Bookcliffs Bull

[sharpshooter25]

Here is the pictures of my brother in-law's elk that he shot opening morning on the Bookcliffs rifle hunt last Saturday. Before I ever saw the pictures I asked my father in-law why Chris shot him opening morning because I thought he was going to pass on some. He told me that there is no way I would have passed on this elk if I was hunting. That is why he said to me in the email, "Tell me you wouldn't shoot this???" I responded back to him and said that considering that it was opening morning, and it was the Bookcliffs, I would have passed on this elk. I figured this bull will gross score between 320-330. I want to know what your opinion is on this bull. He is a good bull, but for opening morning on the Bookcliffs, I would have held out.

 

[legacy]

Nice bull for sure! If it was me and it was opening morning...I would have passed. But you can't fault the guy for letting him have it. Tell him congrats.

 

[antlerrick]

"A trophy is in the eye of the beholder"
As long as the hunter is happy, life is good!
There is nothing wrong with that bull and it appears the hunter is pleased with it.. I also would have waited, but that's me...
Congrats!

 

[FamilyMan]

I'm sure not going to badmouth anybodys bull. Congrats to the hunter on a great trophy.

Mark

 

[Coyote_chaser]

I think 330 is being very very generous. But score does not really mean much to me IMO, as long as the hunter is happy and its a trophy in his eyes then I am happy for him. I know I tried to put the hammer on a bull smaller than that on my archery LE hunt. Tell him congrats on a great bull.

 

[marley]

Eye of the beholder. Nice bull but with a tag like that I would have held out. Based on the pictures I would be surprised if that bull scored 300. But if he is happy with him that is all that matters!! Congratulations.

 

[bearman]

He definitely doesn't look to go 300 but if every body out there was after 400 inch bulls ,200 inch deer it would be harder for those of us that while hold out. The hunter looks happy I say congratulation great job.

 

[completesportsman]

Passing could have been a good decision....but shooting could have been a good decision also. Lots of folks on here are eating tag soup this year so far & I'm one of them.

I think it is a great looking bull.

 

[FishlakeElkHunter]

I agree, this bull will be lucky to go 300".

That said.....good for the hunter. If the bull was good enough to shoot for him, then that is all that matters! I hunted hard last year and passed up bigger bulls to only shoot one that big on day 5 so I think "eye of the tag holder" is all that matters.

Congrats on a good hunt!

 

[nmelktrout]

Nice bull. Maybe 300" and a tough trigger to pull on opening morning in a primo unit but hey, any elk is a tropy elk right?

Congrats and hope the hunt was a great one and was shared with family and friends.

 

[NeverStopHuntin]

Congrats to the hunter if he is happy with it. In my opinion the books is one of the most over-rated units in the state.

 

[ktc]

LAST EDITED ON Sep-16-08 AT 03:17PM (MST)[p]
sharp,

It is a mute point now, the bull is dead. Hindsight is 20/20. He looks and sounds happy, so yes, if I were him I would have shot this bull. It is a nice bull no matter if 300 or 350. Be happy for him!

btw; Never mind on score. It is his and he can call it what he wants!

 

[sharpshooter25]

Oh, I am not wanting to sound like I am bad mouthing his bull, I think it is a great bull. My only point was that my father in-law seems to feel that I would not have passed on this bull period and I wanted to get all of your opinions on that. Now, if I see a bull like this opening morning on my hunt, he is going down considering it is a general elk hunt. But as I stated before, being as how it was opening morning, and also in the Bookcliffs, and also that I saw video that he took of bigger bulls only a few weeks ago, I would have passed on this bull.

 

[TripleK]

It's a nice bull, but yeah...I definitely wouldn't take him on opening morning. I know a couple of guys hunting out there right now and they're passing up much bigger bulls than that...holding out for a much larger one.

 

[huntzall]

I've been with many people that are going to pass bulls for the first few days. And very rarely do many get past the first 6 point they see. As long as hes happy thats all that matters. To answer your question there is no way I would have shot that bull on opening day

 

[thebuckstopshere]

Great bull!

 

[rmanwill]

Looks like he is happy!! Has he ever killed a bull bigger? I've always said that if a animal will make you happy pull the trigger and don't look back or what if it later. Enjoy!!!

Congratulate him on a great bull. Everyone has their own expectations.

 

[AndymanSavage]

I have seen 2 smaller ones come off the wasatch so far.... Congrats to the hunter.

With the time it takes to draw here, I personally would have waited, but "sobre gustas no hay disputa"

Andy

-----------------------------------------------
http://www.trophyblogger.com/Andymansavage

 

[sharpshooter25]

This is his first bull. He has only shot cow elk before so I can understand why he would have shot this bull. Very hard to pass when you have never hunted big bulls before. I am sure his blood was pumping and hands shaking when he saw him. Also, he drew out with only 2 points. So he will have more chances to shoot one bigger, and for a first time bull that is a good bull.

I just love it when someone presumes to know me and tells me that I would not pass on this bull.

I also have a very close family friend that shot a bull that has scored around 360 but I don't have the pictures yet. Unfortunately the fishing game has the elk as when he shot his elk, it made a clean pass through and he didn't know there was another bull standing in the trees behind it. The one he shot walked into the trees, the second one walked out hobbling and obviously wounded so he thought it was his elk, and he put it down. Some other hunters saw the first one go down in the trees, and then they saw him shoot the second one so they called the fish cop.

While they were cleaning out the first elk the fish cop shows up to investigate and then they found the second elk he shot. But the fish cop was nice, he didn't take his gun or anything, told him that he should get his elk back but it will probably come with a fine. He understood that it was an accident. He scored the two elk there and the one he will get to keep scored just over 360 he said, the other one was around 350 he said. What a pickle he is in, I feel terrible for him. So when I get pics of the elk I will post them for you guys. It was taken in the Manti Central unit around Scofield.

 

[AZStickman]

I really like the fronts it will make a really nice looking mount.... I wouldn't have passed and would be smiling as big as your brother is..... Terry

 

[Lambo]

ya just gotta ask yourself - does he make ya happy? if he does then ya did the right thing. Nothing wrong with that bull, no doubt that he wont be the biggest taken inthe state, but he probably wont be the smallest either. Congrats
Lambo

 

[Hazmat]

Cool bull! It's all good...any bull is a trophy...especially if your hunt was something special.

I had an awesome time taking a 390 bull last year but I still go back to the best elk hunt of my life was one I spent every day of the season hunting with my Dad and ended up shooting a spike on the last day of the hunt.

All that said, I was surprised how people shot the first bull they saw and packed up and went home right away. After 14 years of waiting, I wanted to experience a little more hunt. OK, OK, I shot the first bull I saw on the first day of the hunt...but I stayed around and spotted, listened and took in the whole of hunting great bulls in September....There ain't much better in this world.

 

[Roy]

The trophy is in the eye of the hunter! If he is happy with his bull then I am happy for him. It is a good bull and in truth, he may not see too many bigger than that this year out there. Congrats on a great bull! Great character!


UTROY
Proverbs 21:19 (why I hunt!)

 

[ktg]

I know a guy who came home with tag soup on the archery hunt out there. If he's happy, that's all that counts.

 

[arch3614elk]

I was out helping a friend out on the archery hunt.. I would have taken that that bull and all the 6x6's I saw there

 

[bowhunt]

That is a fine bull! He looks happy so do all the people that are around. I would not even have a discussion about who would or would not pass it up! Lot of different circumstances go into decided to shoot or not. Tell him congrats!

 

[Ticks N Tines]

You guys are wierd! You praise someone for shooting a spike deer on the Pauns, but when someone takes a 6x6 on the Books you tell him it was too small.
How many archery hunters went home with nothing this year??? Many people pass up bulls opening morning and then don't see crap the rest of the hunt and regret it for the rest of thier lives. When all you can hunt is cows and crappy general units, a bull like that is a sweet site.

So give the guy a break!!!

 

[Crazy4Elk]

Would be a trophy in my book. I do mnot know much about the bookcliffs, but if that bull walked past me in my spots I would have taken him also.

 

[marley]

No one is giving the guy crap for shooting that bull. In fact, almost every post is telling him congrats. Most of us that have posted have just stated that THEY would've passed on that bull, that's just PERSONAL preference. Congrats to the hunter.

 

[treedagain]

he looks happy to me....nice bull....

 

[WYridge]

That's a real trophy in most people's "book" Very nice bull, congratulations to the hunter.

 

[South_slope]

Tell Chris congratulations and Glade he could stand to loose a little weight. Looks like they had a good time.



Jeremy

 

[Gator]

I killed one like him last year and I'm still happy as hell about him, Hope to put another along side of him this fall, Nice bull don't care what unit you was hunting.

 

[Ticks N Tines]

Most of us that have posted have just stated
that THEY would've passed on that bull


Sorry, forgot that YOU guys were better than everybody else.

When somebody posts a picture of a kill they don't want to hear that YOU would have passed on it. It just seems a little rude to me, but whatever. Who cares what you would have done??? This isn't your post, it's this guys post and he is happy with his bull.

 

[sharpshooter25]

First of all, I would like to thank all of you for your input on this thread. I hope that none of you feel that I am putting down this bull because I am not. I think it is a great bull, and also this was his first elk ever so what a great memory he will have. With that being said I have an update on this bull.

Last night my brother in-law came over to show me the video of his hunt, what an exciting video to watch. They called in this bull at first light from quite a ways away. The bull started to get close, and he asked the guy he was with whether or not he should shoot him. The guy he was with stated that he was a 6X6 and it was his call. So, when the elk got to probably 30 yards from them, he took him. I think that he mainly wanted at least a 6 point bull, and what a great bull for your first one, and that memory will last forever with him. Especially calling in a bull that close, and having him scream in your face. As I stated before, I am not putting down his bull, because it is a great bull, and many of you have stated that he looks very happy, and he is and that is all that matters. So thanks again to all of your input on this thread, and good luck to you on the rest of your seasons.