A little late but my 2013 bull w/ story

[gr8whthunter]

Alright well it's a little late but I wasn't part of this forum last year but here is my 2013 archery bull, first year hunting archery elk and I put in a lot of work to get this guy and I'm extremely proud the hunt and the elk I harvested. It's one hell of a story and something that I will never forget for the rest of my life and a story I will tell around the fire anytime I can.

The bottom two are the same elk earlier in the season out scouting

[deerhunter_98520]

Nice bull...gonna tell us the story with it? We all would love to hear it

[gr8whthunter]

Alright here's the story to the bull,
I had been scouting the area for a few weeks and fallowing herds for a few days and decided to back out until season opened.
    On the first day of season me and my buddy went out and hunted the hell out of this spot, of course came up with nothing not a fresh sign anywhere, this went on all week and on the last day of out trip we packed up and got a late start drove out and started hiking in. We got about a mile in and got on fresh track, me and my partner started tracking and came around the first corner and there he was standing broadside just staring at me at 20 yards! I nocked an arrow and slowly pulled up and pulled gay string back as slow as I could and bam he took off, I half my composure and he stopped turned back broadside to take another look and that's when I let an arrow fly, through and through and into a tree! Now the chase is on!
     
      Me and my buddy just sat where we saw first blood didn't go looking for an hour or so to let him die, now it's starting to get dark so we go looking finding little blood here little blood there, while fallowing the blood trail I catch up to him laying down, as soon as he sees me he gets up to take off I draw back and let another arrow fly, but I miss judge and it sticks right in his spine but this big beautiful bull takes off again. So we sit again and just wait and calm down. I start callin work and tell them I'm not gunna be there in the morning. We end up backing out because it's completely dark and we have no flashlights and cell phones are dying fast.

      We come back in the morning and get back on blood trail and get to out marker that we left the previous night and back on the off and on blood trail looking for little drops big drops anything, Mind you I'm stoked I'm excited I'm expecting barny the big ass bull to be dead around the corner ready to take home and then I hear my hubting partner yell "over here" and I think yes there he is I smile and start heading that way and then feel sick when I hear crashing and this big bull taking off again through the timber and heading strait to the river! I take off after him and watch as my bull goes across the hoh river!

     Is this gunna stop me? Nope! I dive in right after him and go across this river, once I get across I swear to Christ it's like he is waiting mocking me. He is 60 yards out I grab my last broad head, draw back and I remember looking at this beautiful animal just staring at me, I release and I watch that last arrow fly right under this beautiful creature! He takes off again but not far maybe another 100 yards and rests and that's where he stops, I don't know if he's out of energy or if he's dying or what's going on, but me and this guy just sit there and stare at each other soon he beds down and I sit down and just watch him, I call my buddy and tell him to go get more arrows, he takes off to town and I build myself a little fire as me and this bull watch eachother.

     As I'm sitting on the river bank next to my sorry excuse of a fire I'm talking to this bull telling him I'm sorry for the pain I am putting him threw and that it should not have gone this way, it's not fair to him or any animal and I just keep telling him I'm sorry I honestly feel bad for him at this point and it's not fair. We just sit and stare and soon he rests his head down and I hope he is finally dying.

     Two hours go by and my buddy finally get back with arrows so I quietly go down river and cross again and meet up with him to see that he has brought me aluminum arrows... Over length... With field tips.... And  they do not have novks in them! I grab the arrows and out them in my quiver just to take them and I'm praying that in this time that beautiful bull has passed on as I cross the river again and decide to walk up to see if he has finally died I get 5 feet away from him and his eyes open and he stands up again! Still alive and takes off! Back across the hoh river! I watch as he goes back across thinking I'm gunba have to search all over again but he stops on the bank unable to get over the ledge. To weak to get up he beds down next to a stump.

     I look down where he was laying and I couldn't even make this up I swear to it, there is a broadhead from the arrow stuck in his spine laying on the river rock where he was just the tip though! So I screw that thing on to one of the aluminum arrows and head down stream to cross again and regroup on the other side.

    Once on the other side (again not joking or making this up) I decide to take my knife and cut a notch in the end of this arrow to use as a nock and finally do but I'm not able to use my release since it won't stay on the string on it's own.

    I give it a little bit and get a snack in me and decide here we go it's time to end your agony and finish this, now the only way to get near him to where I can get a shot I will have to stand in the river on the other side of the stump in the river, so I go in for the last time, I'm waist deep in running river holding an aluminum arrow with my fingers on the string and I look around the stump, there he is 10 yards away I draw back peek around the stump and whistle he stands up and I let it fly, finally perfect shot both lungs and the heart and then he turns and charges me I dive out of the way and he goes back in to the river and starts puking blood and finally falls in the river but starts floating down the river towards a log jam, again not joking or making this up my buddy's quick thinking grabs the rope he has and starts running down river chasing him and some how he john Wayne's this thing (lasso) around the horn and we pull it to the bank finally ending this long hunt and time for the pack out

 Again I am not making any of this up, I'm not a writer and I'm sure I left some of the story out, I kinda got impatient typing all of this and I wish I could just tell all of you this story in person, I hope you all enjoy this story if you read it, and if you think it was unfair to this bad boy I know and I do feel bad for how long it took him to finally rest but I do have complete respect for all animals hunted.

[wildmanoutdoors]

WOW, what a story!

[Yelper Guy]

Good job, and a great story.
I'm jealous!

[JimmyHoffa]

Sounds like a good time.    Was there not enough water for a driftboat?

[gr8whthunter]

There was but where I was it was probably a 3 hr float to get where this guy was

[deerhunter_98520]

That sounds like quite the hunt...to bad you didn't have a go pro 

[TommyH]

Way to stick it out and finish the job with what you had.

[gr8whthunter]

Man do I wish I had a go pro! Some people still call bull sh** on how the story goes but I swear to it it's all true, and also I did have to restring my bow the aluminum arrow cut the string a little so now it has pink and black strings looks awesome!!

[Watimberghost]

Great story! That will be remembered and passed down for generations

[Turner89]

Wow! I believe it 
 

[h2ofowlr]

A hunt you will never forget.

[jasnt]

Nice bull! Great story!!!  Mick giver style way to stick with it to the end!

[Payne]