I like to talk to my family and friends a lot when application season is in full swing. There’s a ton of excitement and anticipation during that time. However, there is one hunt that stuck out to me in 2024 that really got me pumped. It was when my stepdad, Larry, texted me and said he drew the Henry Mountains bison tag with only 13 points as a resident. It was the second November rifle hunt, and he could either choose a cow or a bull.
The three of us, Tyson (my brother-in-law), Larry (my stepdad), and I, were the only ones going on this hunt. Larry wanted to keep it small because that is his style of hunting. I had a general area in mind. My thought was to be centralized in the unit so that we could cover the country in any direction from camp. It took us an hour and a half from Hanskville to get to our permanent camp on the west side of the range. It was really remote, but it didn’t feel like it because of all the traffic of others coming through. I started to get concerned because all of my waypoints on my onXmaps were either taken or not a good area to settle in, so we continued up the road and finally found a good spot to make home.
We woke up really early because we were excited to get out. I decided the best option was to split up because there were other areas we hadn’t even looked at yet. I didn’t see anything except a lot of deer in the rut, and it was the same with Larry and Tyson. Unfortunately, none of us saw bison opening day. Day two was basically a repeat of day one until all three of us were on a main road trying to decide what our next move was. While we stood there, I decided to glass. I was looking into a steep, tight canyon when all of a sudden I caught a glimpse of some movement. I started going back and forth from binos to spotter to figure out what it was. Sure enough, it was a bull bison. I told Larry and Tyson what I had found, and we were all excited. We hopped on our machines and sped off to get a better look. As we worked towards the bull, we were running out of light quickly, which limited us on making a move. We decided to head back to camp instead and hope he would be in the same area the next morning.
On day three, Larry chose to hike the canyon the bison was in the night before. He met Tyson and me on the road above, and none of us saw anything even while glassing. We had lunch together and came up with another game plan. We drove up the road, and Larry was dropped off, walking downhill into a different canyon in hopes he would run into a bull, while Tyson and I glassed. Thirty minutes before dark, I found two bulls standing in the snow. Unfortunately, I had no service and could not communicate to Larry what I had found. There was no chance of making it work.
On day four, I rushed to the top 30 minutes before light to find those two bulls from last night. Instantly, some hunters from the previous night came up to me and said they had killed a bull in there that night. I didn’t believe them because they quickly rushed off to get another hunter on a bison, so I decided to be done with the area. Overall, day four was slow and discouraging.
The next day, we started driving into new country, but I could tell Larry was disappointed in the area because it didn’t seem right. There was low and dry vegetation, and it was extremely dusty. We drove out of there midday and got a few waypoints from some friends. We tried a few of them with no success.
Day six is when it all came together. At this point, it was hard to wake up in the morning. We were all stuck in our heads. We had low spirits and were trying to navigate what we should change in order to fill this tag. We headed to the north end of the unit, which we hadn’t done before. Larry wanted to stop and look at a previous glassing point before it got too late in the day. All three of us got out of the truck and glassed in all directions for about 10 minutes or so. Tyson and Larry were looking in the higher elevations, and I was looking in the desert floor. I was getting worried about not seeing bison for a few days now, and at that same time, Larry told Tyson, “Why is he looking towards Hanksville? There’s no bison in there.” Shortly after, I glassed four bull bison at 4.87 miles as the crow flies. I was ecstatic! I turned to Tyson and Larry and said, “I found bison! Let’s go!” Everybody’s spirits lifted, and we all climbed into the truck and started booking it toward the herd.
We cut the distance in half, parked the truck, and started walking in the direction where I had last seen the bison. We didn’t see anything for a bit, so I decided to get higher than Tyson and Larry and split up with radios. I found four bison that were all bulls, and I was expecting to find a herd. I contacted Tyson and Larry on the radio and started guiding them in on the bulls. The bulls were slowly working towards the south and bedded on a small ridgeline at approximately 9:30 a.m. Twenty minutes had passed, and Tyson and Larry had located the bulls and started sneaking in on them. Tyson and the bison were in my view, but I couldn’t see Larry. All of a sudden, shots were fired! The first three were all misses, and I couldn’t believe the bison wasn’t running away. There was a moment of silence and then I heard shot number four go off. It sounded like it had definitely hit the bull. Quickly, the bull started swaying back and forth. He spun 180 degrees downhill and smashed his head into a juniper tree. He turned around again, running over the ridgeline and out of sight. A few minutes later, Tyson reached out and said, “We hit a bull. Let’s meet up.”
I got off the high point, went to my truck, and drove as close as I could to their location. I yelled towards them and asked if they had found the bull yet. They told me they hadn’t and they couldn’t see any blood. I took a few steps to my right and the giant bison was lying in a small crevice. I was so happy. It was an awesome bull! I gave Larry a hug and told him congratulations. I was amazed at what we had just accomplished. Everything happened so fast and so flawless.
While talking to Larry, I found out his range was 579 yards prone and it was a clean heart shot. I was very impressed with him. These animals are huge and heavy. Just getting the head and hide into the truck was a three-man job. It was awkward and dense to carry just that part.
Looking back, there are some things I would have done differently and I wanted to share them with you guys who might have a chance to do this once-in-a-lifetime hunt. I would have definitely had more manpower, but I respected Larry’s choice on keeping it very small. I would take a few horses or a couple of Yamahas. That time of year, I wish I would have focused more on the desert floor. The high country and desert floor are both good in their own ways, but I believe there are more bison on the desert land at that time of year. I think a minimum of two weekends of scouting is required for a better outcome.
This whole experience was a bittersweet moment. If you are someone who is truly passionate about hunting, continue to find more hunting opportunities with friends and people you care about because time is short and these experiences are something you’ll only understand if you are there in the moment. Hunting is a way to bond with one another and create those unforgettable memories. I can sit here and write down this story and share it with you all, but you will never truly understand the experience unless you are there. Get out there and explore more country, and get on more hunts if you can. It can change your life for the better.
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