I'll apologize for the poor grammar ahead of time lol.
I don't have any good full body field photos. I was by myself when o harvested this bull. So getting good pics was a pain and daylight was fading fast.
I had Friday till Monday off of the last weekend of the hunt. I Left Saint George around 21:45 had to pull over and rest a few times due to falling a sleep at the wheel. Had a long thirteen hour day at work running off of 3 hours of sleep. So due to taking a break and sleeping on the drive up, I didn't get to where I was hunting till 9:30. Then had about a two hour hike into where the elk were. Met up with my buddy Dakota and Taylor. It was mid afternoon and o needed sleep so I took a nap under a tree. Woke up around 17:00 and made our way to the watering hole we where sitting on.
Bulls started bugling and Dakota and Taylor left to get up high and glass. About 19:00 a herd of cows came rushing in followed by a decent 6x6 maybe 320-330? bull. I didn't move a muscle, wind swirled and the cows spooked and the bull got up out of the wallow. I drew back and released the arrow hitting the bull dead in the shoulder at 35 yards. He ran off to about 80 yards in the trees without giving me a second shot. The cows and bull stayed there looking at me for what felt like ever. Pretty sure my hecs has something to do with them staying put. The cows eventually wandered of with the bull following. He was bleeding from the shoulder with my arrow hanging out of his shoulder (no penetration). I stayed out till they where out of sight. Left the mountain and went to bed. Saturday morning went back in to look for blood and all we could find where 1/4? size drops of dark dark red blood and there wasn?t much to track him off of. I was sick to my stomach felling like I just lost a bull. Set in the watering hole and passed on some smaller bulls hoping he would come back in to drink.
He never showed back up. Sunday morning was back to the water before sunrise with bulls bugling all over. Then it rained it was a drenching down pour. And the elk started scattering all around us. No sign of him. Called my boss and explained this is pretty much a oil hunt for me and asked if I could take the week off. He gave me the go ahead, so I set at the water and waited till dark. The bull never came in. I felt like I blew my chance. Decided to head out before dark and stay in price for the night. Didn?t go out Monday morning to hunt, I needed to bandage up my feet, all my toes on the right foot where blistered and bloody. Figured a days rest would do me good and let the elk calm down. Decided to stay one more night in price and not hunt Monday evening. That's when Dakota called me asking where I was and why I wasn?t sitting in the watering hole. Explained to him I needed to let my feet heal. That's when he let me know the bull I hit was alive and well at the watering hole. He has a cell cam that sends the pics right to his phone. My heart sank to my stomach. I felt like my hunt was over. Tuesday I got up and drive home feeling down. Made it home and realized I was making a huge mistake.
After talking to my friends they convinced me to not give up and drove 5 hours north to hunt til the last day. So Wednesday I got up and left about 9:00. Got there about two and started to hike in. Once I got to the top and to the watering hole it started pouring again. It rained for about an hour and a half. Once it stopped the sun cam out and the bulls started bugling all around me. I could hear some of them heading to the other canyons but had two bulls feting closer and closer. Around 19:08 I saw a bull making its way to me. It looked like the bull I hit Friday. My heart was racing, and I played out what I needed to do over and over in my head so I didn't screw up again, when I noticed this bull wasn?t hit and a lot bigger. He came into 40 yards and bugled, he put his head down and started to drink. That's when I drew my bow back. At full draw and in the kneeling position I kneeled up and he caught the movement but just stared me down. I took my time steady the pin behind his shoulder took a deep breathe and let the arrow fly. It nailed him a little high but it was a downward angle shot. He didn't run he just walked off with no blood coming out of the entrance wound. I felt sick thinking not again and then he took off and after about ten yards blood cane sorting out of him. He ran another 80-90 yards and tipped over. And was dead within a minute. I called Dakota to tell him to check his phone for any new cell cam pics, and let him know my bull was down. I couldn't have harvested this amazing bull if it weren't for all of Dakota?s help. He is one bad ass hunting fool. I got off the phone and made my approach to the bull and the closer I got the bigger he got. I was on cloud nine my 15 year wait to hunt these majestic creatures cane to a successful end. I took a couple photos and called friends and family.
Then the work started, i quartered him and did my very first cape in the dark. About 3:00 am o had him quartered and caped out and all the meat and head hanging in a tree and hiked 1.5 miles back to where I left my sleeping bag and food. I was wet it was freezing and I rested for three hours and went back in and de boned the front shoulders loaded them up and the back straps, tenderloins and made my way off the mountain. Dakota took the day off and showed up to the top the same time I got to my camp and helped me pack the meet off the mountain so I could pack my camping gear and bow to the truck. Dropped off the first load of meat and my gear and made our way back to the bull. Got there around 14:00 and deboned the hind quarters and neck meat. Dakota loaded up the head and cape and I had a pack full of about 80 + pounds of meat. We made it back to the truck at 18:42 and I was done. Both feet where bloody and had quarter sized blisters. Never again will I buy danner boots, they are garbage these days. All in all I'm glad I didn't give up and was successful, it took me a total of 17 hours to get him off the mountain. He was 4 miles one way from the truck. It made me realize at 35 I'm not in the shake I was 10 years ago and that it was time to stop smoking for good.
Another reason this bull means so much to me well two reasons. I harvested him on 9/11/19 and for the last 12 years I've battled being an alcohol. And this last year I was at my worst drinking every night till I would black out 7 days a week. And binge drinking all weekend long. I lost all desire to do anything but drink. My fianc? left me 5/01 because of how bad I became. Life was miserable and I didn't want to live anymore. On 5/10/19 I had my last drink/drunk and my sober date is 5/11. So I harvested this bull on my four month sobriety day. I would have never been able to do this had I still been drinking. So I'm very thankful I found aa and got a sponsor and working the steps to living a sober life. Thanks for letting me share.
PS those g5 dead meat broadheads did some damage.
I don't have any good full body field photos. I was by myself when o harvested this bull. So getting good pics was a pain and daylight was fading fast.
I had Friday till Monday off of the last weekend of the hunt. I Left Saint George around 21:45 had to pull over and rest a few times due to falling a sleep at the wheel. Had a long thirteen hour day at work running off of 3 hours of sleep. So due to taking a break and sleeping on the drive up, I didn't get to where I was hunting till 9:30. Then had about a two hour hike into where the elk were. Met up with my buddy Dakota and Taylor. It was mid afternoon and o needed sleep so I took a nap under a tree. Woke up around 17:00 and made our way to the watering hole we where sitting on.
Bulls started bugling and Dakota and Taylor left to get up high and glass. About 19:00 a herd of cows came rushing in followed by a decent 6x6 maybe 320-330? bull. I didn't move a muscle, wind swirled and the cows spooked and the bull got up out of the wallow. I drew back and released the arrow hitting the bull dead in the shoulder at 35 yards. He ran off to about 80 yards in the trees without giving me a second shot. The cows and bull stayed there looking at me for what felt like ever. Pretty sure my hecs has something to do with them staying put. The cows eventually wandered of with the bull following. He was bleeding from the shoulder with my arrow hanging out of his shoulder (no penetration). I stayed out till they where out of sight. Left the mountain and went to bed. Saturday morning went back in to look for blood and all we could find where 1/4? size drops of dark dark red blood and there wasn?t much to track him off of. I was sick to my stomach felling like I just lost a bull. Set in the watering hole and passed on some smaller bulls hoping he would come back in to drink.
He never showed back up. Sunday morning was back to the water before sunrise with bulls bugling all over. Then it rained it was a drenching down pour. And the elk started scattering all around us. No sign of him. Called my boss and explained this is pretty much a oil hunt for me and asked if I could take the week off. He gave me the go ahead, so I set at the water and waited till dark. The bull never came in. I felt like I blew my chance. Decided to head out before dark and stay in price for the night. Didn?t go out Monday morning to hunt, I needed to bandage up my feet, all my toes on the right foot where blistered and bloody. Figured a days rest would do me good and let the elk calm down. Decided to stay one more night in price and not hunt Monday evening. That's when Dakota called me asking where I was and why I wasn?t sitting in the watering hole. Explained to him I needed to let my feet heal. That's when he let me know the bull I hit was alive and well at the watering hole. He has a cell cam that sends the pics right to his phone. My heart sank to my stomach. I felt like my hunt was over. Tuesday I got up and drive home feeling down. Made it home and realized I was making a huge mistake.
After talking to my friends they convinced me to not give up and drove 5 hours north to hunt til the last day. So Wednesday I got up and left about 9:00. Got there about two and started to hike in. Once I got to the top and to the watering hole it started pouring again. It rained for about an hour and a half. Once it stopped the sun cam out and the bulls started bugling all around me. I could hear some of them heading to the other canyons but had two bulls feting closer and closer. Around 19:08 I saw a bull making its way to me. It looked like the bull I hit Friday. My heart was racing, and I played out what I needed to do over and over in my head so I didn't screw up again, when I noticed this bull wasn?t hit and a lot bigger. He came into 40 yards and bugled, he put his head down and started to drink. That's when I drew my bow back. At full draw and in the kneeling position I kneeled up and he caught the movement but just stared me down. I took my time steady the pin behind his shoulder took a deep breathe and let the arrow fly. It nailed him a little high but it was a downward angle shot. He didn't run he just walked off with no blood coming out of the entrance wound. I felt sick thinking not again and then he took off and after about ten yards blood cane sorting out of him. He ran another 80-90 yards and tipped over. And was dead within a minute. I called Dakota to tell him to check his phone for any new cell cam pics, and let him know my bull was down. I couldn't have harvested this amazing bull if it weren't for all of Dakota?s help. He is one bad ass hunting fool. I got off the phone and made my approach to the bull and the closer I got the bigger he got. I was on cloud nine my 15 year wait to hunt these majestic creatures cane to a successful end. I took a couple photos and called friends and family.
Then the work started, i quartered him and did my very first cape in the dark. About 3:00 am o had him quartered and caped out and all the meat and head hanging in a tree and hiked 1.5 miles back to where I left my sleeping bag and food. I was wet it was freezing and I rested for three hours and went back in and de boned the front shoulders loaded them up and the back straps, tenderloins and made my way off the mountain. Dakota took the day off and showed up to the top the same time I got to my camp and helped me pack the meet off the mountain so I could pack my camping gear and bow to the truck. Dropped off the first load of meat and my gear and made our way back to the bull. Got there around 14:00 and deboned the hind quarters and neck meat. Dakota loaded up the head and cape and I had a pack full of about 80 + pounds of meat. We made it back to the truck at 18:42 and I was done. Both feet where bloody and had quarter sized blisters. Never again will I buy danner boots, they are garbage these days. All in all I'm glad I didn't give up and was successful, it took me a total of 17 hours to get him off the mountain. He was 4 miles one way from the truck. It made me realize at 35 I'm not in the shake I was 10 years ago and that it was time to stop smoking for good.
Another reason this bull means so much to me well two reasons. I harvested him on 9/11/19 and for the last 12 years I've battled being an alcohol. And this last year I was at my worst drinking every night till I would black out 7 days a week. And binge drinking all weekend long. I lost all desire to do anything but drink. My fianc? left me 5/01 because of how bad I became. Life was miserable and I didn't want to live anymore. On 5/10/19 I had my last drink/drunk and my sober date is 5/11. So I harvested this bull on my four month sobriety day. I would have never been able to do this had I still been drinking. So I'm very thankful I found aa and got a sponsor and working the steps to living a sober life. Thanks for letting me share.
PS those g5 dead meat broadheads did some damage.
That sounds terrible what you did to your feet on this hunt !
