squirrel
Well-known member
- Joined
- Dec 29, 2013
- Messages
- 696
While I'm logged in here I might as well kick the dog house and see if anyone is still home...
So I was peacefully sheep hunting my bushy little tail off and I had catastrophic hunting partner failure (from the neck up) The text read that his death was imminent if not returned to TV, hot water and Mama immediately. And since we had car-pooled and had a decadent amount of gear packed in for an extensive sheep adventure, I was in a squirrel pickle, about to have way too much crap in the backcountry and way too many llamas for a one man adventure.
Sooo... I got him back and swore for the 500th time NEVER AGAIN to take someone on an important hunt. Having a couple extra days I packed in my muzzy camp while I still had some llamas to do the work.
Day before the opener I got all my llamas paired up with their lessors and hiked in to my set-up camp with several hours before dark to relax. Soon as I dumped my backpack a bugle erupted WAY to close for comfort- about 100 yards away. I snuck away and above to watch a bull I named Satan (because he was a tempter) about a 310-320 bull with 6 cows screaming his head off with an all-too-rare favorable wind for over two hours just 75 yards from my tent, as I cowered inside trying not to emit any stink.
The next morning I spooked him as I crawled out of the tent before I even had the gun loaded, he didn't run just looked at me and walked off as I spilled powder everywhere!
Hung out for a few days watching 10-20 bulls/day, lots of fights but 0 talking going on, the girls exiting past the same point every am about 6:55-7:05. On about the 3rd evening the second best bull in the basin took control of them and the screaming was non-stop all night, making me think Satan would move in to show him who was boss and I should be in position to whack him in the morning.
1-1/2 hrs before daylight I moved to the intercept point with a strong favorable wind and at 7:00 right on queue #2 bull followed his girls past at 70 yards, posing for a postcard ending and tempting past my limits (it helped my decision seeing another hunter 100 yards farther down the trail who was going to whack him if I passed!)
He had but a single brow (which I knew from scoping him earlier) but not a bad bull. I got 340# of boneless bull off of him, all peppered up and stored in the nearest trees awaiting some llamas to be returned, and had to press my faithful lab into assisting as well as my own fat ass. Princess thought this was funny as I feed 19 llamas and yet had to pack meat on my own back, the word stupid was used more than once as I recall...
I'm pretty sure Satan is up there smiling that I eliminated his closest competition.
So I was peacefully sheep hunting my bushy little tail off and I had catastrophic hunting partner failure (from the neck up) The text read that his death was imminent if not returned to TV, hot water and Mama immediately. And since we had car-pooled and had a decadent amount of gear packed in for an extensive sheep adventure, I was in a squirrel pickle, about to have way too much crap in the backcountry and way too many llamas for a one man adventure.
Sooo... I got him back and swore for the 500th time NEVER AGAIN to take someone on an important hunt. Having a couple extra days I packed in my muzzy camp while I still had some llamas to do the work.
Day before the opener I got all my llamas paired up with their lessors and hiked in to my set-up camp with several hours before dark to relax. Soon as I dumped my backpack a bugle erupted WAY to close for comfort- about 100 yards away. I snuck away and above to watch a bull I named Satan (because he was a tempter) about a 310-320 bull with 6 cows screaming his head off with an all-too-rare favorable wind for over two hours just 75 yards from my tent, as I cowered inside trying not to emit any stink.
The next morning I spooked him as I crawled out of the tent before I even had the gun loaded, he didn't run just looked at me and walked off as I spilled powder everywhere!
Hung out for a few days watching 10-20 bulls/day, lots of fights but 0 talking going on, the girls exiting past the same point every am about 6:55-7:05. On about the 3rd evening the second best bull in the basin took control of them and the screaming was non-stop all night, making me think Satan would move in to show him who was boss and I should be in position to whack him in the morning.
1-1/2 hrs before daylight I moved to the intercept point with a strong favorable wind and at 7:00 right on queue #2 bull followed his girls past at 70 yards, posing for a postcard ending and tempting past my limits (it helped my decision seeing another hunter 100 yards farther down the trail who was going to whack him if I passed!)
He had but a single brow (which I knew from scoping him earlier) but not a bad bull. I got 340# of boneless bull off of him, all peppered up and stored in the nearest trees awaiting some llamas to be returned, and had to press my faithful lab into assisting as well as my own fat ass. Princess thought this was funny as I feed 19 llamas and yet had to pack meat on my own back, the word stupid was used more than once as I recall...
I'm pretty sure Satan is up there smiling that I eliminated his closest competition.
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