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Yesterday morning I got set up 90 yards from a roost tree well before sunrise. The gobblers were on fire but had a ton of hens so they didn’t fly down to my decoys or in my direction. 20-30 minutes after fly down with nothing wanting to come in, I circled around to try and get in front of them. The flock had switched directions and was now going back towards where I was first set up. I hightailed it to get in front of them again and gave a few soft clucks. Before too long, the big multi bearded tom I’d seen the night before and last weekend was in full strut with his hens coming in. I waited until he was out of strut and shot him at about 10 yards. After some pics my friends and I were back to camp for carne asada tacos by 7:30. The bird weighed 22 pounds, both spurs are 7/8”, and the longest beard is 10 1/2”

4 days before the start of this hunt, Eddie Corona at OE4A contacted me about donating this hunt to me from a very generous person who was unable to hunt. I'm a double amputee combat vet and a diehard bowhunter. Immediately I got to planning. I knew nothing about bison and about bison hunting. Luckily I got connected with Russ and Laura Jacoby. They are bison whisperers. I can truly tell you that I would not have been successful on this hunt without them. Their logistical expertise is on par with extremely complex military deployments that I've been a part of. It's amazing to see what they do. The conditions this year were tough. There is still a ton of snow on the Kaibab. 4'-7' drifts are still present up there. Without a snowmobile or UTV with tracks, it was impossible to reach the blinds and salt. And the road leading in to the north rim is closed until June 2nd. I'm not convinced that the snow will be fully melted in time to get access with a truck. My hunt ended June 6th, so I definitely hired Russ/Laura or else I wouldn't have been able to access the hunt area. As most people know, this particular hunt means you have to sit in a blind, 14 hrs a day for an average of 14 days before you harvest a bison. You have to wait for them to come off the park. I mentally prepared myself for this. And I knew I was going to take the risk and try with my bow. It took us many hours just to reach the spike camp deep in the Kaibab using UTVs with snow tracks. It was slow going, like 9mph for 12 miles slow. After we finally arrived at the camp, Russ sent us 3 hunters out to hunt half a day while he set up the camp. Myself, Randy and Dave set out on the 90 minute ride to the hunt area. Randy and I dropped off Dave and then parked the UTV to begin our mile long walk into the blind. We hunted our way to the blind and as we approached the blind Randy spotted bison already at the water source. We quickly set down our gear. I grabbed my bow and Randy grabbed his rifle. Randy was able to take a quick couple shots and down went one of the bison. One bison ran away into the Grand Canyon park and the other waited by the bison that was laying on the ground. At that point I was able to slip in to 28yds and put an absolutely perfect arrow in the last bison. I shot another arrow and hit low in the sternum, but it wasn't necessary because the first arrow was a kill shot through both lungs. He fell and was dead in 30 seconds. We were ecstatic. We celebrated, hugged, cried and shared our viewpoints on what had happened. It was absolutely amazing! I couldn't believe I had snuck in with a bow, on the rim of the Grand Canyon and perfectly shot a bison!!! It took us long into the night to cut up the two bison and load them on to the snow machines. We used Russ's winches on the UTVs and portable winches to hoist the two bison into trees to make the work easier. Another 24 hrs later we were finally back at the main camp. After our goodbyes I drove home and got to contemplate what had just happened. I think I'm luckier than I should be. I never even stepped foot in that blind. I can't wait to try the bison meat from this harvest and sharing it with friends and family! Other than that...all I can say is that I am so blessed and thankful for OE4A for what they do.

Your husband called, he wants you to take the dog.

Awesome pictures. Just got back from a similar trip

Wife got her Ram back today real happy how it turned shot Dec 2 2021 Lake Powell IMG_5095.mov

Nice ram and mount! Who did the taxidermy work?

Sold

I just listed on ebay, we’ll see how it goes

Only to the original owner.

Congratulations, thats a stud Goulds.

Thank you. Yes, from what I kind find, this should be the biggest Gould’s killed in AZ according to NWTF and SCI scoring systems. The first three NWTF entries in the US have 3 beards

I have a brick of WLR to trade. Will be passing thru from Tucson to Payson next Saturday

beautiful bird and way to go getting it done. Isn't it rare for four beards. I've heard of two or three, but not four.

very nice ram and nice taxi work. congrats.

Nice

Looks like a Plott hound

He “ double dog dares you “

Bump for a great gun . I have one in 44 mag .

Cool. Arizona?

I've bought tickets from BlairHunter twice now and he has been extremely easy to deal with. You can trust him. Playoff atmosphere is on a whole other level.

He looks like the goodest boy. I wish I was in a better position, I'd take him in a heartbeat.

Someone kicks in your door, shoots your dog, and seizes all of your assets.