Hunting Washington Forum
Big Game Hunting => Elk Hunting => Topic started by: cmiller85 on August 14, 2017, 11:03:33 AM
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I don't post a lot on here like I would like due to a lot sentiments noted in the Lurkers...and Esteemed members thread (http://hunting-washington.com/smf/index.php/topic,216934.0/topicseen.html (http://hunting-washington.com/smf/index.php/topic,216934.0/topicseen.html)), but I am on here pretty much daily and I agree that the forum is as only as good as we make it.
So with that, I figured I'd start a thread in regards to my 2017 Colockum Muzzy bull tag.
It just so happens that this tag is the only tag/hunt that I've ever killed an elk on. I drew this tag with my Dad back in 1998. I was 13 years old back then and had been hunting for a few years so that was an exciting hunt to say the least. I ended up killing a 250 class 6 point. As a 13 year old, I was on top of the world. My Dad took his bull a couple days later; another 6 point in probably the 280 range or so. It was the first time he had killed a mature bull as well. As we packed my Dad's elk out that day we jumped a herd of probably 200 head that proceeded to run across the open valley in front of us. We counted over 30 bulls in that herd, including six 6 pt. bulls; two of which were just monsters. I'm sure my memory has made them grow, but I'd put them at 380-390" bulls with what I know today.
Ever since seeing those monster bulls I've been bitten by the "trophy" hunting bug; always looking for that animal that would eclipse that magical minimum score to make the record books. In terms of elk hunting that means that I haven't killed anything since I was 13. Over the years I've passed on numerous cows, spikes, and 4-pts during my general archery seasons while only getting glimpses of the bigger herd bulls through the trees. But the basic truth is, I just love to hunt! The challenge of the hunt, the camaraderie with my hunting partners, and just generally enjoying God's creation is all I need to truly thrive. And so, I am fulfilled each and every season.
So, this year I was shocked :yike: to see that I had wiped the board in applying for special permits (outside of OIL tags of course). After drawing the multiseason elk, I drew antlerless 49 Degrees North, Colockum Muzzy bull AND Entiat Archery Buck. I'm very excited and can't hardly wait!
Because of my disdain for our point system (yes, even as my pockets overflow with permits :chuckle:), I will no longer be applying for Quality deer and elk in Washington so my goal on these hunts will to be go big or go home.
My Dad drew the only muzzy tag for the colockum in 2011 and shot a 366" gross bull that netted 353", so naturally that sets the bar at a minimum right? I can't be out done by the old man! :bdid: :chuckle: But in all seriousness, my goal will be that 360" B&C minimum so I'll be looking for a bull I think will go 375" on the gross. So after 19 years I'm back! And this time I'll be looking for bloodlines of one of those monster bulls I saw all those years ago!
It's going to be super tough, but I have no doubt that it can be done. My biggest obstacle to being able to hold out mentally will be knowing what caliber of bulls are running around out there this year. If I know there is a monster out there then holding out will get slightly more easy. I am prepared to eat this tag; which for me, only translates to having a longer hunt. :tung: So all of you archery tag holders and the one person with the rifle tag, save one for me will ya? :tup:
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Awesome, Tagging along for the ride...
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That's a huge score on all those tags!!!! Congrats and look forward to more posts and hopefully some critters hitting the ground for ya.
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Can't wait to see what you end up putting your tag on! Ill be in there helping one of the few other lucky muzzleloader tag holders (if my buddy has his moose tag filled by then). Really a great year to draw the tag. Amazing feed and the season is a week earlier than the general season. Hope I see you in there and we can share notes. Best of luck in your quest for a monster.
Clint
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Hey lets see a pic of your dads bull!
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Hey lets see a pic of your dads bull!
It's actually my avatar pic.
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That's a stud bull. Once in a life time type bull :drool: :drool: :drool:
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Awesome old STUD bull! Thanks for sharing. Hope you can outdo him, as long as it's an inch bigger! :chuckle:
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Thanks for sharing so we can join you along in the journey. What a hunting season this will be for you no matter the results. That is a beautiful bull your dad got as well. Good luck and go get em!
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Good luck on your hunt!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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What a monster. That is so cool! Congratulations.
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Sweet Baby Jesus, that's a monster! Congrats to you and your dad! :o
I saw a bull like that once...in Cabela's...on a wall...
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Wow
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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Looking forward to tagging along on your hunt. Good luck!
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Looking forward to tagging along on your hunt. Good luck!
:yeah:
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Congrats on all the draws, should be an epic season, and thanks for sharing.
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That's a huge score on all those tags!!!! Congrats and look forward to more posts and hopefully some critters hitting the ground for ya.
:yeah: :tup: :IBCOOL:
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Would you shoot a bull comparable to your dads bull?
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Would you shoot a bull comparable to your dads bull?
That's a super tough question. If I thought it would make 360" net I'd shoot. My Dad's bull would have netted 360" if he would have had the matching 3-1/4" 7th point. That's how close he was. So the matching 7th, or something as small as a 1/2" more average length on each point or if he was 6" wider all would have tipped him over the mark.
He's so close that I personally would not be able to field judge the difference if he stood next to a 360-370" bull. So the answer is....more than likely. The only way I wouldn't be able to is if I see a bull that looks like he'd go 380-390+. I mean it would have to be something truly exceptional to "help" :chuckle: me pass on a bull like my Dad's; and even then, I feel like, deep down, it is still negotiable depending on a number of variables.
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Thats awesome good luck and enjoy the hunts!
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I will be hunting during the archery season I spend lots of time there pm your number and maybe I can help u locate your dream bull
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I will be hunting during the archery season I spend lots of time there pm your number and maybe I can help u locate your dream bull
Very nice offer, glad to see people willing to help.
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I will be hunting during the archery season I spend lots of time there pm your number and maybe I can help u locate your dream bull
I appreciate the generosity. PM sent! :tup:
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I look at it this way those quality tags don't come very often so I figure If I help someone out maybe when I get drawn some will share info with me on my someday quality anything lol
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I look at it this way those quality tags don't come very often so I figure If I help someone out maybe when I get drawn some will share info with me on my someday quality anything lol
:tup: I agree and look at it the same way.
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Have a great adventure and let us know how it goes.
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Thank you for sharing
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8-20-17:
We had a fairly successful day scouting yesterday. My Dad and I split up and I buzzed around up high and worked my down a ridge. I came to a bench in some open country on the edge of some thicker timber. It was just before 10:00 AM. I wasn't expecting to see any elk, but as I came to the edge of the bench where it started down hill I caught movement. About 60 yards down hill on a smaller bench a 300" or so 6x6 bull stood up. He got a good look at me and so didn't stick around long. I got a quick look at his left side as he quickly out of sight and then crashed down over the hill.
I proceeded down the hill back through some thicker stuff and then another open plateau. I came upon some fresh elk sign, marked it on my gps and went to crest the edge of the plateau. As I stopped to take in my surroundings before proceeding, I caught movement again. At 50 yards away down in some timber was a 300" or so 6x6 feeding. I watched him for a couple minutes and then he just bedded down. This was 1/2 mile down the ridge from where I saw the last bull but I'm fairly confident it was the same bull I jumped earlier. It was just way too similar. I got some crappy cell phone footage of him and then blew a cow call to see what he would do. I didn't just want to take off and blow him out of the country. Well I blew the cow call and he stood up and started walking away immediately. After a few steps he stopped. Another bull then got up to my left and walked toward the bull I was watching. This was a bigger bull. Probably closer to the 325" mark. He had way better G4s and G5s and was wider. They didn't stick around long and trotted down over the hill and walked out of sight. Here is the footage of the bull.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qfnTNluDPo (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qfnTNluDPo)
I got all the way down the ridge and didn't really like what I saw so I decided to dive down the canyon and head up the other side. Headed up the steep, rocky, nasty hillside I started getting into some benches that were loaded with elk beds. About as fresh as you can get. Fresh crap and pee everywhere with the trails just plowed up. I followed the trails up for a few hundred yards to try and find out where the herd had gone. As I crept slowly up the trail I paused to scan the area up in front of me. I caught movement! Looking back towards my right I saw a bull in the trees. I pulled up my binos and saw a lot of white bone, a little bit of red blood and some final remnants of velvet draped over his main beam. I pulled out the cell phone again and got some more rough footage to analyze later, then out came the binos again. The wind was going straight up the back of my neck and he was only 60-70 yards so I'm not sure how he didn't smell me but he just stood there for a couple of minutes and then walked on up the hill. He is a 7x7 and is really difficult to judge from the footage. He's got good width, looks like good mass and good main beam length. His tine length looked to me to be his biggest weakness, but he's also a 7x so that helps to balance out. I'd guess he's got to be 340"+. I'd put him in the "contender" category. I'd really like to get a good second look at him! Here is the footage.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqB0k-aNjGc (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqB0k-aNjGc)
After he walked off I continued on into the next draw. I just a cow and a calf and then a while later a 5 pt. at about 30 yards. All in all I saw only about 6 elk for the day but at least 4 were bulls and 3 of those were great 6 pt bulls at that. A lot of potential out there for this year's tag holders by what we saw yesterday. :tup:
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Awesome scouting trip there man. Good work! :tup:
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Great videos!
Thanks for sharing
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Great videos!
Thanks for sharing
:yeah: Good luck on your hunt
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Really cool footage! That'll get the blood flowing. I hope you land a giant on your hunt :tup:
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Aren't you building your house this year too CMiller? :o
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Aren't you building your house this year too CMiller? :o
Yes I am. And I'm preparing some wall space I'm hoping to fill up this fall. :chuckle:
We must have a mutual friend.
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Great videos. That's a scouting trip I'd put in the books. :tup:good luck on fulfilling that tag.
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8-27-17
Well my Dad and I made it out yesterday afternoon for another jaunt through some good looking elk country. I ended up finding an area that was just plowed up like a barn yard; tracks and dusty trails in about every direction. It was just tilled up. I found what looked to be some wolf tracks, which is always annoying, but the elk were in there and didn't seem too bothered by anything.
I was following a herd with a bugling bull. I never did get a glimpse at him, but he didn't sound overly large. He was giving out low-volume herd bugles/squeels fairly consistently for the last hour of light as the herd moved toward their feeding area. It won't be too long and they'll be going hot and heavy.
Hopefully the trail cams will produce this coming week!
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:tup:
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Good luck on your hunt!
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8-27-17
Well my Dad and I made it out yesterday afternoon for another jaunt through some good looking elk country. I ended up finding an area that was just plowed up like a barn yard; tracks and dusty trails in about every direction. It was just tilled up. I found what looked to be some wolf tracks, which is always annoying, but the elk were in there and didn't seem too bothered by anything.
I was following a herd with a bugling bull. I never did get a glimpse at him, but he didn't sound overly large. He was giving out low-volume herd bugles/squeels fairly consistently for the last hour of light as the herd moved toward their feeding area. It won't be too long and they'll be going hot and heavy.
Hopefully the trail cams will produce this coming week!
You picked up anything worthy of a first day notched tag on the trail cams yet? We're seeing a ton of bulls on our cams, just nothing in the category for the muzz bull tag yet. A couple that are close. Glad to hear they're warming up the pipes and establishing a pecking order already! :tup:
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8-27-17
Well my Dad and I made it out yesterday afternoon for another jaunt through some good looking elk country. I ended up finding an area that was just plowed up like a barn yard; tracks and dusty trails in about every direction. It was just tilled up. I found what looked to be some wolf tracks, which is always annoying, but the elk were in there and didn't seem too bothered by anything.
I was following a herd with a bugling bull. I never did get a glimpse at him, but he didn't sound overly large. He was giving out low-volume herd bugles/squeels fairly consistently for the last hour of light as the herd moved toward their feeding area. It won't be too long and they'll be going hot and heavy.
Hopefully the trail cams will produce this coming week!
You picked up anything worthy of a first day notched tag on the trail cams yet? We're seeing a ton of bulls on our cams, just nothing in the category for the muzz bull tag yet. A couple that are close. Glad to hear they're warming up the pipes and establishing a pecking order already! :tup:
Nothing yet. But I'm highly optimistic he's out there! I've seen some pretty good looking rubs and other sign. There are some bigger bulls in there somewhere...
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Ive got a UTV and am in the Colockum often.. let me know if you want some extra eyes. When does the hunt start? I have an idea where a couple big boys are right now..
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Great thread. Congrats on all the tags. Best of luck and I will let you know what I see during the archery season. Hoping for a 350" bull myself but with a bow and having shot a big bull before anything over 300" that presents a good shot gets the air let out of it.
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Ive got a UTV and am in the Colockum often.. let me know if you want some extra eyes. When does the hunt start? I have an idea where a couple big boys are right now..
Thanks! The hunt starts for me on Sept. 30th.
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Great thread. Congrats on all the tags. Best of luck and I will let you know what I see during the archery season. Hoping for a 350" bull myself but with a bow and having shot a big bull before anything over 300" that presents a good shot gets the air let out of it.
Congrats on the tag! I'd say your odds are looking pretty good for finding a 300" from I've been seeing.
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Great thread. Congrats on all the tags. Best of luck and I will let you know what I see during the archery season. Hoping for a 350" bull myself but with a bow and having shot a big bull before anything over 300" that presents a good shot gets the air let out of it.
Congrats on the tag! I'd say your odds are looking pretty good for finding a 300" from I've been seeing.
That's what I think too.
After 300" it gets fuzzy up to 330-340 being able to field judge. Anything that steps out and makes me say "WOW" I am definitely shooting.
I think what has impressed me the most this year is most everything I have seen has decent thirds and where I hunt that normally isn't the case. Not sure why they are bigger thirds this year than normal but I am happy that the year I have a tag in my pocket the thirds are looking good.
Good luck out there and I will be sure to PM you after my season. My 15 year old daughter will actually be out during the muzzy season with a cow tag in her pocket. Maybe we will see you with a tank in the back of your truck. :tup:
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Great thread!
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This is going to be awesome! :IBCOOL:
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Wow!!!!
There is no way that anyone could convince me not to shoot either of the bulls you video'd. To me, those are pure studs.
I salute you for your dedication to taking a monster.
This is such an awesome thread.
I hope you choose to continue sharing.
:tup: X 1,000
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Good luck to all the Colockum tag holders! I cant wait to get out there with my bow! This guy is on my hit list for sure!
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Great thread. Congrats on all the tags. Best of luck and I will let you know what I see during the archery season. Hoping for a 350" bull myself but with a bow and having shot a big bull before anything over 300" that presents a good shot gets the air let out of it.
Congrats on the tag! I'd say your odds are looking pretty good for finding a 300" from I've been seeing.
That's what I think too.
After 300" it gets fuzzy up to 330-340 being able to field judge. Anything that steps out and makes me say "WOW" I am definitely shooting.
I think what has impressed me the most this year is most everything I have seen has decent thirds and where I hunt that normally isn't the case. Not sure why they are bigger thirds this year than normal but I am happy that the year I have a tag in my pocket the thirds are looking good.
Good luck out there and I will be sure to PM you after my season. My 15 year old daughter will actually be out during the muzzy season with a cow tag in her pocket. Maybe we will see you with a tank in the back of your truck. :tup:
I sure hope so! Good luck to you and your daughter as well!
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Good luck to all the Colockum tag holders! I cant wait to get out there with my bow! This guy is on my hit list for sure!
Awesome Bull! Are you archery, muzzy or the rifle permit? I'd say you have a shooter on your hands there! Shooting from the hip I'd say that's a 360+ gross bull!
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Tagging along for this adventure.
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Archery tag for me
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Archery tag for me
Awesome! I hope you get him! Good luck to you!
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Target Acquired!....
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Target Acquired!....
Any pics of him?
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Target Acquired!....
Very fun! Bet your mind will see that target non stop until the season starts!!
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Target Acquired!....
Nice! Lets hear it. What's his configuration? Monster 6? Or does he have extras? Any guess on score? Hope he makes it through the archery and one early rifle hunter and you can tag him!
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Target Acquired!....
Any pics of him?
That I do. I haven't got them downloaded and resized yet. All I have is a crappy cell pic of a camera pic right now.
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Target Acquired!....
Nice! Lets hear it. What's his configuration? Monster 6? Or does he have extras? Any guess on score? Hope he makes it through the archery and one early rifle hunter and you can tag him!
He's a big 7x7, but his left side 7th point forms out of the "Y" of his 5th point and main beam so I'm guessing that will make that point nontypical, reducing his scoreable frame down to a Huge 6x6. I haven't had time to really study the pictures yet, but, shooting from the hip, I'd say he has got to clear 380"+ on the gross.
There is a runner up/contender bull also in the same spot that is also a 7x7. He's got a double G3 on one side and a cheater off his G4 on the other. Doesn't have the tine length as the bigger bull, and wouldn't score as well with that plus his goofy tine configuration but sure would be hard to pass him as he's got a lot character.
God only knows where they'll be in 3 weeks even if they do make it through archery/rifle but it sure is cool seeing these monsters and just knowing the potential that's out there.
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Good luck to everyon with a tag. Excited to see how it turns out for everyone!
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Target Acquired!....
Nice! Lets hear it. What's his configuration? Monster 6? Or does he have extras? Any guess on score? Hope he makes it through the archery and one early rifle hunter and you can tag him!
He's a big 7x7, but his left side 7th point forms out of the "Y" of his 5th point and main beam so I'm guessing that will make that point nontypical, reducing his scoreable frame down to a Huge 6x6. I haven't had time to really study the pictures yet, but, shooting from the hip, I'd say he has got to clear 380"+ on the gross.
There is a runner up/contender bull also in the same spot that is also a 7x7. He's got a double G3 on one side and a cheater off his G4 on the other. Doesn't have the tine length as the bigger bull, and wouldn't score as well with that plus his goofy tine configuration but sure would be hard to pass him as he's got a lot character.
God only knows where they'll be in 3 weeks even if they do make it through archery/rifle but it sure is cool seeing these monsters and just knowing the potential that's out there.
Awesome man! Glad you're seeing the caliber of bulls you want to fill your tag with. Give's you so much more confidence passing on those lesser bulls knowing what's out there.
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Here is a runner up/contender. He's actually an 8x7 with the stickers and not a 7x7 as I originally thought. He's got the double G3. He's a gnarly looking old bull.
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Here is the shooter.
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Yep! Either of those would work! Thanks for sharing the pics and the adventure.
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:yeah: :drool: either 1!!!
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Man both of those bulls in the same spot gives you a pretty fair chance at that 380" mark. Those are both magnificent bulls! Good luck! :tup:
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Good luck man! Keep us updated.
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That last bull is sweet!
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some STUDS right there :IBCOOL: Hope you can catch up to them and they stick around for you.
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Good luck, its going to be a great year
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Tagging, excited to see how this turns out!
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Nice bull but I don't think that bull would reach the 380 mark. Fronts are a bit weak and the mains don't appear to be that long. I would put him high 360 to low 370. Reguardless great bull!
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Both are incredible looking bulls. Great pictures you were able to capture of them as well.
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Nice bull but I don't think that bull would reach the 380 mark. Fronts are a bit weak and the mains don't appear to be that long. I would put him high 360 to low 370. Reguardless great bull!
You may be right. I have been surprised before. It doesn't take much either way when they are that big. An inch on each point and 6" wider is 20 inches. And that can be pretty difficult to judge.
I'm just going to try to kill him so I can find out for sure. :chuckle:
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Both bulls look to measure perfect on the dinner plate and hanging on the wall. :tup:
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Both bulls look to measure perfect on the dinner plate and hanging on the wall. :tup:
I'd shoot one just to verify this. You never can be too sure.
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Your hunt should be a blast!👍🏻
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Both bulls look to measure perfect on the dinner plate and hanging on the wall. :tup:
I'd shoot one just to verify this. You never can be too sure.
Thats a good idea. Pass me the coordinates of the smaller looking bull and I'll stick him and we can measure him to give you a close estimate of score on the bigger one. :chuckle:
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Both bulls look to measure perfect on the dinner plate and hanging on the wall. :tup:
I'd shoot one just to verify this. You never can be too sure.
Thats a good idea. Pass me the coordinates of the smaller looking bull and I'll stick him and we can measure him to give you a close estimate of score on the bigger one. :chuckle:
You're a good guy Plat! Very Noble. :chuckle:
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Both bulls look to measure perfect on the dinner plate and hanging on the wall. :tup:
I'd shoot one just to verify this. You never can be too sure.
Thats a good idea. Pass me the coordinates of the smaller looking bull and I'll stick him and we can measure him to give you a close estimate of score on the bigger one. :chuckle:
You're a good guy Plat! Very Noble. :chuckle:
You bet, anything to ensure a fellow hunter doesn't miss out on an OIL opportunity. This might be the only time to draw such an awesome tag so why fuss over which ones bigger or scores higher when I can assist with a selection. :tup:
:chuckle:
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Nice bull but I don't think that bull would reach the 380 mark. Fronts are a bit weak and the mains don't appear to be that long. I would put him high 360 to low 370. Reguardless great bull!
You may be right. I have been surprised before. It doesn't take much either way when they are that big. An inch on each point and 6" wider is 20 inches. And that can be pretty difficult to judge.
I'm just going to try to kill him so I can find out for sure. :chuckle:
thats the best way to find out! Then don't worry about what the tape says? :tup:
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Good Luck, great reading so far. Hope you get a giant!!
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I have the muzzy tag also. This thread is is keeping me so PUMPED UP I can't stand it. Thanks!
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Awesome photos of a couple giants! Cant wait to help on the muzz hunt in a few weeks! Good luck.
Clint
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Having a blast on the archery hunt, wish it was a muzzy tag. There's some good ones out there for sure. Spent an hour at 100-150 away from a 375 bull yesterday. I could get hi to come closer and I couldn't get closer,57 cows with him, frustrating but tons of fun.
You are going to have a blast!
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Rainier, do you have an archery bull tag in the colock?
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Rainier, do you have an archery bull tag in the colock?
Why yes I do. Been up here all week having a blast.
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Rainier, do you have an archery bull tag in the colock?
Why yes I do. Been up here all week having a blast.
Shouldn't you be hunting right now? :bash: :chuckle:
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:yeah: :chuckle: It's hunt-o'clock and you're posting??? Should be trying to kill something. :archery_smiley:
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Ya!!! What's taking so long 8)
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:ban:
We can help you stay away if needed. :chuckle: :dunno:
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Heading back out now, here is a link to what will be my story so this thread doesn't get too far off track.
http://hunting-washington.com/smf/index.php/topic,218239.0.html
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So I've been busy working and haven't had time to post much. I've been out scouting a couple of times during the archery season.
Elk were pretty hush, hush last weekend in the evening where I was at. Sunday morning I went to another spot and got into some bugling action. Sneaked in on a couple of satellite bulls in their beds. A small 6x and a 5x. It was about 8:30 am and I had just herd a bull bulge a few minutes before. As I hiked up a ridge very slowly I stopped to scan the timber above me for any sign of an elk and caught some antlers. Scanning left and right I caught another set of antlers and knew right away there was no herd bull nearby. I had been duped into chasing this bull as opposed to the bugle up above me on large bench. I was directly down the hill from them and knew the thermals were about to switch and I didn't want to spook them as I was trying to get a look at the her bull. So, I cast a cow call back down behind me and to the left, just to see what would happen. Well, the bulls immediately stood up and looked passed me back down the ridge to my left. After about 15 seconds they walked left and headed down over the hill; presumably trying to get down wind of the cow call they had just heard.
Well, not 5 minutes later the thermals shifted and went straight up the ridge. I heard popping down below me but I didn't wait around to see if they would come on in. I was more eager to try and see some bigger bulls so I just had a good laugh at the situation; a situation that would never occur of course in a hunting situation, of course! How awesome it would be if I could time the thermals like that every time?...
Any how I did get some footage of another nice bull; not a shooter as I am guessing him to be in the 330-340" gross range, but still a great bull. He came walking by my buddy (who was archery hunting) and I at about 20 yards on opening morning. Of course!
Here is a video of him.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6lYKxkmOtk&feature=youtu.be (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6lYKxkmOtk&feature=youtu.be)
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Good luck!
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9-23-17
Well we went up Saturday afternoon after my kids' soccer games to put the trail cams back up after the archery general season to see if we could start reestablishing the whereabouts of the bulls in the area. Being an evening outing I wasn't expecting to hear any bugles if my current luck held as the last few evening trips did not generate any bugles; much to my surprise. But apparently my luck has changed.
Headed down to the wallow I wanted to put my cam on I walked into a cow standing broad side at about 80 yards at around 5:30pm. She didn't get a good look at me but did get nervous and trot on off with a couple other animals that I could not see. A good sign, I thought as I continued slowly on down the drainage. Approaching the wallow, I caught glimpses of them moving through the timber up to my right as I reached the wallow so I new they had not been spooked badly.
Arriving at the wallow I checked the area for sign. The recent rains have given a clean slate to the dry, dusty terrain making it much easier to age the elk sign. And there was fresh sign on the wallow as well as the surrounding trails. Things were looking good at this point and my optimism was up.
So I began setting up my trail camera and about halfway through that process I heard a good sounding bugle about 1/2 mile on down the draw in an area I knew to be a good bedding area. I checked my clock, 6:30pm, I had just enough time to get down there and get a look at the bull if I hurried so I quickly finished setting up and testing the camera and was off down the mountain. As I sneaked down a well used trail that paralleled a small creek, the bull bugled again. Great! I thought as I crossed the creek and began heading up the other side to where I had mentally pinpointed his location. I stopped to listen for breaking twigs or the sounds of an elk herd. Nothing. So, I continued on through the timber below where I thought they might be. It was a couple hundred yards to the ridge top where I suspected they were, but I cautiously moved along just to be safe. The thicker timber I was moving to came to a clearcut. I didn't really want to expose myself crossing it but it was really my only option that made sense. I noticed a 8' tall sapling out in the middle of the cut and I made my way to it before stopping so I had some cover to glass the timber above. Once I got to the tree, I began scanning the timber. It didn't take long and I spotted some antler tips. The bull was still in his bed and it was past 7 o'clock which seemed late to be in his bed still. I could tell that he was a very nice bull but not a shooter. I got some very rough footage of him and then began working my way up the ridge to verify that he was not a shooter and to make sure he was, in fact, the herd bull.
So I put the camera away and headed to the other side of the cut into some thicker cover. In my new setup I blew a cow call out behind me to see if I could get a response. Nothing. So I waited a minute or two and blew a couple more. Nothing again. I thought that was odd given the fact that he was bugling on his own so I started making my way up the ridge to see if he was still there. About halfway up to the top of the ridge I caught movement to my right. There he was just milling around and feeding away from me. Well that made me mad that he didn't respond to me and it was getting dark so I decided on a different approach...I through out a challenge bugle and then watched for his reaction. Well, that got his attention. He turned broad side and immediately let out a response. I cut him off with another challenge bugle and he just stood there. He didn't seem too aggressive so I tried to get him fired up. I grabbed a branch and started raking a small tree; all the while stomping my feet and trying to make as much noise as possible. He started coming back down the ridge to my left, but he was taking his time. I didn't have time to wait. When his route put a bunch of thick trees and brush between us I took off running up hill straight to him, jumping over logs, stomping on any twig I could and generally trying to sound like another bull elk. He just stood there as I got into the middle of the brush and trees between us. It was as far as I could go without stepping out into the open. He just stood there at about 40 yards. I let out another challenge bugle and started raking the nearest tree. He turned and started heading back up the hill to get a look at me, but I stayed hidden. He then barked at me, demanding that I step out and show myself. I knew that meant that I had to step out or shut up so I tried turning the tables. I barked back at him. He just stood there for a bit and barked again. So I barked again. This went on for a few more minutes before he noticed the cow he was with was heading on up the ridge so he just moseyed toward her general direction. It was dark at this point and I found out what I needed so I backed on out without spooking the herd and headed back to the truck. He ended up being a real pretty, symmetrical 7x7. Looked like a younger bull too. I figured him to be 325"+.
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:tup:
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9-24-17
We camped in another location on Saturday night and tried out some new areas on Sunday morning. Coming in that night we say a great looking bull 340"+ near the road with a cow so the area already had a positive feeling to it. The next morning, my Dad and cousin went one way and I another. I dropped down into a large draw to make my way over to the next ridge. As I was hiking up a hill at about 6:30am I heard the unmistakable sound of pounding hooves. I look up and catch a true spike running toward the ridge top. I quickly cow called and that stopped him for a few seconds. He didn't seem quite as spooked but did trot on off over the hill. I figured that a bigger herd must be down the other side since he appeared to be alone.
Cresting the ridge top I stopped to listen and immediately heard mewing and brush breaking. I then heard what sounded like the raking of a tree down and to my left. Wind was blowing from my left to right down the ridge which was parallel to the herd. All was good at this point. As I stood there listening, the tree raking started to sound like antlers clashing. Not in a fighting manner, but in a sparring manner as it wasn't violent sounding. That wasn't good, I thought, there can't be a big bull here if there is a friendly sparring match going on.
Shortly after I made that assessment, sure enough, down below me I see a bull feeding, he's a small 6x6. I'm still hoping its a satellite. Then off to my left I see another elk and it is a 5x5. Then out comes another 5x5 and another 6x6. I've wandered into a good looking bachelor group of bulls. I kneeled down and just watched and listened as they fed and sparred within 60-80 yards. It was pretty cool, but I had to get moving. I still didn't want to just blow them out so I waited until they had all moved past me headed to some thick stuff up the ridge to bed. Once they were out of sight I continued on down the ridge. Below is some footage from that encounter.
Continuing down the draw and back up the other side it was now about 7:40am and I had not heard the first bugle which was not what I had expected at this point given the elk sign so far. Topping the next ridge, I decided to see if I could get a response so I let out a location bugle. Nothing. I walked about 100 yards and stopped to listen again and caught the back end of a bugle up behind me. I quickly turned and took off running in that direction. This bull would have to be on the other side of a draw, two ridges over from where I was at. As I came up to the first ridge I fired off another location bugle. Immediate response! I started down into the draw trying to get below them. It was about 8:30am so the sun was up and I had to go extra slow to avoid being seen.
As I crept down the hill towards a creek I caught movement a couple hundred yards away and up the other side. Cows were feeding through the trees heading to my right. Thermals were still coming down so I was in what I thought was a good position to get eyes on this bull. I crossed the creek but got pinned down by a wary cow. After standoff that lasted a few minutes she finally calmed down and fed off and out of sight. A calf bedded down right in my way and I realized my approach wasn't going to work after the bull bugled up behind all these cows and bedded calf. He was in the thicker stuff. So I decided to crawl out of there and do a wide half circle and come in on them from the top. The thermals were about to change anyway and I was in a bad spot when that happened.
I worked my way out very slowly as to not get busted in the sunlight. I finally made to some thicker stuff and was able to hoof on up to the ridge top and back around. Hiking up I could fell the wind at my neck so I felt good about my new angle of attack. I came over the hill and spotted the cows down below and so I moved on up the ridge to set in some thicker brush and timber to keep an eye on them. I figured they would be moving up the ridge soon and I could see that bull. After about 10-15 minutes of glassing and watching the cows through the thick stuff they were in I saw them suddenly turn and trot off back down the hill, single file. They were getting out of there for some reason. I wasn't sure what happened, maybe the wind swirled. I was a couple hundred yards above them so that seemed unlikely. As I sat there watching for any other sign that they wouldn't go far I heard the bull scream out a bugle. That was it, they had to be on the move and he was sending out the call to keep his herd together.
It was about 9:30am and my hopes of seeing this bull began to plummet pretty quickly. I had to be out by noon in order to make it to a family event. Time was running out and this was a big setback. So, I decided to parallel the ridge top and head in the direction the herd had ran below me. I figured that they had to come up eventually. I went about 1/2 mile and decided I'd try to relocate and let out a location bugle. The bull answered waaaay down below me. I immediately took off running down hill in that direction trying to make up some ground. I ran about 100 yards and into some thicker timber. As I ran up I noticed a few rubs and some beds and thought that this looked like some good bedding area. As I ran through this stuff making a lot of racket I scanned out in front looking for the best route through the brush and fallen logs. Scanning to my left, while still running I see the broadside outline of an elk at about 50 yards! I put the brakes on and came to a stop behind a 4' sapling. The elk just stood there and now I could see another up behind her. I quickly crouched down and sneaked back up behind a large tree with more cover.
I figured at this point that I was either busted or had just stumbled into a completely different herd. I knew a bull had to be nearby and that I must be right on top of him. I quickly grabbed my bugle before those cows had too much time to think and through out a lip bawl bugle in hopes to set the bull off trying to round up his cows. About 100 yards into the thick stuff I got an immediate response from the bull. Then I got a response from the bull down below that I was chasing and then another bull up the ridge and behind me fire off too. I hit the closest bull back with a challenge and began raking the dead limbs and stomping around me. The nearby herd bull bugled back and I challenged him again, cutting him off as quickly as I could. After about 5-10 minutes he didn't seem to be storming in. I looked around and didn't see the cows so I jumped on the trail they were on and cautiously, but hastily made my way towards the bull. I had to keep an eye out for those cows in order to keep from being busted. I hugged the thicker timber to avoid giving them a good visual but I still had to cross some open areas. I came to the next spot of green timber and good looking bedding and I kneeled down to look and listen.
I caught movement out in front at about 40 yards. A cow just stood there looking for me. I could here chirping and brush breaking off to my right. I had ran right up on them again. The cow just moseyed around and then started heading straight to me. The bull bugled up behind her and the the right. He sounded CLOSE! I thought, Oh No! this cow is going to walk straight to me and bust me, when suddenly to my right an elk took off and the cow in front of me swirled and headed back the other direction. They all congregated around where the bull had bugled and after about a minute they all started trotting away. Then the bull bugled again. This time farther away. He had rounded up his cows and took off!
I trotted through some thicker timber trying to stay out of sight as I tried to catch up again to the herd. The bull was heading away and once again I found myself hastily moving through some open country with little cover, wondering where this herd had gone. Then out front I saw an elk. I ducked down and found cover behind a larger tree. There they were again at about 80 yards just feeding and milling around. I had just bugled about 50 yards back but they weren't paying me much attention. They had already written me off as an invading bull. They didn't seem to be on alert at all.
So after finding some cover I rip off another insulting challenge bugle. I tried my best to call him a big fat sissy for taking his cows and running like a school girl. I still hadn't seen him at this point. It didn't take 15 seconds after my challenge bugle and the cows all began running. They all took off to my left and headed into a clearing. Seconds later I say why they were running. The bull was pushing them again and he soon came into the clearing as well bugling. There was another bull coming in/bugling off the the left of this herd so he was being hit from 2 sides. I quickly grabbed the camera and hit record. When he stepped out my initial thought was WHOA! SHOOTER! :yike:
Buuuuuuut! The more I think about it, I'm thinking the bull I want to shoot is the bull that he apparently has seen (that he thought I was) and that would cause him to run away like a raghorn 5x! :chuckle: :chuckle:
Below is what I caught on video.
After dogging the herd like I did, seeing this bull and not getting busted I was pretty happy to back on out after this and head back down over the ridge to try and locate the original herd bull I had located earlier that morning. I hiked a 100 yards or so back over the hill from the above bull and let out a location bugle. I got an immediate response from that original bull and he was only a couple hundred yards away. I quickly ran back the way I had originally came, paralleling the ridge to to keep the thermals in my favor as the bull was at about my elevation if not slightly below. After about 150 yards I got to and area with decent visibility and found some cover. I fired off a challenge bugle and he responded. He was CLOSE! I saw a true spike down over the hill at about 100 yards and so I sneaked about 15 yards further, sat down on a log with some cover, fired one last challenge bugle back up behind me to cast it as far away as possible, and sat down with my camera and waited. About 30 seconds later I hear a twig pop and catch antlers coming up out of the timber in front of me. He came in to about 40 yards. Didn't see what he wanted to see, in terms of the annoying intruder, and turned broadside and walked back down to his herd. Once he was out of sight, I quickly moved on and back towards the truck. I had accomplished what I had started out to do and was happy once again to have not disturbed them at all. This bull is probably around the 350" mark. His G5 has a few inches broke off on his right side. Awesome bull! Below is the footage.
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No videos on my end
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No videos on my end
Here are some links if those work better.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNvOKVEqgc8 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNvOKVEqgc8) - Bachelor Group
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJmXEYN5RVQ (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJmXEYN5RVQ) - Huge 6x6 :yike:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5cj4PJwXqSc (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5cj4PJwXqSc) - 6x6 w/ Broken 5th
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Thanks for the great writeups and videos! I'm stoked for the elk woods! :IBCOOL:
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Great footage! Cant fuggin wait to get up there for rifle season and hunt true spikes! :IBCOOL:
At this point in all the years spent up there chasing my dreams a true spike would be most satisfying for me personally :chuckle:
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Great videos
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You are certainly putting your time in, love it! Thanks for sharing!
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Holy crap that 6x6 is a monster. Sweet videos!
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We'll be in the area from Friday until the 7th. Where abouts are you camped? We'll stop by.
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We'll be in the area from Friday until the 7th. Where abouts are you camped? We'll stop by.
PM Sent.
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Thanks for the post and especially the video. Those bulls are great but I really liked seeing the cows! Will be there for a chunk of days for the muzzy season. Drew a cow tag and hoping to finally seal the deal on my first elk!
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Great write up man. Good luck this coming weekend/week. Hopefully see you on the hill. Shoot me a PM if you'd like to swap numbers. We'll be up there chasing a big bull too.
Clint
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Well...I've got about everything I can think of all ready to go and am heading out the door. Its go time! :hunter:
I'll be on the lookout for two different bulls. Hopefully they are still alive!
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Good luck man, text me if you get in a bind.
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Well...Bull down. Got him all packed out and to the processor.
Not the success story I had hoped for. It's kind of a long story...
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Tag
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Well, sounds like you best get to type'n!
Congrats
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Looking forward to the story
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tagging
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It's been 12 hrs and nothing yet? Not even a pic to share........ :'(
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Plat is right you know!😜
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Killin me with anticipation bud! Cant wait to hear how your hunt went and see the bull you killed!
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Friday, 9/29/17
The day had finally come. We left Friday afternoon around 4:30pm to get up into the woods and pull some trail cameras. I dropped my Dad off to get his camera and I drove down to another spot to get my camera. As I made my way down to the camera, I heard what I thought was a bugle and saw some good looking, fresh elk sign. Things were looking good so far!
As I arrived to the camera it was still there. My first worry is that it will be gone each time I leave one out. I pulled the card and checked out the images. A few does, a couple cows/calves, a 1x2 spike and a few moo cows. Things didn’t look promising, but this was just a last minute shot in the dark to see if we could locate a monster to chase; no big deal.
I had about an hour to dark so I packed the camera up and let out a bugle. I got an immediate response from the exact same spot I had seen that 7x7 when I put up the camera the week before. So, I ran on down the hill to see if this was the same bull or not.
I got down into some thicker bedding areas and there was a ton of fresh sign. It looked awesome! There was significant elk activity in there and it was all fresh. Well, the wind picked up as I worked my way toward the bull. As I closed in on where I thought he might be, I jumped a spike who took off back down into the draw. The wind just got worse and the bugling stopped. I ended up working my way around the hillside with no luck of seeing anything.
I hiked out in the dark, and went to pickup my Dad at our rendezvous point. He didn’t have much luck either and his camera, that was trying to catch a glimpse of that other monster bull (pictured below) from the first part of September, came up empty as well.
Our plan quickly became to go setup a makeshift camp and head back in to where I had videoed that huge 6x6 with the low dropping whale tail, one of the two target bulls, on last Sunday, 5 days before. It was the most recent sighting of a shooter bull so that would be our starting point. After a little thought and discussion, we decided to split up. I would go into where I saw the huge 6x and Dad would run down around lower trying to locate the huge 7x7, the other shooter bull. My cousin, Ryan, came up to join us and he would go off in another direction to try to locate something as well.
I was pumped! I got everything laid out and off to bed. Didn’t know if I was going to sleep that night but I did. The wind at this point was just crazy. Not what you wanted to have happen on opening day, but maybe it would subside by morning…
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Oh boy, great start and you're not joking about that wind, it was brutal.
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Saturday, 9/30/17 – Opening Day, 6 am to 8 am.
Well I was up the next morning at about 5 am. I didn’t have far to go to where I wanted to head into the woods, and everything was all packed up and ready. I loaded my gun and we were off. My Dad dropped me off and he and Ryan headed out to the spots they would be checking into that day.
I hiked in the dark at about the same elevation I was at the last time I saw that huge 6x, working my way toward the area I expected the elk to be in. There was frost all over everything and the wind howled like crazy. The air was cold and crisp and my hopes were unaffected by the less than optimal weather conditions that morning.
As I dropped down the ridge the wind got a little quieter. I was getting into where I expected the elk to be and hadn’t heard anything. It was about 6:30am and it was starting to get daylight. I stopped and decided to let out a location bugle. About a half a mile away, through the background noise of the wind, I heard the high point squeal of a bugle; then another; then another. I quickly hoofed it in the direction of the bugles.
After about 15-20 minutes I was closing in. The bugles got more and more frequent. There were bugles high, bugles out in front of me and bugles down below. I couldn’t even count how many bulls there were. All were trying to outdo each other. One bull would start and before he could finish another would pick up and they just all ran together at times. There must have been a dozen or more bulls bugling, I thought, as I hastily made my way through bits of open meadow and thicker green timber. The whole time, in my mind, I’m replaying the video of the huge 6x trying to match up one of the bugles out front as possibly being my target bull. There were two; one immediately out front and one to my right up the hill from that one.
I came to an old burned section of timber probably 250 yards from where the two bugles I had picked out seemed to be. I really slowed my pace down and scanned the area out front and to my left and right with my binos every 30-40 yards or so to avoid being busted by a cow. As I came through the timber I could see a big open clear cut coming up. I looked to my right and spotted an elk out in a clear cut above me as well. It we still very low light being about 7 am now but I could tell he was a bull, probably a 5x or small 6. I moved slowly so he didn’t pick me up. A satellite bull bugled to my left just down over the hill; no way was he my bull so he just got ignored as I moved forward, surrounding myself in this frenzy of elk chaos. There were clearly at least two herds here at least! The wind was good, blowing side hill, straight from the elk to me.
Finally reaching the clear cut on the other side of the burned timber, I heard cows chirping in the upcoming small drainage on the other side of the cut. The cut was about 100 or so yards wide and it wrapped around to my right and back to where I saw the lone satellite bull just a few minutes before. Out in the middle of a cut was a thick little stand of scraggly timber. Some burnt, some not. The winded was still blowing and was noisy but not like it was up on top where I had come from. The direction changed slightly as I stood there hoping the elk would come my way an in to the cut in front of me. It now blew up hill from my left to right. The elk never slowed down, the bugles were darn near continuous it seemed.
With the wind change, I started to get nervous that any elk moving into the part of the clear cut above me would wind me I decided to hug the edge of the burn I was in and work my way up the hill to get a little higher. One of the bugles I was curious about was straight out front. The areas I knew to be the bedding areas were behind me so odds were high that they would be coming my way, I thought. Despite everything being so open, I still had not seen an actual elk other than that satellite bull back and up to my right. I took that as sign of all clear after scanning the perimeter of the other side of the cut and quickly, but cautiously, made my way to that thick little stand of timber. This was a better position should the elk come below me, but the wind was still a problem if they came above me to my right.
After a few minutes, I decided I need to keep moving up. I would now have to cross the open cut and would be wide open. There was about 2 foot tall grass so I got down on all fours and slowly crawled across the frosty ground about 40 yards to where there was a big old pine tree that would offer some cover. This tree sat about 30 yards from the edge of the cut where the hillside dropped into a drainage where all the chirping and big sounding bugles were coming from.
After making it to the tree, my wet hands and knees felt some relief. The wind still blew diagonally up the hill from my left to my right. If a big herd came through I would most likely be busted by the lead cow before the bull came by. I was really out of options at this point. The bugle up the hill sounded as though he was in the upper cut that was just out of site over a grassy knoll. It seemed too risky to try to cross the last 75 yards to get to the upper side of the clear cut and into the timber that would put me up wind. So, I just stayed put for the time being, enjoying the tornado of elk activity I was fortunate enough to find myself in; knowing that one of these elk could be that huge 6x and he could step out at any minute.
Well, the bull out front about of me, that I considered to potentially be the huge 6x based on his bugle, sounded off again and he was CLOSE! I threw out cow call back behind me and just waited. Next thing I heard was another bugle and crashing and breaking. I caught antlers moving on the other side of some thicker, fallen timber on the edge of the burn he was coming out of. He was about 60 yards away. It was a nice 325-330” bull. He scanned up towards where I had casted my cow call and looked back down the hill. I then noticed a few cows heading across the lower cut, below this bull, moving diagonally away from me and behind them down the hill a bigger bull, perhaps the nice 350-360” 6x6 with the broken 5th I had filmed last Sunday, was trailing the cows. I didn’t get a good look at him, but knew he wasn’t’ the huge 6x I was after. The bull near me quickly changed direction and began paralleling that moving herd. Another 6 point now crossed the cut trailing the cows and the herd bull.
The herd bull bugling up to my right now needed to be identified. There was a lot of herd talk going on just up over that last little hump. I had about 50 yards of cut I could see before the hillside flattened off. Suddenly it started to get foggy. The fog settled in on the upper part of the cut down to about where I was at. Visibility went way down and I could still here the elk as if they would be coming out of the fog at any minute. Sure enough, a 5x5 came strolling out of the fog in the cut moving from my left to right as I looked up the ridge. Behind him a 1x2 and then another smaller branched bull trailed, single file. The 5x5 finally hit my wind and turned. He didn’t spook but he held his head high, ears back and high stepped it back the way he had just came; the typical signal to the herd that danger is present. The 1x2 picked up on this and watched intently. The 5x5 walked back a ways and turned and moseyed straight up the hill into the burned timber above the cut. Phew! I felt a bullet being dodged here. I then sat back and watched as elk began following suit up the hill and into the fog. The herd bull up top ripped off some gnarly, low, guttural growls and once the small satellites had disappeared, I took advantage of the poor visibility in the fog to scurry across the cut and get to the timber where those bulls had disappeared. At least now I’m up wind and in way better shooting position if the rest of the herd, which were not bothered, decided to come on through.
After a few minutes and the herd bull sounding like he’s staying put I decided to skirt the edge of the cut again and stay just inside the timber line. If anything comes around I’d get a shot and I could still keep moving toward the bull. The visibility was about 50-60 yards through the fog. The wind raged on in the background, the ground was damp and quiet, elk were bugling, herd was up and moving around; I just had to watch out for those satellite bulls that should be out in front of me…
After about 80 yards I spot a small bull out front through the fog. I first thought he had spotted me, and he may have, but he was quickly ran off by another bull. They were about 60 yards out front and just the other side of them, the herd bull fired off a bugle and all the satellites scattered and ran left into the cut. The herd bull was just outside my range of visibly in the fog! I decided throw out a cow call to see if I could pull him on in. I heard crashing and popping but he did not step out. As I stood still waiting, he bugled again. This time he was just on the edge of the cut to my left and a little below my elevation. I thought me must be coming across below me in the cut so I made a couple of slow steps in that direction just to make sure I had some clear shooting lanes. Then I look off to my right at about 50 yards. There he is in some thicker trees that border the meadow! He’s facing me and I can see that he is nice bull but that he is not a shooter. I thought he had busted me on the move, but then he looks up the hill. I turn and look behind me and about 15 cows come moving across about 40 yards above me. Uh Oh! They’re about to hit my scent as the wind is going straight up hill! It was a few seconds after that that lead cow go nervous and jumped, BUT the heard ran straight at me. I stood still behind a small tree to avoid being trampled. Cows ran to my right and left from 5-15 yards away and into the clear cut. The bull trotted out after them and stopped just on the edge of the fog line about 50 yards away, broad side. In the white background I got a good look at his antlers. He’s a good 340 class bull but is all busted up on his right side. I enjoy the moment and as I stand there just watching and taking it all in he moves on off down the hill after the cows.
I then sit there as bull, after bull, after bull comes walking by, trailing the herd, at about 45 yards. I’m not sure how many there were but there were smaller bulls all the way up to 300”+ 6x6 bulls. I lost count after 12-14 but there must have been more than 20 bulls. They bugled, sparred and just stood around right in front of me for the longest time until, finally, they meandered off into the fog; still bugling the whole time. I didn’t see the huge 6x, I thought and decided head back up top and see if I could locate some more elk…
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:yike:
Sounds incredible!
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Great write up so far👍🏻
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Getting good. :tup:
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That whole line of bulls was just passing through from the blues, no elk left in the colockum.
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Saturday, 9/30/17 – Opening Day, 8 am to 9 am.
After all the small bulls had seemed to pass by I headed back up the ridge to some higher elevation. The bulls continued to blow their heads off below me. I continued up the ridge and saw some fresh tracks. They were easy to spot because everything was damp unless disturbed. Back up top, the wind was howling. I headed back towards where I had entered the woods that morning and I could hear the bulls paralleling me about 1/2 mile below me as they headed back toward bedding. I let out a few bugles as I made my way along and nothing responded. The fog now started to lift a bit and my surroundings began getting much clearer, which was a nice relief.
After about a half a mile of this or so, I just couldn’t take it much longer. The bulls still continued belting out those high notes down in the valley and the lure was like a moth to an outside light. I just couldn’t resist. A few of those bugles sounded pretty darn good and I knew there was just too many elk for me to have seen them all. There seemed to be nothing up high…Perhaps that bunch down there deserved a second look.
As I made my way back down the hill, the screams got louder and louder. Those big boys in there were fired up and they were just absolutely shredding their vocal cords it sounded like; just emptying every bit of air out of their lungs as they let each other know that they should back the hell off!
I quickly made my way down the mountain to where the bugles were just over the next finger ridge and in the thick green timber where they liked to bed. I had to cross and open area and knew I could get busted, BUT with the wind howling and blowing from my right now to my left up the hill and the elk running everywhere I had as about as much in my favor as one can have.
As I bent over and trotted across the more open hillside with a bunch of blow down I came upon a satellite bull at about 70 yards. He didn’t get a good look at me I don’t think but he did run back down the hill (away from the bugles). No big deal I thought. No other elk are going to pay attention to a loud, crashing satellite in this setting. I continued on…
Up on top of the little finger ridge the bugles became amplified as very little distance now separated me from these bulls, and I got the full effect of these bulls giving it all they had! The area was thick with young pines between 4-8’ tall in the midst of some old growth timber; perfect bedding. As I crept along I spotted a satellite of to my left. I stayed low. The wind howled and, as a predator, everything was in my favor. He couldn’t hear a thing due to the wind and activity and he couldn’t see me as I moved through these small pines. I continued on…
About 50 yards later I catch an elk body through the trees. He looks like a good bull and he’s raking the hell out of some poor sapling. I can’t get a good look at him as everything is so thick and eventually he moves off. I’m trying to pinpoint the big bulls and stay upwind of them as they move up the ridge. Things are just going perfect! I work my way to the edge of a smaller clearing so I’m out of room to keep advancing. Dang it! Oh well, I’m pretty well out in front and above them so I work my way down the edge of the timber. I can hear that bull that was raking just crashing through some thick stuff making a ton of racket and then POW! CLACK! CLACK!....That’s no sparring session there, I thought! I quickly take advantage of the commotion and run through some thick stuff to get to where the commotion is. As I get close I can see the two huge bodies pushing each other around; other elk and small bulls just walking around the fight. I sneak forward and am busted by a cow or small bull off to my left and it takes off back down to the herd. The bulls keep fighting and no elk pays attention to the one I just spooked. The chaos is just insane. It was almost too easy! I finally got a glimpse at the bulls. No shooters. One is that big gnarly brute of a 6x with the broken right side. This is too cool though, so down goes the gun and up comes the camera. I didn’t get it going in time for the battle but here are the moments just after.
You can see in the video that the battle scarred old brute just apparently whooped up on a younger and bigger bull (I’m pretty sure it’s this big 350-360” bull with the broken 5th, in the below video, that he sent limping down the hill).
These two, I figured, are the herd bulls that I’ve been hearing and they are running the show. So I just decide to sit back, watch, and see what happens as I always do. Even when I decided there is nothing worth shooting I usually won’t just take off and blow them out. I’ll just sit back and let them do their natural thing before I move on. I don’t like spooking anything unless necessary or unavoidable. So there I sat, just itching to get out of there so I could keep looking for that Huge 6x. I had some areas that I had picked out to look for him in already and it was already 9 am. I needed to get going! But sit and wait is what I did…
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A big THANK YOU for taking us along on your hunt - great pics and video!! Excited to hear the rest!
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Your ability to hold off with bulls of that caliber...... make you a freak!
:tup:
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Saturday, 9/30/17 – Opening Day, 9 am to 9:30 am.
Well that big gnarly brute walked off to my left with the wind at his back and went up and over a little rocky knoll clearing so I sneaked over into the burnt timber clearing that the elk were coming through. As I sat there watching some cows down in the bottom of the draw I can see bulls running everywhere! A nice bull, looks like 330” or so, appears to be running bulls away from those cows. There are numerous 6x6 satellites trying two work in and get a piece. That 330” bull ran one off on the right and then another on the left. The cows are just standing around watching all the commotion.
Then off to my left I see the old gnarly brute coming back down into the draw towards the cows and is quickly steered away by a bull…Wait, huh? I start glassing the cows and can see antlers going through the trees. Is that the same 330” bull? No, the 330” bull is up the hillside above the cows! That looks like a good bull! What does the side profile look like? I’m looking for those whale tails and then he turns. ITS HIM, the Huge 6x! :yike: Holy cow I’ve actually found him on opening morning just about 1/4 mile from where I had seen him 6 days ago now. I can’t believe this is actually happening! The adrenaline flood gates were subsequently opened to full capacity.
Now he was about 150 yards down into the draw and judging by the way the elk were moving with the wind at their back from my right to left, I figured I would not be getting a shot at this time, so I just sat back and watched him run bulls off left and right; all the while screaming his head off. He was staying right with those cows.
As I sat there watching all this, the elk just kept pouring in. When I first got there I thought they must be about to bed down but now it was getting pretty chaotic. Bulls were everywhere. I saw only about 3 cows down there, although I knew there were more. The bulls just kept funneling in from somewhere. Then suddenly I saw the Huge 6x run a cow toward the drainage bottom to my right. There were a couple other 6x6 bulls down there and they just kept coming. The Huge 6x was heading closer to my direction now; could I really be about to get a shot? There were so many bulls, so many antlers in the air down through the trees that I wasn’t sure I could even pick out the Huge 6x if he did get within range.
Then the cow I had seen him push started coming up out of the draw and a WAVE of 6 points, about 5 of them wide, came up out of the draw on her heels and she is headed right to the trail that gnarly old brute just took when I filmed him walking away. She was going to come right by me. I started scanning for the Huge 6x but didn’t see him at first. There were just too many bulls flowing out of the bottom down there. Suddenly I look left and there is a cow I missed coming my way and about to hit the trail and turn up…And…Right behind her is a an elk coming straight at me that looks like it has a 2x4 on each side of its head. WHAT THE!? :yike: What bull is that and where did he come from?! The he turns his head sideways and WHOA! That’s him! How did he get all the way up here? He was never down in the bottom apparently and I had missed him come up a different way trying to pick him out.
Now when the wave of 6 points came out of the bottom that cow picked up to a trot and the herd that was up by me, including the Huge 6x, began to hump it a little and slow to a quick walk. They were coming right by me at 40 yards! I pull up, trees everywhere! I had to find an opening! There was one right there. I also have to be careful as the herd is stacking up a little. The Huge 6x has a cow at his rump and his nose is at the cow’s rump in front of him. I pull up as the Huge 6x comes in between trees in my shooting lane. The cow’s rump clears the tree and BOOM! Smoke fills the air. The herd starts to trot and I make a few frantic cow calls which seem to slow them as they, looking fairly calm, continue walking up the side of the hill towards the rocky knoll clearing. The bull didn’t seem to react to my shot, I could see no signs of him being hit, but that’s not unheard of… :-\
I had imagined that he’d just drop or jump and stumble (as well all hope for) but that wasn’t the case. He casually strolled to the top of the rocky knoll clearing and belted out a monstrous bugle while some cows and satellites followed up behind. I scrambled to get my gun reloaded in order to get a follow up shot. And I listened as that bull bugled going into the burnt timber on the other side.
I got all reloaded and while running up the hill to head them off, my mind is obsessing over the shot. Did I seriously just blow my chance!? The shot felt good. It was sooo close! I don’t see how I could have missed. He must be hit in the gut. He was moving after all. The shot was quick but it felt pretty good. The fact that he just kept moving and bugling was not a good sign to me though, and that gave me a lot of concern. I HAD to redeem myself!
I ran up the hill staying as closely as I dared above the bugling bull as he made his way side hill around the mountain. The wind was still coming up the hill so I stayed above them. After about a quarter mile up the ridge through some thick stuff and noticed an elk in the trees to my right. It was a 300-315” satellite bull just standing there looking for the source of the noise he had heard as I hurried my way up the ridge. He was about 45 yards away. He just stood there broad side…waiting. I really didn’t have time for this. He was looking pretty sleepy and didn’t seem to be in a hurry to go anywhere like I wanted him to do so I can get back at redeeming myself already! After a few minutes, I said to hell with it, I got a tree between he and I and I just started crashing straight toward him. At about 30 yards he finally turned and nervously walked down over the hill. THANK YOU! So I continued on…
I went another 150 yards and caught movement out front as I made my way to head off the bull. A satellite worked his way up the hillside across a clearing. Then a 1x2 and then the 6x6 I had just ran off. I got my gun ready! If the rest of the herd comes through I’m sitting pretty! That big bull bugled just out of sight over the hill. He was close! This is it I thought! Then the bugles got farther away and he headed another direction.
The wind was blowing swiftly uphill from my right to left and still making a lot of noise as I continued running up the ridge. I caught the butts of the satellite bulls out in front of me disappearing into some thicker, green saplings. No time to worry about them. The chaos elk tornado still gave me a big advantage! I headed straight for them. I came through the saplings and at about 15 yards to my left a couple of spike aged bulls took off on a trot. I didn’t even slow down. Coming up on the next cluster of trees I heard a small bugle about 20 yards away. I plow through the small trees and 15 yards away, directly downwind of me, standing broadside and looking right at me is a 4 point. He gets a good look at me and trots back behind me away from the bugling bull I am now within 80 yards of. As I continue on, completely ignoring and writing off the 4 point, the 4 point bugles! Hah! What the hell?! He saw me and smelled me (I’m assuming – the wind is a little crazy and moving fast) at 15 yards and it didn’t even phase him but to just get out of my way! I AM INVINCIBLE TO ELK!! :IBCOOL: This was so awesome!
I come up to the next stand of new growth, green pines. They must be going to bed here. The bull hasn’t bugled in a couple of minutes so I slow way down and then stop completely. I know I’m close and it’s thick. I can’t see anything though. I sit down on a log and I’m looking down a little trail that gives me about 60 yards of viewing and wait. Then that little 4 point bugles again and the Huge 6x fires back and he is probably 50 yards away! Adrenaline OVERLOAD!
As I’m sitting there I catch movement straight down my shooting lane. A cow feeds right into the opening and then somehow looks right at me. I’m frozen as best I can be after getting my heart rate running at full capacity from that hill climb and then dumping untold amounts of adrenaline in to fast moving blood streams! She stares me down for a while and goes back to feeding. The wind is howling and is in my favor but these high pressure winds are about as trustworthy as a fart after a painful stomach gurgle following a night of drinking and chilli dogs! And, you can hear them coming over the tree tops right before the wind speeds pick up, and I know that any minute my scent is going to get swirled right to them and it will all be over!
Sure enough, I hear the roar! I try to make myself as small as possible in hopes of limiting my scent signature (seems like that should help, should make me smell really small right, non-threatening?) The wind howls and then swirls and the cow that was crossing from my right to my left starts to look nervous. She turns and takes few steps back into the timber on my right! Uh Oh! It’s go time! Guns up and cocked! That Huge 6x should be coming through any second now and I can taste sweet redemption on the tip of my tongue! I catch movement coming from the left at the end of my shooting lane at about 60 yards! He walks into the opening; no time to soak it up, huge rack and the big whale tail are in my peripheral as I center my sights behind his shoulder and BOOM! This time he is hit and takes off! The cows bunch up and run 10 yards to the right and just stand there. After couple minutes they get nervous and run past me on the right at about 15 yards; no bull in tow. Now I’m feeling good!
But before I can get too excited my brain kicks back in….Wow that was pretty quick, I really didn’t a good look at him….ummmm…hopefully that was him. I paralleled his bugle up from the last shot I took, he has the cows just as he did when I last saw him, giant rack with a whale tail and a quick shot that redeems whatever the hell happened back down the mountain. I sure was anxious to get over and make sure before I let myself get too excited!
I walked down to where I shot him and found good pink blood. That’s a lung shot! He’s not going to bugle his way out of this one! I follow the tracks and see some more blood and then lose the trail. I go back and relocate and as I walk 20 yards and look up ahead of me I see antler! Anxiety and excitement collide until gut sinking grief completely takes over! That G4 doesn’t look right at all! That had better not be that gnarly old brute I have passed on now 3 times today…..Sure enough. The gnarly old bull lay there before from a double lung hit; only about 80 yards from where I had shot him. :bash: The shot hunter’s dreams are made of and the one I had envisioned since pulling up on that Huge 6x about 30 minutes ago! It was just on the wrong elk.
Wait a second…How does this guy now run the show and have the cows? Does that mean that Huge 6x was fatally hit and this guy swooped in and took over? Greif and anxiety compounded as I wondered how much the fines were going to cost me when I showed up at the game departments door with two bulls. Hopefully they would let me keep the first one I’d shot! God only knows, but this is one of the worst possible scenarios I can imagine!
So after a bit, I head back down to look for the Huge 6x. After about 10 minutes of no sign of a hit I find blood. I can’t believe it. It is just a quarter sized drop…then another and another. Nothing that looks fatal at this point and the blood trail dies out. I can’t follow a trail this small after a big herd comes through like this. Man to go from the highest of highs this morning to shooting at the Huge 6x and not getting a fatal kill shot right then and there to now this…Lower than I thought you could go. I couldn’t stomach the thought of having that big monster bull out there just rotting somewhere. I was just sick! :puke:
So we got the gnarly brute all taken care of and my gut was just in knots. Who knows where that Huge 6x went to. There were just so many unanswered questions, but after much discussion we decided that we would go out and look the next day to try and locate the Huge 6x either alive or dead. It was in the mid twenties temperature that night so if he made it through he’d probably be fine.
The next morning we went up the ridge and let out a bugle. The bulls fired up but it wasn’t absolute insanity like the day before. My Dad, cousin and I were following a bugle to try to get a look at the herd bull when we decided to split up. I’d stay on this bull and they’d checkout another bull in the other direction. Just after we split up the bugling stopped but I followed the fresh tracks and they took me back to the road! Dang it! I then heard a smaller bugle to my right on the lower side of the road and then a bigger one beyond that. We had discussed the possibility of him crossing the road the day before so I worked my way down wind to see if I could get eyes on these bulls.
Downwind I let out some cow calls and got a quiet chuckle in response so I worked my way in that direction. Cow calling my way along I never got another response so I continued back the direction I had came looking for this elk that was surely here somewhere; nothing. I came to the road again and decided to head back up to see if I could relocate that bull that had quit bugling. As I was walking through some thicker stuff I saw some fresh tracks and thought that the elk that had chuckled at me must have when ahead and crossed the road. About 50 yards further I heard the sound of thundering hooves as a group of elk hurried away from the noise I made while walking. The wind was in my favor so I quickly grabbed by bugle and let out a squeal followed by some chuckles. After about 10 seconds a bull bugles back. So, I immediately give him my nastiest challenge bugle and I run up into a thicker stand of small trees. I can see the cows through the tress at about 40 yards and the proceed to trot on off to my left. I bugle again and go crashing through the brush trying my best to be an annoying satellite bull.
Trailing the herd and trying to stay low and in the shaded areas to avoid detection by a herd that will surely be looking for me I bust out into a more open area to see a cow looking at me at about 70 yards. I have learned the worst thing you can do is freeze so I just keep bent over and casually keep pace over into some cover. She immediately looks back behind her, seemingly unconcerned about me and I pull up the binos. I see some brow tines…..then he steps forward and is broad side. Mr. Huge 6x steps out without a care in the world and he and his harem casually move off. I trailed them for a bit and got several looks at him. No limp, no wound on his left side and just living the dream!
I’m super relieved at this point! But am totally bummed I rushed the shot. I was just kicking myself. There was no need to be in a hurry and my hunt hadn’t even really started yet. The most frustrating part was that I let my emotions get the better of me rather than just relaxing and thinking logically. I never even questioned before the shot that this might not be the same bull. Everything just aligned perfectly to be the same bull in my mind. The bugles I followed, the cows he had and even his busted up right side made him look like he had a huge whale tail.
In the end though, he is an awesome, battle scarred old bruiser and I think it is awesome that I got to see him whoop up on that slightly bigger bull and then walk away, nose all bloodied and bleeding from his head as that other bull limped off down the mountain. Before that I watched him stave off 20+ satellites that came walking past me longing for a piece of his action. In the end, he took his deserved cows right before it was lights out! I’ve got much respect for him and all the character that is represented in his battle scarred rack; a rack that clearly has put the hurt on a number of bigger and no doubt younger bulls.
And the blood I found down around where I had shot at the Huge 6x I think was actually his blood. I remembered after seeing no signs of injury to that Huge 6x that I had filmed this gnarly old brute walking the same path just before the rest of the herd came through. He was bleeding from the nose and from the head.
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Your ability to hold off with bulls of that caliber...... make you a freak!
:tup:
:chuckle: What makes me a freak is I have spent more time doing a write up on my elk hunt than I actually spent elk hunting!
And the fact that I apparently can't hit an elk, broadside at 40 yards...
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Epic write up. Maybe not the bull you dreamed of, but all of us on this website would have loved to experience what you were able to. Thanks for sharing and congrats on a sweet bull.
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Here are some pics.
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On a quick field score he came out to be about 340-350" bull, gross had his points not been broken.
As is he is more along the lines of 325-330" on the gross and 305-310" on the Net. My first 300" bull so it is a new record! And he's got more character than I know what to do with. Getting to watch him and film him like I did also makes him pretty special. I feel like I spent most of my morning and elk hunt watching him do his thing!
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On a quick field score he came out to be about 340-350" bull, gross had his points not been broken.
As is he more along the lines of 325-330" on the gross and 305-310" on the Net. My first 300" bull so it is a new record! And he's got more character than I know what to do with. Getting to watch him and film him like I did also makes him pretty special. I feel like I spent most of my morning and elk hunt watching him do his thing!
Nice bull! I feel you on the broken points. Character! :tup:
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Wow congrats on your hunt, that's one hell of an old warrior you harvested too
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Beautiful bull.
Thanks for the write up!
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"The last word of ignorance is the man who says of an animal or plant 'What good is it?' " Aldo Leopold
You took a great bull. A warrior on the mountain that served his time as king of the herd. We are all proud of you for being such a good sportsman and proud to be able to read such an amazing story about you harvesting that bull.
Congatulations
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Great storytelling. Good for you for following up on the Big 6. Congrats on a great bull.
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Good job man! You had a great hunt and lots of memories made a long the way! Nothing wrong with that bull! :tup:
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That's quite the experience! Awesome bull! Congrats
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Great write up and awesome bull. Great work!
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Congrats and that's a great bull!
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... now hurry up and delete this thread before that tag becomes more impossible to draw :chuckle:
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Congrats, my blood is pumping with adrenaline after reading that. Hope those cows are still lingering around in 5 days!!
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Special memories for sure, and thanks for sharing it with us. You make it sound all too easy.
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Just read this thread from the beginning, and am glad I did. That was my favorite story on here yet. Awesome job :tup: thanks
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Great bull and write up :tup: Congrats
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WOW! thanks for your awesome write up. Maybe not the bull you were after, but a great animal in his own right!
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Awesome Bull! Enjoyed reading your posts! Glad you filled your tag!
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You will never forget.
Congrats.
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:tup:
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wow, what a great write up and great bull...and man do I have a lot to learn about hunting elk.
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I believe in "to each their own"......
But there is SO much more to hunting than the picture. Your story gives the reader a shot of adrenaline being right there with you. Thank you for your story, the highs and lows.....it makes it REAL. Some would say "it was meant to be". You'll never forget the bull you missed.....and we do this for both the experience and the memories. :tup:
Congrats!
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Thanks everyone for the kind words!
The truth is that it would have been bitter sweet had I killed that Huge 6x that quickly and that easily. But the bitterness of that pill would have been a lot easier to swallow! :chuckle:
I had an amazing morning jamb-packed full of elk hunting action and I was looking forward to plenty more to come! The hardest part to get passed, mentally, is #1, missing a 40 yard broadside shot! :dunno: and #2, being in so much of a hurry that I didn't stop to think a little and identify what I was shooting! And while I ended up with a great bull, it is my rooooookie mistakes (not the bull itself) that is truly the bummer here. I just want to make that clear. I've got nothing but respect for this massive animal!
All the preparation, all the anticipation and excitement, the waiting for months all came down to one split second decision that should not have been a split second decision. I just got caught up in a whirl wind of elk chaos and lost my head a bit I guess. :chuckle: The hunt actually being over before it really began is the hardest part I think. But I've had a ton of fun throughout the whole process and hopefully this will be an experience that will add some wisdom to my ever growing bank of knowledge.
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I am missing a ton of this story. Did some get deleted? I am missing the part where you missed the big 6. Also the kill story. Anyone else missing parts?
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I am missing a ton of this story. Did some get deleted? I am missing the part where you missed the big 6. Also the kill story. Anyone else missing parts?
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
post #129 is viewable to me with all that information.
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I am missing a ton of this story. Did some get deleted? I am missing the part where you missed the big 6. Also the kill story. Anyone else missing parts?
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
post #129 is viewable to me with all that information.
Gringo is my 129. Interesting.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
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I am missing a ton of this story. Did some get deleted? I am missing the part where you missed the big 6. Also the kill story. Anyone else missing parts?
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
post #129 is viewable to me with all that information.
Gringo is my 129. Interesting.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
Just sent you a PM with the post that you are looking for. :tup:
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I am missing a ton of this story. Did some get deleted? I am missing the part where you missed the big 6. Also the kill story. Anyone else missing parts?
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
post #129 is viewable to me with all that information.
Gringo is my 129. Interesting.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
Just sent you a PM with the post that you are looking for. :tup:
Thanks man. I followed him from the start and bummed when I was missing it. There are other parts I'm missing too. There is a chunk after he picked up the camera that is gone.
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#119 is Friday getting the camera
#121 is Saturday 6-8am
#126 is 8-9am
#129 is 9-930am when he filled the tag.
#132 is field photos
#133 is field score
Let me know what you are missing and I can copy that as well and forward on.
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WTG!!! :tup:
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congrats & thanks for a great story
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Great post and great bull! It's stories and info like this that makes a forum worth following. Funny how secretive people get over a tag that you'll draw once, if ever. My partner and I took two nice Observatory bulls this year and I think it would be fun to help another winner- and without the pressure! Colockum was my dream unit and I don't think I'll draw it while I'm "young." Thanks for taking us along.
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Great hunt bud! Been waiting 17yrs for my chance so I know how you must've felt. Congrats to ya and great write up!
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Great write up of your hunt. Congratulations on a great bull!
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You dont happen to drive a white dodge with company badging on it do you?
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Great post and great bull! It's stories and info like this that makes a forum worth following. Funny how secretive people get over a tag that you'll draw once, if ever. My partner and I took two nice Observatory bulls this year and I think it would be fun to help another winner- and without the pressure! Colockum was my dream unit and I don't think I'll draw it while I'm "young." Thanks for taking us along.
Thanks!
Hey I saw your bull! You're going to have a hard time topping that bull of a lifetime! Even in the colockum! Amazing bull and first elk! You may have ruined elk hunting for yourself tho. :chuckle:
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You dont happen to drive a white dodge with company badging on it do you?
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I do. :tup:
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Great bull ... great write-up ... and an experience that will last a lifetime.
Outstanding. Thanks for sharing!
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You dont happen to drive a white dodge with company badging on it do you?
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I do. :tup:
I was behind you for a bit going over Blewett on 10/1.. your bull has some serious character! Congrats
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Great post and great bull! It's stories and info like this that makes a forum worth following. Funny how secretive people get over a tag that you'll draw once, if ever. My partner and I took two nice Observatory bulls this year and I think it would be fun to help another winner- and without the pressure! Colockum was my dream unit and I don't think I'll draw it while I'm "young." Thanks for taking us along.
Thanks!
Hey I saw your bull! You're going to have a hard time topping that bull of a lifetime! Even in the colockum! Amazing bull and first elk! You may have ruined elk hunting for yourself tho. :chuckle:
:yeah:
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Amazing experience and great write up! You have a way of writing that makes the reader feel like part of the story, my heart actually started racing while you were running after Bulls! Thanks for including all the highs and lows of your hunt, like another post said, it made it feel real! congrats on an amazing animal and some incredible memories! :tup:
Out of curiosity, did your dad and cousin fill their tags?
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You dont happen to drive a white dodge with company badging on it do you?
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I do. :tup:
I was behind you for a bit going over Blewett on 10/1.. your bull has some serious character! Congrats
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Thanks! I appreciate that!
Were you the guy in the white F-350 with the canopy and dirtbike on the back who pulled over to get behind me? :chuckle:
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It's been really cool following this thread. What an awesome bull and hunter. Well done!
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Amazing experience and great write up! You have a way of writing that makes the reader feel like part of the story, my heart actually started racing while you were running after Bulls! Thanks for including all the highs and lows of your hunt, like another post said, it made it feel real! congrats on an amazing animal and some incredible memories! :tup:
Out of curiosity, did your dad and cousin fill their tags?
Thanks very much!
They didn't have elk tags. They were just helping out.
It's been really cool following this thread. What an awesome bull and hunter. Well done!
Thanks Pianoman!
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You dont happen to drive a white dodge with company badging on it do you?
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using Tapatalk
I do. :tup:
I was behind you for a bit going over Blewett on 10/1.. your bull has some serious character! Congrats
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using Tapatalk
Thanks! I appreciate that!
Were you the guy in the white F-350 with the canopy and dirtbike on the back who pulled over to get behind me? :chuckle:
Haha yes that was me.. my girlfriend spotted the antlers as we drove past. Naturally, I had to take a look!
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You dont happen to drive a white dodge with company badging on it do you?
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I do. :tup:
I was behind you for a bit going over Blewett on 10/1.. your bull has some serious character! Congrats
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Thanks! I appreciate that!
Were you the guy in the white F-350 with the canopy and dirtbike on the back who pulled over to get behind me? :chuckle:
Haha yes that was me.. my girlfriend spotted the antlers as we drove past. Naturally, I had to take a look!
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Hah. I would have done the same thing!
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Great write up and really enjoyed your detail! Deserves a magazine spot. Sounds like you have a knack for elk and remembering the finest details for a great read.
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Congrats on the bull my friend, hopefully I get to see the rack in person one of these days.