Late Henry Bison Cow Bison

[Jake538]

Hello Rokslide!

I’ve posted some comments here and there as I’ve browsed through this forum over the last couple of years. I’ll call myself an FNG from southern Utah County (originally Eastern Washington) , I’m in nursing school with a wife and baby boy!

To move on to the title at hand, I’ve drawn a Henry Mountain Bison Late Cow tag with 5 points. A once in a lifetime opportunity and I want to capitalize on it.

I will probably have a week long window to hunt considering my schooling and work obligations. and am considering hiring a guide as I have never set foot in the Henries.

I have a 7 rem mag, load suggestions? I was thinking 150 Barnes ttsx or 139 LRX? Not opposed to partitions or Swift A-Frames. My dad can do some reloading but I may have to purchase factory ammo.

Guide recommendations,
fitness recommendations,
bullet/load recommendations.
What distance should I expect to have shots at?

I’m all ears!

I’m very humbled to have this opportunity so young (29) and to share it with my family, friends and especially my dad.

I know there are so many posts about drawn tags with no follow-up. I’ll do a big write up with updates about this adventure as they occur.

Thanks in advanced!

Jake

 

[MuleyFever]

When is this hunt? I know that road access can become an issue on the late hunts.

 

[Jake538]

When is this hunt? I know that road access can become an issue on the late hunts.

Hunt begins December 27th through January 13th. I would anticipate poor road access and needing snowmobiles or SxS.

 

[johnnycake]

Hunt begins December 27th through January 13th. I would anticipate poor road access and needing snowmobiles or SxS.

That's a very good anticipation. I had that tag the first year it was created in 2012, and when I priced out renting the machines or horses I was able to hire a guide for about the same price as either renting snowmobiles or horses. And the guide came with horses, snowmobiles, and 4 wheelers if needed. I used Brett Guymon and he was fantastic! Brett now has his own outfitting company Apex Outfitters. Taylor Albrecht is another excellent choice for Henry's bison.

 

[Maddog58]

Just make sure it’s a good bullet, those are some tough animals

 

[Jake538]

I have selected PSC outfitting to guide me on this hunt. Looking forward to preparing this year and getting after it right after Christmas!

 

[Jake538]

I figure I will provide a brief wrap up of my hunting adventures down on the Henry Mountains.

The night before:
We made the drive down from northern Utah and saw some incredibly desolate country out along the south eastern/central part of the state. That night my guide had returned from scouting and reported finding a lone bull up at high elevation along a northern mountain of the unit. we sat talked for about 30-45 minutes when another outfitter spoke with him and let us know of their plans. speaking with my outfitter, he said that "Bison hunting is a gentlemen's sport" not nearly as much competition or secrecy.
With the lack of sighting from that night, it was determined that will check out the north end of the unit on the opener. It was disclosed that many of the other tag holders were going to be hunting a couple popular sections along the west side of the Henry's before it goes out into vast desert. If we could avoid being a part of the circus that is what was preferred. I should note that we were not going in on horseback and were covering the majority of our miles in trucks, side by sides, or ATVs.

Day 1:
We set out around 5:30 in the morning from a local town to get out to our first hunting area. That morning the temperature was mild which is not the norm this time of year, but we would gladly take it. However, the closer we got to the mountains the more the wind kicked up and it began to snow/sleet on us. taking cover behind the pitiful half windshield of the side by side was my only cover from the elements. as the sun began to rise the landscape began to quickly unfold, I have never experienced this type of topography in my entire life. Let alone on a hunt, to my south a mountains shot straight into the sky as much as 10,000 feet. To my north a landscape that looks to be more acquainted with mars than anywhere on earth. we would dip into coulees and ravines and find some solace from the the wind, only for it to return as soon as we would find our way out of a wash.
Once we finally stopped, we followed out guides as they showed us a well used spring. This is were I saw my first bison track and feces. It looked promising, they figured the sign was perhaps a day or two old. It was then determined that we were going to hike onto a lower flat so we could glass into the surrounding mountains and junipers in hopes of spotting some bison meandering about the area. At the top of the flat we got out our glass and attempted to glass for about an hour with little to show for it. the wind and snow reduced visibility to maybe a few hundred yards and would only let up briefly to check out what could possibly be up on the mountain. Our efforts were rewarded with a single mule deer doe.
I was taught quickly that bison hunting is not like deer or elk hunting. Rather than set up in a "good looking area" and wait and glass, you were better off to glass an area for typically 15-20 minutes and then move around to the next glassing area to see if you can turn something up. This meant, lots of miles in the side by side. After our first spot proved fruitless, we glassed up another area that consisted of more rolling hills covered in junipers. This would have been an excellent area to find a cow bison. Unfortunately we never turned anything up. this story repeats itself a couple of more times as we push further south into the mountains and then back out into the flats and springs.
After a quick lunch, it was decided that we would go push south into the mountains closer to some of the popular camping areas within the Henrys. As luck would have it, the further into the mountains we got, the more it snowed and it completely cut off visibility. By the point it was close to 3:30 in the afternoon. With no end in sight for the storm, we decided it would be best to drive back out and call it a day. We then loaded up the quads, headed back into town and had some burgers at a local restaurant.