wildcat westerner
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Nov 14, 2009
- Messages
- 732
Update on this segment and thank you all so very much for your inputs, which were largely Very helpful.
Our hunt was held up by a military mission, but eventually we were allowed to go hunting. None of the checks regarding cameras or searching through the vehicles were enforced. Weather was cool and partly cloudy.
We noted on the directions delivered to us via our radios that there was a road that lead to a restricted zone and since it did not allow access to any other road, reasoned that other hunters would pass it by, so we took it. Basically it was a dirt path with a single set of tire tracks that wandered through the desert. We quickly spotted a bull, who headed quickly for Arizona. We stalked another across a sandy, open area and suddenly realized there was a huge heard of over 40 staring at us, about 250 yards away. We were caught flatfooted and there was a solid mass of bodies with several broken horned bulls and no animals which could be targets outside of the herd. They all took off at once, raising the dust and I was not about to take a hurried shot into the herd. My friends walked to a rise to ascertain exactly where they were going, while I started to return to our truck. On the way back, my friends caught up with me and hurriedly told me thenherd had split up and some were circling around towards us. I set up my shooting sticks I had designed. Both my friends , by now on either side of me could see the Oryx, but I could not through the brush. Eventually I spotted them through a "v" in then branches. It was obvious a large animal was in that group and it came into my view and I fired and cut all arteries and veins off the top of the heart. This is the first time I have used Barnes Bullets and all,of us noted the large impact sound of the hit from my 300 WSM. The animal turned around and fell over.
As we approached we noted it's size, it eventually was weighed after field dressing and hide and head removed at 303 pounds and then butcher estimated it at 220 pounds of meat. The horns were 36 inches, and incredibly it was a cow, so the meat will be delicious. Like a fairy tale,a rainbow appeared and I noted we had found and shot the animal, photographed it, dressed and finally got it into that tall Dodge diesel, which was a real tussle. I noted it was 3:47 and the hunt started at 11:00 for us. My two friends had been trying to draw this once in a lifetime hunt for a total of 21 years, and I realized how lucky I was. What an incredible experience!
Our hunt was held up by a military mission, but eventually we were allowed to go hunting. None of the checks regarding cameras or searching through the vehicles were enforced. Weather was cool and partly cloudy.
We noted on the directions delivered to us via our radios that there was a road that lead to a restricted zone and since it did not allow access to any other road, reasoned that other hunters would pass it by, so we took it. Basically it was a dirt path with a single set of tire tracks that wandered through the desert. We quickly spotted a bull, who headed quickly for Arizona. We stalked another across a sandy, open area and suddenly realized there was a huge heard of over 40 staring at us, about 250 yards away. We were caught flatfooted and there was a solid mass of bodies with several broken horned bulls and no animals which could be targets outside of the herd. They all took off at once, raising the dust and I was not about to take a hurried shot into the herd. My friends walked to a rise to ascertain exactly where they were going, while I started to return to our truck. On the way back, my friends caught up with me and hurriedly told me thenherd had split up and some were circling around towards us. I set up my shooting sticks I had designed. Both my friends , by now on either side of me could see the Oryx, but I could not through the brush. Eventually I spotted them through a "v" in then branches. It was obvious a large animal was in that group and it came into my view and I fired and cut all arteries and veins off the top of the heart. This is the first time I have used Barnes Bullets and all,of us noted the large impact sound of the hit from my 300 WSM. The animal turned around and fell over.
As we approached we noted it's size, it eventually was weighed after field dressing and hide and head removed at 303 pounds and then butcher estimated it at 220 pounds of meat. The horns were 36 inches, and incredibly it was a cow, so the meat will be delicious. Like a fairy tale,a rainbow appeared and I noted we had found and shot the animal, photographed it, dressed and finally got it into that tall Dodge diesel, which was a real tussle. I noted it was 3:47 and the hunt started at 11:00 for us. My two friends had been trying to draw this once in a lifetime hunt for a total of 21 years, and I realized how lucky I was. What an incredible experience!
