ChubbyTuna
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LAST EDITED ON Sep-16-10 AT 02:25AM (MST)[p]LAST EDITED ON Sep-16-10 AT 02:10?AM (MST)
LAST EDITED ON Sep-16-10 AT 02:07?AM (MST)
This is my first bull, first elk and first animal ever with a bow.
Random moments from the last week?
Monday 09.13.2010 ?I'm writing this from the library in Heber City. I just finished dropping the bull off at the taxidermist and butcher. Now that he is taken care of, the weight of what I have accomplished is beginning to sink in and I'm a bit overwhelmed.
Wednesday 09.15.2010 ?.Finally back home after 11 straight hours of driving. Car is unpacked and freezer is full.
So this is how it went down. Went up the first week of the season with the wife and my son. Figured this was going to be more of a scouting trip and it allowed me to check out some of the areas that my fellow MM members had suggested. Found a good water hole a couple miles from the road in the Currant Creek area and planted my first trail cam. Man those things can be addicting. 2 weeks later and I'm back, solo this time. Arrived late Thursday, set up the tent and hit the sack. Messed up the alarm clock with the time change and awoke an hour earlier than expected, better than an hour late I guess. No problem though as I was so excited to check the trail cam I barely slept anyways. Headed up the mountain 2 hours before sunrise and immediately started hearing bulls. At one point I figured I was 100 yards from them and I could hear antlers crashing and branches breaking. Tried to stay close until sunrise but never could get my eyes on any of them.
Finally reached the waterhole around 10:30am and checked the cam. Nothing much the first week, but had lots of bulls the last few days before I arrived. Cam even showed a nice bull that morning before I showed up. Good sign I thought so I found a good spot about 30 yards off the waterhole and settled in. Here's some of the trailcam pics.
2 bulls fighting
Winner or loser?
The rest of the day was uneventful, I ate lunch, watched a spike cruise by around 4, mostly just listened to my books on tape. Finally, around 6:30, the silence was shattered by a bugle. I look up and there he is walking out of the trees about 100 yards out, head back and screaming at the world. Having never killed an elk before you would think I would be freaking out, but I was actually more awed than anything. As the bull settled in at 35 yards, I reached down and grabbed the video camera and shot about 60 seconds of video.
http://www.monsterhuntclips.com/video/1028/Wastach-Bull-09102010-LE-Archery
Believe it or not I considered passing on this bull because to be honest, I did not realize how big he was. I had never been this close to a big bull before. Finally, in the back of my head I remembered someone telling me ?even though there are a ton of elk on this unit, only 20% of the people fill their tag?. That's when I decided to take him. Funny thing is, as soon as I made that decision, it was as if I lost control of my body.
Next thing I knew, I was standing up with an arrow nocked. I have no recollection of doing this. My arm came up and I started to draw back. I remember the metallic sound of the arrow shaft sliding along my rest. ?How am I doing this? I thought. It was as if I was watching someone else. I remember the kisser button hitting my lip, string against my nose, check level, here comes the yellow 50 yard pin. Up the back leg, move along the body to the last rib as he was quartering away. When the arrow released, it startled me. Everything was slow motion as I watched the arrow slip thru the air towards its target. I could actually see the vanes rotate; 2 green, 1 orange, 2 green, 1 orange. Then the arrow disappeared into the bull. I expected the bull to bolt out of there but he just stood there and took it. Nothing more than a little twitch, like shakeing off an insect. What a stud.
After a few seconds he seemed to sense there was something wrong and trotted off into the trees. He only went about 40 yards then stopped. My mind was racing, Did I hit him hard? Shot seemed a little back but still good. After 5 minutes he circled then bedded down. This was a good sign I thought. I knew I should back out and leave him. After a couple minutes though I decided to move in closer for another shot. The wind was right, he was bedded in waist high grass and the terrain would allow me to sneak in tight. I closed the distance to 40 yards and waited. I watched him through the binos and could tell he was hurting bad. He was rolling his head and occasionally laying his chin down. Finally, after about 30 minutes, he struggled to his feet. I drew and released, ?THWACK? right in the shoulder blade. ?C?mon Joe, settle down? I thought. Knocked my 3rd arrow, drew back, deep breathe then dropped one into the boiler room. He instantly came alive and took off over a small rise. I heard crashing then saw a big aspen tree shake as if hit by a boulder. Silence, then a long slow growl as he let out his last breathe. I knew he was done for good. I backed out to my original spot and gathered up my gear. After 30 minutes I snuck up to the rise and peeked over. There he was, laying up against a log.Even at 50 yards, I could tell he was a good one.
You would think that at this point I would be whooping it up. Yes, I was excited but I was also overcome with anxiety as I realized that the hard part was ahead of me. I was miles from the road, it was now dark and I had no clue where to start. I finally convinced myself to just dive in and figure it out. After 2 ? hours I was exhausted, but I did succeeded in getting him gutted out. I can hear you veterans laughing. It was going be down to 20 degrees that night so I decided to finish up in the morning. By the time I got to bed it was midnight. Although my original plan was to pack him out on my back, I made the easy decision to get some help. I owe a lot thanks to Kenny Mair (justr86 here on MM). We got the bull down and in the cooler by sundown the next night.
After getting the meat and head into town first thing Monday, I was finally able to enjoy my accomplishment. I pulled over under a tree and sat with my head in my hands for a long time. I was overwhelmed with emotion as I thought back on all the planning, exercising, practicing, research, phone calls, emails, everything leading up to this adventure.
This trip was 4 years in the making and there wasn?t a day that went by without me doing something to prepare for this hunt. Although this was a solo DIY trip, there is no way I could have accomplished any of this without the help of family and fellow hunters. Big thanks again to justr86 for helping me get the bull out. Thanks to my dad for taking me hunting 32 years ago. Thanks to my wife for allowing me the time to be in the woods. And thanks to my fellow hunters. It is unbelievable the amount of help I received from people here on MM. Just about everyone I talked to was more than eager to help. People offered to drive me around, show me good spots, help pack out the meat, even stay at their house. Truly amazing the generosity of this community. Thank you everyone that contributed to my success.
Taxi put him in the 320-330 range
?.Tonight I tucked my 4 year old son into bed. Instead of the regular bedtime story, I showed him the photos from this last week and told him the story of the hunt. At the very end, I pulled the 2 ivory teeth out of my pocket and his eyes lit up. He looked me with the biggest smile I had ever seen. I told him that he could keep one and I would keep the other. We then made a pact that he would do the same for me when he gets his first elk. I can hardly wait?
After the shot
http://www.monsterhuntclips.com/video/1029/Wasatch-Success-2010-Archery-Bull
LAST EDITED ON Sep-16-10 AT 02:07?AM (MST)
This is my first bull, first elk and first animal ever with a bow.
Random moments from the last week?
Monday 09.13.2010 ?I'm writing this from the library in Heber City. I just finished dropping the bull off at the taxidermist and butcher. Now that he is taken care of, the weight of what I have accomplished is beginning to sink in and I'm a bit overwhelmed.
Wednesday 09.15.2010 ?.Finally back home after 11 straight hours of driving. Car is unpacked and freezer is full.
So this is how it went down. Went up the first week of the season with the wife and my son. Figured this was going to be more of a scouting trip and it allowed me to check out some of the areas that my fellow MM members had suggested. Found a good water hole a couple miles from the road in the Currant Creek area and planted my first trail cam. Man those things can be addicting. 2 weeks later and I'm back, solo this time. Arrived late Thursday, set up the tent and hit the sack. Messed up the alarm clock with the time change and awoke an hour earlier than expected, better than an hour late I guess. No problem though as I was so excited to check the trail cam I barely slept anyways. Headed up the mountain 2 hours before sunrise and immediately started hearing bulls. At one point I figured I was 100 yards from them and I could hear antlers crashing and branches breaking. Tried to stay close until sunrise but never could get my eyes on any of them.
Finally reached the waterhole around 10:30am and checked the cam. Nothing much the first week, but had lots of bulls the last few days before I arrived. Cam even showed a nice bull that morning before I showed up. Good sign I thought so I found a good spot about 30 yards off the waterhole and settled in. Here's some of the trailcam pics.
2 bulls fighting
Winner or loser?
The rest of the day was uneventful, I ate lunch, watched a spike cruise by around 4, mostly just listened to my books on tape. Finally, around 6:30, the silence was shattered by a bugle. I look up and there he is walking out of the trees about 100 yards out, head back and screaming at the world. Having never killed an elk before you would think I would be freaking out, but I was actually more awed than anything. As the bull settled in at 35 yards, I reached down and grabbed the video camera and shot about 60 seconds of video.
http://www.monsterhuntclips.com/video/1028/Wastach-Bull-09102010-LE-Archery
Believe it or not I considered passing on this bull because to be honest, I did not realize how big he was. I had never been this close to a big bull before. Finally, in the back of my head I remembered someone telling me ?even though there are a ton of elk on this unit, only 20% of the people fill their tag?. That's when I decided to take him. Funny thing is, as soon as I made that decision, it was as if I lost control of my body.
Next thing I knew, I was standing up with an arrow nocked. I have no recollection of doing this. My arm came up and I started to draw back. I remember the metallic sound of the arrow shaft sliding along my rest. ?How am I doing this? I thought. It was as if I was watching someone else. I remember the kisser button hitting my lip, string against my nose, check level, here comes the yellow 50 yard pin. Up the back leg, move along the body to the last rib as he was quartering away. When the arrow released, it startled me. Everything was slow motion as I watched the arrow slip thru the air towards its target. I could actually see the vanes rotate; 2 green, 1 orange, 2 green, 1 orange. Then the arrow disappeared into the bull. I expected the bull to bolt out of there but he just stood there and took it. Nothing more than a little twitch, like shakeing off an insect. What a stud.
After a few seconds he seemed to sense there was something wrong and trotted off into the trees. He only went about 40 yards then stopped. My mind was racing, Did I hit him hard? Shot seemed a little back but still good. After 5 minutes he circled then bedded down. This was a good sign I thought. I knew I should back out and leave him. After a couple minutes though I decided to move in closer for another shot. The wind was right, he was bedded in waist high grass and the terrain would allow me to sneak in tight. I closed the distance to 40 yards and waited. I watched him through the binos and could tell he was hurting bad. He was rolling his head and occasionally laying his chin down. Finally, after about 30 minutes, he struggled to his feet. I drew and released, ?THWACK? right in the shoulder blade. ?C?mon Joe, settle down? I thought. Knocked my 3rd arrow, drew back, deep breathe then dropped one into the boiler room. He instantly came alive and took off over a small rise. I heard crashing then saw a big aspen tree shake as if hit by a boulder. Silence, then a long slow growl as he let out his last breathe. I knew he was done for good. I backed out to my original spot and gathered up my gear. After 30 minutes I snuck up to the rise and peeked over. There he was, laying up against a log.Even at 50 yards, I could tell he was a good one.
You would think that at this point I would be whooping it up. Yes, I was excited but I was also overcome with anxiety as I realized that the hard part was ahead of me. I was miles from the road, it was now dark and I had no clue where to start. I finally convinced myself to just dive in and figure it out. After 2 ? hours I was exhausted, but I did succeeded in getting him gutted out. I can hear you veterans laughing. It was going be down to 20 degrees that night so I decided to finish up in the morning. By the time I got to bed it was midnight. Although my original plan was to pack him out on my back, I made the easy decision to get some help. I owe a lot thanks to Kenny Mair (justr86 here on MM). We got the bull down and in the cooler by sundown the next night.
After getting the meat and head into town first thing Monday, I was finally able to enjoy my accomplishment. I pulled over under a tree and sat with my head in my hands for a long time. I was overwhelmed with emotion as I thought back on all the planning, exercising, practicing, research, phone calls, emails, everything leading up to this adventure.
This trip was 4 years in the making and there wasn?t a day that went by without me doing something to prepare for this hunt. Although this was a solo DIY trip, there is no way I could have accomplished any of this without the help of family and fellow hunters. Big thanks again to justr86 for helping me get the bull out. Thanks to my dad for taking me hunting 32 years ago. Thanks to my wife for allowing me the time to be in the woods. And thanks to my fellow hunters. It is unbelievable the amount of help I received from people here on MM. Just about everyone I talked to was more than eager to help. People offered to drive me around, show me good spots, help pack out the meat, even stay at their house. Truly amazing the generosity of this community. Thank you everyone that contributed to my success.
Taxi put him in the 320-330 range
?.Tonight I tucked my 4 year old son into bed. Instead of the regular bedtime story, I showed him the photos from this last week and told him the story of the hunt. At the very end, I pulled the 2 ivory teeth out of my pocket and his eyes lit up. He looked me with the biggest smile I had ever seen. I told him that he could keep one and I would keep the other. We then made a pact that he would do the same for me when he gets his first elk. I can hardly wait?
After the shot
http://www.monsterhuntclips.com/video/1029/Wasatch-Success-2010-Archery-Bull
.
