Kaibab Plateau Early Rifle Hunt

[npaden]

No buck tonight. Still pretty slow although it was a beautiful evening.

Literally threw some rocks into some thick brush and spooked up 7 does early, then not much until right before dark. Might have spotted a decent buck a LONG way off right at dark tonight but it was 2+ miles away and hard to tell much.

This looked a lot prettier through the binoculars than the picture but still a pretty cool shot. Those cliffs are very dark red with the sun on them but I didn’t think about taking a picture until it was later.



Going into extra innings tomorrow. Might try out a new spot. Pretty much grasping at straws now. I’m already in it for a pound so might as well take one more day and never have any doubts on whether I gave it everything I had or not.

Who knows, maybe we will get lucky!

 

[elkduds]

Thanks for sharing the ups and downs of this hunt. Hunts like this are much more common than slam dunk hunting. Enjoying hard hunts with long odds, the kind that give perspective to every punched tag; hunts that challenge you to stay out there and focused, to me that is the essence of a hard core hunter. Keep safe and have an epic end to this determined hunt.

 

[Khunter]

Good luck today!

 

[jpc01101]

+1 Good Luck today and no matter what it was an amazing way to spend a week!!

 

[Busyfarmin]

Hoping you can turn up a good one! I have enjoyed reading the updates.

 

[npaden]

This started off as our best morning yet with 40+ deer within 1 hour of shooting light. Problem was only 1 was a small buck.

Spent the rest of the morning working it hard, just not turning much up.

Guides brother who is helping out found a couple sheds and as many people who have been in this area and since most of the deer go lower to shed that kind of gives an idea of exactly what kind of rocks we are turning over right now.

Forgot to mention we have been walking more the last few days, not a lot but my phone is telling me 3+ miles each day which seems believable.

Down to the absolute bottom of the last inning. Need to pull one out and somehow hit a home run in the next few hours.

It has been a good experience overall, not sure I’ve ever hunted 10 days straight before. Closest thing was when it took 9 days to get my mountain goat in Wyoming.

Always a chance as long as there is daylight left and the season is open!

 

[Valley1320]

Rootin for you!

 

[npaden]

Guides broke camp down during lunch and we are heading back out right now. I’m not sure if we will head out and get down the road a bit tonight or just do the 12 hours tomorrow in one shot.

Going way south to a spot we haven’t been to yet but another guy said they had seen a bunch of deer down there.

Long shot but worth trying something. It’s pretty warm (76 right now) so thinking something more timbered up might be the way to go.

 

[npaden]

Well that’s the sunset on this hunt.



We tried really hard and I think I had a great guide and outfitter but we just couldn’t make it happen.

Made it all the way down to the edge of Grand Canyon National Park this afternoon and hunted some of the new burned area but didn’t see anything down there.



Finished right at dark in a couple of the old spots that have always worked in the past but just didn’t work for big bucks this year.

We are going to stay the night here and then pull all the way home tomorrow. Stayed one more day than I had planned so going to be behind at work before I even get home but I should be able to figure it out.

Met some really nice people and feel like we developed somewhat of a friendship spending the last 10 days together.

I’ll try to get my thoughts together and make a few more posts as I do. Really always felt like we had a chance to find a big one all the way up to the very last light but it just didn’t happen. Still has been an amazing season for me. Hunted more days and places than any year previous to this one and killed some great animals that I never would have expected to even get to hunt a year ago.

Thanks for all the encouragement as the hunt progressed, I didn’t respond to many of them but I did read them all and they helped. The guide was a little uncertain about me posting as the hunt progressed but by the end I think he was good with it.

I need to check to make sure on posting some more of the pictures but I should be able to do that and I will add some as I circle back and think through the last week and a half.

Thanks for going along for the ride with me, wish it could have ended differently.

 

[Nick87]

You guys gave it a hell of a try. Thats hunting though. Guided or not puts it into a little perspective.

 

[txco]

Great hunt, sorry it didnt end with a deer. What a helluva season

 

[ashersdad]

Thanks for taking us along for the ride. You definitely gave that tag 110%. You're still having one incredible season!

 

[Sask hunter]

Good effort!

 

[MTGomer]

Man I know how that goes there. It’s a challenging place. Looks like you did all you could.

 

[npaden]

Man I know how that goes there. It’s a challenging place. Looks like you did all you could.

The other guide in camp was the one who was guiding the guy that shot the 198” buck during muzzleloader season that you saw. They didn’t fill his hunters tag this year though.

 

[8andcounting]

Good job . You did well and told a great story . Awesome . Congrats on the great hunt

 

[Frequently Banned Troll]

A lot of hunting trips that don’t end up with a notched tag are successful hunts. This sounds like one of those. Thanks for sharing.

 

[duckhunt]

I really enjoyed following along. Not all great hunts end with a punched tag.

 

[Irrelevant]

Man, helluva'n effort. That glassing looked atrocious. Thanks for sharing with us

 

[Salmonchaser]

Enjoyed the hunt, lets do it again!