A Visit With An Old Friend

BCBOY

Long Time Member
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5,100
I saw an old friend today on my way to work. I've been looking for him all summer and fall and he finally made an appearance this morning. It has been 8 years that I have been watching and photographing this old bull. He must be at least 12 years of age now. Remarkable that he is still alive after all these years given the high wolf population in the area. Made my day when I saw him today.

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Great bull and great photography!

But the logical follow up question: If you had a bull tag in your pocket and the season was open, would you have taken the shot?

txhunter58

venor, ergo sum (I hunt, therefore I am)
 
Thanx again for the pics bc! Any chance of takein yer favorite pic from each year of this bull and postin em together to show his progression?
 
Such a magnificent animal. Absolutely love seeing this bull.

"Courage is being scared to death but
saddling up anyway."
 
That's about as pretty as they get! He looks like he carries some serious mass.
Like was already mentioned, I'd love to see all the years together to see how he's grown
 
awesome, I thought I had missed this years thread on him. Always enjoy seeing this bull. Looks to be regressing now a little.

Mntman

"Hunting is where you prove yourself"


>wah wah wah......
a certain individuals response on 8/12/2014 to anyone that commits suicide.
http://www.monstermuleys.info/dcforum/DCForumID11/19864.html
There are many things that would be nice to wish for or say but then I would be just like him.
 
This bull lives in an area that has not seen an open elk season for over twenty years. It is a very large area with a low low population of dispersed elk. The RMEF planned a transplant in the early 2000s to help the struggling herd but it was scraped by government officials who thought it would just be a feeding program for the wolves in the area. Back then they estimated the herd at approx 40 animals. I have not heard of any recent counts. It is very thick country and elk sightings are rare. This year I have worked pretty much from June till now in the area and have seen a herd of cows and calves 4 or 5 times and have seen a total of 3 other bulls which bailed hard each time, so no photo opportunities. I talked to a logger in early Sept who told me he had seen a big bull the day before, so I had my hopes up that my old friend was still around. I have been packing the camera every day, all summer and fall, and finally he made an appearance and let me take a bunch of photos yesterday. It is a real blessing to be able to have such a history with an old warrior as this.

2007
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2008 I didn't get any pics of him

2009
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2010
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2011 I wasn't working in the area that year. I was told he was found wolf killed that fall, so I never made an effort to look for him. Obviously, the story I was told was wrong.

2012
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2013
I only saw him one morning the entire year and was only able to snap some very low light pics of him before he hit the trees. This was the best capture from the bunch.
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Its been really cool watching your photos. Im sure that bull is full of knowledge if getting away from most danger
 
Gorgeous old bull! Love seeing him still alive. Thanks BCBOY!


HOOK 'EM!
_______________________________________

Since I am frequently asked about my religion on this site and others, I have created a profile that explains my beliefs. If you are interested in finding out more about my faith, please visit the link below:

http://mormon.org/me/6RNQ/
 
Some great shots of him and the pictures of years past are great.

"I have found if you go the extra mile it's Never crowded".
>[Font][Font color = "green"]Life member of
>the MM green signature club.[font/]
 
We have searched for his sheds numerous times over the years. My son and his dog found one side off of him in the spring of 2010. Another local shed hunting family found the match a day later. Every other year has eluded us.
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THANK YOU for posting this, best thread I've seen on MM. I haven't known any of my neighbors for 12 years, and none of them are half as interesting as this grand old patriarch.

Consider his breeding life: If he started breeding cows @ age 4, bred 20 cows a year, that's about 10 bull calves/year. If half of those survived to breeding age, his genetics were passed to 80 bulls in his neighborhood. Imagine what he has seen, elk he has known, rutting battles, wolf encounters, road encounters, winters as pictured thawing to spring... Your photos are the closest we will get to hearing his elk biography.

You should pass this along to RMEF, member like me will be fascinated to learn what can happen on lands preserved through Foundation efforts. Thanks again for sharing this. Just incredible.
 
>Awesome series of pics on that
>big boy! Thanks for sharing.
>

Love the coloring on those horns. It occured to me while reading this that we must totally confuse the anti crowd. We talk about "an old friend", we photo them, watch them, some even name them. You have an awesome film strip of him over the years. THEN.... He crosses our crosshairs and we end him, then we talk about how beautiful he was, how great he was. We hunters are a strange group I guess, but those freaking horns are the perfect color, great pics!!!


"The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun"
 
>Had brief encounter with him again
>last week.
>
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He is looking pretty decent still! Love the old sway backed big gut bulls like him they are near!
 
BCBOY, your pics really make my day. Many thanks for continuing this thread. He is looking @ you like he recognizes you, what a great image.
 
Do girls in the great white north bulk up like that too??? Holy crap what a brute he is! Makes his rack look small, but it isn't. As usual great pics.
 

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