Norteno Report post Posted September 12, 2016 UPDATE: I finally got around to putting together a video of my hunt. First time doing this, hope you enjoy. I didn't plan on hunting this year because I wanted to spend time with my Dad hunting in New Mexico. I don't know how many more seasons he has in him but he loves hunting. Rather than buy bonus point I decided to swing for the fences and put in for 23N with only 7BP although Flatlander calculated the odds for me less than 2%. To my surprise I was drawn and then realized the obstacles I have in front of me. On top of a busy work schedule that has me traveling I also did a double move since we sold our house and moved into a new build. Closing was late and we moved in 3 days prior to the opener I briefly looked at guides although paying someone to go find an animal for me is not my thing. The guides I talked to were supportive of my DIY decision and great guys though. To make things easier I rented a place in the unit from VRBO. I received tons of support from the Cwt community and want to thank the following guys. Azstropps Wrk2Hnt CRAZYBUCK guyhaz bbd1234 flatline metau SWDesertRat Huntmoore Flatlander azelkhunter2 I had my #1,2,3 spots picked out prior to the hunt. The night before the opener I drove into another spot I wanted to check out and the place was lit up. I parked the truck and there must have been 40 elk surrounding us bugling like crazy. My plans changed right then. The following morning we set up an hour before light. I chased bugles left and right but never caught up to any Bulls. That afternoon we set up deep in the canyon. The Bulls were making their way down from the hills yet never got down before dark. Saw a couple monsters up there I could have easily taken with rifle. The next morning we hiked deeper in and chased bugles again. Over the final ridge there were several Bulls on the opposite side. I made the decision to drop my pack and go hard after them. I was in full ninja mode as I went down into wash and up opposite hill. Wind was blowing right to left so I went after bull in front of me. I could hear him raking a bush so I snuck from tree to tree until I could lay eyes on him. I peaked around corner, saw a wide rack and an extra off his left side. He was standing perfect broadside. I ranged him at 60yds, took a deep breath, drew behind tree then swung around it. Shot was just like practice. I heard the whack, saw him buckle then trot off. I moved up and sent another arrow that missed. I then hit the ground and hit the cow call. I watched him disappear behind brush. My Dad watched the entire thing from across canyon and said he heard shot. I marked my shot location with tape and waited for my Dad to make his way over. We found good blood and backed out back to truck for lunch and to offload some weight and call a friend to help us with pack out. After waiting for my friend to arrive and the hike back in 6 hours had passed. We found my bull less than 100 yds from where I hit him in some nasty thick brush. The GraveDigger did some nasty damage. He was not one of the monsters we had seen earlier, but was a perfect 6x7 to me. None of us had ever seen a bull this big. We did gutless method and my friend and I packed out rear quarters while my Dad got backstraps. Hung front quarters from a tree and covered head and cape with plastic and a bunch of brush. A storm rolled in just as we were losing light. The pack out was one of the hardest things I've ever done and every step hurt. We returned the next morning to retrieve the rest. Luckily nothing had found the meat When it was done and over I had no regrets I didn't get a bigger bull. This was my first elk and it was with a bow and with my Dad. I know the score but am keeping it to myself. I was also able to get home early to help my wife who was still living out of boxes. Good luck to everyone still out there. If you need help I can share where I saw some Giants. Oh yeah. I got the entire stalk on GoPro head cam. Once I can do some video editing I'll share the YouTube link. trim.E2875736-14CA-4D05-A424-0CA09EDC7234.MOV 30 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SWDesertRat Report post Posted September 12, 2016 Great bull! congrats on a memorable hunt, too cool that your dad was there to witness it as well. Thanks for sharing 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wrk2Hnt Report post Posted September 12, 2016 Congrats. I knew you'd get it done! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MULEPACKHUNTER Report post Posted September 12, 2016 Awsome 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
218buck Report post Posted September 12, 2016 That's awesome you got to share that with your dad congrats on your bull 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AZ RANGER Report post Posted September 12, 2016 Doesn't gent any better than that. Congrats! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
guyhaz Report post Posted September 12, 2016 Way to get it done! That's an awesome bull. Congrats! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
223VARMINTER Report post Posted September 12, 2016 Great bull. Congrats. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
6ANut Report post Posted September 12, 2016 Awesome Sauce. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Glass En Report post Posted September 12, 2016 Right on, congrats on a great bull! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Non-Typical Solutions Report post Posted September 12, 2016 Congrats on an exciting hunt!!! Great looking bull! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wildwoody Report post Posted September 12, 2016 Nice bull.. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AZ_SAWBUCK Report post Posted September 12, 2016 CLASSIC DIY! Congrats. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HNTNGUY Report post Posted September 12, 2016 Congrats man! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cheaha Report post Posted September 12, 2016 Great story! Great Bull! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
