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I recently was able to take my best archery mule deer to date and quite possibly the best buck that I'll ever take. The target buck was a 4x5 with an inline on his left main beam. My brother in law and nephew were scouting for elk when they found this deer. They placed some cameras at a nearby water source and to their surprise he showed up. Not once, not twice but three consecutive days the week of opening archery deer. He hit water in the middle of the night before opening morning and didn't show up til 3 days later on Sunday evening. I got in the blind around 4:30pm Sunday evening. It was windy and sprinkling rain and I remember thinking to myself that there wasn't a chance the deer would show up in these conditions. Around 6pm the wind died down and it got real calm. A large group of doves flew in and fed/watered at the tank. Out of the corner of my eye I caught some movement. I immediately knew they were deer and upon pulling up my binos confirmed that they were deer and that they were bucks. Then buck fever set in like I've never had it before. The lead buck was a two point followed by a decent 4x4 which I confirmed didn't have the extra on the left. Then I saw him, the very last buck in the bunch. The bucks filed in to the tank and I ranged the buck at 65 yards quartered to me as he began to drink. I drew my bow and sent one his way. The deer scattered and I quickly nocked another arrow. The buck ran to 90 and stopped. All I could see was his head. He didn't seem like he was hit, had I missed him completely? Should I send one at 90? Had I blown my chance at the buck? After what seemed like forever the bucks started back into water. I couldn't believe it but the 4x5 with them. He came back to the same spot, this time he was facing me head on. I ranged him again at 65 and when he bent down to drink I drew my bow and sent a second arrow. It hit its mark and the buck blew out and ran and I watched him crash after 80 or so yards. A special thanks to Blake, Tyler, and Matt for the chance at this deer and for letting me sit their blind. This buck belongs to us all, an experience that I won't soon forget...

Well I suppose it has been long enough that I better get this written up and posted. Last Spring just after Hunter’s most recent surgery we had a good friend call and mention that OE4A had a cow is on permit available and wondered if my somHunter would be interested. To be honest I have avoided these hunts like the plague because 1. I hate sitting in blinds. 2. I have always thought of bison as the icon of the American plains and hunting them in heavy cover and 90+ temps just felt wrong. But the day Ty called Hunter was down sick with strep, still healing from his 3rd hip surgery plus we had just moved and changed schools and he was a little down in the dumps. So I when I asked him about it and he lit up I decided to bite my tongue and get on board. Everytime we do one of these OE4A hunts I am reminded of how important these things are. It means a lot for a kid who has been through some stuff. So thanks to everyone who contributed. This work matters. The season was 3 weeks long but school was supposed to start on the 5th day so we would have a 4 day run and then two more weekends. Unfortunately two weeks before the hunt Hunter tripped and caught his toe, fracturing it right at the base. This meant he would be in a walking boot for the hunt. To get the hunt started we took the whole family up and celebrated Hunter’s 12th birthday the second day of the hunt. We made cupcakes in the trailer and Hunter’s helpers Ty and Alex gave him an amazing Damascus steel knife. We decided to work with Russ and his family, although we were not paying clients. I’ve heard a lot about how all this goes in the past, andI will provide my perspective. We met with the group everyday. It included 10/12 tag holders + an auction tag holder who was holding out for a B&C bull with a long bow. I honestly couldn’t tell you who was a paying client and who wasn’t. Russ and Laura treated everyone really well. I don’t know what happened behind the scenes on blind selection Etc but every single hunter had an opportunity at a cow while we were there, interestingly enough every single paying client killed one. The first day I had low expectations based on what I had heard about these hunts. But before we even got to our blind, a full mile off the boundary we found ourselves staring at 100+ bison staring into our head lights. We were with Russ who killed the motor and turned out the lights. We cracked the doors and could hear the buffalo grunt and groan as they headed into the trees. At daybreak we eased onto the woods and could hear them all around us. We were with two other hunters and trying to keep pace, but we were setup for a blind not a mile long foot pursuit and the effort was comical. We did catch up a few times but a cow never presented herself for shooting. Out blind those first four days was on a salt 50 yds from the boundary. We never saw a bison but we did have a mule deer for named Martha who spent each morning for us. With just the salt to look at there wasn’t much else to see. Day 2 we had just pulled up to our parking spot, 1 mile from the blind when we heard the radio crackle and Russ’ voice urging everyone to head the the highway. The buffalo were out in Demotte Park and everyone who could hear would meet there. This produced one of the most chaotic hunting scenes I have ever witnessed. About 6 hunters rolled up in 4 or 5 trucks. The bison were between 50-200 yds out in the meadow. We were towards the back and our strategy was to find a group of cows separate from the main body of the herd. We found 8-10 cows towards the back of the herd, slid out and set up. Just as Hunter was squeezing down a rifle cracked down the line and things got crazy real quickly. The cow hunter was on started moving and we called him off that one. The scene repeated a few times with a European hunter next to us shooting off hand and emptying multiple magazines before finally getting lucky and dropping the last cow in sight just as hunter was taking the slack from the trigger. When the smoke cleared three cows lay in the meadow and two wounded made it to the park. We packed up and headed for our blind while GCNP tourists stared at a scene that looked like something straight out of a Frederic Remington painting. On our hike in to the blind we repeated our awkward dance with the bison who were in the trees before our location but they were onto us and stampeded through the trees as the wind swirled. Two more days of sitting only produced more time with Martha. The following weekend we made the 300 mile trek back to the top of the plateau. 4:15 cam early but we were game. It was deja vu as we once again heard the call to assemble at the highway. This time my game plan had changed. I was determined not to set Hunter up at the rear of the herd to avoid them escaping so quickly. But you know what they say about the best laid plans... We jumped into a different truck and joined another hunter to limit how many vehicles would be there. As we approached the herd they were on both sides of the road, and started to cross right in front of us! We were trying to get further south but right there the truck began to overheat and went into limp mode. Jacob threw it in park looked at us and said it’s now or never. We pushed our way out of the truck and nearly hit a calf with the door. We were literally in the middle of them. Hunter got set and was waiting for me to identify a cow. But I couldn’t do it. Every buffalo I put glass on had a tuft under its belly and straight horns. Without clear views under the tail, I couldn’t pick one out. It didn’t take long for a rifle to sound the alarm and the main body put a cloud of dust in the air. The sound was unmistakable and you could feel it under your boots. The few stragglers that remained were all packing gear under the hood. That’s when another rifle cracked. I was surprised as I saw what I had identified as a bull drop in the meadow. Russ was motioning for us to join him 200 yds up the road. Hunter, on two reconstructed hips and a broken foot took off at run, his hands straight and flat pointed at the sky opposite each step. I caught up and took his rifle. We made it to Russ who moved us down to a salt right outside the park. We went into the trees and hoped a straggling cow would meander by. We watched and listened as 5 bulls wandered by, but never a cow. With that opportunity played out we headed to sit. We had four more days of hunting but all resulted in 0 more bison encounters. We did watch the Bab in all its summer glory. Velvet mule deer everyday. Chipmunks became personal friends, until the resident hawks swooped down and grabbed Jim 3’ in front of our blind as he was munching on a hand fed frito. We listened helplessly as he squeezed all the way to the nest. Hunter did have an opportunity to take a calf that was found wandering outside the park, but I was impressed at the thought he put into that decision. He declined as he wanted to hunt a mature animal, especially on a OIL bag limit. I smiled and nodded and was proud, but secretly a little concerned. I hope that he will always have the physical ability to do these things. But with a degenerative condition everyday is a gift and must be seized. Considering that and weighing it against the hope of an even brighter tomorrow, I held my tongue and prayed his mind could always old that hope. So with that said we will be jumping into the bison app game and hoping for another shot in the future. And I will cross my fingers that someday I may be blessed with another opportunity to sit knee to knee with my boy for hours on end with no greater worry than what furry friend might become a raptor snack.

I was there

Congratulations! So glad it didn't rain and ruin your TP trail. Thanks for including your pack fiasco, good lesson and reminder for all of us. 7" prong,,,wow!

I finally convinced my wife to go Dove hunting with me after 9 years of being Married. After she got her limit on her first time out she's officially hooked. We went out again tonight and she got another limit. Maybe now I can talk her into a guided Pheasant hunt:)

Brother and I pulled 2 5bs early archery tags. We’ve killed 2 bulls in there over the years on the late hunt. I want to keep a thread posted on how we do throughout both weeks. Hoping for some success! Hunting hutch mountain area and turkey mountain general areas in spots we’ve used for years. Rutting should be amazing this year and I’ve already located a few good groups of elk. Last minute advice before the hunt? If anyone has any other places to check out as a backup drop me a pm and I’d appreciate it. Looking forward to a fun hunt which has been 7 years in the making!

Keeps me entertained

Sweet!

Sounds like an amazing person. Animas had some great athletes/teams for such a middle of nowhere, hole in the wall, type of town. So many now days could use him as an example on how to lead. Our schools are filled with so many terrible coaches ruining more athletes than helping these days. So many kids never playing sports or quitting because of it. Great coaches, teachers, etc are worth more than any amount of money. If you’ve had either great or bad, or both, you definitely understand.

I can't imagine the chaos of shooting from the highway. Sounds like the high road was taken. No shame in that. Sure hope his next tag comes soon. Hang in there guys!

We don't have tags but we do have cameras out, good luck to all.

Yes in the Silverbells

Post pictures of truck that stole it also? I’m sure the storage facility had cameras. Sure hope they catch those who stole it.

Congrats! Glad everything worked out for ya in the end. Some of my most memorable hunts are the ones that don't turn out as planned. . You probably won't be forgetting this hunt for awhile and now you got an awesome hunting story to tell. The difference in vegetation between your hunt and your daughters is crazy. Congrats again and thanks for sharing.

Nice, Congrats. I have been applying since 89 and had 1 tag .Back up to 15 points. Hope for 1 more in my life at 64...................BOB!

Congrats

Congrats. Well earned

Awesome.

Great stoy and pictures. It is super dry. Your comparison pictures show it perfectly. Congratulations.

Good job nice goat, I'm hoping to be on deck next year for a tag I'm at 24 points now.

Congrats and great story too. Which unit? Eddie

Cool color bird!!!!

Pretty slow today too. 14 Eurasians, 10 morning, 2 WW. I did get this Eurasian though. Picked him out of a group of 6 coming in with my 1st shot, and tagged a 2nd before they passed.

Awesome! I have the same tag. I had it in 2017 as well and pulled a nice 320-330" bull. I was in there last weekend and there is water everywhere. Feed looks great too. Should be a fun hunt with the dates pushed back a week too.

Hey all, Been enjoying all of the great discussions for many years and finally decided to join. Been in Arizona 9 years now brought here kicking and screaming from Michigan by my lovely wife. I quickly fell in love with this incredible state and have harvested many animals in those years. This year my good buddy and I drew 22 south muzzleloader elk tags, him for the first time and my second. Killed a great bull in there in 2014 so was very excited to get back. We ran 12 cameras all summer and felt like we knew what our expectations should be. We had one bull in particular we were targeting we named El Diablo. We figured he'd go close to 370 and we kept tabs on him all the way up to 2 days before our hunt. Opening day came and we went to where we figured he was living but only turned up a handful of satellite bulls. Day 2......On the second morning I had an old bull with huge 3rds and 4ths at 185 yards and the temptation was to great so I dropped the hammer. Spent the rest of that day with 4 buddies packing him out. Day 3......my buddy and another friend headed to a spot that always had a herd with a great bull and I slept in recovering from the packout. At daybreak we had multiple bulls screaming outside of camp. I grabbed my binos and quickly found a big herd bull pushing cows around. Got a hold of my buddy and after an hour of cat and mouse in 6' Manzanita he dropped the hammer at 35 yards. Spent the rest of the day packing him out. Day 4....we spent the morning of day 4 cutting up and packaging elk as well as dropping off the 4 quarters to a processor in Payson. That evening we decided to go see if we could find El Diablo. We didn't locate him but found another great bull. We had a camp of two guys down the road from us with on gentleman from Wyoming having a tag. I offered to take him in to try and kill that bull the next day and a plan was made. Day 5.......we left before daylight and hiked into the mountain I wanted to start calling from. At light I called in a decent bull but no shot opportunity. I had a bull screaming across the canyon and he sounded mature so we took off. As I got closer I got eyes on him and realized it was El Diablo. He bedded with his cows just out of sight so we found shade and waited him out. At 1 pm he got up to move and Bill dropped the hammer. He had no idea what he killed but I did. After lots of celebration we packed him out and I put a tape to him....366". What a trip!!!!!!