double_a85
Member
Good luck Randy and Bernie! Can't wait to hear how today goes.
Salute to a Marine
- Thread starter Big Fin
- Start date
Nameless Range
Well-known member
Good luck! Enjoy the hunt
hornart
New member
Thank you so much Randy, I know how much the work to help Bernie is, but the rewards are worth so much more. I hope you have the best time and Congrats to the both of you for what you have achieved. I will be taking a Vietnam Veteran with me again this fall, hoping to put him on his first bull elk, He is also disabled from his wounds, so I know how much work you are going thru, but I also applaud you and Admire you for what you are doing to help a Fellow Marine and Hero, Many Thanks
Nemont
Well-known member
Randy you are a great friend.
I cannot wait to see this play out. Best of luck and please keep us posted as soon as possible.
Nemont
I cannot wait to see this play out. Best of luck and please keep us posted as soon as possible.
Nemont
TheShootist.41
Banned
Thank you, Mr Newberg for remembering the sacrifices veterans have made for their country and countrymen. Best of luck, Bernie!
Just when we thought we had "Big Hank" dead, something like this happens. I'll try to explain.
At early morning, Hank was about 500 yards out. Off to his left were a doe and a fawn. We had watched them all morning and they finally bedded. The does being about 150 yards off to the side. The big boy was facing away and the wind was perfect.
We tried to close the distance in hopes we could get under 250, preferably 200 yards. I am sure it will look kind of funny in the footage. Me holding the cow in front of us, Bernies' rifle, tripod, and chair on my back, with Bernie plodding behind as best he could in this tall grass and uneven surface.
Things were looking good, until we got close such that the Moo Coy decoy lost its two dimensional profile to the doe. Once we were no longer perfectly perpendicular to her, she sensed something was afoul. She could see the procession more from the side, than from the front.
She jumped up, snorted and got her fawn to stand. That was enough to get the buck to look their direction and investigate the ongoings. The doe and fawn took off to the far corner of the state lands. Not even looking our direction, the buck trotted toward them, hedging his bet that the doe knew more than he did. Good move on his part.
No way we could hike the 1.5 miles to where they were now. Just too far for a guy in Bernie's condition. All I could do is retreat back to the truck. I took out the big spotter and we watched until he bedded again, maybe a half hour later.
It was now about 9:30AM. They would most likely stay bedded most the day, as there was no public access and no roads over to that part of the unit, so they were most likely going to stay undisturbed for the day.
The decision was made to go look at some other country that we had not been able to hit in our scouting. That was a contribution to the companies selling fuel and truck parts, and not at all beneficial to our hunting. One small buck was spotted, but to no avail.
We decided to head back to see if the other buck was still bedded. Nope, he was up on his feet. Coming toward our prior location. Unfortunately, a hunter and his two helpers were making their way straight west toward the antelope.
Seeing that, we moved further north and got Bernie set up in his chair along the same little swale this buck had crossed at every time we had seen him. The buck was about 600 yards and the doe was leading him our direction. If they stayed far enough north, they would stay out of range of the hunter and his two helpers.
This was looking too good to be true. And, it was.
The doe lead them more to our south, putting them within about 350 yards of the other hunters. Two shots rang out as I was glassing the buck. Good news being, the buck just trotted off, obviously unphased.
The doe charged away, taking her fawn right toward us. They stopped at about 350 yards to check us out. The buck had now looped out north and west away from the other hunter, but was quickly coming back toward the doe and fawn.
I ranged the doe and fawn to be 320 yards straight west of us. South/southeast of her about 400+ yards were the other hunter and his helpers. This was going to be interesting.
Would the buck come to us by heading straight east, or would he make himself a target to the hunters who were to his south/southeast? Either way, it appeared one of us were going to get a shot.
The buck came to where the doe had been. Like her, he stopped and looked straight at us. I watched through the binos as he tried to figure out what we were. I panned to my left and could see the other hunter setting up for a shot. The buck seemed closer to us, than to them. I might be wrong, but I suspect they knew if the buck came any closer to us, we would be shooting and the angle of their shot would be too dangerous.
I told Mike to keep the camera on the buck. As I watched, I saw the buck stumbled and then heard the impact of a bullet. The buck did a nose "drive" with his back legs going like crazy, but his front legs not able to work real well. I could see the bullet had hit pretty low, but had broken both front legs. The hunters then covered the ground needed for a finishing shot.
Damn the luck. Such is public land hunting. What had made that buck get up out of his bed and come back to his former location is beyond me. Good for the hunter who happened to be there when the buck sauntered over. And good for him to make the shot he did, as it was his last opportunity.
Unfortunately, one of the two big bucks we had been scouting was now off the table. I think I was more depressed than Bernie.
I asked Mike to follow me out to where the group had gathered to admire the buck. The guy was a true gentleman and a big fan of the TV show. He knew who we were long before we got to the location. He was very happy, and as you can see by the pics, he should be.
He did not want to be in any footage, so when the episode is edited, you will see me holding the buck with the hunter in the background talking. He was willing to pose for some pics. We told some stories, gave him some big congratulations, then headed back to the truck where Bernie was waiting for us.
Following this strange set of events, we know of one more really good buck that is trotting around with a big batch of does. Not sure how we will get in on them, but we will go and try. Saw three other hunters fill their tags this morning, so at this rate, we should have the place to ourselves.
Here is a diagram of the set up of how this unfolded and where each party was at the time the buck was hit. The buck was standing broadside to them, straight toward us, at the time of the last shot. Thanks to Mike for his handy skills with a computer.
And here are a couple shots of the buck and the happy hunter. He had been run over by a bus in Mexico and his story of that experience is another reason I don't have any immediate plans to visit Mexico. Congrats to Rick. He deserved it.
As disappointing as such result is, it sure adds a lot to the storyline. Can't make this stuff up. Just have to be out on the public lands with cameras rolling and the stories take care of themselves.
At early morning, Hank was about 500 yards out. Off to his left were a doe and a fawn. We had watched them all morning and they finally bedded. The does being about 150 yards off to the side. The big boy was facing away and the wind was perfect.
We tried to close the distance in hopes we could get under 250, preferably 200 yards. I am sure it will look kind of funny in the footage. Me holding the cow in front of us, Bernies' rifle, tripod, and chair on my back, with Bernie plodding behind as best he could in this tall grass and uneven surface.
Things were looking good, until we got close such that the Moo Coy decoy lost its two dimensional profile to the doe. Once we were no longer perfectly perpendicular to her, she sensed something was afoul. She could see the procession more from the side, than from the front.
She jumped up, snorted and got her fawn to stand. That was enough to get the buck to look their direction and investigate the ongoings. The doe and fawn took off to the far corner of the state lands. Not even looking our direction, the buck trotted toward them, hedging his bet that the doe knew more than he did. Good move on his part.
No way we could hike the 1.5 miles to where they were now. Just too far for a guy in Bernie's condition. All I could do is retreat back to the truck. I took out the big spotter and we watched until he bedded again, maybe a half hour later.
It was now about 9:30AM. They would most likely stay bedded most the day, as there was no public access and no roads over to that part of the unit, so they were most likely going to stay undisturbed for the day.
The decision was made to go look at some other country that we had not been able to hit in our scouting. That was a contribution to the companies selling fuel and truck parts, and not at all beneficial to our hunting. One small buck was spotted, but to no avail.
We decided to head back to see if the other buck was still bedded. Nope, he was up on his feet. Coming toward our prior location. Unfortunately, a hunter and his two helpers were making their way straight west toward the antelope.
Seeing that, we moved further north and got Bernie set up in his chair along the same little swale this buck had crossed at every time we had seen him. The buck was about 600 yards and the doe was leading him our direction. If they stayed far enough north, they would stay out of range of the hunter and his two helpers.
This was looking too good to be true. And, it was.
The doe lead them more to our south, putting them within about 350 yards of the other hunters. Two shots rang out as I was glassing the buck. Good news being, the buck just trotted off, obviously unphased.
The doe charged away, taking her fawn right toward us. They stopped at about 350 yards to check us out. The buck had now looped out north and west away from the other hunter, but was quickly coming back toward the doe and fawn.
I ranged the doe and fawn to be 320 yards straight west of us. South/southeast of her about 400+ yards were the other hunter and his helpers. This was going to be interesting.
Would the buck come to us by heading straight east, or would he make himself a target to the hunters who were to his south/southeast? Either way, it appeared one of us were going to get a shot.
The buck came to where the doe had been. Like her, he stopped and looked straight at us. I watched through the binos as he tried to figure out what we were. I panned to my left and could see the other hunter setting up for a shot. The buck seemed closer to us, than to them. I might be wrong, but I suspect they knew if the buck came any closer to us, we would be shooting and the angle of their shot would be too dangerous.
I told Mike to keep the camera on the buck. As I watched, I saw the buck stumbled and then heard the impact of a bullet. The buck did a nose "drive" with his back legs going like crazy, but his front legs not able to work real well. I could see the bullet had hit pretty low, but had broken both front legs. The hunters then covered the ground needed for a finishing shot.
Damn the luck. Such is public land hunting. What had made that buck get up out of his bed and come back to his former location is beyond me. Good for the hunter who happened to be there when the buck sauntered over. And good for him to make the shot he did, as it was his last opportunity.
Unfortunately, one of the two big bucks we had been scouting was now off the table. I think I was more depressed than Bernie.
I asked Mike to follow me out to where the group had gathered to admire the buck. The guy was a true gentleman and a big fan of the TV show. He knew who we were long before we got to the location. He was very happy, and as you can see by the pics, he should be.
He did not want to be in any footage, so when the episode is edited, you will see me holding the buck with the hunter in the background talking. He was willing to pose for some pics. We told some stories, gave him some big congratulations, then headed back to the truck where Bernie was waiting for us.
Following this strange set of events, we know of one more really good buck that is trotting around with a big batch of does. Not sure how we will get in on them, but we will go and try. Saw three other hunters fill their tags this morning, so at this rate, we should have the place to ourselves.
Here is a diagram of the set up of how this unfolded and where each party was at the time the buck was hit. The buck was standing broadside to them, straight toward us, at the time of the last shot. Thanks to Mike for his handy skills with a computer.
And here are a couple shots of the buck and the happy hunter. He had been run over by a bus in Mexico and his story of that experience is another reason I don't have any immediate plans to visit Mexico. Congrats to Rick. He deserved it.
As disappointing as such result is, it sure adds a lot to the storyline. Can't make this stuff up. Just have to be out on the public lands with cameras rolling and the stories take care of themselves.
mdunc8
Well-known member
Bummer. Sounds like more opportunities waiting for y'all though. Just curious, how tall do you think that buck was?
T Bone
Well-known member
Excellent story so far Randy. Keep after them, it'll come together.
The guide measured the long horn at 15 7/8 and the short horn at 15 4/8.
mdunc8
Well-known member
Reaffirms how bad I am at judging antelope
. He's a great buck for sure, but I would have guessed him to be a little taller. I need more practice, so find me another big one to judge 
elkantlers
Well-known member
Hope you guys have the best of luck. I am sure it will all come together shortly.
Lots of average bucks and below average bucks running around like their butts are on fire. One truck has a husband wife who are 79 and 80 years old. Pops got his buck this morning and Mom got "some shots." She was smiling big, having shot four pronghorns on prior hunts. Seeing that makes a guy smile. Good on their son for taking them out here. I'll be lucky to even live to that age, let alone hunt until that age.
Met some other guys who have been working hard. They have one tag. Their young helper, Hunter, recognized me from the TV show. He is 14 and has an elk and oryx tag for this year. Was a ton of fun to visit with him and give him some DVDs. His sharp eyes and enthusiasm should help those guys have even more fun.
We saw a big flock out on the very bottom of the plains. Will leave the perch and go check them out. Still cannot locate that other big buck. Hard to imagine, given they are a big herd. But, last time we saw them, they were right on the public/private boundary. So, they could easily be on private at this time.
Met some other guys who have been working hard. They have one tag. Their young helper, Hunter, recognized me from the TV show. He is 14 and has an elk and oryx tag for this year. Was a ton of fun to visit with him and give him some DVDs. His sharp eyes and enthusiasm should help those guys have even more fun.
We saw a big flock out on the very bottom of the plains. Will leave the perch and go check them out. Still cannot locate that other big buck. Hard to imagine, given they are a big herd. But, last time we saw them, they were right on the public/private boundary. So, they could easily be on private at this time.
ashersdad
Well-known member
Sounds like a lot of fun so far. Good luck Bernie.
