Peaches

[bear]

Was lucky enough to draw a Peaches tag this year.  Changed my focus for the year as I have a couple other hunts planned out of state later in the year.  Still in shock.  I’ve got some experience in the Little Naches side of the unit which is where I’ll spend my time unless I see something that draws me elsewhere.  Had the Little Naches tag 17 years ago and know several people first hand that have had that tag.  I feel like I’m in a good mindset as I don’t need just a decent bull.  So it’s big boy or nothing(unless bull fever gets me) 😁. Should be a fun hunt

[Katmai Guy]

Congrats on the tag.  Have had the archery tag a couple times.

[fishngamereaper]

Which weapon which season.
If you hit any snags reach out..I've got some spots.

[greenhead_killer]

what weapon type? its a fun hunt. had the tag almost 10 years ago.

[bear]

Sorry forgot to mention.  Rifle tag

[yogru]

Congrats!  Love that tag and wish I could pull it again.  Took a nice 6x7 out of there a dozen or so years back.  I'm sure you'll have a great hunt!

[jeffro]

Get in shape, rigid steep country

[CarbonHunter]

Is this the September quality tag or the October bull tag?

[bear]

September

[trophyhunt]

 

September

holy smokes!! Great tag! Yeah, I’d be picky!

[scoutdog346]

Best permit in the state in my opinion

Was lucky enough to draw a Peaches tag this year.  Changed my focus for the year as I have a couple other hunts planned out of state later in the year.  Still in shock.  I’ve got some experience in the Little Naches side of the unit which is where I’ll spend my time unless I see something that draws me elsewhere.  Had the Little Naches tag 17 years ago and know several people first hand that have had that tag.  I feel like I’m in a good mindset as I don’t need just a decent bull.  So it’s big boy or nothing(unless bull fever gets me) 😁. Should be a fun hunt

[GASoline71]

September

holy smokes!! Great tag! Yeah, I’d be picky!

Heck yeah!  Rifle in the rut... one of the best damn tags in the state!  Good luck!

I too am very familiar with the 346 side and have seen some whoppers in there over the last 30 years.

Gary

[tankcdr66]

You might do some additional scouting this summer before the season.  The Forest Service ripped out and blocked many of the roads in the unit.  Not only did they damage the roads, but they also tore out the culverts, so it is difficult to even walk the roads they have closed.  They claim it is to reduce maintenance costs and the risk of large fires.  This is total BS because they have never done maintenance on the old forest roads that we use, never!  We cut the snags out in the spring and make minor repairs while camping and scouting in the summer.  I have never seen FS crews in the area working on the roads, never!

It is an effort to deny access to established areas built by the logging companies, not the government.

Found this out the hard way last season having hunted the unit for the last 40 years. 

[bear]

Definitely doing one or two scouting trips this summer and plan on being there a few days before season.   Although I know some of the good alpine areas I wanna figure out the road and trail system for the rest of it.  Then decide if it’s just a foot hunt or if I need a bike or motorcycle. 

[trophyhunt]

Definitely doing one or two scouting trips this summer and plan on being there a few days before season.   Although I know some of the good alpine areas I wanna figure out the road and trail system for the rest of it.  Then decide if it’s just a foot hunt or if I need a bike or motorcycle.

tough choice, maybe do both, but we would see a lot of different bulls by road hunting during the rut.  Now, I hate road hunting so if I had the tag my butt would be in the back country, prob missing lots of bulls but hopefully seeing the big guys!!  Best time of year to be out there, and with a rifle.... fo getta boot it.

[Stein]

September

holy smokes!! Great tag! Yeah, I’d be picky!

Holy grail tag there, what 2-3 tags now?

I had the bull tag a few years back.  I caught a glimpse and tracked a few monsters but they stayed out of reach.

With the fire growing over I bet there is a ton of feed and great areas to hunt.  Hardest part is probably picking an area as there are so many to chose from.

[bear]

Getting close now. Setting up a camp a couple days before season so I’ll have a day and a half of locating bulls during rut. Can’t wait!

[fishngamereaper]

Good luck Buddy
I'm jealous. smoke a good un.

[bear]

Had a blast on this hunt.   Lots of memories made.   Got to camp on Saturday to set up camp and scout with 5 guys helping.  We went in every direction we could to start to locate bulls. Saw a few decent bulls that afternoon and got an 8 mile hike in.  Sunday I wanted to stay a little closer to the truck so that I was fresh for opening morning.  Didn’t even get a couple miles hiking but spent a lot of time driving to spots and glassing.  That day my son and his friend who are both hardcore back country hunters did a 16 mile hike and got into a ton of bulls and called several into their laps but didn’t see any real shooters.  My brother and his friend did a lot of the grunt work in trying to find access point to areas we hadn’t seen or driving a truck around to drop off so others could do a one way hike.  It was much appreciated. Opening morning we hiked into a spot we had heard 4 bulls down in the bottom of a big canyon.  It was blowing 30 mph that day and we couldn’t really hear the bulls and they couldn’t hear us well either.  The sound of that wind blowing through burnt timber is amazing!  Kinda a combination of a jet engine, 1000 people whistling, and a 100 coyotes howling.  Very strange!  We dropped down into the valley enough to get out of some of the wind.  Starting hearing a few bulls.   Glassed for a couple hours but couldn’t find the growly bull. 

[bear]

We decided to drop down even further to see if we could get him to move into a spot where we could see him.  We got to within a few hundred yards and finally got him interested.   He passed by us about 100 yards away through the burnt timber and I could have had a quick shot but it was opening morning and I passed on him.  We estimated him to be a 315 bull.   

[bear]

Monday night we finally figured out a back way into the other unit where we knew the bigger bulls traditionally lived.  I went with my son and his friend that day as the other guys agreed to search other areas.  We hiked in a few miles and started hearing bulls exactly where one of the Huntwa members told me they would be.   There were in the bottom of the deep timbered valleys.   We ended up going down after them as they wouldn’t leave their cows.   We got to within a hundred yards of the group but got busted by a cow before we could see anything and the stampede was on.  We got a glimpse of what looked like a good bull crashing through the timber and we pursued for about 30 minutes before he took his herd way off.   We then proceeded to hike out of that hole as the other bull we heard we thought was a satellite bull.   Up on the ridge we heard a nice bull down the other side.  I was pretty spent when the sun poked through the clouds!  I told the guys I’m gonna sit and soak it in and regroup.  I needed to adjust my attitude a bit and the sun sure helped.   I decided I had it in me to drop down in the other hole and go after the best sounding bull.  He was talking most of the way down the valley until the wind shifted to the back of my neck and he shut it down and was gone.   Back out of the hole and hunt a loop back towards camp.  That was a big day with 12+ miles hiking and a lot of elevation lost and gained.

[bear]

Tuesday night and Wednesday morning it was snowing up top.   One of the guys had to go home to work the next day so he stayed back to do a little scouting while we hiked in. We went to an area just below snowline and it was absolutely pouring rain that morning.  We saw a bull but couldn’t tell if it was any bigger than a 5 point.   It was so wet with no visibility that we decided to head out and dry out and hunt lower down in the unit.  When we got to the trailhead the guy who was headed home was there.  He said he saw a 330 bull right off of one of the lower roads.   We headed down.  We located the herd that was supposed to have the bigger bull.  They were in the timber by then.  We got on a road above them and tried to move in on them but the downed trees made it impossible to get to him.  We decided to wait till evening to try and convince him to come out into the meadow below

[bear]

We moved in about an hour before dark and set up.  We weren’t there very long and a cow and spike came into the meadow and fed 60 yards in front of us.  After a few minutes a cow came into the far end of the meadow and as zoomed my scope the cow at 60 yards pinned me and started to bark. She barked continuously for the next 10 minutes until unexpectedly the bull that we thought was the bigger bull come trotting out of the woods and across the meadow to see what her problem was!  Was ironic that he wouldn’t come to cow calls but came to a bark.  He was 60 yards in front of us in the meadow in last light but I decided to pass on this bull as well after double checking with my son. He had a beautiful wide frame but his points didn’t seem very long.  We watched him trot back into the woods and called it a night

[bear]

Thursday morning we decided to go up high in the snow.

[bear]

After about 3 miles we started spotting elk about a half mile off across the valley.  We dropped down to cut the distance but could see the elk as we did that.   We ended up following bugling blindly.  Got to within 70 yards of an old regressed bull.  Backed out and moved up the valley during a heavy snow squall.  When the snow started to let up we were able to find a bedded bull that we confirmed was the second largest bull we’d seen earlier.  When he got up to chase off a rag horn bull we started to get set up.  It was challenging as we had to keep moving to find shooting lanes through the trees.   When we finally got set up it was at 425 yards.  Rushed a couple shots that really frustrates me but ended up putting a good double lung shot in him.   He refused to die and kept getting up and bedding down.  I ended up putting a couple more in him just to make sure he didn’t run off.  A lot more shooting than I would prefer for sure.  He wasn’t the bull I dreamed about but I’m proud of him.  We got him dressed out and loaded into/onto 5 packs just as it got dark.  4 miles later we got to the truck at 11 pm and back to camp at 12am.

[MADMAX]

Great story
Dandy bull
👍👍👍

[bear]

Thanks to the guys on here that were willing to drop a couple pointers to areas of the unit that I wasn’t  familiar with. Also to my Son, his friend, my brother, his friend, and my friend for all the help with the hunt and the heavy pack out!

[bear]

Late night pack out.

[Dan-o]

Right on!
Great hunt!
Great bull!

[Big6bull]

Awesome!!

[X-Force]

Definitely a bull I dream about. Sounds like a hunt of a lifetime.

[fishngamereaper]

Best bulls are the ones you work hard for.
Definitely earned it ..good job on a good bull..

[zwickeyman]

Best bulls are the ones you work hard for.
Definitely earned it ..good job on a good bull..

  Totally agree

Nice bull and congrats

[Karl Blanchard]

Best bulls are the ones you work hard for.
Definitely earned it ..good job on a good bull..

^^^this! Congratulations!

[bracer40]

Great story n pics! Thanks fo sharing with the rest of us!

[Mfowl]

Great bull and congrats! Thanks for taking us along!

[rainshadow1]

Great hunt! Thanks, enjoyed the retelling!

[Falcon]

Late on this one.

Great bull that was earned via a tough guy hunt.  Huge congrats 

[bearhunter99]

That’s a great bull!  Congrats!


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[ganghis]

Awesome!  Way to do that tag justice and thanks for writing up the story.

[Gentrys]

Great writeup!  Thanks for sharing and congrats!

[RB]

Holy smokes that is awesome, congrats! 

[GASoline71]

I love reading stories of hunts like this!  Congrats on an amazing bull and an amazing hunt!

Gary