First Archery Bull A 4x4 from the Toutle

[jasfireman]

The Hunter: Charlie (Dad)
The Helpers: James(Me) Dennis(son/brother)
Where: Toutle
Equipment: Elite Z28, Easton Axis 340, Slick Trick 100 Magnums
When: Tuesday Sept 14th @ 7:15pm
The Story: After a exciting week (Sept 7-14) hunting in the Toutle area it came down to the last night hunt, after seeing a bull in the same spot the night before our hopes where high for the early season elk hunt finale.  We planned it out, Dad would slip into the spot that if was in 60 seconds earlier the night before he would of have had a nice shot at a large bull, and I would hang back about 25 yards in case we needed to try to cow call.  Brother would walk up the road and see if he could find anything else.  With our hopes high from the previous night we all took our places, we are not in for more than 20 minutes and we start to hear rustling of the brush, sticks breaking and where dad was he saw 15ft trees shaking.  It was obvious that there was a mature bull in there doing some Pre- rut rituals.  After the first few minutes of this we were on pins and needles, at any minute this bull could step out we just didn't know where or when.  After a little more than an HOUR and only 45 minutes of day light and 20-25 minutes of shooting light, the bulls appears out the brush and into the open!  The only thing is that he is staring in our general direction, he obvious does not see dad as he draws back his bow, he was well prepared for this as he had every possible spot ranged, he came out at 36 yards standing quartering to us! With in 20 seconds I here the wistling of the arrow and a LOUD thud as it hit the bull in the chest.  As the bull quickly turns to run from us I cow talked him several times, he stopped 24 yards from where he was shot. He stops to look at us again and it was obvious he was hit good he immediately starts the wobble and down he goes!  We call brother to quickly get back we have alot of work to do!  Thank goodness we were only 400 yards from the truck! We got him back to camp hung him up and skinned him.  The next morning we boned him out and gave a little meat to the guys that help us at the camp we were staying.  We ended up with a little under 225 lbs of meat at the butcher. All in all it was a great trip, we saw over 16 legal bulls and were with in striking distance of three of them. Brother and I gave up a lot of our time in our elk hunting area but it was well worth helping dad scout and hunt for his, after all you don't get a Toutle tag every year and we know he would of done the same!

[400out]

Good job! Nice bull you got there! 

[washelkhntr]

Congrats.  Shot placement don't get any better than that!

[Elkslayer]

Nice bull and nice shot!

[BigD]

Good job

[testar77]

Congrats!  Something none of you will ever forget!

[denali]

Congrats.  Shot placement don't get any better than that!

What He said !

[ron9909]

Nice work. That's cool helping your dad get his bull. Hope there still around in Nov for my boys cow elk permit.

[MLBowhunting]

good story, good job to pops

[Billy]

Good team work.  Nice shot!  

[carpsniperg2]

great write up and post. thanks for sharin

[bowhunterforever]

Congrats, Nice bull and shooting

[shedcrazy]

GREAT BULL, CONGRATS

[steeleywhopper]

Good Job! They don't go far when you hit em like that.

[scout88]

nice bull and great shot!!

[Michelle_Nelson]

Good looking bull!  Can't get a better shot than that!

[Hunter Dug]

Excellent job guys good looking bull. Boy I tell you that is one of the best hunts I have been on as far as seeing a lot of game.  I love that shot just left of the brisket, and just right of the shoulder, right in the pocket puts-em down every time. 

[nontypical176]

That has got to be the coolest heart shot I've ever seen.  The heart all cleaned up with a perfect cross in it.  Awesome.  I can't wait to get in there for my muzze loader hunt.   Congrats.

[spottedhand]

Great job !  Nice X marks the spot !  Great story and photo !

[Blacklab]

X marks the spot 
Thanks for sharin

[JCClement]

Great shot.  Great memories forever.  Congratulations, thanks for sharing.

[h2ofowlr]

Great shot.  Nice looking bull.

[jasfireman]

Excellent job guys good looking bull. Boy I tell you that is one of the best hunts I have been on as far as seeing a lot of game.  I love that shot just left of the brisket, and just right of the shoulder, right in the pocket puts-em down every time. 

Yeah for us to, we saw over 16 bulls in 7 days of hunting, out of those we had 4 within 45 yards just couldn't close the deal till the last day! Awesome trip, one we will never forget!

[Cylvertip]

Poor bull, looks like he was broken hearted.     Beautiful!

[C-Money]

Great looking bull! Nice shot! Congrats!

[Charlie]

This was one of my most memorable hunts for sure. The bull at the end of my hunt was just an added bonus. Just being out in God's beautiful creation with two of my three sons will always be my best memory of this hunt. My boys put their hunting on hold just to be with me. Thanks boys you did your dad proud! I had the time of my life. To everyone else, thanks for the kind words. I hope to see all your successes posted soon.

[Charlie]

I guess my season is over (unless my boys want some help filling their tags). I can always beat some brush for them. I found the perfect place for this years antlers though. I will be reminded of the good times we had every time I look up there. Good luck to the rest of you. I hope you fill your tags and build some great memories with family and friends.

[ELKBURGER]

Congrats on a great hunt!

[buckhorn2]

Family and teamwork makes for sucess. A hunt to remember and a shot to be proud of.

[D-Rock425]

Nice shot

[h2ofowlr]

Nice bull.  Nice shot, you stuck him in the boiler.

[Charlie]

Thank you for the kind words! It's great when it all comes together and ends like our hunt did. Kinda makes the not so great times seem insignificant. I screwed my shoulder up a few months before season started and I didn't do as much shooting as I normally do before the season opener. As a result I set some limits for myself. The main one was a 40 yard maximum shot distance with the right conditions. There are so many variables that can cause a poor shot placement without adding anything else into the mix. I will do everything in my power to assure a quick kill. I drive my boys crazy with some of the prep work I do. Once I find an area the game is using, I try to determine all the shooting scenarios that may occur and select a couple locations I can set up on.  Which location I ultimately use is primarily determined by the wind direction at the time I set up. Once I select the locations, I start pruning the branches that may interfere with my arrow. This process doesn’t take as long as it might seem and I never attempt it during prime hunt times. Once the prep work is done I start ranging and memorizing various points out to my maximum yardage. This practice has worked out well for me in the past but has been quite a bit more complex (and essential) since I started archery hunting a few years ago.  All of this becomes a mute point if I am stalking the game. I enjoy stalking game more than any of the other options but it is a whole different ball game when you switch from modern firearms to archery. I remember the first time I entered the field for archery season and started ranging distances. My first thought was “You have got to be kidding me! How will I ever get that close to an animal to make a shot?”  The night before I got the 4 point I crossed paths with a 5 point in the same meadow.  I entered the woods later than I should have and when I got close to my stand I could hear a bull molesting some trees in the middle of the meadow. When I was within 10 yards of my stand he came around the end of the trees and turned to cross in front of me at what I estimated to be 45–50 yards. He was walking at a slow pace and presented me a potential one shot opportunity. Last year I wouldn’t have hesitated making the shot but this year was different. With my bad shoulder and the lack of practice I had prior to season I held fast to the 40 yard maximum I had placed on myself before season started. There were also a few other factors that caused the conditions to be something less than right for a shot at this bull. Not so on the following evening.  Even though the bull came out in a spot I had not anticipated, he came out just shy of my 40 yard landmark. The wind was right and I had good cover to shot from. I would have preferred a little different angle on the bull. I always envision a broadside double lung shot but I felt confident in the shot I had. There are many times everything seems to come together only to fall apart at the last minute. It is nice to be able to close the deal every now and then. Good hunting guys! I will be looking forward to your successes and by the way, don’t forget the pictures! Charlie

[OltHunter]

wow!!! i have never seen a picture like that with a perfect broadhead cut in the heart.  sweet shot and great bull!

[bow4elk]

Congrats - nice bull!

[BlackRidge]

Congrats! That was an awesome shot! I love threads like this

[elkslare]

BULLSEYE  Meat in the freezer. great bull

[Nimrod]

Nice bull man... Was the hunt what u thought it would be

[Charlie]

Even more than I thought it would be Nimrod. We saw big bulls 7 out of the 8 days we were there. Granted, several of them were in clearings 400-500 yards away but we were up close and personal on several occasions. I have no doubt that if I would have had a modern firearm special permit I would have left there with a six pointer in my coolers. It was like going back in time to the 70's. When I was in the woods hunting, I did not see another hunter. I did see a few other vehicles on the DNR roads when we were driving into and back out from the areas we hunted. I assumed they were deer hunters or just passing through to a different area. I can't imagine someone road hunting (excluding disabled hunters) if they have a special permit but I am sure it happens. I would like to get to Montana or Colorado some day but this season ranks right up there based on my experience. 

[steelhead13]

I was hunting the toutle and had a couple good chances at nice bulls, but nothin paid off.  We weren't as lucky to have an area to our selves.  We had people coming in behind locked gates after we had walked in, in the dark.  It was kinda frustrating at times.

[Charlie]

steelhead13, I have been there too. I try to stay away from the popular/hot spots. Many of the areas I hunt are the ones people drive by on their way to other areas. Hope you fair better in the late season and fill that freezer up!