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Joined: Aug 2006
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OP
Campfire Regular
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 578 |
All, For 8 years and 4 seasons I have been chasing elk in high pressure public land in Colorado. In 2008 I thought I had killed a trophy bull for that area considering the hunting pressure (and I still consider that mature 5x5 a trophy), but this year I stumbled upon a class of bull that I figured I would have to pay thousands to find. On day 3 of our hunt I changed tactics and ventured off by myself into an area with no access and a headache to get to. It paid off with finging a herd of about 30 elk with 3 bulls at 7:05am. One bull was up in the timber bugling with a cow squacking away. The others were feeding towards the timber with a 5x5 similar to the one I got in 2008 and this bull trying to skirt the backside of the group. After getting settled in as close as the terrain and 60 eyes would let me, I rangedd him at 479 yards. I got comfortable on the sticks and put a 200gr accubond out of my 325WSM dead into the point of the shoulder. He took 10 steps and piled up. We did find the slug in the far shoulder weighing 160gr. It took the the better part of the rest of the day to get the joker out. Per the ivory tooth chart, he is estimated between 9 and 11 years old. It was pretty cool to finally show my Dad and Uncles who I was hunting with. They have been hunting in that general area for decades and were pretty impressed. I know there are much bigger bulls on here, but I still can't fully digest how this all came together and he is not only in my freezer but will soon be on my wall. Thanks for viewing. ![[Linked Image]](http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p251/rlsilha/2012%20elk/Robert.jpeg) ![[Linked Image]](http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p251/rlsilha/2012%20elk/6.jpeg)
Shoot Strait....Penetrate Deep.
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Joined: Jan 2007
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Campfire Regular
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Joined: Jan 2007
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Nice bull - congratulations, job well done!
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Joined: Oct 2009
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Campfire Regular
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Congrats, very nice bull!
Huntinut
"If it's the truth it ain't braggin" Will Rogers
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Campfire Tracker
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Joined: Aug 2006
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OP
Campfire Regular
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 578 |
Thanks all. I appreciate it.
Shoot Strait....Penetrate Deep.
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Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 5,464
Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: Jan 2008
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Congats to you - that is a heck of a bull!!
"Rather hunt Mule deer than anything else"
"Team 7MM-08"
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Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 2,995
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
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Very nice! As far as public land goes, the biggest bull I ever saw was on public land in Co. A 7x7 and massive.
When people face the possibility of freezing or starving there is little chance they are going to listen to unfounded claims of climate doomsday from a bunch of ultra-rich yacht sailing private jet-setting carbon-spewing hypocrite elites
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Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 48,017
Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 48,017 |
Very nice bull, congrats...Thanks for sharing your story and also letting us know what cartridge/bullet combo you used. Good job!!
I try to stick with the basics, they do so well. Nothing fancy mind you, just plain jane will get it done with style. You want to see an animal drop right now? Shoot him in the ear hole. BSA MAGA
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Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 8,748 |
That's a fantastic bull! Congratulations!!
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Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 46,022
Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 46,022 |
Great bull, congratulations!! That bottom pic looks to be back in camp, how'd you get him out?
A wise man is frequently humbled.
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Joined: Jun 2007
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Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
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Very nice bull! Congratulation.
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Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Aug 2006
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Great bull, congratulations!! That bottom pic looks to be back in camp, how'd you get him out? Yeah, nice bull. But I'm wondering, like smokepole. How did he come out whole(it appears), from an area with 'no access and a headache to get into'?
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Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 12,651
Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Feb 2004
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Congrats on a very nice bull! I took a 6x6 on public land a few years ago but he didn't have the mass yours does.
Coyote Hunter - NRA Patriot Life, NRA Whittington Center Life, GOA, DAD - and I VOTE!
No, I'm not a Ruger bigot - just an unabashed fan of their revolvers, M77's and #1's.
A good .30-06 is a 99% solution.
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Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
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cacciatore:
That's a really nice bull. I've been DIY hunting public land in Colorado for over thirty years and I've taken several big 5x5 bulls and some small 6x6 bulls. But that bull is bigger than anything that I've gotten. Very impressive and I hope it adds more to your personal satisfaction that you did it on your own, on public land.
Congratulations!
KC
Wind in my hair, Sun on my face, I gazed at the wide open spaces, And I was at home.
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Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Dec 2006
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That is one great looking narley old bull!  He was the one to take out of the herd and had seen his zenith.
Hunt with Class and Classics
Religion: A founder of The Church of Spray and Pray
Acquit v. t. To render a judgment in a murder case in San Francisco... EQUAL, adj. As bad as something else. Ambrose Bierce “The Devil's Dictionary”
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Campfire Tracker
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how'd you get him out?
Lefty C
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Campfire Regular
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Maybe he got lucky like I did years ago. I killed an elk in dark timber and flagged my way out to where I knew there was a road. I knew my buds wouldn't be around for a couple hours so I followed the road and it turned and ran along a fence line. When I got to the end of the road, I had this eery feeling I'd been there before. Just then two guys come up the hill and asked if that was my elk down there? Why heck yes it was. What I thought would be a cut and pack job turned into about a 150 yd drag. Uphill albeit but it looked worse than that to start.
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Joined: Nov 2010
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Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
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That my friend is a great bull! Congratulations.
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Campfire Tracker
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Karma and Trouble have busses, and there's always an empty seat.
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