NMPaul
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First I want to thank the members of this forum that gave me such excellent intel for this hunt. Its never real till you actually get there, but, the intel was solid and I can only hope that I can return the favor someday.
I call it the WY curse. The craziest and weirdest things happen to me when I hunt in Wyoming. Maybe only half my brain works when I get that far north.
made the 15 hour drive to WY 4 times for Archery and rifle.
1st trip. Opening day. Weather report said it would be 90 degrees. Couldn't believe it. It was 60 where I live in Southern NM. Sure enough it was 90 and dry as hell. Found out first morning that it was solid unit glassing up lots of bulls, but, by time sun broke over the mountains they were treeing up and not a bugle.
That evening my son glassed up a giant 2 miles away. We were not able to find him again next day. Seeing bulls, but, no bugles and nothing after first half hour of daylight.
We talked and decided we would be better off if we went home and came back when weather was better.
2nd trip. I had to go solo with my son fighting extended covid. I had drawn a CO Muzzle loader deer hunt starting on 10th. In a perfect world I would run out to CO kill a great buck and then run up to WY an arrow a giant bull. Nope. 3 days into CO hunt I knew I needed to be in WY. It was hot in CO and just not seeing what I thought I should be seeing and my premium tag was burning a hole in my pack.
drove up to WY from CO set up a tent and got out for evening hunt. Got right into a real nice bull arrow knocked. Thunder storm hit. It may have worked in my favor, but eventually the swirling wind busted me with him 60 yards away and no good shot. Getting back to the truck I was soaked to the skin. Next couple days it seemed to never stop raining.
I glassed up 2 different huge bulls 2nd day and was on their mountain the next morning, but, rain and fog kept me hiding under a small tarp most the day. At this point everything I had was soaked and with the CO trip I had been gone a week. Again made decision my time would be better served if I cam back for rifle opener.
Trip 3. Basically this unit was completely different every time I was there. My son was able to come this time, though still very limited what he could do.
Opening morning we were on my favorite glassing hill about 2 miles in. Bugles in several directions. Glassing light came and we were picking up bulls. Then it happened, a group of 3-4 guys had driven up to bottom of canyon and the shooting started. I dont think there was less than 20 shots at some very long distances. We watched bummed out. there was a pretty solid bull we could have got after that hauled azz when the shooting started, but, it being first day of rifle we decided not to. Public land hunting
Next couple days we didnt really make the adjustments we needed to deal with the hunting pressure that wasn't really there during archery. We passed on a bunch of quality bulls knowing that we had seen 3 different monster bulls in Archery. We made a long trek driving around the mountain to come up behind a bull we had seen in the morning. We never found him and I managed to do $5600 worth of body damage to my truck on that excursion. Our deadline came up for appointment my son had and we had to pull out.
4th trip Had to go solo again. Completely different unit again. Snow and wind. Not a good combination for tent camping and I ended up setting up camp on the opposite side of the mountain that I would end up hunting the next week. Saw elk every day. Nothing huge. Saw largest herd of elk I have ever seen. 200? 300? 400? I dont know. Have no idea how to count that many elk. Noisy as hell. Lots of bugling. No big bulls in the herd though. Passed on 6x7 3rd day. He'll be a stud in a year or two.
It was getting close to end of my hunt and I realized I either lower my standards or eat a premium tag which I have done before.
Got into some new country and glassed up a herd of bulls bedded up in a high saddle around 3:00.
I drove to the back side of the mountain I though they were on and headed up. Snow came in and I had to wait it out for an hour or so no visibility. Got to where I though I should find them and realized like an idiot I was on the wrong string of hills. As the sun went down I watched them on the next range feed out and saw 2 stud bulls in the herd of about 12. Im not a long range shooter so all I could do is watch.
Next morning I was back in the country. These were small rolling hills. I first found 2 rag horns and assumed they had to be part of the main herd. I worked my way up towards them and more elk started to pop up but not the big boys. I now had about 6 bulls located scattered in these small hills and at one point I was 60 yards from a couple.
I kept working into the hill afraid any minute I would blow something out. I then glassed up the head of this bull laying down. All I could see was his head between 2 small rocky hills and a few other bulls actually milling around on those hills. I had the perfect set up 250 yards away. I told myself if he stood I would kill him even though I was convinced there were more bulls behind those little hills I wasn't seeing. there was a move I could have made to the top of the next hill to look down into that little bowl, but, I had screwed up so much that I could just see myself walking into a bull I hadn't seen and them all running. 45 minutes of watching him I was talking myself into climbing that hill and then he stood. I shot him and watched him fall.
Next thing I know bulls are appearing all around him. They didnt know what happened and all of them started walking towards me. I stayed put and in that group of 8 bulls that walked towards me were two absolute studs. The best had a broken tine, but, the 2nd best had it all. The Wyoming curse struck again. LOL. I waited till they slowly walked away.
When I walked up to my bull he was actually much better than what I thought he was even though I sat and watched him for 45 minutes. I think maybe the bodies are bigger in wyoming than what I am used to in NM.
Great hunt, would love to go back, just seemed everything that could go wrong did. I still got a bull that in most units I wouldn't hesitate on. Thats what makes the occasional success so special.
I call it the WY curse. The craziest and weirdest things happen to me when I hunt in Wyoming. Maybe only half my brain works when I get that far north.
made the 15 hour drive to WY 4 times for Archery and rifle.
1st trip. Opening day. Weather report said it would be 90 degrees. Couldn't believe it. It was 60 where I live in Southern NM. Sure enough it was 90 and dry as hell. Found out first morning that it was solid unit glassing up lots of bulls, but, by time sun broke over the mountains they were treeing up and not a bugle.
That evening my son glassed up a giant 2 miles away. We were not able to find him again next day. Seeing bulls, but, no bugles and nothing after first half hour of daylight.
We talked and decided we would be better off if we went home and came back when weather was better.
2nd trip. I had to go solo with my son fighting extended covid. I had drawn a CO Muzzle loader deer hunt starting on 10th. In a perfect world I would run out to CO kill a great buck and then run up to WY an arrow a giant bull. Nope. 3 days into CO hunt I knew I needed to be in WY. It was hot in CO and just not seeing what I thought I should be seeing and my premium tag was burning a hole in my pack.
drove up to WY from CO set up a tent and got out for evening hunt. Got right into a real nice bull arrow knocked. Thunder storm hit. It may have worked in my favor, but eventually the swirling wind busted me with him 60 yards away and no good shot. Getting back to the truck I was soaked to the skin. Next couple days it seemed to never stop raining.
I glassed up 2 different huge bulls 2nd day and was on their mountain the next morning, but, rain and fog kept me hiding under a small tarp most the day. At this point everything I had was soaked and with the CO trip I had been gone a week. Again made decision my time would be better served if I cam back for rifle opener.
Trip 3. Basically this unit was completely different every time I was there. My son was able to come this time, though still very limited what he could do.
Opening morning we were on my favorite glassing hill about 2 miles in. Bugles in several directions. Glassing light came and we were picking up bulls. Then it happened, a group of 3-4 guys had driven up to bottom of canyon and the shooting started. I dont think there was less than 20 shots at some very long distances. We watched bummed out. there was a pretty solid bull we could have got after that hauled azz when the shooting started, but, it being first day of rifle we decided not to. Public land hunting
Next couple days we didnt really make the adjustments we needed to deal with the hunting pressure that wasn't really there during archery. We passed on a bunch of quality bulls knowing that we had seen 3 different monster bulls in Archery. We made a long trek driving around the mountain to come up behind a bull we had seen in the morning. We never found him and I managed to do $5600 worth of body damage to my truck on that excursion. Our deadline came up for appointment my son had and we had to pull out.
4th trip Had to go solo again. Completely different unit again. Snow and wind. Not a good combination for tent camping and I ended up setting up camp on the opposite side of the mountain that I would end up hunting the next week. Saw elk every day. Nothing huge. Saw largest herd of elk I have ever seen. 200? 300? 400? I dont know. Have no idea how to count that many elk. Noisy as hell. Lots of bugling. No big bulls in the herd though. Passed on 6x7 3rd day. He'll be a stud in a year or two.
It was getting close to end of my hunt and I realized I either lower my standards or eat a premium tag which I have done before.
Got into some new country and glassed up a herd of bulls bedded up in a high saddle around 3:00.
I drove to the back side of the mountain I though they were on and headed up. Snow came in and I had to wait it out for an hour or so no visibility. Got to where I though I should find them and realized like an idiot I was on the wrong string of hills. As the sun went down I watched them on the next range feed out and saw 2 stud bulls in the herd of about 12. Im not a long range shooter so all I could do is watch.
Next morning I was back in the country. These were small rolling hills. I first found 2 rag horns and assumed they had to be part of the main herd. I worked my way up towards them and more elk started to pop up but not the big boys. I now had about 6 bulls located scattered in these small hills and at one point I was 60 yards from a couple.
I kept working into the hill afraid any minute I would blow something out. I then glassed up the head of this bull laying down. All I could see was his head between 2 small rocky hills and a few other bulls actually milling around on those hills. I had the perfect set up 250 yards away. I told myself if he stood I would kill him even though I was convinced there were more bulls behind those little hills I wasn't seeing. there was a move I could have made to the top of the next hill to look down into that little bowl, but, I had screwed up so much that I could just see myself walking into a bull I hadn't seen and them all running. 45 minutes of watching him I was talking myself into climbing that hill and then he stood. I shot him and watched him fall.
Next thing I know bulls are appearing all around him. They didnt know what happened and all of them started walking towards me. I stayed put and in that group of 8 bulls that walked towards me were two absolute studs. The best had a broken tine, but, the 2nd best had it all. The Wyoming curse struck again. LOL. I waited till they slowly walked away.
When I walked up to my bull he was actually much better than what I thought he was even though I sat and watched him for 45 minutes. I think maybe the bodies are bigger in wyoming than what I am used to in NM.
Great hunt, would love to go back, just seemed everything that could go wrong did. I still got a bull that in most units I wouldn't hesitate on. Thats what makes the occasional success so special.
