Yesterday we started out before light at a gate in an unknown location..
We started to pedal in and about 2 miles into the 5 mile pedal my back tire started to get flat fast. As we neared a closer spur I told my cousin I needed a break and we should try to locate call and see if there were any Bulls in the area.
We walked slowly down an overgrown spur with evidence of past archers from the clipped branches down the roads. There was tons of elk sign everywhere and a few fresh rubs. As we neared the end of the Spur crept near a patch of old growth and set up to call near a canyon edge. On the first bugle we had an answer near the top of the other side of the canyon. We called a few more times and had answers each time but he was so far away. Finally at about 8 we left to chase him and got over to where he had been at 9am ish. As we got over there we hit the calls again and got responses out of the old growth we had left just an hour before on the other side of the canyon.
Pissed and starting to get wet we continued along the finger we were on circling through a ridge line in the timber that cut the distance across the canyon in by about a third. We set up and called again and he answered this time from the bottom quarter of the far side coming down a little bit but with the howling wind and rain the calls seemed very distant.
We cut back through the timber to our left to close the gap and set up for another calling session. Two Bulls this time responded but both at the bottom of the drainage. We debated if we wanted to go in that hell hole and I said I'm out here to hunt lets get down after them.
Around 1 as we dropped elevation we set up and called again and we could hear a bull close by. He would bugle and the. You could hear him grunt and his bully chugging. He would not commit and come any closer after a half hour so we crept slowly quartering down the drainage as it was much to steep to go straight down to cut the distance once again. As we got to a nice opening in the timber with a 90 degree shooting lane we set up again.
On the first bugle both Bulls screamed on each side of us. Somehow we had gotten between them. We could hear extremely heavy breathing from thee brush to our left where I was set up thinking it was less than 50 yards away I had an arrow nicked and my shots ranged. All I. A sudden the brush exploded a nice Rosie came barreling in at full speed crashing through the brush I could only see the top of his antlers. Seeing he was coming to my opening I drew and was ready about two seconds before he emerged from the alder and bushy bottom. Head down he charged into my opening and stopped at 26 yards and looked down the hill to the left where the other bull bugled only probably 70 yards away in the thicket.
I let my arrow fly and watched it hit with a thwack right where I had beaded it. He stood there confused for a half second turned around and started to walk back the way he came a second later. I took aim where I could see my broad head coming out the other side of the bull and let my second arrow fly. Thwack! My second arrow landed about 3" away from my first slightly lower and more forward under the arm.
We watched him stomping slowly through the timber marching up the hill for about 20 yards. He then laid down, got back up took 3 more steps and rolled over backwards and slid 3 yards down the hill until his rack stuck a foot deep into a rotten log and stopped his slide. All this happened within two mins of our first bugle at this location.
We checked time it was 2:30 and we waited a solid 15 mins shaking. The second bull continued to bugle but would not come in at all.
We then followed the largest blood trail I had ever seen and flamed our prize less than 15 yards from where I had shot him in some steep steep terrain. I had double lunged him twice, the first shot had exited about 6" by the evidence of where the arrow broke off. The second shot had gone a complete pass through.
We were now 1000ft elevation change and a mile walk from the road with a bull down! I quartered him up as my cousin went to get the pack boards. 4 trips and 11 hours later it was time to go home with an awesome bull in the back of my cousins truck. We made it to my house at around 3 and had him hung with fans on him by 3:30am ready for bed, very long amazing day.
Today my lbs are jello and I'm all tagged out! Best feeling ever next time I get to hit the woods will be when I get a call to help pack or scouting for my fiancée first deer.
