its long, sorry lol...
2013, Blessing or a curse?
I put in for the Utah draws without much expectation, I only had 3 elk points, 2 desert bighorn points. I was more excited about going on the general deer and elk hunts with my dad and brother,but we didnt draw general deer tags.. FUN is and understatement when all 3 of us are together. But we also hunt hard, and one of the 3 of us usually has success or a story about the big one that got away. I also like watching Rick fall down! Well word started going around with people getting charges on their credit cards, we were all waiting for the phone call from Rick, he had 17 points and put in for a hunt he should?ve had! Well there were 6 tags for this particular hunt and 7 people put in.. He was the lucky one that did NOT draw! Well after a week of phone calls and checking my card statement every couple hours, it was there.. A charge on my card from Utah bucks and bulls for $285, i closed it? This cant be right?? I logged in again and sure enough, it was there!! I called my dad to share the news and he was excited for me! I called Rick, he thought I was messing with him like I have for almost every year prior.. This was serious! I could tell he was very excited for me, but frustrated that he hadn't got a hit. But still very excited, in our family if one person draws a good tag it's a family affair. We all love it and bring certain things to the table that an outing just isn't the same without that person. So I guess you could say when one draws, we all draw. Well I had been having a pretty rough time in my life from an accident a couple years ago to a divorce that was in the process still when I found out about my tag. At first I was very excited, but then reality started setting in and I felt like I should turn the tag back and get my life in order and give someone who is ready the chance to hunt. Well everybody I talked to told me not to, go dude you need it more than anyone! Well when you draw a tag all your gear is not good enough, you need the best of everything because big bulls just cant be killed without the newest latest and greatest, everything! After rolling through every possible scenario and trying to come up with money, my equipment would have to do. I could either get new equipment and not be able to afford to go on the hunt, or use what I have and go give it my all. Well every decision that summer had that hunt in mind. More bad luck, my transmission on my truck went out and left me sitting in the mcdonalds drive through. I called a very good friend that jumped up in the middle of a date with his wife telling her he would be right back and leaving her sitting there without any explanation. He helped me push my truck into a parking spot and gave me a ride to my house and hurried back to his wife! She wasn?t quite as mad after he explained the situation a little more, and got a couple free beers from other guys trying to pick up on the blonde in the corner sitting alone! Got that situation figured out and my truck was running with the help of my brother in law a cousin who helped me get it out, rebuilt and put back in. fast forward to the hunt. Through the summer I had hung trail cameras, talked to cowboys on the mtn, called in favors from friends and had a pretty healthy hit list. I missed opening weekend until Tuesday night, Tuesday night was my opener and I had the rest of the archery hunt off! Rick met me, we were going to see if we could lay eyes on a bull a few different guys had told me about, but it was a bust. We only saw a doe and a fawn, no fresh elk tracks even.. We went back to grandmas and she had dinner ready for us and I had an old friend tagging along with Rick and I in the morning. My ex wife called at 4:00 am telling me I needed to come home because she had to work and our son is sick, I talked to her for a second and he wasn?t that sick and it was her turn to take a day off work with him if he was sick. She was acting like an ex wife so I ended up turning my phone off and getting up to go hunting. Blake Rick and I headed up the mountain having a great time, seeing quite a few elk but nothing big enough to even consider trying to close the distance on. We were in the area where I had 3 bulls that I considered shooters , and would take any of them given the chance! No luck, my water hole had dried up and they had moved off to somewhere, I still don't know.. it was a long hot summer and I was scrambling trying to find water so I could start there and hopefully find one of the bulls I had scouted, or another that would fit the bill. Then the rains came, it rained every afternoon for at least 2 hours almost every single day of the hunt. The elk didn't have to be anywhere, didn't have to do anything with grass waist deep on me and water everywhere. The rut was slow coming on and non existent for the first 2 weeks and very hit or miss after. Still seeing bachelor groups of bulls, cows with no bulls etc. I'll run over a few high points in the hunt as I could write a page story on every day I hunted. It started off slow, really slow. I didn't see a bull I would consider shooting until the 5th day I hunted. He was a solid 330 bull, not what I wanted but spirits were way down. He was 500 yards out and had been pushed. We watched him for a minute and tried to anticipate what he was going to do. We were wrong.. Rick was by my side as much as he could until he went to Idaho for a hunt with an old friend. we covered a lot of miles checking spots that historically had elk, but were not producing. Checking these spots I had some cool experiences. I had a solid 170 buck at 20 yards that had no idea I even existed, I drew back on him to see if I would get busted. I didn't, he didn't even catch me letting my bow down. Feeling very sneaky and over confindent now? I had a bear walking through the pines towards me and moved off the side of the trail, down the hill from him to let him pass hopefully unaware of me. He hit where I moved off the trail and his nose hit the dirt, he followed my tracks to about 15 yards of me. I stood up and said hey bear, he grunted that sounded like huh? And turned around and took off up the hill. My heart was pounding and I couldn't help but laugh and stand there in disbelief. The look on his face, the noise he made, everything. In another spot and was sitting more or less watching the clouds go by, a doe and a fawn fed up around me, the doe on one side of me and the fawn on the other, both about 6 feet to each side of me. The doe could tell something wasn?t right and snorted and turned and took off, the fawn jumped over the top of me to follow its mom. In another spot watching a seep that had quite a bit of elk sign around it a doe and fawn came in to drink, the fawn started bounding around up the hill and down. Splashing in the water and jumping on the doe. It came up the hill and was going to come through my blind I made. Rick helped me build it and there were 2 seats dug out in the side of the hill and the fawn landed right next to me, would?ve been in ricks lap if he was with me and I flinched because it had nowhere to go but through me to get out.. I swear it turned around in mid air, let out a beller and was getting out of there as fast as its legs would take it with mom close in toe. I was seeing a lot of elk, every day but was having a hard time getting close and a harder time finding a shooter.. I was alone, going into a spot rick had showed me and at this point this 320 bull grazing up through the quakies looked great to me! I stalked in to 80 yards but couldn't move fast enough to keep up with him until I ran out of cover and watched him for another 30 minutes as he grazed into the pines and I couldn't do a thing about it. That was really my first close call on this hunt at a bull I would shoot if I got the chance. I went back up after the bull that evaded me one evening and just as I got to where the elk were the heavens opened up and a cloud burst? I layed under a big bushy pine tree for 3 hours waiting for the rain to let up. It finally did and I found a spot where 3 trails came together and made a pretty good blind and had barely nocked an arrow and heard footsteps. Could see antlers coming through the pines with flashes of hair. He hit the clearing and my jaw hit the ground. A solid 350 bull was mozying into the clearing and heading down the trail 30 yards away. He went behind a tree I drew back. His head was down and he was walking and I was at full draw he paused for a second, I hadn't moved? he looked right at me, no shot.. he looked for about 10 seconds and decided nope and turned and ran straight away on the other side of the pine? I have no idea what alerted him other than a 6th sense. Wind was right, I didn't move, no noise.. Another morning my dad took a friend and I to the top and we were going to hunt our way down to the bottom where he would pick us up at about noon. We were working down the ridge and got into 5 cows with no bull, all within archery range and no idea we were there. They moved off and we kept working down the ridge and heard a bull bugling in the next draw off the ridge. We moved towards him bugling every minute or so. Working in on him we had 2 rag horn bulls at 20 yards with no idea we were there but at a stalemate not wanting to spook them worried if we did they would take the mature bull out of the country. They moved off, we moved closer to him. Stale mate again with 10 cows and 3 spike bulls. They moved off we moved closer. We got inside 100 yards but still hadn't seen him and he shutup? no idea where he went and never heard another peep? so we start working towards the truck, another bull bugles below us so we start moving down. He is a good 6, shooter and he is working his way up into the pines with his cows. We shadow him up the opposite ridge hoping he will get into a position I might have a chance. They bed down and I try to move in on them. I get in to about 50 yards of the cows but cant see him, I went to crawl around the pine tree I had snuck up under to get another angle and theres a doe laying under the bows and a little cut. She blows and runs right through the middle of the elk. The bull was laying in a spot I'm confident I could?ve gotten a shot if the deer didn't blow? the cows ran, but he was trying to sneak. I followed him and almost got a shot following him 3 different times but just didn't happen. I hit a saddle and heard a stick break and hit my knee by a small pine tree and knocked an arrow. I had 28 cows calves and spikes walk by me at 6 feet and hang up in about 20 yards below me. Them being on the alert from me jumping them earlier another small bunch of elk were coming in above me and broke a stick. The elk below me took off, the elk above me went to follow them and I don't know how I didn't get ran over. I could feel the wind as 2 of them ran by me. No bull and couldn't do anything but sit there and giggle at what just happened. That morning we saw over 100 head of elk. That evening a friend and I went up on a ridge where you could see forever! We glassed a bachelor group of 6 bulls that were BIG one in particular was HUGE. About 5 miles away and very low light you could tell his frame and he was a definite shooter. The next night my dad and I went to where they were. 2 feet from where we were going to sit down and wait to see what they were going to do my dad got stung on the cheek by a wasp, doing his best to be quiet I turned around to look at him and figure out what he was doing a stick hooked my pack and broke. I knew we were in the bedroom? about 10 seconds we heard them leaving the country. Down the canyon we were in, over the next ridge, through the next canyon and over the next ridge never to be seen or heard from again? a few days later I went back up to check on the 350 bull, looking in the same spot. I could hear a bull bugling out of the face still and started to move towards him. I got into a saddle and caught movement. I hit my knees and nocked an arrow, it was a cows ear is all I could see around the curvature of the hill. her and 14 other cows and calves made their way past me at 40 yards moving into the pines to bed for the day. Wheres the bull!? Just then he bugled, he was bringing up the back. And he was big, not the 350, he was better, much better? following the cows trail moving kinda fast to catch up. I drew back as he grabbed a mouthful of grass and he looked over his opposite shoulder at another bull tailing him. I settled my 40 pin just at the top of the grass and let the arrow fly. I watched it bounce off the top of his back and bounce through the tree limbs down the hill. he jumped, stopped and watched the arrow and turned and trotted into the pines to be with is cows never for me to see again?. I was beyond frustrated this was day 19 straight hunting for my first shot opportunity and a big bull and I blew it. I was done. I was throwing my fit and went to throw my bow, a piece of underbrush grabbed the limb. It went out about 3 feet and was set down right back at my feet ?. Slap in the face, again! I grabbed my bow, walked to my truck and went home to collect myself? I stayed in the area, seeing some other great bulls, seeing the cows but never seeing him. Had more opportunities at small bulls but was just fine going big or going home empty handed. One particular morning I was in elk, having a great morning but not seeing a shooter. I was walking through some trees and 2 guys stood up and I walked over towards them to see what their plans were so we could either work together or not be hunting over the top of each other. They threatened to kick my ass if I didn't get off their mountain, both were more than capable of doing it so I back off and left. I tried to get around the other side to see if I could get their license plate number and turn them in. they mustve ran out faster than I did. I followed their tracks in the mud to the main highway and I don't know which way they went? Had a couple more close encounters but chose not to shoot them. Closing morning rick was with me, the elk were screaming! We got within 40 yards of the 330 bull and his couple of cows but had no shot because it was too thick.. it was a great morning! I decided to end my hunt with a close encounter on a screaming bull that my brother had pissed off. I had a great hunt! I'm still deciding if it was a blessing or a curse for everything I went through, all the effort, money, time I put into it to take home my un punched tag and empty spot on my wall.. what is did gain is a greater respect, great great times with family and friends and experiences most of the population, even the hunting population will have. I hunted almost every day for 25 days and had the time of my life. I let go 58 bulls inside of my comfortable range and only shot once and had a clean miss, not wounding and losing an animal. I got to spend time hunting with my dad and brother, by far my favorite people to hunt with! Was this hunt a success for me? Hell yes it was!!!
2013, Blessing or a curse?
I put in for the Utah draws without much expectation, I only had 3 elk points, 2 desert bighorn points. I was more excited about going on the general deer and elk hunts with my dad and brother,but we didnt draw general deer tags.. FUN is and understatement when all 3 of us are together. But we also hunt hard, and one of the 3 of us usually has success or a story about the big one that got away. I also like watching Rick fall down! Well word started going around with people getting charges on their credit cards, we were all waiting for the phone call from Rick, he had 17 points and put in for a hunt he should?ve had! Well there were 6 tags for this particular hunt and 7 people put in.. He was the lucky one that did NOT draw! Well after a week of phone calls and checking my card statement every couple hours, it was there.. A charge on my card from Utah bucks and bulls for $285, i closed it? This cant be right?? I logged in again and sure enough, it was there!! I called my dad to share the news and he was excited for me! I called Rick, he thought I was messing with him like I have for almost every year prior.. This was serious! I could tell he was very excited for me, but frustrated that he hadn't got a hit. But still very excited, in our family if one person draws a good tag it's a family affair. We all love it and bring certain things to the table that an outing just isn't the same without that person. So I guess you could say when one draws, we all draw. Well I had been having a pretty rough time in my life from an accident a couple years ago to a divorce that was in the process still when I found out about my tag. At first I was very excited, but then reality started setting in and I felt like I should turn the tag back and get my life in order and give someone who is ready the chance to hunt. Well everybody I talked to told me not to, go dude you need it more than anyone! Well when you draw a tag all your gear is not good enough, you need the best of everything because big bulls just cant be killed without the newest latest and greatest, everything! After rolling through every possible scenario and trying to come up with money, my equipment would have to do. I could either get new equipment and not be able to afford to go on the hunt, or use what I have and go give it my all. Well every decision that summer had that hunt in mind. More bad luck, my transmission on my truck went out and left me sitting in the mcdonalds drive through. I called a very good friend that jumped up in the middle of a date with his wife telling her he would be right back and leaving her sitting there without any explanation. He helped me push my truck into a parking spot and gave me a ride to my house and hurried back to his wife! She wasn?t quite as mad after he explained the situation a little more, and got a couple free beers from other guys trying to pick up on the blonde in the corner sitting alone! Got that situation figured out and my truck was running with the help of my brother in law a cousin who helped me get it out, rebuilt and put back in. fast forward to the hunt. Through the summer I had hung trail cameras, talked to cowboys on the mtn, called in favors from friends and had a pretty healthy hit list. I missed opening weekend until Tuesday night, Tuesday night was my opener and I had the rest of the archery hunt off! Rick met me, we were going to see if we could lay eyes on a bull a few different guys had told me about, but it was a bust. We only saw a doe and a fawn, no fresh elk tracks even.. We went back to grandmas and she had dinner ready for us and I had an old friend tagging along with Rick and I in the morning. My ex wife called at 4:00 am telling me I needed to come home because she had to work and our son is sick, I talked to her for a second and he wasn?t that sick and it was her turn to take a day off work with him if he was sick. She was acting like an ex wife so I ended up turning my phone off and getting up to go hunting. Blake Rick and I headed up the mountain having a great time, seeing quite a few elk but nothing big enough to even consider trying to close the distance on. We were in the area where I had 3 bulls that I considered shooters , and would take any of them given the chance! No luck, my water hole had dried up and they had moved off to somewhere, I still don't know.. it was a long hot summer and I was scrambling trying to find water so I could start there and hopefully find one of the bulls I had scouted, or another that would fit the bill. Then the rains came, it rained every afternoon for at least 2 hours almost every single day of the hunt. The elk didn't have to be anywhere, didn't have to do anything with grass waist deep on me and water everywhere. The rut was slow coming on and non existent for the first 2 weeks and very hit or miss after. Still seeing bachelor groups of bulls, cows with no bulls etc. I'll run over a few high points in the hunt as I could write a page story on every day I hunted. It started off slow, really slow. I didn't see a bull I would consider shooting until the 5th day I hunted. He was a solid 330 bull, not what I wanted but spirits were way down. He was 500 yards out and had been pushed. We watched him for a minute and tried to anticipate what he was going to do. We were wrong.. Rick was by my side as much as he could until he went to Idaho for a hunt with an old friend. we covered a lot of miles checking spots that historically had elk, but were not producing. Checking these spots I had some cool experiences. I had a solid 170 buck at 20 yards that had no idea I even existed, I drew back on him to see if I would get busted. I didn't, he didn't even catch me letting my bow down. Feeling very sneaky and over confindent now? I had a bear walking through the pines towards me and moved off the side of the trail, down the hill from him to let him pass hopefully unaware of me. He hit where I moved off the trail and his nose hit the dirt, he followed my tracks to about 15 yards of me. I stood up and said hey bear, he grunted that sounded like huh? And turned around and took off up the hill. My heart was pounding and I couldn't help but laugh and stand there in disbelief. The look on his face, the noise he made, everything. In another spot and was sitting more or less watching the clouds go by, a doe and a fawn fed up around me, the doe on one side of me and the fawn on the other, both about 6 feet to each side of me. The doe could tell something wasn?t right and snorted and turned and took off, the fawn jumped over the top of me to follow its mom. In another spot watching a seep that had quite a bit of elk sign around it a doe and fawn came in to drink, the fawn started bounding around up the hill and down. Splashing in the water and jumping on the doe. It came up the hill and was going to come through my blind I made. Rick helped me build it and there were 2 seats dug out in the side of the hill and the fawn landed right next to me, would?ve been in ricks lap if he was with me and I flinched because it had nowhere to go but through me to get out.. I swear it turned around in mid air, let out a beller and was getting out of there as fast as its legs would take it with mom close in toe. I was seeing a lot of elk, every day but was having a hard time getting close and a harder time finding a shooter.. I was alone, going into a spot rick had showed me and at this point this 320 bull grazing up through the quakies looked great to me! I stalked in to 80 yards but couldn't move fast enough to keep up with him until I ran out of cover and watched him for another 30 minutes as he grazed into the pines and I couldn't do a thing about it. That was really my first close call on this hunt at a bull I would shoot if I got the chance. I went back up after the bull that evaded me one evening and just as I got to where the elk were the heavens opened up and a cloud burst? I layed under a big bushy pine tree for 3 hours waiting for the rain to let up. It finally did and I found a spot where 3 trails came together and made a pretty good blind and had barely nocked an arrow and heard footsteps. Could see antlers coming through the pines with flashes of hair. He hit the clearing and my jaw hit the ground. A solid 350 bull was mozying into the clearing and heading down the trail 30 yards away. He went behind a tree I drew back. His head was down and he was walking and I was at full draw he paused for a second, I hadn't moved? he looked right at me, no shot.. he looked for about 10 seconds and decided nope and turned and ran straight away on the other side of the pine? I have no idea what alerted him other than a 6th sense. Wind was right, I didn't move, no noise.. Another morning my dad took a friend and I to the top and we were going to hunt our way down to the bottom where he would pick us up at about noon. We were working down the ridge and got into 5 cows with no bull, all within archery range and no idea we were there. They moved off and we kept working down the ridge and heard a bull bugling in the next draw off the ridge. We moved towards him bugling every minute or so. Working in on him we had 2 rag horn bulls at 20 yards with no idea we were there but at a stalemate not wanting to spook them worried if we did they would take the mature bull out of the country. They moved off, we moved closer to him. Stale mate again with 10 cows and 3 spike bulls. They moved off we moved closer. We got inside 100 yards but still hadn't seen him and he shutup? no idea where he went and never heard another peep? so we start working towards the truck, another bull bugles below us so we start moving down. He is a good 6, shooter and he is working his way up into the pines with his cows. We shadow him up the opposite ridge hoping he will get into a position I might have a chance. They bed down and I try to move in on them. I get in to about 50 yards of the cows but cant see him, I went to crawl around the pine tree I had snuck up under to get another angle and theres a doe laying under the bows and a little cut. She blows and runs right through the middle of the elk. The bull was laying in a spot I'm confident I could?ve gotten a shot if the deer didn't blow? the cows ran, but he was trying to sneak. I followed him and almost got a shot following him 3 different times but just didn't happen. I hit a saddle and heard a stick break and hit my knee by a small pine tree and knocked an arrow. I had 28 cows calves and spikes walk by me at 6 feet and hang up in about 20 yards below me. Them being on the alert from me jumping them earlier another small bunch of elk were coming in above me and broke a stick. The elk below me took off, the elk above me went to follow them and I don't know how I didn't get ran over. I could feel the wind as 2 of them ran by me. No bull and couldn't do anything but sit there and giggle at what just happened. That morning we saw over 100 head of elk. That evening a friend and I went up on a ridge where you could see forever! We glassed a bachelor group of 6 bulls that were BIG one in particular was HUGE. About 5 miles away and very low light you could tell his frame and he was a definite shooter. The next night my dad and I went to where they were. 2 feet from where we were going to sit down and wait to see what they were going to do my dad got stung on the cheek by a wasp, doing his best to be quiet I turned around to look at him and figure out what he was doing a stick hooked my pack and broke. I knew we were in the bedroom? about 10 seconds we heard them leaving the country. Down the canyon we were in, over the next ridge, through the next canyon and over the next ridge never to be seen or heard from again? a few days later I went back up to check on the 350 bull, looking in the same spot. I could hear a bull bugling out of the face still and started to move towards him. I got into a saddle and caught movement. I hit my knees and nocked an arrow, it was a cows ear is all I could see around the curvature of the hill. her and 14 other cows and calves made their way past me at 40 yards moving into the pines to bed for the day. Wheres the bull!? Just then he bugled, he was bringing up the back. And he was big, not the 350, he was better, much better? following the cows trail moving kinda fast to catch up. I drew back as he grabbed a mouthful of grass and he looked over his opposite shoulder at another bull tailing him. I settled my 40 pin just at the top of the grass and let the arrow fly. I watched it bounce off the top of his back and bounce through the tree limbs down the hill. he jumped, stopped and watched the arrow and turned and trotted into the pines to be with is cows never for me to see again?. I was beyond frustrated this was day 19 straight hunting for my first shot opportunity and a big bull and I blew it. I was done. I was throwing my fit and went to throw my bow, a piece of underbrush grabbed the limb. It went out about 3 feet and was set down right back at my feet ?. Slap in the face, again! I grabbed my bow, walked to my truck and went home to collect myself? I stayed in the area, seeing some other great bulls, seeing the cows but never seeing him. Had more opportunities at small bulls but was just fine going big or going home empty handed. One particular morning I was in elk, having a great morning but not seeing a shooter. I was walking through some trees and 2 guys stood up and I walked over towards them to see what their plans were so we could either work together or not be hunting over the top of each other. They threatened to kick my ass if I didn't get off their mountain, both were more than capable of doing it so I back off and left. I tried to get around the other side to see if I could get their license plate number and turn them in. they mustve ran out faster than I did. I followed their tracks in the mud to the main highway and I don't know which way they went? Had a couple more close encounters but chose not to shoot them. Closing morning rick was with me, the elk were screaming! We got within 40 yards of the 330 bull and his couple of cows but had no shot because it was too thick.. it was a great morning! I decided to end my hunt with a close encounter on a screaming bull that my brother had pissed off. I had a great hunt! I'm still deciding if it was a blessing or a curse for everything I went through, all the effort, money, time I put into it to take home my un punched tag and empty spot on my wall.. what is did gain is a greater respect, great great times with family and friends and experiences most of the population, even the hunting population will have. I hunted almost every day for 25 days and had the time of my life. I let go 58 bulls inside of my comfortable range and only shot once and had a clean miss, not wounding and losing an animal. I got to spend time hunting with my dad and brother, by far my favorite people to hunt with! Was this hunt a success for me? Hell yes it was!!!