Blessed with a biggin

[GRONG]

My hunting partner Gail and I went out last Saturday and pounded the dirt for 15 strait hours. It was a dang long day but we made the best of it. After about 3 hours of hiking we walked out to the edge of a big rim and I instantly spotted a white tine stickin up out of the brush about 30 yards below us. We could tell it was a year old horn from the color but figured it was a good 4th point stickin up. We sat there glassin for sheds for about 20-30 minutes till I just had to get off the bluff and get it. Gail fired up the video camera and got it runnin as I walked up to it. I stood there in disbelief as I got close enough to it to tell that this wasn't just an average elk antler! It was the 5th point stickin up, not the 4th!! And what a 5th it is at 18 1/4"!! I pulled it out of the brush to show Gail and he was quite shocked too! What a way to start the day off for sure. I zigged and zagged all over the slope for a couple hours but never could find the match. I got to a lower bluff and spotted the same side horn off the same bull on an open slope about 400' below me from the drop of '09. I made it down to it that evening finally but had to get up and out of there to find Gail and look in some other areas first.

 

Can you spot the tine?

 

Realized after getting home and lookin at my photos that I never took a pic of me holding it to show how big it really is. Whoops! The 1st 2 points are unfortunately broken off but from a friend's trial camera photo of the bull back in '09 you can see that the G1 is probably around 17-18" and the G2 is around 15". The 3rd is 21 1/2, 4th is 22, 5th is 18 1/4", 48" beam and 30" of mass puts it at right around 173" which is one of the best sheds I've ever found in AZ in 20 years of lookin. Pretty exciting for sure.

 

When I topped out I finally got ahold of Gail on the radio only to find out he'd already picked up a year old 345" set and was on the move to pick up a brown 6pt he'd glassed across a small canyon. Caught up with him in time to see him walk up on a 360" chalk single horn! That was exciting! So all in all Gail ended up bringing out 7 sheds, small brown 6pt set, 3 year old sheds and a couple older sheds. On the hike out I went and made my way into some NASTY stuff to get to the one I'd glassed that morning. Crossed a huge rock slide and fought some awful brush to get there but it was worth it too.

 

 

Both big ones together. The closer horn measured 169" with 30" of mass.

 

[Jimmer Negamanee]

Sweet! Thanks for posting. It gets the heart pumping. Next weekend for me. My goal this year is to glass up a shed. Never did that before. Thanks for showing us how it's done!

[AZantlerhead]

Awesome 5th and that is a biggin! The other one off him is too. Congrats guys looks like a great time!

I'm with Jimmer, gets me pumped thanks for posting

[cramerhunts]

Awesome job buddy! Looks like Gail had a heck of a day as well. I know how hard you guys work at it and sometimes it pays off!

[Santana Outdoors]

Nice finds. Cactus and Elk just doesn't seem right!

[FlyingW]

Nice sheds !!!

[Mathews]

Good lookin horns, nice job!

[Bighorns]

Nice Job! Hey get me to the edge of that canyon and I'll glass sheds for you guys to fetch, 50/50 spilt, deal?

[GRONG]

Nice Job! Hey get me to the edge of that canyon and I'll glass sheds for you guys to fetch, 50/50 spilt, deal?

 

HA!! Somehow that doesn't seem like a good split to me if I'm the one doin the footwork....

 

Anyway, yesterday Gail and I split up while hiking. He was accompanied by a friend of his, Ross, and they each found a side off another set from this bull!!!! Will get pics soon as Gail emails me some.

[Weston]

Very nice josh, that country looks familiar

[dieselroe]

Tough to believe their in such an open area.