# Holy Cow! (bison cow that is). My wife is an alternate.



## Charina (Aug 16, 2011)

I am so jealous! I just received an email that my wife is the next alternate for a Henry's cow bison tag for the first week of January. I'd have to look it up, but offhand, I think she has 4 or 5 points only. So, this is an unexpectedly early gift. 

If it were my tag, I would very likely take it given how few points, and how far off it may be until I draw with the herd being culled. Being that its my wife, and she isn't nearly as enthusiastic a hunter as myself, nor as experienced, she is interested, but hesitant. The DWR's warning about the hunt: "This hunt will test the most experienced and prepared hunters." "Horses may be necessary to access areas where bison historically winter." 

She is contemplating if three months is enough to get into fit enough condition to hike several miles in snow, let alone the dire warnings about deep snow, impassable trails, difficult access, and "test" for experienced hunters. 

So, how rugged is this hunt, physically? I'm not so concerned about the packout. Yes, I know how extremely huge bison are (worked in a butcher shop 4.5 years, and we did work with boxed bison, which at times were massive parts compared to boxed beef). I can get it deboned and cooling pretty well, if I have a hand to deal with the massive body proportions, so time is on our side there. I packed out two elk in 72 hours solo this year, and have nothing against arranging for horses to come in and assist. Really, my question is whether or not I can get my wife (48, has not been doing conditioning for 6 years now), who is a really strong and tough person, but does have physical limitations and is out of shape, on a bison for a shot opportunity. Two miles is doable even if we left today. She's tough. But 4-5 miles on foot consecutive days through snow in rough terrain . . . that's uncertain at this point if she'd be ready.

You who have experienced this hunt, how physically demanding was it?


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## Vanilla (Dec 11, 2009)

This is one of the "emergency" hunts they approved last month. I have never hunted the Henry Mountains, but I did watch the discussion on these at the Board meeting. I would anticipate this to be a VERY tough hunt. But one that the DWR and the biologists down there might be pretty willing to give out information where the bison are located since they are doing this hunt hoping your wife kills her bison. 

All that said, at only 4 or 5 points, it might be the only chance she ever has to hunt them in her life. Passing this up might be passing up the opportunity to hunt bison at all. Tough call. 3 months is a lot of time to get in shape. It's not 12 months, but if she hit it hard, 3 months would be a good amount of time. 

If you have access to horses for the pack out, why not use those horses to hunt?


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## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

The late late hunt in January is an entirely different hunt that has a much lower success rate. From what I've heard, bison migrate south, down in the canyons around Lake Powell.

Get a guide that knows the migration patterns... or a buddy that owns an airplane.


-DallanC


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## Critter (Mar 20, 2010)

During the WB hunt when they were talking about this hunt they were also talking about the hunters needing horses and or snow machines. 

The December hunt can be brutal, I can just imagine what the January hunt will be like. The WB was so concerned about it that they opened up the boundaries into the Plateau/Boulder unit just in case the bison moved over into it.

I don't expect it to be a high success hunt.


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## johnnycake (Jul 19, 2011)

First, I'm one of the guys that will say with so few points take the tag and hunt it however you can. Better to have hunted and be unable to kill or even see a bison than to just sit behind the screen reading about those lucky enough to draw. But that is just me. 

That hunt is going to be tough, regardless of the weather, simply because those bison will have been hunted hard for months before she gets down there. I hunted the first late December cow hunt in 2012, after getting a call in mid-november offering me a tag as they had too many bison and created a new hunt. I had never set foot in the unit, figuring my 10 points was still a few years out before I'd draw. I also was working fulltime in one job, 20hrs at my own business, and going to BYU with 22 credit hours that semester--and my wife was 5 months pregnant with our first child. Hardly ideal timing. I hired Brett Guymon with High Top Outfitters, had an incredible time and would not hesitate to hire him/them again for a Henry's bison tag. My brother was able to join me, and we had snow machines and horses available if we had needed them (we didn't). Honestly, there was almost zero cost difference for me to hire the guide with all the bells and whistles versus renting snow machines and horses. 

There was a good amount of snow which made access tricky--but I got lucky and tagged out 4 hours into my first day hunting (December 27). Success rate on the late December hunt since then has ranged from the low 60s to the high 80s, which is one of the lowest rates for an OIAL hunt. 

My dad got a call last November when somebody turned in their late cow tag. He had 8 points and took the tag. There was zero snow, temps were in the high 60s low 70s and the unit looked completely different than when I hunted it (based on pics as I couldn't fly back to help on such short notice). He went down for 4 days at the opener with my brothers and some other relatives. They covered a lot of ground by splitting up and glassing likely areas. Didn't see a single bison in 4 days. I made some calls to people I knew (including my guide Brett who was AWESOME and very helpful). Almost all of the bison were way south in rough country according to the bios, and had been for more than a month before his hunt opened. We got some intel, he planned to go down for the last 5 days of the hunt and on December 27 he dropped an ancient cow several miles from the truck. 

Nobody can predict what this new/emergency January hunt regime will be like. But if you can afford it, hire a guide and have a blast. The cost is actually not that bad, and you could probably work out something where you hire them even for just a couple days maybe.


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## PBH (Nov 7, 2007)

I'm not jealous.

Hiking 4 miles is one thing.
Hiking 4 miles in the snow is another.
Hiking 4 miles in the snow and getting to where the bison are at? Oh dear...

This could be an amazing hunt. But the way our October has started, it could also be a hunt where you never step foot within 30 miles of a bison.

I do not envy you one bit.


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## Packout (Nov 20, 2007)

Well, I have to agree with PBH- every word. If the weather gets bad (not crazy bad, just bad) then you better have tracks on an ATV because you might not make it within many miles of a herd. But if the weather turns out ok then you might be golden.

So, you could take the tag and think about it. If you are uncomfortable, turn it in 31 days before the hunt and get her points and money back. That gives you a month to think about. Of course it doesn't benefit the next in line, but that is the system they give us to work with.

If it was for my wife we would probably say no. And I have horses and everything possible to get it done.


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## Charina (Aug 16, 2011)

I genuinely appreciate everyone's thoughts and flushing out various points I would have taken much longer to come up on my own than the tag purchase deadline of Monday. I'm leaning towards getting the tag, watch the weather and allow more time for research and lining up resources options. 

The decision is in her court now. 

Again, I much appreciate the help in the initial decision stage.


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## Charina (Aug 16, 2011)

Tag purchased! 

However, it turned out better than anticipated. Due to a tag being surrendered between then and now, the hunt is actually for the December 1-14 hunt! 

Getting pretty excited about the opportunity! Better get cracking on lining up resources, and getting some fitness plan in place.


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## CPAjeff (Dec 20, 2014)

Charina said:


> Tag purchased!
> 
> However, it turned out better than anticipated. Due to a tag being surrendered between then and now, the hunt is actually for the December 1-14 hunt!
> 
> Getting pretty excited about the opportunity! Better get cracking on lining up resources, and getting some fitness plan in place.


CONGRATS! Best of luck to you and your wife!


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## Critter (Mar 20, 2010)

I would make at least one trip down there and get familiar with the Cave Flat and Tarantula Mesa areas on the west and south west ends of the unit. 

That is the direction that they usually head. 

Good luck


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## Brookie (Oct 26, 2008)

My dad who is 70 has the same tag. We will see you down there. Should be fun. If we find them I'll PM you.


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## Vanilla (Dec 11, 2009)

Can’t wait for updates and pics! Good luck on what is one of my dream hunts.


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## Charina (Aug 16, 2011)

It was a difficult hunt. An even more difficult solo field dressing. And by far the most difficult solo packout I've ever done.


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## Critter (Mar 20, 2010)

Congrats on getting it done


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

Congratulations!!


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## Vanilla (Dec 11, 2009)

Bison solo? Holy crap Batman! 

Would love to hear the details. Congrats on getting it done.


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## 35whelen (Jul 3, 2012)

awesome! glad it payed off for you!


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## High Desert Elk (Aug 21, 2012)

Very nice - congrats!


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## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

Well someone earned their "Cred points" this year. LOL thats extremely remarkable and cool!


Congratulations!


-DallanC


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## johnnycake (Jul 19, 2011)

Nice!!!!


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## CPAjeff (Dec 20, 2014)

Congrats!


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## ns450f (Aug 28, 2018)

Nice job, I heard a few cows were taken in that blue hills WMA during the last week of the hunt, it was such a fun opportunity to go help my old man. I wish the DNR would tell people about that Blue Hills area.


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## shaner (Nov 30, 2007)

Well done to Charinas wife for the shot placement and to Charina for packing it out!!
I'm so glad she took the challenge and took the tag!
Want to trade a couple packages of bison meat for 18 moose points haha.


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## Charina (Aug 16, 2011)

Thanks for reading and commenting. ns450f, thanks for the hint that led me to the tracks to follow. Sorry I wasn't able to get over to help your dad. I didn't see any more bison on Thursday or Friday, or I would have pausedv the packout to go over and find him, but I guess he packed up a little bit early to head home.

When I have a chance to get to computer and have a little bit of time later this week I'll try to write up a little bit of the story. In the meantime I did upload this video I took near the end of field dressing.


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## Critter (Mar 20, 2010)

Hurts so bad, would you would do it again next week if you had the opportunity?

Nice video.


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## Vanilla (Dec 11, 2009)

Wow. I'm not worthy!!!


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## Brookie (Oct 26, 2008)

Good Job on the bison, My dad went back but wasn't able to find the bison at the end of the tracks. What we found that if the bison get shot at they are usually held up tight for a few days before they calm down again.


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## MadHunter (Nov 17, 2009)

Congratulations! The pain you feel will be offset by the satisfaction of getting it done and by the memory of how you tackled such a difficult task by yourself. -()/- :-|O|-: -/|\\- OOO°)OO


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## MadHunter (Nov 17, 2009)

Maybe this is for another thread but..... Would it not be very advantageous to all of us if we had a way to communicate with each other and get help for a pack outs in situations like Charina's? If you are willing to help you put your number or email or something on a list. Just a thought.


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## johnnycake (Jul 19, 2011)

Sounds like your wife and my wife cut the same deal! Smart ladies (and can we really complain, as they are at least willing to apply and go out doubling our hunting experience opportunities?)


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## Charina (Aug 16, 2011)

Critter said:


> would you would do it again next week if you had the opportunity?


Hell no! Well, actually, I'd consider it. The blisters are healing, I can use moleskin in the meantime, and feeling is returning in my fingertips after some very mild frostbite. So perhaps I'm good to go again.

Now . . . who has a January tag that could use a hand? I'm sure I can take at least a few days to assist.

Actually, I'm hoping to head down this weekend, or immediately after Christmas to look for my cell phone in cave flat. If by chance anyone found a phone, $100 reward.


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## Critter (Mar 20, 2010)

I know that when I have a tough pack out or hunt that after a hot shower, a great sleep in my own bed, and a few days rest I am usually ready to get back at it again. 

I know that on my coues deer hunt last year I was physically spent after bagging my buck and getting him packed back to the vehicle but a week later I felt like I could do it all over again.


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## Charina (Aug 16, 2011)

Finally getting around to writing up a bit of the story. 

The last couple years when I applied for my wife, I only put her in for a bonus point knowing that we would be very busy. This year I put her in for the Henry Cow, thinking life would be less pressured, and of course expecting there was almost zero chance she could draw. Well, it has turned out to be perhaps the craziest year of my life, the worst possible one to plan a bison hunt, and of course . . . she gets a low enough number in the draw to be an alternate when a tag is turned in. Still a wonderful opportunity and blessing, since I thought it would be a decade or two before either she or I had a realistic chance, but the timing sure made it more complicated. 

I had plans to spend quite a few days on the unit in Oct and Nov. Life had other plans. I never made it south to scout the unit. So, then I made plans to go down 4 or 5 days in advance of the 12/1 opener and do my scouting then, with hopes to hunt opening morning, already having an idea of where some bison were. That didn't happen. 

In fact, we didn't even make it out for opening weekend. I finally headed down to the unit, solo, late Thursday the 6th. The plan was that I would go scout it out, sleeping in the back of the truck to save on $, and if I found bison she could get to, we'd make plans for her to come down and hunt. Dang it's cold sleeping in the truck in December on the Henry's! Since I always have a generator running to run my cpap, I purchased a heated mattress pad, and that made all the difference. 

I started looking on the east side Friday AM by Coyote Benches. Nothing. No tracks in the 4-5 inches of snow other than deer. So I drove the ATV up to the the Horn to check tracks and glass from the point. Nothing. Unable to take my truck up and over the top of Penellen Pass, I went back down to Hanksville in time to stop in at the BLM office on my way around to the west side. No current intel to be had, but still some useful generic info (such as the infrequency with which the bison were to be found on the East side in December). 

Since there was snow on the ground, Saturday and Sunday were spent driving roads looking for tracks. About 150 miles on the ATV, and very few tracks. One lone bull headed north in Stevens Mesa, a few tracks near Steele Butte (unsure if multiple animals, or if even bison), and then a few tracks headed into Cave Flat area. 

Sunday evening I finally spotted my first bison. From a high lookout on top of Tarantula Mesa, I spotted a herd of about 20 about 2 miles away. Where the herd was is approximately 4.5 miles from the nearest road. It was just before dusk when I spotted them, and I had 1.3 miles hike to get back to the ATV, so I didn't watch them very long. The sun had set when I did get back to the ATV, and the temps plummeted fast. Not sure how cold it was, but I doubt it was as warm as 20 degrees based on the forecast I heard on the radio the next day. Dang that was a cold 21 mile ride back to the truck on the 4 wheeler! 

I headed into town to let my wife know. We made plans for her to come out Tuesday AM to make an attempt. 

Monday spotted more bison from the same lookout point. 4 groups if I recall correctly, most well out of our reach, but right at dusk I watched a few animals that had moved closer to road access. About 3.5 miles. Further than I had hoped to drag my wife into the wilderness, but looked like a great option. 

I was again on point Tuesday am before sunrise to look for those bison. Unfortunately, I had chosen an easier to access point, which meant my view was limited. I didn't spot anything in the area. When my wife arrived in the area, we discussed giving it a go, or waiting until I spotted some more animals to confirm their location. We decided to give it a go, surmising that I likely couldn't see any animals as I was looking at N and W facing slopes when they most likely would have been on S or SE slopes as the sun rose. 

About noon, my wife, I, and our 7 year old son set off to find the bison. 3.2 miles in we started glassing around. Nothing. So we kept pushing on. Somewhere around mile 4 we realized I had lost my phone along the way. My phone is my gps as well. Surmising we would find it on the way back, we pushed on to where I had spotted bison Sunday. Nothing. Tracks. Recent scat. But nothing live. It started getting late, and my wife definitely didn't want to be out hiking in the dark. So we hurried back. We hiked somewhere around 10 miles that day. We didn't make it back until 6, which was pretty uncomfortable for her. I'm so proud of them both! 

Discouraged, and knowing that both of them were not up for a similar hike the next day, we headed into Torrey to get rest. ns450f posted that he just returned from helping his dad on the hunt, and was so kind as to point out some animals he spotted about 2 miles from a road up north on Mt Ellen. So, we headed out there Wednesday to take a look. Not seeing any animals, I decided to go for a hike to get a closer look while the wife and kid stayed behind in the vehicle. I had not gotten far when I found tracks that looked fresh. I followed them for a bit, noting that dirt that had been kicked up had not melted into the snow despite the sunshine hitting it. Then there was the fresh dung that was cold, but not frozen. So I headed back to the Pathfinder to get my wife and son, and get suited up to follow the tracks. 

After following the tracks for about a mile and a half, we spotted some bison bedding down another 3/4 miles out. It was a pretty easy setup to stalk into, with wind in our favor, but a pretty steep drop of about 500 ft elevation over that 3/4 mile. Finally, about 3:45 we were in position, sneaking up to a small Juniper, to come within 60 yards, the first reasonable spot to get a direct line of sight on them. 

Using my old phone that I keep in my pack as my backup gps, I had all sorts of plans to video the event. However, when I peered around the Juniper, a cow had stood up and was drilling a hole right through us with her eyes. A few moments later I noted shadows being cast by the low sun onto a Juniper about 5 yards to the right. I suspect that is what she saw. 

So, it was a quick rush to set the scope parallax, get positioned on a rock, and get set for a shot as the bison all began to stand and defecate in preparation to move out. In the rush, I was surprised at the difficulty of differentiating some of the animals as cows or bulls. Some were most clearly bulls. Two really big bruisers. Another old old old bull that had impressive horns, but a super thin body with the spine visible that surely wouldn't make it through the winter. Then there was the cow that had us pegged. But several other animals were not so easily sexed in the rush. So it was settled on that the obvious cow was the target, but she needed to move clear of the bison standing behind her in the line of fire. 

It was less than 30 seconds, and the whole group was on the move, at a casual pace. Finally, the cow as clear, and the 30.06 rang out. She was down! All four legs in the air kicking! The high fives, hugs, and kisses (a benefit of hunting with your wife) were about to commence . . . but then this big cow got on her feet and started following the herd! A second shot rang out, but when I was butchering, it appears to have been a complete miss. 

The group ran down into a ravine, and up the other side which was nearly a 45% slope. She was lagging well behind, and only made it up the hillside about 30 yards before laying down. The remaining 12 animals stood at the top of the ravine (allowing me time to count them) waiting for her to join for about 5 minutes. Then they slowly moved on. I spotted them again about 5:30 in fading light about 4 miles to the north in desert flats. 

We approached the cow, who was still alive, but clearly not going anywhere. We contemplated finishing her off with a head shot, but decided instead to spend a few minutes nearby watching, offering thanks and apologies to her, and being sure she was unlikely to get up. When it was very clear she was approaching the very end, and that it was less than an hour until sunset, with a 2 mile hike uphill (about 800 ft elevation gain), and the wife not wanting to be out at dusk, the cow was left behind to pass in peace. 

As we had agreed ahead of time, after she tagged out, she was tapping out, and everything after the shot was my responsibility. Which was just fine with me. That was the plan. What I didn't plan for was the weather to be so incredibly nasty that night. 15+ mph steady winds, and clearly the coldest night of any in the last week (my 5 gallon jug of water froze solid by morning for the first and only time). After getting my wife and son all set, they headed back to town while I got suited up and grabbed everything I needed. I always carry my kill kit, and could have started field dressing right then and there, but with my wife and kids to worry about, I escorted them back and got my hauling frame pack as well as the extra game bags. 

I got back on the cow just before 9 pm, and started work at 9:05. Somewhere around 2:30 am I finished field dressing. By that time I was a bit delirious, so I didn't track the timeline, but around 4:30 am I had all the meat and the hide bagged in game bags and hauled out of the ravine onto more flat terrain where I could hang it in pinion pines on a north slope and access it easy for packout. 

After a series of setbacks, including my ATV clutch going out on me 3 miles from the truck as I'm headed back with a 90-100 lb pack, I finally stumbled back to camp at 8:05am, dead beat. Each of the three packouts this year were successively worse, and harder than any other to date. First ended about 2:45 am. Second approaching 4am. And this one, the first load out at 8am. 

When I finally awoke about 3 pm, I realized that I had lost my hearing aid in the previous night sometime, and my feet were worse off than I realized. Being so cold that night, I had a heck of a time keeping my toes from freezing, despite having insulated boots (only 400 grams, so not heavily insulated). I kept putting handwarmers on top of my boots, which helped, but I was moving around so much I couldn't keep them on. In hindsight, I should have used paracord to tie them on top of the boots. I believe I had a slight case of frost bite on the outside edges of my large toes, and I didn't feel the hotspots developing on the 5 or so miles of hike back to the truck. Not just blisters, but blood blisters had developed. The tips of six fingers were also showing evidence of really minor frostbite. Couldn't feel anything. Not as bad as the other time I did get frostbite where there was discoloring, but clearly there was damage to the skin. I'm pretty sure that happened when I was bagging the meat into game bags. I kept telling myself it was just a few more minutes until that task was done, and then I would take off the nitrile gloves and warm my hands, rather than taking them off to warm my hands and put yet another set of gloves on. 

I finally finished the task of getting all the meat and the hide back to the truck Friday night about 10pm. I had all intentions of taking the tongue, heart, bone-in ribs, and other goodies for the dogs (liver, kidneys, etc), but about 2 am being overwhelmed with how large of a task I had taken on by myself, that all went out the window. The dogs were certainly appreciative that I did bring the legs out bone-in though. And they absolutely love the burger I have ground for them out of the bloodshot areas, connective tissue trimmings, and hair/dirt contaminated pieces.

The backstrap steaks are absolutely amazing! Cut with a fork tender, and great flavor. And the burgers are everyone's favorite. It was worth all the work and pain (well, except that part of loosing my hearing aid). Can't wait until I draw a tag, if I ever do. 

It turned out to be a far more difficult hunt than I had anticipated. I'm not sure if it was this particular year and the drought, or the late start I got, or what, but it was not what I expected. The bison were concentrated in very few areas that are very remote and difficult to access. Worse than elk in their avoidance of pressure. Given what I experienced, I am shocked to see success rates as high as they have been in years past. Perhaps opening day was when most people have success? I don't know, but this is not a hunt for the faint of heart. It's hard work. It's potentially life threatening with the weather. And certainly not one I should ever do again with my 2wd pickup. haha! I got stuck more than once. 

The range out there is in bad shape. I agree with the DWR to have the extra hunts to cull the herd. I sure hope the BLM is following suit with reduction of cattle head. NO sedges in most areas. Not even a single blade to be seen from about 7,000 and below across vast areas. Some areas the sagebrush is dying, and there were only a few areas that I saw some limited numbers of sagebrush blooming. Most simply did not bloom this year due to the drought. The cow that I shot had perhaps 1-2 lbs of external fat on her in total. No layer of fat on the rump as would be expected, just a yellow layer similar to a membrane. There was a little bit of fat in the brisket area, but just tiny bits. I was shocked to see so little fat on an animal in early winter before the cold and snow had really set in. I do wonder what the herd will look like come Spring, and what impacts that will have on future hunts.


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