Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting Old Mountain Elk For Old Mountain Hunter...

I'm not going to lie, my passion for wilderness backpack elk hunting has diminished. As anyone knows that has done it, it's just so damn much work! Having killed enough mountain bulls over the years, I've become picky about what I'll pull the trigger on (as you know, that's when the work starts). As a result, I've haven't shot an elk since 2016 (I didn't hunt last year - opening weekend was a blizzard, then I got Covid that same week).

So Covid - yeah that took a few months to get over, though I still don't have all my taste or smell back one year later. No worries, I continued to work-out, thinking about the coming summer of backpacking. Then, 2 weeks before my 60th birthday in June, I had a delightful incident that tore my shin open to the bone. 33 stitches is what it took to sew up. Got through that, continued to work-out and did several great backpacks and day hikes through the summer.

For the opening weekend of the general elk season I did my usual backpack into a favorite spot. It's more or less habit, and I honestly didn't expect to find a bull. I didn't. I did lay in my tent listening to the playoff's which has been a ritual of mine for years now (or the world series, depending). So, I decided to wait for some weather to stir thing up a bit. Finally, we got some snow this past Sunday, and this Tuesday night we got a bit more. I decided Wednesday (yesterday) was my day.

I left my truck at o-dark-hundred (temps in the teens) and began the climb up to a place I'd been thinking of. It's a beautiful spot in the wilderness area that has water and some scattered South facing meadows. I'd not hunted the place in well over a decade, but I had a feeling. Sure enough, at 7:10 am I spotted a bull below me, bedded watching his backtrack. I was above him and he had no idea I was there. I put the binoculars on him and could see he was a broken up old mountain bull in poor flesh. This is the kind of bull I was looking for! I shot him at 75 yards. The bullet went through the front leg bone, across the forward lung tops, and exited. He didn't get up, but I did put in a finisher when I got to him.

In all my years hunting and watching elk I've never seen a bull in such bad shape. Not only did he have a broken-up rack, but much of the hair around his neck was gone, exposing dried skin. His eyes were sunken deep in their sockets, and his backbone looked like a mountain chain sticking above the plains. He's an old, old bull that wouldn't have made it through the winter. It really felt like a mercy to take him.

Next job, packing out more meat...



[Ballistic gak for those that care - 308 Win, 165 Sierra Game King]

Fine old Bull...a fine Trophy. Congrats.

Congrats. Thanks for the interesting story, I'll wait to hear the rest of it.

Very nice, congrats.

Good hunt and tale. The loss of hair is probably due the bull's poor physical condition depressing his immune system. This allows either demodetic or sarcoptic mange mite populations to explode, it doesn't harm the meat. https://www.pgc.pa.gov/Wildlife/Wildlife-RelatedDiseases/Pages/Mange.aspx
You may have to use the crock pot on all that old fellow. He looks like he had quite a rut and hopefully left a lot of offspring in the mountains.

Very cool, Brad. Glad to see you've healed up from illness and injury and made it back to the mountains where the old bulls reside.

Excellent-Well done Brad…

Awesome write up. Thanks for the ballistic geek info! lol

Nice bull Brad…

Neat old bull, congrats.

Well done Brad - really a fine old bull.

Beautiful bull Brad - looks like he might carry his mass just a "bit"....

Now THAT'S a hunt! Like taking an old scrum cap buffalo, they don't get much better than that. Congrats!

What a great old bull. Congratulations to you.

Good deal all around.

That old guy would have likely been trapped by snow, or been shredded by a bear or wolves, so you absolutely did him a merciful favor.

I see the .308 did what it does, with no fuss.

Congratulations Brad.

Great story and nice old bull. Thank you for sharing it with us.

Manny

.I wish my last bull was even close to that. Congratulations. 60 isn't anything. Wait until you are 78+. It doesn't get better.I have not killed an elk for two years now. Doubt if I will ever kill another. I have killed enough elk,I don't need to. I have never had Covid. Tested negative before I went into the hospital two weeks ago.I am just wore out. Knees,back,elbows, hands, shoulders,lungs.The last two years,I could ride out 2-3 miles on the mule, hobble 100 yards and sit down

Good thing I didn't shoot one. A week ago I went out and shot a young muley buck. I could hardly move it around to field dress it and had to cut it in half to get it in the truck bed and that was tough to do.

In 2018,I killed my last bull on a solo hunt. It took me 2 hours to get it in bags and once I had it packed back to camp on the mule,I couldn't lift the panniers off the saw buck. Others close by helped me.To say the least, it used me up.I probably felt like that old bull you shot.

Awesome Brad, just awesome!
S.

Well done!

Very cool!