LAST EDITED ON Jan-24-15 AT 03:28PM (MST)[p]>
LAST EDITED ON Jan-22-15
>AT 11:10?PM (MST)
>
>>I had bulls bugling a little
>>around me on August 28th
>>on the SWD archery hunt
>>last year. It seemed
>>like a little cooler weather
>>triggered it and then it
>>got warm again and it
>>stopped. Shot my bull
>>on Aug 30th and didn't
>>hear a thing on that
>>day.
>
>
>Congrats on your bull 4x4, how
>big and is SWD a
>unit I should consider?
>Huntin Fool etc sing praise.
>
Servehim,
I didn't shoot all that big of a bull, but for a NR that hunted it without a guide I'm pretty happy. I passed on a bull slightly bigger a couple of days before, but ended up shooting the bull I shot because I had a buddy in NV at the same time on an archery elk hunt that was struggling. I was afraid he was going to shoot a raghorn so I shot the bull I did after passing him a couple of nights before so I could run over and help him out.
The SWD is a fun hunt, but it's not an easy hunt at all. There's a ton of thick cedars and if they're not bugling you had better have a good idea on where to look. The archery hunt is really early and I wasn't sure if the rut was going to pick up enough to make it a good hunt so I shot this bull. A couple of other things...for the most part there are no secret spots or water holes on the SWD. Every water hole I found no matter how far from the road had a camera on it. I've also used trail cameras quite a few times in a few different states and the only place I've ever had a problem was on my SWD hunt. Not sure what's in the water out there, but people felt obligated to break my cameras and take my SD cards. They were also locked in stout homemade boxes with locks. They were determined to get in to say the least.
If I had 14 pts I may hold off a couple more years and try to draw a different unit on a year with later season dates. I drew with 5 pts and worked my buns off to get it done. I know I got really lucky to draw it, but to defend myself I have 18 LE deer pts. Applying in UT isn't new to me!
Here's my bull on my trail cam a couple of days before I shot him. I was about 25 yards from him when this picture was taken.
My buddy's NV bull and my SWD UT bull (I'm on the right). We're not residents of either UT or NV and both of our hunts were 100% DIY.
Before anyone calls me out about how clean the skulls are...this is what we did in camp before we broke camp and came home.