LCH's Fall 2021 Hunts - Colorado, South Dakota, and Arizona
Dec 15, 2021 18:48:54 GMT -5
Woody Williams, hornzilla, and 14 more like this
Post by lawrencecountyhunter on Dec 15, 2021 18:48:54 GMT -5
Rather than make several threads throughout the year for each hunt, I decided to combine them this year.
Hunt # 1 - Colorado Black Bear - Early September
One of my BIL's and I headed out to Colorado in early September with a bear tag apiece. The cool thing about this hunt is that bear tags are only $100, so with two guys splitting gas and camping it is an extremely affordable hunt. The downside is, it's tough! We hunted for 6 days and actually did see 4 bears. I spooked bear #1 out of the brush when I went to relieve myself upon arrival at our chosen campsite. I never did see it, but it ran right to my BIL while he was setting up camp, with the rifles securely cased and buried in the car. We saw bear #2 while driving to our glassing spot, and although we stopped and tried to get back on him, he was gone into the oak brush before we even had our rifles in hand. Bear #3 jumped out of somebody's dumpster at the end of a driveway, in the dark. Bear #4 was on an open hillside about 900 yards away, and although I tried my darndest to get over there in time, he gave me the slip.
So, no shots were fired on this bear hunt. Great week in the mountains though!
Hunt # 2 - Colorado Mule Deer - Early October
Once again, I was able to purchase a reissued deer tag off of Colorado's return list. I made this trip out by myself, to an area just south of the unit I hunted last year. This turned out to be a fairly difficult hunt, as the unit was extremely thick and the weather very warm. I saw fewer than a half dozen bucks in 6 days of hunting, although I was able to observe a good number of elk, antelope, even a bear and a few moose. I slept in the back of my car for this hunt, and was able to stay highly mobile.
Hunt # 3 - South Dakota Whitetail - Mid-November
I planned this hunt with ukwil. My tag was valid for the Black Hills, any whitetail. We drove out separately, and hunted our respective units, but shared a small KOA cabin in Hot Springs.
As soon as I got out there, I was blown away by the number and also the quality of the whitetails in my area. There were very concerning reports of CWD coming out of most of western South Dakota, but there were still lots of bucks to be found. The weather was great for deer movement, and hunting pressure was low. Everything had seemingly lined up for a great hunt, until I screwed it up.
I was able to put on a few stalks on very nice bucks, and rattled a few in as well, before getting a shot at a good one. I thought that the way he ran indicated a hit, but I could find no blood. I searched anyway, but apparently not hard enough before giving up. I double-checked the zero on my rifle, and it was off; I completely missed a 12" diameter log at about 50 yards. I cased that rifle and pulled out my back-up for the remainder of the trip.
The next day, I was hunting in the same area and noticed some magpie activity. Sure enough, in a low spot I had walked right past the day before while searching for blood, were the remains of my buck. Coyotes and birds had been on it, and there was nothing left to salvage. Feeling pretty slimy, I tagged the antlers and marked this hunt as complete. I knew I had been sloppy, and I lost a deer for it.
Hunt # 4 - Arizona Elk - Early December
Tags for bull elk in Arizona are difficult to draw, although I got lucky and drew this tag with only 2 points. That said, I believe that this tag is one of the easiest to draw tags in Arizona for a non-resident. Going in I had decided that I would be happy to shoot anything bigger than a spike on opening day, and spikes would be in danger by day two.
My dad rode out with me for this hunt. We stayed in the Kodiak Canvas, ate deer burgers, and drank Big Red Zero.
Conditions were difficult for this hunt. The rut was long past, water and feed were everywhere, and temperatures were near record highs. We arrived in time for 1.5 days of scouting, with the only living large mammals seen being 3 javelina and a coyote. The unit was very thick, and everything was green.
I located a ridge that had burned a few years back, about a mile off the main road through the unit. ATV trails branched off everywhere from the main road, but I was relegated to burning boot leather past where the Durango could go. We camped off of the main road near the burned area, with my plan being to hunt that ridge opening day.
First morning, as I was climbing said ridge, I stopped to suck wind and glassed a little into the brush. A bull! Not big, but not a spike either, so pretty much exactly what I was after. He was probably 500 yards away, but working my way. I finished my climb and tried to find him again in the regrowth to my west. Finally, he stepped out at 350 yards. I tried to get prone for a shot, but it took me several minutes to get positioned where there were no obstructions between me and the bull. By this time, the bull had disappeared.
I didn't believe that the bull had spooked, even though I had been tussling around on the skyline trying to get set up. A running elk makes a lot of noise, and he had silently disappeared. Either he had gotten down into one of several draws between us and taken it down into the timber, or he had bedded there. I sat until noon before heading back to camp for lunch and reassure my dad that I was still alive.
After a few deer burgers, I headed up the ridge again, but tried to get closer to where he had last been. With the temperatures being so warm, I didn't think he would move much before evening. At about an hour before dark, a couple guys on a UTV pulled up and stopped on a trail to glass, about 200 yards on the other side of where the bull had been. The wind was blowing from those guys, past where the bull had been, then past me.
About 15 minutes after the UTV guys arrived, I spotted movement almost directly below me; it was the bull. The brush was so thick though, that I could only get brief glimpses of him as he slowly moved through. Eventually, he got around to my east, and stood quartering to at 250 yards. I sat, bracing my rifle against a burned tree I had been using for shade, at aimed right before the shoulder. The bull disappeared at the shot. I sat for several minutes, waiting, not wanting to lose him like I'd lost my South Dakota deer. After gathering my things, I headed down. His scent eventually led me to him in the brush; he had dropped on the spot.
I got him ready for packing that night, and carried out the first load. I carried the remaining three loads the next morning, we packed up camp, and headed back home.
And, that's the end of my travelling adventures for 2021. Good news is, it's already time to start planning for 2022!
Hunt # 1 - Colorado Black Bear - Early September
One of my BIL's and I headed out to Colorado in early September with a bear tag apiece. The cool thing about this hunt is that bear tags are only $100, so with two guys splitting gas and camping it is an extremely affordable hunt. The downside is, it's tough! We hunted for 6 days and actually did see 4 bears. I spooked bear #1 out of the brush when I went to relieve myself upon arrival at our chosen campsite. I never did see it, but it ran right to my BIL while he was setting up camp, with the rifles securely cased and buried in the car. We saw bear #2 while driving to our glassing spot, and although we stopped and tried to get back on him, he was gone into the oak brush before we even had our rifles in hand. Bear #3 jumped out of somebody's dumpster at the end of a driveway, in the dark. Bear #4 was on an open hillside about 900 yards away, and although I tried my darndest to get over there in time, he gave me the slip.
So, no shots were fired on this bear hunt. Great week in the mountains though!
Hunt # 2 - Colorado Mule Deer - Early October
Once again, I was able to purchase a reissued deer tag off of Colorado's return list. I made this trip out by myself, to an area just south of the unit I hunted last year. This turned out to be a fairly difficult hunt, as the unit was extremely thick and the weather very warm. I saw fewer than a half dozen bucks in 6 days of hunting, although I was able to observe a good number of elk, antelope, even a bear and a few moose. I slept in the back of my car for this hunt, and was able to stay highly mobile.
Hunt # 3 - South Dakota Whitetail - Mid-November
I planned this hunt with ukwil. My tag was valid for the Black Hills, any whitetail. We drove out separately, and hunted our respective units, but shared a small KOA cabin in Hot Springs.
As soon as I got out there, I was blown away by the number and also the quality of the whitetails in my area. There were very concerning reports of CWD coming out of most of western South Dakota, but there were still lots of bucks to be found. The weather was great for deer movement, and hunting pressure was low. Everything had seemingly lined up for a great hunt, until I screwed it up.
I was able to put on a few stalks on very nice bucks, and rattled a few in as well, before getting a shot at a good one. I thought that the way he ran indicated a hit, but I could find no blood. I searched anyway, but apparently not hard enough before giving up. I double-checked the zero on my rifle, and it was off; I completely missed a 12" diameter log at about 50 yards. I cased that rifle and pulled out my back-up for the remainder of the trip.
The next day, I was hunting in the same area and noticed some magpie activity. Sure enough, in a low spot I had walked right past the day before while searching for blood, were the remains of my buck. Coyotes and birds had been on it, and there was nothing left to salvage. Feeling pretty slimy, I tagged the antlers and marked this hunt as complete. I knew I had been sloppy, and I lost a deer for it.
Hunt # 4 - Arizona Elk - Early December
Tags for bull elk in Arizona are difficult to draw, although I got lucky and drew this tag with only 2 points. That said, I believe that this tag is one of the easiest to draw tags in Arizona for a non-resident. Going in I had decided that I would be happy to shoot anything bigger than a spike on opening day, and spikes would be in danger by day two.
My dad rode out with me for this hunt. We stayed in the Kodiak Canvas, ate deer burgers, and drank Big Red Zero.
Conditions were difficult for this hunt. The rut was long past, water and feed were everywhere, and temperatures were near record highs. We arrived in time for 1.5 days of scouting, with the only living large mammals seen being 3 javelina and a coyote. The unit was very thick, and everything was green.
I located a ridge that had burned a few years back, about a mile off the main road through the unit. ATV trails branched off everywhere from the main road, but I was relegated to burning boot leather past where the Durango could go. We camped off of the main road near the burned area, with my plan being to hunt that ridge opening day.
First morning, as I was climbing said ridge, I stopped to suck wind and glassed a little into the brush. A bull! Not big, but not a spike either, so pretty much exactly what I was after. He was probably 500 yards away, but working my way. I finished my climb and tried to find him again in the regrowth to my west. Finally, he stepped out at 350 yards. I tried to get prone for a shot, but it took me several minutes to get positioned where there were no obstructions between me and the bull. By this time, the bull had disappeared.
I didn't believe that the bull had spooked, even though I had been tussling around on the skyline trying to get set up. A running elk makes a lot of noise, and he had silently disappeared. Either he had gotten down into one of several draws between us and taken it down into the timber, or he had bedded there. I sat until noon before heading back to camp for lunch and reassure my dad that I was still alive.
After a few deer burgers, I headed up the ridge again, but tried to get closer to where he had last been. With the temperatures being so warm, I didn't think he would move much before evening. At about an hour before dark, a couple guys on a UTV pulled up and stopped on a trail to glass, about 200 yards on the other side of where the bull had been. The wind was blowing from those guys, past where the bull had been, then past me.
About 15 minutes after the UTV guys arrived, I spotted movement almost directly below me; it was the bull. The brush was so thick though, that I could only get brief glimpses of him as he slowly moved through. Eventually, he got around to my east, and stood quartering to at 250 yards. I sat, bracing my rifle against a burned tree I had been using for shade, at aimed right before the shoulder. The bull disappeared at the shot. I sat for several minutes, waiting, not wanting to lose him like I'd lost my South Dakota deer. After gathering my things, I headed down. His scent eventually led me to him in the brush; he had dropped on the spot.
I got him ready for packing that night, and carried out the first load. I carried the remaining three loads the next morning, we packed up camp, and headed back home.
And, that's the end of my travelling adventures for 2021. Good news is, it's already time to start planning for 2022!
