CatfishKev

Part 3. The kids cow hunt... So we zipped down to 23 and got to the youth camp barely in time to sign the kids in and have a steak dinner. Now originally the whole plan was to have Dale take my kids out hunting while I was on the Bab. I decided against that because I didn't know when I would ever have the opportunity to have my wife and kids with me up there for one and for two I really wanted them to see Bison up close and personal, something that I've always myself wanted to see. Well we still joined with Dale to hunt the next morning. Saw some elk and made a move, in our haste we realized we were after the satellite bulls so that pretty much was it for that morning. That night we went back and checked an area to make an evening plan but that plan involved a whole bunch of hiking the next am. We were all tired from traveling and decided the next morning to hunt around camp up top. Went to find Caliche later that night and see this... We ended up sleeping a bit too late so rushed to get in the truck and go check a couple areas. Got to a burn and jumped out to glass every hundred or so yards. I hear a bugle and start to give chase, hes moving fast and than we hear nearby shots. That's pretty much it for that morning. Unfortunately a couple days later we went and checked that area and found a young spike bull laying just off the road covered in crows and stinking something fierce. That evening we decided to split up. I Sent Aurora with Dale to hunt in Young and me and Caliche went up to check a super secret evening spot. Its super secret because it's a special place that's known to hold 200" mule deer bucks. You guessed it... POWERLINES BABY!!! We park at the top and theres a truck parked there, I walk over to one of the giant metal powerline thingymajigs that hold up the wires. I glass the north side and suddenly realize theres a dude sitting there, he startles me and I blurt out a profanity. He then tells me his son is taking his grandaughter on a cow youth hunt. I tell him good luck and we head down to the next opening. I drive the road downhill a bit and stop to glass out my window and I drive off to see the dude with his kid standing there and drive down the hill. Once I get to a place I can glass a good distance I found cows way in the bottom. I decide to rush up the hill and try to find the dude with his daughter. I hope we can maybe help them fill a tag too. I tap the horn a few times and yell for them out the window. I wait for a few minutes and theres no response. We zip down and park the truck where the herd cant see us. We hightail it into the edge of the woods and work our way down. Pop out, and the cows are right there. I try to lay my pack down and get Caliche set up but theres a slight highspot in the ground and he cant see. He says let's use the tripod. I say are you sure? He says yeah. We set him up on the biggest cow and she's staring right at us, I know I'm already shaking and I know hes gotta be too. I hear a boom and an instant thump. I look through my glass as fast as I can and see her drop like a rug slipped out from under her. I'm like "dude you drilled her!" And hes like dad I might have gut shot her. I tell him I dont think so.. we get over there and its obvious she's paralyzed and I see the look on his face, instant sadness and I can tell he is riddled with guilt. I tell him that we need to end her suffering quickly and he does. Afterwards I explain how he felt is good and we should have empathy and respect for the animals we hunt and that I'm proud of him. I quickly emphasize the high notes of what just happened and what he just accomplished as we go get the truck and make a quick call to Dale. Were hoping Aurora didnt kill because I didnt wanna do 2 night time pack outs. We look over his cow and take a few pics. I'm amazed by the size of this cow, never had one this big before. She was nice and healthy with lots of fat. She is way bigger then the pics show. Literally I have never seen one this big. Once Dale is there we all jump in for an evening pack out. If y'all want to learn how to break down an animal FAST! hang out with Dale! I was helping sure... but it was all Dale that made this pack out happen in record time. I kid you not from start to finish we were driving away in literally one hour! Holy crap! I thought me and my family doing it in a few hours was a record! I learned some new stuff that night and was happy to be next to Dale on this one. I feel more confident than I ever have when it comes down to breaking down big animals in the field. Crazy thing is he didn't break out a knife once. All done with a shortened version of a havalon knife. Probably not more then 4 inches in total length and that cow was done.. crazy! Now fast forward.. the the night before last day. Dale tells me where to go to glass where I see a herd at last light. The plan is to hike in up top a bluff in the dark to where they should be under us. Well dumb dumb (me) goes to the wrong spot. I'm supposed to be on the ridge that I'm glassing just off a big flat of a meadow. Well just under the meadow are deep cuts and I'm seeing elk work there way up. Finally see a bowl that's not glassable from anywhere except from my position. Elk are actually in the meadow and we start hauling butt down the hill. First time to this spot and I just bust in there with my honking loud diesel thinking I still am half a mile away.. nope I'm right on them and I send the herd scattering like a friggin idiot. Aurora jumps out for a shot but I call her off. I know it will be too rushed and it's just not a good idea. Battery in phones gonna die. Second half in a few....

Anyway here's a few more pics of the bison portion of the hunt. Will be adding the elk part shortly. It was great to have the kids up there with us. Mom made them have a contest to see who could collect the most firewood, clever of her huh? Auggie won! Also a pretty cool pic of my daughter squishing a bison with just 2 fingers.

Yeah that was us. Lost interest after all the national anthem crap. Wasnt die hard myself anyway but the wife's cuz played for them.

When's your hunt? Do you have a plan?

Momma and Auggie the oldest boy held their own on this one.

Do a framed 3d shadow box with a picture of you with the animal and the penny and bullet in it. A picture framing shop would know what it is.

Thanks Nick. I enjoyed the morning and didnt get myself into too hot of water by coming home a bit later. You guys have a solid plan. I want to see pics asap!

Part 2. We get settled in the blind and spend about an hour just trying to organize gear and have everything ready just in case an opportunity presents itself. Set our burritos in front of the buddy Heater to start warming up our breakfast. After it starts to get light start seeing and hearing critters emerge. Muley doe and her fawns come to the tank and keeps us entertained for a few minutes. 730 ish rolls around and here comes the co OP hunter. I'm kind of thinking to myself why do they meet at 5am and still show up so late. Dave the other forum member who just killed said the same thing when he hunted his spot. I see him glass my blind and I get out to go greet him. I let him know I'm happy to share the spot, and encourage him hes at one of the best spots. Since he showed up I told him I would only ask for dibs on first shot and told him I would use my bow to increase his chances by not blowing out the herd if they show up. He agreed and I continue to tell him about what my trail cams showed and assure him it's a good spot. We get back in our blinds and the wait begins.. Well about 8am or slightly after I see a bull coming in from the North, what? That's freaking weird I for sure thought they would come from the south.. I tell my boy Bison Bison! Immediately adrenalin starts flowing, I try to quietly alert the co OP guy. Behind the bull another then another and then an entire herd and they are moving fast and with apparent purpose. I was truly surprised how quick they were there. The water tank was mostly iced over and they just come crashing in breaking the ice it was totally nuts. There all in line along the water and one bull seems to ram the herd sideways pushing them all like dominoes splashing and just making a total ruckus. Now I have my bow in hand and already pre ranged certain spots. I'm holding my binos and constantly scanning bellies for that penis sheath. I see a cow and draw back... she moves. I wait and draw back again and another pops in front of her. Same thing a third time and have to draw back down... wow this is frustrating. Calm down kev just wait for your chance. A lone bull comes over in front of us to the salt and stares at us, does he see me? Anxiety is creeping in with the adrenaline now. Finally a confirmed cow heads over to the salt and my heart starts pumping faster... this is it dude make this shot count. She gets to the salt but has not pulled her right leg forward, still slightly back and I know I should wait but the panic sets in and I let the arrow fly.. hit but not in the heart where I wanted it. Just slightly back barely catching a back lung and angled out through her stomach. I'm already mentally kicking myself in the face. You freaking idiot why didnt you wait?! The herd is immediately alerted and half start trotting off. She turns opposite direction.. now I'm even more jacked up and not having the chance to correct my bow I try to make a follow up shot and completely forget I'm shooting left and fling another arrow. Thump right into the shoulder blade. Jeez kev you are totally blowing this shoot.. it penetrates but not enough. She's still more or less staying in place as the first shot hurt her and now the all the remaining herd bolts except for two other bison. This is where I start to notice something interesting. After speaking to another hunter he mentioned that after a bison is killed sometimes the herd will come back to mourn there fallen herd member. I dont know if I believe that but then the two other bison come and stand on either side of her and start sniffing the arrows sticking out of her. They stand around her seeming just to keep her company and watch over her. It's a very surreal moment, but still I am here to try and fill this tag. At this point they have worked out to 40 yards or so. Finally she turns and the other two give me a shooting lane. She is quartered away from me facing the right. I draw back and aim for the boiler room, again completely not remembering to compensate and sure enough right in the guts and anchors into the front left leg. Kill shot yeah but I'm still kicking myself in the face. Now I'm wondering why the co op guy hasn't shot the other cow yet. I nock my fourth and last arrow and wait for a boom from the other hunter or another shot opportunity. Finally she turns to the left about 45 yards. I attempt one last double lung finish shot and let her rip. Again to the left and now that she's farther away it's even worse. Bam, right through the neck and I hit the jugular and blood starts spewing out and I feel a tidal wave of relief pass over me. She starts to wobble and falls over in an amazing cloud of dust. I'm extatic and me and Caliche are quietly celebrating, but quietly to offer the other hunter his chance. I say to my son why is this guy not shooting.. I hear the co OP guy say "is that a cow" and im like yeah dude I'm pretty sure that's a cow. BOOM! the whole area echoes like thunder and the animal falls while the other bull runs off into the woods. We get out of our blinds celebrating. We are in sheer disbelief that this all happened so quickly. Me and Caliche go look at the cow and I'm in utter amazement. Then we walk over to the co op hunters bison. Oh shoot this is a bull! My heart immediately drops and I am overridden with guilt, he asked me for verification and I was certain it was a cow and now I feel like a total asshole. Here's the thing, my main objective for ID was the penis sheath and when we checked this animal the sheath had a small amount of mud which made it matted up against the belly and it totally looked like a cow and since it was young the head was still small. In retrospect the horns were a giveaway but I know theres exceptions to the rule which is why I focused on the sheath. Well he calls the guide to report it and I head back to the camper ro round up the crew for help. I come flying into camp honking the horn like a madman when I start getting close. My daughter informs my wife apparently "oh its dad honking the horn, he probably just needs to take a crap". Lol what!?!? and as I pull up I see the door open and my wife pops her head out like no way... I jump out and yell Bison with my bow first day!!! She bursts into tears and starts hugging me and screaming with excitement. I then tell her about the other hunter and what happened and were all feeling awful about it. We all jump in the vehicles and head back to break the animal down. When we get back I apologize to the guy profusely and tell him I swore that was a cow. He didnt hold me at fault, he thought it was too and he pulled the trigger. I still feel crappy that my good luck was somewhat tainted by his bad luck but that's what happened and I just cant do anything to change it. In the end game and fish took his tag and confiscated the bull. He does at least have a chance to bid on it at auction which I hope he does... Eventually the guide shows up and offers to winch my cow into the back of my truck to get it and myself out of the area for which I gladly oblige. The rest of the day is spent doing the dirty work.

Consolation prizes. Elk woulda still been a lot cooler..

When we went to the store for snacks she didnt even wanna go in because her stomach hurt so bad over it. She's a good kid.

Hey man I need to make my little girl feel better.

Awesome dude! Took the whole family in there and got the crushed pennies. Even got two to make my wife earrings. The skull looks awesome. Are you gonna do a mount or a blanket?

100% We did spend all day. Hiked miles around and down to the nearest tank. Even came back for 2 of dale and Heathers dogs and went back out to search but came up nada. Found a tiny piece of lung I think but that was it. I'm pretty sure it clipped the upper corner of one lung and she will survive so I guess that's reassuring at least.

To be honest not exactly sure. I think if we are walking in with a rifle we are poachers so were not doing that. . Someone please correct me if I am wrong. I'm actually not sure on this one.

Coming real soon... Spent though. More storytime tomoro.

Well what can I say, this season has been a ride. Started with the bison card hit then pondering whether to do the co op or not. In the end.. decided not. only had a handful of dates between hunts to check things out and set cams. A big shout out to many previous tag holders on these hunts. Heat, Notags, Idgaf, Mt sourdough all had info to pass along to me. Flew up on short notice with my wife and checked a handful of areas and set cams. Ran short on time when my battery light came on in the f250, had to call it a day and spent the afternoon in Kanab at the napa parking lot changing out my alternater. Got back and finished what I could before the hunt that started the next day. Fsst forward.. The downside was 2 of my kids had elk tags the same time. We made plans with Dale and Heather in Young AZ (Wild Heritage Taxidermy) to take my kids out and stay with them while my wife and oldest son joined me on the bison hunt. That plan changed because I wanted my kids to have the opportunity to see the kaibab and see live free ranging bison up close and personal. The plan now was if I didnt fill my tag quickly momma was gonna zip them down to young and I'd stay with my oldest boy Auggie and hunt the bison. Well the day came, left with the boys and the camper and momma was to follow the next day... then the whole turbo intercooler fiasco took place and that basically cost me my day of checking cams and scouting. Once we finally hit the north rim we set camp in a dash and went to check cams.. the boys were already over it. I had asked quite a lot of them and they delivered but now on minimal sleep and food it was becoming less fun. While checking cams I'm noticing most the spots that seemed hot the activity had pretty much completely dropped off. This sent me into a mental tailspin and I started freaking out a little bit. By this point Auggie and Enoch my oldest and youngest sons were spent and started napping in the truck. Next cam spot my middle boy, Caliche wanted to continue with me. Hiked down to a spot recommended by Idgaf and checked the cam. Looked at pics Whoah! We missed a herd by a half hour. After looking through pics I figured I had a chance that a herd would show up every 3 to 5 days. It was decided, this is my spot I'm gonna hunt.. Opening morning.... chewing on what weapon to bring. I really wanted to take a bison with my bow as first choice. Alternatively my wife has a marlin 30-30 that her pap had bought for her dad when he was young back in PA. I thought to myself if not a bow to take such a historic animal what better then an old historic rifle.. well I decided to bring both. Get the bow out in the dark and have my boy shine a flashlight in it to illuminate the pins. I take 2 practice shots and its shooting four inches left. At this point I'm worried about the co op hunter potentially getting to the spot before me and decide to come back at lunch and zero in my bow. We gather up our gear and throw it in the truck and zip down the road. We park a good 300 yards or so to not spook anything and we load up heavy. 2 nice lawn chairs with hi tech pistons, the blind, 2 packs with a rifle and a bow, 2 down bags stuffed inside and a mr buddy heater and some snacks and drinks etc. We get down and set up the blind before its light out and I check the co OP blind and its empty... a sigh of relief. Now we wait....

I'm hoping it's like that. I actually feel well have a dead cow waiting for us but it's that wondering that causes pure mental madness.

This is true. On the phone with my wife I said I killed a bison on day one, brakes didn't lock up on the highway with my kids in the truck and we are all safe and alive. Son killed second day and daughter had a shot. Heck I'm just happy to fill my bison tag. Even after all the bad luck I still feel lucky to have a once in a lifetime harvest and all my little ones safe and sound. My oldest baby girl has true grit when it comes to hunting, I'm proud of her regardless of what tomorow brings.

Shots fired. Questionable hit. Hopefully recovery in am.

Ok, new caliper on, 3 more hours to get it done..

Well as per usual Aurora has to suffer on her hunts. Got on a herd last night and blew it, didnt realize I was that close and they blew out. Same herd this morning glassed from way high and as soon as a verify location start heading down. Ad I'm going through the last gate I glass one more time to verify and spot another guy with his kid moving in on them and they are closer. Sucks cuz we were in there earlier, he just parked closer. Got a bull bedded with cows I was gonna maybe go after but then my brakes went to crap and I'm now sitting waiting for the part to show up. Should be here soon. Hopefully we can make it happen in the 11th hour.

Well I'm in another vehicle jam. My passenger side caliper is fubar and my truck is undriveable. Theres one available in payson if someone could potentially grab ot on there way. I'm stuck in young right now at Dale and Heather's place, (Wild Heritage Taxidermy). Figures theres gotta be someone on the way with a hunt starting tomorow.

I even had a dude call me was gonna drive it up to me from tucson because he didnt have anything better to do. Crazy..

Crisis averted. Ones on the way.

My cell 520 227 6720