This father-daughter team completed a once-in-a-lifetime hunt! Hunting bison on the Kaibab is a dream come true, but killing a bison on the Kaibab presents its own challenges unbeknownst to many hunters. My grandma drew the Arizona bull bison tag and gave it to me. Even though I was really excited, I didn’t want to go hunting because I didn’t want to shoot a bigger gun. I was scared because earlier that summer I had gotten popped in the shoulder by a .7mm-08 and was burnt by a .22 shell while target shooting with my family. I still needed to complete my in-person hunter safety course as well. I was afraid to shoot the .22 at the hunter safety course, so my dad, my brother, and I spent the afternoon before the course practicing shooting at our cabin. At the Arizona Game and Fish Hunter Safety Course, I had to shoot a bolt action .22. When I shot it, I realized the shells didn’t pop out like the one that burnt me. After I finished the course, I wasn’t scared of the bolt action .22, so I asked my dad if I could have a gun just like it. He got me a smaller version for finishing my hunter safety course.
To prepare for my hunt, we started off target practicing with my new gun. I tried shooting in different positions and practiced shooting targets. I worked up from shooting a .22 to an AR-15 all the way up to the 6.5 PRC that I shot my bison with. I drew bison targets on cardboard and shot over 100 times per gun. I spent hours on the phone with my guides, Laura and Russ Jacoby from Adapt Adventures, and they told me about the hunt. They also taught me how to identify a bull bison before shooting it and about shot placement.
Getting closer to the hunt, I was really excited to sit in the blind, but I wasn’t prepared for how long I was really going to be there for. It was a six-and-a-half-hour drive to get to the Kaibab.
I rode with my Papa Young and drew pictures to keep me busy. After we got to camp, my dad drove us to Grand Canyon National Park to show me the bison. Then we went to the hunter meeting where we met the other 11 hunters. I realized I was the only kid on the hunt. It was pretty cool because the other hunters were really excited for me. They told me I was really lucky to have the tag, and they all hoped I got one.
On the first day of the hunt, we got up at 3:00 a.m. We had our hunter meeting and found the spot where our blind was. Russ walked us and three other hunters to our blinds. In total, there were nine people. As we walked to our blind, there were two bison there. I first thought I didn’t want the hunt to be over that quick. Everyone knew one of the bison was a bull, but I was too short to see over the bushes and trees. My dad and I moved up the hill, but I still couldn’t get a good shot because the brush was too thick and it was hard to see if the other bison was a bull. It faced me and then quickly turned and walked towards the park boundary. We spent the rest of the day sitting in our blind and did not see another bison.
The next few days, we got up at 3:30 a.m. and sat in our blind for 16 hours each day. We took turns napping, but my dad kept snoring, so I had to wake him up. To keep us busy, we practiced shooting the deer that came into the salt, watched movies, read books, and listened to audiobooks. We couldn’t use our cell phones because we didn’t have any service, but we could message other hunters and Russ on our InReach. Sometimes it got really windy, and we had to hold down the tent and try not to get dust in our eyes.
On the fifth day, it was getting pretty hard to wake up, so I prayed that I would be well rested, and on the sixth day, I woke up well rested. Each morning, we would hunt our way into the salts and check for fresh sign and tracks. We didn’t see any. I messaged the other hunters to see if they saw any sign at their salts, but none of them had.
We walked out to the road to pick up my mom and brother. They came back to the blind with us for the rest of the day. Even with all four of us in the blind, we still had deer come into the salts, but no bison. On the seventh and ninth days, we came back to camp to hang out with my mom, brother, and papas for lunch. We went back to the blind at 4:00 p.m. and stayed until it was dark. The days got really long and boring. I was sad because I was missing my All-Star softball games. I was also worried I wasn’t going to get a bison.
On the ninth day, even though my dad didn’t want my mom to mess up, he let her sit the rest of the day in the blind with me. We didn’t see a bison. I did not want to get up on the tenth day because my mom was leaving, and she was the one who got me through each day. She woke up each morning at 3:00 a.m. and made my dad and me hot chocolate and a hot breakfast. I was also worried that I wasn’t going to be able to get a bison because none of us had seen any bison at our blinds. I thought I was just going to be sitting in the blind for the next four days.
The tenth day of my hunt was Father’s Day. Like usual, my dad and I didn’t see anything when we got into our blind at around 5:00 a.m. It had been 10 full days since we had seen a bison. I had fallen asleep, and my dad was trying his best to stay awake. Dad heard really loud footsteps and looked up and saw a huge bison running to the salt. It came in broadside to us and then turned and faced us. Dad woke me up, and I was thinking there was no way! It took us a second to get ready and make sure it was a bull. The only shot I had was the head. I shot, and it dropped. Then it got back up and I shot it two more times before it died. When my dad and I went and looked at it, I was still shaking. It happened so fast! I was still in shock that I had shot a bison and was so glad the hunt was finally over. I never imagined the hunt would take so long. I was only the second hunter to kill a bison out of the 12 hunters who had drawn a tag.
We used my dad’s Garmin InReach to message Russ and tell him we got one. We waited for everyone to come, and I was so excited to see my mom, little brother, and papas to show them my bison and tell them about shooting it. The entire bison hunting camp showed up. After we took pictures, we took the bison back to camp and skinned it. My mom and papas helped take the meat to the butcher and the hide to the taxidermist and then went home. Dad, Breckon (my little brother), and I stayed to show the rest of the hunters the skull.
Looking back, my first big game hunt was one I will never forget. I just can’t believe I was one of only two hunters to kill a bison during my hunt. I had no idea that this hunt was going to be so hard. I want to thank all the other hunters in camp as well as Laura and Russ Jacoby for their support and encouragement. Thanks to my family for supporting and trusting me, especially my dad. Happy Father’s Day, Dad!
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