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Author Topic: Late Rifle Bull Down (First Elk)  (Read 11200 times)

Offline E-Town Hunter

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Late Rifle Bull Down (First Elk)
« on: October 30, 2015, 10:32:06 AM »
Just like the other rifle tag holders for this unit, I was starting to feel pretty bummed out that I wasn't going to get to hunt because of the fires. Fortunately, the week before, word came down it would be opening back up and then it was game on. This was only the 3rd time I have went elk hunting with all my experience being flatlander deer hunting. I knew this unit was going to challenge me more than I have ever been before but I felt it was time I needed to break out of my comfort zone. We backpacked in Sunday morning, settled into camp, got a snack to eat and then headed up a ridge to glass that afternoon. That evening, we saw a couple smaller bulls and some cows. Nothing special. The next morning, we woke up to some off and on rain and wind as we left camp in the dark with the headlamps. We were heading for a canyon where we had spotted a really great bull the day before. After a few hours glassing on the ridge we never saw him appear so decided to move on to another spot where we had a pretty good bull located. Around 3:30 that afternoon , I spotted my bull across the canyon. We got the spotting scope up to get a better look and make sure he was the one I wanted. 623 yards away, he was feeding and not paying any attention to anything going on around him. We got set up into shooting position, and had to patiently wait for him to give a clear shooting lane. Finally, the bull stepped into a small clearing between two trees and I pulled the trigger BOOM, my spotter says, "too high, over top of him". I jack another round in, the bull seems unaware of what was going on and slowly walks back into the timber. Luckily, he was not spooked and we continued to glass him and patiently wait for him to step out again. About 20 min goes by and he gives me another shooting lane at 600 yards. We make a small adjustment to the scope, and I squeeze of another round from the 300 WIN Mag and the spotter says, "Good hit, bulls down" I look through the scope and the bull is lying on his back. In hindsight, I should have put another one into him because a few seconds later he gets to his feet and hobbles into the trees again. We know he is mortally wounded and give him time watching him through the spotting scope. After about 30 min we decided that we were losing light and we should go in for a finishing shot. We bust down the canyon and back up the canyon he was on and slowly creep up over a rock ledge to see him laying in his bed. He stands up and I put another one into him and he goes down for the count. Having never killed an elk before I was in awe of the sheer size these animals get to be. From there it was high fives, plenty of photos, and then the real work began. We caped and quarter him that night with the head lamps and prepped the quarters to be packed out the next morning. Getting back to camp that night, I was physically and mentally DONE! A quick Mountain house by the fire and I was in the tent for a nights sleep. The next morning we headed out to gather the quarters and begin the packout from Hell to get meat to the trail. Let me tell you, my first experience with packing an elk quarter out of a canyon in the country we were in was as miserable as I could have imagined, but I was able to get er done and man, what a rewarding experience. Could not have made this trip happen without the help of some amazing guys that were able to join me on this hunt also. I am forever in debt to them.
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Offline Watimberghost

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Re: Late Rifle Bull Down (First Elk)
« Reply #1 on: October 30, 2015, 10:35:20 AM »
That's a great bull! We'll earned :tup:
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Offline HUNTaHOLIC5

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Re: Late Rifle Bull Down (First Elk)
« Reply #2 on: October 30, 2015, 10:36:45 AM »
Beautiful bull and one heck of a shot!  :tup:
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Offline HUNTINCOUPLE

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Re: Late Rifle Bull Down (First Elk)
« Reply #3 on: October 30, 2015, 10:38:53 AM »
 :tup:
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Offline nw_bowhunter

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Re: Late Rifle Bull Down (First Elk)
« Reply #4 on: October 30, 2015, 10:39:21 AM »
congrats. Thanks for sharing the story
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Offline fishngamereaper

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Re: Late Rifle Bull Down (First Elk)
« Reply #5 on: October 30, 2015, 12:35:58 PM »
Masher for sure :tup:   Sounds like a rewarding hunt.

Like the campfire photo...
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Offline RallyDawg

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Re: Late Rifle Bull Down (First Elk)
« Reply #6 on: October 30, 2015, 03:44:09 PM »
Great bull.
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Offline elkslayer069

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Re: Late Rifle Bull Down (First Elk)
« Reply #7 on: October 30, 2015, 03:49:31 PM »
A buddy has a velvet pictures of your bull I'll see if he'll send you them
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Offline Mark251

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Re: Late Rifle Bull Down (First Elk)
« Reply #8 on: October 30, 2015, 05:19:29 PM »
Great pics!  Thanks for sharing  :tup:
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Offline King Krok

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Re: Late Rifle Bull Down (First Elk)
« Reply #9 on: October 30, 2015, 05:39:53 PM »
Awesome bull, great story and pics. Especially like the photo of the group around the campfire.
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Offline JWEBB

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Re: Late Rifle Bull Down (First Elk)
« Reply #10 on: October 30, 2015, 05:54:53 PM »
 :tup: dandy!
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Offline jackelope

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Re: Late Rifle Bull Down (First Elk)
« Reply #11 on: October 30, 2015, 05:57:56 PM »
Great bull. Congrats and thanks for sharing those awesome photos. Did you do a drop camp??
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Offline MichaelD

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Re: Late Rifle Bull Down (First Elk)
« Reply #12 on: October 30, 2015, 06:13:37 PM »
Nicely done!
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Offline muleyslayer

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Re: Late Rifle Bull Down (First Elk)
« Reply #13 on: October 30, 2015, 06:13:51 PM »
That's a dandy bull!  :tup:
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Offline E-Town Hunter

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Re: Late Rifle Bull Down (First Elk)
« Reply #14 on: October 30, 2015, 06:14:44 PM »
Quote from: elkslayer069 on October 30, 2015, 03:49:31 PM
A buddy has a velvet pictures of your bull I'll see if he'll send you them
That would be cool. I think we have a few too.
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Offline E-Town Hunter

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Re: Late Rifle Bull Down (First Elk)
« Reply #15 on: October 30, 2015, 06:15:37 PM »
Quote from: jackelope on October 30, 2015, 05:57:56 PM
Great bull. Congrats and thanks for sharing those awesome photos. Did you do a drop camp??

No, we backpacked in on our own.
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Offline CAMPMEAT

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Re: Late Rifle Bull Down (First Elk)
« Reply #16 on: October 30, 2015, 07:10:12 PM »
Nice bull and great pictures too.....
« Last Edit: October 31, 2015, 06:58:19 PM by CAMPMEAT »
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Offline autodink13

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Re: Late Rifle Bull Down (First Elk)
« Reply #17 on: October 30, 2015, 08:43:47 PM »
Nice work! The second pic is amazing!!! And the campfire pic!
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Offline TheHunt

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Re: Late Rifle Bull Down (First Elk)
« Reply #18 on: October 30, 2015, 08:51:11 PM »
Great story, bull and pictures.  Congratulations... 
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Offline Idighuntin

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Re: Late Rifle Bull Down (First Elk)
« Reply #19 on: October 31, 2015, 06:47:34 AM »
Awesome bull and nicely done on the pictures. You need to thank your buddies for all their help but also for capturing some amazing photos. WOW.
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Offline pianoman9701

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Re: Late Rifle Bull Down (First Elk)
« Reply #20 on: October 31, 2015, 06:59:53 AM »
What a beauty. Nice!  :tup:
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Offline tgomez

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Re: Late Rifle Bull Down (First Elk)
« Reply #21 on: October 31, 2015, 12:54:45 PM »
Congrats on the nice bull. I really like the campfire picture! Anyone else score on your hunt?
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Offline Widgeondeke

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Re: Late Rifle Bull Down (First Elk)
« Reply #22 on: October 31, 2015, 01:01:40 PM »
LOVE the night pack out of the antlers pic
Congrats on a true trophy bull  :tup:
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Offline elkrack

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Re: Late Rifle Bull Down (First Elk)
« Reply #23 on: October 31, 2015, 01:50:57 PM »
 :IBCOOL:
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Offline mburrows

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Re: Late Rifle Bull Down (First Elk)
« Reply #24 on: October 31, 2015, 02:26:17 PM »
Well done!
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Offline runningboard

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Re: Late Rifle Bull Down (First Elk)
« Reply #25 on: October 31, 2015, 02:26:50 PM »
very nice bull and great pictures, good job on the long poke  :tup:
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Offline gaolista

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Re: Late Rifle Bull Down (First Elk)
« Reply #26 on: October 31, 2015, 04:22:03 PM »
congrats on a nice bull!
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Offline Ghost Hunter

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Re: Late Rifle Bull Down (First Elk)
« Reply #27 on: October 31, 2015, 05:21:39 PM »
Nice!!  Congrats!
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Re: Late Rifle Bull Down (First Elk)
« Reply #28 on: October 31, 2015, 06:38:20 PM »
Congrats man! Sounds like you guys had a great trip!

Pro tip:
Next time sneak more meat into Brad's pack just before you start up the hill.  ;)
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Offline hunting4sanity

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Re: Late Rifle Bull Down (First Elk)
« Reply #29 on: October 31, 2015, 07:28:52 PM »
Awesome bull and photos.  That first elk is always a special elk, the only downside for you is you've got your work cut out for you if you plan to get a bigger one next time.  Congratulations.
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Offline hirshey

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Re: Late Rifle Bull Down (First Elk)
« Reply #30 on: November 02, 2015, 06:56:50 PM »
Great photos! Looks like one heck of a great adventure... congrats!
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Offline The Fin

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Re: Late Rifle Bull Down (First Elk)
« Reply #31 on: November 02, 2015, 07:19:54 PM »
Great bull and cool pictures!
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Offline E-Town Hunter

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Re: Late Rifle Bull Down (First Elk)
« Reply #32 on: November 02, 2015, 07:25:39 PM »
Thanks for the comments guys. It really was a memory I'll never forget. Had a lot of help from some great people. It's a great tag and hope I can draw again some day.
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Offline syoungs

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Re: Late Rifle Bull Down (First Elk)
« Reply #33 on: November 02, 2015, 07:26:15 PM »
Back to camp for a mountain house when you had fresh elk tenderloin for the taking.  :yike:  :yike:  :yike:

Awesome bulk though! Congrats!
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Offline E-Town Hunter

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Re: Late Rifle Bull Down (First Elk)
« Reply #34 on: November 03, 2015, 07:57:28 AM »
Quote from: syoungs on November 02, 2015, 07:26:15 PM
Back to camp for a mountain house when you had fresh elk tenderloin for the taking.  :yike:  :yike:  :yike:

Awesome bulk though! Congrats!
Ha Ha...you're spot on. That was a mistake for sure. lol
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Offline de0827

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Re: Late Rifle Bull Down (First Elk)
« Reply #35 on: November 03, 2015, 04:08:08 PM »
Great bull and awesome pics - they really show the entire experience! :tup:
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Offline gunnarnewt

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Re: Late Rifle Bull Down (First Elk)
« Reply #36 on: November 04, 2015, 08:37:17 PM »
Great bull! Congrats
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Re: Late Rifle Bull Down (First Elk)
« Reply #37 on: November 04, 2015, 08:48:13 PM »
Stud bull! Congrats... Looks like a great introduction to.the elk woods.
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Offline ShaneTyTrey

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Re: Late Rifle Bull Down (First Elk)
« Reply #38 on: November 04, 2015, 08:52:11 PM »
Awesome bull, congrats!
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Offline Turner89

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Re: Late Rifle Bull Down (First Elk)
« Reply #39 on: November 04, 2015, 09:03:28 PM »
Congratulations on an awesome bull :tup:. Great pics & story also.
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