Monday, March 25, 2013
2013 Antelope Hunts
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Persistence...
So, here is a question I get asked often. "Do you think 7 days is long enough to kill a big buck?" There is no right answer. When hunters show up in camp, usually the day before the start of their hunt, we are always as prepared as we can possibly ever be. If it is the eve before the start of the rifle hunt, then we have been working on that hunt since late June! That's almost 4 1/2 months! We have scouted, found, patterned, and done our level best to learn about and form a plan to kill the very biggest bucks in the unit. That said we are still chasing a free ranging, smart, educated critter that has beaten EVERY predator that it has come in contact with for most of a decade. It is not easy and no amount of preparation will guarantee squat! So when hunters ask the above question I answer something like this. "If we come prepared, hunt smart, and stay persistent, odds are we will get a chance at this buck." I am certain that every last accomplished deer hunter or guide would agree that persistence is the greatest weapon one can posses.
I know of a buck right now that should easily pass the 230" gross mark in 2013. He lives in horribly thick and flat country. I have seen this buck three times working the edge of the only clearing in his area. In fact, I saw him multiple times over several months in the exact same spot! I know for a fact that if a hunter simply sat on a rock and waited for that buck to pop out of the trees he would kill him within 7 days. I would put the odds at 90%+ of killing him. But....rare is the hunter that would be willing to sit in the exact same spot each day, for days on end, with a Strip tag smoldering in his pocket getting hotter by the day. Rare indeed...even if his odds of killing a 230" incher where higher doing that than anything else he could be doing! Everyone is game for it...for two days...after which their brain will get the best of them and they will abandon ship for greener buck pastures, which most of the time don't exist. Persistence is the keenest weapon a Strip hunter can bring with them..
The season of 2011, John Holbrook drew his 13B tag. He booked with us. We crossed canyons, climbed mountains, had two windy snow storms as the week withered away around us. Assistants Bob Dykeman, Ben Wells, hunter John and myself hunted as hard as we could for 7 straight days before we finally laid eyes on the buck we were after. In a 40 mph ripping cold wind on the last morning of the hunt, John made good on a 360 yard shot and claimed his gigantic 239" incher. Persistence baby.
Last year on the 13B rifle hunt, I was hunting with Rick from California. Rick was a high strung, tight wound type, not unlike myself. We started a tough hunt and it got tougher by the day. 2012 was a terrible drought year and big deer were few and far between. We nearly killed ourselves looking for "Curly". Curly was a huge framed buck that was estimated at 220" and was one of the biggest bucks in the whole unit that year. Unfortunately, he lived in a popular area. Hunter pressure and thick country put Curly in hiding. We stayed with it, didn't lose focus, and on day 6 Curly walked out of the trees into Rick's waiting crosshairs. The day before our scheduled time together was to end. Persistence pays.
In 2011, Mike M. came from Colorado to hunt with us. Mike was an accomplished trophy hunter and was laser focused on holding out for a huge buck we had found and called "OneEye". This buck lived in what we call "low odds country" or terrain that is incredibly advantageous to the deer and not us. Flat, thick tree's and and a shortage of useful vantage points were a few of the words I used to describe the country to Mike before his arrival. I wanted him to show up ready for a long, grueling and low odds hunt for a giant deer. Shortly after daylight on day two we were gleefully taking kill pictures of One Eye as he lay before us. Persistence in scouting paid off...
Also in 2011, Mark and Jeff from California came to archery hunt with us. These two guys were DIY to the bone, but realized the importance of the Strip tag they held. They researched and hired us and a plan was in place when opening day arrived. Both hunters were game for whatever it took to be successful. The hunt was a hot and bug infested experience for all of us. On day 3 Mark arrowed an absolute freak giant that grossed 226" and change. Jeff was not as fortunate right off. We hunted and hunted and had some narrow escapes on a couple of bucks that were flat huge, including a mega wide 36" clean typical. Jeff never weakened an ounce. He got up everyday at 3:00 am, hunted his guts out and killed a smokin big 5x5 on day 16!! Persistence in it's purest form....
In 2010, a lady named Leisa drew the 13A rifle tag. This was Leisa's first big game hunt and first deer tag ever! She was accompanied by her husband Todd. Todd is an energetic sort that is down for anything and Leisa seemed to be the same way. We had just finished the 13B hunt and believed that a huge buck had crossed the unit line and escaped into 13A. We formed a plan around this belief, got up extra early opening morning and started the hunt. 6 hours later we all stood around Leisa's first Mule Deer buck. He was a pretty nice one but was a little bit smaller than we expected. But all that mattered was that Leisa was happy with him and she was! The buck grossed a bit over 230" and had 15 scorable points! Ha! Persistence that carried over from the week prior put this buck on the ground...
Hunter Larry and AZSB guide Bryon Goswick had endured a long week of frustrating deer hunting in 13B. The giant that they chose to hunt lived in one of the most popular areas on the whole unit. 25% of the 60 total hunters would venture into this country based solely on it's reputation. A few even knew of the same buck and were looking specifically for him. Bryon has seen it all, done it all and is as a solid a deer hunter as walks the earth in my opinion. They made a plan, stuck to it, and kept Larry interested as his spirits waned. Several hunters and no buck was the diet, day in day out. But Bryon knew the country. He knew from killing huge bucks in this same location that you can go days without seeing the buck all the while he is right there the whole time. Finally, late in the hunt, the extremely massive 4x6 stepped to the edge of the thick and Larry hammered him. Persistence against, and outlasting the other hunters, paid off again.
Back in 2006, a very good friend drew his own rifle tag in 13B. I opted out of guiding commitments to help him kill his whopper Arizona buck. AZSB Guide Bryon Goswick had found a awesome buck just a few days before. Big frame and some long extras. Three of us started looking for him at daylight opening morning. An hour and a half later we were celebrating over the dead buck! He lived in super tough country too! Things just came together, a long distance spot was made, a hasty stalk through thick trees and a quick shot threw a small lane and the 227" incher was ours. 7 days was plenty long enough for this one.
I could go on and on with story after story of how persistence has payed off huge for us in the past, but there is plenty of evidence above. So when a prospective client asks "Do you think 7 days is enough to get it done?" I truly don't know the answer. When you decide to "go big or go home" it becomes a totally unpredicatable experience. If you show up with only one thing in your warbag make sure it is persistence. Almost all things can be overcome with enough persistence.
I know of a buck right now that should easily pass the 230" gross mark in 2013. He lives in horribly thick and flat country. I have seen this buck three times working the edge of the only clearing in his area. In fact, I saw him multiple times over several months in the exact same spot! I know for a fact that if a hunter simply sat on a rock and waited for that buck to pop out of the trees he would kill him within 7 days. I would put the odds at 90%+ of killing him. But....rare is the hunter that would be willing to sit in the exact same spot each day, for days on end, with a Strip tag smoldering in his pocket getting hotter by the day. Rare indeed...even if his odds of killing a 230" incher where higher doing that than anything else he could be doing! Everyone is game for it...for two days...after which their brain will get the best of them and they will abandon ship for greener buck pastures, which most of the time don't exist. Persistence is the keenest weapon a Strip hunter can bring with them..
The season of 2011, John Holbrook drew his 13B tag. He booked with us. We crossed canyons, climbed mountains, had two windy snow storms as the week withered away around us. Assistants Bob Dykeman, Ben Wells, hunter John and myself hunted as hard as we could for 7 straight days before we finally laid eyes on the buck we were after. In a 40 mph ripping cold wind on the last morning of the hunt, John made good on a 360 yard shot and claimed his gigantic 239" incher. Persistence baby.
John H and his last day 239" buck.
Last year on the 13B archery hunt we got a 2 inch flood two days before the hunt started. This is a terrible event to a trophy Mule Deer hunter so close to the hunt. Lots of water equals lots of places for deer to go and live. Which can, in turn, lead to broken buck patterns and broken hunter dreams. AZSB guide Bob Dykeman, and hunter Gary from Pennsylvania, never broke stride. They had a giant buck picked out that we had watched all year, considered all the options and simply went and killed a huge velvet monster that grossed over 220" on opening morning. Persistence in planning...
Gary's 220+ opening morning buck!
Last year on the 13B rifle hunt, I was hunting with Rick from California. Rick was a high strung, tight wound type, not unlike myself. We started a tough hunt and it got tougher by the day. 2012 was a terrible drought year and big deer were few and far between. We nearly killed ourselves looking for "Curly". Curly was a huge framed buck that was estimated at 220" and was one of the biggest bucks in the whole unit that year. Unfortunately, he lived in a popular area. Hunter pressure and thick country put Curly in hiding. We stayed with it, didn't lose focus, and on day 6 Curly walked out of the trees into Rick's waiting crosshairs. The day before our scheduled time together was to end. Persistence pays.
Ricks and Curly. 220+ buck killed toward the hunts end.
In 2011, Mike M. came from Colorado to hunt with us. Mike was an accomplished trophy hunter and was laser focused on holding out for a huge buck we had found and called "OneEye". This buck lived in what we call "low odds country" or terrain that is incredibly advantageous to the deer and not us. Flat, thick tree's and and a shortage of useful vantage points were a few of the words I used to describe the country to Mike before his arrival. I wanted him to show up ready for a long, grueling and low odds hunt for a giant deer. Shortly after daylight on day two we were gleefully taking kill pictures of One Eye as he lay before us. Persistence in scouting paid off...
Mike and his second day 230+ Giant!
Also in 2011, Mark and Jeff from California came to archery hunt with us. These two guys were DIY to the bone, but realized the importance of the Strip tag they held. They researched and hired us and a plan was in place when opening day arrived. Both hunters were game for whatever it took to be successful. The hunt was a hot and bug infested experience for all of us. On day 3 Mark arrowed an absolute freak giant that grossed 226" and change. Jeff was not as fortunate right off. We hunted and hunted and had some narrow escapes on a couple of bucks that were flat huge, including a mega wide 36" clean typical. Jeff never weakened an ounce. He got up everyday at 3:00 am, hunted his guts out and killed a smokin big 5x5 on day 16!! Persistence in it's purest form....
Jeff H. and his awesome 16th day buck!
Mark W. and his 3rd day freak of nature!
In 2010, a lady named Leisa drew the 13A rifle tag. This was Leisa's first big game hunt and first deer tag ever! She was accompanied by her husband Todd. Todd is an energetic sort that is down for anything and Leisa seemed to be the same way. We had just finished the 13B hunt and believed that a huge buck had crossed the unit line and escaped into 13A. We formed a plan around this belief, got up extra early opening morning and started the hunt. 6 hours later we all stood around Leisa's first Mule Deer buck. He was a pretty nice one but was a little bit smaller than we expected. But all that mattered was that Leisa was happy with him and she was! The buck grossed a bit over 230" and had 15 scorable points! Ha! Persistence that carried over from the week prior put this buck on the ground...
Leisa and her first big game animal ever! 230"+
Hunter Larry and AZSB guide Bryon Goswick had endured a long week of frustrating deer hunting in 13B. The giant that they chose to hunt lived in one of the most popular areas on the whole unit. 25% of the 60 total hunters would venture into this country based solely on it's reputation. A few even knew of the same buck and were looking specifically for him. Bryon has seen it all, done it all and is as a solid a deer hunter as walks the earth in my opinion. They made a plan, stuck to it, and kept Larry interested as his spirits waned. Several hunters and no buck was the diet, day in day out. But Bryon knew the country. He knew from killing huge bucks in this same location that you can go days without seeing the buck all the while he is right there the whole time. Finally, late in the hunt, the extremely massive 4x6 stepped to the edge of the thick and Larry hammered him. Persistence against, and outlasting the other hunters, paid off again.
Larry Foutz and his ultra heavy buck killed late in the hunt. 210"+
Back in 2006, a very good friend drew his own rifle tag in 13B. I opted out of guiding commitments to help him kill his whopper Arizona buck. AZSB Guide Bryon Goswick had found a awesome buck just a few days before. Big frame and some long extras. Three of us started looking for him at daylight opening morning. An hour and a half later we were celebrating over the dead buck! He lived in super tough country too! Things just came together, a long distance spot was made, a hasty stalk through thick trees and a quick shot threw a small lane and the 227" incher was ours. 7 days was plenty long enough for this one.
I could go on and on with story after story of how persistence has payed off huge for us in the past, but there is plenty of evidence above. So when a prospective client asks "Do you think 7 days is enough to get it done?" I truly don't know the answer. When you decide to "go big or go home" it becomes a totally unpredicatable experience. If you show up with only one thing in your warbag make sure it is persistence. Almost all things can be overcome with enough persistence.
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