Bird Dog Report post Posted February 12 Hello CWT! I wanted to start a topic to get this going. I drew the 1st bull hunt starting 3/29. I put in for this hunt as a tribute to a friend whom pass away last year after working with him 25 years. After helping his family settle his estate I was willed his 375 H&H Ruger No.1. I had been adding bonus points and 23 points I decided to put in. Much to my surprise, my card was charged last fall on his birthday. Any other members or friends out there whom have the 1st hunt for bull starting 3/29? I was wondering if the drama has decreased recently? Any help is greatly appreciated. 6 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PRDATR Report post Posted February 12 Best of luck on the hunt. I'm sue he will be with you every step of the way. Great round and rifle. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wildwoody Report post Posted February 12 Goodluck and godbless Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AZBIG10 Report post Posted February 12 Hey BD, Glad to see you posting on here. Flatlander might be a good resource for you. Ill reach out to him. Also Your dad and brother helped us years ago on a coues hunt. (Same year you had a sheep tag) down south 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SpotNStalk Report post Posted February 12 Same BS. Hunt your hunt and you’ll be successful! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WhtMtnHunter Report post Posted February 13 Going guided, co-op, or DIY? Might help narrow down relevant info to give Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bird Dog Report post Posted February 14 23 hours ago, WhtMtnHunter said: Going guided, co-op, or DIY? Might help narrow down relevant info to give Well, that is the question I am trying to figure out. A fully guided hunt most likely will not be an option due to $$$, although looking into semi-guided options as I did with my sheep hunt years ago. The Co-op seems interesting but I have not hear much on this yet. Most likely a DYI option I will have to go with, and frankly if you separate out the conflict and look at just doing my thing, staying out of others way while making the most of my opportunity seems most attractive. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bird Dog Report post Posted February 14 On 2/12/2024 at 8:30 AM, AZBIG10 said: Hey BD, Glad to see you posting on here. Flatlander might be a good resource for you. Ill reach out to him. Also Your dad and brother helped us years ago on a coues hunt. (Same year you had a sheep tag) down south That has been a minute! Thank you for your help. Where oh where is Flatlander.......... hahah. I did have a great conversation today with AZGFD WM. So, I will just keep on taking notes and trying to figure this out while winter shows itself. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bird Dog Report post Posted February 14 On 2/12/2024 at 7:14 AM, PRDATR said: Best of luck on the hunt. I'm sue he will be with you every step of the way. Great round and rifle. The more I have shot this rifle the more I do like it. A new recoil pad has helped tremendously. I have settled on 260 gr. Accubonds at almost 2700 fps., so all is well in the sight in department. I have really enjoyed the adventure so far with the .375 after years ago selling my .338. The push is real but fun. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SpotNStalk Report post Posted February 14 The last couple weeks of this hunt is when things will turn on . Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WhtMtnHunter Report post Posted February 14 Had this same hunt a few years ago. My best friend made it up for a week and was with me when I finally tagged out after 21 days. Little did I know that it would be his last big game hunt. So many great memories up there. My advice is buy, borrow, or rent a tracked vehicle( snowmobile or UTV) and go the opening 4-5 days to the trick tank/salt lick at the west end of the 268 road. They always kill 2-3 good bulls in the first few days at the far west end of the hunt area but you will have to typically get thru some deep snow to get there. After that first 4-5 days I would wait until the last 2 weeks of the hunt and go at it hard. There is no way to avoid the guides, hopefully you only have to deal with 1 or it could get ugly. There is a fakebook group you can join if you want more up to date info, just keep in mind that some of the things posted there are not entirely accurate and may be intended to deter DIY hunters. Good luck! Hope you get a great bull! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SpotNStalk Report post Posted February 14 I honestly would avoid going up there until the last 2-3 weeks depending on the snow melt. You will be fighting Russ, crew and his snow machines getting to the only salt that will be hit opening weeks. There’s almost double the salt out there than what’s listed. This hunts success rate depends a lot on the weather and snow melt. Soon as that happens and there’s access plan on being up there as long as you can. The guides are successful up there by sitting blinds, cutting track and spot n stalk. Dont get caught up sitting a blind for days unless you have sign of them hitting that particular salt. Hunt your hunt. Dont let anybody dictate how you would normally hunt. It’s your tag! 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hunting Fool Report post Posted February 26 Its still a crap show with Russ up there. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bird Dog Report post Posted August 21 Hello everyone, sorry this has take a bit to gather together. I thought I would post some thoughts about the upcoming draw. I did have a great hunt and out of the 3 areas available it worked for me. I partnered up with a friend, Mark Slone, and we did all right! I just wanted to thank everyone who took time and shared information. Your experiences were confirmed. I will be posting a story here and I have submitted pictures with a write up to Hunting Fool magazine. Mark and I had a simple approach to avoid the drama and for the most part it worked. It took me 16 days and Mark, 30 days, to harvest. Dave's rifle did well on both! The hunt itself proved to be a different experience and like nothing I thought it would be. There was no forcing success. Bison are big of which I would have been terribly under resourced with out the help of Mark's brothers, Kevin Wilson and Dean Dunaway. Dean proved to be a consummate professional and remained helpful for over 30 days providing updated information and locations for us to use. Frankly, give Dean a call. I am thankful I don't have to do it again, but I would if I could as I never wanted to shoot out of an enclosure. The GC NPS Enforcement was helpful each time they were called and like AZ GFD very aware of the previous issues during this hunt of which feed back was given. Per GC NPS biologist, another capture is coming up in September. It is my understanding that the goal is to manage the herd at 200 animals and current estimates are 330. Good news for bull hunters is that they are not good candidates for relocation due to size. 3 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bird Dog Report post Posted August 21 BTW: I check 594 lbs of meat to Casey's Processing, no ribs, hooves or spine only leg bones present. "Dave's" bull scored 122" B&C. I am very fortunate to have been able to share camp with accomplished hunters and persons like the "Slone" family. This has been truly a "Once and a Life Time" experience for me. I would not change a thing about the approach except......... I wish I had more time around the camp with these fellas! Can not say enough about Dean and his efforts while Mark and I monitored our locations. Here is Mark's nice bull as well! Congrats to Mark for his steady perseverance for 30 days! 4 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
