Nada, zilch, zero! GREAT HUNT!

[huntsonora]

I got back from my hunt yesterday and I came home empty handed. It was a zoo up there, there was a cow elk hunt, a bull elk hunt, a doe hunt and a buck hunt going on all at the same time. Literally thousands of people pounding the roads and hills. We still had a blast! I dont care how bad the hunting is it still beats working. My buddy and I glassed over 800 deer in 8 1/2 days and the best buck we saw was just a little better that 170", he was just not what we were looking for. I talked with a few guys that saw some better deer but they were really holed up. I could talk about all of the negative things that we saw on the hunt but it would detract from the great time spent with great friends. I met a few guys up on the hill and am positive that I will keep in contact with them, in fact I talked with one of them this am, he had been hunting the unit for 15 years and I enjoyed hearing the stories he had from over the years. I had the opportunity to meet Paul(Prism) and he is a great guy and was very fortunate to put my hands on the antlers of that stud typical he killed. I was hunting with one of my oldest and best friends from my hometown back in TX and we hung out with David(Bonehead) from Muley Crazy and had the opportunity to meet a couple of his childhood buddies. Other than not seeing any good deer I would have to say that it was one of the best hunts I have ever been on. At the time I got a little frustrated but looking back I would not change a thing. I hope that everybody here could have as good a hunt as I did this past week.

Drum

 

[ktg]

LAST EDITED ON Oct-31-05 AT 04:58PM (MST)[p]Sounds fun but I'm confused. You saw a 170+ buck but you didn't see any good deer. I want to go hunting with you & I'll take the ones you pass on.

 

[littlefoot]

good for you, hunts....we don't always have to fill our tag to make it a great hunt....heck, for every time i go to the hills huntin', i go at least 100 times that i'm not huntin'....always the same....happy to be there. congratulations on a good hunt...

 

[browtine]

Sounds like as great a hunt as can be expected without puilling the trigger. I have to commend you for holding out on a 170 buck. That would have been a great buck for your first deer. (I say first deer tenativly, knowing your have been apart of some of the biggest deer killed on this site).

Later, Brandon

 

[Prism]

800 deer! Man were we hunting on the wrong side of the road or what!!!

Sorry to hear you and your buddy didn't find the ones you were looking for. Hope to run into you somewhere down the road! Good luck on the rest of your hunts this year!

 

[huntsonora]

LAST EDITED ON Nov-01-05 AT 11:12AM (MST)[p]Prism, we saw a ton of deer, we saw the better part of them in one particular area. As for which side of the road, I'd say that you were on the right side. I would have given up all of our deer sightings to just see one like the one you pulled the trigger on.

I failed to mention that I was also able to meet another MM member on this hunt, Jeff Hatch(cohunter6) came out and we hooked up with him on Fri and Sat night. I have not heard back from him but I hope he was successful on Sunday as it was the best day of the week to be out in the field.

As for holding out on a 170", I am one of these weird guys that sets his sights on one thing and just wont settle for anything less. I had set my sights on a high 180's deer or better. Call it stubborn, boneheaded or both I have just seen way too many deer hit the ground to be able to justify killing one just to say I got one. I think that my friends want me to kill a deer worse than I do. A successful hunt for me is determined by how much I learn and how much fun I have on a particular hunt and this hunt was extremely successful.

Drum

 

[OSOK]

Your's will come in do time! I'll give you an A for effort at least.

 

[NDBadlandsbucks]

Congrats on a great time, its nice to hear about someone who had a good time instead of hearing about what they saw all the jerks and slobs doing. Thanks for the post.

Keep the Sun at Your Back and the Wind in Your Face

 

[ktg]

Gotta commend you for holding out. I just heard that a guy got a 38" buck where we were hunting just after we left. Maybe if I had held out, I'd have found him first. Maybe next time.

 

[bigbull1]

Drum,
Been there to many times to count. Always better to be hunting than to be stuck behind a desk...plus there's always next year.

Even got skunked last Saturday looking for chukar, but saw a good-looking desert bighorn ram skylined on top of rimrock outcropping. Made my day for sure.

Ed

 

[Cass]

Drummond it's real good finally hear about an actual hunt that YOU went on!.
Great story, and from one Unsuccessful hunter to another. Just remember bud, Not getting one can be as good as harvesting one. The thrills, the laughs, the adrenaline rush. One of these days your gonna have to come to Nevada and lemme show you a totally new style of hunting. . Glad to see your back ok bud, Take it easy.
You earned it.




-Cass

 

[NMHUNTNUTT1]

Hey there Drum , congrats on a great time , gotta agree with you , a hunt is alot more than simply harvesting , I was brought up learning there was so much more into making a hunt successful , to take an animal is just a bonus . By the way , how was your NM muzzle elk hunt ??....NMHUNTNUTT

 

[huntsonora]

LAST EDITED ON Nov-01-05 AT 07:04PM (MST)[p]The muzz hunt in NM was fun. I did not harvest a bull but again, great friends and beautiful country made it worth while. I did actually misfire on a 350" bull, it had been drizzling and my primer was just a little too wet. Oh well, you win some and you lose some. The ranch I was hunting was quite a bit smaller than what I was anticipating, the bulls did not have far to go to get away from me. If I go back I will purchase a unit wide tag instead of a ranch only tag. If I had the unit wide tag I would have been able to get back up on the bull. It was a fun way to spend my birthday.

Drummond