O
oneeyewilly
Guest
I have several mottos when out Elk hunting.
"Better to be lucky then smart"
"You can sleep when you are dead"
I have added another.
"Lucky hat strikes again"
Do any of you recognize this hat?
My father was wearing this hat in 2007 when he shot a monster bull that is the 21st non typical on Pope and Young, it scored 409 6/8 Gross and 402 2/8 net. Well 4 days into my hunt this year I lost my new hat and had to borrow my dads homemade hat so I didn't burn my shiny bald head! (Arizona hunting involves 80 degree weather in the afternoons with no clouds)
We started out on 10th not seeing or hearing anything opening morning. From experience we knew that was okay, we just weren't where the elk were. So we decided to scout a different area to hunt that night. We went driving around at 2pm and found what looked like a good spot and decided to start walking and calling at 3:30. Within a short while we found our selves directly in the path of the elk. We had a small 6x6 come in at 30 yards with a couple of cows. They busted us but we didn't mind because we knew there were more coming. We heard another bull so I ran up to him and got set up with a couple of shooting lanes. We didn't have anything come to fruition that day.
I forgot to mention that my dad was with us along with Gary Wilson and his son Jake. We were into elk both morning and night. They were calling and responding well to our cow calls. We had several more setups that just never worked out.
Monday I tore my Achilles tendon and could barely walk. So now I am limping around the woods trying to get into areas we knew the elk were. Luckily most of Arizona hunting is flat land so that helped.
Monday night we decided to spend the night in a bull blind. So Gary Jake and I set up next to a tank we knew was active. This is something that I would recommend to any of you. There is nothing like spending the night next to an active tank with elk coming in all night. Just make sure you get some of those old thick cloth sleeping bags since because they are quiet!
Tuesday morning comes and there isn't an elk in hearing distance, so we knew they weren't near us. We decided to head out 1/2 hour after sunrise. Within 1/2 a mile we started hearing them. I heard a bugle and moved quick towards it with Gary and Jake following 20 to 30 yards behind me. I thought it was further away and he busted us with 2 cows 40 yards in front of me. He was a small 6x6 so I didn't mind.
We had to make a trip to town that afternoon so we didn't get back until 4 and got out to our area a little around 5:30. The wind was blowing hard so we just sat around in the trees until it died down. At 6:30 it was quiet enough so we started cow calling and walking towards where we knew they were. We heard them and headed towards them. When we could tell we were close enough to set up Gary dropped back 100 yards while cow calling while I ranged my lanes to know the distances. Once again this bull comes right towards me. He bugles 10 yards from me and walks to 3 yards from me. I couldn't draw back because once again he could have seen the movement.
I made like a rock but he still saw me and jumped back the way he came. I make 2 quick soft cow calls and he turned back towards Gary but walking 40 yards from me. I had a lane that was 2 feet wide and when he walked into it I made a cow call, stopped him at a slight quartering away from me and let the arrow fly. It hit him through both lungs, heart and stuck in his far leg. He ran 75 yards and collapsed and was dead in a couple of minutes.
Here are the pictures, enjoy, I know I did. Gary will add some more details of this hunt when he gets home. If you ever need a great caller and somebody that knows how to hunt elk give him a call.
I did a rough score and he is at 366. I will have him scored with Pope and Young after the 60 day drying period and will update this post with the official score.
When my Dad and Gary get back home they will upload some more pictures of the hunt.
"Better to be lucky then smart"
"You can sleep when you are dead"
I have added another.
"Lucky hat strikes again"
Do any of you recognize this hat?
My father was wearing this hat in 2007 when he shot a monster bull that is the 21st non typical on Pope and Young, it scored 409 6/8 Gross and 402 2/8 net. Well 4 days into my hunt this year I lost my new hat and had to borrow my dads homemade hat so I didn't burn my shiny bald head! (Arizona hunting involves 80 degree weather in the afternoons with no clouds)
We started out on 10th not seeing or hearing anything opening morning. From experience we knew that was okay, we just weren't where the elk were. So we decided to scout a different area to hunt that night. We went driving around at 2pm and found what looked like a good spot and decided to start walking and calling at 3:30. Within a short while we found our selves directly in the path of the elk. We had a small 6x6 come in at 30 yards with a couple of cows. They busted us but we didn't mind because we knew there were more coming. We heard another bull so I ran up to him and got set up with a couple of shooting lanes. We didn't have anything come to fruition that day.
I forgot to mention that my dad was with us along with Gary Wilson and his son Jake. We were into elk both morning and night. They were calling and responding well to our cow calls. We had several more setups that just never worked out.
Monday I tore my Achilles tendon and could barely walk. So now I am limping around the woods trying to get into areas we knew the elk were. Luckily most of Arizona hunting is flat land so that helped.
Monday night we decided to spend the night in a bull blind. So Gary Jake and I set up next to a tank we knew was active. This is something that I would recommend to any of you. There is nothing like spending the night next to an active tank with elk coming in all night. Just make sure you get some of those old thick cloth sleeping bags since because they are quiet!
Tuesday morning comes and there isn't an elk in hearing distance, so we knew they weren't near us. We decided to head out 1/2 hour after sunrise. Within 1/2 a mile we started hearing them. I heard a bugle and moved quick towards it with Gary and Jake following 20 to 30 yards behind me. I thought it was further away and he busted us with 2 cows 40 yards in front of me. He was a small 6x6 so I didn't mind.
We had to make a trip to town that afternoon so we didn't get back until 4 and got out to our area a little around 5:30. The wind was blowing hard so we just sat around in the trees until it died down. At 6:30 it was quiet enough so we started cow calling and walking towards where we knew they were. We heard them and headed towards them. When we could tell we were close enough to set up Gary dropped back 100 yards while cow calling while I ranged my lanes to know the distances. Once again this bull comes right towards me. He bugles 10 yards from me and walks to 3 yards from me. I couldn't draw back because once again he could have seen the movement.
I made like a rock but he still saw me and jumped back the way he came. I make 2 quick soft cow calls and he turned back towards Gary but walking 40 yards from me. I had a lane that was 2 feet wide and when he walked into it I made a cow call, stopped him at a slight quartering away from me and let the arrow fly. It hit him through both lungs, heart and stuck in his far leg. He ran 75 yards and collapsed and was dead in a couple of minutes.
Here are the pictures, enjoy, I know I did. Gary will add some more details of this hunt when he gets home. If you ever need a great caller and somebody that knows how to hunt elk give him a call.
I did a rough score and he is at 366. I will have him scored with Pope and Young after the 60 day drying period and will update this post with the official score.
When my Dad and Gary get back home they will upload some more pictures of the hunt.
