Late-Season Elk Hunt

How big is the bull?

  • 280-300"

  • 300-320"

  • 320-340"

  • 340-360"

  • >360"

Results are only viewable after voting.
Dr_Hunter

Dr_Hunter

Very Active Member
Messages
1,050
Just finished up this video of my cousin's late-season elk hunt. 2023 was a tough year for this unit. We sure had a lot of fun together and were bummed the hunt ended so quickly; needless to say, we made the best of it. Watch for the special guest appearance by Gledeasy ;)

With the "Ground Shrinkage or Gain" contest going, I thought I would add the poll question.

Enjoy the Video.

I'll post the answer in a few days.

 
Congrats on the bull! Thanks for sharing to cool video to give us something to enjoy during the winter months.

Here is my guess:

G1 - 12 <> G1 - 12
G2 - 14 <> G2 - 14
G3 - 10 <> G3 - 12
G4 - 16 <> G4 - 17
G5 - 0 <> G5 - 9

Main Beam - 47 each
Spread - 38
Mass - 45

Gross - 293"
 
Get somewhere where you can talk.....I can't hear you whispering and my lip reading is sub par.....
 
I had him pegged at 320-1/8. So I had to go in the 320-340 range. :LOL:
Regardless, a nice bull. I made my guess before I read the others so I wouldn't be influenced. I honestly had him around 330, but I have very little experience with it. Not quite the official MM tape.

You got us hooked! Post up the actual measurements!
 
SPAZ said:
Bummer about the meat. You should put a poll up on how many pounds you were able to salvage that wasn't completely soured:

250-300
150-250
100-150
15-100
<5lbs
Click to expand...
I would be interested in this as well. Honestly that video is how I picture most resident elk hunts go in UT.
 
I just don’t understand why they took the shot. There was more than one reason not to:

1). Getting towards dark
2) long range shot
3). Elk wasn’t spooked so easily could of relocated next day
4) had plenty of more days to hunt. OP said they were bummed the hunt ended so early.
5) Great weather


I’m not sure exactly how many guys were there that day, at least 3 likely 6 being UT. And no one brought up any of the reasons above to hold off the trigger?

With how long they sat there watching and waiting for a LR poke it shouldn’t have been too difficult to find in the dark. Especially with 3 or more people. Expensive LR rifles but gas station headlamps perhaps?

Where were the hunters with experience at? That video screams inexperienced hunters. Maybe with how hard to get a tag in UT that this is normal now? Maybe these guys are victims of it taking 10-20 years to get a good tag? You end up with a bunch of man child hunters running around?

The icing on the cake is a YouTube video was made of it. This video should be played in every hunter safety class out there. It’s not often you can compile a video showing so many mistakes in one hunt.

As far as to answer the poll, I’ll go with the 15-100 lbs. backstraps should have been fine with a mix of meat from the quarters that was away from the bone.
 
LOL! bull goes straight down on the shot and we can't find it! sure... nothing's funnier than grown men that are scared of the dark
 
JPickett said:
LOL! bull goes straight down on the shot and we can't find it! sure... nothing's funnier than grown men that are scared of the dark
Click to expand...
It was a hell of a shot no doubt. About the only thing that went right. Can you imagine if that elk ran 200 yards?
 
SS! said:
It was a hell of a shot no doubt. About the only thing that went right. Can you imagine if that elk ran 200 yards?
Click to expand...
well, its Utah, so i imagine the conversation would go like this "well boys, we've been looking for a full 20 minutes this morning, guess that one made it. lets keep hunting!!"
 
SS! said:
As far as to answer the poll, I’ll go with the 15-100 lbs. backstraps should have been fine with a mix of meat from the quarters that was away from the bone.
Click to expand...
If any meat that didn't smell was salvaged, it was no good by the time they got it to town. <5
 
I'm guessing they were cramping up from a creatine overdose. The terrain was pretty "treacherous" according to the one guy in the video.
 
jm77 said:
If any meat that didn't smell was salvaged, it was no good by the time they got it to town. <5
Click to expand...
I'm staying optimistic but you're likely right.

Another disappointing part of the hunt was the next morning when they were up there you can tell it had been light for a long time. And looks like the long picture taking process before they even tried to gut it etc?

Some videos should never made it on the internet.
 
From the video, it appeared there was brush blocking the shot, but the camera picture doesn't always show the shot angle. It was a one shot kill so either the shooter was proficient at that range, or got extremely lucky. I'll go with proficient. Luck at that range is typically bad.

You guys searched several hours in the dark before you called it off. It's easy to get turned around.

On the recovery day, you had someone guide you from the shot location to the kill site.

Bottom line, anything posted is subject to criticism, but you guys did several things right, and recovered the bull.

Congrats on a nice one. Thanks for sharing.
 
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Let's shoot it, then keep hunting for a day or 3. Then if we don't get anything bigger, we'll claim it. Maybe??
 
Joe2Kool said:
From the video, it appeared there was brush blocking the shot, but the camera picture doesn't always show the shot angle. It was a one shot kill so either the shooter was proficient at that range, or got extremely lucky. I'll go with proficient. Luck at that range is typically bad.

You guys searched several hours in the dark before you called it off. It's easy to get turned around.

On the recovery day, you had someone guide you from the shot location to the kill site.

Bottom line, anything posted is subject to criticism, but you guys did several things right, and recovered the bull.

Congrats on a nice one. Thanks for sharing.
Click to expand...
Great shot no doubt. But what did they do right? Horrible decision to take that shot, I would argue they got very lucky. More probable of a deflection etc.
 
I can see being solo in Grizzly country not wanting to break down and pack out in the dark. But then again don’t shot past 2 or 3 hours till dark. This was not bear country. They seemed to have enough guys to get out most all that meat that night. May have been a long night, but it could have been done. Friend and I have arrived back at camp at 4am with first load of meat before. Just to eat and rest a couple hours to head back out for another load.

Maybe they should stick to road hunting!!
 
Man what a tough crowd. A bunch of complaining based on assumptions. They didn't say how long they looked. The only clue is their light batteries were dying. They didn't talk about meat spoilage. All they said was did you smell that? Which was probably the normal smell of a stinky rutted out bull. You don't smell meat spoilage walking up to a bull that sat overnight. That comes after you get down to the warm spots closer to the bone. I imagine there was some but you guys are assuming the worst of the worst and assuming they only spent 20 minutes looking.

I enjoyed the video. Thanks for sharing it with us. Congrats on finding your cousin a good bull.

P.S. 1,000 extra bonus points to the hunter for wearing the required orange.
 
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heartshot said:
Man what a tough crowd. A bunch of complaining based on assumptions. They didn't say how long they looked. The only clue is their light batteries were dying. They didn't talk about meat spoilage. All they said was did you smell that? Which was probably the normal smell of a stinky rutted out bull. You don't smell meat spoilage walking up to a bull that sat overnight. That comes after you get down to the warm spots closer to the bone. I imagine there was some but you guys are assuming the worst of the worst and assuming they only spent 20 minutes looking.

I enjoyed the video. Thanks for sharing it with us. Congrats on finding your cousin a good bull.

P.S. 1,000 extra bonus points to the hunter for wearing the required orange.
Click to expand...
bonus points for following the law? That’s where we are at with society that kudos for following the law?

Well then CONGRATS on putting on orange!!!! 10/10!!!!!!
 
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 ;)
 
Dr_Hunter said:
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 ;)
Click to expand...
Not gonna watch the video, but in the future, you can use your range finder and an azimuth that you shoot to correctly mark the exact location that the shot took place on and drop a pin
 
Dr_Hunter said:
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 ;)
Click to expand...
Should of started with that Doctor. People watch that video and have no choice but to assume you guys are numbnuts...most will not return to this thread to realize your only partial numbnuts.
 
Dr_Hunter said:
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 ;)
Click to expand...
Thanks for following up and clearing up some of it!
 
HntHrdr said:
Not gonna watch the video, but in the future, you can use your range finder and an azimuth that you shoot to correctly mark the exact location that the shot took place on and drop a pin
Click to expand...
Some of the rangefinding binoculars allow you to range a spot and drop a waypoint. I considered one for this very reason but decided against it. I went with a standard RF binoc. That capability would also come in handy to drop a distant WP to determine the property owner.

Regarding 290, he looks more than 20" bigger than one I self-scored at 270. Maybe I was using the MM tape! :ROFLMAO: :ROFLMAO:

Congrats again.
 
BLooDTRaCKeR said:
Bunch of cry babies on this thread. All the assumptions and what-if’s/if only’s being thrown around. The dude killed a nice bull. To those calling him out for sub-par decision-making, why don’t you post your “perfect hunting” videos so we can learn for the best?!
Click to expand...
You’re a tard for sure if you think they didn’t make a series of poor decisions.
 
BLooDTRaCKeR said:
Bunch of cry babies on this thread. All the assumptions and what-if’s/if only’s being thrown around. The dude killed a nice bull. To those calling him out for sub-par decision-making, why don’t you post your “perfect hunting” videos so we can learn for the best?!
Click to expand...
I’m not a big video guy, rather focus on the hunt.
 
Most of the hunting videos everyone watches have been edited and chopped to remove all the mistakes, gut-shots, butt-shots, misses, etc. welcome to the new internet hunting era we live in where everyone has an opinion and wise-ass comment. One reason I am not interested in filming my hunts and having my mistakes scrutinized by the thousands of people that weren’t there and have only had perfect hunts with no anomalies. 😳
 
dvolmer said:
Most of the hunting videos everyone watches have been edited and chopped to remove all the mistakes, gut-shots, butt-shots, misses, etc. welcome to the new internet hunting era we live in where everyone has an opinion and wise-ass comment. One reason I am not interested in filming my hunts and having my mistakes scrutinized by the thousands of people that weren’t there and have only had perfect hunts with no anomalies. 😳
Click to expand...
Chit happens on hunts, we’ve all been there but you don’t have to fockin post it on the internet for the world to watch. There’s a difference.
 
wstrntines said:
For someone who complains about the firebull so much it sure lives in your mind. 😂😂
Click to expand...
I don’t think I’ve ever complained about the fire bull. But I do enjoy using it as a noun and even as a verb at times.




IMG_0790.jpeg
 
greysriver said:
You jealous of the two votes? Or just a douche bag?
Click to expand...
Neither. Just poking a little fun along with Ellkassasin about the MM tape measure.
I’ve been part of nearly two dozen late hunt kills on that unit and have realistic expectations of the type of bulls it holds.
Dr. Hunter posted up a good read from a fun hunt with a great looking bull that is a perfect representation of what you might expect from that hunt.
Congrats to the hunter and his crew, they did very well on a hunt that saw roughly 60% success this year.
I’m the last person on earth who would criticize that bull.
I’m sorry you got your panties in a wad, I‘ll just assume one of the 360+ guesses must have been yours.
 
Shadow said:
Neither. Just poking a little fun along with Ellkassasin about the MM tape measure.
I’ve been part of nearly two dozen late hunt kills on that unit and have realistic expectations of the type of bulls it holds.
Dr. Hunter posted up a good read from a fun hunt with a great looking bull that is a perfect representation of what you might expect from that hunt.
Congrats to the hunter and his crew, they did very well on a hunt that saw roughly 60% success this year.
I’m the last person on earth who would criticize that bull.
I’m sorry you got your panties in a wad, I‘ll just assume one of the 360+ guesses must have been yours.
Click to expand...
Yep come measure it if you would like. Haha.
 
not jealous of anything that you think you can do better than any other man walking the earth. You’re just a notch above Jesus in your own mind. And ya I do like being a douche bag now and then.
 
greysriver said:
not jealous of anything that you think you can do better than any other man walking the earth. You’re just a notch above Jesus in your own mind. And ya I do like being a douche bag now and then.
Click to expand...
I’m not sure why you singled me out or went on the attack for anything I said?
I don’t make it a habit to argue with idiots so I’ll just take you for your word when you say you like being a douche bag now and then, and affirm you’re doing a bang up job.
 

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