Muzzleloader Elk Hunt

[Ike]

I had a guy email me and say I should post up the photo of the bull elk I took last week down on the San Juan Muzzleloader hunt.

Two buddies and myself went down on my muzzleloader hunt for bull elk and had a great time. One of those buddies, Outfitter and Guide Shawn Labrum, was generous enough to share his knowledge, labor and time which made for a great hunt. Lots of thanks to him and my other partner for all the help, support and company over this once-in-a-lifetime bull elk hunt.

We saw alot of bulls over the first day of scouting and the following three days of the hunt. I did turn down a better bull than this one on the opening evening, mainly because of the limited amount of time to evaluate the bull. And I'll say a guy should always go with his gut feelings on those things cause he'd scored twenty to thirty points higher than this one will. Nevertheless, we put the bull to bed on Friday morning around 11:00 AM and went back to camp to eat and take a nap. It rained while we were sleeping and the stalk in on this herd bull went very well, as we got some great video and a really nice trophy.

I did get the flu on the eve of the hunt and am still recovering from that ordeal as I post this. I telephoned my wife around Thursday and she told me my oldest daughter was coming for a visit on Saturday, one of my buddies was leaving because of prior commitments, and since the camera was rolling Friday evening I got caught up in the moment... I didn't believe a stinky old elk would get my heart pumping after all these years but it did, whether it was having the two buddies there, the video camera going or just getting caught up n the moment, but killing that elk was about as much fun as running down a super tom lion or bear.........

I don't know if I'll ever hunt elk again but hunting this bull brought back old memories of a different time and a younger man......and it was GREAT!

ike

 

[huntzall]

very nice bull Ike

 

[cowslayer]

Congrats! That is a great looking bull!

CS

"Helping turn good tags, into great ones." - www.vipoptics.com

 

[Gator]

Don't ya just love that area, Nice Bull Ike.

 

[CDclub]

That is a good bull! Congrats and thanks for sharing.

 

[Hazmat]

Great bull! Congrats and thanks for posting. There's no place in the world like the San Juan...

 

[JCHawk]

Congrats that is a sweet looking bull!

 

[ADDICT]

Great mass! Congrats!

 

[OwnMoreBone]

Ike,
Nice Bull and one you need to be proud of.
OMB


There's room for all of God's creatures, right next to the mashed taters and gravy.

 

[257Tony]

Congrats Ike! If that's your last Bull, its a good one to go out on!! You gonna share the video with us, or is it going on a DVD?

 

[sjhgraysage]

CONGRATS on a FINE BULL!

 

[HoundDawgJr]

Finally, a post on here to remind me about what is good in the Utah hunting scene. A couple of buddies out together helping their friend kill a nice bull, no mention of score, of records, or all that crap. Just three guys in camp having fun and hoping to fill a tag with a trophy bull.

Nicely done dude, a good reminder of what is still good about hunting and the essence of the sport!! Thanks for posting.

Sweet bull Dennis, if I killed that bull I would still be making laps up and down main street with him in my truck!! ;-)

 

[Silentstalker]

Very nice bull! Way to go!

 

[cb]

Gas is $5 a gallon, all the global warming, the banks are going under and now this. HoundDawg is being nice to Ike ??? That's it !!! I'm getting my food storage in order..... the end is surely near.

That's a dang nice bull Ike, congrats.

 

[HoundDawgJr]

Hell CB,

I was hoping I could talk Dennis into just selling me his bull, then I wouldn't have to go stomp around in the cold in November and spend a small fortune trying to kill my own.

I figured I could just buy Dennis' bull and take a few photos, show it off to the neighbors and then sit on my ass and watch football all month long.

I'd shoot that bull in February, off I-15 with two Fish Cops standing at my truck talking to me. It's a dandy Dennis.

PS... CB getting food storage together huh? By that I assume you mean a couple shopping carts full of Miller Lite. ;-)

 

[Ike]

>Finally, a post on here
>to remind me about what
>is good in the Utah
>hunting scene. A couple
>of buddies out together helping
>their friend kill a nice
>bull, no mention of score,
>of records, or all that
>crap. Just three guys
>in camp having fun and
>hoping to fill a tag
>with a trophy bull.
>

Thanks guys for all the good comments......

I'm with you on those comments Dawg, cause it should be about the experience on the mountain and the time spent with friends that really matters.......and the animal's score or how many bears or lions we catch shouldn't really matter....

ike

 

[bobcatbess]

GOOD GAWD A MIGHTY!!!

AND I GET ACCUSED EARLIER THIS YEAR FOR SUCKING UP???

NICE BULL IKESTER!!!

HOW MANY OF YOU DAWGS DID IT TAKE TO HOLD THAT BIG STINKY AT BAY???

WHICH DOG RIGGED THE BIG STINKY FIRST???

I LOOKED IN FRONT OF IKES HOUSE TODAY BUT THE MUTTSTER RIG WAS GONE,MUSTA BEEN OUT CRUISIN MAIN,LOL!!!







THIS IS MY NEW GUN,YOU MAY NOT LIKE IT,YOU'LL LIKE IT A HELL OF A LOT LESS WHEN IT HITS ITS DESTINATION!!!

THE ONLY bobcat THAT KNOWS ALOT OF YOU HAVE HAD THIS IMAGE IN YOUR PEA BRAIN BUT DUE TO POOR SHOOTING TACTICS I'M STILL KICKIN!!!

 

[Ike]

RE: GOOD GAWD A MIGHTY!!!

LAST EDITED ON Oct-06-08 AT 06:34AM (MST)[p]http://www.monstermuleys.info/dcforum/User_files/48ea044535b8bdb1.jpg

Sorry bobcat, but we didn't take any hounds down on the elk hunt. I did offer to take along three or four of my best hounds just in case we cut a tom lion and wanted to run it down, but both my hunting partner and I knew we'd never get any elk hunting done.

We did, however, cut one nice lion track and dozens of bear tracks without really looking very hard. We even got out and looked at the tracks of several nice bears, but did stay focused on the elk hunt for that trip. The elk hunt is over now and ole Ike will go back to lion hunting in the coming days..........

ike

 

[kk]

RE: GOOD GAWD A MIGHTY!!!

Great bull Ike, looks like you had a great hunt. If you get any pups this fall my son was saying he would like to buy one.
congrats on a nice bull.

 

[Lambo]

RE: GOOD GAWD A MIGHTY!!!

Great job, and a super elk
Lambo

 

[completesportsman]

Great bull and great story, thanks for posting!

I don't ever want to go on my last elk hunt

 

[Ike]

kk,

I've been thinking about crossing that little Rui Li ##### of mine to Ike or Choco if she comes in later this fall or winter. If that happens I'll let you know......

ike

 

[bobcatbess]

WELL IKE!!!

DOWN AT THE COFFEE SHOP THEY'VE GOT YOUR BULL SCORED OVER 400"!!!

JUST WONDERING HOW BIGGA BOY IS HE???

IT DON'T MUCH MATTER IF YOU'RE HAPPY!!!

JUST WONDERING WHAT THAT BIG STINKY WILL SCORE???

AND REMEMBER IKE!!!

BIG STINKY'S ARE HARDER TO STRETCH THAN THEM BIG BASIN TOM CATS!!!

THIS IS MY NEW GUN,YOU MAY NOT LIKE IT,YOU'LL LIKE IT A HELL OF A LOT LESS WHEN IT HITS ITS DESTINATION!!!

THE ONLY bobcat THAT KNOWS ALOT OF YOU HAVE HAD THIS IMAGE IN YOUR PEA BRAIN BUT DUE TO POOR SHOOTING TACTICS I'M STILL KICKIN!!!

 

[bobcatbess]

IKE???

THIS IS MY NEW GUN,YOU MAY NOT LIKE IT,YOU'LL LIKE IT A HELL OF A LOT LESS WHEN IT HITS ITS DESTINATION!!!

THE ONLY bobcat THAT KNOWS ALOT OF YOU HAVE HAD THIS IMAGE IN YOUR PEA BRAIN BUT DUE TO POOR SHOOTING TACTICS I'M STILL KICKIN!!!

 

[bobcatbess]

IKE???

THIS IS MY NEW GUN,YOU MAY NOT LIKE IT,YOU'LL LIKE IT A HELL OF A LOT LESS WHEN IT HITS ITS DESTINATION!!!

THE ONLY bobcat THAT KNOWS ALOT OF YOU HAVE HAD THIS IMAGE IN YOUR PEA BRAIN BUT DUE TO POOR SHOOTING TACTICS I'M STILL KICKIN!!!

 

[Ike]

LAST EDITED ON Oct-12-08 AT 08:17AM (MST)[p]Well Bobcat, it sounds like the talk down at the coffee shop can make things bigger than life can't they? And yes, I was happy with this bull or I wouldn't have pulled the trigger, as it was a pretty good end to a pretty good hunt. He certainly wasn't anywhere near 400 inches either, but I'm not gonna talk about score so you and others can judge me or the bull. Besides, you probably wouldn't believe me anyway after making remarks like "you can't stretch a bull score like you can a lion." Just call him whatever you want and move on............

ike

 

[bobcatbess]

EASY IKE!!!

LOOKING AT THE PICTURE IT COULD'OF EASILY BEEN A 410" BULL FOR ALL I KNOW!!!

I WAS JUST RAZZIN YOU ABOUT STRETCHING THE LION,I THINK IT WAS HoundDawgy WHERE I LEARNED THAT ONE???

I WOULDN'T KNOCK THAT BULL NO MATTER WHAT HE SCORES!!!

IF YOU DON'T WANT THE SCORE POSTED THATS FINE!!!

I'VE NEVER JUDGED HOUND DOGGERS IKE!!!

I MIGHTA RAZZED THEM BUT YOU CAN NEVER JUDGE A HOUND DOGGER!!!

JUST GOT ONE QUESTION IKE???

THERE MUST OF BEEN A FEELING JUST BEFORE YOU SQUOZE THE TRIGGER,KNOWING THIS MIGHT BE YOUR LAST CHANCE AT AN LE BULL,JUST WONDERING WHAT WAS GOING THROUGH YOUR HEAD AT THAT TIME???

I MAY NEVER EXPERIENCE THAT FEELING,JUST WONDERING WHAT IT WAS LIKE???



THIS IS MY NEW GUN,YOU MAY NOT LIKE IT,YOU'LL LIKE IT A HELL OF A LOT LESS WHEN IT HITS ITS DESTINATION!!!

THE ONLY bobcat THAT KNOWS ALOT OF YOU HAVE HAD THIS IMAGE IN YOUR PEA BRAIN BUT DUE TO POOR SHOOTING TACTICS I'M STILL KICKIN!!!

 

[Ike]

LAST EDITED ON Oct-12-08 AT 06:07PM (MST)[p]Bobcat,

Elk hunting in a place like San Juan is not like any of the hunting I have done anywhere else, as I only ran into one other muzzleloader hunter and most likely could have killed any bull we found that I set my mind to. Conversely, most of the elk hunting I have done throughout my younger years was done on an Open Area bull permit in the Uinta Mountains. In those days, I hunted hard and walked hundreds of miles to find and kill the first bull I crossed. I enjoyed that kind of hunting but it was different hunting a limited-entry unit, lots more laid back I suppose.

Labrum wanted to show me the mountain, look at alot of bulls, then pick out what I wanted to kill and go getrdone. And I suppose that's what we did to some degree. We figured that we glassed bulls in every canyon we found elk in, and the top bull in those canyons probably would go around 340 to 360. Then there were plenty of lesser bulls that a guy would have to deal with on the way to the herd bull. Shawn and Mike both liked this bull because he was heavy and long, and showed some age; I liked him because he was both of those things and a typical rack, which was important to me.

(this bull had 54" main beams, was nearly 50" on the outside and 43" on the inside)

Labrum complained because I pulled my camera out to video lion and bear tracks but not to film the bulls...he'd been waiting all summer for me to put away those hounds and get fired up for elk, and he was still waiting when we made that final stalk.

I will say, however, that when I finally decided to take this bull (and when he started moving into position for the kill) my heart began to race and I had to take several deep breaths to settle my nerves. I think Labrum got a bigger kick out of that than anything else, as he watched me drop my stone wall nerve or guard just before the kill shot. It was like I'd never really thought about ending the hunt or taking the shot until it was time, then I finally got caught up in the moment and maybe got too excited if that's possible.

That bull was angled away pretty darn bad and the bullet entered the front edge of the right hindquarter and punched out through the chest. The bull did a complete 360 after the bullet struck it, and Labrum bugled in an attempt to hold him. The herd bull humped up and stood there wandering what the hell had just happened.

I had to make a reload which made me long for the days that I carried that .300 Weatherby. Somehow I got the second bullet down the barrel after the powder and got another shot in him which put him down. That darn bull got up and headed off toward a deep canyon but stumbled and fell within a short distance.........

When we got to the bull, those two shots were only a couple inches apart and had traveled from the front of the hindquarter to the inside of his right front leg. One had made an exit. Shawn had ranged the bull at 126 yards.......

So yea, ol' Ike had killed his share of stuff but that old bull brought up some emotions that he had forgotten that he had........

Like I said earlier, I started putting in for a Limited-entry hunt back in about 81 or 82, and probably missed two years on applications since that date. And if I had it to do over, I'd hunted the same unit and probably shot the same bull......

Keep putting in and your time will come Bobcat, although I hear some people want to change the San Juan to a 5 or 6 year harvest rather than a 7 or 8........

Ike