Hawkeye
Long Time Member
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I was fortunate to draw a Wasatch LE archery elk tag this year, and I was particularly excited because I have a couple of friends who are very familiar with the unit. We spent the months leading up to the hunt scouting, glassing and hanging trail cams. During that time we saw deer, moose, bears, and, of course, elk. Here are a couple of bulls that showed up on our early summer trail cams.
My game plan for the hunt was to take it easy for the first couple of weeks knowing that the hunting would improve substantially during the last 2 weeks. Therefore, I used the first two weekends of the hunt as scouting trips (with a bow and tag in hand). On Saturday August 23rd we hiked back into an area that was fairly remote and secluded. As a result, we saw over 20 different bulls and heard non-stop bugling throughout the morning. One of the bulls we saw was a tall and narrow but heavy 6x6. Given the amount of elk activity, we decided then that we would head back to that same area the following Friday and spend 3 or 4 days hunting that group of bulls.
The next Friday, me and a couple of buddies packed all of our food and gear back into our selected honey hole for what was supposed to be four days of action packed elk hunting. Little did I know that my trip would be cut short. We made it to the spot where we wanted to camp around 7:15, and the elk were already bugling. We dropped our packs and made a quick game plan for the evening. Ben was going to head back to the opposite ridge to glass from a distance. My brother-in-law, Landon, and I would head to the saddle to see if we could catch any bulls making their way from their bedding areas.
As we made our way to the far side of the saddle, we could hear bulls bugling around us and we spotted 2 bulls above us on the hillside. We quickly threw up a Montana decoy and Landon set up behind me in the trees. As I started glassing above me, there was a 5x5 headed directly toward us and following him was the narrow but heavy 6x6 from the week before. As I watched this bull work its way toward me I decided that I would take the shot if given the opportunity. As Landon softly worked the cow call, these two bulls put on a show ? bugling and raking trees. This is some of the footage Ben shot from across the canyon of the narrow 6x6.
When they reached 150 yards, the smaller 5x5 peeled off to my left and the larger 6x6 kept coming. When the 6 point entered the far edge of the meadow where I was set up, he stopped to take out his aggression on a patch of scrub oak. I watch for 2 to 3 minutes from 70 yards as he destroyed a patch of trees. My adrenalin was getting the best of me at this point and I told myself to take a deep breath and calm down.
Once he finished decimating this small patch of trees he began walking towards me from my left closing the distance to nearly 20 yards. He attention was focused the Montana decoy set up to my right. When he finally stopped walking, was standing directly behind a small patch of scrub quakies. I decided that I needed to draw my bow now while I had some cover. As I came to a full draw, he jumped but did not run. The only problem was I did not have a shot at his vitals, which were blocked by the trees in front of me. After holding at full draw for 4 or 5 seconds, I slowly leaned to my right as far as I could and found a small opening in the vegetation that allowed me to thread an arrow right into the boiler room. This is a short video link from my brother-in-law?s cell phone. In the first couple of minutes you can hear the bull raking the trees across the meadow and then you can see the kill shot. I am set up about 10 yards in front of Landon. This was filmed on his cell phone so it is fairly raw:
As the bull spun and run away, I could see my arrow protruding from his vitals. The Rage Hyperdermic broadhead had done its job as there was a great deal of blood. The bull ran about 250 yards and died within sight. The entire hunt lasted about 20 minutes from start to finish. Here are some photos of my bull.
This is the entry hole created by the Rage Hyperdermic broadhead.
After spending several hours that evening and the following morning caping, quartering and deboning the bull, we were exhausted. We called several friends to come and help pack him out. Due to the amount of meat and size of the cape and horns, we were going to have to leave all of our gear behind just to get the elk off the mountain. Our plan was to come back and get our gear in the next few days. Just as we were about to begin the pack out, two ?good Samaritans? showed up on horseback with a pack horse and panniers. They were up there scouting for the upcoming rifle hunt and wanted to get their pack horse some exercise. They offered to pack the entire elk back to our ATVs ? approximately 5 miles. What an unexpected surprise and blessing!
Overall, this was the experience of a lifetime for me. I will never forget those last 5 minutes as that bull came in bugling right on top of me. I also had so many great experiences leading up to the hunt. It was a huge amount of work but so rewarding. Thank you to Ben, Doug and Landon for taking time to help me make this happen. Thank you to DM from Mount Pleasant for packing my elk off the mountain. And a special thanks to my wife and girls for letting me pursue my hobbies and passions.
Now, it is time to go deer hunting!
Hawkeye
Browning A-Bolt 300 Win Mag
Bowtech Destroyer
Winchester Apex .50 Cal
My game plan for the hunt was to take it easy for the first couple of weeks knowing that the hunting would improve substantially during the last 2 weeks. Therefore, I used the first two weekends of the hunt as scouting trips (with a bow and tag in hand). On Saturday August 23rd we hiked back into an area that was fairly remote and secluded. As a result, we saw over 20 different bulls and heard non-stop bugling throughout the morning. One of the bulls we saw was a tall and narrow but heavy 6x6. Given the amount of elk activity, we decided then that we would head back to that same area the following Friday and spend 3 or 4 days hunting that group of bulls.
The next Friday, me and a couple of buddies packed all of our food and gear back into our selected honey hole for what was supposed to be four days of action packed elk hunting. Little did I know that my trip would be cut short. We made it to the spot where we wanted to camp around 7:15, and the elk were already bugling. We dropped our packs and made a quick game plan for the evening. Ben was going to head back to the opposite ridge to glass from a distance. My brother-in-law, Landon, and I would head to the saddle to see if we could catch any bulls making their way from their bedding areas.
As we made our way to the far side of the saddle, we could hear bulls bugling around us and we spotted 2 bulls above us on the hillside. We quickly threw up a Montana decoy and Landon set up behind me in the trees. As I started glassing above me, there was a 5x5 headed directly toward us and following him was the narrow but heavy 6x6 from the week before. As I watched this bull work its way toward me I decided that I would take the shot if given the opportunity. As Landon softly worked the cow call, these two bulls put on a show ? bugling and raking trees. This is some of the footage Ben shot from across the canyon of the narrow 6x6.
When they reached 150 yards, the smaller 5x5 peeled off to my left and the larger 6x6 kept coming. When the 6 point entered the far edge of the meadow where I was set up, he stopped to take out his aggression on a patch of scrub oak. I watch for 2 to 3 minutes from 70 yards as he destroyed a patch of trees. My adrenalin was getting the best of me at this point and I told myself to take a deep breath and calm down.
Once he finished decimating this small patch of trees he began walking towards me from my left closing the distance to nearly 20 yards. He attention was focused the Montana decoy set up to my right. When he finally stopped walking, was standing directly behind a small patch of scrub quakies. I decided that I needed to draw my bow now while I had some cover. As I came to a full draw, he jumped but did not run. The only problem was I did not have a shot at his vitals, which were blocked by the trees in front of me. After holding at full draw for 4 or 5 seconds, I slowly leaned to my right as far as I could and found a small opening in the vegetation that allowed me to thread an arrow right into the boiler room. This is a short video link from my brother-in-law?s cell phone. In the first couple of minutes you can hear the bull raking the trees across the meadow and then you can see the kill shot. I am set up about 10 yards in front of Landon. This was filmed on his cell phone so it is fairly raw:
As the bull spun and run away, I could see my arrow protruding from his vitals. The Rage Hyperdermic broadhead had done its job as there was a great deal of blood. The bull ran about 250 yards and died within sight. The entire hunt lasted about 20 minutes from start to finish. Here are some photos of my bull.
This is the entry hole created by the Rage Hyperdermic broadhead.
After spending several hours that evening and the following morning caping, quartering and deboning the bull, we were exhausted. We called several friends to come and help pack him out. Due to the amount of meat and size of the cape and horns, we were going to have to leave all of our gear behind just to get the elk off the mountain. Our plan was to come back and get our gear in the next few days. Just as we were about to begin the pack out, two ?good Samaritans? showed up on horseback with a pack horse and panniers. They were up there scouting for the upcoming rifle hunt and wanted to get their pack horse some exercise. They offered to pack the entire elk back to our ATVs ? approximately 5 miles. What an unexpected surprise and blessing!
Overall, this was the experience of a lifetime for me. I will never forget those last 5 minutes as that bull came in bugling right on top of me. I also had so many great experiences leading up to the hunt. It was a huge amount of work but so rewarding. Thank you to Ben, Doug and Landon for taking time to help me make this happen. Thank you to DM from Mount Pleasant for packing my elk off the mountain. And a special thanks to my wife and girls for letting me pursue my hobbies and passions.
Now, it is time to go deer hunting!
Hawkeye
Browning A-Bolt 300 Win Mag
Bowtech Destroyer
Winchester Apex .50 Cal
