We had high hopes for a successful hunt and were somewhat dissapointed.
I hunted the first two days with my bow and it was a joke. This country was like antelope country. At one point I got cell coverage so I called my wife to check in. She asked what the country was like and I said well, I think there is one small cedar tree within 3 miles and I can see 360 degrees. It was wide open. There were supposed to be blinds and treestands over water available to us for archery hunting but we found different when we arrived. There were a bunch of fat old guys from back east who had bought high dollar bull tags and they were rifle hunting those spots. I'm not sure it would have made much difference anyway though as it rained like hell the day before we arrived and there was water everywhere. I also wanted to spend some time with my dad so I reluctantly gave up on the bow hunting idea so I could hunt with him. Despite being private land it was also being hunted hard at the time. The elk were super spooky and pretty much nocturnal. My bro had one shot at a cow after she busted us and was moving out but it would have been a tough one to pull off. My dad never got a shot opportunity under 450 yards.
The evening of the second day I glassed up a herd a ways off and there was maybe 10 minutes of light left. I looked at my dad and he gave me the "no way" look. He's had a couple major hospital visits in the last year and can't move quickly. He shoved his rifle in my hands and said GO. I took off running. I closed in to about 350 and thought about shooting but figured I might be able to get a bit closer. At 275 I ran out of cover and topography. I put the sticks up and tried to slow my breathing from the sprint over there. First one hit and I could tell she was hurt. Second one hit too but she was still on her feet. The herd was closing in around her and I rushed two more shots that missed. There was just enough light left to see her go down. Then the whole herd of 30 animals just stood there trying to figure out what happened. It was too bad my bro or my dad weren't with me as we could have filled out right there.
That was the only good opportunity our group had. One gentleman in camp hunted for 7 days and never had a shot under 400 at a cow. It was just a tough hunt.
Coming back to camp on the last day a young coyote hung around too long allowing me to jump out and plug him.
The fishing in a nearby lake was insane. My bro and I probably caught 30+ fish in an hour. Nice chunky little football rainbows and cutbows. That was really fun.
Then the highlight of our trip was watching this nice bull come into a waterhole and put on a show. Pretty good 6 x 6. His right side top isn't as strong as his left, but still a nice bull. He bugled, splashed, rolled and wallowed. It was really cool. My dad was blown away. He said that alone made the trip.
Sure wish my pops and my bro would have had a decent chances though. I'll at least be sharing the meat. She was a young cow and should be awesome on the table.
I hunted the first two days with my bow and it was a joke. This country was like antelope country. At one point I got cell coverage so I called my wife to check in. She asked what the country was like and I said well, I think there is one small cedar tree within 3 miles and I can see 360 degrees. It was wide open. There were supposed to be blinds and treestands over water available to us for archery hunting but we found different when we arrived. There were a bunch of fat old guys from back east who had bought high dollar bull tags and they were rifle hunting those spots. I'm not sure it would have made much difference anyway though as it rained like hell the day before we arrived and there was water everywhere. I also wanted to spend some time with my dad so I reluctantly gave up on the bow hunting idea so I could hunt with him. Despite being private land it was also being hunted hard at the time. The elk were super spooky and pretty much nocturnal. My bro had one shot at a cow after she busted us and was moving out but it would have been a tough one to pull off. My dad never got a shot opportunity under 450 yards.
The evening of the second day I glassed up a herd a ways off and there was maybe 10 minutes of light left. I looked at my dad and he gave me the "no way" look. He's had a couple major hospital visits in the last year and can't move quickly. He shoved his rifle in my hands and said GO. I took off running. I closed in to about 350 and thought about shooting but figured I might be able to get a bit closer. At 275 I ran out of cover and topography. I put the sticks up and tried to slow my breathing from the sprint over there. First one hit and I could tell she was hurt. Second one hit too but she was still on her feet. The herd was closing in around her and I rushed two more shots that missed. There was just enough light left to see her go down. Then the whole herd of 30 animals just stood there trying to figure out what happened. It was too bad my bro or my dad weren't with me as we could have filled out right there.
That was the only good opportunity our group had. One gentleman in camp hunted for 7 days and never had a shot under 400 at a cow. It was just a tough hunt.
Coming back to camp on the last day a young coyote hung around too long allowing me to jump out and plug him.
The fishing in a nearby lake was insane. My bro and I probably caught 30+ fish in an hour. Nice chunky little football rainbows and cutbows. That was really fun.
Then the highlight of our trip was watching this nice bull come into a waterhole and put on a show. Pretty good 6 x 6. His right side top isn't as strong as his left, but still a nice bull. He bugled, splashed, rolled and wallowed. It was really cool. My dad was blown away. He said that alone made the trip.
Sure wish my pops and my bro would have had a decent chances though. I'll at least be sharing the meat. She was a young cow and should be awesome on the table.
