ok... ok... 2 big Backcountry Bulls - gotta share some pics and stories...

[flyguide]

Alright, gotta share some pics from this elk season.  Thought I could bottle this season up inside but its all coming out despite my attempt at the will power of humbleness and silence.  With my favorite tag in hand, I prepped hard for 2009 lots of scouting yada yada yada.  Sorry, didn't mean to make this sound like another Eastman's story, but I started out by getting my pack together about 3 weeks before season, weighing EVERY piece of gear on a kitchen scale, putting it in a spreadsheet, cutting tags off tents, building Tyvek tarps, 17 mile runs, and all sorts of other weird stuff that my friends make fun of me for.

The kids helped me pack and make a batch of toasted bagel peanut butter, bacon, and honey sandwiches (very good, and they WORK).  Loaded up night before season, made a long drive to the trailhead, hit the trail, and spiked out on top of a bull that CChunt had scouted most of the summer.  We laid down on a few inches of snow which was a little soggy but since it was the night before season it didn't matter, nobody sleeps anyway.  The bull we found the night before season was still there in the morning so we slipped in below him in the dark and glassed him in the light of a full moon, he was 150 yards above us in an avalanche meadow bugling every few minutes.  CChunt posted up behind a string of fir trees directly downhill of the bull, I moved back about 50-60 yards into the timber behind so that I would have a concealed calling location.  It was a few minutes before daylight and I told him that I would call as soon as I could see my pins..... that was the LONGEST 5-10 minutes of my life!  I kept looking at my site going.... no... not quite yet.  Now? no.... almost....  I waited until I had good vision on my pins in the timber so I knew CChunt was good to go in the meadow.   It was  really still morning so you could hear a pin drop.  I let out a loud cow call and there was a few seconds of suspense.... then he screamed back at me and I knew he was coming.  He came a full trot, stopped to bugle, rake a tree or two or three, I kept calling and then I heard him bugle really close.  I am thinking to myself "SHOOT" him already!, he had to be in range.  It was dead still, then I heard CChunt cowcall, "whooomp", "thwack!!!", then hoof beats running to my right.  I started cow calling a bunch, ran around the right side of the timber patch I was in to see where the bull was headed for trailing reasons.  Then there is a BIG BULL staring my direction at 40 yards!  Not sure if that was the same bull or not, either way I was shooting, it let me get to full draw and I zipped a shot through both lungs and he turned and trotted to the edge of the little meadow, barely made it into the timber and toppled over!  MINUTES into 2009 we had a nice 6x6 on the ground!  CChunt made a great first arrow and the bull, was done, but with 2 arrows through the lungs it sure made the recovery short and sweet!  After a long day of packing meat, I did make it back up on the hill to hunt that night.

It is a great bull, I am sure since I posted now CChunt will likely post some better pics of his bull.

[JoeVon]

Dandy Bull!  Looks like all the preparation payed off!

[Skinner]

Awesome

[tazz]

very nice bull thanks for the story 

[PolarBear]

Sweet!  Thanks for sharing!

[flyguide]

Ok, so 9 days later I am running solo and it is about 10:30 and really hot.  I am wondering what the hell I am doing trying to scratch a day out of it instead of laying down for a nap like every other elk hunter out there.  I kept on scrapping it out through stand of steep timber and I let out a LOUD bugle.  I heard something come back that sounded kind of like a bugle, it had the right cadence but was really quiet.  I told myself it was a bird, I litterally had an entire dialouge about it with myself.  I hunt alone A LOT and I think I was getting loony.  I started angling side hill in the general direction of the bird and bugled again, heard it again... now I told myself. "dude, you are only hearing it after you bugle because you are being quiet, listening, and WANTING to hear it.. you are going crazy man".  So I kept going and told myself that I wouldn't bugle anymore, but I would just listen and prove it was a bird.    Well, we all know how this ends.  I kept moving, it was a bull SCREAMING his head off at 11 am.  The wind was coming straight up hill so I had to move over and down a long ways to get in position for some calling, I found a good tree on a small ridge that gave me a good alley to try and drag him over.  Calling to yourself is tough.

I let out a really loud estrus cow call, and when he yapped back I knew he was coming.  It took him about 20 minutes bugling his way up, my heart was going NUTS and I started getting the shakes.  He came into about 60 yards and I could see bits and pieces is all and he did some of the clearest grunts and bugles I have ever heard from any elk.  He was down in a little draw straight side hill to me, I think he was trying to hook and wind me, he was at 60 then the next minute he was 100 yards and moving back down the hill.

Knowing that you can't call bulls in twice, I went into attack mode and hooked around to right where he just was, grunted, cow called, and moved in another 40 yards (fortunately he was bugling enough that I could keep tabs on him and new I had a little time to set up an ambush).  Now I was on his turf, up in his business.  I pulled up behind a little knoll with a clump of Cedar that he would be forced to walk around the sides of giving me an angle.  As soon as I moved in, he had turned 180 degrees and was coming right back towards me.  I could hear him BREATHING and huffing his way up the hill.  It was either going to be left or right of the clump, both were going to be 10-15 yard shots!  I heard him coming up the left, I readied to draw knowing I would have to hit full draw the second I saw his tips... here they come... full draw... (when he didn't break stride as I hit full draw I knew I had him)  He came into an alley at 10 yards, cow call on pallete... "eeeeeeeaaahhh!" bull stops... pin on front shoulder for his quartering on angle.. "THWACK!!!"  bull turns and runs so I start cow calling and running behind to keep him in site as long as possible.  I never saw the arrow hit it was so fast.

Now the bull is standing looking up hill at about 30 yards, I shanked an arrow off a branch trying to get a second one in him (never knew if my first was good), then when I missed and he only moved about 10 yards I knew he was hurt bad.  Another shot at 30 yards, this one was VERY carefully released despite a heart rate off the charts.  I put this arrow through both lungs, and he went another 10 yards, lost his legs and toppled over!  My first true trophy bull!

As you can see, he died in a very tough spot.  Quartering that size of a bull was one of the hardest things I have ever done.  Getting him turned and rolling quarters off him was hard enough, trying to hang the hind quarters alone was BRUTAL.  Got it done though!  Doesn't seem too bad now that I have him off the mountain and horns in the garage!  

CChunt grossed him at 340 5/8", I taped it at 331 4/8" gross ( I think mine is more accurate, CChunt used a piece of hay twine and a measuring tape ).  Who knows, who cares?  This bull has a ton of unscorable mass in the top end so the tape won't quite do it justice anyway, nor do I care that much.  Backcountry bull, by yourself, it doesn't get any better than that.

Great hunt and you can't beat a DOUBLE BRAIN BOIL!!!!

[flyguide]

Here is the Double Boil...

CChunt's bull and my bull!

[JoeVon]

Cool Story....I know what you mean about the whacky dialogue with yourself too, really makes you wonder sometimes.

[Skinner]

Wow even better!  Awesome bull!

[NWBREW]

Thoses are two awsome  stories and two awsome bulls. Congrats to both of you for a hard job well done

[Alan K]

Awesome!!! 

[Backstraps]

Holy *censored* Joe! Thanks for sharing YET another incredible hunt with us! You are amazing!!!!! I would love to come by and check out that rack! Dano

[Michelle_Nelson]

Those are some great looking bulls!  Congrats!

[MuleyMadness]

Great job was that a special permit?

[ELKBURGER]

Wow, great season guys. And way to get done solo! not an easy feat. What unit did you draw??