Thanksgiving Day Buck

kaibab Muledeer 11/04

from the desk of David Simmons

This hunt started back in May, when I applied using Deibler Outdoors application service for a limited draw Arizona muledeer tag in the Kaibab National Forest. I have friends who have been applying for this tag for years, a couple that have 5 bonus points apiece. And I thought my chances of drawing were slim to none. Well, I had a little luck and drew a tag in unit 12 A, this is one of the most sought after tags in the muledeer hunting world. So let the planning begin!

Good friend Steve Deibler agreed to go along and help with the hunt and use it as a scouting trip. Since he is one of the guys I know with 5 points, sooner or later he will draw a tag. We started getting maps of the area and studying the regulations. The tag I drew was for November 19 thru the 28, in the peak of the rut. I was very pumped about this; I have hunted muledeer before but never in the rut. We talked and studied maps about the hunt all summer, even during our bear hunt in Alaska.

Well with the bear hunt to Alaska already planned and paid for, this trip had to be done on a shoestring budget. We decided we would drive out, and camp in a small mobile tent.

The day finally arrived to leave, my wife drove me to Steve's house on November 16th where we would load Steve's truck since it was 4 wheel drive and left out for our 28 hour drive. We made the trip with two over night stops, putting us in Jacob Lake at about noon on the 18th. We went to the ranger station to try to pick up any info we could get. Ranger Scott (Sorry, I don't remember his last name) was very helpful and gave us a lot of good info. So, off into the wilderness we went. With the info we had and a few hours of scouting and glassing we had decided on an area to start and by nightfall we had our camp set up and ready for supper.

Day one of the hunt dawned bright and clear with the temp around 40 degrees. We rounded up all our gear and headed down a ridge to a point where we could glass valleys on both sides of the point. We watched from this vantage point until noon with no sightings. At this time we started to scout for deer sign and after a couple of hours of this we decided to move camp a couple of miles to another ridge line with a lot more deer sign. After two hours of hard work we were in our new camp and off to watch a new ridgeline until dark. At dark we were on our way back to camp with no deer sightings for day one. Day two awoke just like day one, we were a little late leaving camp and were taking our time walking to the vantage point where we would glass when Steve spotted does on an opposing side hill at about 350 yards, we took cover and watched to see if there was a buck with them. After about fifteen minutes the does moved and he showed himself. From this far away we could tell he was a good 4x4 with deep back forks. So I decided to take him. At the shot he mule kicked and ran, that was the last time we saw that deer. We found blood and were able to track him for about 100 yards and lost blood. We looked for that deer the rest of the day.

During the time we were looking for my deer, Steve spotted a deer dropping over a ridge into the next valley. We didn't know if it was the deer we were following or not. We talked for a few minutes and devised a plan. Steve would drop into the valley up wind of where we saw the deer go in, and see what would happen. Well what did happen caught me off guard, a doe busted from cover about 400 yards down the ridge and ten yards behind her was the biggest buck I have ever seen in my life. At that range and running I was unable to get a shot.

We continued to look for the deer I shot early in the day. About an hour before dark a weather front that was moving in had arrived and brought snow with it. Well let me tell you this, when the radio station your listening to tells you they are looking for 4 inches of snow in Flagstaff, pack your camp and head for the bottom of the mountain because it's going to come down hard in the Kaibab. At daylight on day three there was 12" of snow on the ground and still coming down hard. We hunted all day in that white stuff without seeing a deer. At daylight of day four, there was 18" of snow on the ground. For two Georgia boys that's a lot of snow. It had finally quit snowing, so we hunted for a couple of hours and cut a lot of tracks. We noticed one thing; they were all moving to lower elevations. At this time we decided to move camp for the third time into the valley at a lower elevation. Four-wheel drive without tire chains is no good in snow this deep. We spent the rest of the day stuck trying to get to the main road where we felt that traffic from other hunters would make the road passable. We would go 40 yards, dig out, go 40 yards and dig out. This went on for about five hours until we hit a spot where I was able to go about 3/4 of a miles before the bottom fell out of the road. It looked like we were here for the night and I was not looking forward to putting up the tent in this spot. There wasn't a level place for half a mile in any direction. Steve walked up to the main road while I started digging. He had been gone for about fifteen minutes when I heard him talking to someone. I though he had lost it until I saw the truck. This is when we met Eddie Burrell and Ricardo Andrade, two hunters from Tucson who gave up the rest of the day to help us get out. Thanks guys, you don't know how much that meant to Steve and I.

When we finally got off the mountain, we were in no mood or shape to find a new camping spot so we set out on the two-hour drive to Page, Arizona to find a motel room, Burger King, and a hot shower, which never felt better. The next morning was day six and after a big breakfast we were looking for tire chains and a bigger shovel. After finding those things and a trip by the grocery store, we were on our way back with a fresh outlook on things.

Back in the Kaibab, we traveled 30 miles on dirt roads back into the wilderness to look for a new camping spot and deer sign. It was hard to believe the tremendous number of deer tracks we were finding crossing the road. We found a spot to set up camp under a tree where the snow had melted next to a draw with lots of tracks crossing the road.

The next morning was day seven, Thanksgiving Day. We started up the ridge behind camp so we could glass the draws around camp. About an hour after daylight we spotted a couple of does and watched them until they were out of sight over the next ridge with no sign of a buck being with them. With the does out of sight we moved to the head of the draw to try to come in down wind of the last place we saw them to keep watching for a buck. When we arrived at the top of the next ridge we spotted what we thought were the same does but now there were three of them at four hundred yards, After twenty minutes, I spotted a big bodied deer coming in from the left and thought it was a buck just from the size of his body. Well when he finally stepped out, we saw he was a big 3x3 with eye guards.

We were able to watch him as he worked the does going from one doe to the other, rocking his head from side to side, it was truly something to see. When they were at 375 yards (a shot that I know I can make) I decided to take the shot. Well I forgot to account for the down hill angle and a little thing called gravity not affecting the bullet as much as it does on level ground. I shot over the deer's back not once, but twice. After the second shot all the deer dropped into the draw out of sight. That is when Steve and I dropped off the side of the ridge and went after him. Down one hill and on top of the next we stopped to catch our breath and get ready to make our next move when we saw four legs coming through the pine and juniper. Now that I look back on the situation, I believe we got in-between the buck and his does. 5 seconds later he was on one side of the pine and we were on the other. The buck's eyes were as big as saucers when he spotted Steve and that gave me the time I needed to find the shot.

After a 5-yard lung shot and 75 yard track job I had my Kaibab buck in hand, a big 3x3 with eye guards that is going to score around 150 B&C. His antler spread exceeded 25 inches. Now the work was going to start, we started caping, boning, and loading backpacks for the mile back to camp. Back at camp I fired up the stove and cooked up the freshest back strap you could ever have, while Steve started breaking down camp for our three-day trip back home to Georgia. After loading the truck, we headed to Jacob Lake check station. By nine that night we were in Flagstaff looking for a motel room and a steak house.

This trip ranks as one of the best, and if you would like to try it our way, let DEIBLER OUTDOORS show you how to apply for this tag and put together the trip of a lifetime.

For a guided hunt by Deibler Outdoors or to join one of our group hunts contact Deibler Outdoors at (770) 377-5321 or visit us on the web at: http://www.deibleroutdoors.com