It all started in October 2018. I was sitting outside, caping out a Coues deer head my cousin, Jake, had shot earlier that day. My good friend, Bub Mathews, texted and told me to check my credit card to see if I had drawn a bear tag. I checked my account, and not only did I draw a bear tag, I also saw a $1,100 charge. Right then, I knew what it was for – Arizona once-in-a-lifetime bison! I drew the June 2019 tag, and I couldn’t have been more excited as I proceeded to tell all my friends and family. When the results were posted, I couldn’t believe I had drawn tag #1 with only 9 bonus points. That is almost unheard of!
June couldn’t come fast enough. As I researched bison hunting, thinking I knew what I was doing since I am an experienced hunter, I thought I could handle it on my own. I was mistaken as they are not the easiest critters to hunt. A couple months prior to the hunt, I made the best decision I have ever made in the hunting industry. I reached out to Russ Jacoby. I quickly learned no one knew how to hunt bison like him and made a great decision to use him for the hunt.
Finally, the time had come. I was on my way to bison camp a few days before the hunt so I could get camp set up and also help out where I could. I also wanted to attend the meetings Arizona Game and Fish and Russ put on before the hunt. It was very educational and helped me a lot on the hunt. Pretty much everyone was on the same page and working with Russ, except two hunters. Those of us hunting under Russ were sitting blinds in high traffic areas and staying patient, but the other guys not working with us were walking around and through other hunters’ blind setups. I had a guy walk by me two times, and it was frustrating. No one had seen or had an opportunity at a bison.
On the second day, those hunters decided to join the rest of us and sit still. Instantly, the bison were moving through others’ setups. The days are long in June. I would sit for 16 hours a day, which is not my style, but I knew that was the best way to have an opportunity.
On day three, Russ told me to get my butt over to another salt as fast as possible. By the time I made it there, three hunters had three great bulls down. As I looked on with Russ at three young bulls, I decided to pass. It was a tough decision knowing I would have to sit in a blind for more days. We all worked together to get the three bulls out of the field as fast as possible. Russ instructed me to sit in that same salt the following day, and it was a great choice. I sat down just after first light, and within 30 minutes, I could hear some heavy breathing and my heart started pounding because I knew what was coming. I could see him walking down the trail, and when I got clear view, I could see he was an absolute giant. I waited for him to get to the salt, and as soon as he put his nose to the salt, I let him have it with my 28 Nosler. I was able to hit him three times before he got out of view.
I made the call to basecamp to let Jacob Jacoby know, and he and a good friend that I met on this hunt, Glen Taylor, came to help me retrieve him. It took everything all three of us had to roll him over enough to take the amazing photos Jacob got of the bison and me. It took us 9 hours to get him out of the field, back to camp, and all broken down and in the cooler. It was an unforgettable experience. I met a lot of great new people that I now call my friends.
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