AZ_Native Report post Posted November 26, 2016 After a not so good year last year losing a nice Coues and a nice 5x5 bull I went out and bought a new bow. Gotta say, I am loving this new Hoyt Defiant Turbo!!! A day after getting it this summer I whacked a nice turkey! Fast forward to late October and I got my rifle Coues deer. It may have been a spike, but it was a nice bodied deer and very very tasty! Two weeks after that we embark on our archery bull elk hunt. I'm not out for trophies, but I'm sure not going to pass up a toad... We are in it for the experience and the full freezer, so any bull to us is fair game if it crosses our path... We seemed to be running in to elk everyday, and made some stalks, and were even seeing some nice 5x5 and 6x6's. But, we just weren't having any luck and not as much action as we were hoping for. We decided to go back to an area where we saw lots of elk last year, and sure enough, the morning we go out there we spy up a giant 7x7. I delayed working my way around to where I thought he was going to go back in to the trees and in that time another group of elk came in to the clearing on the other side. Some spikes and a nice 3x3 in that group. I decide to leave my hunting buddy there and work my way around. By the time I got over there all the elk had gone in to the tree line. I bumped some cows and also a group of spikes from just being careless. I hiked up the knoll that we always see elk on and spend some time up there, but didn't run in to anything until on my way down. Bump a couple nice spikes but could not get them to hold up. So I work my way around the other side of the knoll thinking they may go that way. No such luck, but bump a nice 5x5 about 30 yards away. He never gave me a chance... I text my buddy and suggest we head home for the day and use a new game plan for tomorrow morning since we didn't want to have to hump out an elk during the night from this area anyways. Well, on my hike back, I get back on to the flat stuff in the junipers and have a cow walk out in to the open about 60 yards away. She looks at me and I decide to draw back in case a bull is in tow. She jumps off and takes a few other elk with her but no bulls that I could see. Walking stealthy quiet and slow about 15 min later, I hear some sound behind me. I turn to see some movement through the junipers about 60-70 yards off. It was trotting then stopped. It gets to a spot where I can see its head, and its a bull/spike. Thinking that I am going to have to quietly parallel him and hope to get an angle at a shot, he decides to turn around and start walking right to left now. Then he stops once again and decides to walk in my direction. Arrow already on the string, I latch on my release and realize this guy is going to walk right by me at be at about 30 yards when the shot is going to present itself. It was playing out like a hunting show on tv! My only problem was I had a very narrow window to shoot between junipers and I was going to have to thread the needle between branches. On top of that, I was going to have to grunt at the precise moment so he would stop with his vitals in the window. As he is fully obscured by a set of junipers I have ample time to draw and set myself. I put the pin in the basic area and pull my head back a little. He hits the spot and I make my best tv hunting show grunt I could muster and he stops.... precisely where I need him to. With him looking straight at me aft that sexy grunt I have a few seconds to place my pin. I launch that arrow at 326 fps and an instant thud. All heck brakes loose and he starts running. I can still see him and 15 yards he takes a head first digger. He gets back up and runs out of sight, but I hear another crash followed by loud wheezing. Not seeing an arrow, part of me though I MISSED? But, the sounds told me otherwise. I waited a minute, the wheezing subsided, and I walk to where he got shot. No blood, no arrow. I start to follow the tracks a bit and start seeing blood, but not a ton. I was 90% I whacked him hard. I do a little half circle and there he is. Balled up about another 20 yards off in a juniper. Clean pass through the boiler room. I get my buddy on the phone and direct him to the spot. We go look for my arrow and found it 35 yards away caked in blood behind some other junipers. I'm just really dig'n this new bow. Very wise investment! The new fixed blade broadheads I am shooting fly like field tips and made perfect cross shaped entry and exit wounds as well as perfect crossed in the lungs. Little to no meat waste. We start the hard work now and get him skinned and quartered. We had just under a mile walk to the truck each way so I packed out about 70lbs of various meat on the first trip, and my buddy the heart, liver, and balls. We go back in again, this time with my frame pack, so I pack out both hind quarters (ouch ouch ouch... I can still feel that one) and he both front quarters. Lots of stops along the way, but we make it back. I head back in for the cape and head, which we had at least dragged partially out, so it was only just over a half mile each way. Just gotta love hunting and the experiences you get with it. I'd do it all over again and hike twice the distance with a bigger bull in a heartbeat! I have no problem taking a spike, especially now that I can focus my energy on helping my buddy fill his tag. No such luck on that, but we learned a lot more about our unit and what we would do different next year if we get drawn again. Absolutely great meat on this bull, and will be good eating for a long time to come. Going to have the hide tanned and we'll hang that up on one of the big blank walls at the cabin. It should look really cool once it's all cleaned up and done. Taxidermist is just going to cut the top half of the skull for me so I can put that in my home office somewhere. I am lucky to have a very full freezer this fall! Sorry for the novel, hope you enjoy the story and the pic's! GOTTA LOVE A NICE BIG CHUNK OF YOUNG BULL BACKSTRAP!!! It has proved to be very tender and very very tasty! 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CatfishKev Report post Posted November 26, 2016 Good job man! Way to persevere and not give up. What kind of broad heads are you using? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Norteno Report post Posted November 26, 2016 Congrats! In my opinion it's not the bow itself that is getting you all these kills, but the confidence that a new bow gives. That is an awesome bow though! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zeke-BE Report post Posted November 27, 2016 Congrats Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AZ_Native Report post Posted November 27, 2016 Yeah, I understand it's the bow, but I would say it's easier to shoot than my 2003 Hoyt Ultratec I had. I like the idea of having the much faster bow too. I am using the Slick Trick 1" broadhead. I'd have to double check, but I believe I have the 100 grains on there. Shooting the slimmer arrows and all in weight is 360 grains. Coming off the bow at 326 fps it's a pretty flat shooter and carries great kinetic energy. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CATERPILLAR Report post Posted November 28, 2016 good job, those back straps are awesome looking. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AZ_Native Report post Posted November 29, 2016 good job, those back straps are awesome looking. That is the upside of shooting a spike, just post-rut. The meat has been awesome. I will pick up the rest of it from the butcher, hopefully next week. I just cooked my sister and brother-in-law from DE some steaks last night, and they wanted more! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
