Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting Last seasons bull

Fate is a fickle mistress… In the evolution of a hunting career there are stages, when younger you seem to have the most success with younger animals, in your prime your experience pits you against more prime animals… well I hit 60 this last elk season and stated I would probably kill a bull like me, old, half blind, half deaf and crippled…

I started archery elk hunting in ‘84, knew nothing, just applied and learned by trial and error over the years, drawing some tags and taking others out on their tag. I drew rut tags and nonrut tags and decided to wait for one more rut tag 11 years ago. I wanted to hunt my favorite spot I killed my first elk years ago. During the years I didn’t draw I hunted Colorado or the reservation and took out lots of folks calling for them… but I wanted one more rut hunt for me.

Scouting the weekends prior I was finding bulls in all my holes, bachelored up and walking over the top of me, was looking good… until the hunt started.

I don’t know what went wrong but the rut never got going good, sporadic activity with short opportunities if any chasing bugles, quitting early each morning and almost no activity in the afternoons. It was a lack of cows in the normal breeding grounds. I had opportunities at some small bulls but passed.

Day 13, second to last day, I knew I wasn’t going to kill a bull in any of my normal spots, I needed to go out of my normal box and find a new area or pack it in.

Early morning I went to a trailhead I had driven by close to a lake, parked and got out to listen, heard a bull above me on a ridge and some cows chirping, they move over the ridge and I had an hour before light so waited for them to move off. I got to the top of the ridge at grey light and it worked up to a higher ridge above. There was a herd of mule deer in my path and I waited for them to move not wanting them to bust over the top where the elk went.

This whole country sloped up to a high rim a couple miles away with cuts, dips and bowls until the steep last climb.

There was a large bowl past the second ridge, first thing I saw was a herd of wild horses, then I heard elk bugling, a large herd of cows down in the bottom by a pond, a herd bull and 8 or so satellite bulls all over, small groups of cows spread out.

Rut heaven… finally

By the time I snuck into the bowl they were lining out towards the rim going up, had a couple satellite bulls close but no shot due to the vegetation or slope. We all moved slowly through the morning, I stayed within 100 to 200 yards of the herd bull and his cows a couple miles. They went right up to just under the rim top and then went east a mile to bed in some nasty thorn thickets. There was a small herd of cows with a spike and 4 point that I kept running into that were following the main herd also, they would surge forward and I would bump them again. Finally I just walked right through them as they didn’t seem to be spooking the main herd and I was tired of trying to sneak around them.

What a great morning, exactly what I wanted out of this hunt, bulls bugling, fighting, the sounds and smells. We had all moved about 3 miles and at 10:00 they were starting to split up and bed, though still bugling. I watched the herd move over another short ridge about 150 yards away and could tell they were bedding. I figured I would back out and come back that afternoon, there were still some other bulls occasionally bugling on other short ridges close. One was on the same ridge the herd went over and between myself and the herd.

I was about ready to turn back when that bull comes walking slowly back over the ridge towards my ridge. He’s working down towards the bottom under me, he’s 100 yards across and the bottom is 58 yards. He’s broken on his left top, a big bodied older bull still fighting for cows. I snap a couple pictures then decide if he gives me a shot I’ll take him.

I move down a little to have an open lane and 50 yards to the bottom where I figure he’s headed. Instead he crosses and walks up to me on my side but I have jack pines I moved around so at 20 yards no shot. As he starts over my ridge to the next cut I move up but only have a butt shot at 30 yards so pass. I follow him through that cut and over again, I had to let him get aways ahead so he wouldn’t see me.

By the time I get to the next top he is down in a bigger bottom. This entire time I had not called as the elk were so vocal it wouldn’t have made a difference. I almost let that be it but decided to call at him. I made three chirps, walked away down the ridge in the opposite direction and made three more chips and waited behind some jacks.

He blew up right under me, had turned around to follow, he walks out, that slow rocking bull gait, coming right at me 50 yards, turns a little to walk under me at 30, with the slope I put my 20 pin mid height to hit just under middle and released.

He spun and ran back down to the bottom then stopped to look back, then laid down. I wasn’t happy with my shot as he had taken another step when I released and I hit the right height but just back. I was looking at him in the open and not an easy place to sneak in for a second shot… but soon he put his head down, kicked his legs a bit and died… about 10 or 15 minutes.

I walk up to him and my hunt was over just that fast. He was an old bull still trying to be relevant… half blind, half deaf, with broken and missing parts… we were a pair.

And if I could have made him get back up and we both walk away happy I would have.

Hells yes bud - great write up.

Good story and nice bull!

My buddy came up the next day to help pack out some meat, though he is limited with bad knees. he stayed in camp while I brought out the last load getting out the second day at last light. Next morning I made us elk loin biscuits and gravy. That bull is one of the best tasting elk either one of us has eaten. Made elk enchiladas and burgers I ground myself at the Tonto camp and had no complaints.

I dare say still relevant krp. Great write up and that grub sure looks tasty.

Great story, what dreams are made of. Thanks for sharing.

I had taken a quick couple vids of bugling and my bull at 100 yards working over to me.

👍

Great bull and story!

Good deal ...