Big bull from 7M Arizona

antlerboy · Sep 22, 2005

I just got done guiding a guy from PA and this guy could hunt!! It was the 4th morning (this Monday) of his hunt and we got on a couple bulls we'd been seeing for a couple days. We spotted some cows bedded from about 300 yards away so we belly crawled for 3 hours just to get in close. We spotted the bull about 150 yards out and finally got to 61 yards when the bull got up and moved his bedding spot. Now he was about 80 yards out and facing us directly. Our only option was to crawl 50 yards strait at him keeping 3 small trees inbetween us and his line of sight. When the hunter got to 30 yards he slowly crawled to the right and ranged him. He had a little 3' tall sapling blocking the bulls head so he got to his knees. By the time he was drawing his bow the bull saw him and stood up. He reached full draw and released. Perfect double lung hit! The arrow went totally thru and stuck in a tree about 20 yards behind him. The bull went about 250 yards and piled up. His beams are over 57 & 58". His right G2 got broke off in a fight a couple days before. We knew where they fought so on Tues we hiked in there again and found where they had fought. In the mix of all the busted limbs and trees we found the eyeguard!! It was awesome. With the found tine the bull grosses right around 375" as a 7x7. His only bull before this one was a spike so he was ecstatic!! It was the coolest and most awesome stalk I've ever been a part of and/or witnessed. Enjoy the pics. Anyone that has the 2nd hunt in there give me a PM.

Josh Epperson

Here's me on the left holding the newly found G2 onto the rack. Perfect fit!

littlefoot · Sep 22, 2005

wow...antler....great bull and great hunt....finding that 'lost bone' is terrific....good for the both of you...thanks for a nice story and pics....congrats to the hunter...sounds 'hardcore'...

Chef · Sep 22, 2005

Excellent story!
Congrats to your hunter!

You know, if he would have been with ANYBODY else, he would never have found that broken tine. Since he was with the #1 shed hunter in AZ, the tine found you!

Congrats to both of you.

Chef
"I Love Animals...They're Delicious!"

AZMUZZY · Sep 22, 2005

Wow, great bull! Congrats on the hunt!

bigbull1 · Sep 22, 2005

Great story and bull!

Ed

heartshot · Sep 22, 2005

I still can't believe you found the G-2.
What an awesome bull. Congrats to the hunter and the guide.

Widowmaker2 · Sep 22, 2005

Awesome story,and Bull,Congrat's to the both of you on a terrific hunt!!!

No Gut's...No Story!!!

AZ402 · Sep 22, 2005

Nice bull you bastage.............

browtine · Sep 22, 2005

Sweeeet! Great looking bull.

Later, Brandon

fisrtcoueswas80inches · Sep 22, 2005

nicely done josh!

Chef... pull ur head out ur a$$..... Josh is the best in the world, not the state
Casey

no_draws · Sep 22, 2005

Awesome Elk. 7M has posted a couple of nice bulls thus far.

There's one posted up on www.azod.com that scored 370 1/2.

JG >>-------->

azscouter · Sep 22, 2005

Antlerboy you amaze me. That is an awesome bull. And being able to find the broken eyeguard is unheard of.

257Tony · Sep 22, 2005

I'm sure you already know this, but just in case, B&C recently changed its rules to allow broken points to be restored with the original piece. Might come in handy since hes right at 375 like you said.......Congrats on the bull of most peoples lifetime!!!!

huntsonora · Sep 22, 2005

Leave it to you to find a friggin brow tine off of a particular bull. Awesome story!

Drum

redrabbit · Sep 22, 2005

Josh,

Congratulations to you and your PA hunter. From the smell and sights around Flag, you beat the uncontrolled burns. I think you may have first found the busted bez and then searched for the matching bull. What are the odds of finding the missing point?

Doug~RR

antlerboy · Sep 22, 2005

LAST EDITED ON Sep-22-05 AT 10:14PM (MST)[p]Glad all you guys liked the pics and the story. I tell you, it was the funnest and coolest thing I've ever seen happen while hunting. We totally got lucky and just happened to be watching those bulls when they started to scrap like that. We ran in as fast as we could hoping to catch them fighting and shoot one of them but all the cows didn't like that too much so they hauled serious ass out of there. When we got the bull down it wasn't till later that day that I wondered if it was during that fight that he busted it. When we found the spot later the next morning neither of us could believe it when I spotted the point laying over a dead log. See if you can see it in the picture. Notice all the holes and scars in the trees from the fight, I tell you, it was AWESOME to hear those big boys going at it!

Here's George Cunningham (the hunter) with the broken eyeguard pieces. Looks happy doesn't he?

257Tony, is that the same for P&Y?

Chef · Sep 22, 2005

Chef
"I Love Animals...They're Delicious!"

antlerboy · Sep 22, 2005

You got it!!

DonV · Sep 23, 2005

As a side question how was 7M? Can you get away from people (expecailly nature walkers etc? I have applied there before but never drawn. How was the hunting in general?

Awesome! Unreal to find the eye guard. Once I was deer hunting in Ohio late muzzy, jumped a big deer at close range - stodd and looked at me broadside and I took at 40 yards, upon gutting I realized he was wounded during the early gun season and not doing well (good thing I took him) and was a 2-1/2 year old buck with shed antlers.

3 days later hunting the same area (doe tags) I was going by a similiar grape vine thicket nearby where he had come out of - lots of deer tracks so I was looking at it close to be sure there was not a deer hiding trying to let me walk by - guess what? I found BOTH his shed antlers side by side next to an old bed! There were his because one had a BIG extra chunck that had come off I later fit together like a puzzle to be sure. Also there were not many deer in the area, and antlers shedding that early are rare and it was nearby in a similiar bedding spot.