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eaglesj
12-29-2011, 07:01 PM
Well, I thought my hunting season was over until my friend from Prince George said that his hunting buddies cancelled on him for his bison hunt and he needed someone to go with. So, with 3 days notice, I got everything ready, met up with Bryan here in Dawson and drove up to Zone A on boxing day. That day, we found the trail around the reserve, but never saw any sign. Guys were saying the bison would be up in the mountains, so we made a deal that even if it took 2 days to get it out, we would shoot it.

Day 2, we set out at 7:30, and did some quadding, some hiking a what not. We never saw any fresh sign at all. At 2:30, we spotted a lone bull at the very top of a mountain. As stupid as I am, I convinced Bryan to go for it. We hiked up to the top, and Bryan ended up popping over the top 30 yards from the bull without being noticed. One shot with a 180gr 30-06 and the bull made it about 15 yards before crashing to the ground and sliding under two large trees (great!). When we get over the edge to take a look, we did not think it was that big. However, we later on came to the conclusion that this may be a big bull (I'd be intersted in what the experienced bison hunters have to say about the size of the bull based on the head). So, at 4:00, we had a dead bull laying the wrong way on a hill, under two large trees. I cut the one away, we gut it and cut it in half. We figured that was enough for one day so we head down the mountain and make it back to Tolbit's? cabin by 9:30pm.

Day 3 we were up at 6:50. On the way to the base of the mountain, we ran into two guys that showed up the day before. Apparently they spotted the bison and were making a plan for getting him the following day when they noticed us climbing the mountain. So they sat back and watched it unfold. I thought that was pretty funny.

We were heading off the mountain at 2:00, and arrived at the quads with the deboned (or butchered, I'm not sure what to call it) bison at 5:45. It was a long day of dragging the meat while Bryan drug his head out. We made it back to the cabins by 7:30.

http://i825.photobucket.com/albums/zz172/eaglesj/IMG_0698.jpg
Picture from the top of the mountain.

http://i825.photobucket.com/albums/zz172/eaglesj/IMG_0703.jpg

http://i825.photobucket.com/albums/zz172/eaglesj/IMG_0706.jpg

http://i825.photobucket.com/albums/zz172/eaglesj/IMG_0708.jpg

http://i825.photobucket.com/albums/zz172/eaglesj/IMG_0710.jpg

eaglesj
12-29-2011, 07:02 PM
http://i825.photobucket.com/albums/zz172/eaglesj/IMG_0714.jpg

http://i825.photobucket.com/albums/zz172/eaglesj/IMG_0712.jpg

Amphibious
12-29-2011, 07:05 PM
Congrats on a nice Bison!

nature girl
12-29-2011, 07:08 PM
Congradulations on your bison hunt.
How cold was it?

eaglesj
12-29-2011, 07:13 PM
Wasn't too cold at all, thankfully. It was -10ish in the mornings and then warm enough we did not wear gloves or toque while dressing. Windy up there as we were bringing it down though.

ianwuzhere
12-29-2011, 07:13 PM
Rite on- id say its a big bull..
good to see there isnt like 20 feet of snow up there now- hopefully itll be an easy winter on the animals...
Congrats on a beauty bull!

lunatic
12-29-2011, 07:17 PM
Congratulations Jonathan. Hope the skimmer was of some use to you. Maybe your not bad luck after all :).

tomahawk
12-29-2011, 07:19 PM
Nice bull that looks to be a 4-5 yr old from what the pictures show comparing it to the 4 bulls we have shot. Should be good eatin depending on whether you were able to identify the cuts you took off the hill. Likely about 2 ft wide with 15" bases and 17" length? On really big burger bulls the head has filled in the space between the horns with skull and hair.

Bear Chaser
12-29-2011, 07:29 PM
Congratulations on a hard earned bull.

Stone C. Killer
12-29-2011, 08:16 PM
Cool. Nice bull. How long ago was this? I've got a trip planned in Jan. And bought a sled for it. Should I be brining the quad along too??

Thanks.

TheProvider
12-29-2011, 08:33 PM
right on fellas

kennyj
12-29-2011, 08:41 PM
Good for you guys. You earned that one.
kenny

lunatic
12-29-2011, 08:45 PM
Cool. Nice bull. How long ago was this? I've got a trip planned in Jan. And bought a sled for it. Should I be brining the quad along too??

Thanks.


Our 2011 Bison Hunt

Well, I thought my hunting season was over until my friend from Prince George said that his hunting buddies cancelled on him for his bison hunt and he needed someone to go with. So, with 3 days notice, I got everything ready, met up with Bryan here in Dawson and drove up to Zone A on boxing day. That day, we found the trail around the reserve, but never saw any sign. Guys were saying the bison would be up in the mountains, so we made a deal that even if it took 2 days to get it out, we would shoot it.

scottwh
12-29-2011, 10:19 PM
Nice job and a nice bull! Congrats :) That must have been a thrill of a hunt! Hopefully my luck is as good as yours next week!

Stone C. Killer
12-29-2011, 10:55 PM
Got it!

Thanks........

moose2
12-29-2011, 11:08 PM
Great job on the bull it looked like a tough hunt. Being sore for a few days will be worth it, much better to put in that effort than to go home empty handed. Congratulations on a great hunt, nice pictures as well.
Mike

Buck
12-29-2011, 11:36 PM
Good that it was downhill.Ours crawled into a steep gully lots of sweat getting that out.Congrats

Skeena
12-30-2011, 12:47 PM
I remember looking up on those hills last fall. Boy you worked hard to fill your tag. Congrats on a great hunt.

Cheers