A neat bull from yesterday

[Coach]

These are a little blurry - I'm working out the kinks with my digiscope setup - not to mention, these are cropped out of much larger photos, as they were taken pretty far away.

 

Anyway, a really cool bull I watched for a while yesterday. He had a pretty big herd, and 5-7 smaller bulls trying to steal them. Lots of bugling and rut activity. Not a huge bull, but fun to watch.

 

 

 

 

[nohoch]

Even with the pics being blurry, he sure is a nice looking bull. I'd take him.

[bonecollector]

Even with the pics being blurry, he sure is a nice looking bull. I'd take him.

+1. Makes me wish I had a tag even more, thanks!

[Browning'sCustomMeat]

Thats a great bull. Thanks for sharing.

[sjvcon]

Looks pretty decent to me ... nice work.

[nanoHunter]

Great Photos! I would shoot him if I had a tag...

[Coach]

Thanks - there should be more to come. The rut is just starting! Some new optics on order, so maybe better pix in the next week or so. Good luck to all you archery hunters out there. I'm just waiting for "left-overs" once ML season starts. Not much sleep in store for the next few weeks I'm guessing. LOL.

[LAR DOG]

COOL

[tjhunt2]

That's a nice bull but so are them cows I love to eat. Nice way of sharing my coffee this morning.

 

TJ

[standman]

Nice bull Jason! Have you found any possible shooters for your hunt yet?

 

Brian

[CouesWhitetail]

Awesome! Thanks!

[Non-Typical Solutions]

Nothing wrong with that big boy........

[Coues Archer]

That is one nice bull!!! Good pics

[AZ RANGER]

Jason,

You are a blessed man with the ML tag. That should be an awesome hunt. Good Luck and thanks for sharing the pics.

Scott

[Coach]

Hey, thanks everyone - so far this guy is the closest I've personally seen to what I'm hoping to find. Right now I'm trying to help out several archery hunters in the unit (unit 1, btw). They've agreed to keep me in the loop with what they're seeing. Seems like a win-win, with such a big unit - no way to be everywhere at once. I help them out by scouting and glassing certain areas that I know they are not in, tell them what I'm seeing, and the'll tell me where the big one that got away was hanging out when their hunt is done. Got a couple places in mind I haven't even seen yet this year, but Thursday I at least got to drive a huge chunk of the unit, just seeing what's new from place-to-place. Some areas have been recenently thinned, so that's good to know, the entire West side of the unit is soaking wet, where the biggest concentrations of camps are, etc.

 

It should be a great hunt. I can't remember a greener, wetter Fall, and the cows are definately coming into heat. Lots of early rut activity and I don't have to get to 40 yards - lol. I've just got to play the mental game - keep it fun, don't try to be in more than one place at a time, or second guess myself constantly (should I be in the punch-bowl today or in the cedars around Vernon, or maybe the res line up by Greens, or here or there...). Hunting elk can be a lot of fun, but it can also be stressful. I'm trying to get myself in the right mindset so that whether or not I find what I'm looking for, it's a fun experience. This is a tag I'll probably never have again, so I just want to make it enjoyable.

 

(anecdote) The last bull tag I had was Unit 1 archery, and it turned into a nightmare of stress. I lost my bull due to bad shot placement. I was heartbroken and spent the rest of the hunt looking for him - couldn't even bring myself to carry a bow knowing I had lost him. At one point while trying to find him, I had a much bigger bull, maybe 370 class 7x7 within 20 yards and didn't even have my bow with me - I just couldn't bring myself to shoot another. Near the end of the hunt, while going out once again to look for birds or coyotes - anything to find my bull - I was flagged down by some campers who had found a 320-330 bull beaten half-to-death by another bull during the night lying out in a meadow. He could hardly walk more than 15 yards without falling back over. Knowing he was going to die also, I decided end his misery and put my tag on him to keep him from going to waste, as my bull had.

 

Point being, the hunt I had waited so long for, worked so hard scouting for, and had such high hopes for, turned into stress, anger (at myself) and just a bad experience. Now that I have a chance to get back out there, I just want it to be fun. I have high expectations, but if I come home empty, I won't care as long as I know I worked hard, didn't compromise my goals, and have a good time.

 

Whew - venting over. Thanks again for the encouragement.