Where is the Kaibab?

[Where's Bruce?]

Apparently the maps and the "real Kaibab" are two different things. If you tell someone in AZ you're hunting the Kaibab, it's a pretty small place compared to what's shown on the maps. So what part of the Kaibab is the hunter's paradise? Is Unit 19B a part of it?

BTW...I like to carry paper maps as a back-up to my Onyx so I have it in case I lose my GPS or it dies. Who offers high quality AZ printed maps which show the units boundaries, freeways, surface streets and trails?

 

[Buck197]

Jacob's Lake...12a 12b, can be broken down further..but yeah Jacob's Lake

 

[Buck197]

So ok have you tried Gaia, or Onyx? I know you said HQ paper maps, personally I'd back one of the digital with an arizona gazette and atlas, and if I needed better id goto the NFS for the area. What is it national geologic survey that keeps the best topo maps if memory serves me.
The kaibab isn't what it once was. However there is still great mule deer harvested there. That dryer country just West of there now...if my name ever finally pops to draw!

 

[greaseywater]

For maps both Flatline and huntmap.com make durable unit maps. I prefer the huntmap style, it has less of a paper feel. But flatline might have better availability.

 

[Buck197]

Thank you

For maps both Flatline and huntmap.com make durable unit maps. I prefer the huntmap style, it has less of a paper feel. But flatline might have better availability.

, im going to look at those too hoss.

 

[Where's Bruce?]

So my unit is on the wrong side of the canyon, sounds about right. The "Strip" is the official Kaibab eh? But not as good as it used to be? Why is that? Thanks.

 

[Buck197]

No sir. So 12a EW, 12B EW, THE STRIP IS seperate, oops sorry for the capitals. The strip is 13a,b...you know the powerball...

 

[Traveler]

I have found that animals don’t give a shit what popular area they are supposed to be in.

 

[HuntHarder]

I have found that animals don’t give a shit what popular area they are supposed to be in.

This is definitely true, but the kaibab (12a, 12b) and the strip (13a and 13b) are special places that have some geographical features that separate them from other units. No doubt big animals are everywhere, but those areas are special.

 

[Buck197]

This is definitely true, but the kaibab (12a, 12b) and the strip (13a and 13b) are special places that have some geographical features that separate them from other units. No doubt big animals are everywhere, but those areas are special.

Even Teddy Roosevelt thought so, well said sir well said. Big animals are where you find them. But some places, The Paunsagaunt, the Kaibab and strip, the Henry's, Antelope island..they're a place to dream of, and hope. And other places as well obviously.

 

[AZ8]

Apparently the maps and the "real Kaibab" are two different things. If you tell someone in AZ you're hunting the Kaibab, it's a pretty small place compared to what's shown on the maps. So what part of the Kaibab is the hunter's paradise? Is Unit 19B a part of it?

BTW...I like to carry paper maps as a back-up to my Onyx so I have it in case I lose my GPS or it dies. Who offers high quality AZ printed maps which show the units boundaries, freeways, surface streets and trails?

Don’t confuse the Kaibab Forest with hunting “the Kaibab”.

when people say hunting The Kaibab= 12a 12b
when people say hunting The Strip= 13a 13b

 

[Outdoor Writer]

So my unit is on the wrong side of the canyon, sounds about right. The "Strip" is the official Kaibab eh? But not as good as it used to be? Why is that? Thanks.

Here's where the confusion occurs. There is the Kaibab National Forest, which encompasses both the north & south sides of the big ditch. Then there is the North Kaibab Plateau, which is the noted deer hunting area that starts at the GC's north rim and extends to the Utah state line. The two most noted units are 12AW & 12AE, which are divided by the state highway that runs north to south. Unit 12B is at the northern end of the plateau and consists of mostly lower altitudes. The "Strip" is farther west, consisting of 13 A & 13B.

You can get a map of the North Kaibab from the Kaibab National Forest office. They also have a map for the part of the forest south of the Canyon. BUT...much of Unit 19B is in the Prescott NF. So it depends on where you hunt in that unit. That map would also be available through the PNF office.

My 2nd mule deer buck -- North Kaibab 1965

​

 

[Buck197]

Here's where the confusion occurs. There is the Kaibab National Forest, which encompasses both the north & south sides of the big ditch. Then there is the North Kaibab Plateau, which is the noted deer hunting area that starts at the GC's north rim and extends to Utah state line. The two most noted units are 12AW & 12AE, which are divided by the stae highway that runs north to south. Unit 12B is at the northern end of the plateau and consists of mostly lower altitudes. The "Strip" is farther west, consisting of 13 A & 13B.

You can get a map of the North Kaibab from the Kaibab National Forest office. They also have a map for the part of the forest south of the Canyon. BUT...much of Unit 19B is in the Prescott NF. So it depends on where you hunt in that unit. That map would also be available through the PNF office.

My 2nd mule deer buck -- North Kaibab 1965

View attachment 290409​

well said, nice buck, from the good ole days

 

[fmyth]

Flatline Maps | Arizona Game Unit Maps

Flatline Maps are the most detailed hunting map available and they are preferred resource of the AZ Game & Fish.

www.flatlinemaps.com

 

[Outdoor Writer]

well said, nice buck, from the good ole days

Thanks. Back then there were no east & west hunts; it was the Kaibab, period. That was on the east side in one of the canyons between Houserock ranch & the Eastside Game Trail. Probably wasn't more than a 1/4-mile west off the main Houserock Rd. Here's an old pic of it hanging with a doe my son killed on the Kaibab when he was 10 years. old -- nearly 50 yrs, ago.

​

 

[Buck197]

Thanks. Back then there were no east & west hunts; it was the Kaibab, period. That was on the east side in one of the canyons between Houserock ranch & the Eastside Game Trail. Probably wasn't more than a 1/4-mile west of the main Houserock Rd. Here's an old pic of it hanging with a doe my son killed on the Kaibab when he was 10 years. old -- nearly 50 yrs, ago.

View attachment 290444
​

that looks better hanging on the wall..love how your mounts are set.

 

[Buck197]

Man that suckers got double tripods, 8x7 on legals? That's what I love, is that buck is pure gnarly character. I've put a few good ones down, but nothing with character..still shooting for that 200 goal I started in the mid nineties, going to get there too, come hell or high-water.

 

[Outdoor Writer]

that looks better hanging on the wall..love how your mounts are set.

I hung them that way to make it look like mates. I count it has a 6x7 without the eyeguards and counting the little crab claw as two. I have no idea what it scores since there's never been a tape near it as is the case with most of my critters. I don't do scores.

 

[Buck197]

I hung them that way to make it look like mates. I count it has a 6x7 without the eyeguards and counting the little crab claw as two. I have no idea what it scores since there's never been a tape near it as is the case with most of my critters. I don't do scores.

I score em as one to sure nuff be proud of. Yeah the way you did those mounts looks fantastic.

 

[Beendare]

I guided in northern Arizona for a couple years with a friend of mine. There is big deer in all of those mountain ranges from Arizona and New Mexico all the way up through Montana.

Re Kaibab: those can be tough units to hunt with a bow and arrow, don’t think you were going to roll in there and have deer and elk running across in front of you.
We used to bump into hunters in those limited draw units in northern Arizona that had gone three or four days without seeing an elk.

The biggest deer shot in the Kaibab are during those late rifle seasons which are very tough for a non-resident to draw. Though my buddy, an Arizona resident shot a good buck with his bow last year on a very very long shot.

—-