My son and I drew bull tags for unit 22 south in the black powder hunt. This was an area that I had not hunted and was only the second bull tag I have ever drawn. So, no pressure here. As we prepared for this hunt, JJ, my son took a scouting trip to Payson, with his soon to be 4 year old son, Daniel. JJ had struck an acquaintance with another poster on cw.com, JeremyB, and met him for lunch and a little advice as to how to hunt this area. We weren't looking for someone elses honey hole, just point us in the right direction. JJ and Daniel camped in the area and heard bugles from every direction, and from camp he glassed 5 different bulls. Some big, some not so big. We can succeed or fail all by ourselves... So we were pretty excited with the prospect of the upcoming season.
Our portion of unit 22 includes the Mazatzal wilderness, all the way down to Rye, AZ. Mostly west of SR 87 is the area, lots of hills, steep canyons, junipers, scruboak, and a burn area where everything is about chin high and thick. Opening morning brought us to a trail head where as the light dawned we heard the bugle of a 6X6 bull watching over his harem. He was 339 yards from us up the side of the mountain. On his right beam G4 and G5 had been broken off due to fighting. He was a warrior, and majestic as they come. A 4X4 bull came just a little too close to his harem and the "king of the hill" put his head down and total amazed me by the speed this huge animal could muster in an instant. JJ and I put a stalk on to try and intercept the bull as the herd made their way down the mountain into the really thick stuff in the canyons. As the sun came up, so did the heat. We never could close the distance to under 200 yards, and neither one of us wanted to try and stretch our smoke poles beyond that.
Second morn dawned even hotter than the first, so our hunting time was to be shorter. Went to the area where we saw the bull and harem opening morning, and sho' nuff, he was home. This time he was being irritated by a raghorn, so I set my sights on the little guy. The big one, had 9 pair of eyes watching out for him, if you know what I mean. One thing I have learned about elk hunting is: if a cow spooks, the bull doesn't question, he just boogies. The big bull takes his cows and leaves the party, allowing the small bull to follow at a respectful distance behind. Okay dokay, While the little bull is so focused on the herd and how to ferret off a cow for himself, I should be able to get with in comfortable shooting range. Well guess again, always one ridge behind and closest I could get was 239 yards according to Mr. Leica. 239 yards might do in a pinch, not on the second day of the season , plus it would be a quartering away or what is called "a Texas heart shot". I mean no disrespect to Texans, or their hunting prowess, that's just what I have heard it called. End of second day.
JJ and I decided to change tactics for the remainder of the hunt. Find a spot or meadow and hopefully intercept a wandering bull. We found such a place and hunkered down under a large juniper tree that afforded us a shooting lane of about 175 yards. Trees were torn up from bull or bulls rubbing on them, and we found one fresh scrape that was strong with the smell of elk urine. Time passed and as JJ stretched his legs, suddenly he came running back to the "blind". "Dad," he gasped as he made ready his rifle, " A bull is coming, get ready." Since the follow up shot of a muzzle loader is pretty slim, our agreement is after the first man shoots, second man offers the follow up shot if it appears to be a miss. Lo and behold at the end of our lane somewhere between a lope and full out run goes our broken tine bull, limping. We later find out he had been wounded in the right front leg near the knee joint. JJ fires, We don't hear the "smack" of a connected shot or see a stumble, so I shoot, looks like I miss also. We go to the last place we see the bull and split up trying to follow sign. No blood, nothing other than track. about 30 or so minutes later JJ calls me on the radio. He has given up, and has headed back to the meadow. I tell him I am about 2 canyons away and will circle back also. As I start to come down a hill, I startle a bull out of a patch of manzanita where he had holed up. He blows out there like a rocket and leaves me behind. I radio JJ and tell him that I just busted a bull who is headed his way, so get ready. Little did I know that this bull, our broken tine bull, had circled around me and was standing in a patch of manzanita, panting, giving me a look of his right ear and antlers, nothing else. So at approximately 40 yards I put the cross hair at the base of his ear and make the shot. He drops like an anvil. This shot had nothing to do with my superior hunting skill. This was a God thing. The Lord put that bull in that patch of brush for me to harvest. He had been wounded in the leg and we found out that JJ and I had both connected with our shots. I am thankful that I could dispatch this magnificent animal and end the pain he was suffering.
Thanks, JeremyB for your help and the meat processing. Here is a picture of my bull.
God bless all,
Jon In Tucson
