Wasatch 2015 Muzzleloader Bull

archerycrazy

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LAST EDITED ON Sep-24-15 AT 02:30PM (MST)[p]LAST EDITED ON Sep-23-15 AT 03:09?PM (MST)

I was thrilled and quite shocked to see the $285 charge on my credit card back in May. I had drawn the Wasatch LE Muzzleloader elk tag with only 2 points! I live in Northern Utah now, but I grew up in the St. George area and still hunt there primarily. I was relatively unfamiliar with the unit, so I had a lot to learn. Several good friends and friends of friends helped point me in the right direction. A few forum members here also gave me invaluable information that helped me learn the unit. Most of my summer scouting trips were spent familiarizing myself with the country and learning the many different possibilities. As the hunt neared, I narrowed down my list of areas to just a couple. Then, just a few days before the hunt I received an email from my good friend Larry (Yelum). His friend had been helping a gentleman during the rifle hunt and they killed a nice bull. During their hunt their number one bull was this one, but they weren't able to kill him.

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Larry's friend was gracious enough to share information with me about where the bull was located and the different canyons where they had spotted him. I loved the look of the bull, and was most grateful for the information.

My friend Nick and I left home two days before the hunt to go do some final scouting. We spent a morning and evening in another promising area, but we couldn't find the elk. We did see one decent bull right at dark, but he was the only elk or bugle we saw or heard in that area. We made the decision at that point to focus on the area where Larry's friend had spotted the big bull. The evening before the opener we hiked out to a glassing point and were treated to bugles in every direction. Sleep came difficult that night to say the least!

Opening day found us back on the glassing point at first light. Bugles were still crazy and we picked out one bull in some thick timber that had the deepest and most aggressive sounding bugle. We dropped into the canyon and started heading in his direction. After an hour we closed the distance to about 150 yards in thick timber, but had not yet seen the bull. Suddenly, a shot rang out, and then two more. Someone killed the bull we were after right from under us. We were disappointed and I only prayed it wasn't the bull we were hoping to find. We made our way down the canyon and had a 300ish 6x7 come right by us at 60 yards on his way to the bedding area. Shortly after that we climbed up a ridge and spent some time watching a clearing that was near the areas the bull we wanted had been bedding the week prior. After 30 minutes, another shot rang out over the hill behind us. We climbed back over to find a young man and his family with the 6x7 we had just passed. We gave him our congrats and he was happy as he could be!

By this time, the day was getting warm and everything was quiet. We assessed our options and decided to spend the heat of the day a little further down the canyon near a waterhole.

The waterhole was out in a clearing without a lot of cover around it, but we decided it was our best plan for the middle of the day. We put ourselves at the tree line above the waterhole opposite the ridge we thought elk might come in from. We then sat, and napped, and napped some more. Nothing came in for 5 hours. I was hoping a big bull might slip in to water before chasing cows again in the evening. At 4:15 pm a young 6 point bull slipped out of the trees to water. He spent more than 10 minutes drinking and wallowing, all the while looking nervously up the ridge behind him. Suddenly, he bolted, and I spotted a big bull coming down the ridge towards the water.

I didn't know which bull it was at the time, but I saw he was a big bull with nice beams and great fronts. I told my friend I was going to kill that bull. He made his way down the ridge and when he was at 200 yards he started turning back towards the treeline, and I thought my chance might be over. I didn't want to take a 200 yard shot and risk wounding the bull. Thankfully, he turned back and came right down to the water. As he came down, my friend was all kinds of amped up and whispering instructions. Truthfully, I somehow remained calm and kept walking through the shot in my mind. He never offered a shot until he stepped right to the water to drink at 135 yards. As he took his first sip, I squeezed the trigger, and the Barnes 290 grain TMZ with 100 grains of BH209 broke both his shoulders and destroyed the heart and other vitals. As he was hit, the bull hunched up on his back legs and because both front shoulders were broken he collapsed into the water where he died. The adrenaline had kicked in at this point, and I could not believe what had just happened. Luck had come our way.

As I made it down to the water, I didn't know what we were going to do to get him out. This is what we came up to.

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As I walked up, I immediately recognized the antlers on the bull. It was the big 6 point we were hoping to find!! I was overwhelmed with gratitude for the experience I had just lived and amazed we had actually killed the bull I had been dreaming about for several days.

If anyone would have been near the area, they would have witnessed two guys down the their underwear dragging the bull out of the water in knee deep mud. It took us a good 5 minutes to get him clear of the water and up where could process him. We deboned the elk with the gutless method and had him ready for the packout right at dark. We loaded our packs heavy and took all but the antlers and one game bag with a hind quarter and backstrap. Our packout was three hours straight up hill throw thick timber, a leg burner to say the least! Early the next morning we located a road that got us much closer to the bull, and we hiked in to bring out the last load. I am so grateful for the experience and for the help of friends and others who so willingly offered knowledge and assistance. This was my first bull elk, and I couldn't be happier. Sometimes the stars align, and this was one of those times for me.

For those interested, he taped out at 362". It was the experience of a lifetime!

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My friend Nick was able to contain himself enough to capture the whole sequence on film. Enjoy!

 
LAST EDITED ON Sep-23-15 AT 03:44PM (MST)[p]Nope, Monday, 21st

Very nice bull and pictures, great story, and the video was sweet! Thanks for sharing.
 
Huge congrats! That's an incredible hunt



I'll tell you who it was . . . it was that D@MN Sasquatch!
 
Awesome bull, and an all-around awesome post.!!

Love the video. Thanks for sharing your success..!!

"Therefore, wo be unto him that is at ease in Zion!" 2 Ne. 28: 24
 
Congrats on an awesome bull! You guys must be on some serious steroids to be able to pull that bull out of the water/mud.
 
Thanks everyone! It was a great workout getting the bull out of the mud...it's an event that should be added to all Crossfit WOD's! Thankfully, the mud was slippery enough that it helped out our efforts! Honestly, I didn't know what we were going to do as we were walking up to him...
 
LOVE the fronts on that beast. Too bad about the mud.

Mark
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My hunting spot is so secret, not even the elk have found it yet.
 
Awesome bull and story. Just goes to show that despite a lot of trash talkers there are great people on this site. Kudos to Yelum and his fried for sharing and to you for making it happen.
 
Congratulations on an awesome bull and that might be some of the coolest video footage/kill shot I have ever seen!!

Awesome job guys - love the look of your bull!
 
Thanks for posting up that video clip, Clint, and for your willingness to help out with the info on this bull.

That footage of him coming right at you with his head back is awesome.

Yelum

YBU

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LAST EDITED ON Sep-29-15 AT 07:35AM (MST)[p]Clint, thanks for the video and info! None of it would have happened without your help!
 
I knew somebody might know how to get him. Everything we tried wasn't working. Seeing him 5 days in a row with no shot was getting pretty frustrating.

Did you find any spots with lots of spikes! I heading back up there this weekend with my boys.
 
Awesome I have a Muzzleloader tag this year I hope to have the same result what a bull. If you have any suggestions please let me know. I am open to any help
 

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