Daughters first bull

[idgaf]

My daughter after a dozen years, decided to start hunting again. Her fiance passed last year and has moved back home at our request.   Her sadness has been apparent.   First time putting in, in that time and she gets the coveted 37a late season bull tag.  Fortunately, for her, there are few people that know late season elk as well as me. 🤣

Scouting was difficult,  my usual spot on had 10 broken bulls in it, so I decided to check other areas that I know.  Wednesday,  I find a spot with a herd of about 25 bulls, but a guy in a gray single cab Toyota  pulled behind and these elk acted very skittish.  I wasn't comfortable focusing on them.  

Yesterday,  I decide to go to my original spot and 15 bulls are off in the distance.  One weird one with a double main beam I wanted her to take.   This was the final dress rehearsal.  I had everything timed from house to shooting position,  including pee stops and circle k shopping  at two hours and two minutes.  Everything,  for once, goes perfectly.    Then the unexpected happened.   A newer Ford started following us down a two track with very limited access points.  I speed up and he speeds up.   This causes me to go way closer to our hunting spot than anticipated.   My brother took off his jacket and asked to be let out too discuss hunter etiquette.  We get to a spot where a tacoma is better than a full size ford and leave him behind but very close to the hunting spot.  We get to our spot and I see a silhouette of a man a few hundred yards from us.  

I curse out loud(very loud)  then glass the field and find 15 elk bodies to our left and 850 yards into the field.  The silhouette was 90 degrees to our right.   I go through options in my head and for a brief time my daughter was not my daughter she was a hunter. I tell her 'let's c'block the m'fer'.  The terrain and visibility was in our favor with him having a slope in front of him.  I tell her let's cut across the open field into the little valley keeping the hill between the hunter and us and getting closer in the progress.  We set up 3 different times before I dare not get any closer in the wide open.

I'm anxious and texted Flatlander this Pic. He knows this spot in 37a 

Then I started texting ranges when they get to 500ish yards a fog bank rolls in and my rangefinder reads 7 yards.   

Last night my daughter said in a stern voice "I am shooting the first bull i see.  I am not a trophy hunter".  As we are in front of 15 bull elk, she says I like the gray one and the one way in the back.  I am going to shoot the last one.   

I tell her weirdo is in the middle, a 4x6 with a split main beam, and there is a giant in the way back in the herd to the right.  The fog lifts a little and the ones up front are under 400. 

The first ones cross at 307.  Some broken small bulls. She let's them pass.  She's set up and ready.   I am thinking she is going to shoot weirdo as i swing the binoculars to the front of the herd.  Boom!   I ask her which one did she shoot at.  Then Grey falls, not taking a step.  After a few seconds it trys getting up and she puts a second round into his neck.    

Then he'll breaks loose.   The elk just next to Grey make it look like Grey ran off.   We stand there in disbelief.  Then we look where she shot and see antlers sticking off the ground.  Elk are running in every direction with this batch looking at its leader just lying there

as we get closer i see this.  

as she walks up to it.

My brother comes and we pose for a pic. 

this fat old 7x7 was shot at 705 am and we got the last piece out at 230pm.   She did the majority of the field dressing

[bigorange]

Awesome...congrats!

[Huntnfish]

Very cool, congrats to you and your daughter. Sorry for her loss.

[PRDATR]

Love 37A. Heck of a bull.

[eddielasvegas]

Congrats and well done.  Fantastic pix too.  And these pix are just begging to be oriented correctly.

And lastly, and I'm assuming (I know, I know) you are in AZ, but don't tell G&F there are elk in that unit. 😀

 

Eddie

[RJ75]

Nice bull! Congrats!

[Chef]

Very nice. Enjoyed the write up. Great photo documentary as well. The fog added a whole level of intrigue and nostalgic qualities to the images. Great stuff. 
Congratulations!

[Flatlander]

So awesome! Happy for you guys, wish I could have been there! Had me on the edge of my seat.

[Lucafu1]

Awesome and congrats!

[CatfishKev]

Awesome man congrats!

[SaguaroArms]

Great write up and a heck of a bull - congrats!

[trphyhntr]

Well done. Look like 4b bulls but I’ll take your word for it 

[idgaf]

1 minute ago, trphyhntr said:

Well done. Look like 4b bulls but I’ll take your word for it 

When i post a successful hunt, I get 15 PMs from people that do not post anything,  saying how I'm screwing up there odds and the unit. 

[trphyhntr]

1 minute ago, idgaf said:

When i post a successful hunt, I get 15 PMs from people that do not post anything,  saying how I'm screwing up there odds and the unit. 

I’ve been to 37a  lot, plenty of haters there. So I’m not surprised. Keep up the good work 

[Big or Bust]

Great job dude!