highsierra
Active Member
- Messages
- 285
So this year was pretty dismal when it came to the draws for big game tags in the western states for me. I live in Tuolumne county and didn't even manage to pull a D-6 tag! The good news is I continued to build points here in the Golden State and I know my turn WILL come....eventually.
So, when big game hunts started happening, instead of staying home and watching Jim Shockey or some other celebrity hunter on T.V. or, even worse, taking to the internet to complain about how unfair the draws are, etc, etc....I chose to go hunting anyways! What I really came to realize this year is that you really don't have to be a tag holder to have a GREAT time. Now don't misunderstand me...I haven't gone rogue and become a poacher or some other outlaw type. I have just reached a point in my development as an outdoorsman that can enjoy a great hunt without pulling the trigger.
This was my year to be "spotter", "sherpa", "cameraman", etc...
and I gotta say that I LOVED EVERY SECOND OF IT!!! I have tagged along on 4 hunts already...with one to go (NV cow elk over x-mas.) As the shooter you rarely get to see the bullet flight or impact once you squeeze the shot off. But in my position I have seen every animal taken by my friends fold in the view of my spotting scope...each one in spectacular fashion!
It started with a Tule Elk hunt a few days before New Year's (close enough...I'm counting it as this year!) at Fort Hunter Liggett. My friend's wife was the lucky tag holder. Watched this bull fold as she made a perfect 350+yd shot:
When August rolled around it was time to head up to Modoc County and help my buddy on his pronghorn hunt. It didn't disappoint. Watched him smoke this buck at 60 yds. from our stand....I think the shot literally picked him several inches up off the ground before he hit the deck. Again...way cool!
In October I helped a friend take his first Coues buck in Arizona. I spotted the buck at 12:30PM on the side of a hill over 1000 yds away from our stand. After several hours of careful stalking my friend was able to make a 440 yd. one shot kill...all while I watched intently through my spotting scope. Saw the whole thing...and, again, it was magnificent.
The hunt of the year was still to come. One of my best friend's son was fortunate enough to draw a J-12 round Valley apprentice tag. Before coming to Tuolumne County I spent several years working in the Eastern Sierra when I became very familiar with the plethora of outdoor activities that that region of our state abounds in. During the winters I would travel down to the Rovana/Pine Creek area and film some of the large rutting bucks that frequented the valley. This was back in the late 90's, prior to the creation of the hunt. After I left Mono County the J-12 hunt was approved by DFG and I began the job of educating all my friends with kids about it...telling them that they would be fools if they applied for any other hunt than this one! Well, this year was the year that I finally got to go on this hunt of a lifetime. After spotting numerous bucks that would make most CA hunters envious, my friend's son decided on the one pictured below. Again, high on a ridge overlooking the whole scenario, I witnessed the stalk, the shot, and the animal folding...all from my spotting scope.
As I mentioned earlier, I still have one hunt to go. I'll be joining my little brother on a cow elk hunt in Eastern Nevada over our Christmas holiday. If all goes well, I'll get to see more amazing views and incredible wildlife of the west. My spotting scope should get some use...and, maybe just maybe, I'll get some elk steaks out of this deal too!
So, in closing, I hope that you all really take to heart what I am trying to convey here. There is soooo much more to hunting and enjoying the outdoors than being the shooter that get's to punch the tag. It's truly about the experience. I know it's hard to believe for some, but I never once felt "tag envy"...really. If you have the perceived misfortune of not drawing the hunt(s) of choice for yourself, don't look at it as a negative thing. Instead, offer your services to as many others as you can and get out there. You wont regret it!
I leave you now still "tagless", but satisfied.
-HS
So, when big game hunts started happening, instead of staying home and watching Jim Shockey or some other celebrity hunter on T.V. or, even worse, taking to the internet to complain about how unfair the draws are, etc, etc....I chose to go hunting anyways! What I really came to realize this year is that you really don't have to be a tag holder to have a GREAT time. Now don't misunderstand me...I haven't gone rogue and become a poacher or some other outlaw type. I have just reached a point in my development as an outdoorsman that can enjoy a great hunt without pulling the trigger.
This was my year to be "spotter", "sherpa", "cameraman", etc...
and I gotta say that I LOVED EVERY SECOND OF IT!!! I have tagged along on 4 hunts already...with one to go (NV cow elk over x-mas.) As the shooter you rarely get to see the bullet flight or impact once you squeeze the shot off. But in my position I have seen every animal taken by my friends fold in the view of my spotting scope...each one in spectacular fashion!
It started with a Tule Elk hunt a few days before New Year's (close enough...I'm counting it as this year!) at Fort Hunter Liggett. My friend's wife was the lucky tag holder. Watched this bull fold as she made a perfect 350+yd shot:
When August rolled around it was time to head up to Modoc County and help my buddy on his pronghorn hunt. It didn't disappoint. Watched him smoke this buck at 60 yds. from our stand....I think the shot literally picked him several inches up off the ground before he hit the deck. Again...way cool!
In October I helped a friend take his first Coues buck in Arizona. I spotted the buck at 12:30PM on the side of a hill over 1000 yds away from our stand. After several hours of careful stalking my friend was able to make a 440 yd. one shot kill...all while I watched intently through my spotting scope. Saw the whole thing...and, again, it was magnificent.
The hunt of the year was still to come. One of my best friend's son was fortunate enough to draw a J-12 round Valley apprentice tag. Before coming to Tuolumne County I spent several years working in the Eastern Sierra when I became very familiar with the plethora of outdoor activities that that region of our state abounds in. During the winters I would travel down to the Rovana/Pine Creek area and film some of the large rutting bucks that frequented the valley. This was back in the late 90's, prior to the creation of the hunt. After I left Mono County the J-12 hunt was approved by DFG and I began the job of educating all my friends with kids about it...telling them that they would be fools if they applied for any other hunt than this one! Well, this year was the year that I finally got to go on this hunt of a lifetime. After spotting numerous bucks that would make most CA hunters envious, my friend's son decided on the one pictured below. Again, high on a ridge overlooking the whole scenario, I witnessed the stalk, the shot, and the animal folding...all from my spotting scope.
As I mentioned earlier, I still have one hunt to go. I'll be joining my little brother on a cow elk hunt in Eastern Nevada over our Christmas holiday. If all goes well, I'll get to see more amazing views and incredible wildlife of the west. My spotting scope should get some use...and, maybe just maybe, I'll get some elk steaks out of this deal too!
So, in closing, I hope that you all really take to heart what I am trying to convey here. There is soooo much more to hunting and enjoying the outdoors than being the shooter that get's to punch the tag. It's truly about the experience. I know it's hard to believe for some, but I never once felt "tag envy"...really. If you have the perceived misfortune of not drawing the hunt(s) of choice for yourself, don't look at it as a negative thing. Instead, offer your services to as many others as you can and get out there. You wont regret it!
I leave you now still "tagless", but satisfied.
-HS
