Arizona 12A west tag early hunt

[AZ_Hunter_2000]

No whining going on. A name mentioned above advised us how to apply and then informed us that we drew the wrong hunt. Therefore we are questioning whether to hold out or cash in and move on. We have spent alot of money, as everyone else who applies as a non resident, for the privilege of even applying in AZ and want to maximize our opportunity. We have received excellent feedback and advice via PM's and phone calls as to what to do. A lot of jealous haters on these forums can really sour it for the rest.

Previous poster said there’s over 2900 folks with 14 or more points. With 75 tags available it could be decades before you draw the late season hunt. But there’s always a chance with the random draw.

 

[Coueser]

The late hunt is the premier hunt but that early tag can be great (just takes a little more luck than the late hunt). Early snow storm will move a lot of deer out of the pines and make for a great hunt (some years almost better than the late hunt). However if it’s warm (as predicted this year) they are usually held up on top and harder to hunt. Still a great tag to have. Good luck with whatever you decide.

If you do decide to hunt I’d love to chat afterward and hear your experience as my wife has the late tag this year

 

[Ztait]

Elkman224 - do mind sharing what you decided? I grew up in Fredonia and was fortunate to draw this hunt around 2006. I bagged a decent deer, but not a monster.


Ztait
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[skings22]

My dad and I got drawn for 12 A West. We are from Arizona and have been putting in for that unit for
eight years now. Finally got drawn for the Oct 22nd hunt. Really wanted to hunt the late hunt, but my
dad is know 78 years old and we want to hunt it one last time before he gets to old. Could not hold out any longer.

 

[robby denning]

@elkman224

I miss this thread this summer so just catching up.

What did you decide to do?

If I’m understanding that you’re a non-resident, I don’t think you’ll ever catch the late hunt.

I haven’t looked at the odds closely for a couple of years but they were just getting worse. I have 17 points, and pretty much gave up on these late hunts. now that they are giving half the tags in the random pass, the bonus point holders took the shaft.


I could be wrong, and definitely consult with Epic or Hunting Fool on this, but I’m pretty sure you can’t catch it.

If it was Dwayne who told you to put in for it, he’s one of the best guides up there. He might not be trying to talk you out of it, just might be trying to bring you down to reality so that he doesn’t get flamed on the last day if you don’t find a 200.

Best of luck man, hard decision! Let us know.


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[Aimsmallmissmall]

There is zero migration from Utah into 12 aw or 12 ae, the utah herd moves into 12 b.
I would hire Duwane Adams if I were in your shoes.

Duwane Adams Hunting

duwaneadamshunting.com

I second that

 

[Desperatehills]

I am sure a lot of you know this but some don't so lets make it a teaching moment. If you have enough points to draw your second choice you will never get your first choice dream hunt. The random draw comes after the points draw. Your name is already out of the hat

 

[SDHNTR]

Here's what happened buddy. You did not have nearly enough points to draw the late Kaibab in the bonus point pass. Maybe you were hoping for luck in the random pass (which you effectively bypassed since your second choice went in the bonus round), and that didn't happen, so you wound up with your second choice. Furthermore, you will likely never draw that late hunt as you are simply too far behind now. The guys who say you should have waited do not understand point creep and how the draw works in AZ. Also, Dwayne did not give you bad advice. Given your point total, Kaibab early is probably your best chance at a good buck. But reading into the situation now, he may also be downplaying things because your expectations are out of whack. A 190" minimum level of expectation is not realistic anywhere except for maybe just a few units in the entire country, and all of those will require 20+ years of points to draw. Mule deer are in trouble. 190's are really rare anywhere even on the Strip and the Henry Mountains. Don't let social media fool you. Big bucks like that are rare and getting rarer! So given your points, you got good advice, you just need to temper your expectations. FWIW, I'm in a similar pickle with 18 points. Yet I fully realize that if I cash in on the early hunt, a nice 160 and hopefully a fun hunt is what's in store for me. I'll be OK with that if I decide to put the early hunt as me second choice.

 

[MuleyFever]

Mule deer are in trouble. 190's are really rare anywhere even on the Strip and the Henry Mountains.

Can confirm after just getting off the Henry Mountains and not seeing a single solid 190” deer.

 

[Coueser]

Hunt starts tomorrow. Good luck to those of you with tags!

 

[j930]

did you keep the tag? any results?

 

[elkman224]

Returned tags week before start. Drought was major factor and other outfitters and Biologists and tag brokers didn't recommend we burn the points. Talked to outfitter after the hunt and he had no pics to share and said we made right decision as the wind blew 30+ and ruined a good portion of the hunt.

 

[SDHNTR]

Not surprised. Was probably the right move. Benn a tough season for deer tags all across the southwest.

 

[elkman224]

Update: Turned tag back in and glad we did. The first hunt was pretty much a bust with high winds for a good part of the hunt. Outfitter didn't even have any pictures he was willing to send. He just finished late hunt and said it was his worst year of hunting in 40 years. They were only able to harvest 3 good bucks (180ish) and the rest were "just bucks". Follow your gut and research when making decisions about something you have a lot of time and money invested in and don't pay attention to haters on internet forums. GLTA

 

[Trencher]

Update: Turned tag back in and glad we did. The first hunt was pretty much a bust with high winds for a good part of the hunt. Outfitter didn't even have any pictures he was willing to send. He just finished late hunt and said it was his worst year of hunting in 40 years. They were only able to harvest 3 good bucks (180ish) and the rest were "just bucks". Follow your gut and research when making decisions about something you have a lot of time and money invested in and don't pay attention to haters on internet forums. GLTA

Hunted the 12ae muzzy hunt this season in early nov, I can confirm you made the right choice. I personally talked to 5 other tag holders on our hunt not one of them seen anything even tempting. We scouted 3 days before the hunt started and we immediately knew we were in trouble. We found a little luck in the mid elevation country but they were few and far between. 10 days of hard hunting lots of miles on truck and boots also but I will admit after 5 days I really thought it was a waste of time, but we hammered on you never know. The biggest buck were seen on the trip was a 3x3, 2 year old. It was some of the nicest county I’ve ever hunted but man I can’t help but feel it’s very over rated, and has been way over harvested. Unless I’m missing something maybe someone can fill me in on ? I don’t think you can count on the weather during the muzzy hunt to push the deer down. I learned a lot but will be rebuilding points and going in a new direction in the future.

 

[Bailer]

Hunted the 12ae muzzy hunt this season in early nov, I can confirm you made the right choice. I personally talked to 5 other tag holders on our hunt not one of them seen anything even tempting. We scouted 3 days before the hunt started and we immediately knew we were in trouble. We found a little luck in the mid elevation country but they were few and far between. 10 days of hard hunting lots of miles on truck and boots also but I will admit after 5 days I really thought it was a waste of time, but we hammered on you never know. The biggest buck were seen on the trip was a 3x3, 2 year old. It was some of the nicest county I’ve ever hunted but man I can’t help but feel it’s very over rated, and has been way over harvested. Unless I’m missing something maybe someone can fill me in on ? I don’t think you can count on the weather during the muzzy hunt to push the deer down. I learned a lot but will be rebuilding points and going in a new direction in the future.

I got my muzzy buck high, within 1/4 mile of the highway, last year. It snowed pretty heavy but they hadn’t moved down yet. Saw a few other pretty good bucks in our 4 days.

This year helped my brother on the early west side hunt. It was tough. Saw a few 3 points, nothing bigger. With them in the mid-elevation they can be tough to find.

 

[j930]

I was up with a buddy on the late hunt He got a nice buck. Scored 204. Saw another one in the camp next to us that went 202 if I recall. Saw a handful of of the typical 4x4 kaibab bucks Around the 150 size. Game warden said it’s the warmest late hunt in long time They were there just not as easy to find. I’m still waiting for the opportunity for the late hunt Just collecting points

 

[elkman224]

Appreciate the updates and want to convey to hunt when you feel it is the right situation for yourself. If you are going to invest a lot of time, money in tags and license fees and you dont get good feedback on your research and your gut tells you to wait it out, then do it. Dont listen to a bunch of thread hopping whiners trying to bust your balls for not doing the hunt. Its your time and money. Congrats to all that went and congrats to all that didnt for sticking with your instincts and research. GLTA

 

[Blackcats06]

Hunted the 12ae muzzy hunt this season in early nov, I can confirm you made the right choice. I personally talked to 5 other tag holders on our hunt not one of them seen anything even tempting. We scouted 3 days before the hunt started and we immediately knew we were in trouble. We found a little luck in the mid elevation country but they were few and far between. 10 days of hard hunting lots of miles on truck and boots also but I will admit after 5 days I really thought it was a waste of time, but we hammered on you never know. The biggest buck were seen on the trip was a 3x3, 2 year old. It was some of the nicest county I’ve ever hunted but man I can’t help but feel it’s very over rated, and has been way over harvested. Unless I’m missing something maybe someone can fill me in on ? I don’t think you can count on the weather during the muzzy hunt to push the deer down. I learned a lot but will be rebuilding points and going in a new direction in the future.

The east is definitely not as good as the west. Just not as much country is what it comes down to. They have been cutting tags on both sides so there might have been a little over harvest but I think their lack of fawn recruitment is driving the tag cuts. That east side is probably a top 7 firearm tag in the state. You had one of the toughest years anyone has ever seen. You can certainly go in a different direction but probably won’t find a better hunt for less points. And higher point hunts you’ll never catch.