2012 HAC

arnold_jeremiah

Active Member
Messages
108
I'm glad to be doing another HAC in 2012, last year was alot of fun documenting everything that went into my hunts. This year i'm starting out alot earlier with it and hoping it will be an awesome year in which i can share all my adventures and maybe even help others succeed their hunts.

As soon as last years hunts were over I started deciding what i wanted to do this year. 2011 was the first year I have hunted outside of Colorado and it was great. I was unsuccessful in filling my tag but learned alot about the area and I'm sure this year will be better.

So for 2012 I'm putting in for more tags than ever before and planning on hunting at least 3 states this year.

I like everyone else have started applying for draw tags in different states, here is what i'm in for so far

Wyoming
Non Res Pronghorn-muzzy/rifle
Non Res Pronghorn-rifle (Paige) 1st tags she's applied for and will be her 1st hunt if drawn
Non Res Buffalo
Plan on buying same deer tag I had last year as leftover -rifle

New Mexico
Non Res Barbary Sheep-rifle

Nebraska
Non Res Deer-muzzy otc
Non Res Deer-muzzy otc (Paige)

Colorado
Res Deer-muzzy or early rife(what should i pick?)
Res late season Elk-rifle (won't draw) so archery otc
Res Pronghorn-muzzy
Res Moose-muzzy
Res Moose-rifle(Paige)
Res Sheep-rifle
Res Mt. Goat-rifle
Res Bear-muzzy (if i have a muzzy deer tag) otc with caps

As you can see I've got alot of hunts planned out for the year I'm sure I won't draw most of the tags but who knows I might get lucky on a few. I know if I get picked for the Wyoming buffalo hunt it will be hard to cough up 2500 or whatever the tag costs but I'm sure it would be worth it.

I've already been buying some new gear for the upcoming year and even though i know some people don't agree with them I've got 4 trail cameras now and am excited to try them out on some new archery elk spots. I think they are alot of fun just waiting to see whats on them the next time around.

I decided that after my backpacking trips last year I wasn't in as good of shape as I should be, so I've started running alot and once i drop some pounds of fat I'm gonna try to add that weight back on in muscle. I want to be able to walk all week long and not get tired especially if i draw the New Mexico sheep tag.

I also have been thinking about doing a different kind of deer hunt but I won't get into that until I know what I've drawn and if I'll have time and money for it.

Until next time everyone stay safe and good luck in the draws.
 
Shed Hunting

Well my brother, dog and I went up to an area where a bunch of deer are supposed to winter to look for some sheds. We have never specifically went shed hunting so we didn't really know where to look. I finally found one small elk shed that looks pretty old. We saw 2 or 3 bull moose which had dropped antlers so it would have been nice to find those but no luck. It was nice to get up to the mountains and do some hiking, but i'm kinda worried that we didn't spot any deer because this will be the heard we will be hunting come fall. I'm hoping its just because its been warm down lower where we looked for sheds. I'm hoping that i'll be able to get back and find some elk holes in the next month or so but it looks like the tops of the mountains got hammered with snow this week and i'm not a big fan of backpacking in snow. Here's some pictures from the shed hunting trip.







 
RE: Shed Hunting

Well that didn't work so well.

100_2400-1.jpg


100_2403.jpg


100_2396-1.jpg


100_2401.jpg
 
Summer update

Well i think the draws turned out pretty well for me this year. I ended up getting CO deer,cow elk,pronghorn, and bear. The elk and deer tags are both second choice tags so i'm still building points for those species. The pronghorn tag is an awesome tag that I've been waiting a long time for, but it is for muzzleloader so it should be interesting trying to get a shot at less than 100 yards right after rifle season ends. My brother and sister both drew bull and buck tags for muzzleloader season so we are planning a backpacking trip for September. My bother and I have already hiked back in their unit one weekend and set up some trail cameras. It is about six miles back to where we are gonna camp so if we get 2 elk down it could make for a long week. In WY we didn't draw any tags, but i did get my leftover deer tag. I'm going to hunt a week earlier than i did last year so i can hunt a different unit that is more dense trees and hope to stay away from the crowds that i experienced last year. I tried to get some leftover antelope tags but they sold out in less than a minute. I grabbed my deer first because there were way less tags and when i went to get antelope they were gone. For New Mexico i drew a Barbary sheep tag on my 3rd choice. I checked the stats and it looks like i got real lucky and was the only person to draw it as a 3rd choice. I'm really excited for this hunt as it will be my first sheep hunting experience. I guess i already have something to write about for the 2013 HAC since this tag starts in February. I'm still planning on the Nebraska deer hunts as well i'm just trying to decide if I want a whitetail or muley. If i shoot muleys in CO and WY i think i might try for a whitetail since I've only killed one small 2pt.

Also this summer I've been doing alot of fishing as usual. I've been spending alot of time in WY just because there are so many less people and and the fishing seems to be better as well. For my girlfriends graduation present one of her friends who is a fly fishing guide in Alaska and Colorado took us on a free trip to teach us how to fly fish. It was a blast and we both caught plenty of fish. I caught a brown that he said was the biggest he's ever guided anyone to on that river. I think i could easily get addicted to fly fishing if it wan't for the fact that hunting seasons fall right in the best fishing times.

Anyways hope everyone's draws turned out well and you are all having a safe summer. Here are some pictures from my summer so far.
 
August 2012

LAST EDITED ON Aug-22-12 AT 08:42PM (MST)[p]Well i haven't been out as much as i would like lately because I've been putting in alot of hours at work. I have gone fishing a few more times and caught some nice cutthroats, as well as seen some small bucks and nice moose in an area my CO deer tag is good for. I'm planning on holding out for a decent buck even though my tag areas aren't really know to produce big bucks. I just got a new muzzleloader for my hunts and should be nice for backpacking since it is the Vortek ultralight. It weighs about half of what my old .54 Hawken does.

My brother and i hiked in to check our cameras in the area we are gonna hunt for his elk tag. We made the round trip in about 5 1/2 hours which wasn't too bad for checking and re-hanging cameras and having over 12 miles to hike. We got a bunch of elk pictures on the higher of the cameras with a pretty decent looking bull and a few smaller ones. The lower camera had almost 600 pictures on it but most were blank so I've got to figure what is wrong with that one before i rehang it. The few pictures it got were of does. The ridge the higher camera is on is only about 300 yards from where we were gonna camp but i'm thinking if the elk keep using that ridge we will need to camp alot farther down the mountain than i had planned to avoid spooking them.

Good luck to the hunters in the field with archery seasons opening up, only a few more weeks until muzzy season and i'm pumped to be out there.
 
Well its been an interesting month so far. I took my girlfriend up to one of my favorite lakes and finally after dating for over 4 years I asked her to marry me. Luckily she said yes or it might have been a long walk back to the atv. Then this past week i have been muzzy deer hunting here in CO. Its been a really tough week as its so hot. I got within range of 2 bucks opening night. One was a small 3 point and the other was a nice 4 point about 24-25 wide but really thin and not great forks. I got to 50 yards from him but he was standing behind a giant rock and i could only see his head. I was cocked and ready but after a few minutes he bolted with no shot. I would have took him as this was a second choice hunt that's not very good for deer. The second morning we got to see a guy kill a really nice bull moose with one of the best muzzleloader shots I've ever seen. Day 3 we only saw does. Day 4 we got 40 yards from a nice bull elk, but my brother and sister were not there because of work and i only had a deer tag. We also got up on two more deer all I saw were asses going away from me, but Paige said one was a nice buck the other she couldn't tell. Got on one more deer in the dark timber but it turned out to be a doe. Day 5 nothing. Day 6 we hunted in the morning and saw 1 doe then packed into the trail cameras. My dad and sister were not happy and didn't want to pack an elk out that far, it took about twice as long to walk in as it does me and my brother. day 7 packed out decided to move areas to just look for deer nothing that night. Day 8 today hunted most of the day saw nothing. My sister and dad are beat up and sore so we came home. Tomorrow is closing day and me and my brother are gonna try one last area for a meat hunt cause my freezer is bare. He hasn't shot a buck yet so he's gonna kill any legal buck i'll probably do the same. We'll see how it turns out but I've never not seen deer in this area so i'm hoping for something. I didn't get as many pictures this time but the moose hunters told me some bow hunters were camped right below the ridge my cameras were on. Almost forgot to add that one day i spotted my first big moose shed about a mile away and then somehow drove way around a mountain and walked to where it was laying. Then after picking it up Paige found a 3x4 deer skull which was her first pick up.
 
IMG_4653.jpg


25-.jpg


DSCN0240.jpg


DSCN0246.jpg

Good sized bear track. Talked to a wrangler for one of the outfitters in the area and he said every time they leave one certain camp a bear gets in the tent.

DSCN0236.jpg
 
CO Deer

Well we had just as much luck the last day of the hunt as we did the rest of the week, absolutely no deer. Oh well it was a fun camping trip and a much needed vacation from 14 hour days at work. I leave to WY on Saturday and hope to change my luck, since I've ate my last 3 deer tags. I think its the longest I've ever gone without getting a shot at a decent buck. I haven't been putting in for good areas either though so i guess that doesn't help. I got some more pictures loaded and have a few more on trail cams i'll put up later.

IMG_4932.jpg

Last day

IMG_4867.jpg


IMG_4821.jpg


IMG_4788.jpg


IMG_4765.jpg


15.jpg


14.jpg

Finally figured out how to take cool water pics

12.jpg


07-1.jpg


05-1.jpg
 
wy report and antelope update

Well my season in Wyoming is officially over. It pretty much sucked for deer this year. I saw a bunch of does but only 1 spike and 1 2x3. I talked with a game warden Saturday and he said it was the worst year that he'd seen. That's about all I really care to say about WY this year.

As I type this I'm sitting inside a concrete culvert watching a heard of around 30 antelope. I went out day 1 and found a 70 class buck first thing in the morning but decided to pass because I normally can find 80 inch bucks in this unit. Well after looking around the rest of the day with my 2 friends we hadn't found any bigger bucks. We have thousands of acres of private land to hunt but still couldn't locate a big one. After dropping of Justin. me and David found the group I'm watching now. It has the biggest buck we've seen in over 600 miles. I think he will go mid 70's. We got 90 yards from him that night but couldn't shoot because of the does. Day 2 I got set up behind some junk this guy has behind his house and had 2 decent bucks within 20 yards but decided to wait for the big one. He finally showed up but stayed at 200 yards. I got some video and pictures on my phone of him I'll load later. After they left we went and found the other big buck but couldnt get within 400 yards before he'd run off. Came back to the biggest buck and found him alone with 15 minutes of shooting light left. I got to 98 yards and he saw me. I rushed an offhand shot and missed. He only ran 200 yards into some wheat and started feeding again. Today he is back with the herd and doesn't seem like the shot bothered him. Another new buck came in today that I would also shoot. He's heavy and tall but only has 3 or 4 inch cutters. I had both big bucks at 120 today but it still seems a little far with open sights. I think overall there are 5 or 6 bucks in this heard that will make the longhunter record books,so if I don't kill the big one today I'm taking a smaller one tomorrow since its my last day.
 
CO antelope day 4 update.

Well I'm sitting in the culvert again. The herd is at about 500 yards away feeding, but it is raining now so I don't know what antelope will do in the rain. I choked big time this morning. The antelope came from the west side today instead of the east. I finally saw 1 doe and then a buck. He was a decent buck probably the fifth largest in the heard will longer horns than all but the big buck I slowly stalked him and ran into the rest of the herd. I was at 130yards and wanted to get closer so I later still for 2 hours until all except for him feed over a hill. I kept creeping up to him and I was surprised he didn't spook because he was facing me in the wide open. I got to 10 yards and he wouldn't stand to give me a shot so I whistled nothing. Yell nothing. He is looking right at me so I wave my hat and arms at him, nothing. I figured he must be sick so I get up to walk closer, boom he explodes up and runs to 130. I said screw it and tried a shot. right over his back. So here I sit mad at myself for screwing up again with one night and one morning left before I have to go back to work.
 
Antelope Video

Well here is a quick video I threw together today of the antelope I saw during my hunt. I ended up not filling my tag but oh well I had my chances and could have killed small bucks almost everyday, but after waiting 5 years for a tag I was looking for big ones. My brother helped me on the last day but all the bucks on the private ground were to far out to shoot. We stalked a few groups of small bucks on public land but couldn't get close enough to them. The video is all done on my phone through my spotting scope so its not the best quality.
 
Recent Pics

9681sunp0023.jpg


Spike on game cam

2541sunp0017.jpg


Ghost deer. Don't know why it turned out this way

6906sunp0030.jpg


1889img_5569.jpg


6656img_5570.jpg


Paige's first salmon. I've never caught one that is in spawn colors yet. I'm gonna try again this upcoming week.
 
Barbary Sheep

I figured I would put this hunt with the 2012 hunts since even though it was done in 2013 it is a 2012 tag. When i found out I drew the Barbary tag I started researching areas and looking for places to go, I came to the conclusion that since I couldn't scout and had so many areas to pick from that I should hire a guide. I also figured that since this might be my only opportunity to hunt theses sheep i better make the most of it. I looked at my options for outfitters and decided to go with NM Arrowhead Outfitters. Justin Medina owns and operates this company and would also be my guide. I drove to my hotel on 1-31-13 and meet up with Justin. He said things weren't looking to good since he'd been scouting recently and hadn't found many sheep. He told me not to worry to much though since 2 of the ranches in the area also had sheep hunts and should push some onto the public land.

Opening day was 2-1-13 we got to the spot Justin wanted to glass just as the sun started to come up. Right away Justin started finding deer all over the place and i couldn't see one anywhere. I was thinking this could be a bad deal if he can spot stuff and I cant find it even when he tells me where to look. Finally after about half and hour to and hour of glassing I found 4 rams going into a canyon over a mile away. He seemed impressed that i spotted sheep on my first day so I was happy with that. We made our way over to the hill that the sheep had dropped down into and started climbing. Unfortunately someone beat us to the canyon and was just about where the sheep had went. We decided to cut around to the other side in case they tried to sneak out. When going around to the other hill we saw another hunter that way so we just stayed in the middle of them and waited. Pretty soon shots started ringing out all over the place. Justin spotted a lone ram running across a hill top at 450 yards I decided not to shoot since the other hunter was that direction and i wasn't quite sure where. After some more shots more hunters showed up across the canyon from us. Pretty soon the other 3 rams were running right at us and just before they got to us they jumped down into the canyon below. We ran to the edge and Justin said take the middle ram at 120 yards. I shot high, shot again high, shot again just beside him. The rams disappeared around a bend in the canyon. I was pretty disappointed on missing such a big ram opening morning. Justin said he would have been over 26 inches which is big for the area. I forgot that shooting down hill at a little over 100 yards with a 200 yard zero that i should hold low. We glassed the area a while longer and the rams never came back to the canyon. We saw a road close to where the rams had originally been and decided to go back to the ATV and find it rather than walking up that hill ever day for the rest of the trip.

While looking for the road we found another nice canyon and decided to glass it awhile before taking a lunch break. Justin spotted a lone ram and we took off after him. After hiking a ways toward the ram anther ram came running over a hill towards us, he went into some brush so we went about 20 yards up the trail and he ran right across the trail up the hill from us and stopped at 120 yards I shot 3 times and hit him twice, but he still managed to make it all the way to the top of a big cliff and fell over dead. Justin also drew a tag and since I was his only hunter he took my gun and went after the ram we were originally going after while i went to tag my ram. He said he had a shot at around 500 yards but decided to pass because the ram was getting close to going over a hill. We took pictures and boned out my ram and started packing him out. We were laughing and joking while walking out when all the sudden Justin said hurry give me your gun. I look up to see a ram laying in the cliff about 200 yards from where I shot mine. Justin got a good rest and shot the ram at about 100 yards. He had to put 2 more into it before it died. These things sure soak up some lead. We were now really surprised at our luck of bagging 2 sheep opening day. We turned out to be even more surprised when we walked up on his ram to discover it was not a ram but a giant ewe. We thought it was about the same size as mine but had longer chaps and mane than mine did, which is why we thought it was a ram. Justin was still pleased with her and said it was the biggest ewe he's ever seen. We finished packing mine out and came back and took care of his. When we measured them later his ewe was only 1 inch shorter than my ram.

All in all it was a great trip and I couldn't have asked for a better guide. Justin can sure find the animals way quicker than i can and runs a fun outfit to hunt with. He kills alot of 300 plus inch elk ever year also and I'm thinking about booking a hunt in a couple years to go after those big bulls. I'm very pleased with my ram, its just an average size but still really nice for my first one. Now the part we all like, pictures.

My Ram

nmhunting-5.jpg


nmhunting-3.jpg


nmhunting-4.jpg


nmhunting-8.jpg


nmhunting.jpg


Justin's ewe

nmhunting-9.jpg
 
You have insufficient privileges to reply here.

Click-a-Pic ... Details & Bigger Photos
Back
Top Bottom