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Mel Carter
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I'm waiting...... 
congrats on your bull!
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congrats on your bull!Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
sickguy
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I've made you all wait long enough. So, without further adieu here is the story of my muzzleloader bull hunt. I arrived Friday afternoon to attend the orientation, which was quite informative. However, I learned that the best elk areas would not be available to us. My Dad came at midnight, so with little sleep and as much optimism as I could muster we started the hunt early Saturday morning. Saturday was spent trying to find any sign of elk that we could. There had definitely been elk in those areas at one time, but it seemed that most of them had moved out. We ended up going to several different TAs and covering a lot of ground, but the only elk we saw were two big bulls in TA 20 (closed to hunting). Most of the elk sign we found was more than a month old, so our plan was to continue searching for recent sign of elk that we could then concentrate on.
Saturday night we talked to other elk hunters who were having some of the difficulties we were. Meatwad and his wife had been hunting very hard, but lack of good areas and some bad luck had prevented them from connecting. However, not all of the elk had been pushed out of the open areas, because two cows were shot on Saturday night. Sunday morning was spent looking more closely at the areas we had seen elk sign, even though most of it was old. We saw a few elk, but none in areas that we could hunt. Around noon on Sunday we decided to switch TAs, but we stopped at the hunting shack on our way. Upon arriving we learned that they had just opened three previously closed areas (22, 24, 15). I've heard that this was in no small part due to a request from Meatwad, and if this is true a HUGE thanks to you. I had heard stories of the cow hunters running into bulls in area 22, so that's where I wanted to go.
With some extremely helpful tips from Live2hunt, we were able to spot elk immediately. So with my Dad hanging back as my spotter, the stalk was on. We had seen a couple of shooter bulls about a half-mile away, so these were the ones I was going after. With the wind in my face I decide a straight path to where they were bedded might just work. About a quarter-mile into my stalk I came over a small rise, and had to evaluate my strategy. Directly ahead of me was some low-lying drainage and beyond that a fairly tall rise. So as to avoid them silhouetting me I decided to turn left and follow the drainage. If I was correct, it would still get me within range of my muzzleloader and keep the wind in my face, all while avoiding being seen. I walk about 20 yards down the drainage when I look over my left shoulder and OH S#%T all I see are antlers.
About 150 yards away resting in the shade of a large oak tree is a bachelor herd of 6 bulls. I had passed them without even knowing, because the previous rise had blocked my view of them and luckily their view of me. I back-pedaled out of the drainage as quickly and quietly as I could, and circled back downwind of them. Off came the pack and the creeping stalk began. I figured I could use the rise to my advantage, as they wouldn't see me until I got to the edge of it, and by that time I would be well within my range. Slowly I worked my way closer to the edge of the rise. As I got closer I could see the antlers through the grass in front of me. Twenty feet from the edge of the rise it started sloping downward, and I realized I wouldn't make it there without them seeing me.
However, from where I was I could see the outline of the bulls and their antlers. The furthest bull to my right was lying further from the others, and he looked massive. He definitely appeared to have a larger body than the others, and his antlers had some mass, so I decided he was my bull. My next move forward brought the attention of my bull, and I had to make a decision. I was only 40 yards away and the bulls were likely to see any move I made. There was some grass between the elk and me, so to get an unobstructed shot I would need to be standing - the decision was made. As I fluidly stood up and shouldered my rifle the bulls slowly got on their feet. I followed my bull's shoulder with the sights, and as soon as he was up I fired. The shot was a little higher than I would have liked, but he went down. Not stopping to survey my work, I grabbed my next speed loader and loaded as fast as my clumsy fingers would allow. He was still alive but his back legs weren't working at all. I put another 250 gr. Barnes T-EZ in him, and now I knew he wasn't going anywhere.
He was sure one tough old bull, because when I got down to him he was still alive. I didn't want him to suffer, so I shot him until he was finally dispatched. I didn't realize until I got to him that he had 4 tines broken. However, I couldn't be too upset, because he is still a trophy to me. We called the game warden, and he was able to drive his truck right to where we could load him up. He weighed 470 lbs with the heart, liver, and lungs still in him. It's been 2 years since we've had elk meat in the freezer, so the whole family is pretty happy. It was a great trip, with memories that will last a lifetime. Thank you to FHL wardens and all who were involved in making this hunt what it is. Thank you to Meatwad for his requests that resulted in the opening of the better areas. A special thank you to Live2hunt, whose guiding services were invaluable to the success of this hunt. (p.s. You should get a 900 number and call it Live2hunt's Big Racks Guide Service).
Here he is!
Recovered two bullets underneath the skin on the far side
Saturday night we talked to other elk hunters who were having some of the difficulties we were. Meatwad and his wife had been hunting very hard, but lack of good areas and some bad luck had prevented them from connecting. However, not all of the elk had been pushed out of the open areas, because two cows were shot on Saturday night. Sunday morning was spent looking more closely at the areas we had seen elk sign, even though most of it was old. We saw a few elk, but none in areas that we could hunt. Around noon on Sunday we decided to switch TAs, but we stopped at the hunting shack on our way. Upon arriving we learned that they had just opened three previously closed areas (22, 24, 15). I've heard that this was in no small part due to a request from Meatwad, and if this is true a HUGE thanks to you. I had heard stories of the cow hunters running into bulls in area 22, so that's where I wanted to go.
With some extremely helpful tips from Live2hunt, we were able to spot elk immediately. So with my Dad hanging back as my spotter, the stalk was on. We had seen a couple of shooter bulls about a half-mile away, so these were the ones I was going after. With the wind in my face I decide a straight path to where they were bedded might just work. About a quarter-mile into my stalk I came over a small rise, and had to evaluate my strategy. Directly ahead of me was some low-lying drainage and beyond that a fairly tall rise. So as to avoid them silhouetting me I decided to turn left and follow the drainage. If I was correct, it would still get me within range of my muzzleloader and keep the wind in my face, all while avoiding being seen. I walk about 20 yards down the drainage when I look over my left shoulder and OH S#%T all I see are antlers.
About 150 yards away resting in the shade of a large oak tree is a bachelor herd of 6 bulls. I had passed them without even knowing, because the previous rise had blocked my view of them and luckily their view of me. I back-pedaled out of the drainage as quickly and quietly as I could, and circled back downwind of them. Off came the pack and the creeping stalk began. I figured I could use the rise to my advantage, as they wouldn't see me until I got to the edge of it, and by that time I would be well within my range. Slowly I worked my way closer to the edge of the rise. As I got closer I could see the antlers through the grass in front of me. Twenty feet from the edge of the rise it started sloping downward, and I realized I wouldn't make it there without them seeing me.
However, from where I was I could see the outline of the bulls and their antlers. The furthest bull to my right was lying further from the others, and he looked massive. He definitely appeared to have a larger body than the others, and his antlers had some mass, so I decided he was my bull. My next move forward brought the attention of my bull, and I had to make a decision. I was only 40 yards away and the bulls were likely to see any move I made. There was some grass between the elk and me, so to get an unobstructed shot I would need to be standing - the decision was made. As I fluidly stood up and shouldered my rifle the bulls slowly got on their feet. I followed my bull's shoulder with the sights, and as soon as he was up I fired. The shot was a little higher than I would have liked, but he went down. Not stopping to survey my work, I grabbed my next speed loader and loaded as fast as my clumsy fingers would allow. He was still alive but his back legs weren't working at all. I put another 250 gr. Barnes T-EZ in him, and now I knew he wasn't going anywhere.
He was sure one tough old bull, because when I got down to him he was still alive. I didn't want him to suffer, so I shot him until he was finally dispatched. I didn't realize until I got to him that he had 4 tines broken. However, I couldn't be too upset, because he is still a trophy to me. We called the game warden, and he was able to drive his truck right to where we could load him up. He weighed 470 lbs with the heart, liver, and lungs still in him. It's been 2 years since we've had elk meat in the freezer, so the whole family is pretty happy. It was a great trip, with memories that will last a lifetime. Thank you to FHL wardens and all who were involved in making this hunt what it is. Thank you to Meatwad for his requests that resulted in the opening of the better areas. A special thank you to Live2hunt, whose guiding services were invaluable to the success of this hunt. (p.s. You should get a 900 number and call it Live2hunt's Big Racks Guide Service).
Here he is!
Recovered two bullets underneath the skin on the far side
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NatureDriven
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Great story, well written. Congratulations!!
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THE ROMAN ARCHER
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WTG! nice elk, great story ,congrats!...tra
mgriffith80
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Awesome Bull! Congrats to you, Sickguy!
Mel Carter
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Nice job! Man, sounds like an exciting experience.
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californiabull
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Congrats!
