tomgobbler Report post Posted September 17, 2010 Ok here's the deal. My brothers wife drew her first elk tag after about 15 years of applying. an EARLY rifle tag, we've been out looking quite a bit and have LOTS of NICE (330-350) bulls located, and a few BIG AND NICE ones located. (350-380)but of course the archery hunters are messing with / killing several of them and several others are getting busted up. I found a bull that i think with go a true 380.+...(my buddy watched it for 20 minutes @ 250 yards wed night and again thursday morning) NICE BIG 6x6, with its whale tail i think having a 1"-2" point actaully making it a 6x7... but its BIG.....perfectly semetricle, just a beautiful bull, we went out last night to look in another spot that i had seen some good bulls in to see what else we could find. and i told my brother i think we should sit on this "380" bull this week and let her shoot it opening morning and his reply was no its not 400..... and i said well Do we have any true 400 bulls that we have scouted that isnt broken ( i think we had 2 that would go 400, but both are broken) and he said no... and i said well, then.... of course we are going to still be looking the rest of the week, to see what's left..... and NO we aint going to hire a guide..... So yawl know how hard early rifle tags are to come by.... is the 380 class bull "big enough" would you wrap you tag around it opening morning if you had the chance.... ??? OR would you try and hunt a few days for a 400....just curious what yawl would do.... Hopefully pictures to follow after next weekend Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CouesWhitetail Report post Posted September 17, 2010 What does your brother's wife want for her hunt? Is she going to be happy with the 380? Is she going to be upset if she holds out for a 400 and goes home empty handed? You could always shoot one of the broken ex-400 bulls and just have a taxidermist fix the broken tines. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
youngbuck Report post Posted September 17, 2010 I had a guy with an early rifle tag last year. I was helping his son in the same unit the archery hunt prior. We knew where the good bulls were. We showed him lots of good bulls probably up to 365. He passed on them and tagged out the last day, on a good bull but no 365. If they are going to be picky, they will have to be ready to go without. Thats how it goes. On a side note, I would call anybody crazy for passing on a 380, cuz they are. A 380 bull is a toad. Sure 400 bulls are nice, and there are more being killed now than a decade ago it seems. You have to pass on 380's to kill 400's though. The early rifle tag can be a humbling experience. Most people who get those tags have their hopes set real high, heck I would too. Bottom line, It would be 99% impossible for me top pass on a 380 bull. If I had a lapse of judgement and decided too, I could only blame myself. Thats why I wont ever tell somebody "you better shoot him!" I'll give them my best guess for score and help him find another one or help him pack out what he gets. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hunter X Report post Posted September 17, 2010 Do you have any pics of this 380 bull? I don't know how good at scoring you and your buddy are but maybe you underestimated him or worse overestimated him. I've been on quite a few of these rifle hunts in premo units and I would say unless you have a couple 400s already pick out shoot the 380. Worrying about score too much can ruin a hunt in a hurry. 380 is BIG especially a 6x6. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
weatherby1 Report post Posted September 17, 2010 I think the only way I could pass a 380 bull would be if the 400 bull was standing behind him. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chef Report post Posted September 17, 2010 If she will not be totally happy with that 380 bull...DON'T KILL IT! You have to respect the animal and realize that he gives his life to become your trophy. I know he appreciates breathing and rutting and wallowing and just plain being an elk! No sense in taking that away from him if you aren't going to be happy in taking his life if he doesn't score! A very wise man named Woody from Young once told me that. It makes a lot of sense to me. BTW, I would shoot a 380 bull in the first ten minutes of opening day and be ecstatic. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Couzer Report post Posted September 17, 2010 I think the only way I could pass a 380 bull would be if the 400 bull was standing behind him. You said that right on! +1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kennyt Report post Posted September 17, 2010 If you have what you believe to be a sure thing 380 I dont know how you can pass him. That is a giant bull. I would pass a bull that was 400 but is now broken 380 for a intact 380 6x6. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DesertBull Report post Posted September 17, 2010 Throw the tape measure in the trash and have an awesome hunt. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chef Report post Posted September 17, 2010 Throw the tape measure in the trash and have an awesome hunt. Exactly Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
120carp Report post Posted September 17, 2010 I think the only way I could pass a 380 bull would be if the 400 bull was standing behind him. You said that right on! +1 what they said. and you might have under scored him. i do that all the time. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tomgobbler Report post Posted September 17, 2010 of course this is her hunt and she is going to shoot what she likes... we are just going to glass, let her know what we think of the bulls we see, and gut, load/haul it our for her... she just gets to have the fun she is going to decide when and what to pull the trigger on :) i think she would be REALLY happy with this bull, there are 2 other 6x7's in the same area as him, and he puts them to shame. HE is BIG..... me and my bro were just hashing it out last night as we were looking at other bulls.... i was saying i would shoot the sucker in a heart beat opening morning, and he was saying naw i'de hold out.... just two opnions on what ya would do if the tag was YOURS... but i really think he would have a really hard time passing this bull up and looking for bigger.... but you wont ever kill a 400 shooting a 380.... i may never shoot a 400 casue i'de shoot a 380 everytime, i couldnt pass it up.... just me though it will be fun regardless Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bobbyo Report post Posted September 17, 2010 Is this post some kind of joke? It really cannot be serious. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AZkiller Report post Posted September 17, 2010 Bang....Thwwaaaap......Woohoo!!!!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
.270 Report post Posted September 17, 2010 an early rifle isn't a guarantee of a 400 bull. how many legitimate 400 bulls get killed every year? now, how many were with auction or raffle tags or on a reservation with a good herd? like they said, forget the score and have some fun. Az in the fall is a great place to be. yeller trees, howlin' elk, nice weather. and if you have a rifle elk tag, it's a heavenly experience. for sure shoot the biggest one you can find. good luck, but if they get hung up on "score" it will diminish the experience. Lark. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
