As the deadline was fast approaching for the Nevada Big Game Draw, Greg and I were going through the Huntin’ Fool magazine, trying to decide what to do for this year’s drawing. This coming November was going to be my 50th birthday, and I was already excited about hunting a good mule deer. We had both been talking about how we were guaranteed a good mule deer tag in Colorado if no one moved over with more points. If we were going to draw anything in Nevada, it had to be one of the top units the state had to offer. We made our decision on where to apply and felt pretty good.
When the draw results came out for Nevada, I had been so used to getting the unsuccessful result that I never even opened my email. A few days later, one of my good friends called me and asked if I had any luck in the Nevada draw. I told him no, but when I had finished talking with him, I thought I just as well check and make sure. When I opened it, to my surprise, it said successful! I had drawn a bull elk tag. I immediately texted all my friends and family that I hunt with all the time to let them know the good news. One of them asked me what I was going to do with the Colorado and Nevada hunts. I started thinking of what I could do and how I could try and make these?two hunts work out. I told Greg I was?going to turn my Colorado tag in and?spend the time in Nevada. When the?results came in for Colorado, Greg?called me and said we didn’t draw our Colorado deer tags. I must admit, this was the first time ever that I was excited to get that news.
I got prepared for the new area. I spent a lot of time looking over maps of the unit and putting together a plan of where I thought the elk might be. I also reached out to good friends who had hunted out there and asked them for any pointers on where to start.
When July got here, my son, Jayce, and I decided to head out to look the country over. The same weekend, my brother, Randy, my brother-in-law, Garrison, and my nephew, Hayden, went out to do some looking as well. We stayed in contact as we looked around and started learning the roads and country. We all found a lot of elk sign and saw a pretty good bunch of elk. As the next few weeks passed, we looked at bulls and had an idea of where we wanted to hunt. On one scouting trip in September with my boys, Carston, Jayce, and soon-to-be son- in-law Adam, we found what we had hoped to find, a few great bulls. Carston and I went into a new area and found a couple really nice bulls. We met up with Adam and Jayce, and they told us about another great bull they had seen. We decided that we would spend the last couple of days over in the area we were planning on spending most of our time hunting in.
We got over there, dropped the trailer off, and split up to look during the last hour of light. Jayce and I took off and ended up turning up the biggest bull we had seen so far. He was a heavy, long tined 6x6 with a little 3" split on the top of his right G5. We watched him for a while, and he looked to be a great bull at around 370"+. I would shoot him first thing on opening morning with no hesitation. After all, this bull had great mass and great tine length. From that point on, we started calling him “Mr. Big.”
The next morning, we went over in the same area but couldn’t locate this bull again. We split up to try and get him located. Later that day and several bulls later, we never located Mr. Big. Carston said he had found another great bull. It was wide with long beams and tines. It was a 6x7 with an extra G1. He was another bull I knew would be around that 370" mark. However, if I had my choice, it would be Mr. Big with the split fifth on the right side.
With my hunt starting in three days, we were getting ready to head out to see if we could relocate Mr. Big or one of the other great bulls we had been watching. The night before we left, my wife, Tricia, and my kids threw me a surprise 50th birthday party. They gave me a new tripod and a new universal Scope Cam.
The next morning came, and we headed for Nevada. We got camp all set up and were off to start looking. We split up to cover extra country, and when we returned to camp, my good friend, Ryan, and his dad, Rod (my godfather whom I was named after), were sitting there smiling and gave me a thumbs up. I had been checking on another great bull, #2 on the list. I told the guys I had seen a few bulls and had a bull I never got a good look at that was big and could have been the #2 bull. Ryan said he had a giant bull found. Jayce and Adam also said they had found a great bull.
That evening, I told Jayce and Adam to go back and see if they could get some good video of the bull they had found. Randy and Nate went over to where I had seen the bull earlier to check on him. I went with Ryan, and just before dark, I finally found the bull he was talking about. I immediately recognized this bull. It was Mr. Big. I videoed him until dark and then went back to camp and informed them we had found Mr. Big.
As the next few days passed, I sat on Mr. Big and watched him morning, noon, and night. I took Jayce with me the night before the hunt, and it took us a long time before we finally found him again. He was staying in the thick. We put him to bed and hoped he was there in the morning. Jeff Sanders, my brother-in-law, was able to come out the night before to help me with my hunt. We all put down our guesses on a piece of paper of what we thought Mr. Big would score if I harvested him.
The plan was made for Jayce and me to get up at 2:30 a.m. and head in as it was a three-hour hike to get to where we wanted to be. As daylight started to appear, I noticed there wasn’t anything moving. I finally spotted a bull across the canyon, and we looked him over. Then another couple of bulls were moving around but not the right one. Jayce said there was another bull down lower. As he got the spotting scope on him, he said, “Dad, it’s him.”
We ranged the yardage. He was at 557 yards. When I finally got things lined up where I felt comfortable with the shot, I squeezed the trigger. Jayce said, “Great shot, Dad! You smoked him!”
Jayce said to shoot again, so I did. He said to shoot one more time, so I shot a third time and hit the bull again. Then he went down. I high fived my son and then got a hold of the crew. I told them to bring the mules. They were almost as excited as I was. When the guys got there, we took a few pictures and headed down the mountain.
The pursuit of Mr. Big was one of the most memorable hunts of my whole life. I have been blessed to have such great friends and family over the years. Family is everything to me. Special thanks to those who couldn’t be there for all the help – Craig, Taylor, Hayden, Garrison, Cody, Wyatt, Kirk, Chris, Linda, and Dustin. These guys are the greatest and have always helped me out for anything I have ever needed. Special thanks also to my immediate family, Tricia, Carston, Calin, and Kendra. I wish they all could have made it out to experience it as well. Most of all, I would like to thank Tricia for all she does for me during these hunts. She has taken care of the food and everything else for 28+ years. She has put in a ton of hours over the years for sure. When this year first started, I was dreading turning 50, and now I look at this 50th birthday and can’t imagine a better one than getting to harvest a giant bull like Mr. Big!
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