COOSEFAN Report post Posted September 30, 2008 Howdy all, I'm back for a few days and we've had a great season so far! This last hunt was one of the best though! Our hunter and new friend "Ian" was the proud owner of an early rifle bull tag that his dad "Rick" had signed down to him! Ian is 17 and hearing impaired, but I'll tell you he has zero handicaps while out in the feild! He kept up with my brother Matt and I all day the first two days and obviously enjoyed every last minute of it as much as us! Ian only had 3 days to hunt and we didn't want to settle for just any bull and felt confident we could get the job done by Sunday. The first two days consisted of incredible ruttin' activity, tons of bugling and fast action! We called in several bulls on both days between 320-350 and a few to within 20 yards! As soon as Matt would tell Ian that it wasn't a "shooter", Ian would whip out his camera and get awesome photos of the bulls while they screamed in his face! By Sat. night, with the help of Popps, Chrissy (Froddo), Rick and Ian's friend Derek, we had several options to pursue for our final hunt on the following day. We decided to go after the bull Popps found and after Froddo relocated it on Sunday morning we realized it was good ol' "Ron Burgandy"! We were already in close to the bull when Froddo told us it was indeed Ron, so we ran up to the glassing hill and planned our attack. The bull had several cows and all were bedded in a tough spot with no great vantage so we decided to wait him out. Popps, being the great guy he is, went to camp and brought us lunch which was awesome considering all the miles we had put on that morning up to that point. After lunch a storm cell started building and we knew that was our chance to move in because the bulls had been getting up and bugling a bit during the afternoon storms. Matt, Ian and I took off and got into position but the rain kept us held up under a tree for a few minutes. Ron started bugling giving away his location and as soon as the rain eased off we closed the distance to 200 yards. The sage was tall and I could only find 2 cows up feeding. I had Ian standing with a tripod as a rest waiting for the bull to stand up but couldn't see exactly where he was yet. I then felt the wind on the back of my neck and the cows threw up their nose and started to get anxious. Thankfully before anything busted I noticed the antler tips rise up out of the sage to the left of the cows! The bull stood knowing his girlfriends detected something and was facing directly away. Ian knew not to shoot and kept telling me he needs a broadside shot so I started whistling at the bull and finally he turned broadside........BOOM....WHOP! I couldn't tell where the hit was but it sounded solid, the bull walked a few yards and Ian slammed two more "insurance" rounds into the beast putting him on the ground for good! Ian despite his handicap or his age would have impressed anyone with his skill, patience, and attitude! He knew to wait for a broadside shot, he picked a spot, and followed up with the second and third shot without any prodding from me! You'd be amazed how rare that self control actually is with most folks in situations like that! My hats off to him and to his dad for graciously handing that once-in-a-lifetime tag down to Ian! Well, thats the story and the pics are to follow. I know after Froddo posted the scouting footage of this bull there were conflicting thoughts on score. At first glance on the hoof, this bull looks like a 390" class bull, but after inspecting you realize he lacks quite a bit down low dropping his score considerably. All I know is that with only a few hours of Ian's hunt left to go, this bull was not going to get passed up! None of us cared what the bull scored before or after the shot and only knew that it was an incredible bull to end an incredible hunt with! Because the plane was waiting for Ian in town and we were running late packing the bull out, a full breakdown on score never happened. With the measurements we did run, we can honestly say this bull is a solid 370" class bull and most likely would have been mid 370's if not for some broken tips.......but who cares, it's only inches, check out this gorgeous bull!!! Thanks, JIM> Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CouesWhitetail Report post Posted September 30, 2008 Congratulations on another fine elk hunt! Beautiful bull! Amanda Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
azcouesandelk Report post Posted September 30, 2008 Congrats again to Ian on a magnificent first elk! He hunted hard and came out on top with an amazing bull! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Snapshot Report post Posted September 30, 2008 Wow, what a great bull. I bet that youngster was excited. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SpotNStalk Report post Posted September 30, 2008 Congrats on a nice bull!!! and an awesome move by his dad!!!!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
firstcoueswas80 Report post Posted September 30, 2008 Simply awesome! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
willhunt4coues Report post Posted September 30, 2008 SWEET You guys are the best. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Coues Sniper Report post Posted September 30, 2008 Awesome story and an even better bull! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cjw2222 Report post Posted October 1, 2008 Fantastic top end on that bull!!! much congrats to the hunter, Mullins, and Christian on a very successful hunt Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
elkhunter Report post Posted October 1, 2008 Congrats to the kid and the Mullins Crew By the way- is Ian deaf? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cramerhunts Report post Posted October 1, 2008 Awesome job guys! Great write up and beautiful bull for sure. Congrats to all involved and its stories like this that remind us score doesn't always matter. Phil Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ehunt Report post Posted October 1, 2008 great bull!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jnobleinaz Report post Posted October 1, 2008 I think oompa loompa would have been a better name. Sweet bull! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chef Report post Posted October 1, 2008 Gorgeous! Congrats to all involved and to the guy that signed his tag over! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
COOSEFAN Report post Posted October 1, 2008 Thanks guys, we have been very fortunate this year with the class of people that hunted with us, it definitely makes what we do more enjoyable! As a side note, on opening morning before light we were sitting in the truck waiting a few more minutes before getting out and hiking to a pre-determined spot. We had a great bull picked out and just knew lead was going to fly in only a matter of an hour! Just then two trucks full of guys with 1 tag pulled up and parked right behind us! We didn't want Ian's hunt to consist of a foot race with another hunter so we moved the truck and hiked in further to set up on where the bull would go after light. Unfortunately for us the bull was late getting out of the meadow and didn't quite make it to us before those folks ran in and shot him at first light! Unknown to us at the time it was a blessing in disguise, the next few days following that incident were filled with full-on ruttin' experiences for all of us and Ian still ended up with a similar bull in the last hour of his hunt! Can't beat that! Tyler, Ian is deaf but has implants that help him out, definitely a remarkable young man! John, I still don't like the name "R.B." at all but it stuck unfortunately This bull is also known as "High-Five" which is alot better if you ask me Thanks all, I'm sure Ian will see all your reply's! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
