Bucks, Bulls, and Sheep Continued...

F

Foxskinner

Guest
I am splitting up my HAC so that they will load easier. To view the first 11 posts of my HAC, click here - http://www.monstermuleys.info/dcforum/DCForumID58/9.html

We will start this thread off with my first trip down to southern Utah to see what Desert Bighorn Sheep country looks like. My best friend, Ed, drew his Desert Sheep tag after 18 years of putting in for it. We are doing this hunt on our own so we have lots to learn and this trip was our first kick in the pants as to what this hunt will demand from us both physically and mentally.

We drove down Monday afternoon and ended up camping out in the desert on the edge of the park. Here are some pictures of the Henry Mountains and such on the way down.

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We got a great campsite and woke up to a beautiful sunrise. It doesn't get much better than this!

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It makes you wonder how rock mountains like these could form with so much detail and character in them.
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We put our packs on and did some hiking along the rim of the park. Amazing Views!!
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Moving along the Burr Trail

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The only place to get relief from the sun was the cliffs that cast a shadow as the sun went down. We parked in the wash and fixed our dinner and relaxed. We decided that since it was 20 degrees cooler in the shade, that we would just sleep there in the wash for the night. Now we know that sleeping in a wash bottom is about the dumbest idea there is, especially in the desert but there was absolutely no rain forecasted for the next two days so we felt confident that we would be okay.

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When we woke up, we headed over to the Moody's to begin our hike for the day. It looked like it was going to be a beautiful day, except for the 100+ degree temps.

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Our breakfast of champions meal that morning was potato/onion/bacon pancakes with grape jam on top and hot chocolate. It actually didn't taste too bad and it gave us a good supply of energy to start the days hiking with.

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I decided that my old pack just wasn't going to cut it for week long trips into this red rock country. I brought along a brand new Horn Hunter Full Curl System pack in Predator Camo to start breaking it in. I only used it set up as a Full Curl Combo on these hikes but that big bag will do nicely when I have to put 70-80 pounds of gear on my back. Let the hiking begin!

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We quickly came upon a fresh sheep track in the trail. Little did we know how fresh it really was...

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These areas of the canyon were very green and held leafy trees which meant that there had to be a good water source around.

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After several hours of hiking in the extreme heat, we found some shade and took a nap. When we awoke, I realized that I was down to my last liter of water. We could see the spring seeping on the cliffs up above so we headed up to get water. We didn't have a filtration device but it looked like the water was high enough and tough to get to so I had to take the chance that the cows couldn't get to the water source and contaminate it. It was cold fresh tasting water dripping off the rocks so it took a while to fill up our water bottles.

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We decided that we had had enough of the heat for one day and headed back to the truck. We did about 11 miles that day and with the 4 miles from the previous day, we were getting warn out from the heat.

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It was frustrating being so close to the truck but still having 2 miles to go in order to get across the huge canyon between us.

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As we got closer to the truck, we realized that there was a sheep that walked down the trail after us. That fresh track that we found was from that morning and had we followed it, we would have seen the sheep. Instead, we walked right past it and it later came down the trail and walked on our tracks. It was kind of frustrating but all you can do about it is laugh and hope you see it the next time.

After we got to the truck we decided that two days of this heat was enough for our first trip plus there were possible thunderstorms in the area so we headed out of the desert. After a delicious meal in Boulder, we headed up the mountain and made camp. The next day we drove over the mountain, up through Fishlake and home. It was an educational and eventful trip that had us both evaluating our gear and our bodies.

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RE: Trail Cam Pics from the 13th of July

Well I got back from our sheep scouting trip and had one day to catch up on work and things before I headed down to Fishlake with my family to do some more hiking and to check trail cameras. We had thunderstorms on and off for the few days down there. We checked 2 cameras and was an hour into the hike for a third when we got into a downpour with hail and cold rain so we bailed on it and had to wait til the next weekend to check it. We got some decent photos off the two we checked but I ended up moving the first one. It was too close to the water source so I didn't get that great of pictures of the animals coming in. There wasn't a lot of activity in that area anyway as I had more pictures of hunters and cowboys than I did of elk. I am also not too impressed with the Stealth Cam trigger speed. It takes a full minute to reset itself and in most cases I only got one picture of an animal. My other Bushnell and Tasco Cameras reset and can take pictures as soon as 15-20 seconds. I may have to sell this one after season and get another Bushnell, but we shall see how it does in its new location first. Anyway, here are some of the pics we got. Nothing super spectacular but still fun nonetheless.
Doe
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Bear (I think)

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Little buck

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Little Buck with Bat

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Little Bull

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Little Bull #2

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Little Buck #2

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Teaser Bull

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Does anyone know what would cause my camera to take a pure white photo? I have a half dozen of them from this Stealth cam and don't know why???

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Tasco Camera on Trail on different mountain
Here is a little buck almost identical to the one posted above but on a completely different mountain.

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Nice looking bull walking by. Great looking front curls.
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Freak looking bull with the one above

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Smaller Bull

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"Sparkles the Bull" - I'd love more pictures of this one

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Small Bull

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Well at least we are finding bulls. Now we need to find some big bulls. We just keep plugging away at it and hope to find "The One" sometime soon.
 
RE: 13th of July Weekend Pics

Here are the rest of the weekend pictures from the 12th through 14th of July. We had all 3 grandbabies in camp so it was a fun trip for all of us.

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Setting up my camera on a heavy cattle trail hoping to get some elk or deer on it.
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RE: 13th of July Weekend Pics

Wow, time sure flies by when you are having fun! I have been hunting almost non-stop since archery season started. I have lots of pictures, trail cam pictures, and video but no time to upload them. I hunted 21 days of my archery LE elk hunt. I passed a lot of bulls. Some were good bulls that I maybe should have shot and most were smaller bulls. I was chasing a 340-350 bull that I had scouted all summer. I was able to find him 3 times and get 90, 63, and 100 yards from him but never had the right opportunity to seal the deal. I ended up eating my tag but I don't have any regrets. I have never killed a bull with my bow but I had decided to trophy hunt too and sometimes things just don't work out. I feel like I have grown a ton in my archery and elk hunting knowledge and I can't wait to chase them next year on an OTC tag.

The day after my hunt ended, my dad's hunt started and the full moon ruled that hunt in my opinion. The elk moved and screamed most of the night and were not very talkative during the day. We chased them in thick timber for several days and got nowhere. We ended up being in the right spot at the right time on day 6 and killed a great bull. It is kind of a funny story that I will have to share when I get a chance.

We then took the bull home and butchered him and then headed back for the muzzy deer hunt. We chased a nice 4 point and missed him a few times on the opener and then my dad killed an old, heavy buck on the second morning not far from where his bull hit the ground.

I have had a week to catch up on business and home life and am about ready to head out in a day or two. My friend Ed has not been out on his sheep hunt which is my focus this month. He lives in a mountain cabin that was right in the middle of that Wanship/Rockport Reservoir wildfire a month or so ago. In fact, his cabin was on the news while they were dumping water to save it from the fire. His cabin was saved but there was smoke/water damage. He has spent the last 6 weeks taking care of paper work and cleaning and preparing his place for the winter. On top of that, he caught an early season cold and has been sick for the last week so we have postponed the first trip down until he is feeling better.

I'll try and get pictures and video on here in my spare moments!
 
RE: July Scouting Pictures

Here are some of the scouting pictures that we got while driving around the mountain in July. We saw no less than 100 elk every day out and as many as 400-500 elk. The most bulls we saw in one evening was 75 bulls with the biggest around a 340 bull.

We explored a new section of the unit and I glassed this loner bull over 1000 yards away in a clearing feeding.
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Pretty amazing to see a group of 40 bulls all hanging together. We watched this group a couple different evening up there.
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Cow Elk
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Turkeys
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A crazy antlered young buck
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Another young buck
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More young bucks
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Scenery
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Camp

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Phone Skoping a couple nice bucks
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