Bow and blackpowder pictures!
- Thread starter JSTWIG22
- Start date
born_2_hunt
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Killed this bull the 3rd day of season. Scored 330" gross.
born_2_hunt
Active Member
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- 514
>Awesome bull! Were you backpacked
>in somewhere?
Yeah backpacked in solo.
>in somewhere?
Yeah backpacked in solo.
born_2_hunt
Active Member
- Messages
- 514
LAST EDITED ON Sep-30-16 AT 11:35AM (MST)[p]Well here you go!
I didn't have any time to scout this summer but was lucky in that a friend had the archery tag and had killed a bull in the unit the week before my season started. He pointed me in the right direction and I was off.
I had to work late the day before season so didn't get to camp until opening afternoon after hiking most of the morning. That evening I got on a vantage point and did some glassing. Saw lots of elk right off but all small bulls and no shooters.
The next morning I had forgotten to set an alarm but was rudely awakened by a bull screaming his head off next to my camp. He was a decent 6x6 but not one I wanted to pack out of there. I hunted the rest of the day with lots of elk encounters but no shooter bulls. I was glassing elk a 1/4 mile from the trailhead. I decided that if the next morning if I hadn't seen a shooter in there that I would just move camp and hunt closer to the road being that I was solo.
The next morning I was back at my glassing point. A bull ripped a bugle below me right when I got there. I had been hearing lots of bugles but this was definitely a mature bull. I put the spotter on him and sure enough he was what I was looking for. He was heading straight away from me with his cows. The wind was wrong so I had to loop two miles around to try and head him off. I didn't make it in time to catch him before he went to bed for the day.
I decided to just hang out on a bench above where I thought he may have bedded. I sat there all day waiting for my chance. About an hour before dark I hear that same beefy bugle about a 1/2 miles away. I but the binos up and it's him but no cows. I decided to cow call just to see what he'd do and he came running down the mountain towards me bugling the whole way.
Once he got to the creek bottom I never heard a bugle again. I sat there waiting forever and nothing. By this time the sun has set and I'm two miles from camp. I decided to start heading back. As I'm heading back I decided to check a bench below me that some elk had fed out on the night before. I was hoping maybe he had intercepted his cows on the way to me and was feeding on the bench.
I slowly slipped over the edge of the cliff that's directly above the bench which is 100yards below me. As soon as I peek over I see a cow standing in the timber. No sooner than I put my binos up I hear that familiar bugle. And then a different bugle. And I can see my bull and another bull battling right below me.
They are getting after it and just thrashing the woods. Meanwhile his cows feed directly below me on an open face. I knew sooner or later he was going to check his cows so I set up for the shot and waited for him to show himself.
Finally after beating his adversary here he comes on a trot out of the trees to round his cows up. I have about a 30 yard window to shoot through and he's coming quick. I start meewing with my voice to get him to stop. He finally stops just before he goes out of sight. The shot is straight down. Remember I'm on cliff directly above him. I rest the sights on his shoulder and boom! The smoke clears and he's still standing there!
I reload and by this time he starts moving to my left. He stops and boom! The smoke clears and he's moving. I load my last round I had on me. By this time hes moving and about to get to the trees 70 yards below. He stops broadside and the angle is much better this time. I tell myself "make this one count!". I put it right behind his shoulder and squeeze it off. I drilled him in the heart!He goes about 20 yards and lays down.
Holy crap I got him! I had grazed him with the 1st shot and missed completely with the second. With the extreme angle I was shooting high. I known to aim low at those angles but got caught up in the moment.
I quartered him out while it snowed on me the entire time. I got back to camp completely soaked at 1am.
My bull was exactly 3 miles to the trailhead or two miles out the canyon. I elected to pack him out the canyon and had to pack camp back to the trailhead the next day and take the atv around to the mouth of the canyon. It was steeper but a shorter distance and mostly down hill. The 1st 1/4 mile was the worst. He died just above a steep boulder field and it took me most of the next day to get him through the boulder field. After I got him through that I packed a hind and a front to camp that night.
The next day I was exhausted and wasn't sure I could make another trip in there and just wanted it to be over with. It had rained and snowed on me the entire time I was there and all my gear was wet. I went after it first thing in the morning. Once I got to him I had 1.5 miles left to get him out after leap froggng him the day before. I loaded the other hind and front, the backstraps and loins and the head on my pack and grinded it out all day. My pack was over 100 pounds I'm sure.
It was painful but I just kept thinking of how good it was going to feel to have him at the truck and a cold one in my hand. I sang songs and replayed the hunt over and over in my head to pass the time and keep my mind off the pain. And before I knew it was over. The pack out was probably more of a trophy in my eyes than the animal itself.
I didn't have any time to scout this summer but was lucky in that a friend had the archery tag and had killed a bull in the unit the week before my season started. He pointed me in the right direction and I was off.
I had to work late the day before season so didn't get to camp until opening afternoon after hiking most of the morning. That evening I got on a vantage point and did some glassing. Saw lots of elk right off but all small bulls and no shooters.
The next morning I had forgotten to set an alarm but was rudely awakened by a bull screaming his head off next to my camp. He was a decent 6x6 but not one I wanted to pack out of there. I hunted the rest of the day with lots of elk encounters but no shooter bulls. I was glassing elk a 1/4 mile from the trailhead. I decided that if the next morning if I hadn't seen a shooter in there that I would just move camp and hunt closer to the road being that I was solo.
The next morning I was back at my glassing point. A bull ripped a bugle below me right when I got there. I had been hearing lots of bugles but this was definitely a mature bull. I put the spotter on him and sure enough he was what I was looking for. He was heading straight away from me with his cows. The wind was wrong so I had to loop two miles around to try and head him off. I didn't make it in time to catch him before he went to bed for the day.
I decided to just hang out on a bench above where I thought he may have bedded. I sat there all day waiting for my chance. About an hour before dark I hear that same beefy bugle about a 1/2 miles away. I but the binos up and it's him but no cows. I decided to cow call just to see what he'd do and he came running down the mountain towards me bugling the whole way.
Once he got to the creek bottom I never heard a bugle again. I sat there waiting forever and nothing. By this time the sun has set and I'm two miles from camp. I decided to start heading back. As I'm heading back I decided to check a bench below me that some elk had fed out on the night before. I was hoping maybe he had intercepted his cows on the way to me and was feeding on the bench.
I slowly slipped over the edge of the cliff that's directly above the bench which is 100yards below me. As soon as I peek over I see a cow standing in the timber. No sooner than I put my binos up I hear that familiar bugle. And then a different bugle. And I can see my bull and another bull battling right below me.
They are getting after it and just thrashing the woods. Meanwhile his cows feed directly below me on an open face. I knew sooner or later he was going to check his cows so I set up for the shot and waited for him to show himself.
Finally after beating his adversary here he comes on a trot out of the trees to round his cows up. I have about a 30 yard window to shoot through and he's coming quick. I start meewing with my voice to get him to stop. He finally stops just before he goes out of sight. The shot is straight down. Remember I'm on cliff directly above him. I rest the sights on his shoulder and boom! The smoke clears and he's still standing there!
I reload and by this time he starts moving to my left. He stops and boom! The smoke clears and he's moving. I load my last round I had on me. By this time hes moving and about to get to the trees 70 yards below. He stops broadside and the angle is much better this time. I tell myself "make this one count!". I put it right behind his shoulder and squeeze it off. I drilled him in the heart!He goes about 20 yards and lays down.
Holy crap I got him! I had grazed him with the 1st shot and missed completely with the second. With the extreme angle I was shooting high. I known to aim low at those angles but got caught up in the moment.
I quartered him out while it snowed on me the entire time. I got back to camp completely soaked at 1am.
My bull was exactly 3 miles to the trailhead or two miles out the canyon. I elected to pack him out the canyon and had to pack camp back to the trailhead the next day and take the atv around to the mouth of the canyon. It was steeper but a shorter distance and mostly down hill. The 1st 1/4 mile was the worst. He died just above a steep boulder field and it took me most of the next day to get him through the boulder field. After I got him through that I packed a hind and a front to camp that night.
The next day I was exhausted and wasn't sure I could make another trip in there and just wanted it to be over with. It had rained and snowed on me the entire time I was there and all my gear was wet. I went after it first thing in the morning. Once I got to him I had 1.5 miles left to get him out after leap froggng him the day before. I loaded the other hind and front, the backstraps and loins and the head on my pack and grinded it out all day. My pack was over 100 pounds I'm sure.
It was painful but I just kept thinking of how good it was going to feel to have him at the truck and a cold one in my hand. I sang songs and replayed the hunt over and over in my head to pass the time and keep my mind off the pain. And before I knew it was over. The pack out was probably more of a trophy in my eyes than the animal itself.
pikemasterflex
Member
- Messages
- 69
Great bull! And even better story!
270Whatelse
Active Member
- Messages
- 761
Nice bull and story born2hunt. Thanks for taking the time to tell the story and share the pics!
DesertGhillie
Active Member
- Messages
- 271
That's a sweet bull!!! Congrats!
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