Free: Contests & Raffles.
DJ, when I talked to him the other day he said he wasn't going to post this.
It was posted without permission on fb I believe.
It was posted without his permission. I removed it to respect that. He is a member. If he wants it posted then we will see it.
We worked hard for five days covering many miles and clear-cuts on bikes and foot. Where it was accessible (and sometimes when it wasn’t), we hiked down, (and back up) many spurs and draws, hoping to see a bull. We saw quite a few cows in the clear-cuts, but not a single bull. We saw very little fresh sign; everything looked old everywhere. Frustration and doubt began to come along with the growing physical exhaustion. It felt like our last night of hunting, so we decided to go in long and deep one more time before the inevitable “road hunting.”We biked in a few miles, and split up on logging spur roads, and after a half-hour or so, I could see my hunting partner walking down a long spur/ridge across a large draw. Then I stopped to ‘glass’ down in the bottom and instantly spotted a bull! Its’ dark red-ish Roosevelt rack was obviously larger than 3 points, so I didn’t bother trying to count. Dropping to the ground, I grabbed my garmin radio/gps, and say “I see a big bull and I’m going down after it. (His radio was in his pack so he never heard me) I slipped out of my backpack leaving everything behind except my rifle. For one moment I was going to unzip the pack and get my rangefinder but changed my mind. Belly crawling down the clear-cut, I popped my head up a couple times to see the bull still standing there feeding. I felt a desperate anxiety that he was going to bust me, or just walk away before I could close enough distance for a shot. So I crawled a long way, deciding not to look up until I could get much closer. After about 75 yards, there was stuff in my way and I couldn’t see him. Now I got really scared; almost thought I wouldn’t reach him in time.Following a section of trail down a turn, I crawled behind a tree stump to look over it. He was still there, with his head down feeding, and had no idea I was there! He was still pretty far away, but I knew he was well under 200 yards, and down at a steep angle. And my tree stump made for a perfect shooting bench! I looked around to see if there was a better place to setup and get closer. I had the best spot. (The next day I ranged the distance at exactly 150 yards.)There was a half- fallen tree covering his chest and vitals, and I had no shot. So I got into position and waited. I had soo much time to sit there and watch that I actually tried a couple different positions and got completely comfortable. I lined up the bull in my peep site and waited….and waited…for what seemed like 10 minutes; it was probably 2 or 3 minutes. I decided I did not need to compensate for distance or wind. He stepped forward and I put my front pin over his vitals. He took one more step and I knew it was now!Every amount of focus within me was summoned to hold the rifle still as I began to slowly squeeze until… ..boom! I quickly leaned sideways to see around the smoke cloud. He was pitched back dramatically and crashed backwards on the ground dead. I stood up and started reloading my Disk Extreme, but about the time I got the powder in, it was clear I wouldn’t need another shot. He was down!Excited, I worked my way to the bull, still afraid something could go wrong. Was it the same bull I glassed? It had to be, but…..? My fears faded as I counted points; four by five! And the shot was perfect. It missed his heart and one lung, but whatever it did hit did the job instantly. (No expansion on the Barnes 290TMZ; just a dent on the side of the tip with the polymer tip smashed in. )After a half-hour frantic search for my pack (which had everything in it) I got on the radio and got ahold of my hunting partner. He said he saw three does 20 yards from me, and wondered if I’d completely snapped and shot at them! We packed out backstraps, tenderloins, heart, and rack several miles in the dark, We got back to camp at almost midnight. We hiked back in the morning and got the quarters out.I could not/would not have had this opportunity without Eric, (who was there), or Jesse, who was hunting with his Dad a few miles away. Thanks to both of you, and a special thanks to Eric for being “all-in” on this hunt, from start to finish!
