing it was to spend the morning with Duwane learning where and why to look. If you told me yesterday when you were here at the house, I forgot already. What unit is your hunt? Oh, and it is was good meeting you. Thanks for the "lift." 👍 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lancetkenyon Report post Posted October 23, 2019 1 hour ago, CatfishKev said: Sweet. To many obligations to make it to the early hunt but I will be there for the late hunt. Which side did he draw? 12AE late. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NewlyMinted Report post Posted October 23, 2019 2 hours ago, Outdoor Writer said: If you told me yesterday when you were here at the house, I forgot already. What unit is your hunt? Oh, and it is was good meeting you. Thanks for the "lift." 👍 It was great meeting you too Tony! My hunt was 36A and it finished right before quail opened. Amazing experienced, learnt a ton, saw so many different animals (and bucks), met some nice hunters, saw the landscape adapt to our presence and am ready and addicted I didn't get close enough to a buck to harvest one, but being out in the desert alone, navigating mountain-sides, constantly trying to forget the fresh lion crap and tracks I saw every morning in the dark, staying hidden as coyotes and Javelina wandered passed was incredible. I've lived and camped and hiked in the desert for 22 years, but this was the first time I think I got to get down and dirty with the wild side of it. Need to find a cheap/decent unicorn of a SxS so I can give my truck a bit of a break when I need to shift positions. I was lucky enough to have a couple of forum members reach out in the PMs with help and advice, and one dude in particular who kept me sane before and during the hunt. Thanks to him, and you all, and my prep this was a great experience and although I don't have anything new in the freezer from it, 100% successful hunt. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Outdoor Writer Report post Posted October 23, 2019 15 minutes ago, NewlyMinted said: My hunt was 36A and it finished right before quail opened. Amazing experienced, learnt a ton, saw so many different animals (and bucks), met some nice hunters, saw the landscape adapt to our presence and am ready and addicted Man, I must really be getting senile in my old age. I thought your hunt was coming up. 🤦♂️ Anyway, it sounds like you had a blast. It can get addictive that way. I wish I could still be out there chasing critters, but it's not to be. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
