This hunt on the Jicarilla Apache Res. in NM was truly more than I ever expected. The first morning we heard more than 50 bulls bugle before noon. We called up 5 different big 5x5's, but passed. One bull bugled well until we got within about 80 yards, then I saw him coming in silently through the oak brush. He got to 12 yards and peaked around a tree. I knew he wasn't what I wanted, so we just enjoyed the show. Eventually he walked off. That evening the plan was to sit on a high point overlooking the huge area we had hunted in the morning. After about 30 minutes, I heard a bull raking a tree below us. Chuck Jones spotted him about 150 yards away. We moved around the point to get the wind right, and my guide began raking a tree with a small antler. Within 3 minutes, the bull stepped into a clearing at 60 yards. He was a beautiful 6x6. He was 40 inches wide, had good mass, a good whaletail, but my guide said he was too short-beamed. He had a really big body. The bull tore up a tree and then my guide kept raking. The bull disappeared, and then I saw him at 30 yards coming. He stopped at 10 steps and began raking hard. The director of the Jic. G&F Dept. was with us, and had hidden under a pine to the side. The bull was so close to him that it actually threw dirt up on him. Finally the bull walked just past us, caught our wind and took off. What a rush! Chuck got some great video.
The 2nd morning, the weather had turned to rain. At daylight we got on a bull, but we got too close and bumped him. Then the rain really started coming down. We had to get back in the truck because of the camera. We drove to the top of a distant canyon, and when the rain slowed down, we got out and listened. 3-4 bulls were bugling, but one had an especially awesome bugle with a big growl, a full scream and a long chuckle at the end. He was the most vocal, and answered our every call. We finally glassed him across the canyon bedded with a herd of cows. We could see he had good mass and beams and decided to give him a try. It took about an hour to drop over the back of the canyon and work around above him with the wind. We could hear him bugle occasionally, so we had a good idea where to go. We came back over into the canyon above where we though he was, and then he bugled about 200 yards away. We moved closer, and then my guide began raking. The big bull immediately bugled, and we could hear him moving and then raking a tree below us. 3 other bulls were in the canyon bugling by then as well. We eased up to a place where we could look over, and there he was coming toward us. One of his cows stopped suddenly and then the whole herd looked right at us. I had gotten up against a big pine and had the bull in my crosshairs. My guide said, "shoot", but Chuck told me to wait and let him film for a second. The bull was looking me right in the eyes, and I knew the whole thing was about to go to pot. I asked how far, and someone said 150...Then Chuck told me to take him. I held dead on and squeezed. All I could see was smoke and then elk running every where. No one heard the impact, and everyone was afraid I had missed. I told them the shot felt perfect, but if they had misjudged the yardage, I probably did miss. Then we heard a noise in the brush.
We headed to where the bull had been and there was no blood. We could see where he wheeled to run. Then 5 yards above, there was plenty of blood. What a relief. We tracked him about 75 yards, and there he was piled up. My shot was right through both lungs. The Knight Disc Extreme with 120 grains of Triple 7 and a 295 grain Power Belt bullet did a great job.
The bull had 52" beams, 9" bases and carried 6.5" mass all the way out, 16 3/4" 4ths, 15" 3rds and scored 315. He had one damaged brow tine that was only 6" long and he had broken about 4 inches of of one G-5 or he would have been 325 plus. The old herd bull was aged at 8.5 years old.
I have to say that my guide ( a Jic. biologist) and the director of their G&F worked super hard for me. They were great folks and have a terrible problem with poaching from the outside. I think they get a bad wrap because they try to do things right. There is 900,000 acres to patrol that is about 70 miles in length. They have a tough time taking care of the place. FOlks that haven't been there to see how things are done just don't have any idea the way they run the place, and how passionate they are about their game management. It was trulh the most exciting 2 days of my hunting life.
We got it all on video and it will run on Knight & Hale's TV show sometime between Jan. and March 2004.
Good Hunting...Tim Herald
www.grandslamhunts.com
The 2nd morning, the weather had turned to rain. At daylight we got on a bull, but we got too close and bumped him. Then the rain really started coming down. We had to get back in the truck because of the camera. We drove to the top of a distant canyon, and when the rain slowed down, we got out and listened. 3-4 bulls were bugling, but one had an especially awesome bugle with a big growl, a full scream and a long chuckle at the end. He was the most vocal, and answered our every call. We finally glassed him across the canyon bedded with a herd of cows. We could see he had good mass and beams and decided to give him a try. It took about an hour to drop over the back of the canyon and work around above him with the wind. We could hear him bugle occasionally, so we had a good idea where to go. We came back over into the canyon above where we though he was, and then he bugled about 200 yards away. We moved closer, and then my guide began raking. The big bull immediately bugled, and we could hear him moving and then raking a tree below us. 3 other bulls were in the canyon bugling by then as well. We eased up to a place where we could look over, and there he was coming toward us. One of his cows stopped suddenly and then the whole herd looked right at us. I had gotten up against a big pine and had the bull in my crosshairs. My guide said, "shoot", but Chuck told me to wait and let him film for a second. The bull was looking me right in the eyes, and I knew the whole thing was about to go to pot. I asked how far, and someone said 150...Then Chuck told me to take him. I held dead on and squeezed. All I could see was smoke and then elk running every where. No one heard the impact, and everyone was afraid I had missed. I told them the shot felt perfect, but if they had misjudged the yardage, I probably did miss. Then we heard a noise in the brush.
We headed to where the bull had been and there was no blood. We could see where he wheeled to run. Then 5 yards above, there was plenty of blood. What a relief. We tracked him about 75 yards, and there he was piled up. My shot was right through both lungs. The Knight Disc Extreme with 120 grains of Triple 7 and a 295 grain Power Belt bullet did a great job.
The bull had 52" beams, 9" bases and carried 6.5" mass all the way out, 16 3/4" 4ths, 15" 3rds and scored 315. He had one damaged brow tine that was only 6" long and he had broken about 4 inches of of one G-5 or he would have been 325 plus. The old herd bull was aged at 8.5 years old.
I have to say that my guide ( a Jic. biologist) and the director of their G&F worked super hard for me. They were great folks and have a terrible problem with poaching from the outside. I think they get a bad wrap because they try to do things right. There is 900,000 acres to patrol that is about 70 miles in length. They have a tough time taking care of the place. FOlks that haven't been there to see how things are done just don't have any idea the way they run the place, and how passionate they are about their game management. It was trulh the most exciting 2 days of my hunting life.
We got it all on video and it will run on Knight & Hale's TV show sometime between Jan. and March 2004.
Good Hunting...Tim Herald
www.grandslamhunts.com
