elkhunterUT
Very Active Member
- Messages
- 2,853
My Dad's muzzy elk hunt has been over for almost a month now and even though I am just getting around to posting the experience here, we are all still on cloud nine after a hunt that could not have been scripted any better.
Over the past 35 years of elk hunting, my Dad has had a "mature bull" curse for some reason. If it weren't for bad luck in killing a good bull, he wouldn't have any luck at all. To go along with the bad luck, my Dad has always sacrificed his hunts and opportunities to make sure that me and my brother (silentstalker) and other family & friends found success and achieved our dreams. When we found out my Dad drew this special tag with only 4 points, we took it as a good sign that the curse was about to be broken, but we had no idea how perfect the hunt would truly turn out to be.
Our scouting efforts started on Memorial Day weekend and thanks to a great friend who shared some very helpful information with us, we found some great bulls immediately. Our scouting throughout the summer just heightened our excitement for the upcoming hunt. After what seemed like an eternity of waiting, our time to hunt was upon us and we were headed down two days before opening day to scout.
Our time scouting before the opener found us surrounded by numerous good bulls. It was a special moment to enjoy all of the sights and sounds of the rut with my Dad and Brother as we picked through different bulls looking for one my Dad liked. Here are a couple of the bulls we looked at:
One particular bull kept showing up in the same area and my Dad took a liking to him. This bull was a little weak on the front end but had excellent main beam length and really good 4th and 5th tine length with good mass. The other nice thing was he hung out in an area that would be easy to get to and easy to pack him out should we be fortunate enough to kill him. This was an important factor as my Dad's years of "pounding the hills" are well behind him now. Here is a pic of this bull we called Short Fronts "on the hoof":
On Tuesday night before the opener, we watched as several new bulls moved into the area we were scouting and the bulls really started to heat up with rutting action. Things were looking very positive for our first day when the "bullets" would become live! We made a game plan for opening morning based on where the bulls were last seen at dark and went back to camp to try and get some sleep.
Opening morning found us following our game plan by sneaking into the general area where we had been seeing the Short Fronts bull each time. As we moved into position and shooting light got closer, bulls were screaming all around us. My Brother Chad stayed behind a bit to spot for us, while my Dad and I moved in a little closer to the loudest bugles. The bull was above us while the wind was blowing down perfectly in to our faces. We knew the bull was fairly close, so we set my Dad up on his bipod near a small clearing and I let out a couple of soft cow calls with my mouth diaphragm. The bull let out a scream and started moving toward us at a quick pace. We could not see him yet due to some thick oak brush, but could hear him as he glunked and hit his antlers on the brush. He bugled again and I finally saw him coming directly towards me at about 80 yards. I could tell his top end was really good as he moved towards us. I told my Dad he was a shooter and to get ready. The bull closed the distance fairly quickly to about 40 yards but was coming directly at me and was not presenting a shot for my Dad. As if on cue, the bull turned to his right and stepped out into a small opening at 35 yards perfectly broadside. My Dad didn't waste any time in pulling the trigger and pounded the bull with 300 grains of lead from his T/C Omega. The bull ran about 40 yards and fell over in plain sight. 35 years of bad luck was completely turned on its head on a hunt where everything seemed to go absolutely perfect. We immediately recognized how rare these types of hunts are and basked in the moment as bulls continued to scream and fight around us. It was a perfect chorus for a special morning!!
We waited for Chad to catch up to us and then walked up on the bull. I captured the moment on video as my Dad admired the bull he had been dreaming about for many years. It was a special moment between a Dad and his two sons that I will cherish forever!! We soon realized the bull was "Short Fronts" which made it even more special - an awesome bull we had been watching for 2 days straight and one my Dad had put near the top of his "hit list"
Dad and his Bull:
Me and My Dad:
Chad and I with Dad's Bull:
The Packout:
My Dad's days of hard elk hunting are quickly becoming a thing of the past, which is not easy for me to see or accept, but that fact makes this hunt that much more special. The experiences and memories we shared on this hunt will be etched in my memory forever and I am confident will be even more special as time goes on. I was able to put together the following youtube video for my Dad to remember the sights, sounds, and feelings of this AWESOME experience - hope you enjoy it along with this long post:
Over the past 35 years of elk hunting, my Dad has had a "mature bull" curse for some reason. If it weren't for bad luck in killing a good bull, he wouldn't have any luck at all. To go along with the bad luck, my Dad has always sacrificed his hunts and opportunities to make sure that me and my brother (silentstalker) and other family & friends found success and achieved our dreams. When we found out my Dad drew this special tag with only 4 points, we took it as a good sign that the curse was about to be broken, but we had no idea how perfect the hunt would truly turn out to be.
Our scouting efforts started on Memorial Day weekend and thanks to a great friend who shared some very helpful information with us, we found some great bulls immediately. Our scouting throughout the summer just heightened our excitement for the upcoming hunt. After what seemed like an eternity of waiting, our time to hunt was upon us and we were headed down two days before opening day to scout.
Our time scouting before the opener found us surrounded by numerous good bulls. It was a special moment to enjoy all of the sights and sounds of the rut with my Dad and Brother as we picked through different bulls looking for one my Dad liked. Here are a couple of the bulls we looked at:
One particular bull kept showing up in the same area and my Dad took a liking to him. This bull was a little weak on the front end but had excellent main beam length and really good 4th and 5th tine length with good mass. The other nice thing was he hung out in an area that would be easy to get to and easy to pack him out should we be fortunate enough to kill him. This was an important factor as my Dad's years of "pounding the hills" are well behind him now. Here is a pic of this bull we called Short Fronts "on the hoof":
On Tuesday night before the opener, we watched as several new bulls moved into the area we were scouting and the bulls really started to heat up with rutting action. Things were looking very positive for our first day when the "bullets" would become live! We made a game plan for opening morning based on where the bulls were last seen at dark and went back to camp to try and get some sleep.
Opening morning found us following our game plan by sneaking into the general area where we had been seeing the Short Fronts bull each time. As we moved into position and shooting light got closer, bulls were screaming all around us. My Brother Chad stayed behind a bit to spot for us, while my Dad and I moved in a little closer to the loudest bugles. The bull was above us while the wind was blowing down perfectly in to our faces. We knew the bull was fairly close, so we set my Dad up on his bipod near a small clearing and I let out a couple of soft cow calls with my mouth diaphragm. The bull let out a scream and started moving toward us at a quick pace. We could not see him yet due to some thick oak brush, but could hear him as he glunked and hit his antlers on the brush. He bugled again and I finally saw him coming directly towards me at about 80 yards. I could tell his top end was really good as he moved towards us. I told my Dad he was a shooter and to get ready. The bull closed the distance fairly quickly to about 40 yards but was coming directly at me and was not presenting a shot for my Dad. As if on cue, the bull turned to his right and stepped out into a small opening at 35 yards perfectly broadside. My Dad didn't waste any time in pulling the trigger and pounded the bull with 300 grains of lead from his T/C Omega. The bull ran about 40 yards and fell over in plain sight. 35 years of bad luck was completely turned on its head on a hunt where everything seemed to go absolutely perfect. We immediately recognized how rare these types of hunts are and basked in the moment as bulls continued to scream and fight around us. It was a perfect chorus for a special morning!!
We waited for Chad to catch up to us and then walked up on the bull. I captured the moment on video as my Dad admired the bull he had been dreaming about for many years. It was a special moment between a Dad and his two sons that I will cherish forever!! We soon realized the bull was "Short Fronts" which made it even more special - an awesome bull we had been watching for 2 days straight and one my Dad had put near the top of his "hit list"
Dad and his Bull:
Me and My Dad:
Chad and I with Dad's Bull:
The Packout:
My Dad's days of hard elk hunting are quickly becoming a thing of the past, which is not easy for me to see or accept, but that fact makes this hunt that much more special. The experiences and memories we shared on this hunt will be etched in my memory forever and I am confident will be even more special as time goes on. I was able to put together the following youtube video for my Dad to remember the sights, sounds, and feelings of this AWESOME experience - hope you enjoy it along with this long post:
