My 2014 archery bull

OregonTK

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I killed this small 6pt on September 15th in eastern Oregon. Been a few years since I'd killed an elk, felt good to get the monkey off my back.

 
We'll done TK! Are those cedar arrows? Did you make them? Let hear your story of the hunt.

RuttNStrutt

"One ungulate's trash is another man'a treasure"
 
LAST EDITED ON Oct-09-14 AT 10:42AM (MST)[p]Well, I wrote up a story with more photos, but the site won't let me post it! WTH? Maybe it won't except more than one photo?
 
>We'll done TK! Are those cedar
>arrows? Did you make them?
>Let hear your story of
>the hunt.
>
>RuttNStrutt
>
>"One ungulate's trash is another man'a
>treasure"

Rutt...those are douglas fir arrows I made. I build wood arrows for myself and others. These just so happen to be footed on the point end with a hardwood called Wenge.

Here's the short version. One of my buddies also killed a bull, and the my other hunting partner came REAL close to filling his tag two days after I did.

On the morning of Sept. 15th my buddy Kyle and I made a hunt into an area we really hadn't spent much time looking around. After the morning hunt we hit the road and decided to hike back to the truck since it was warming up and all the bulls were most likely bedded for the day.

We'd seen where a small trickle of water was coming down a faint draw, so thought we'd check it out for a wallow. Good call! Up at the base of the hill I stumbled upon this...



Immediately I knew I had to move a treestand to this location!

So after lunch we all hiked up to an area where I had two treestands, one at a wallow where Kyle intended to sit that evening and the other over a trail in a saddle. I was going to remove the stand in the saddle and hang it over the "new" wallow. While standing in a little rock scab whispering about our plans I looked down and found an obsidian point. A good luck charm? Omen?

Kyle headed in to sit in the stand I'd had over a wallow all season while Dave and I went up and removed the stand in the saddle. We packed the stand into the new wallow and had it situated and I settled in at 4pm for the evening. Dave said he'd be back a little after 7pm to pick me up.

It was a warm evening and all the squirrels and birds were busy doing their thing and coming in to drink out of the wallow now and then. Eventually the wind died and the air currents began easing downhill as I had figured. The tree the stand was in was about 10 yards downhill of the lower wallow, but well within range up the upper end. I took this pic showing the wallow from the stand...



At 6:20 I heard something to my right that didn't quite sound like a squirrel or a cone hitting the ground. Looking through the limbs of a big bushy spruce to my right I saw the black legs of an elk approaching. The elk stopped to drink out of the trickle of cold, clear water that flowed downhill less than 20 yards away. For 5 minutes I could hear the elk slurping and swallowing and finally saw an antler move! BULL!!!

I was already standing and had an arrow nocked and then the bull quenched his thirst and began walking toward the lower end of the wallows. He stopped with his head, neck, and front shoulder exposed, but his vitals were still behind the limbs of the bushy spruce!

After what seemed like and hour of watching the bull use his senses to try and detect danger, he finally stepped forward to the bottom of the wallow. He stopped and turned his head to smell the mud where it drained from the wallow and I completed my draw. I don't remember releasing, but my arrow buried tight behind the bulls left shoulder...and I knew immediately it was a fatal shot.

The bull took off across the hillside to my left crashing through the blowdown. The noise stopped after after 6-8 seconds, then I heard another crash followed by silence. Then an eery high pitched wheeze noise came from that direction.

After sitting down and collecting my thoughts of what had just happened, I lowered my bow and climbed down. Knowing the bull was down and out I followed the blood trail through the blowdown for 100 yards or so and found the bull.



After meeting Dave and getting Kyle and the packboards from camp we butchered, packed, and got back to camp by 11:30pm.

My arrow had broke off when the bull crashed into a tree where he fell, but while butchering we found the point end inside and discovered my arrow had went directly through his heart.

BTW...my bull was clean! Pretty sure this is a community wallow and lots of different bulls come from all over to use it. Can't wait for next year!
 
Great story! I love hearing how it all comes together. I think we all learn a little something when we hear the stories of successful hunts. I also like to hear how guys find wallows and honey holes. I found mine by trying to put the sneak on a buglin bull one year.

I've got lots of respect for you traditional guys, you're a true pioneer.

RuttNStrutt

"One ungulate's trash is another man's treasure"
 
Great story and awesome find on the spring. Thanks for sharing your hunt with us.

DZ
 
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