I was one of the lucky ones to win a tag from the expo this last January and no this isn't a monster, but It was a great time and I'm very happy with the bull!
On the second afternoon, Dad and I were sitting up on the mountain with a storm coming in and I told him he better head back to the truck cause there was lightning coming. He asked what I was gonna do, I said I was going to drop of the top of the mountain a little to wait out the storm and then hopefully have a few minutes of hunting before it got dark. So he went back to the truck and I stayed. Just prior to the storm I got a bull to answer my bugle. As I was closing the distance, the storm hit and I couldn't hear him anymore so I had to wait it out. I was like a couple hundred feet from the top of the mountain and learned that a person can smell lightning when it hits very close repeatedly. I eventually got to my bull though right at dark after the storm passed. I found him with 10 minutes to go in shooting light. Hit him 3 times. First was on the run, a quartering away, it entered near the last rib and went into the chest. Then had two broadside shots into the lungs and just below the back bone at 298 yards. I waited for a little bit, then went to look for him but with no moon I couldn't locate exactly where I last seen him so I had to go back to the truck to meet dad and wait till morning. He didn't go 30 yards before he dropped. After deboning him and packing him out. He is a 6x7 that will score just over 300 inches.
We had a great time out there seen 8 moose, bunch of deer(1 monster buck) and even had a 6x4 bull elk chase us off the mountain. We were watching a meadow right before dark the first evening and this bull came out and started bugling. The closer it got to dark the more he bugled. When it was time for us to go we tried to sneak out of there. Well he could hear us breaking sticks and branches trying to sneak out of there so we didn't spook him, I am sure he could even see us moving but with the very dark conditions and the wind in our favor he must have thought we were another elk. We were at the point where we were almost running down the draw to get some distance between us and dad even started making jokes that I was gonna have to use my tag on him when I shot in self defense.
Just wanna say to you guys that are residents of Utah, that you are very lucky to be living in the front yard of the greatest elk herd in the country and I was hunting in probably the least desired LE area!
MntMan
Hunting is where you prove yourself!
Formerly 53incher on Utah forum.
