3 GOOD BULLS IN MONTANA

[LittleJohn]

Been an amazing year in Montana so far,
Between work and family I did not get as much scouting in as I wanted to. My good friend from the WA wet side was coming out to spend a week here in montana chasing bulls in the High country, we did lots of talking and google earthing over the phone. I took a couple days off before his arrival to do some scouting/hunting. I have been hunting this area for 5 seasons now and was feeling pretty confident that we would get into some animals at some point.

[LittleJohn]

I got off work at 3am on the 10th and headed straight to the trailhead, I got very little sleep the night before. I was trying to get mama and the kids lined out for me being gone:} The plan was for me to spend 2 nights out and prospect the area, My buddy was going to pick me up on the other end of the ridge and we would form a plan based on what I saw and heard.

I was planning on gaining some elevation and doing a quick morning hunt and then bedding down under tree to catch up on some much needed sleep. This particular spot is a 2500' elevation gain in just over a mile right out of the truck, I call it the "Elevator Shaft". Pretty much sucks, not trail and brushy as all get out, and of course the occasional cliff to scurry around.

I made it to the top of the ridge just as daylight was breaking. I stopped for a bit and got rid of my head lamp and put on a dry shirt. I stated up the ridge and didn't go very far and jumped a large herd of elk, I was pretty bummed. I didn't see a bull, but assumed there was probably one with them or close by. I let things settle down a bit and let out a locater bugle. The first bugle of the season is always a good feeling. I was a bit surprised when I got a response up the ridge about 500 yards. Of course I quickly for got about being tired :}

The bull sounded like he could be a mature bull by his bugle, The wind was perfect and he was on the same ridge as me. I cut the distance fairly quick. The top of this ridge is big timber with spotty mountain alder and of course huckleberry brush. The ridge started to bench out a bit, so I decided to try and locate him again. I let out another bugle and tried to sound like a young bull. He fired right back with a nasty mown and chuckle. He was sounding better all the time.

[LittleJohn]

I worked my way up the ridge a bit closer and set up on the edge of the bench, The top of the ridge was only 200 yards wide on top so I was pretty confident he was within 150 yds or so. The had some good shooting lanes and could see 60 yds or so. I let out a few cow/calf calls in hopes of getting him to come in. He fired off immediately after the calls, I could hear him walking back and forth on the bench above me. He was 100 yds or less. I cow/calf talked a bit more and he bugled and chuckled in response every time. This went on for about 20 minutes or so. I could tell by his bugles that he was getting more and more worked up with every call. I heard a few cow calls from his location and knew he had at least a couple cows. It was too dry, open, and brushy for me to get any closer. He was going to have to come to me.

I got a little for aggressive with the cow/calf sounds and he broke loose:} I could her him coming off the bench towards me, the unmistakable sound of brush and limbs breaking as he made his way in. I spotted movement at about 60 yds and could see he was a good bull. He was coming right at me. I had a large spruce tree about 15 yards in front of me and he was coming in right behind it. I drew my bow as he passed the 40 yds mark. I was trying to decide witch side of the tree he was going to come around. As he approached the tree he started out to my right and I made a quick commitment to that side. He walked out from behind the tree and stopped at less than 20 yards. He was staring holes right through me. I was sure he was going to hear my heart pounding in chest. He was facing me head on. I had set up on the edge of the ridge and the ridge fell off steeply behind me. The bull must of thought the cows were on the other side of the ridge and he kept coming.

My 20yd pin never left his side as he walked by me, I had multiple shooting lanes in the big timber, but I wanted him perfectly broadside. At 10 yds he was perfectly broadside. I let out a soft cow call and he stopped instantly. I watched my arrow disappear right behind his shoulder. He lunged forward and took a few steps as I began to cow call very softly. He stopped at 20 yards looking back my direction. He stood there for 30-45 seconds. My heart was about to come out of my chest, I was shaking uncontrollably with the adrenaline dump.

He turned his head and began to slowly walk straight away. I knocked another arrow a drew back. I let out another soft cow call and he stopped quartered away from me. I estimated him to be 35 yds now and sent another arrow right behind his shoulder. This time he took off like a streak of lightning right back up the ridge from where he came. I watched him run for about 70 yds and then disappeared  into the thick timber. I did not hear him go down.

I sat down in disbelief of what had just taken place. I said a quick prayer of thanks to God for the amazing experience and a few more prayers asking the Lord to help me find him. I hung a ribbon and marked the location on my GPS. I waited about 20 minutes before even looking for my first arrow. I found it broad head deep in a log on the other side of where he was standing soaked with good blood.

I waited the required 30 minutes and began to take up the trail. The blood trail was not as good as I hoped with two arrows in him. Between the tracks and spotty blood I didn't have too much trouble staying on the trail. After 40 yds on the trail I found about 6" of the fletching end of my second arrow soaked with blood. The blood trail was getting better the farther I went. As I stepped up on to a small bench I spotted a main beam sticking out of the huckleberry brush. He was down for good. We went less than 100 yds and died on a dead run.

 

[LittleJohn]

The raw emotion of walking up on a mature bull after a year of thoughts, preparation, and hard work is a feeling thats hard to put into words. I was elated with joy and sober with regret for harvesting such an amazing animal that I have some much love and respect for.

AS HE LAYS

[LittleJohn]

 

[LittleJohn]

 

[LittleJohn]

 

[huntnnw]

Great write up and bull!

[bowhunterforever]

Dandy bull Congrats

[LittleJohn]

After a few pics the work started. Quartering a mature bull solo is always an adventure. Thank the Lord he died in a goos spot. About half way through the butchering I started feeling pretty nauseous and a bit sick. It took me a bit to realize I hadn't eaten in sense dinner the night before and had been up for 28 hours straight and I was going on 36+ hours with only a couple hours sleep.

I sat down and ate my lunch and pounded a bunch of water and was good to go. 

I had the bull deboned and hanging in a tree in about 3 hours. The temperature was in the mid 50's so I wasn't too worried about the meat staying over night. I had 3 days worth of food and my camp on my back, so adding a cape and head made for quite a load.

I made it to the truck about 6 pm and was head home. I was pretty excited to show my wife and kids. My son Morgan is 8 years old and was going to loose his mind when he saw it.

My wife was pretty surprised to see me back home and assumed coming was wrong. :}

[LittleJohn]

I called my buddy who was still at work in WA, he said, " Did you kill one already "?
I told him he had a full time caller for the whole next week.

I gross scored the bull right at 360"

I managed to round up 3 GOOOOOD friends to help pack the meat out the next day. I have a horse and mule, but it was too steep and cliffy to take a chance on using them.

We found the meat undisturbed the next morning and had it hanging in the cooler by 5pm. Praise the Lord!!!!!

My buddy from Wa arrived in town just as we were leaving the cooler.

WE were both pretty excited for the upcoming week. I was really looking forward to calling him in a bull.

We spent the evening going through our gear and trying to decide what we could share and leave behind to lighten our loads.

We were headed in for 4 days and then I had to go back to work for 2 days. The plan was to have two vehicles parked on opposite ends of the mountain range so we could hunt through and come out wherever we wanted.

[LittleJohn]

We parked a rig and drove around to the other side of the mountain and headed up the trail. WE were a little disappointed to find a fully furnished wall tent set up about two miles in. I assumed it was a drop camp from the local outfitter in the area.

About another mile up the trail we head the familiar sound go a human bugling. It sounded like a couple hunters had a bull responding to there calls not too far off the trail in a drainage. We sat and ate lunch and listened to the chess match. I was hoping to talk to the hunters and figure out what there plan was so we could try to avoid any areas they were planning on hunting.

It was 2pm and they were still working the bull so we climbed up the ridge and left them alone. We never did see or hear from the other hunters. Its big country and pretty easy to get away from anyone.

We made it to where we were going to set up camp and dumped our gear and headed out for an evening scouting trip in hopes of locating some more bulls for the next day.

We were 5+ miles in and right on top of a big ridge system with lots of drainages to choose from. We didn't manage to get any elk talking that night, but did see 3 bears. Jason didn't have a bear tag and I had used mine in the spring.

We made a plan for the next day and bedded down.

[LittleJohn]

We dropped into a familiar drainage right at day break. I had hunted the drainage multiple times before and knew there would be elk in it. We managed to get a couple far off responses to our bugles, but nothing close enough to get excited about. We spent all day in the drainage with little action. We checked a few wallows that I had found in previous years, they were pretty torn up with sign. We bugled our way out of the canyon and back to the top of the ridge.

We were still a long way from camp and had a couple miles to go. It was about dark and I let out one more bugle into the drainage we had just climbed out of. Of couse we heard a deep throaty response from the bottom of the canyon that we spent all day in. Thats elk hunting for ya. 

We made our way back to camp and bedded down. The next couple days were pretty tough with few responses and no close calls.

We headed back to the trailhead to restock on food and make another plan. Jason head back in for a couple days of solo hunting while I returned to work for a few days. The plan was for me to come back in with more food and spend the remainder of the week with him.

A couple days later I got off work at 3 am and headed up the trail. I met Jason at his camp just as it was getting daylight. He said he had been hearing a few bulls and thought he was getting them patterned a little bit. He had two bulls located and one of them seemed to be the head bull.

We head into the drainage and had a bull talking in no time. We worked inon him and set up a few times, but I could not pull him in. He had a deep raspy bugle. He sounded like a mature bull for sure. The bull was pretty fired up, I could get him to respond any time i wanted, he just wouldn't come in. The other satellite bull was occasionally bugling from on top the ridge behind us. The satallite bull was plan B if we couldn't get "Beast Mode" to cooperate.

We bird dogged "Beast Mode" for a couple hours. HE would keep that 100 yd distance between us and I could break him loose. It was 11am and we were running out of drainage and time. I told Jason to take off his pack and go kill him. I would keep him talking and hopefully he could sneak in and wack him.

I have tried this lots of times before and it never seems to work very well, but we were out of options. It was nice big timber with quite a bit of under brush and very steep.

Jason took off up the hill and I kept Beast Mode talking as much as possible. I settled into a comfy spot and would get him to bugle every 5 minutes or so. It didn't seem to matter what I did, he would scream his head off at just about any sound I made. I could tell he was moving back and forth on the hillside, but he wasn't getting any closer or farther.

This went on for about an hour and a half. I was beginning to think something was going to happen pretty soon, either he was going to bump him or kill him.
I heard a couple strange noises from above me. It sounded like a couple dog barks and half howl. I instantly thought we had called in a couple wolves. I grabbed my pistol and video camera and started cow calling softly. Just then I heard the radio in my pocket key up. I heard Jason say, "I think I got him, he is doing some death moans I think"!!!!!!

I grabbed our packs and headed up the hill. Jason was all smiles and high enough to kill ducks with a rake. He told me that managed to get a shot at 40 yds and he thought he hit him good, the bull had spotted him and was getting nervous and started to leave when he got the shot. Jason was pretty confident that he saw the arrow hit its mark.

We waited 30 minutes and headed over to where the bull had been standing. The ground was torn up here the bull had left, he was taking huge strides and it was easy to see where he had run straight down the hill. After 20 yds we found the fetching half of the arrow. There was good blood most of the way up the shaft. After about 20 more yards I spotted the bull bellow us in a dry creek bed.
He had only gone 50 yds and piled up.

[LittleJohn]

AS HE LAYS

[LittleJohn]

This was an awesome hunt and Jason's first bull with a bow!!! He has put in his time and then some. He has had some close calls on some really nice bulls and just couldn't quite make it come together till now.