LAST EDITED ON Oct-24-06 AT 09:50PM (MST)[p]LAST EDITED ON Oct-24-06 AT 09:39 PM (MST)
My sister-in-law (Glenda) and future brother-in-law (Brian) drew the October 14th (second rifle) bull tags on the Valle Vidal. On opening morning Glenda harvested a nice bull. This is her first big game animal. It was an exciting hunt.
We heard two bulls bugling in the timber ahead of us. We got into position and I began to cow call. Every time I hit the call, I would get interrupted and cut off with the two bulls bugling. The closest bull seemed to be moving around bunch. I figure him to be chasing a cow in estrus. The second bull finally showed himself at the edge of an aspen stand and began to come in. He was a small 6x6. Even though I had not seen the bull that was chasing, I figured him to be the lesser of the two. I ranged him at 235 yard and was constantly contemplating to have Glenda take him. In fact, for about the 5 minutes or so the bull that was closest and chasing the cow had gone silent. I thought he had moved off with the cow. So I decided I would try to get the small 6x6 in for a closer shot. So I hit the cow call with a seductive estrus whine, followed by a couple lost cow calls. Believe it or not, the bull that I thought had gotten out of the area with the cow screamed closer than ever before. The next thing I see is legs coming. The first legs belonged to the hot cow followed by the bull making every sound in the elk dictionary. The jealous cow ran into the open just below us at about 80 yards, followed by the bull. As previously suspected, the bull was larger than the small 6x6. I told Glenda to get ready and to shoot once the bull cleared a tree and stop with a cow call. Once the bull cleared the tree, I hit the cow call. He stopped and started a bugle that was interrupted by the sharp crack of the 30/06. The next and immediate sound that followed, was the distinct sound of the 180 grain Nosler Partition hitting the bull and dropping him like a ton of bricks. Let the hugs and high fives begin.
Most of opening morning was dedicated to carting Glenda?s bull off the mountain. We had him to the truck by noon. We had a quick lunch, and then ran the meat into town. We still had one more tag to fill and were able to salvage the evening hunt. That evening we glassed a herd of elk. One small bull was in the bunch, so were decided to pass on the opportunity.
We hunted hard the next couple of days. We saw one shooter on Sunday morning. Upon trying to get closer to him for a shot, some shooting below us at something else got the lead cow nervous. The herd moved into the timber. We gave chase for a while and decide to leave the area and try to hunt them in the evening again. That evening, we got an early start and headed near to where we thought the herd had bedded for the day. Once we got there, sure enough, the herd bull was already bulging. We got into position?where we thought we could get a shot if they move into the open. It was just a waiting game at this point. The weather made it difficult to wait. It was raining and sleeting pretty hard. While waiting for the herd to come out into the open, we glassed a small herd above us. There were two of three small bulls in the bunch. They were tempting. Every time we thought about shooting one of the bulls, the herd bull that we were waiting for would bugle and let us know he was still there. That was enough for us to pass on the small ones. There was brief break in the weather and the bugling by the herd bull seemed to intensify and get a little closer. It was just a matter of time. Just when we thought it was going to happen, two shots rang out in proximity of the bulging bull. Instead of a bugling bull, the next thing we heard was a big ?Yee Who?. This confirmed that someone had shot the bull we were after. We decided to start the long trek back to the truck. Maybe we would get into some other elk on the way back. Nada, this concluded our second day of hunting.
The next day started off with fog thicker than pea soup. Not much bugling going on either. It was very hard to glass up anything. When the fog lifted, we saw some elk going into the trees?.A little too far to go after them. We headed to camp to have some lunch. After lunch, the hunters (nice guys) camped across from us rolled into camp with a nice bull. I went over to get the low down. Upon asking the who's and where's, they told me that had shot it the evening before. After telling me where they got it and how many shots they fire and ?Yee Who? they yelled, I knew it was the bull were after the day before. Nice bull. My guess he would go 330-340. Oh well. That's the way it goes. All things considered, we were pretty happy for those guys.
Well on Monday afternoon I had to leave for home to work on Tuesday. On the way out of the Valle Vidal, I reflected on the hunt. I had a great time. I do this a lot. This will rank up there with one of the best hunts. I can't wait go up there again.
Brian shot a nice bull Tuesday morning. A 6x0. He was broken off below the pedicel. Ouch!! I would have liked to have seen the bruiser that busted him up. Too bad I was not there to share the moment and the hard work. I will post those pics attached to this tread once I get them.
Enjoy the Pics. Hope they come out OK. They came out fuzzy at preview. I am having a hard time resizing the pictures.
Glenda with her first bull elk
Glenda, Francisco(Crazyelk), and Brian
The whole crew: Glenda, Uvaldo (Glenda's dad), Francisco Jr., Jose, and Brian
My sister-in-law (Glenda) and future brother-in-law (Brian) drew the October 14th (second rifle) bull tags on the Valle Vidal. On opening morning Glenda harvested a nice bull. This is her first big game animal. It was an exciting hunt.
We heard two bulls bugling in the timber ahead of us. We got into position and I began to cow call. Every time I hit the call, I would get interrupted and cut off with the two bulls bugling. The closest bull seemed to be moving around bunch. I figure him to be chasing a cow in estrus. The second bull finally showed himself at the edge of an aspen stand and began to come in. He was a small 6x6. Even though I had not seen the bull that was chasing, I figured him to be the lesser of the two. I ranged him at 235 yard and was constantly contemplating to have Glenda take him. In fact, for about the 5 minutes or so the bull that was closest and chasing the cow had gone silent. I thought he had moved off with the cow. So I decided I would try to get the small 6x6 in for a closer shot. So I hit the cow call with a seductive estrus whine, followed by a couple lost cow calls. Believe it or not, the bull that I thought had gotten out of the area with the cow screamed closer than ever before. The next thing I see is legs coming. The first legs belonged to the hot cow followed by the bull making every sound in the elk dictionary. The jealous cow ran into the open just below us at about 80 yards, followed by the bull. As previously suspected, the bull was larger than the small 6x6. I told Glenda to get ready and to shoot once the bull cleared a tree and stop with a cow call. Once the bull cleared the tree, I hit the cow call. He stopped and started a bugle that was interrupted by the sharp crack of the 30/06. The next and immediate sound that followed, was the distinct sound of the 180 grain Nosler Partition hitting the bull and dropping him like a ton of bricks. Let the hugs and high fives begin.
Most of opening morning was dedicated to carting Glenda?s bull off the mountain. We had him to the truck by noon. We had a quick lunch, and then ran the meat into town. We still had one more tag to fill and were able to salvage the evening hunt. That evening we glassed a herd of elk. One small bull was in the bunch, so were decided to pass on the opportunity.
We hunted hard the next couple of days. We saw one shooter on Sunday morning. Upon trying to get closer to him for a shot, some shooting below us at something else got the lead cow nervous. The herd moved into the timber. We gave chase for a while and decide to leave the area and try to hunt them in the evening again. That evening, we got an early start and headed near to where we thought the herd had bedded for the day. Once we got there, sure enough, the herd bull was already bulging. We got into position?where we thought we could get a shot if they move into the open. It was just a waiting game at this point. The weather made it difficult to wait. It was raining and sleeting pretty hard. While waiting for the herd to come out into the open, we glassed a small herd above us. There were two of three small bulls in the bunch. They were tempting. Every time we thought about shooting one of the bulls, the herd bull that we were waiting for would bugle and let us know he was still there. That was enough for us to pass on the small ones. There was brief break in the weather and the bugling by the herd bull seemed to intensify and get a little closer. It was just a matter of time. Just when we thought it was going to happen, two shots rang out in proximity of the bulging bull. Instead of a bugling bull, the next thing we heard was a big ?Yee Who?. This confirmed that someone had shot the bull we were after. We decided to start the long trek back to the truck. Maybe we would get into some other elk on the way back. Nada, this concluded our second day of hunting.
The next day started off with fog thicker than pea soup. Not much bugling going on either. It was very hard to glass up anything. When the fog lifted, we saw some elk going into the trees?.A little too far to go after them. We headed to camp to have some lunch. After lunch, the hunters (nice guys) camped across from us rolled into camp with a nice bull. I went over to get the low down. Upon asking the who's and where's, they told me that had shot it the evening before. After telling me where they got it and how many shots they fire and ?Yee Who? they yelled, I knew it was the bull were after the day before. Nice bull. My guess he would go 330-340. Oh well. That's the way it goes. All things considered, we were pretty happy for those guys.
Well on Monday afternoon I had to leave for home to work on Tuesday. On the way out of the Valle Vidal, I reflected on the hunt. I had a great time. I do this a lot. This will rank up there with one of the best hunts. I can't wait go up there again.
Brian shot a nice bull Tuesday morning. A 6x0. He was broken off below the pedicel. Ouch!! I would have liked to have seen the bruiser that busted him up. Too bad I was not there to share the moment and the hard work. I will post those pics attached to this tread once I get them.
Enjoy the Pics. Hope they come out OK. They came out fuzzy at preview. I am having a hard time resizing the pictures.
Glenda with her first bull elk
Glenda, Francisco(Crazyelk), and Brian
The whole crew: Glenda, Uvaldo (Glenda's dad), Francisco Jr., Jose, and Brian
