carbonnation
Active Member
- Messages
- 303
LAST EDITED ON Apr-20-11 AT 11:27PM (MST)[p]LAST EDITED ON Apr-20-11 AT 11:23?PM (MST)
I have always intended to post this bull, but for some reason just never got around to it. Better late than never I guess. Some of the stories have been embelished and the names and places changed to protect the innocent.
I like every other Utah native was thrilled to finally draw an Elk tag on a coveted unit. Like everyone else I quickly assembled my team and hit the hills for some preseason scouting. It wasn't the first time I had been on the unit, but it was the first time that I had been there to hunt. Here are a few pics from our scouting trip.
Notice how I professionally kept any recognizable land marks out of my pictures. We don't want to let too many people in on our secret areas... Anyway, the scouting was a fun time, just becoming familiar with the unit. I was warned that I might not see very many animials in the summer, but not to worry, because once the rut started, the bulls would come out of the wood work.......and they did.
We arrived in my area 5 days before the opener to do some final scouting. When we got there the early rifle elk hunt was still going on, but for the most part, most of the hunters had tagged out. The weather was perfect, with a storm front moving through and overcast skies, the elk were moving all day long. There were literally elk everywhere. We spent as much time on the hill as possible and looked over quite a few animals. We were locating some good bulls, but nothing great.
We hit several of the more popular lookouts and with one day left before the rifle hunt ended, watched as a local guide and his hunter sealed the deal on a 395 inch monster. Not fair! You can't go and shoot that bull with my hunt so close. Anyway here are a few pics of my family that came along to help.
A few of the bulls we were seeing.
The elk were in full rut. There were several canyons that we were watching where the elk were bugling non-stop all day long. To say the least, I was having the time of my life and was so excited to actually have a tag in my pocket I was shaking like a Chiwawa (spelled wrong) on a cold day. Then, as hunting goes everything changed in the middle of the night. Our nice overcast weather was replaced by high winds that just would not stop. With the winds the elk took to the timber during daylight hours. We found that they only stayed out in the open for a few minutes at first light and didn't come back out again until right at dark. The failing light made it very hard to judge the size of the bulls that we were able to find. It was at this point that I came to appreciate the difference between good optics and great ones.
It was the day before the opener and I was already frustrated. Where as a few days earlier I was trying to pick a bull from the many, now I was struggling to find one that I would hunt the next day. That frustration was compounded after a fairly fruitless morning, but on the way back to camp we spotted some cows still out feeding two hours after sunrise. In this area where there are cows, there are bulls. Sure enough, after watching them feed for a while a mature bull materialized. We quickly named him the Big Beam bull for obviouse reasons. He had long, wide main beams that were instantly burned into my dreams. Opening morning I was going to go after that bull.
I have always intended to post this bull, but for some reason just never got around to it. Better late than never I guess. Some of the stories have been embelished and the names and places changed to protect the innocent.
I like every other Utah native was thrilled to finally draw an Elk tag on a coveted unit. Like everyone else I quickly assembled my team and hit the hills for some preseason scouting. It wasn't the first time I had been on the unit, but it was the first time that I had been there to hunt. Here are a few pics from our scouting trip.
Notice how I professionally kept any recognizable land marks out of my pictures. We don't want to let too many people in on our secret areas... Anyway, the scouting was a fun time, just becoming familiar with the unit. I was warned that I might not see very many animials in the summer, but not to worry, because once the rut started, the bulls would come out of the wood work.......and they did.
We arrived in my area 5 days before the opener to do some final scouting. When we got there the early rifle elk hunt was still going on, but for the most part, most of the hunters had tagged out. The weather was perfect, with a storm front moving through and overcast skies, the elk were moving all day long. There were literally elk everywhere. We spent as much time on the hill as possible and looked over quite a few animals. We were locating some good bulls, but nothing great.
We hit several of the more popular lookouts and with one day left before the rifle hunt ended, watched as a local guide and his hunter sealed the deal on a 395 inch monster. Not fair! You can't go and shoot that bull with my hunt so close. Anyway here are a few pics of my family that came along to help.
A few of the bulls we were seeing.
The elk were in full rut. There were several canyons that we were watching where the elk were bugling non-stop all day long. To say the least, I was having the time of my life and was so excited to actually have a tag in my pocket I was shaking like a Chiwawa (spelled wrong) on a cold day. Then, as hunting goes everything changed in the middle of the night. Our nice overcast weather was replaced by high winds that just would not stop. With the winds the elk took to the timber during daylight hours. We found that they only stayed out in the open for a few minutes at first light and didn't come back out again until right at dark. The failing light made it very hard to judge the size of the bulls that we were able to find. It was at this point that I came to appreciate the difference between good optics and great ones.
It was the day before the opener and I was already frustrated. Where as a few days earlier I was trying to pick a bull from the many, now I was struggling to find one that I would hunt the next day. That frustration was compounded after a fairly fruitless morning, but on the way back to camp we spotted some cows still out feeding two hours after sunrise. In this area where there are cows, there are bulls. Sure enough, after watching them feed for a while a mature bull materialized. We quickly named him the Big Beam bull for obviouse reasons. He had long, wide main beams that were instantly burned into my dreams. Opening morning I was going to go after that bull.
