rossislider

100%!!! Shane is first rate outdoorsman, class act, and probably the best hunter I know (no offense to any of my other hunting friends/mentors. I have been extremely blessed to know, associate with and learn from some of the best out there). Spending almost two weeks learning from Shane taught me a lifetime of lessons about chasing elk.

That happened a long time ago!

The one with the red headed kid on FB?

It wasn't just you. I thought the exact same thing. I couldn't get it over 360.

That clock ticking in the back of the head can do funny things to your mind. I experienced first hand this past weekend. Keep at it, you will find him.

Awesome hunt for your son! Congratulations to you both and all others involved!

Here is what I know and believe about the blind bull. It was definitely blind. We stood within a few yards of it and watched it stumble into many things, including a parked truck. I do not believe it has been blind long. It was definitely getting skinny. I think the blindness must have occurred recently given his condition. He was still very aware of his surroundings via smell and hearing I was not the one to call AZGFD and report it. A different member of our party did that. So I do not know what was going to happen. He should have been very easy to find. He was staying right on a heavily used road in the unit. He hadn't moved more than a few yards over the course of a couple of hours. I do not believe this bull would live long. He was not very mobile and I believe it would be short amount of time before he fell and broke a leg. He would also be very easy pray to predators. With the right wind we were able to walk right up to him. I think AZGFD would probably most likely put him down and do some testing. Shane said every few years they come across a few bulls like this in the unit. It appears there is some sort of disease in the area (maybe genetic or environmental) where a small number of bulls develop blindness. Definitely something AZGFD would most likely want to test or monitor. It does not appear to be related to CWD.

We recovered a chunk of one bullet from the second or third shot in the entry shoulder (opposite of side pictured). It did not get much penetration. I assume the 4th bullet made it into the vitals. We did not open him up and others may have been in there. There were no pass throughs.

I returned last night from my early rifle bull elk hunt and part one of my son's archery bull hunt. My hunt went very well and I was able to tag out on my dream bull. We are still working on filling my son's tag. But to the point, I have been shooting Berger VLDs out of multiple rifles for many years. Prior to this hunt, every hunting shot was a bang followed by an immediate flop of our target animal. However, I have come to the conclusion that VLDs will never be shot out of one of my rifles at a big bull elk again. Let me qualify this by telling you I was shooting 210 grain VLDs out of my 300 RUM behind 91 grains of Retumbo at just under 3000 FPS. My first shot on my bull couldn't have had much better placement (I have video and the entry hole to verify). However, after the initial shot at 162 yards, my bull took us on a 4 mile "marathon" sprint and finally went down for good after he had 4 rounds put in him. No doubt he was a tough old bull, but it shouldn't take four rounds out of my 300 RUM to put him down. Upon close examination, the first shot hit a rib and gernaded, breaking the rib, but only making enough impact on the vitals to slow him a little while we gave pursuit. Several guys in camp told me they had either personally or heard of similar results with VLDs on big boned animals. So now I am going to start working up a new load and am leaning towards Hornady's ELD-X. My question is what weight would you guys use in the ELD-X for the following calibers: 300 RUM (200, 212, or 220 grains?) 300 Win Mag (200, 212, or 220 grains?) Thanks

I let my son make that decision (bull instead of cow). I enjoyed his cow hunts tremendously. They are much more relaxed, and more of a good time with good friends experience. Bull elk tags change things, at least for us. Preassure on dad, through the roof! By 13 he had shot 2 cow elk, 4 deer, a pile of javelina, and a few turkeys. He came to me after his last cow hunt and said "Dad, I think I want to start butting in for bull, I know I might not get drawn for a while, but want to do it anyway." I should have known that with his luck, he would draw a 13 bonus point tag in 2 years.

As long as he wants to do it. If the push is from you instead of internal motivation, he won't put in the time and energy required to be successful at it. Don't spend the money on a bow setup unless he seems really excited about it.

If he can shoot a bow accurately and consistently, I would say do it. My personal opinion is that someone should be drawing at least 50 pounds for elk, but that is just my opinion. My son has his first archery bull hunt this year. We are currently at the midpoint of his hunt. It has been tough but a lot of fun. He just turned 15 two weeks ago, draws 62 pounds and practiced daily for the past couple of years. Unfortunately, he broke his wrist this summer at football practice, had surgery, and is now using a crossbow since he still doesn't have doctor approval to draw his bow.

Never hunted it for deer, but have seen quite a few big bucks in there while javelina hunting with my kids.

Congrats! That is awesome!

I haven't heard of any "professional" hydrodippers around here, but would also love to hear of some.

This was the 3A3C hunt.

162 yards.

You can see the impact location of the first shot just behind the shoulder in this picture.

Hmm, I am not familiar with the Hammer Hunter. Research time. As far as shot placement on the next two follow up shot, other than to say they all hit the target, I can't tell you where/order of where they hit. He dropped after each only to get back up again. There was a lot or running, breathing hard, etc. that didn't allow for video. I know the final one that put him down for good was a head on shot into his chest.

I am not stuck on the ELD-X, but have had them strongly recommended and have had great success in some of my smaller calibers. Our furthest shot on an animal to date has been 620 yards, we have shot several others in the 400-600 range, and have practiced out to 800 yards. I am curious about the hybrids. I have read the jacket is much thicker, and is why Berger does not recommend them for hunting. That might have been exactly what I needed on this past hunt.

MM?

I'm in 3C with a rifle tag. Little bugling, maybe an hour in the AM and an hour in the PM. Had multiple shot opportunities today including a 360 class bull in the morning at about 100 yards. Another 360 class this evening at about 40 yards. Lots of other smaller bulls as well. Nothing wrong with a 360. Prior to drawing this tag, I never imagined I would let a 360 walk, let alone 2 in one day. But this early, we are holding out for the next level.

Great information guys. Thank you

Talk to me a little about the hybrids. It has been my understanding that they are not recommended for hunting due to a thicker jacket and thus a smaller wound channel. Why have you guys opted to use them? Thanks

What powder and weight were you using?