Some great feedback from the MM crew. Some assumptions as always and a few things to explain that were not discussed in the 15-minute video.
Firstly, I did not measure the bull in its entirety. It did have some ground shrinkage. A lot actually. Like some of you, we thought this bull would be a 315-320" bull which would be an exceptional bull for the unit. The L mainbeam was only 45", spread was 35", L front 1st was 13". If I had to guess, 290" would be close, but definitely in that
280-300" range.
My cousin only had one point.
2 out of 3 headlamps were good.
The three of us practice long-range shooting throughout the year.
Miscalculated the ridge the bull was on that evening due to dropping into the bottom of the canyon and hiking back up. I also had marked the incorrect quakie-opening using OnXmap. Lots of little finger ridges. If that hasn't happened to you yet consider yourself lucky, as it likely will one day.
Finally, the meat and leaving it overnight concern. This was not an easy decision for the three of us adults, plus my 13yo son (for those questioning how many of us were present, dad came out following day). My cousin suffered a back injury in 2021 that has left him with foot drop in his L foot, subsequently making it more difficult to hike; Especially in the fallen timber. Despite the challenge he gave it everything he could, us included, to find the bull that night. Aforementioned in the video by him several times, “safety” was a concern to him. The L foot drop is what he was alluding to. The New Moon phase made it dark and, in the timber and quakies even darker. We covered the area, but we were on the wrong ridge and worked to the North of the correct one. After several hours, we decided to return in the morning with light to find the bull.
As for the meat, we lost most of the R front quarter being the opposing shoulder to where the bullet entered. The stinky smell was the bull smelling like a rutted-out bull. My cousin is a muley crazy guy and throughout the trip was poking fun of how big bulls stink more than mule deer. I personally enjoy the smell of big stinky bulls.
As previously stated, there are a few lessons to be learned. Yes, we could have tried to relocate and shoot the bull in the morning, but just like some of you had mentioned, we didn't think it would take more than 30 minutes to hike and locate him. We were wrong.
I typically pack an extra headlamp for friends in case they forget theirs, but my daughter borrowed it for Girls Camp (won’t let that happen again). We still had two that worked well but one was occupied by the Gimp with the foot drop.
I was wrong with my field judging but we were after the adventure more than a score so that didn’t really matter as much, but I am still in disbelief that I was off by 25- 30”!
I thought this would be a great example of ground shrinkage since seeing the post, “Ground Shrinkage or Gain.” Hope you enjoyed the video.
Again, I appreciate the feedback and the criticism. I can handle it. Otherwise, how do we improve?
SS! feel free to use the video in your hunter safety course