azhuntnut

I decided to end my elk hunt early yesterday due to the lack of bugling and no more rut activity. I heard one bull between Saturday and Sunday, and he only bugled one time while it was still dark in the morning. I started seeing cows seperated from the herds and bulls hanging out together. This was the hardest elk hunt I have ever been on. Sometimes it was very windy, and other times it seemed as though the rut wasn't going to start. I think last Wednsday was about the best day of the rut. But, I did have a really good time and got to know my unit even better. I found some new places to hunt and saw lots of other animals on my hunt. There were plenty of chances for me to shoot a bull, but I decided to let them walk and grow bigger for the next fello. I also had the pleasure of meeting some more members from this site. I would like to thank Lance, Kirk, Darren, Doug, and Tyler for passing along tips and info for my hunt. Its nice to know that there are some great people out walking the hills with us. And of course I can't say enough about my great wife. She is always supportive of my hunting, and never complains when I go hunting. The day she found out I got drawn, she asked me which days I needed her to take off of work. Now I can start scouting for my upcoming November coues hunt. David

Jimmy, Everybody know that a Predator can kick a Kings butt . I personally have had very good luck with Predator camo. They have a new fabric out now for warm weather hunting and it works great. I actually was waiting by the road the other day waiting for my buddy to pick me up and he almost drove right past me and I was about a foot off the road without a bit of trees or bushes around me. David

Here is one of the bulls I passed up the first day, and a mule deer that we walked up on in the afternoon. The bulls left side is a little better than his right, I really like how his beam turns back up. After the video was downloaded, it makes his rack look narrower than it really appears. I took the video at over 100 yards with my camera fully zoomed so its a little fuzzy. The muley was a tall 4x4 that I would have loved to arrow during the season. David http://s160.photobucket.com/albums/t189/gl...ongbeambull.flv

Doug, I was told the other day that the Kachina non typical was hit by an expedition while trying to cross 89. There were some hunters trying to call him across the road. Have you heard anything about this? David

Back in 2000 while scouting for an elk hunt in 5bn we came back to camp which was right off of Marshall Lake road right about 100 yards before you hit the cattlegaurd. I couldn't figure why everybody kept slammin on the brakes before the hit the gaurd. I started cooking some lunch and heard some loud music in the next camp over and then I started to hear some arguing, so I investigated the problem. I started glassing through the trees, and to my surprise were a guy and a girl arguing, but the girl was topless. Apparently she was laying out on a chair so everybody that drove past got a good show. I know I got one. David

I am finally home after being away from the family for seven days. It has been a pretty hard hunt so far. The first few days of the hunt were very quiet. They would bugle a couple times after sun up and then go quiet again. I passed up a decent bull opening morning to hold out for something bigger. Then it got real windy. I started to still hunt in the mornings where I knew they would bed up for the day. This was the only way to find them. I had a shot Sunday morning, but passed on that one also. Sunday night the wind died down and I went to check out another area. I found some cows feeding and went in for a closer look and found a bull, but couldn't see him very well do to the darkness setting in. I found him the next morning in the same exact spot and got onto to him. I was making a stalk when I heard another bugle and knew right away it was another hunter. I tried to get into position for a shot in case they spooked. I got within forty yards and decided to let him grow bigger. The other hunter ended up spooking them out of the country before I could get any video. The same afternoon found me in another area where I have been looking for a bull I had watched most of the summer. I just happened to bugle about 2 in the afternoon and got an answer about 100 yards away. I was on top of him in about five minutes. He was a big 5x5 that looked like the one that hangs around Kachina Village, but I couldn't tell for sure. Hopefully he will be a big six next year. Monday night I went to check even another area I had pre scouted around 8 pm and found what sounded like a toad. He had a very deep growl just like my last bull. I found him the next morning within fifty yards of the previous night. It was still dark when I got within about eighty yards of him. But the wind decided to play a cruel joke on me and do a little switching. He never bugled again after that, and I couldn't catch up with him. I started there again this morning, but all was quiet, so I jumped into my truck and ran to another place right when it was getting light and found a bull. I chased this bull a couple days before the season started. He ended up running into the other unit next to mine before I got close enough. He even crossed in the same spot and walked up the same ridge. I think I will have a date with him Saturday morning. I did get onto one more bull this morning and was making a great stalk. I was about to come down on top of them while they were rounding the ridge, and then the bull got quiet. I knew something was up and moved slowly through the trees. I was very surprised to see two other hunter come walking up the ridge and tell me the bull and bolted, but that he hadn't winded them. I was a little disapointed, but thats hunting. I am heading back up Friday night and will stay until Tuesday. I have decided to shoot anything decent within those last days. David

She is so used to this stuff by now that it doesn't even phase her much anymore. David

Here is what happens when you flinch at 50 yards. This is going to be expensive. It sure gave off a good spark. I green scored it at 220 volts. David

Why didn't you guys hold out for something a little bigger? Move over McClendons, here comes the Mullins team. Congrats on another great bull, and good luck on the rifle hunt. David

I could shoot another herd of wires with the head. It doesn't even look like the head was used. It lost some of its edge, but no damage. David

I totally forgot my buddy owned an commercial electrical company. I called his office and he was still out of town helping a guy on an elk hunt, so his secretary got on the phone and called one of the guys and they came out within a couple hours and had it fixed in 15 minutes. It was a clean cut on the main wire. I rescored it and came up with 240. It should make Pope and Young for sure. David

Looks like a pretty dang good bull to me. I think they call that finding a needle in a hay stack. Good job, and great pics. David

Good job Christian. Don't you love it when a plan comes together. Your trophy always feels better when you put so much effort into it. David

My buddy is an electrical contractor, so he is sending somebody over for me. It hasn't gotten that hot in the house yet. It doesn't matter anyways, I am leaving in a little while to scout up north for my elk hunt. The wife and kids are on there own. David

Those Magnus Stingers are deadly. I have penetrated steel that was a 16th of an inch thick. They are super sharp also. I caught one of the bleeder blades while pulling it out of my target and sliced my pinky finger pretty good. You could have trailed me all the way to my house with no problem David

If you want a really kickass light for tracking blood, or any other animal or human fluids, then get one of the Streamlight twintask lights with the UV LEDS. I have had one for a couple years now and it really brings out any fluid very well. You can even use it to check for carpet stains or the bed in a hotel, and for scorpions. David

I am looking to purchase a new knife this year for my elk hunt. I would like it to be a "do all" type of knife. I prefer smaller blades, and like the idea of it being able to fold up. I would like to hear what you guys are using for the task of gutting and skinning. David

Boy he sure looked bigger in the pics. I think it is a beautiful bull and hope to put an arrow in one that carrys the same characteristics. Were you watching this bull before the season? I am not the best I judging them on the hoof, but all I know is if there eyegaurds are at least 22 inches, SHOOT EM. David

I didn't realize they were that small. Tell your boy great job. What type of mount are you going to do? David

Chase, You shot a great bull. When you have it scored, you might want to look into having it scored by and SCI scorer also. That way the bull gets full credit for all of its glory. Nets are for fishing, not scoring. David

C'mon Josh, lets hear what that big boy scores. This is just a quick guess, but he looks to be in the mid 380's. David

I was up around Flag this past weekend and didn't hear any bugles until Saturday night around midnight. I heard just a few the next morning, but the stopped when it was still dark. It was kind of weird walking around the woods and not hearing a single bugle. I just wonder if the weather has anything to do with it. My hunt starts on the 28th, so I hope they are tearing it up by then. David

I have several pairs of Nikon Optics and think they are some of the best for the money. Take a look through some of there scopes next to a cabelas and you will see the differance. Plus the Nikon comes with a 25 years no fault warranty that is one of the best in the industry. David

Man he's got some deep forks. I would love to arrow a nice muley like that one of these days. Good job, David

That is one good looking bull. Have you had the chance to put a tape on him? He looks like he should go pretty high. Great job. David