Kaibab Plateau Early Rifle Hunt

[TheTone]

Thanks for taking us along, sounds like you guys basically did everything you could to try and find success

 

[noharleyyet]

Thanks for the ride...

 

[WNC2500]

Glad we could go along with you with both the ups and the downs. Beautiful pics! Thanks for sharing

 

[elkrchr]

Your team hunted hard and smart for the entire season in some amazing country. Many of my most memorable trips ended with my tag in my pocket, but all those trips were successful in my book! Thank you for sharing.

 

[CRJR45]

If it was easy, everybody would have a trophy on the wall.
It was a great hunt and I enjoyed the pictures. Thank you very much.

 

[Khunter]

Az can be tough. Unrealated to your hunt but….Most mentally draining hunt I maybe ever had was Cow bison on the Kaibab. Brutal to see almost nothing for 14 days running. Entire draw pool of 10 hunters ate tag soup. Oh for Ten. The smart ones were maybe the ones who wimped out after 6-7 days and then the other few who gave up day 10. Me and another guy had the fortitude to keep beating our head against the wall through the final hour of 14 day season... Admirable maybe, dumb, probably.

Thanks for taking us along. You did as well as possible and a big buck sure coulda shown up at the end, bummer one did not.

 

[Big Fin]

Your effort would have been rewarded probably 4 out of 5 hunts. Sorry it was that unlucky 1 of 5 on this hunt.

Following this thread reminds me of my AZ Strip tag in the drought year of 2007. I hired one of the best guides for the unit. Hunted our butts off for the entire season. First time he’d had a client not get a shot on that hunt. The other two hunters in camp both missed whoppers, then left the following day in disappointment. That left me as the only tag holder for the final few days with the outfitter and two guides. Still didn’t turn up the buck you hope for with a Strip tag. A great hunt that served to remind me that no matter the tag, it’s still a hunt for unpredictable wild critters. After that, I was a reference for the outfitter and I suspect some questioned why I gave him such high grades. He hunted as hard and for as many days as I wanted, smiling and upbeat the entire time. That’s what made it a memorable hunt, even without a punched tag.

It sounds like you had a similar experience. Glad you enjoyed the hunt, even if the outcome wasn’t what we all hope for.

Thanks for sharing your hunt on Hunt Talk.

 

[jlong17]

Thanks for the write up! I say this with absolutely no disrespect or ill intentions: I think I’m going to change my hunt strategy from applying for these glory tags to applying for mid tier tags. This isn’t the first write up of the glory tags that ends in a bit of a let down. I had a family friend with a similar lifetime tag that sounded like a nightmare. So much stress that he seemed to forget about his hunting roots… all in pursuit of massive antlers. I think I would personally rather give my all and notch an average buck rather than recruit an army to find the unicorn. Not that that’s a bad thing, just feels weird I guess? Having said all this, I’ll let you know how I feel once I draw a Henry mountains buck tag next year
Thanks again for the story, and great write up.