Maxxy
Active Member
- Messages
- 211
So this hunt all began with my Brother telling me I should put in on the Fillmore Oak Creek unit(For those of you that know what the unit has turned into, stop chuckling). I had been in the process of getting ready to move out of state and had no time to scout for the hunt, but luckily I have a Dad and couple brothers that were willing to put some time in for me a few times before the hunt began. Opening weekend was a disaster, as we hunted 3 days without seeing even a hint of sign (mind you it rained hard the day before the opening, so this was very discouraging). We put our tails between our legs and headed back to work, and I was out of state the following work week. Thursday night I made a 10 hour trip through the night, arrived at camp at 430 AM, slept an hour and woke up and My Brother and I set out. We hiked a good 3-4 hours in some of the better areas we had scouted. Nothing. We headed back to camp to get some much needed rest. I had not been out for more than 10 minutes, when he woke me up and said "let's go". I thought he was joking, but through a chain of phone calls (his being the 5th)someone that had a muzzy deer tag was watching a 300 class bull. I jumped out of bed and we were on our way. (I will tell you that after the dismal scouting/first weekend/morning i was ready to fill the freezer with a spike if necessary). This deer hunter met us and pointed us in the right direction, and My Brother and I set out with some new life and energy. We went right to where he had last seen the bull, and waited as it was still early in the afternoon. We saw nothing. Around 4 we heard a small, faint bugle, but it seemed to be coming from one canyon over. We slowly headed down the ridge were were on, and back up the other side when we started seeing sign. It was a welcome sight in the 85 degree weather. as we came over the ridge, it gave us a nice view of the opposing mountain, roughly 1200 yards or so away. The tracks seemed to be heading down off the mountain towards lower ground. After debating for a bit we started down, and hadnt gone more than a hundred yards when I heard a stick break. We turned around and headed back up, and sure enough, there standing 1200 yards away was the first elk we had seen. It was a bull, but it was a long way off. My brother stayed put and I went on a dead run down a steep incline (look at the pics) and back up a ridge that was in between us and the Bull. As I crept over the top, there he was, 500 yards, but on his way out, trailed by 4 cows (I am assuming the stick was broken by one of the cows trialing behind). I got a dead rest, and waited for my opening, caught my breath and put him down.
This is my first mature bull, and with the conditions as well as what we find out now about the Oak Creek unit (most of the herds were slaughtered a few years back when they opened it to the general Public), I couldn't be happier. This was the first chance I had to hunt elk in 10 years. While we all would like to put a trophy on our wall, this is a true trophy for me.
Luckily I had 2 great brothers and a Nephew who helped me pack the beast out (he was a huge bodied elk) as he was not in a fun spot. Also would like to thank my Dad for helping me hunt, my brothers for the scouting and time they put in, as well as the Gentlemen who steered us to this elk.
The freezer is full.
This is my first mature bull, and with the conditions as well as what we find out now about the Oak Creek unit (most of the herds were slaughtered a few years back when they opened it to the general Public), I couldn't be happier. This was the first chance I had to hunt elk in 10 years. While we all would like to put a trophy on our wall, this is a true trophy for me.
Luckily I had 2 great brothers and a Nephew who helped me pack the beast out (he was a huge bodied elk) as he was not in a fun spot. Also would like to thank my Dad for helping me hunt, my brothers for the scouting and time they put in, as well as the Gentlemen who steered us to this elk.
The freezer is full.
). You're right though, the unit has the POTENTIAL to be really good. It has gone down hill every year since I first drew a tag on 2001. Back then there were quite a few BIG bulls on the unit and now you're lucky to see a "mature" bull. Anyway, congrats again.
