Well?where to start???
The first morning it drizzled and bulls were going nuts. The first 5 minutes we walked up on a 5x6 in his bed at 75 yards. Then we called in a good 5x6 to 40 yards. We kept going to bugling bulls and checking them out. Lots of good 300ish 6x6?s.
After seeing 15-20 bulls, we began moving on two bulls that were bugling constantly toward each other. They got in a fight and we ran in close. We saw one was a nice 6 point, but not a shooter for the first day. Then about a mile away we saw a really wide bull with great 4th?s. He was moving toward the valley floor that was between us. We slipped down to the meadow and he was there feeding. He was really nice but at 350-400 yards. We got great video of him in the open bugling, but I thought it was too far to shoot and look good on film. We went to move on him and saw 4 more bulls on the way. When we got where we needed to be, the big boy had moved into the trees and bugled as he was leaving.
We went back up to look at more bulls bugling on the mountain. We ended up getting into a herd of over 100 animals with 30+ bulls, many 6x6?s. We kept moving with the herd, they bugled the whole time, and we tried to assess all the different bulls. There was a good 6x7 that was the biggest of the bunch. He wasn?t real wide, but everything else was good. We guessed him at about 310. I passed him 10 or more times over 3 hours. We had him in his bed bugling at 80 yards, less than 100 yards in a sage flat, etc. Lots of good footage. When we looked at the video that night, we decided we screwed up?he was probably 330+.
Morning 2 had lots of fog, and little bugling. We saw one good 6x6, but he wasn?t big enough. About 10:30 AM, Larson Panzy got a bull to bugle, and soon 4 bulls started. We called a pretty 6x6 to 25 yards. We saw 3 of the 4 before they all moved off. It got hot and windy. We took a siesta and headed up to a high mesa about 5PM. We didn't figure to hear much of anything. Our first call was answered, and we moved in. Soon we were calling back and forth and got into a small bunch of animals. We saw a spike, a raghorn and a small 6x6. Then we bumped them, and I saw a big bull in the rear. All I could see was that he looked like his beams came back pretty good and he was about 40? wide.
We went through the timber and got back into the elk. I cow called and Larson bugled. The bulls worked into a frenzy. Then they got back on the flat that was brushy. We slipped around to flank them, and Larson grabbed me. We dropped to our knees and glassed a bull standing in the timber about 200 yards out. Larson said he had 7 points on one side, but all I could see was that his fronts were a bit short. Then he turned his head, and I saw his big whale tail on the other side. That is when I hit my belly and got ready to shoot. The focus ring had been jarred a little loose and my scope wasn?t in good focus. I didn't figure it out until later. I finally found the bull and got steady. When I squeezed the trigger, he crumbled. I hit him a little high just where the neck meets the shoulder. He was barely quartering to me and mainly head on. I used a Remington Titanium .300 Short Action Ultra Mag. with a 165 gr Core-Lokt Ultra bullet. Like I said, it stoned him. It was a blast. The whole time during taking photos and the hunt wrap up on video, bulls are bugling like crazy in the background.
The 4 other guys with me all got good bulls. Bob Robb took a 323 5x6, Ryan Wood killed a 318 6x6, Eric Crawford killed a 321 7x7, my 322 6x7 and then Kip Fulks took a nice 8x8 that didn't get scored. We had a blast. It is more fun than should be legal!
Good Hunting...Tim Herald
www.grandslamhunts.com
