Well after a very depressing, absolutely NO elk start up towards Quartz Mt , Shoe Sting Trail and several other places here and there. I came home not to pleased with the miles I had put on my boots. I posted my thoughts and sat and stewed over it, I mean really stewed over it. So Friday morning I figured, I can't shoot a bull if I'm sitting here! I said what the heck , it's all or nothing. Put everything on hold and cleared the calender until at least Friday of the last weekend
I was going and I was staying until I shot a bull, after the way my season had started. I told myself not to get all "Trophy bull gung ho" If it was decent, I was going to shoot it. I got out of town late Friday afternoon and got over in the unit. I received a important call I had been waiting on. Did a quick U turn and made tracks to where I needed to be at daylight.
Got there right at dark, wind howling and rain pounding down. Decided I wasn't going to even try setting a camp up in it. Spent a comfy night in the extra cab of my truck and was humping down the trail just before it was light enough to shoot.
I worked my way around the edge of a large timber basin with several nice finger draws rising to me, as I worked my way to the head of it. Like a neon sign saying "Shoot me" there he was. I knew it was a bull the moment I saw him. Due to the size of the body and his light buckskin body glowing in the sun. He was right at about 300 yards and feeding left to right on a real steep hillside across a steep ravine from me. He was in one of the few openings there were feeding towards heavy timber. It was now or never, confirmed the range. Got a good solid prone position on the bipod, did a quick check on the rifle and scope. I knew I would be six inches low at 300 yards, held accordingly and sent a Speer 350gr HotCore at 2800 fps from my 450 Remington Ultra Magnum, the hit flat crushed him!
Dead right there and rolled down into the timber out of sight and all was quiet but the ringing in my head from the muzzle brake.I stayed on the rifle and watched, I saw movement to the left of where my bull had rolled into the timber. I swung to it and watched a monster six point come out of the timber and walked back towards where my bull had gone down. The big bull just stood there watching towards the downed bull, I was thinking...Daaaaaaaaamn! I watched him for 5 min or so before he turned and fed away from my bull. All in all I was very pleased to fill my permit, would have loved to have shot big boy but it had been years since I had shot a mature bull and I was feeling fairly content watching big boy knowing I already had one on the ground.
A big THANKS! to Sled........
It's allot steeper than it looks in the photos, I know!
The recovered 350gr .458 cal Speer HotCore bullet, recovered weight 248.4. Found just under the hide on the off side.
