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| Hunting Articles The Kaibab Bowhunt Observations on what works and what doesn't for velvet racked bucks. As you know the bowhunt is almost here and we will all be up in those trees looking for those elusive velvet covered muley racks that we've been day dreaming about since last season. If you are anything like me you've probably been scouting from your kitchen table with your Top Secret Waterhole Map, U.S. Forest Service Map and pouring over our new large scale Kaibab Trophy Topo Maps for a couple months now. If you've had the time you may have even got up on the plateau once or twice for some up close, boots on the ground scouting. Some of you may be veteran Kaibab hunters and some of you may be first timers. I'd like to take a few minutes to give you an overview of the types of bowhunting tactics you can expect on your bowhunt. These are opinions on tactics, some of which I like and some I never use myself, that said you use whatever you think will work best for your situation. Tags First of all the 12A archery deer tag used to be an over-the-counter tag for both residents and non-reseident hunters but this year, 2008, 12A changed to a draw only - even for archery! What does that mean? Well if you were one of the lucky hunters to draw a tag you'll only be competing with 1,000 other hunters! I know, that still sounds like a lot, and it is, but compared to the 3,000 - 4,000 over-the-counter bowhunters in years past its a whole lot less than normal! Hunters Galore, No More (kind of) Because of the Kaibab's reputation for producing monster mule deer and the fact that that resident and non-resident hunters used to be able to purchase the archery tag over-the-counter, this is a very popular hunt. In year's past as many as 4,000 bowhunters have been on the plateau in just a 2-3 week hunting season. There's only 1,000 tags this year, but it still makes for interesting and sometimes frustrating hunting due to so many hunters. Here's an overview of the how people hunt during the bow season. Road Hunters Road hunters are content to cruise the many roads that traverse the ridgelines and cayon bottoms of the plateau. If you've purchased one or more of the Kaibab Trophy Topo Maps ayou'll see just how many because these maps have current (2008) USGS road data - useful infomation for hunters. Personally I'm not sure how you can spot many animals while driving 30 mph but at the same time the longer they stay in their truckd the longer they are not in the trees competing with me for a chunk of woods to hunt on foot. You'd be suprised how many deer trails parallel the roads just out of sight in total safety. Of course, when you are moving from your Plan A to your Plan B spot, drive slow and keep your eyes peeled for big bucks. For those of you that are forced to due to physical reasons or like to road hunt, no offense and good luck. Just make sure you know th rules of for hunting from the roads, stay out of the meadows with your vehicles and drive safe. ATV Hunters ATV's are all the craze it seems when it comes to hunting these days, and don't get me wrong I think they have a definate use for hunters. They can get you into hunting spots that your truck won't go, they keep you mobile getting you quickly from spot to spot and they can save a lot of aching backs by hauling out your muley. There are those that use their ATV's to get back into an area and hunt from dawn to dark and there are those that are not much different than road hunters IMO - cruising up down the roads for a chance encounter with a buck unlucky or dumb enough to show himself next to a road during shooting light. I've had plenty of encounters while on foot where guy's on ATV's have driven right past me on an old logging road, cruising it for deer, come back and passed me on the way out 10 minutes later. I wave and continue down the same logging road and have come across mule deer bucks within 5 minutes and 35 yards off the road the ATV hunters passing through never saw. If you are just cruising looking for deer, the deer are hardly bothered by you because they know the chances of you seeing them are slim. My recommedation: use your ATV to get into a good spot, park it well away from your setup and still hunt from the bottom up the ridges and fingers or set up a tree stand or ground blind off of a waterhole. Also, because you get farther in than your 4x4 does't mean you park 50 yards from a waterhole - just common sense. Tree Stand Hunters I'll admit it right up front, I've never hunted using a tree stand. I've heard of guys having success using them on the Kaibab and have definately seen plenty of them on the waterholes. Essentially it's the same concept as a ground blind only above the ground 10-25 feet. My only comment regarding tree stand hunters is that many stands are placed directly at the water's edge - if I can see you do you think the deer can? I've even seen turkeys bolt as soon as they caught a glimpse of the guy sitting in the tree bending half way out over the waterhole. Again it comes down to common sense. Use cover and concealment to tuck yourself into the tree tops. Unfortunately this might mean that you won't have complete visibility of the entire waterhole, but your odds of success may actually go up if the deer don't know you are there. Ground Blind Hunters This is one of my favorite tactics for bowhunting the Kaibab for mule deer. If I can find a sweet spot I generally will sit a homemade, improvised ground blind from pre-dawn until about 10 am and from about 3:30 pm to dark and still hunt through the trees in between. Like tree stand hunters, it is important to blend yourself into the natural sourroundings and sometimes this means not setting up where you can see the entire waterhole or where ever it is you think the deer are coming to. If you find a waterhole go ahead and carefully scout around the whole area, just keep in mind the longer you hang in area the more you'll contaminate the scene with your scent. Look for trails with lots of sign coming into and out of the waterhole - you may want to set up on a trail 100-300 yards off the waterhole and catch those bucks that are reluctant to come into the water's edge until after dark. Use common sense, make them as natural as possible, control your sent and minimize the noise you make setting up your ground blind and you may have the buck of your dreams walk within shooting distance. Still Hunting Still hunting is probably my favorite and most employed Kaibab hunting tactic. I like the challenge of sneaking up on and outsmarting a big ole mule buck and I have a hard time sitting still for hours. When I'm not sitting in a ground blind off of a waterhole or trail I'm very slowly still hunting through the forest. I'm trying to catch a buck moving from water or a feeding area to a bedding area or catch him adjusting from one bed to another as the sun forces him to better shade. The difficult part about still hunting most parts of the 2Kaibab is that visibility is low, the terrain is usually dry and noisy and mule deer are 100 times better than you at picking up movement, sound and scent. So how do you successfully still hunt within shooting distance? Easy (not really), think and move like a deer. If you have ever watched a mule deer in the wild you will notice that their ears are always pivoting around like radar, they stop, raise their heads, listen and smell for minutes at a time to make sure the coast is clear. A hunter moving at his slowest most methodical pace still makes more movement and noise than a deer so however slow you still hunt, you need to move slower - and you have to reminding yourself at all times. Even in the thick stuff incorporate a nice pair of binioculars into your aresanal, take 2 steps and glass for 2 minutes, so on and so forth. It's slow, it's not easy and about the second you get complacent is about the time you are going to bust that big shooter buck out of his bed and out of your sights forever. For morning still hunting remember that the thermals are going down - cold air flows down in elevation. If you start your still hunt from fist light and move slowly (like a deer, remember) up a finger or ridge the wind will be in your face. Peeking around, glassing often as you move ever so slowly you just might catch those deer feeding to their bedding area. If your quiet and they don't bust your movement, the wind will be in you favor and the stalking game is on! Its up to you to close the distance and get the shot. Reverse the formula for when the sun is warming it up and the thermals are rising. Now as you go down the finger or ridge the wind is in your face. Good Times and Great Hunting August 22- September 11 will see 1,000 bowhunters up on the Kaibab. Just remember we are all up there for the same thing: a chance at one of those velvet racked monster muleys. It's all public access up there so no one hunter can reserve a waterhole, trail or meadow for himself. Be professional, be courteous, be safe, act like a sportsman hunter at all times and enjoy your hunt. And remember if you get anything, be sure to send us pictures and a story at bigbucks@keytothekaibab.com. If you have any comments or additional information pertaining to this topic and would to share it with other Kaibab hunters, please post your comments in our Kaibab Forums section. Ryan Ghan |
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Friday 30 July, 2010 |