Pre Season Post

Well, this will be the last post before the Strip rifle hunts. Once the hunts start on November 9th we will have accumulated over 100 total man days of scouting amongst us all. We have hit it as hard as humanly possible and here is our prediction.

13B, which is first, should be good and solid. We have found a handful of various bucks that we want to harvest and have been seeing them regularly. My hopes are high that we will harvest a few bucks between 200" and 220". There is no doubt that the May/June drought smacked the Strip deer hard and antler growth is significantly down. Anyone that thinks differently is in denial or hasn't ever seen it on a normal year. 200" type bucks are a extreme rarity this year, no question. That said , there will be a few 200 gross bucks killed in B this year, but not as many as the last few seasons. This is tough on the unlucky tag holders that do not encounter the buck they have been dreaming of, but as good friend said the other day, "the deer need to win sometimes too." This is a true statement and I hope some of the other hunters elect to pass up some of the lesser bucks and not shoot one simply because they haven't seen a big one. With the predicted carry-over and unreal moisture we have had since the monsoon started, the stage is certainly set for stellar year next season. We will obviously need the winter and spring moisture, but the herd as a whole will be going into winter in phenomenal body condition and this will provide the foundation for huge horns next year.

13A is similar. We have seen a small handful of 200 inchers. There are fewer big bucks in A for sure as well. We have been able to keep track of a few we hope to harvest. The rut should also be strongly building by the opener and this will hopefully bring a few more out of the thick stuff. The hunter pressure in A is usually heavier and may be fierce due to the limited number of big bucks this year. This pressure is not new to us and we plan for it.

Overall, the 2012 season will go down in the books as one of the tougher hunts the Strip has experienced in recent years. However, our spirits are not dampened and we will pull out all the stops and hunt as hard as we possibly can. This mindset of persistence will be our focus and it almost always leads us to success. To all our fellow hunters across this great state, good luck and be safe. We will check back in when the dust settles....

Allen's 2012 Early Rifle Bull Hunt

My brother Allen drew the early rifle bull tag in unit 10 this year and we were obviously stoked at the chance to harvest a monster bull. We commenced our scouting right after we got done with the Strip bowhunt. As with all game this year they are spread thin due to the unreal feed quality and water standing in virtually every draw and canyon. The bulls antlers appeared to be affected by the May/June drought, but not as bad as the Strip deer have been. It seemed that some bulls fared better in some areas with others looking very droughty with poor back ends and thin mass. We did see a few of bulls over 380" among all of our help and finally found a true giant of a 6x6 that we intended to harvest if given the chance.

 A couple of days before the hunt was to start I checked a small and obscure spot that was much more suited to Antelope than it was to a big bull. I slept under the stars listening for bugles and hearing none, my hopes were not high as daylight came. I dropped off a ridge into a shallow draw that led down to a dirt tank and was surprised to see a dozen elk feeding across from me at 200 yards. The next image is one that will be burned into my brain forever. The sight of this bull walking from right to left with this gigantic freak antler toward me! My first thought was "That thing looks prehistoric"! His huge 7 point right side was overshadowed by the enormous palmated mass on his left horn! I was able to video him for 30 minutes before they slipped out of sight up the draw.

I raced back to camp 30 miles away and showed the video to the guys. It was a unanimous decision, this was the bull we were gonna hunt. Even though we couldn't decide what we thought he would score, it was plain to see he was a giant and unique in every way. We packed up our camp and made the move over to his area. The tale of the actual hunt was fairly straight forward. We watched the bull rut cows until dark on the eve of the opener and went to bed confident that our hunt was going to be over in the morning. With the only high point being 4.5 miles away, Allen and I awaited daylight while Bob Dykeman, Casey Carr and Ben Wells watched from afar through the big glass. It took a while to find the bedded cows bedded in a small depression invisible from anywhere besides standing on top of them. At 4:45 PM they got up to feed and a couple of rifle shots later the bull was ours.

 We could not have been happier. As Allen and I approached the dead bull we realized just how fortunate we were to be standing over this incredible animal. To have gotten to share this hunt with our close friends and to take such a awesome bull was an incredible experience. His incredible size was only icing on the cake. Our hunting schedule is full throttle and non-stop from July thru January. What a nice break to slow down a bit and go hunt with family and friends. I only wish these opportunities came around a little more often!

 To Allen Schimberg, Bob Dykeman, Casey Carr, Ben Wells, Ron Halford, Todd Geiler, Scott Westlake, Brooks Cameron, Dan and Cheri Lynn Martin and all the others that contributed to this month long adventure, thank you all so much. It won't be forgotten anytime soon! God Bless....Matt