Last Elk Raffle Update (story added)

[huntnphool]

 A couple trail cam images

[archery288]

Awesome bull!!!!  Nice trial cam pic's phool! Where'd you get those?! 

[buglebuster]

Awesome bull  Congrats

[RaffleMule]

A friend (and member on here) sent me these pictures on Sept. 1st.  I showed him to Phool on my phone before I shot him.  This is the first time I had seen him all year but he had a habit of hanging out with 400' bulls.  One was blasted (gov. tag bull)and the other is all broke up......

[The100Road]

WOW! any idea of what he score yet?

[huntnphool]

WOW! any idea of what he score yet?

 He's not putting a tape on it. We all looked over a lot of big bulls in the 3+ months of his hunt and not once was he concerned with a score. There were several high scoring bulls that could have been tagged but in every case they just didn't have that "Wow" factor he was looking for.

 Sunday morning we had that bull, that Coach posted a pic of, in the spotter at about 500 yards but Brad said that a large typical just isn't what he wanted. When we spotted this bull there was no hesitation on his part, he said "this is the one"

 If Brad is not concerned about the score then we shouldn't be either, its exactly what he wanted and he couldn't be happier, I can assure all of you that it tops the 300" mark.

 And this is not addressed at you 100road, you were just the last person on the list to quote.

[The100Road]

WOW! any idea of what he score yet?

 He's not putting a tape on it. We all looked over a lot of big bulls in the 3+ months of his hunt and not once was he concerned with a score. There were several high scoring bulls that could have been tagged but in every case they just didn't have that "Wow" factor he was looking for.

 Sunday morning we had that bull, that Coach posted a pic of, in the spotter at about 500 yards but Brad said that a large typical just isn't what he wanted. When we spotted this bull there was no hesitation on his part, he said "this is the one"

 If Brad is not concerned about the score then we shouldn't be either, its exactly what he wanted and he couldn't be happier, I can assure all of you that it tops the 300" mark.

 And this is not addressed at you 100road, you were just the last person on the list to quote.

No hard feelings. That is awesome. congrates to him. It for sure has the wow factor.

[Rainier10]

That is a great bull and no it doesn't matter the score, it is a trophy to him.  It would be to me for sure.  Many times it is not the biggest but how you got it, where you got it and who you were with when you got it.  It sounds like he covered all of these in a great season of hunting and for a second year ended up with a great trophy and great memories with friends in the field.  Congratulations.

[fishunt247]

Massive bull. Congratulations. Well stated phool. So often the "score" question gets thrown around when there are far more important things to worry about.

[RaffleMule]

I headed out Sunday knowing it was my last week of hunting regardless of the outcome so I knew I needed to pull the trigger on a nice bull.  Huntnphool offered to help out as well to take pictures and help pack if needed.  As we headed over I told him I wanted to make a stop along the way to see if the bulls I had seen the week before had come back after I had spooked them out of a draw they had been hanging out in for awhile.  We pull in at daylight and lo and behold four bulls are standing right out in the open.  As soon as we lay glass on them at 500 yds we can tell the big 6x7 is one of them (pictured earlier in the thread by Coach).  Decision time.....

We continue to get a good look at him and I hear Phool say "holy sh*t, he's a nice bull."  After sitting there for awhile, I decide I can't shoot a 400' bull if I shoot a 370' and I had a hunch he would be there on the way home if we couldn't find one.  After arrival we head straight to the mountains and see two small bulls all afternoon and evening.  Realizing there is zero snow it wasn't going to be easy to spot a ton of bulls.

The next morning we headed out in the same area looking for a specific bull only to track him into three different canyons.  Fog sucked and by 3pm we hadn't seen an elk all day.  I keep telling Phool if we don't see anything today then let's head back tomorrow and go find that bull we had seen on Sunday.  I was starting to kick myself for not taking the other bull......

We hit a different area that evening and finally see a tiny bull all by himself.  I think we slapped high fives because we hadn't gotten skunked for the day and finally had seen an elk.  About ten minutes later we spot six more bulls and there is a nice framed 6x6 that probably was pushing 350-355.  I was tempted but knew I had a backup so we headed down the hill to glass one more spot.  Just before dark, Phool spots seven bulls coming out of the timber about 7-8 miles away.  Way too far to tell if they are shooters or not but at least they were showing themselves.

Our plan was to go after them the next morning but we had no clue how to get to them so Josh Teal told us he could take us right to them (hold the comments to you guys who aren't fans of Josh.  We wouldn't have found them without his knowledge of the area).  We ended up meeting Josh the next morning and he told us we needed to walk in about 2-2.5 miles and we could get to a ridge and get a good look at them.  We headed out and sure enough we spot them in the same place feeding in and out of the timber.  We get a good look at the bull and Phool asks what I think and I knew right then I wanted this bull.  He kept asking if I liked it better than the other one but with his character it was a no brainer to me. 

They were about 600 yds across the draw and it was a little out of my comfort range so I wanted to try and get a little closer. Phool and I crawled down the hill as close as we could get and final yardage was 484.  I felt pretty good about the shot but the wind was definitely a factor because it was gusting pretty good.  I got set up and Rob kept saying, "wait too much wind."  Then, "shoot"  I finally fired off a shot and he didn't move/flinch or anything.  Crap, I missed.  All nine bulls bunched up and I didn't have a clean shot without knowing where my first bullet ended up.  He finally came clean and I fired again......Phool yelled, "you nailed him."  He took off but blood was pouring down his side already.  He went about 50-60 yds and got weak legged and laid down (then slid 100 more yards down the drainage).  Bull Down! 

Awesome feeling to shoot such an amazing animal.  I was stoked to say the least.

We had about a 45 minute walk to get to him but worth every step.  Even the pack out....It took us five hours to get him quartered up and to pack the head out.  Also, saw I had gut shot him with the other shot and he hadn't even flinched or moved.  One tough animal......  We ended up going back in the next morning to bring out all the meat.  Great hunt, great company and definitely something I will never forget.

During the four months I hunted, I probably saw three bulls I could have shot that would score higher than this one but I don't think I would trade any of them for him.  Something about a little junk up top.........

Here are a few more pics........

The descent....he was across this canyon so we went down and back up to him.  And the last pic is of Rob (huntnphool) and Josh.  My so called posse or crew.......

[WenHunter]

Great story. I don't know you, but sure seems like you put in the effort and got a bull that you and anyone of us would be happy to put down!!!! Congrats

[Woodchuck]

Very cool man, congratulations again. Memories for a lifetime. 

[trophyhunt]

Thanks for taking the time to post your story, great hunt and I can't imagine someday drawing a tag like that. Congrats again, I'm definetly putting in for the CLOCKUM next year .....

[chad s.]

That's the most impressive Washington Bull I've ever seen! Congrats!

[coachcw]

Brad great post , You really did your tag Justice . Intill some ones been on a hunt like that it's hard to realize , the commitment you made and the will power you showed. I know you just don't want the journey to end by passing other bulls up you gained more experiance and truelly were able to appriciate the magnitude of of that tag. So many guys would have tagged the first good bull and went home . I know Bob learned so much on his hunt and we where able to become good buddies . To me thats really what this sport is about , the times and memories . That bull is truelly a stud I cant believe he looks like he is half stag on top . Rob , Well done and cuddos to you for all the effort you put in aswell , Trust me I know whats It's like . My friend and familly at times said to me why in the heck are you going hunting so much for an animal that you cant shoot ? I said there's nothing I rather do except have the tag my self . Of course I pretty much gave up my season to take the journey , but it was all worth it . I know you hold your self to a high standard and brad was lucky to have you along to help out . One thing I will say about score is there's only one number one in the state and aanimal thats woked for the way you have is much more of a trophy . I would say that 95% of hunters would shoot that bull on day one !