Kevin,
Funny how that works...Although, I would rather be lucky than good...
ps...The lucky part in this country (at least for the bigger bucks) is the weather...Lots of folks get lucky when that early snows come...
.
Scouting the "A"
- Thread starter ilovesprig
- Start date
Kevin,
Funny how that works...Although, I would rather be lucky than good...
ps...The lucky part in this country (at least for the bigger bucks) is the weather...Lots of folks get lucky when that early snows come...
.
Thanks for the great write-up. The Eastern Sierras are at the top of my list of favorite places. Looking forward to the day when I will draw an X zone tag. Accumulating points now, and working hard in D16 to learn the tricks of the trade while waiting.
I’ve said this many times…If you can be successful in Socal…Then you can be successful anywhere…Big game, turkeys, or fowl
So cool.
I was in that area in late winter and all the roads to the mountains were closed. But the terrain looked awesome.
I applied for that tag but did not get with only 1 point. I am ok with not getting it this year.
In my mind I have not earned it yet.
But I will draw it or similar sometime. And when I do I will reach out for help.
I hope you guys get a nice one this year.
I was in that area in late winter and all the roads to the mountains were closed. But the terrain looked awesome.
I applied for that tag but did not get with only 1 point. I am ok with not getting it this year.
In my mind I have not earned it yet.
But I will draw it or similar sometime. And when I do I will reach out for help.
I hope you guys get a nice one this year.
Snake Charmer
Happiness is a warm gut pile
Cali Sierra x zones are pretty much about weather unless you are a goat with pack mule. My dear departed friend Henry drew a tag in 2010 right above Bishop. He had family there that knew the terrain and conditions. He asked me to come and use my eyes to help him. He had hunted deer in Cali all his life and had seen it all. When the date came close he said let's not waste our time on the first week as the weather would be hot. It was his hunt and being self employed I was good with it and I waited for his go ahead. The weather forecast for the next week was storms over the mountains off the Pacific. The day came when he wanted to go and we went up to Bishop and the weather came in. For the next four days we would attempt to drive up the mouintain and hike. Everytime we tried the snow was so heavy and visibility so poor it drove us back down. Finally on the fifth day it quit right at dawn. We made it as far as four wheel drive would take us and hiked even higher. We had radios and posted apart from each other and I set up with tripod optics looking up towards the highest peaks coming off the mountain. It was nothing short of amazing ,what I witnessed was the deer were coming down off the ridges nose to tail. In particular there was one ridge where the snow was chest deep and the deer were plowing through it to get down. I was watching the bottom of the ridge where Henry was posted a bit above it and I saw a buck with what is the largest set of antlers I have ever seen in the wild alive. I was easily 700 to 800 hundred yards away and I started to shake because it was so big I just couldn't believe how big it was. I grabbed the radio and whispered to Henry that I had just seen the biggest deer I had ever seen but did not know if it would come by him. It disappeared and few minutes later I heard his rifle go off _ Boom!. He calls me a few minutes later and says I got one come on down. Hiked down and met him above a very nice 4x4, not the deer I saw but a nice deer by any standard in this part of the world. Hank knew a good deer when he saw one he was not a trophy guy and took what was in front of him. Here's the deer he shot that day . Didn't mean to steal the thread but that x zone memory was one of the best I have I apologize for ranting. I hope it gives Josh some inspiration. Good luck Josh and Steve... I hope you have good luck and get the conditions that make it possible.
Last edited by a moderator:
Snake Charmer
Happiness is a warm gut pile
P.S. Since my friend Hank passed I was fortunate enough through NBK who was his firend as well to inherit the antlers with the tag still attached from the day he harvested it. Best memory I have and still own physically...
Fred,
Thanks for sharing this memory...I have many fond memories as well, including many very 1st buck at age 12...I'm very excited for Josh.
ps...Totally agree about the weather...I've seen herds of of deer that boggle the mind, when those early snows hit...Pic circa 1959
.
Don't mean to jack the thread but I think it has some relevance.
Is there some kind of etiquette to bear hunting in an X zone since the seasons open at the same time? I'd imagine that priority is given to the deer hunter but other than that is there anything else to worry about?
Is there some kind of etiquette to bear hunting in an X zone since the seasons open at the same time? I'd imagine that priority is given to the deer hunter but other than that is there anything else to worry about?
The eastern Sierra's are massive no etiquette needed IMO. You will run into way more hikers than you will hunters
great write up steve! I wish you guys the best of luck on the hunt!
p.s. save some gps coordinates for me, I plan on burning my points for this unit in 2022
p.s. save some gps coordinates for me, I plan on burning my points for this unit in 2022
Aaron,
If anyone wants to walk to where we were and try to find the only bear I’ve ever seen in 60 years of hunting there…Then more power to them.