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Bull of a lifetime UPDATED with story

By huntlines, in Elk Hunting

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huntlines   

huntlines
Posted

Sorry this took so long but I was helping another brother in law on an archery hunt. He is still hunting but I had to come home for work and hope to get back up.

 

When my brother in law called me to let me know he was drawn I assumed it was for an archery tag. His last tag was in 2008 and was an archery hunt. When he told me he drew an early rifle bull tag I was shocked. We talked about what he wanted out of this hunt. He said he wanted to shoot a bull bigger than what he got in 2008. I told him he had an opportunity to kill a really big bull if he was patient. He didn't know if he could be but I assured him I would hold the bullets until we found the right bull.

 

He scouted more than most people will. He was determined spending alot of weekends coving most of the unit. He called me a week before the hunt to tell me about a huge bull he had heard about in an area he wanted to hunt. I was skeptical because it seems every year "someone sees a huge bull" in this area. Non the less he decided to camp in this area and start there.

 

When I got up there to help him, we scouted this area for a while before the hunt. We did see elk but we never saw a "huge" bull and we really didn't see a whole lot of elk period. This area has had big bulls taken from it and I have had friends and family whom have taken nice bulls from it. I was not real impressed and wanted to move which I was glad he was supportive of.

 

Opening day was good despite the lack of bugling. At first light we had a bull with about seven cows at 200 yards. They had no idea we were there but after the bull came into the open I knew right away this was not a bull we wanted. My brother in law was looking through the scope and saying "are you sure" a few times before I said "lets move". Later that day we got into a big herd moving in our direction. The cows walked right up to us and some of them bedded down within forty yards. One cow got about fifteen yards from me and I just knew she was going to bust us. We were waiting for the bull to come following the herd over the hill. We waited and waited and waited for at least twenty minutes. When he finally did the wind shifted and the cow bedded next to us busted. I was able to get only a glimpse of the bull but I was sure he too was not a shooter.

 

The elk quit talking by 7am and we were forced to glass and hope to either spot one or jump them out of there bed. We saw a few rag horns but nothing even close to the bulls we passed up. That evening we never herd a bugle until after dark.

 

The next morning we again had a bull at first light bugling but this time he was only fifty yards away. This bull was impressive but he was only a five point on his right side. He must have had at least twenty cows with him but again not a shooter. About ten minutes later we were moving towards more bugling when we heard two bulls fighting. We ran towards the noise only to find two small five by fives fighting and the fight didn't last long. The bugling seemed somewhat intense but it didn't last long. They went silent by 7 am again on day two.

 

Not seeing any bulls we though were shooters I again decided to move to a different area. My brother in law was supportive of the move when I told him where I wanted to go because during one of his scouting trips he had seen lots of bulls in the area. It was hot and after jumping a small bull on a water tank my brother in law said he wanted to sit water that evening. I told him I knew of the perfect place to sit water.

 

We got in to the area a little later than I wanted and ended up walking up on three small bulls about a quarter mile from the tank. We had to sit for a while to allow these bulls to feed off. After they were gone we went straight to the tank and positioned ourselves about a hundred yards from the tank down wind. It wasn't long before about five spikes came to the tank and started playing in the water. It was so enjoyable to sit and watch them chasing each other and playing like kids in the water. I got this all on video. Two small rag horns then joined them and even started sparing. About six o'clock we started hearing bugling off in the distance. I told my brother in law the bull was coming our direction and to be ready. The bull got closer and closer with each bugle and I couldn't wait for him to appear to see how big he was. When this bull got about two hundred yards from the tank I felt the wind shift and the spikes busted. Of course the wind only shifted for a few seconds...... They ran out of the tank but held up in the tree line. The bugling bull must of heard them because he never got any closer than about two hundred yards. He continued to bugle but seemed like he never moved.

 

I told my brother in law we may have to move and see if we could get above the bull to see him before it got to late but for now we would wait because it was early. I also heard a second bugle which seemed way to far off to be any interest to us. However as I sat there trying to decide what to do this second bull kept getting closer and closer. I finally decided to wait and take the chance that the wind would hold for us. Bull number one was still below us and bugling but stuck in his place of safety. I think he knew something was up from the spikes that busted us and didn't want to come to the tank until after dark. Bull number two was now on the ridge above bull number one. It wasn't long before we could make out cows moving through the trees. I was stuck between trying to get a glimpse of the bull through my binoculars and filming. At one point I did see the bull for a brief second walk between some trees. I saw his whale tail on the left and it was impressive. I also saw a broken tine on the right side which I thought was his right sword tine. I told my brother in law he was a shooter. I also said to take the shot whenever he had it and not to wait for him to get to the tank. I didn't want the bull or his cows to smell us if the wind changed.

 

The bull walked right past his cows and down the ridge straight to the tank. As soon as he hit the water I told my brother in law to shoot. The first shot hit him but I couldn't tell where. The bull ran out of the tank and up on the ridge. I kept saying shooting him again! The second shot dropped him but as he rolled back to the tank he kept slamming his head into every tree on the hill side. I told my brother in law to shoot him again before be broke every tine he had. The third shot did the trick even though later I learned the first shot was perfect. This bull took a 300 weatherby mag round and ran almost sixty yards. The second round broke his back and the third was again right behind the shoulder. Impressive how tough these animals are.

 

I didn't know how big this bull truly was until we were walking up to him. He seemed to grow the closer I got. We were both in disbelief of the size of this amazing bull.

 

I will never forget this hunt.

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AZ8   

AZ8
Posted

Wow! Stud bull! Congrats!

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ctfsh2003   

ctfsh2003
Posted

Amazing!!! Congrats to everyone involved.

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