utah450
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GO TO PART 1
Looks like the max number of photos on a post is 10. No problem, I will just post part 2.
We ended that last post with Shannon shooting an archery bull at last light on the last day. The opening day of Dan and Joe's hunt began before Shannon's crew had even found her bull. We hadn't seen "Beetlejuice" since July 3rd. Why Beetlejuice, I can't say. Dan comes up with some humdingers, but he sure enjoys naming bucks and bulls. 7x8 can get confusing as you will see with Dan and Joe's bulls this year. 6x6 is even worse, so it is better that I don't name them.
My kids make fun of me, but there is something that I enjoy about getting to my glassing spot in the dark. Opening morning found me in my normal routine setting up the tripod with not a lick of light in the east. In the still too dark to see, I found a bull that looked to be really good. He fed out of sight and then reappeared about a half-hour later in the 10x's. I got excited and hollered on the radio that I had a big 6. I quickly switched from binos to spotting scope on the tripod and was blown away by the growth Beetlejuice had thrown on since I had last seen him!
He bedded down in one of those spots the big ones seem to learn, where it is either going to be a 50 or 1500 yard shot with nothing in between. We opted to get right in there and mix it up. The wind did what it does and the bull was gone. We never did see him again that day. Late Sunday morning I caught a glimpse of a bull in a nasty hole on a timbered ledge and was pretty confident that I had seen the crow's foot on the left and the giant thirds. Late afternoon, he had to move for better shade and we confirmed it was him. This giant messed up big time. Dan got set up on a ledge and waited for him to feed out as the sun went down. What a sweet bull.
I am always curious about the score on these big boys, so I better share. He taped out at 430-2/8.
We didn't waste a minute and were right back at it looking for a bull for Joe. He was interested in several of the bulls that we had on the radar and the first one to pop out was a bull we call Tick. Not sure how I got lucky enough to always be in the right spot to witness the action, but Joe's nephew picked up Tick and I could just see around the corner and up the canyon to where he was standing. Joe was able to get to a shooting position and killed another sweet 7x8 with some serious beams that taped out at 396.
Now it was time to get a buck nailed down for Ashton. Throughout the year the crew had turned up quite a few bucks in the 190 plus range with a few that would probably break 200. The few giants that we were able to find got killed on archery or just disappeared on us. Opening morning left us chasing the same buck as another local hunter and wouldn't you know it, but we were a split second slow and Ashton watched the buck drop out of his scope as he was just starting to squeeze. That kind of situation will create some emotions and remind you why hunting is so fun.
We licked our wounds for all of 5 seconds and moved to plan b, which included a wildly fast ride in a side x side towards number 2 on the hit list. As luck would have it, my godson Devin had a visual on number 2 and we were able to get in position just as the sun started to light up his heavy old frame. As per usual, Ashton made a great shot and now has 2 bucks over 200 while the old man is still trying. By the way, that is 40 inches of mass!
Not going to lie, it was bittersweet to be done on opening morning. Fortunately, we had Tanner's late elk hunt coming up soon. The late hunt on the San Juan is not an easy hunt. We have one giant, rough, and thick winter range. The crew collectively put in a ton of time looking for bulls. Tanner's brother Devin even made two trips from Nevada back home to scout. Just weeks before the hunt, my good friend Scoot got not one call from the DWR, but two, letting him know that both his 12-year-old daughter, Keezie, and his dad would be hunting late bulls as well.
The hunt came soon enough and we were off to the races, with a pretty big crew looking to fill 3 tags. Between all of us, the only giant that we found was missing one whole side. After a couple of days, we got down to business and killed some great late season bulls.
Keezie went first. Scoot is a great dad and has worked with Keezie a ton on shooting. I can't remember how far she can hit a milk jug from, but it is further than most of us. She killed her bull from 860 yards!
It seems like long-range shooting ability is a plus on the late hunt. Tanner took a great bull from over 700 yards.
I didn't get to be there for Scoot's dad's bull, but Danny took a great late season bull too.
Now for the icing on the cake, my daughter Kendall is my hunting buddy when it comes to going with her cousins and the hounds. She was lucky enough to draw a bear tag at twelve and we have been working on getting her a big tom ever since. For several years, she has watched others shoot nice cats while waiting for a big one. Just last week, we finally got some snow. She and I got up early to start cutting roads. Well before light, we were fortunate enough to call the cousins on the radio and tell them we had a good tom track. It was in an area where we have run a good tom before and it gets nasty with ledges in short order.
After 6 miles of a big circle, he headed for the same hell hole where he has ditched the dogs before. It didn't go as well for him this time and both the dogs and the cousins had the cat pinned down in some boulders. Kendall didn't get to shoot from long range, in fact, the shot could be measured under 2 feet and was so close that not only was the scope not needed but impossible to use. It wasn't a situation that I wanted my daughter in but it all worked out!
Kudos to Founder for creating a place where we can share our experiences and passion for the outdoors. Thanks to all of you who are willing to help each other out. I know that I have appreciated the tips and suggestions from many of you over the years. Not to rub it in, but I am dang lucky to live where I live and have the friends and family that I have. I am grateful for the experiences had and the new friends made this year. My quarantine is over!
Looks like the max number of photos on a post is 10. No problem, I will just post part 2.
We ended that last post with Shannon shooting an archery bull at last light on the last day. The opening day of Dan and Joe's hunt began before Shannon's crew had even found her bull. We hadn't seen "Beetlejuice" since July 3rd. Why Beetlejuice, I can't say. Dan comes up with some humdingers, but he sure enjoys naming bucks and bulls. 7x8 can get confusing as you will see with Dan and Joe's bulls this year. 6x6 is even worse, so it is better that I don't name them.
My kids make fun of me, but there is something that I enjoy about getting to my glassing spot in the dark. Opening morning found me in my normal routine setting up the tripod with not a lick of light in the east. In the still too dark to see, I found a bull that looked to be really good. He fed out of sight and then reappeared about a half-hour later in the 10x's. I got excited and hollered on the radio that I had a big 6. I quickly switched from binos to spotting scope on the tripod and was blown away by the growth Beetlejuice had thrown on since I had last seen him!
He bedded down in one of those spots the big ones seem to learn, where it is either going to be a 50 or 1500 yard shot with nothing in between. We opted to get right in there and mix it up. The wind did what it does and the bull was gone. We never did see him again that day. Late Sunday morning I caught a glimpse of a bull in a nasty hole on a timbered ledge and was pretty confident that I had seen the crow's foot on the left and the giant thirds. Late afternoon, he had to move for better shade and we confirmed it was him. This giant messed up big time. Dan got set up on a ledge and waited for him to feed out as the sun went down. What a sweet bull.
I am always curious about the score on these big boys, so I better share. He taped out at 430-2/8.
We didn't waste a minute and were right back at it looking for a bull for Joe. He was interested in several of the bulls that we had on the radar and the first one to pop out was a bull we call Tick. Not sure how I got lucky enough to always be in the right spot to witness the action, but Joe's nephew picked up Tick and I could just see around the corner and up the canyon to where he was standing. Joe was able to get to a shooting position and killed another sweet 7x8 with some serious beams that taped out at 396.
Now it was time to get a buck nailed down for Ashton. Throughout the year the crew had turned up quite a few bucks in the 190 plus range with a few that would probably break 200. The few giants that we were able to find got killed on archery or just disappeared on us. Opening morning left us chasing the same buck as another local hunter and wouldn't you know it, but we were a split second slow and Ashton watched the buck drop out of his scope as he was just starting to squeeze. That kind of situation will create some emotions and remind you why hunting is so fun.
We licked our wounds for all of 5 seconds and moved to plan b, which included a wildly fast ride in a side x side towards number 2 on the hit list. As luck would have it, my godson Devin had a visual on number 2 and we were able to get in position just as the sun started to light up his heavy old frame. As per usual, Ashton made a great shot and now has 2 bucks over 200 while the old man is still trying. By the way, that is 40 inches of mass!
Not going to lie, it was bittersweet to be done on opening morning. Fortunately, we had Tanner's late elk hunt coming up soon. The late hunt on the San Juan is not an easy hunt. We have one giant, rough, and thick winter range. The crew collectively put in a ton of time looking for bulls. Tanner's brother Devin even made two trips from Nevada back home to scout. Just weeks before the hunt, my good friend Scoot got not one call from the DWR, but two, letting him know that both his 12-year-old daughter, Keezie, and his dad would be hunting late bulls as well.
The hunt came soon enough and we were off to the races, with a pretty big crew looking to fill 3 tags. Between all of us, the only giant that we found was missing one whole side. After a couple of days, we got down to business and killed some great late season bulls.
Keezie went first. Scoot is a great dad and has worked with Keezie a ton on shooting. I can't remember how far she can hit a milk jug from, but it is further than most of us. She killed her bull from 860 yards!
It seems like long-range shooting ability is a plus on the late hunt. Tanner took a great bull from over 700 yards.
I didn't get to be there for Scoot's dad's bull, but Danny took a great late season bull too.
Now for the icing on the cake, my daughter Kendall is my hunting buddy when it comes to going with her cousins and the hounds. She was lucky enough to draw a bear tag at twelve and we have been working on getting her a big tom ever since. For several years, she has watched others shoot nice cats while waiting for a big one. Just last week, we finally got some snow. She and I got up early to start cutting roads. Well before light, we were fortunate enough to call the cousins on the radio and tell them we had a good tom track. It was in an area where we have run a good tom before and it gets nasty with ledges in short order.
After 6 miles of a big circle, he headed for the same hell hole where he has ditched the dogs before. It didn't go as well for him this time and both the dogs and the cousins had the cat pinned down in some boulders. Kendall didn't get to shoot from long range, in fact, the shot could be measured under 2 feet and was so close that not only was the scope not needed but impossible to use. It wasn't a situation that I wanted my daughter in but it all worked out!
Kudos to Founder for creating a place where we can share our experiences and passion for the outdoors. Thanks to all of you who are willing to help each other out. I know that I have appreciated the tips and suggestions from many of you over the years. Not to rub it in, but I am dang lucky to live where I live and have the friends and family that I have. I am grateful for the experiences had and the new friends made this year. My quarantine is over!
