Bison reports

[WhtMtnHunter]

4 hours ago, MT_Sourdough said:

Be aware, if you are not paying Russ, there is no guarantee that he will be there.  I put all my eggs in the basket of working with the Russ program as a non paying, but cooperating hunter and panning to leave a decent tip.  

Well, by leaving all my eggs in that basket, I never prescouted out of courtesy to other hunters.  As it turned out, Russ was on a sheep hunt.  Us bison hunters ended up going at it primarily on our own and I was hunting in an area I had never been before.  I figured it out and killed on day four.  Once again, I was on my own butchering my bison without any help.  

So, unless you are hiring Russ, you should not assume he will be there.  Heads up!

Tons of horror stories by co-op guys who were told not to scout, not to worry, Russ would take care of everything, he would provide all the scouting and game camera pics for free, and would help pack out.  My advice: treat this hunt the same as you would every other hunt.  Scout a lot before the hunt, put up your own game cameras, start your own salt licks, and plan on getting zero help when you tag out.  

[CatfishKev]

Yeah, I've been torn on going diy or assimilate. Everything in me screems do your own thing, but the nice guy in me don't want to mess up anyone else's hunts.  I want to do my own thing but also don't wanna be a selfish a$$hole. 

[CatfishKev]

Any suggestions on how long before my hunt to set licks and cams? And how much salt should I put out per spot?

[Heat]

Most of the salt stations Russ is running have one, maybe two 50# white blocks.  When they hit it, they hit it pretty hard.  I would think it could be tough to draw them to new areas but I really dont know.  Russ wasn't around much for our hunt either but his nephew Cody was.  He was a great kid.  Without the benefit of one of Russ' radios and Cody picking me up and moving me to the herd I probably would not have killed a bison.

[SpotNStalk]

So I did the co-op thing and Russ even met with me in flag to go over maps before the hunt . He talked to me about the co-op and what goes on up there. What I was told to expect is exactly how the hunt started . As the hunt went on things changed. I learned quickly for me to be successful was to take all the info I had and info given from previous hunters , Russ haters and Team Russ guys and do this myself. I noticed info started flowing one way when you walked in and out of Russ's trailer and some of the things that I was told wasn’t happening. The things “not to do” he or his crew were doing. A few of us stayed together and traded info as the hunt was going on and as we left and came back. All 3 of us tagged out. If you know how to hunt and can gather the info for all the tanks you can do this on your own. There’s enough previous hunters willing to give info needed to be successful on this hunt. I’m not a Russ hater but I don’t agree with how things are going down up there. Dont be afraid to do you. Don’t allow him or crew to dictate how your hunt goes down.