duckhunt
Well-known member
Dang talk about an awsome adventure.
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5pm- basically skipped out the doors at work. The truck is packed up, but I always get the feeling I’m forgetting something, even though the load out is the same as every other backpack hunt I’ve done, besides having 5 times more game bags. !
I would certainly like to find a way to spend more time there- very unique country to be in.Fantastic writing; Thanks for sharing your great hunt story. I’ve been curious about how the red roadless area of books cliffs looks, your pictures show it being big and amazing.
Excellent! Thanks for sharing your adventure. Great story and terrific photography...Thank you all for the kind words- I was very fortunate to get some great tips from several of you throughout the summer, and it certainly played a part in this hunt and the success we found. I hope to return the favor and am looking forward to the next member who draws a bison hunt in this particular area!
I love that pic with you and the lever gun! The background is very cool too!I'm ecstatic, but my celebration is very reserved. My thoughts are "what have we done?".
Perhaps my ambition has gotten the best of me.
It's 2pm.
We're 7.5 miles from the truck.
16 miles from camp via stock trail.
12 miles from the south trailhead.
If you made the roadless area into a target, we would be in the bullseye.
What's done is done- we came to kill a bull bison, and we've accomplished that! We'll get through this- it's just a matter of how sore our bodies will be at the conclusion.
I send an inReach to my Dad, my wife, and Coby. The first two to share the good news, and the last in hoping for good news.
We walk across the canyon and make our way up the slope to the bull. Holy $hit is he big.
With one look, we know we will want to get his feet downhill of him for butchering, as well as a few photos. We set our gear down and each grab some tree trunk sized leg. Deadlifting as best we can, we start to roll him over, using the fairly steep slope to our advantage. As he reaches the apex of his roll, I realize this was a bold move- we're above about a 20-25 foot sandstone cliff, which is down hill of us, and we have no way of stopping him if he keeps rolling.
"Whump!" He goes over once, than completes another roll. He's going. I've never seen an animal of this size fly, and I'm pretty sure I'm about to.
Miraculously, he stops. His back legs have done the splits, and somehow he comes to a stop on the stone, a half roll away from going all the way to the creek.
Relieved, we chuckle at our fortunes, and start snapping a few photos.
The hill and subsequent drop we about lost him off of- also, the amount of blood in an animal this size that comes out of 5 bullet wounds is quite shocking. I shot from the hill to the left.
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My once in a lifetime Book Cliffs bull- I could really have not asked for anything more!
Mid photos, my inReach went off- Coby says he'll be here at noon tomorrow with mules. What a relief! The smile only grew at that point.
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Thank you! I'm glad to have drawn the tag while physically able to get into the country and take full advantage of the opportunity- I hope you are able to pull a bison tag sooner than later for the same satisfaction!Dang, I was in MT hunting deer and missed this somehow. Great work on the hunt! Excellent story and pics. After helping my brother on a hunt near yours and reading your amazing adventure I just want to draw the tag even more than ever. My brothers bull has been excellent table fare so far also!
Congrats on a beautiful bull younggun!