Hey Paul

[505]

Is this your wife's bull from last October? It's his brother at least, he was just around the corner from where she shot hers. I can't tell, maybe you can? Ray passed this one early on the first day of that hunt

http://youtu.be/pUcBjSVdfUQ

 

[NMPaul]

Chad, it is possible. Her bull was narrow, but had nice tine length and then kind of closed in the back like a basket rack.

I bet they score real close though. Was Ray watching that bull in the scope when you filmed that? Tough bull to pass up even on the VC.

Here are some pics of Kims bull.

 

[505]

They are related for sure. I think her bull has better 5ths and 6ths.

We saw a 350+ and a 330+ in that same area on the scout day, and this one was about the 5th bull we had to pick through to get in there. Never did see that big one again.

Hope to run into you out there again this year, that is a fun hunt.

 

[NMPaul]

If we go to VC again we may be getting death threats, but, it would be worth it.

 

[GoBigorGohome]

nice bull! What unit was the bull from on the video?

 

[Sierra]

Paul,

Here's a brief write-up about my hunt that I did for one of VC's websites. That's my story and I'm stickin to it. By the way, it was a pleasure meeting you and Kim. She took a great bull! Hopefully, we'll see each other out there again this year.

My 2011 VC Elk Hunt:

I was one of the lucky non-residents to win the lottery and was rewarded with a hunt of lifetime. Given that the elk on the preserve are known for both quantity and quality, I went into the hunt with the goal of holding out for a mature bull. During the scout day, my guide (Chad Williams of JFW Ranch Consulting) and I spotted a top-end bull (est. 350"+) and another really nice bull (330"+) within the first half hour of scouting our assigned unit. For obvious reasons, I didn't sleep much that night.

Day 1 - Chad crafted a plan to intercept the elk as they returned from the field back into the timber. It worked perfectly, as the wind was in our favor and we had bull after bull within 100 yards. In fact, there were too many bulls, as we had to wait for many of them to clear us so that they would not spook the other bulls. We had a really nice bull at 40 yards (which Chad got on video), but I passed on him since it was only the morning of Day 1. After a quick breakfast back at the truck, we headed straight up the mountain for a late morning/early afternoon hunt. We didn't expect to see much at that time of day, but we did have some hope given that the rut was in full swing. The next six hours turned out to be best hunting experience of my life. We were constantly in the middle of bugling elk and must have passed on a dozen or more 300"+ bulls. Even Chad, who does this for a living, was in awe of what we just went through. As I looked back on Day 1, I briefly wondered if I should have taken the nice bull that we had at 40 yards during the morning hunt. But I quickly realized that if I did shoot that bull we wouldn't have experienced the afternoon elk party, which was just as amazing as harvesting a nice bull.

Day 2 and 3 -- Our plan was simple, repeat Day 1. We saw plenty of bulls, but nothing like Day 1. Not sure if the pressure got to them or if the elk just weren't rutting as much as Day 1. While I lowered my standards from Day 1 (which was the plan all along), the bulls we saw on Day 2 and 3 were just below my goal.

Day 4 and 5 -- As most of the other hunters had filled their tags by Day 4, we had the opportunity to hunt other units and experience the full beauty of the preserve. Weather issues, hunting pressure, and the rut slowing down were making the hunt tougher than the first few days. While we continued to hear bulls, we did not get into range of a mature bull during these last two days. It wasn't for a lack of trying, as we hunted hard the entire trip. With the exception of a few breaks for food and one trip to town for gas, we hunted from sunup to sundown.

So in the end, I went home empty handed. I guess one needs to prepare for that when you set a lofty goal up front and stick to the plan. Do I regret my approach? Would I do things different if I could? Maybe, but then again how many people can say that they had the opportunity to hunt almost half of the units, cover over 50 miles on foot, and witness the elk party up close and personal. In this case, harvesting an elk would just have been icing on the cake. Even with me eating my tag, it goes down as the best hunt of my life. If I have the opportunity to hunt the preserve again, I will likely revise my plan and adjust my goal. With that said, it will still take a really nice bull for me to pull the trigger on the morning of Day 1.

My experience could not have been possible without the relentless assistance provided by the VC hunt staff. From the moment you step on the preserve, it's obvious that they are there to maximize the hunters' success. My hat's off to them for running a first class operation! I also wanted to thank Chad for sharing his guiding skills with me. He is an extremely knowledgeable and ethical guide. I learned a lot from him on that hunt and hope to hunt with him again this season. Last, but not least, I wanted to thank my family for putting up with my hunting obsession. Don't tell my wife, but I plan on taking my son and daughter on these hunts when they are old enough to tag along.


Ray