This is going to be long winded, but I wanted to record it in some detail for my own records. Thought it might be cool to share it here.
Pictures are fun but I also thoroughly despise spot burning so If anyone recognizes anything or feels that too much is shown let me know and I’ll remove it.
From the top.
In the last couple of years I have been revamping my draw strategy and have been looking for the most efficient/enjoyable way to use up some of the points that I’d been accruing. After much thought, indecisiveness, and hesitation, I finally decided on a unit to put it for a rifle permit that I should most certainly draw. This is a highly (mis)regarded “trophy bull unit” that has a reputation that lingers from years ago, but I knew from my research that it is currently nothing like it used to be. If I drew the permit, I was committed to take some time off, go hard, and put everything I had into this hunt. I’d wanted to hunt this part of the world for a long time now for several reasons, and this was as good a time as any, so, I decided to burn my points. It’s a huge unit, but a considerable amount of it is private, and access to public can be very tricky in some areas.
I had killed bulls in archery season every year for the past dozen years or so, so in an effort to change things up I was going to sit out archery season and see if I could knock one over with a rifle this year. I knew it would be tough to see guys roll into town all throughout September with archery bulls and not be able to participate, but I had my mind made up, hopefully it would be worth it.
Well as things go, spring time rolled around and sure enough I had drawn the permit. I figured I would, as I had more than enough points to have sufficient odds of drawing, but you never really know until you draw. I was excited, but also knew that I was going to have to work my butt off to make the most of this opportunity. I felt like I was willing to work harder, hike farther, and stay longer than the majority of other hunters, and if there was a pig slammer to be found, I was gonna find him. In the following month or so, I had talked to a number of folks that had drawn my permit in the last several years and I got the same feedback from all of them, “the hunting is very tough and the opportunity for a big bull is bleak”. Most of them harvested a raghorn of some variety, even after hunting hard for many days, which was depressing. Everyone that wasn’t well informed on the current state of the unit said “you’re gonna kill a giant!”. Ha!
Pictures are fun but I also thoroughly despise spot burning so If anyone recognizes anything or feels that too much is shown let me know and I’ll remove it.
From the top.
In the last couple of years I have been revamping my draw strategy and have been looking for the most efficient/enjoyable way to use up some of the points that I’d been accruing. After much thought, indecisiveness, and hesitation, I finally decided on a unit to put it for a rifle permit that I should most certainly draw. This is a highly (mis)regarded “trophy bull unit” that has a reputation that lingers from years ago, but I knew from my research that it is currently nothing like it used to be. If I drew the permit, I was committed to take some time off, go hard, and put everything I had into this hunt. I’d wanted to hunt this part of the world for a long time now for several reasons, and this was as good a time as any, so, I decided to burn my points. It’s a huge unit, but a considerable amount of it is private, and access to public can be very tricky in some areas.
I had killed bulls in archery season every year for the past dozen years or so, so in an effort to change things up I was going to sit out archery season and see if I could knock one over with a rifle this year. I knew it would be tough to see guys roll into town all throughout September with archery bulls and not be able to participate, but I had my mind made up, hopefully it would be worth it.
Well as things go, spring time rolled around and sure enough I had drawn the permit. I figured I would, as I had more than enough points to have sufficient odds of drawing, but you never really know until you draw. I was excited, but also knew that I was going to have to work my butt off to make the most of this opportunity. I felt like I was willing to work harder, hike farther, and stay longer than the majority of other hunters, and if there was a pig slammer to be found, I was gonna find him. In the following month or so, I had talked to a number of folks that had drawn my permit in the last several years and I got the same feedback from all of them, “the hunting is very tough and the opportunity for a big bull is bleak”. Most of them harvested a raghorn of some variety, even after hunting hard for many days, which was depressing. Everyone that wasn’t well informed on the current state of the unit said “you’re gonna kill a giant!”. Ha!