12A West Kaibab

I just got back from the West Kaibab last night and had a great time. I saw 36 bucks total with the Adams crew and felt that the hunt was worth every penny. I saw two shooters. The first was on monday and was the 24th buck I saw. I took a high shoulder shot and missed at 205 yards and found out that my gun was off seven inches high at 100 yards. (I flew in and I know I should have checked my gun after the flight, but I didn't) I resighted the gun and went back out. On Wednesday morning we woke up to light snow and 13 degrees. We hiked in two miles to a secluded basin and found this buck and a small fork horn. I shot him at 434 yards and made a one shot kill. He was the 35th buck we saw. Those guys know where the deer are. We averaged about four miles of walking each day and on some days saw well over a hundred deer. I have not scored the buck but think he is in the high 170's low 180's. I also found it surprising how many hunters shot the smaller fork horns and spike bucks. On Sunday, we had a guy shoot a forky that was only 50 yards from us. We were working down a ridge and when the shot went off. It scared the bejeebers out of me. From that moment on, I wore an orange hat.

For any of you that were wondering about hiring Duwane Adams, I highly recommend his camp. We ate well with a camp cook serving breakfast, lunch and dinner. Plenty of drinks and most importantly, highly knowledgable guides that know the Kaibab well. When I left on Thursday morning, 10 out of 12 guys in our camp had filled their tags with bucks over 150". One of the guys shot a 32 inch wide four point on Wednesday night. They were unable to get him out and were going back in the next morning. I left for the airport, so I did not get to see the deer. Duwane was with him and said it was a monster that he thought would go close to 200 inches. This was my first guided hunt and for the Kaibab, I think the permit is a tag that you will need help with.

We also had a lady come into camp on opening day that shot a real monster 4 point. The guys rough scored it at 204".