Pruney
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LAST EDITED ON Oct-20-11 AT 07:09AM (MST)[p]I intended to report in a little earlier than this, but I have been playing catch up since I got back from Unit 9.
Well I did not harvest a bull, but it was a terrific hunt none the less. We certainly could have used a little less weather and was not real happy to see the upper basin on fire when we pulled in since this is the area we had planned to hunt based on pre-season scouting. I had many close encounters, but there are two I will always second guess or be haunted by.
Second Guess: My brother and I had just split up to go different directions to get on a bull bugling 250 to 300 yards away from us. I had gotten about half way across a clearing on my way into some timber for cover when I spotted the bull trotting towards me at about 100 yards in the wide open flat. I was sure he would skirt the pines as every bull I had seen had done up to that point so I chose to not draw until he had made it past me which would give me a 35 yard quartering away shot and hopefully provide a little cover. Unfortunately about half way there, he turned and came straight at me. I could not draw as I had nothing to conceal the movement. He stopped less than 10 yards from me and there was not a thing I could do. I had a 350+ bull at less than 10 yards and did not even get a shot.
Haunt: On the second day of the hunt we saw a monster bull cross the road in front of us at about 10 AM. This is ?The Beast? that Fin Little mentioned. I could not get a shot at him then, but it did keep me in that area the rest of the hunt. I think this bull will score better than 390 and will probably flirt with the F word. Several days later I am about a mile from where he had crossed and I was trying to get between two bulls that seemed like they were going to come together and fight. Instead, they just dropped into their bedding zones and shut up. I decided not to push them to hard and backed out. On my way out I heard another bugle below me that sounded like a good bull. I moved up about 50 yards and set up in the edge of a clearing. Less than 5 minutes later, The Beast showed up with 25 to 30 cows. He fed up the far edge of the flat for several minutes and had just started to move into the trees. I had a decent shooting lane for a 60 yard shot. That is my max comfort range and felt confident with the shot as I had hit a 3 inch group while practicing at that distance the day before. I was able to draw without him or the cows being aware. I let fly and the arrow was tracking absolutely perfect to settle into heart/lung area. I was getting ready to do the happy dance right until a small branch jumped out and redirected my arrow about two inches over his back. I never saw that darn branch. I was crushed and just left the arrow and walked off the hill and got into the truck. I went back and got the arrow a bit later just to be sure there wasn't a hit, but I will be haunted by knowing I was a twig away from a 400 class bull. That's bow hunting.
I had two stalks at two different bulls, 350 and 370ish screwed up by herds of antelope that got between the 100 yards that separated the bulls and me. Two more stalks ruined by deer in the way. Oh, and I passed a 350 bull at 1:30pm on the second day because it did not seem like much of a hunt or story to kill him on the main road to Tusayan on day two and because I had seen The Beast a couple hours earlier. I fear he ?ruint? my judgment.
I saw at least 25 bulls that were 350+ and probably 10 of those were 370+. The rut just never fully kicked in for whatever reasons and it was extremely tough to close less than 100 yards or bring them in any closer. I never saw a bull with a broken tine the entire hunt. Oh, we also saw one very nice buck that would push 190 just a few hundred yards from the Beast.
A couple things I just need to mention. One about ?that guy? and the second was maybe one of the strangest things I have ever seen in the woods. First, to the clown that decided to pass us before sunrise on the one lane dirt road at 45+ mph only to pull over in front of us 300 yards later (not an exaggeration) when he saw his buddy coming the other way,?.. Really? If you did not feel like the largest horses @$$ in the world, there is something very wrong with you. Second, you know you are too close to the GCNP line when you come across Androgynous Pat sitting against a pine tree talking to his/her 3 foot Spiderman doll propped up against another pine for going on four hours.
Lastly, thanks again to CAelknuts for coming out and calling that last morning. If not for one very subtle shift in the breeze?.. who knows? Funny I had to go over 750 miles to unit 9 to meet you and we work 6 blocks from each other. Good luck with all those points. Even without filling my tag this year, I know I would be back on 9 if I had that many points.
Again, it was a great hunt and we definitely made the most of it. I think I logged more hiking miles than when I had the tag on Dutton of few years ago and I never would have guessed that. It would have been nice to score a great bull, but the hunt and spending time with my brothers is mainly why I am there anyway. I guess it will be back to video cameras for the next few years.
Pruney
Well I did not harvest a bull, but it was a terrific hunt none the less. We certainly could have used a little less weather and was not real happy to see the upper basin on fire when we pulled in since this is the area we had planned to hunt based on pre-season scouting. I had many close encounters, but there are two I will always second guess or be haunted by.
Second Guess: My brother and I had just split up to go different directions to get on a bull bugling 250 to 300 yards away from us. I had gotten about half way across a clearing on my way into some timber for cover when I spotted the bull trotting towards me at about 100 yards in the wide open flat. I was sure he would skirt the pines as every bull I had seen had done up to that point so I chose to not draw until he had made it past me which would give me a 35 yard quartering away shot and hopefully provide a little cover. Unfortunately about half way there, he turned and came straight at me. I could not draw as I had nothing to conceal the movement. He stopped less than 10 yards from me and there was not a thing I could do. I had a 350+ bull at less than 10 yards and did not even get a shot.
Haunt: On the second day of the hunt we saw a monster bull cross the road in front of us at about 10 AM. This is ?The Beast? that Fin Little mentioned. I could not get a shot at him then, but it did keep me in that area the rest of the hunt. I think this bull will score better than 390 and will probably flirt with the F word. Several days later I am about a mile from where he had crossed and I was trying to get between two bulls that seemed like they were going to come together and fight. Instead, they just dropped into their bedding zones and shut up. I decided not to push them to hard and backed out. On my way out I heard another bugle below me that sounded like a good bull. I moved up about 50 yards and set up in the edge of a clearing. Less than 5 minutes later, The Beast showed up with 25 to 30 cows. He fed up the far edge of the flat for several minutes and had just started to move into the trees. I had a decent shooting lane for a 60 yard shot. That is my max comfort range and felt confident with the shot as I had hit a 3 inch group while practicing at that distance the day before. I was able to draw without him or the cows being aware. I let fly and the arrow was tracking absolutely perfect to settle into heart/lung area. I was getting ready to do the happy dance right until a small branch jumped out and redirected my arrow about two inches over his back. I never saw that darn branch. I was crushed and just left the arrow and walked off the hill and got into the truck. I went back and got the arrow a bit later just to be sure there wasn't a hit, but I will be haunted by knowing I was a twig away from a 400 class bull. That's bow hunting.
I had two stalks at two different bulls, 350 and 370ish screwed up by herds of antelope that got between the 100 yards that separated the bulls and me. Two more stalks ruined by deer in the way. Oh, and I passed a 350 bull at 1:30pm on the second day because it did not seem like much of a hunt or story to kill him on the main road to Tusayan on day two and because I had seen The Beast a couple hours earlier. I fear he ?ruint? my judgment.
I saw at least 25 bulls that were 350+ and probably 10 of those were 370+. The rut just never fully kicked in for whatever reasons and it was extremely tough to close less than 100 yards or bring them in any closer. I never saw a bull with a broken tine the entire hunt. Oh, we also saw one very nice buck that would push 190 just a few hundred yards from the Beast.
A couple things I just need to mention. One about ?that guy? and the second was maybe one of the strangest things I have ever seen in the woods. First, to the clown that decided to pass us before sunrise on the one lane dirt road at 45+ mph only to pull over in front of us 300 yards later (not an exaggeration) when he saw his buddy coming the other way,?.. Really? If you did not feel like the largest horses @$$ in the world, there is something very wrong with you. Second, you know you are too close to the GCNP line when you come across Androgynous Pat sitting against a pine tree talking to his/her 3 foot Spiderman doll propped up against another pine for going on four hours.
Lastly, thanks again to CAelknuts for coming out and calling that last morning. If not for one very subtle shift in the breeze?.. who knows? Funny I had to go over 750 miles to unit 9 to meet you and we work 6 blocks from each other. Good luck with all those points. Even without filling my tag this year, I know I would be back on 9 if I had that many points.
Again, it was a great hunt and we definitely made the most of it. I think I logged more hiking miles than when I had the tag on Dutton of few years ago and I never would have guessed that. It would have been nice to score a great bull, but the hunt and spending time with my brothers is mainly why I am there anyway. I guess it will be back to video cameras for the next few years.
Pruney
