What Have We Been Up To? PART 2! FINISHED!!!

[Coues 'n' Sheep]

 

 

But, seriously Lance.... ... this is really not that fun..... I just want to see the Bloody PICS!!!

[Lance]

The next day we woke to the quiet sound of no rain..... We headed out with high hopes that some buffalo may have come back into the area and I was going to cover all of it to find out. We checked some of the more accessible country together and then I took Dennis to a high point overlooking some common buffalo routs. Being that Dennis couldn't walk well he would hunt in this stand spot while I combed the country. I needed to find out if any were in the area or where they had gone. I knew there was a large group of buffalo some where in the unit and they had been there for a while. I know there are plenty of buffalo that hang out on the park all the time and some would say that all the buffalo did and that it was an impossible hunt. But obviously they don't all hang out there. At least not all the time! So that day I jumped on my quad and drove every road in the lower country looking for tracks . Every road, and many of them twice. For those that have never been there before, thats quite a few more than 50 or 60 miles. After finding nothing, I parked the quad and began hiking. The rest of the day was spent hiking 7 miles through roadless country from glassing point to glassing point. Not a drop of fresh buffalo sign was found high or low. But at least we knew they weren't there and we could move on! That day the clouds built up big but it didn't rain! I even got a sun burn that day and was glad to have it!

 

Below are some of the pictures from that day.

Below is an old buffalo wallow.

Western Tanager were everywhere!

 

[Lance]

But, seriously Lance.... ... this is really not that fun..... I just want to see the Bloody PICS!!!

 

 

 

I'm sorry, but like I said at the beginning of this story, This story is about the journey and not the kill. If you dont like the other pictures,You can come back when the title says "Finished" But maybe he didn't even get one.... now you have to wait tell tonight for the end.

 

Lance

[Coues 'n' Sheep]

But, seriously Lance.... ... this is really not that fun..... I just want to see the Bloody PICS!!!

 

 

 

I'm sorry, but like I said at the beginning of this story, This story is about the journey and not the kill. If you dont like the other pictures,You can come back when the title says "Finished" But maybe he didn't even get one.... now you have to wait tell tonight for the end.

 

Lance

 

 

I love ALL the pics and the story Lance..... ... but the time delay is like waiting for the Cardinals to go to the Super Bowl.... ... after a while even the most patient fan has to wonder if we would ever get there!!!!

[jimhdawson]

I love all the pics and your story. The N Kaibab is my favorite place in AZ so all the pics are great, and its fun seeing scenery I recognize and have been in.

[Lance]

Next day continued!

 

The next morning started out a couple of hours earlier and we headed around to check out some holes on the high end of the unit! Once again Dennis took a stand, this time on a watter hole while I covered country and glassed some more.

 

I found plenty of buff sign but none within the week. I eliminated spot after spot just going down the list of all our favorite little buffalo spots. But I could still find no sign within the week. By late afternoon I had put the puzzle together and decided on one last spot. The sign I had found led me to believe thats where they might be. We had covered everything from point A to point B and had discovered what they had done and where they had been everywhere in between. I was pretty sure it was going to be the spot and the day was getting late, so I went and grabbed Dennis so we could have the gun there while we checked it out!

 

On the way into the area I found Buffalo tracks on the side of the road! They were old but from the amount of wear from the rain I could tell they were within the time frame I was looking for! I checked a few more areas and Bingo, sign from two days earlier! We went for a hike through an area I knew to be popular for buffalo in past years and found more sign there than I had ever seen before! A little more searching and we found sign from the day before! That was it, we were off on a chase trying to outrun the setting sun! I had a good idea of the pattern of the buffalo in the area and I wanted to try to intercept that pattern before dark! We had about an hour to get the shooting done and all night to get one out because I had to leave the next morning! Soon we were hot on the trail and now had stinking sign from that morning! We could tell there had been loads of buffalo in the area and the group we were following was just a splinter of the rest of them. This group had six buffalo in it with one being a huge bull! Now again, I remind you that Dennis was after a cow buffalo. But he also said he would shoot the first one he saw and that brought excitement to me knowing an animal making that size of track was less than half a day ahead of us and didn't know we were coming!

 

Below are pictures from that day.

Below a Clark's Nutcracker enjoying the sky high view!

Below a Western Fence lizard keeps me company while glassing

The pretty Yellow Rumped Warbler were also everywhere!

 

 

We snuck through the woods as quiet and as fast as we could but we were not able to find them before dark. It was hard knowing what I knew of their pattern from the sign I found that night and knowing I had to leave the next morning. We had put in so much time miles and effort to find them again after Dennis missed the first one it was hard to have to leave. , and I didn't want to give them time to leave! I felt we just needed a day in the area and the job would be done. I would be able to be back on Monday morning but the buffalo were there, now, and we knew what they were doing there, now. I had a little time Friday morning that I could get in there with Dennis and make a good effort but there wasn't enough time to give a downed buffalo the kind of attention and respect it needed.

I didn't want to take the chance of waiting tell Monday so I called Russ and told him what I had found! We made plans to trade places and he would get to do the fun part!

 

You gotta love it when you have an awesome team you can count on in any situation! Thanks Guys!

 

Friday morning Dennis and I moved camp to the other side of the unit and I left him there to wait for Russ and headed for home. On my way home I had a bad blowout on my truck! Had we filled the tag before that, I would have been pulling my trailer during the blowout! I believe our Father in Heaven was watching over our hunt in many ways beyond that as well. I handed the hunt off to Russ and told him what and where and the trail he needed to be on Saturday morning. Russ was very familiar with the area and I knew he would do his best and get the job done if it could be done!

Russ arrived in camp late Friday night, grabbed a couple winks of sleep and he and Dennis headed out for the area Russ and I had planned out! They parked quite a ways off and hiked into the area to be as quiet as possible. Russ quickly found the trail I had told him about and began to stalk down it with Dennis. We weren't sure of the exact time of morning the buff would be in the area but from the sign I had found Thursday night we were sure it was going to be in the morning sometime. That is, as long as someone hadn't spooked them in the meantime! After a short ways down the trail Russ stops to listen. "You hear that?" Russ says. Russ tells Dennis to load the gun and get in front of him.

 

They began stalking down the trail again. Russ slows down Dennis and tells him he hears buffalo down the trail. "You sure?" "Yea, and I hear a bunch of them!" Pretty soon Dennis can hear them as well! They ease down the trail a little more until Russ stops them. "They are moving our way" Russ whispers to Dennis. They wait and soon can see the backs of several buffalo coming over a rise just down the trail! Nerves are tense! They set up for a shot and wait for a clear buffalo! The buffalo continued to come as more and more of them file up the trail. Soon buffalo are all over in the narrow canyon before them and the lead cow rounds a tree at 20 yards and stops! She stares down Dennis and Russ as she tries to determine what they are.

 

More buffalo file up the trail behind her and Russ can see several bulls in the immediate background mixed into the first dozen or so buffalo. A huge herd of 50 buffalo continues to file up the trail behind the first few as Dennis sights in on the lead cow! She is not sure what to think of the two camo forms blocking the trail and sidesteps showing her side to Dennis. It's a quartering on shot but its a clear one and if he waits any longer there will be too many buffalo and the chance for a pass through too great. Dennis touches off the trigger and the cow leaps off the trail to the left just out of sight! The entire canyon of 50 buffalo and two humans comes to a quiet standstill as the echo of the shot drifts through the timber. A huge Bull emerges from the herd and stares toward the lead cow.... All is silent..... Russ slowly reaches forward and grabs a tight hold on Dennis's clothing from behind and looks for a safe place to throw him in preparation of the imminent stampede that he knows is coming....... The crashing of the cows body hitting the ground breaks the silence and the big bull whirls in a thundering stampede, leading the rest of the herd out of the canyon to the right of the two anxious hunters! The ground pounding, rock throwing, tree thrashing, rock your world stampede continued just yards away for a few brief and tense moments as 49 buffalo vacate the canyon!

 

The two hunters stand still and wait a while for things to calm down. They still cant see the cow and are not sure of the exact situation so they just wait it out for a while and gather themselves. Russ sends a text message to me saying they shot and are now waiting. But of course there is no signal there and I wouldn't get the message tell latter that day.

 

After the wait they ease forward and there lies Dennis's big beautiful cow only a few yards from where she was shot! A humbled celebration fallowed and a long photo session. After the photos Russ hikes back to get some more gear and brings his quad down the old logging road and over to the Buffalo. While cutting up Dennis's cow the herd of buffalo came right back through the way they had left! They came running by in two big groups just a minute apart. They were able to count them this time and thats how they know there were 50 of them! The weather was good and warm up to this point but faithful to the the reputation of the Kaibab it changed in a moment and began to snow and hail giant snowballs! It was actually just what the meat needed to cool down without having to bone it right away so Russ hauled it out in two big skinned out pieces. Russ is an animal!

Below are some of the pictures Russ took that day

 

If you remember from the first hunt, Dennis was the one who broke his rifle in two. And now, a picture of the big and short blood trail from Dennis's second rifle!

Dennis, Just taking it all in.... There was alot to take in!

The smile says it all!

 

Ok for those of you who became blood thirsty waiting for this story to end, this ones for you!

 

What is the Bab without a sudden change in the weather!

 

 

When they reached camp Russ was able to get out some messages letting us know the job was done and they were packing up camp and hooking up the trailers to come home, unless I had some more Buffalo hunters to send him! haha lol! But indeed he was the guide with the trigger man on each buffalo! Way to get it done Russ, ie-"Buffalo Hump"!

 

They arrived at my home in Flagstaff safely that afternoon. After a big dinner with my extended family and Russ's we finished cutting up the buffalo and got it into the freezer. The next morning we loaded Dennis up with his meat, took his buff to the taxidermist and got him on his way home to his family!

 

 

Thanks Dennis! You are a trooper indeed! Congrats on getting the beautiful buffalo you set out to get! It was a hunt of a lifetime with friends we all will never forget! We look forward to hunting with you again!

 

Thanks to the TLO Buffalo Crew and the countless hours they dedicated to these hunts in the field and out!

 

Thanks to our Families back home who had our backs and supported us in every way, day in and day out! Without your support, none of it is possible!

 

Thanks to the readers of these stories for their patience, and to Amanda for requesting we post the stories! I hope the pictures brought it to life for you all and I hope you enjoyed it! We sure did!

 

Thanks!

Lance Crowther

and the TLO Buffalo Crew!

 

 

[Lance]

OK, so I gave away the ending before the CWT Flagstaff area Get to Gether, but you should still come any way! Next weekend starting June 19th!

 

 

And I hope you apply for this once in a lifetime kill buffalo hunt! It is truly a one of a kind experience! The spring hunt ends this evening, I hope everyone else was able to fill their tags! I cant wait to go back and hit it again for another year!

 

Lance

 

 

 

 

 

PS. Added 7/10/09- Our hunter Dennis wanted to write something about his hunt, so he wrote up some comments about his hunt and other things and He requested that I add them to this post on CWT.

 

So here is what Dennis wrote....

 

 

This is a 2009 Arizona Buffalo hunt tale from the hunt/client’s point of perspective.

 

I want to keep this post, via Lance of TLO Guide Services, as brief as I can so that you will not fall sleep before the end.

 

Where to start? Well I have been an Arizona Sportsman hunting big game for some 45 years. Thanks to TLO, I now have nine of the big ten. Moreover, this coming fall season I have drawn a trophy bull permit. My fellow hunters now want me to play the lottery. I do not gamble.

 

I am sixty four years young with many health issues. I have harvested a number of large game animals without assistance. However, when I drew for an Arizona Buffalo at House Rock I knew I was in over my head because of the terrain as well as the size of the game. I know of what I speak because I have harvested three buffalo in Co. After each harvest, I had a large amount of assistance of the ranch owners.

 

Now first I must applaud the efforts of the entire TLO guide service whose performances are without question top notched and extremely professional. Please allow me to name names. Chief guide is Lance, followed closely by Russ, John and Jake. Their monumental dedication to their chosen field is beyond question. If they need me as a reference, they are but to ask.

 

Second, I feel compelled to express my slant on a few reported highlights and lowlights of my buffalo hunt experience. True my favorite rifle and I “parted” ways early in the hunt leaving me a hunter with a tag only. Well Russ is not “just” an engineer, but a true outdoors “make it work” type of individual. No doubt you have viewed the picture of my Browning.

 

The time between the first and second half was spent near the field because my last vehicle accident does not allow me to travel any distance without extreme pain. So to go back to Tucson was out of the question. As it turned out, I indeed needed the time to enjoy my surrounding and my own company. This brings to mind the story of the old lone bull. He wanted nothing more then eat and sleep on his own terms. Then one day the rancher spotted him and said he needed to go to market because he can no longer be of “service”. I/we on the other hand have more control of our latter years then this old bull. However, I for one tend to enjoy my own company more as we get to be senior (bull).

 

The second half of my adventure can best be expressed as army boot camp. I was not in control one minute. My infamous miss can be described in two parts. First I have always told myself to be sure of target down range. When I heard two bulls and could only see the middle half of one and did not know enough of the facts until I remembered “trust your guide”. Now is where the story gets differing from my point of view. I am six foot one inch and my guide is about six foot four or so. My eye level is equal to his shoulder level. Add to that the height of a rifle and scope plus the fact that the shot was somewhat down gradient, I was standing on my tiptoes to see any part of the target. The rest is as they say history.

 

Please allow me to fast forward a bit. It is two and a half days past my contract hunt and a change in guides because of prior commitments. As it turned out (engineer), Russ who was also in the buffalo hunter Richard’s harvest was in mine as well. (You may recall from Lance’s tale that Russ repaired my first problem rifle). Suffice to say my kill was about sixty feet form Russ and me and died hundred and ninth feet form my rifle barrel. TLO in 2009 is two for two. This should tell you all to hook up with TLO for not only buffalo but also any time you want great guides.

 

The following is mostly for my own benefit-

 

Here comes the “hard-spot” to many Coues hunters. Since my last accident, I have had to give up my cover ground fast and hard. I hunted in this stile so that the Coues will give up their hiding spot by becoming nervous. Now I will give in to “glassing”. I use to say that glassing is an old man's way to hunt. In my opinion, this is a lazy hunting technique. To me the definition of hunting is to pursue not sit and glass or in a tree stand… Please do not reply to this less then popular technique.

 

In sum, I need one more paragraph to boast of my hunting history. My best achievement is my twenty-eight Coues in forty years of hunting this desert-gray-ghost. Most of the deer I shot on the run at distances of two to four hundred yards. I took an antelope at House Rock at four hundred six yards on a dead run. I do have my son-in-law to verify that tale. So I really am one of those hunters that find forty yard targets a challenge. On the other hand, I found long shots easy to accomplish. Therefore, with the new member of the family (338 Lapua who I have named EVE) I can once again be near my element except that I will not chase down any more Coues.

 

 

Thank you for putting up with my gab and me, once again, to thank Russ, Jake, John and Lance from TLO.

 

Dennis, AKA Maverick

[Gr8 White Jr]

OUTSTANDING!!!!! Although the wait was torturous it was well worth it! Great story again Lance! Both buff stories have to be the best I have ever read. Congrats to Dennis on hanging in there and getting the trophy he wanted and congrats to TLO as well!

 

-Tracy

[loco4coues]

AWESOME PICS AND STORY!! THANKS FOR SHARING.

[Packer]

Awesome story and pics. Thanks for taking the time to post it for us.

 

Aaron

[tjhunt2]

Congratulations to Richard, Dennis, and your whole TLO organization. It was a real pleasure to tag along on these hunts from my chair and my hat is off to each and everyone who participated in those hunts. Lance, you took all the hard work out of it for us readers even though we all probably felt like we were there as you told the stories. It was nothing less than first class from the start to the finish. Thank you!

 

TJ

[jimhdawson]

THANKS These 2 stories were of the most enjoyable I've read. I would love to get a tag up there.

[Tines]

PERFECT!

[lucky2hunt]

I saw Russ today at the archery shoot and told him I couldn't wait for you to finish this... THANK YOU! whew Awesome adventure and great story! As I told Russ, you guys are amazing! Congrats and thanks for the pictures and the story!

Ilene

[matthewp45]

When I get drawn for buff. I am calling you before anybody else. Way to go Lance, that was such an awesome story.