fuzzyvelvet
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Well, I thought I would post some pictures and the story from my elk hunt in the Bookcliffs. I finally drew a tag this year after 10 years and hunted with a muzzleloader. The hunt started last Wednesday and we saw lots of bulls and it was a blast just to be in the mountains and have elk bugling all day at you. We saw lots of smaller bulls and I'm sure there were bigger ones we never could get good views of; that is some thick country and hard to see bulls at times.
On Thursday late morning I wanted to go bugle in a canyon that looked like good elk country and sure enough we got an immediate response. There were wallows and and lots of elk sign. We never did see that bull because it was so late in the morning he had already gone over the hill but we did see one of his satellite bulls and he was about a 315 bull so we figured he would be worth coming back for in the morning. Well, Friday morning there was another hunter parked where we wanted to be so we just glassed for a few minutes and saw a bull at the top of the mountain and figured the hunter would push them over the hill. Since the road wrapped around the hill we just went to the other side and hoped the elk would come our way. We got out of the truck and immediately heard a bugle so we were off after them. We saw a couple of cows, then about one half mile up the hill we saw the bull about 120 yards away in the thick oak brush. All we could see was his head and antlers. He looked good to me; I could tell he was heavy and and long 4th points. I said if he gave me a shot I would take it so I got ready and after about a minute he gave me the shot; I only had about 2 seconds to pull up and shoot but I hit him and he only went about 30 yards, laid down and died.
It was a blast. Getting a big animal like that off the mountain was tiring but worth it. It could have been a lot worse compared to some of the other areas we hunted. After skinning him out we found out that his legs and head were all blood-shot and he has 3 broken points and mulltiple scars on his neck and head. We was a warrior of a bull. Enjoy the pictures.
This is the country we hunted:
On Thursday late morning I wanted to go bugle in a canyon that looked like good elk country and sure enough we got an immediate response. There were wallows and and lots of elk sign. We never did see that bull because it was so late in the morning he had already gone over the hill but we did see one of his satellite bulls and he was about a 315 bull so we figured he would be worth coming back for in the morning. Well, Friday morning there was another hunter parked where we wanted to be so we just glassed for a few minutes and saw a bull at the top of the mountain and figured the hunter would push them over the hill. Since the road wrapped around the hill we just went to the other side and hoped the elk would come our way. We got out of the truck and immediately heard a bugle so we were off after them. We saw a couple of cows, then about one half mile up the hill we saw the bull about 120 yards away in the thick oak brush. All we could see was his head and antlers. He looked good to me; I could tell he was heavy and and long 4th points. I said if he gave me a shot I would take it so I got ready and after about a minute he gave me the shot; I only had about 2 seconds to pull up and shoot but I hit him and he only went about 30 yards, laid down and died.
It was a blast. Getting a big animal like that off the mountain was tiring but worth it. It could have been a lot worse compared to some of the other areas we hunted. After skinning him out we found out that his legs and head were all blood-shot and he has 3 broken points and mulltiple scars on his neck and head. We was a warrior of a bull. Enjoy the pictures.
This is the country we hunted:
