2018 Goose Prairie Archery Bull

[fuzznuts]

Good evening  all,

   This is the story of my 2018 Goose Prairie Quality Archery elk hunt. My apologies for writing this so late but I was too busy to do it last year after hunting season.

   I’ve drawn this tag a handful of times and got into elk, sometimes getting one and sometimes not. I have a  reasonable idea of what a guy can expect and just hope for 300” or better.

   This year I arrived at camp to find other hunters nearby. “Not a big deal,” I told myself, I took the whole season off so I should have plenty of time. After a few days of hunting and seeing so many other hunters and not a lot of game, I felt that I need to make some changes to my strategy. Trying something  a little different has paid off in the past and hopefully it would this year. “Just keep trying” ended up being the motto of my 2018 elk season. I was putting in the effort, but just couldn’t seem to find huntable numbers of elk. I tried all the  tricks I knew, calling, glassing, sitting on trails, sitting wallows,  hiking around in new areas, calling at night to locate, etc. You get the point, just not getting into elk.

   Persistence pays off, and my  luck was about to change on the 17th. while glassing and calling into the evening in an area that seemed overlooked by others, I saw an elk feeding in a little rocky  opening. I quickly made a plan to try to get closer and if I couldn’t by nighttime I would hunt this area for the next few days. I moved 1/2 mile down the ridge to where I estimated he was and gave a few loud raspy cow calls. He started to bugle like crazy; game on! I ran down the ridge trying to get down to this bull but I could tell it was in vain as the sun was setting quickly.

   In the morning I found myself lower on the ridge where this bull was calling to me. I got down to an elevation where I felt I would be fairly close  but uphill of where I heard him the evening before. Using the same call, I gave the sexiest cow call I could muster. I wanted this guy to think Miss September was in town looking for a boyfriend. After 2-3 calls, he bugled from a bench a few hundred yards below me and to my left. Doing my best to get the wind right, I ran straight downhill, just over the top of a little finger ridge while  giving some excited cow calls. It seemed like he stayed put, calling me to him. Once I felt like I was at the same elevation, I gave more cow calls and started closing the distance while he kept bugling to me. At 100 yards I  dropped my pack and went into ninja mode. He kept bugling and I snuck towards him. As I came up over a rise, I saw antlers bobbing in front of me at 25 yards. His head went behind a tree and I knocked an arrow. As luck would have it, he turned 180 degrees and went behind the same tree, giving me the chance to draw my bow.  As he stepped out he gave me the chance to take him, my best bull to date.

   I heard him go down 50 yards below me but decided to wait another 15 minutes, just  for good measure. I sat there, savoring the moment, thinking about what had just happened.  I worked my way down to him and had that indescribable feeling only a hunter knows; Happiness and joy, pride, an overwhelming sense of accomplishment, and a bit of sadness for killing such a fine animal.

   I butchered him up and spent the next two days packing elk. He ended up being a solid 6 point, with a decent amount of mass. One of his brow tines is pretty short, but overall a nice looking bull. All in all I hunted pretty much the whole season and was grateful I was able to do what I set out to do.



   Thanks for reading my story Hunt Wa, hope you enjoyed it! - Fuzznuts

[JakeLand]

Very nice ! Great story

[blindluck]

My friend! Awesome story and trophy. You put it all together then made it count, then all alone you handeled that animal from a deep dark canyon to your freezer. You're a true sportsman and hunter. Well deserved bud!! See you on the mountain this year.

[DeerThug]

Thats Awesome!

[elkrack]

Great story and bull

[Naches Sportsman]

Thanks for sharing.

[lewy]

 

[Sandberm]

Really well executed hunt, and a well written report . Thanks for sharing.

Thats cool you didnt let the hunter pressure get you down. You just used that as an excuse to try a new area. As you said, "Persistence pays off". Your a heck of a hunter. 

[jae]

What a Awesome experience!
Congratulations on your success.

[bracer40]

Great story and pics! I’m glad you wrote it up late. Sometimes I miss some of the Hunt stories because I’m busy hunting!

[fuzznuts]

Thanks all for the kind words and I'm glad you liked the story, it was definitely a high point in my hunting career! Here are a few more pics. The first one was as he lay when I walked up on him.

[fuzznuts]

Guess I need to figure out how to run this thing!

[Dan-o]

Fantastic bull!

Fantastic hunt!

Fantastic pics!

Fantastic write up!

Fantastic share overall!

Thank you for sharing.

Does your bull ave a big old healed scar on the top of his neck (looks like it in one pic)?

[Rainier10]

Great story and bull. Thanks for sharing. Your timing is perfect. Love to see these stories when we have some downtime.

[blindluck]

Fantastic bull!

Fantastic hunt!

Fantastic pics!

Fantastic write up!

Fantastic share overall!

Thank you for sharing.

Does your bull ave a big old healed scar on the top of his neck (looks like it in one pic)?

Looks like the cut up the back of the neck for a shoulder mount, I can see the cut going around the side too.