# Wasatch Mtns Bull



## h20fowl (Dec 31, 2009)

i went to go scouting last weekend for my wifes bull on the top of soldier summit inbetween the right and left hand fork roads. I did not even see an elk or any sign of elk. im not asking for a honey hole im just looking to find my wife a 320+ bull to shoot if you could help iwould be very thankful. she has a rifle LE Tag.


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## El Matador (Dec 21, 2007)

The elk could easily be in a different place in September than they are now. Find some quakies/pines up around strawberry, currant creek, diamond fork, hobble creek, etc. They'll be bugling something fierce by mid september, shouldn't be too hard to find a good bull. But I would keep looking for another week or two before you get too concerned...you'll find em.


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## c3hammer (Nov 1, 2009)

There's about 3500 square miles between the top of Soldiers summit and Woodland in that unit you haven't looked at 

Cheers,
Pete


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## Packout (Nov 20, 2007)

Like was already said, give it a couple weeks before you get concerned. I can point you in some decent directions when your hunt gets closer.


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## TEX-O-BOB (Sep 12, 2007)

That place is an elk petting zoo. You should have NO problem putting her on a 320 bull.


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## SteepNDeep (Sep 11, 2007)

PM sent. Like others have said, massive area. I would think the trick with Wasatch is not being overly picky. I know guys who have eaten tag soup there because there are a lot of elk, and there is a lot of area. Honestly, I don't know why they haven't split up the Wasatch. Or.....opened some of it for any bull.

Headed out to the Deeps tonight for my one big scouting trip. Pathetic, I know, but when you live in Texas, one scouting trip is pretty good effort, don't you think?


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## goofy elk (Dec 16, 2007)

The Wasatch elk herd is changing from year to year ..
NO WERE near the quality or quantity of bulls that were there 5 years ago.
The waters is a place that has changed dramatically over the past 3 years when it
comes to rutting bulls. There were once many rutting bulls in every canyon...No more.

With the increase in bull permits AND 3,200+ antler less permits, The Wasatch unit is
heading down the road to look more like the Nebo unit......I don't like seeing this happen.

The Nebo , Wasatch , And Manti were top quality units a few short years ago,,,,,
now just medium at best and falling.


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## silentstalker (Feb 19, 2008)

I agree Goofy. Tough to watch. There are still some fantastic bulls on the unit but you are not going to find them driving the road. 

H2Ofowl,

320 is a great bull on the Wasatch. With solid scouting you could do better. You might want to travel North from where you are and East. Elk are a tad bit more visible and seems to be more of them. Just remember in your scouting, There is a LE archery elk hunt going on and please don't mess anyone up trying to get in on bulls. It is hard enough as it is. Good luck to you guy's on your hunt.


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## proutdoors (Sep 24, 2007)

I agree, we should manage ALL units for 400+ bulls or nothing! Opportunity to hunt be DAMNED!


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## Treehugnhuntr (Sep 7, 2007)

Yeah, screw management objectives. They're silly........


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## Semaj3 (Aug 22, 2011)

Me and my dad drew this unit in 98 and both got nice bulls. But like others are saying the herd is definitely not in great shape. We own some property within the boundary and we see very few elk any more. We are up off resevation ridge road more east of where you were. Good luck.


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## MadHunter (Nov 17, 2009)

Management? We don't need no stinking management. Kill em all!


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## Treehugnhuntr (Sep 7, 2007)

Seeing less elk on the wasatch??? They are over a thousand elk over objective. Populations are at all time highs. I don't get it.

As far as the notion of average bull size being lower; if you focus and kill the top end bulls, more efficiently every year, of course there are going to be less of them. These days every big bull has crosshairs on them long before the season starts. And say all you want, but guides and outfitters should share the bulk of the blame for lulls in large bull harvest. They are very good at what they do and tax the trophy class much more than aby other segment. 

Last year was considered by many to be a poor year for trophy elk in Utah.with the weather being what it was coupled with a few other factors, we ended up letting quote a few older bulls make it to winter range. With favorable conditions, I'd wager that this year will be a good one in regards to this.


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## bullsnot (Aug 10, 2010)

It's hard to keep many older age class bulls in a unit when it gets a reputation for older bulls and every outfitter in the state sends an army to sit on every good bull in the unit so their clients can come in and whack em.


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## MadHunter (Nov 17, 2009)

The point to all this guys..... is that you can never make everybody happy. No matter how many bulls there are there will be a reason for someone to complain. Size, health, #of mature vs young, the color of their coat or the softness of the velvet even. Sad, very sad indeed.


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## h20fowl (Dec 31, 2009)

I did not go off the main trail just for the reason of the archery hunt going on i dont want to screw it up for them becouse i would not like it if they did for me. im going to go back up evey week until the hunt if they start to make some noise i would not have a problem finding them. im not a road hunter i like to get back in the acction its just the other hunt going on all i need is to walk through a guy siting in a tree trying to get his bull


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## pheaz (Feb 11, 2011)

The elk are there just seems to me as the seasons are about 3 weeks behind normal. Advice dont hold out for a 330+ bull though u may be eatin tag soup if ya do. (they are far and few in between)


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## wapiti67 (Oct 2, 2007)

I call BS!!! I have seen at least 8 shooter bulls (OVER 340) on just the little segment my son and I have concentrated on. BS that the unit is going downhill. Just get away from the road alittle.


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## rosedude (Dec 26, 2010)

wapiti67 said:


> I call BS!!! I have seen at least 8 shooter bulls (OVER 340) on just the little segment my son and I have concentrated on. BS that the unit is going downhill. Just get away from the road alittle.


+1


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## TEX-O-BOB (Sep 12, 2007)

> The Nebo , Wasatch , And Manti were top quality units a few short years ago,,,,,
> now just medium at best and falling.


 :roll:

Gimmy a break! Elk running all over the place, multiple bulls screaming in almost every canyon, 320 bulls like they were on sale at Walmart, quite a few bigger ones if you look hard enough, and plenty of room for everyone. That's what I've experienced on these units in the last three years and you call this a MEDIUM hunt! You're on glue dude! There doesn't need to be "spider bulls" running around all over the place to have a quality hunt. That's what you want if your looking to reduce hunter recruitment, cut opportunity in half, and help Doyal Moss line his pockets. The average hunter, which comprises about 90% of Utah's hunting population, is tickled pink with a 320 bull and creaming his jeans with a 375 bull.

Listen... I hear Doyal Moss crying right now. BooHoo, I cant ***** 400 bulls out the door all day long any more at $15,000 a pop cuz all these stupid jonny-punch-clock people are actually getting more opportunity... Waaaa! 

What a bunch of spoiled brats we are! Just because you draw an LE tag that doesn't automatically entitle you to a 400 bull. :roll:

These units are just FINE! Lets go elk hunting!


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## h20fowl (Dec 31, 2009)

+1


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## pintail18 (Jun 16, 2011)

I agree Tex. and in my opinon I would rather hunt 2 or 3 320 bulls over my life time than shoot 1 400 bull. thats just my feelings on it though.


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## svmoose (Feb 28, 2008)

TEX-O-BOB said:


> > The Nebo , Wasatch , And Manti were top quality units a few short years ago,,,,,
> > now just medium at best and falling.
> 
> 
> ...


+ 10 gabizillion


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## TEX-O-BOB (Sep 12, 2007)

pintail18 said:


> I agree Tex. and in my opinon I would rather hunt 2 or 3 320 bulls over my life time than shoot 1 400 bull. thats just my feelings on it though.


Exactly! But the beauty is, you're not just stuck with 320 bulls! The big guys are out there and there's lots of em on every unit. They are just getting smarter and evolving as a hunted species. Gone are the days when you could just drive the roads and shop through dozens of dumb elk looking for the one that you wanted to kill. Technology has made us all more efficient hunters and that has made the elk more efficient at getting away from us. Take Montana for an example. They sell unlimited resident tags, and a non resident can usually plan on drawing a tag about every two to three years. Now you'd think that with that kind of hunting pressure there would be no trophy elk to speak of. Not true! Montana has put more record book animals in the books over the years than any other state and they continue to do it every year. Are there 400 bulls running all over the place? No. can you drive the roads and kill a record book elk? Hell no! You gotta HUNT! There are plenty of huge bulls including some over the 400 mark in Montana. (Just ask Chuck Adams) You've just gotta hunt for them. I hear the same lame song and dance over and over in this state. "Waaa, I can't kill a turkey cuz they're all up in the mountains and it's HARD now!" "Waaa, I cant sell my guide/bounty hunting service any more cuz all the 400 bulls are gone!" "Waaa, I cant drive the road and shoot a 360 bull any more!" Waaa, my poosy hurts cuz I had to actually hunt to get my bull!" :roll:

Pathetic!


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## pheaz (Feb 11, 2011)

Like I said THEY ARE THERE its more we are 3 weeks behind normal IMO. right? I'm just sayin THERE ISNT AS MANY AS IT USED TO PRODUCE. Yes leave the roads they are deep in the timbers. But for gettin his wife in on a good shot dont pass the 320 bulls they are GOOD BULLS.


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## goofy elk (Dec 16, 2007)

Nothing pathetic about it,,,,,,,,,Just simple fact.

IT's NOTHING LIKE IT USE TO BE!

Just throwing out an observation from having the opportunity to be involved
in limited entry elk hunts on these units EVERY SINGLE YEAR SINCE 1995..

I brought up the Nebo elk situation 3 years ago.....
look were its at now.

The Wasatch & Manti are heading down the same road.
Simple fact, that's all.

Some will enjoy having more hunting opportunity,,,
Some will not like seeing quality and quantity going down hill..

I guarantee the guys going onto these units with LE tags have HIGH expectations.
And, a few will be happy hunters,,,,,,,,,but a the lager majority will be disappointed..
280-315 bulls will be more the norm after hunting hard.

AND YES , A few 350-370s will hit the ground,,,But don't pass any 330s on these units.


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## middlefork (Nov 2, 2008)

Well with nine points going in this year I decided to throw the dice on my once in a lifetime chance this year before I got to the point I couldn't even do the hunt justice.

That being said I have had no problem spotting a lot of bulls from rag horns to 340-350. I've set my sights on a bull over 300 but I'll have a blast even if I eat tag soup.

This elk hunting isn't much fun if you don't have a tag or don't know somebody to tag along with. The boys that require a monster to make it worthwhile can have their San Juans, Monroe etc.

Just enjoy the hunt and see what happens.


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## sawsman (Sep 13, 2007)

middlefork said:


> This elk hunting isn't much fun if you don't have a tag or don't know somebody to tag along with. The boys that require a monster to make it worthwhile can have their San Juans, Monroe etc.
> 
> Just enjoy the hunt and see what happens.


I like this..

I also have a Wasatch tag. I'd love a 320 to 350 class bull too, But I'm more interested in having a good time and putting some meat in the freezer.. I'm pulling the trigger when the right opportunity presents itself. I'm not going to be *too* picky.

Hunt hard, be safe and most of all have fun. :O||:


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## Mrad (Mar 25, 2011)

Montana has produced the most book bulls?

I learn something new on here all the time. :shock:


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## TEX-O-BOB (Sep 12, 2007)

Mrad said:


> Montana has produced the most book bulls?
> 
> I learn something new on here all the time. :shock:


Yep, go to the books and count em.


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## Yahtahay (Jul 3, 2008)

TEX-O-BOB said:


> pintail18 said:
> 
> 
> > I agree Tex. and in my opinon I would rather hunt 2 or 3 320 bulls over my life time than shoot 1 400 bull. thats just my feelings on it though.
> ...


+123412341 AMEN BROTHER! Get off your butt and HUNT and WORK for it!


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## bullsnot (Aug 10, 2010)

pheaz said:


> Like I said THEY ARE THERE its more we are 3 weeks behind normal IMO. right?


Just curious...why do you say they are 3 weeks behind? I hunted the Wasatch this weekend and the bulls are bugling, have shed their velvet, and in the wallows.


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## bullsnot (Aug 10, 2010)

goofy elk said:


> Nothing pathetic about it,,,,,,,,,Just simple fact.
> 
> IT's NOTHING LIKE IT USE TO BE!


One man's "IT's NOTHING LIKE IT USED TO BE" is another man's "THINGS LOOK GREAT". You guys that constantly measure how well a herd is doing by the size of the antlers on the male portion of the herd have missed the boat.

Hunting for inches is an insatiable appetite. The problem with you guys is that once you kill a 350 bull then it's got to be a 370 bull then it's got to be a 400 bull and it never ends. Your view of game herds in Utah goes right along with your appetite. Once you've got a 380 bull on the wall every unit sucks that doesn't have one bigger than that behind every tree.

Having good numbers of elk on these units for us to hunt is far more important than the size of antlers they carry. Because it ensures that we will be hunting for generations to come. It's a model that can be sustained forever. Some years will be better than others as far as antler growth.

By worrying about inches all the time you do nothing but limit hunters more and more as time goes on. It's not sustainable. Don't believe me? LOOK AT WHAT IS HAPPENING NOW!!!!!!!!!!! We are limiting general deer hunters and just raised elk objectives all based on antler growth and nothing more. This after forming limited entry hunts in the last 20 years and continually lowering tags.

Measuring how well a herd is doing by inches is near-sighted and in the next 20 years will be considered foolish much like thinking the world is flat was 600 years ago.

For the record I like hunting big bucks and bulls but I get much more satisfaction out of seeing a healthy herd than I do seeing a bunch of big bucks and bulls.

Goofy - I sincerely challenge you to look at why you hunt and why you teach your kids to hunt. Is it really all about inches?


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## pheaz (Feb 11, 2011)

bullsnot said:


> pheaz said:
> 
> 
> > Like I said THEY ARE THERE its more we are 3 weeks behind normal IMO. right?
> ...


With the amount of foliage (elephant ears havent even froze yet) and with the heat becoming hotter. Not sure which section of Wasatch you where hunting but all the bulls I see are still packin velvet, only locating bugling, and havent seen a wallow that I would say has been hit hard. But each area is different. Normally I see a few decent bulls gathering now, but have only seen a few small raggy bulls within the cows. Thats why I say looks to be 3 weeks behind normal.IMO


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## Fishracer (Mar 2, 2009)

Well said Bull. I agree with you and Tex. When i see a nice bull, numbers is the last thing i think about. It makes me scratch my head to read some of these post. I run into elk almost daily when out hunting. I dont understand when it became all about numbers.


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## TEX-O-BOB (Sep 12, 2007)

I remember when I used to hunt for a week and feel lucky if I SAW an elk. Now I see them EVERY day and there are lots of good bulls to choose from. What more do you want? IMO we have too many elk and that's a big part of the reason we don't have any deer. There's no balance in the range anymore. Look at the units with little to no elk on them, LOTS of deer. The Books would be the only exception I can think of...


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## jahan (Sep 7, 2007)

TEX-O-BOB said:


> I remember when I used to hunt for a week and feel lucky if I SAW an elk. Now I see them EVERY day and there are lots of good bulls to choose from. What more do you want? IMO we have too many elk and that's a big part of the reason we don't have any deer. There's no balance in the range anymore. Look at the units with little to no elk on them, LOTS of deer. The Books would be the only exception I can think of...


BINGO!!!!!


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## bullsnot (Aug 10, 2010)

pheaz said:


> bullsnot said:
> 
> 
> > pheaz said:
> ...


Up high near Strawberry res the only velvet I saw was on martians. It's true they aren't pounding wallows yet but they've started to hit them a bit. The bugling isn't super aggresive but it is more than a random June locator bugle. No bulls with cows yet though.
Seems normal for late August.

Remember it's photo period or amount of daylight that triggers the rut.


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## pheaz (Feb 11, 2011)

Just comparing to years past around HERE it just seems more likeo August 10th area. Just Sayin


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## MWScott72 (May 23, 2011)

TEX-O-BOB said:


> I remember when I used to hunt for a week and feel lucky if I SAW an elk. Now I see them EVERY day and there are lots of good bulls to choose from. What more do you want? IMO we have too many elk and that's a big part of the reason we don't have any deer. There's no balance in the range anymore. Look at the units with little to no elk on them, LOTS of deer. The Books would be the only exception I can think of...


My thoughts exactly. The more elk that move in, and more deer move out. I've seen this on several units within the past 10 years. It IS happening.


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## h20fowl (Dec 31, 2009)

i went and looked again around soldier summit and strawberry peak adn i could no locate any bulls all i found was a spike and 2 cows


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## missduckhunter (Sep 13, 2007)

Hey h20fowl, my husband also has a LE tag for Wasatch and we are in the same area as you as a matter of fact. I will tell you there are bulls and we are not going down into the timber and wallows out of respect for the bow hunters. Good on you for having that respect. We have seen some good groups of cows and a few bulls wandering alone a bazillion miles away from the road. They are smart like that. They are mostly coming our in the early morning and just before dark so it's pretty limited right now but when they start getting rutty it will be a whole different story. I will send you a PM and let you know where we are, my husband may kill me for telling you but I would love to see my husband and your wife bag a bull. There's plenty for everyone for sure. Good luck to you and keep looking cause they are in there or will be soon.


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## TAK (Sep 9, 2007)

I have hunted the WASATCH MY ENTIRE LIFE! and I am going to tell you this... I kid you not I have seen more Deer up there this year than Elk... Both times I have been there all I see is Deer! I have logged in the two times being there this year... Maybe it was 4 times that I have not even seen and Elk. I have logged a ton of miles also, fast miles to keep the dust stirred up too! The New Polaris Rzr is a blast! 

So Elk are gone everyone look away! Not a good unit, hunted it last year and I did not see any Elk then either! Move along nothing to see here....

OK really I have seen that there is MORE FREAKIN ELK THAN YOU CAN STUFF IN ONE PLACE.... But by god they are only out for seconds in the morning and move late!


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## LaytonArcher (Jul 13, 2009)

I have to agree with other posts. The Wasatch is fine in terms of numbers of elk and bulls. Everytime I have been out this year has resulted in bulls and cows etc being found. I had the LE tag in 05 and was not successful. Nonethe less, it was a great hunt and we were into bulls throughout the hunt. A friend had the same tag that year and shoot a bull that green scored 389 if I remember correctly. 

Just my 3 cents....

If anyone has the LE tag and needs some help. Please let me know, I am the type that likes to see other see success.

Let me know.

LA


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## pheaz (Feb 11, 2011)

h20fowl said:


> i went and looked again around soldier summit and strawberry peak adn i could no locate any bulls all i found was a spike and 2 cows


Maybe check another spot, try top of French Hollow by the power poles :idea:


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## h20fowl (Dec 31, 2009)

i wll be going back up on sunday to look if any body else has any suggestions on wherre else to look let me know


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## sawsman (Sep 13, 2007)

I'm ready now... tired of waiting.

Shot the gun this morning and she's ready to go. A 100 yrd group that's not too shabby.









Hopefully the next bullet through the pipe will bring the Wasatch stinky down.

At least one more scouting trip before the hunt. :-|O|-:


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## longbow (Mar 31, 2009)

Sawsman, looks like ~.80 group. Fine shooting/reloading. I'd say your ready to go. Good luck!!


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## sawsman (Sep 13, 2007)

Thanks longbow. I wish I could say I worked up this load. The ammo is factory fodder.. 165 gr Federal Nosler Partitions, 30.06. So it's definately the gun... 

Good enough to kill an elk if I can do my part. I've seen a few bulls over the last several weeks, now I just need the opportunity come hunt time. 

The Wasatch seems alive and well to me.


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## .45 (Sep 21, 2007)

Sawsman.....I believe it may help you more if you sight that 9,000 dollar rifle in at 100 yards...

10 yards just don't cut it.... :O•-:


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## sawsman (Sep 13, 2007)

> Sawsman.....I believe it may help you more if you sight that 9,000 dollar rifle in at 100 yards...
> 
> 10 yards just don't cut it....


The lower right diamond on the target actually has four bullets in it. All in the same hole and was shot at 10 yrds.

The center diamond was at 100 yrds and so the group opended up quite a bit. :mrgreen:

And the rifle was only 6K smart alec.. :roll:


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## bullsnot (Aug 10, 2010)

I had a great weekend on the Wasatch! LOTS of bulls, even in the Waters, and there are a few really good mature bulls. Next year may be a real good year if we get the precipitation we need.

On a side note I saw two bears within a couple hours of hunting. At one point we were over a mile and a half from the truck glassing and we could see a bear working 200 yards from the truck in the spotting scope in broad daylight on a popular road! I was anxiously hoping we would not try to see what I had inside. Thankfully he moved on. I slept in the back of the truck that night laying nice a cozy with my .45.


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