Kaibab archery Cow Buffalo - aug 12th---25th

[idgaf]

 

So for you guys that have been on this hunt. Sitting on 30 points do you apply for the spring tag or go to Raymond ranch or just wait for a few more years? How far from the GCNP border are the salt licks set? What are the consequences of simply going where the bison are even if that means walking past or interfering with the paid clientele?

I have heard stories will be told of the non obedient for decades. L.O.L.

 

I want to hear those stories. They sound more interesting and that way when I get drawn I know I am not setting a precedence.

[Burro creek]

This story sound alot like last years buffalo hunt for my son. Here is a re-post of out story.

 

This is my story from our buffalo hunt last year. After reading it and you have any questions please feel free to call me at 9289258318

Dear Buffalo Hunter,

If you had the opportunity to attend the Buffalo Education Class that was provided by the Az Game and Fish department and walked away with more questions than answers, you are not alone. I would like to share some information with you that I wish someone would have taken the time to share with me before I went hunting.

I was able to attend the meeting in Flagstaff. There I learned about buffalo and some of their habits from the “experts” that put on the class, and I am thankful for that. Looking back on the situation, having a professional guide with years of experience teach the class is a good idea. However, when they will be providing guided hunts at the same time they are providing you with information on where to hunt has the potential for a conflict of interest. When I left the class it felt like there was no other option except to hunt with the group and that if I didn't I would “mess it up for everyone.” Looking back I would have NOT hunted in a group. I will explain below.

In the class I was offered to camp on the road with other buffalo hunters; this seemed like a good idea so we could share information throughout the hunt. What I later learned /felt was that we were offered to camp together so that the “experts” could keep track of everyone while he is out hunting with a paid client. There were several times that we were asked, “Why are you in camp? You need to be out there hunting.” and “Why did you come back?” I wanted to tell them that this was my son's hunt and if we wanted to come back to camp I could, but I never did.

The first morning most of the hunters gathered at the “experts” camp to determine where each hunter was going to hunt. Like promised in the class there was a blind, chairs and camera at each location. My first thought was this was too good to be true. Over the next 4 days we stayed 10-12 hours in the blind. On the fifth day is when things got very interesting.

We woke up and met like we had done for the past several days before going out. At this time everyone went to their “assigned” area, however I was told that he wanted to move me and give me a better chance to see a buffalo. That morning he had spotlighted in the meadow and stated that he only saw 4 bulls an no cows. So I took his word for it and moved locations. He even made sure that I made it to the blind by sending his wife to escort us which he never had done before. After sitting in this location and afraid to get up and walk around for fear of messing it up, I finally walked around the area and pulled the game camera card.

What I found out was that there had been no buffalo in the area for the past three days which was opposite of what he told us and there were three buffalo skeletons that had been butchered out with in 100 yards of my original blind. I found this a little disappointing as I thought they put me in this location to help me find a buffalo.

I decided to leave the location and go back to the area we were first “assigned”. What I found was very disappointing. I found that the “expert” had moved me to a different location so he could bring in a paying client to kill a buffalo. When I went there all the tracks had been brushed away, all the cards from the camera had been removed and the blood was mostly cleaned up, but there was enough left to determine what had happened. Blood, hair, and truck tracks were all throughout the blind area. I was on my way back to camp when stopped by the “expert” and wanted to know how my day was. I stated that I should have stayed in the same blind, at this time I could see that he knew that I knew what had happened.

He went on the defensive very quickly, stating that he did all this work for the hunters, and that if I wanted to question him I could got out on my own. I just wanted to know why he would take the information that he had and basically 'sell us out' for a paying client. I then asked him that what would happen if I chose not to change blinds, he response was that he would circle around and shoot the buffalo before they got to your blind. I also asked him why he did not get on the radio, and call other hunters like he taught in in class. At this point I could see that there was no point in asking any more questions, because he was very upset that I had caught on to the true situation.

We continued to hunt in the original location, and on the morning of the 7th day we were in the blind earlier that anyone expected, including the expert and his client. As we settled into our blind we saw them checking the game camera for “our area” they never knew we saw them after this we packed our things and came home.

I contacted the Game and Fish department and they said it was my choice to hunt with him or not and would not change the way they were operating. I asked to attend the next class and they said that that was not a good idea and would not provide me with the dates and location of the next class. So I did the next best thing inform the public of my experiences. Like I stated in the start of this story the expert did exactly what he said he would and I am thankful for that. His intentions may be good, however please be advised you don't have to hunt “with” him and be aware you may be shot out if the saddle if he can make a dime. He may have helped a lot of people but this is what happened to me and my son. If you get a chance as him why he did what he did it would be interesting The head person for the g&f stated that he had never attended a "special buffalo meeting" and did not know what was being taught.

 

I now recommend hunter to take the information that Russ gives out with a grain of salt because he is not always truthful in what he says.