I cannot speak to the past activities on the base in regards to the hunt there. But I just got back from a successful Cow tag hunt there. And I can say first hand this was one of the better hunts I have done recently. My thoughts on dispelling or proving some things others may have said.
- It felt nothing like a Cull, where guys circled a herd and shot randomly into it. Our hunt felt like a movie. VAST open spaces, stunning landscapes.. After leaving the road for a hike, we didnt see anyone again, until back to the truck.
- I do agree that the NWA north or south are likely the only 2 spots to be highly successful. The rest of the base is always a possibility, but a very low probability of success. we saw elk to harvest in both north and south NWA
- BIG bulls exist to this day. Sure they may not be EVERY bull there, as there are MANY smaller rags and spikers. Few if any of the big bulls where with the herd. We laid eyes on several small bachelor groups of 3 or 4, that were incredible heavy 5x5 and 6x6 frames, if they survive will be tanks next year. And one 6x7 that would easily be a stunning trophy for anyone I have every met or hunted with.
- We noticed there is a VAST majority of people who hunt there never leave their truck even in the NWA zone. they drive around up and down the NWA roads, and around in circles. Based on my hunt over the last 2 days and others we had direct contact with who also filled tags, success was measured based on luck and the amount of effort of getting out for a walk in the beautiful NWA.
- Hike light and fast if possible!! bring some bare necessities you need (water food knife etc). Dont pack heavy thinking youll do it all in 1 day. Do not hesitate to retrieve the next day if you get your shot. Base staff will allow you back the next day, even on Thursday to retrieve animals. Upon getting back to the elk the next day, they were completely untouched, even the gut piles lay as we left them.
- While hiking glass.... A LOT, then glass more! the only reason we spotted ours is we watched 3 bulls run into the distance. while standing there glassing on a little hill, my buddy made an incredible spot on some bedded elk that I missed looking that way 3 times. Just each had a good pair of binos. A spotter would have been nice in a few higher spots, but im not sure of the trade off of the weight to carry it
- When they say a GPS and game cart are good ideas.. take that as gospel. Both are HIGHLY recommended. GPS to mark coords for game retrieval. with the topography out there it is easy to think your in the right spot and not be even close. even with a helper, hiking out pushing/pulling a heavily weighted jet sled over mostly grass was easily the toughest hike out ive ever done. I would have paid $1000 for something with Wheels. had there been even a skiff of snow it may have been different.
We put 12 kms on day one and managed to find a small group ( could only see 2 cows when we decided to go for them.. ) turns out it was 1 HUGE thick antlered 6x7 bull with 5 cows. Made a plan, flanked them wide to get really good wind favor, stalked in over an hour+ got within range and managed to harvest 2 cows. As it was late in the day, we called in and said we would be late to gate exit. Gutted them, dragged them 100 yards or so away from the guts and left them overnight, to come retrieve the next morning.
The next day walking in back to complete harvest, we were able to drive in from the south gate instead of the north ( retrieval only tag no guns). While driving through the NWA South we spotted a group of 20 or so on the top of a fairly high ridge, so the south could have been lucky as well. Back to the north NWA we parked, and started the hike in. Not 1.5km off the road we ran directly into one of the main herds, not at all visible from the road due to topography. 800+ easy. made an entire hillside and a bowl valley dark with a wave of movement. Incredible sight to see. Watched them through the binos for 30 mins or so. Interesting thing we noticed is virtually no decent bulls. The heard had loads of rags and spikes with an odd little 5x5. But the BIG ones had separated like the ones we saw the day before in small groups of 1-4. Pushed them straight south and within 40 mins heard gun shots South and South east of us also from people who hiked in.
I am incredibly thankful for the opportunity I had for this hunt. Base staff and F&W all where excellent to work with. Special thank you to Lonewolf as well who met with us on Sunday and had a good chat about the hunt, very informative. Appreciate it when a hunter will help a fellow hunter out.
For those wondering here were the stats so far based on what the biologist told us:
January 20 - 4 tags filled
January 21 - 6 tags filled
January 22 - 38 tags filled
January 27 - 13 tags filled
not sure the rest as we didnt get day 2 stats before we left. ( based on shots we heard alone id guess 15+)
For all those still hunting and going next week. I wish you all the best of luck! GO GET EM!
If you wanna chat PM me.
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