2008, My first bull story!

[coueschaser3]

Alright, I can finally get to my story about my late Bull hunt. Sorry to any who have waited for me to post, after the hunt I was exhausted and then got news of a Family death so I had to fly out for a funeral. But now here it is.

 

As with most of us my excitement started in mid or late April when I found that I had drawn my first choice tag. From then on I had been planning scouting trips and dreaming of the first Bull hunt I would actually have the tag myself and would actually be able to hunt…..I did have a tag 8 years ago but vehicle problems prevented hunting all but one evening. Even though there weren’t much for antlers on Bulls this time of year I wanted to be 100% all knowing of the land where I was planning to hunt, a strip approximately 30 miles long and 10-12 miles wide that was some nasty thick rugged country.

 

I decided to start on the far south end of elk home and work my way north. First trip being to an area I had been tipped off on about a large Bull that was not killed the previous year. My forest service buddy gave me a few small details and I went on my way. Now I have seen some elk in some pretty strange country but this was NOT elk country! Yet after a few miles of hiking and a buddy breaking his ankle trying to help out on some of this hellish country I got into pretty good elk sign, but old old elk sign. This spot yielded one very nice bull that was pretty old and beat up looking, along with more bears than I have ever seen and some nice little Coues bucks. So I was on further north. Spent about a month of weekends finding nice but not impressive bulls and enough new country to keep my interest for quite some time with all the other critters running around. Before the unit opened I was averaging a minimum of one bear glassed up per day scouting for my elk hunt. So in short for scouting I did cover about 90% of the area I wanted to before the hunt rolled around. Now let’s get to it!

 

I had met a member on CWT.com whom also had the tag and shared a few pictures in the early waiting season of the year. We also exchanged where we would be camped and both were glad to help each other out. Coues….aka Gary is his name and was great run into out there.

 

Finally the Morning of the hunt came and Cody whom owed me for a nice whitetail was helping out for the first two days. The First was amazing, just one of those days where everything was moving, but it was C O L D ! !

 

 

I had seen good bulls in here before so I had an idea on where they would be, and low and behold I dang near walked into 18 elk an hour into our hike to a glassing spot, after and hour watching and glassing thick Manzanita from a not so great view point 50-100yds away it turned out to be all Cows. More glassing turned up a few muleys, some Coues bucks trying to put the hurt on each other and later passing a Raghorn bull that seemed to simply be offering himself to me. That day we covered what I would consider enough to have simply backpacked the hunt.

 

 

The next day produced about the same, a few cows and the same raghorn….only this time someone was taking 800yd potshots at em, never took a hit but anyone who has ever played big buck hunter the arcade and wondered why they make em run back and forth and in circles so unnaturally….apparently its natural when a bull has no idea what or where is shootin at em. This day was about twice the distance I had previously considered back pack worthy.

 

Day three my Montana huntin buddy was in town and another friend came up for some glassing help and I had moved spots where I could see quite a bit more, this day simply produced ZERO live animals, come to think of it zero dead ones also. This morning I had gotten a call that my Grandma was dying and half my family was flying out, I was told to stay but it was a day by day basis until the inevitable. Now I was regretting that raghorn that I passed.

 

 

Monday I saw Gary driving out and got a hold of him, come to find out he got a bull and was driving to the down hill side of it to get it out. In short I offered an extra body and spent the day glassing a bit from down low and Packing out his bull, apparently alot of it, and getting to know another great CWT member. Thank you Gary for the Pizza also. That night Gary offered to show me a road into where I wanted to go, also where his bull had been taken.

 

 

 

Tuesday I was not out of the truck until about 8 am due to a 6 mile road that takes 1.5 hours to drive in a full size pick up…..with damage. But I was on my way to the rim of a mesa over looking a huge basin with plenty of thick steep cool draws and canyons for bulls to hang out in; at this point I wanted Antlers, whether it be a huge bull or a spike. About and hour and a half later I was at the rim beat and sore from the night before, and immediately saw two yellow blotches about a mile out. Behind the glass I saw a nice 6x6 very severely broken up and a rag horn, now honestly I would be happy with either even though I have a thing for nice heavy bulls with great fronts that shovel up, so I was planning a stalk. Then a last look through the glass showed a new elk, heavy, with great fronts. He probably would score less unbroken than the longer thinner one but I loved how he looked from what I could see, I wanted him!

 

Spending about an hour trying not to slide the whole way down into the steep basin I finally was out of eye shot and sneaking up a ridge that I thought would put me 500 yds out, to far for me but closer. At the crest dropped my pack and prayed they were still feeding, about 10am now. They were, I snuck about 40yrds to a rock that worked perfect as a bench with my rifle resting on my shirt for a solid rest. After some waiting a bull was coming up a ridge I had pre ranged at 330yrds, once he cleared I held the 9” high I needed with the 300WBY and BOOOOOM……THWAAAP!! I could see the dot and it was Text book, yet he hunched up and kept walkin….BOOOOM…..THWAAAP!.....And he disappeared in the Manzanita. After about a 30 min wait and some phone calls I hiked the 30 minutes over there and picked up his track with little blood, suddenly I looked a head and he was standing quartering away staring away. Now at 20yds a 180 grain Nosler Partition out of a 300 weatherby sounds pretty heavy in the boiler room, a ways behind the shoulder direct in angle with his vitals. This bull swung over and looked at me, and turned and started walking up hill! Now my mind is racing what the heck! Again shoulder up with him but his vitals are behind a juniper, boom…that time I must have missed or hit something in that bush, I never found the hole, but when I recovered he was on the ground. Another short wait and I had my bull!!!! I absolutely loved him and could not ask for more under the circumstances, and he leaves me room for improvement.

 

 

 

Broken only on his left side yet on his main beam 6 inches after his sword. The rest is a few slightly chipped tips.

 

The pack out was something else, I was 3 miles from the truck in a wilderness area. And was in and out of there 4 times in three days. Let alone boning that thing out by myself in a really not so friendly spot to take care of an animal that size. Two pack outs consecutive one being multi day was a BLAST! I can’t wait till next time, although part of me wanted next time to be a cow, next to a road, on flat ground, without agave poking me the whole field dressing session. I am so thankful to Gary for showing me the way in there, Cody for helping the first few days, my buddy Jason and his Dad for driving all that way and that nasty little road just for a full night of Horrifying pack out and my Boss Dusty and His son Justin for coming the next morning just to help pack out. If it weren’t for them I still might be out there.

 

 

 

 

[matthewp45]

Great job. Congrats on a nice bull.

[ndaniel]

Great write up and nice bull!

[Coues Sniper]

Great story and a great bull. A 3 mile pack out in rough country, now that's some work Congrats.

[Chef]

Good bull buddy!

About time you posted up!

Glad you took the time to write a detailed post too.

 

Congratulations again!

[Snapshot]

Very nice!

[AZbowhntr]

Nice bull and story. Man I feel for you packing that thing out by yourself. Wow.

[bearbait]

Its about freakin time you posted your story!!!! And thanks for not mentioning the name of the guy who broke his ankle helping you scout! That would have been embaressing for him if you did I bet!