Posted 2:13 am Sunday, October 19, 2008
Tyler Bow Hunter Sights Set On Bigger Game
By STEVE KNIGHT
Outdoor Writer
Dean Darr has been bow hunting for 30 years. He and his brother Dan learned the sport on their father's old equipment and grew up hunting animals such as javelinas, wild pigs and turkeys in South Texas.
Outdoor Writer
Dean Darr has been bow hunting for 30 years. He and his brother Dan learned the sport on their father's old equipment and grew up hunting animals such as javelinas, wild pigs and turkeys in South Texas.
It wasn't until the Tyler chiropractor moved to East Texas that he started hunting big game. A bow hunter, Darr targeted white-tailed deer in the Pineywoods.
In September he set his sights a little higher, aiming for his first elk on a hunt on Saskatchewan's eastern border. The 6X10 non-typical bull grossing 396 was definitely a step up.
While most hunters think of hunting elk in mountainous terrain, Darr's hunt near Duck Mountain Provincial Park was in rolling timberlands at the southern edge of the boreal forest. Hunting in mid-September, it was fall-like weather for Canada with the mornings starting in the 40s and the daily highs peaking in the 60s.
Dan Karr
Hunting one-on-one with a guide, Darr spotted the bull he wanted the first day out. Getting within range for a shot with his Bowtech bow took a little longer.
"I spotted the elk and hunted it for two days hard," recalled Darr, who was hunting a 3,200-acre private ranch that was fenced on three sides.
"We would spot and stalk. When I first saw this bull they were all bugling, but he would not come to a call. He always had satellite bulls around him so you couldn't sneak up on him," the hunter added.
The elk found in Saskatchewan and Manitoba are a subspecies called the Manitoban elk. They are said to generally have smaller antlers, but a larger body size than a Rocky Mountain elk.
Unable to get close to the bull, Darr and his guide sat and watched it. Learning what trails it took in and out of the thick poplar and aspens. The hunter eventually set up on the bull's path, but could only watch as it came no closer than 70 yards.
Waiting for a chance at the big bull, Darr passed up smaller bulls, some of which were within 15 yards.
In the afternoon of the second day the Darrs decided to turn the tables on the bull. Instead of waiting on it to come to him, Darr's brother and the guide attempted to drive the bull in Darr's direction.
"He was bedding down and they tried to push him. I got a shot at 52 yards. I hit him decently, but he was a tough one," said Darr, who had to chase down the bull for a second and final shot.
As nice as Darr's bull was, in the end, he was slightly bested by his brother with a 7X6 bull that had 10-inch bases and grossed 417 mark and by his best friend, Paul Calhoun, of Palestine, who had an 8X7 scoring 407.
