Today’s feature comes from a conversation during the NASGW Expo. Jeremiah Polacek’s wife, Lacey, had drawn a coveted tag for a prime hunting area in Arizona. Instead of being home scouting for his wife, Jeremiah was in Kansas City representing Wolfe Publishing. We decided to ask Lacey to share with us, success or failure, her hunting experience. As you can see from the photo below, failure wasn’t part of Lacey’s game plan.
A trophy gallery is not complete without the hands that helped you. Having friends along for the ride makes the experience that much sweeter. Each buck taken, the four of us are there.
Each deer season, I opt in for the “easy-to-draw” units close to home to allow the highest probability of refreshing our freezer. This year was not the case.
When the deer regs became available, I almost cringed. My husband Jeremiah and I were in the midst of a home sale from our nightmares, among many other things at the time. The idea of coordinating a hunt (and finding where I packed all our gear) on top of everything else was unrealistic.
Not wanting to lose my loyalty points, I put in for the impossible, premium Arizona hunt unit of 12A West. With a 0.6% chance of drawing at my point count, I felt confident that I could continue sorting out my domestic troubles in peace.
A few months later, Jeremiah flew through my office door saying, “you have to check your portal! The card was hit and it isn’t for me.” My stomach dropped. I pulled up my portal and sure enough, it states “Drawn” for 12A West Deer beginning October 25th.
To understand my shock, you must realize how incredible this unit and its neighbors truly are. Unit 12 and 13 attracts non-residents and celebrity hunters from around the world. The deer are remarkable in size and number.
Roughly 95% of the unit is accessible from the road. Road hunting? I know what you think of it because I feel the same, but that is what makes this unit so unique. Its like the fast-food drive thru of hunting. “You’ll see at least 100 deer a day from the roads” I am told. This is a unit people spend most of their hunting careers dreaming over.
Then, here I am with my third-ever deer tag putting in for this hunt because I didn’t want to go this year. I have never felt more undeserving and intimidated in my life. I haven’t shot anything notable and now I am going to one of the best units Arizona has to offer?
It was an emotional roller coaster. The pressure was on. I had to get a big buck this year.
As the hunt arrived, all of the hustle and bustle of everyday life was wearing me down and I needed the break. We packed up and began our drive to 12A West on October 24th to set camp.
I carried with me a suppressed Nosler M21 in 308 Winchester with handloaded 130 grain Barnes TTSX’s. Upon arrival, we met with Jeremiah’s uncle Jeff. Together, we set camp and made our first plan of attack for the morning.
12A West is broken down into 3 “tiers”. The east side of the unit is the highest in elevation at about 8,000 feet, consisting of Ponderosa pines and several large burn-scars. The mid-elevation remains in the pines, is notably warmer and where we camped. The west end is lowest in elevation and drops you down into about 3,500 feet, opening up to Cedars and Sage flats.
With the remainder of our hunting party coming in late opening day and being our first time in this unit, we opted to start at the top and work our way down to get a feel for the area.
On the western fringes of “Tier 2”, some spots to glass down into the lower elevations became available. Still, it was thick and would be difficult to spot anything moving or bedded.
Long before the sun, I was awake and ready to go. We left and began our drive west to the top tier. Hearing that the burn scars are excellent for finding big bucks, that’s where we started.
Little did I know that everyone else seemingly had the same idea.
With only 300 tags for this hunt, I believe everyone was there. Each spot we wanted to glass from was already occupied by 1 or 2 other parties and quickly became discouraging. We kept driving and decided it may be best just to continue on and familiarize ourselves - I had 10 days to hunt after all.
By the time we made our way back to camp to pick up our friends, we saw a grand total of 4 does and too many people. Not impressed with the high country, the mid-tier was next.
Spending the evening there was a different story entirely. While everyone was glassing the burn country up high, we found at least 80 deer within 4 hours. Just from the road? This is the area I want to be in.
We spent the next several days hunting this area, passing up about 30 bucks a day. This was foreign to me. I am used to hunting in units where not only are you hiking your tail off, but if you see a buck of any caliber, you’re going to want to think long and hard as you most likely won’t see another. I have not been able to pass up any deer before and that second night around the fire, I really voiced my regret.
I was quickly reminded: Why else do you bring your best friends if not to encourage you? I was assured that there will be just as many bucks tomorrow as there were today. They were so right.
While exploring the unit, we came across a Forest Service lookout tower. We climbed to the top, hoping to find a glassing point. Seeing nothing beyond the immediate trees, we didn’t stay long. It wasn’t until after descending the tower that we discovered its questionable condition. This did not help any fear of heights.
On the 7th evening driving back to camp and no longer shooting light, a magnificent buck ran in front of us. We noted that in the morning, we will return and try to find him. I found my buck.
Sure enough the next morning, Jeremiah spotted him. He was feeding about 170 yards off the road with others. We both exited the truck and stalked closer to a downed tree.
Our friends kept driving to avoid suspicion. I was so rushed to leave, I left my jacket and with it being about 20 degrees outside, I became cold - fast. Mix that with the adrenaline and my once-easy, 150-yard shot has quickly become the hardest one I have ever taken.
It felt like an hour of me fighting my scope to stay on the deer’s vitals. My attempts to settle were spoiled by the cold but I kept trying. The deer, unaware, was moving between trees and alternating from quartering towards to broadside, changing my shot placement. Finally he stepped out slightly quartering towards.
I felt myself calm just enough and I took my shot. I heard the thwap, watched him hunch, take a handful of steps, turn and lay down. Miraculously, through my shakiness I was able to pull off a perfect double-lung shot, putting him down peacefully.
At 7:00am, this buck presented himself. He was initially discovered the night before and fortunately did not move far through the night. He was found again the next morning about 0.25 mile from his last known location. A tall 4x2 who has been named “Brutus”.
Space does not allow for a fraction of the details I would like to share, but I have never met so many amazing people on any other hunt. The encouragement and welcoming of strangers allowed us to leave with many more friends than we came with (I hope some of you can see this. To the Wilson’s: I hope you got that 4x4 we were all chasing.)
I pushed new limits I didn’t know I had, I solidified my ethics and my reasons for hunting, I honed skills I never thought I could and I will forever be grateful for this hunt I never knew I needed and may never get again. I will carry so much from this hunt into every other moving forward.
And one last thought. If you’re ever up in 12A West, be sure to head over to Jacob Lake Lodge - they make fantastic cookies.
— Lacey M. Polacek
Lacey Polacek is an avid hunter from wingshooting to big game and anything inbetween. She has worked at Wolfe Publishing Company as a Graphic Designer for Rifle magazine and Varmint magazine since 2018. Her career aligns with her hobbies of design, photography, shooting and the outdoors.
