|
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 999
Campfire Regular
|
OP
Campfire Regular
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 999 |
I got lucky on my 2nd blackpowder elk hunt. I didn't know CO had such nice bulls. Day 3 of a 6 day hunt. We had spotty rutting activity, until thursday morning, I hiked in to a spot about 2 miles from the road and was pretty discouraged, I hadn't so much as heard a bugle all morning, then around 8:30 or so they started going nuts. I could tell they were about 1/2 a mile away and it sounded like moving up the hill. I quickly moved to intercept. I finally got to within what I felt was about 200 yards of two bulls. I blew the cow call a few times and they would answer, called a couple more, and could tell that both of the bulls were coming toward me, then I heard a bugle about 100 yards away. I spotted him walking throught the trees at about 75-80 yards. He bugled and I saw that he had thick eyeguards, reguardless of what he was packing on top he was going to get shot if I got the chance. I sat down, dumped my pack, and made a rest out of the nearest lodgepole. He kept coming and I still couldn't tell how big he was due to a big christmas tree being in the way. Finally at about 18-20 yards he stopped and I saw it was a hoss bull, but still had no shot... I could see his outline through the tree, and for a second condeplated shooting through the tree limbs but came to my senses. He didn't know I was there, I had perfect wind, and he was looking for a cow that he thought was about 15 yards to my left and farther back in the trees. He stood there watching for about 30 seconds and my heart was pounding. I kept telling myself, don't screw this up, he's as good as dead, stay calm! Finally he started walking toward me, he had to make a slight turn to go around a small tree, at that point I touched the trigger as soon as his shoulder cleared. I knew as soon as I shot I had just smoked one of the biggest bulls I have ever seen hunting elk in 18 years! I laid back on the ground trying to recover for a few moments then decided I better gather my composure, reload the muzz and go see what kind of blood I had. I walked the 14-15 steps to where he was standing at the shot, the smoke was still lingering in the air where he stood. There was no blood but the ground was wet and his prints were easy enough to pick out on the forest floor. I slowly followed along, keeping my head up looking for him. I walked probably 40-50 yards and spotted him standing facing away with his head down, looking pretty sick. He spun his head, spotted me and started trotting away, but at that point I had the sights lined up for a THS, and pulled the trigger. He took off down hill and 5 seconds later I heard him crash about 60 yards below me. I reloaded again... crept up to where I had last seen him. There was blood everywhere and I knew it wouldn't be long. I spotted him lying in the tall grass below me but not quite finished. I let him sit for a few minutes and he laid over and died. I knew he was big, but with so much timber and undergrowth I never got a very good look at him until I got up to him. The pack wasn't too bad, maybe 2.5 miles or so. I'm still in shock! Too bad my hunting partners weren't there for the fun. One was late getting to the trail head, the other was sick. Luckily they were more than happy to help pack the meat out. The 4ths are 23 and 22", with 54" beams.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 25,844
Campfire Ranger
|
Campfire Ranger
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 25,844 |
Great job and a beatiful bull to boot!!!
My dog is a member of the "Turd Like Clan"
Covert Trail Cameras are JUNK
3 Time Dinkathon Champion #DinkGOAT
|
|
|
|
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 174
Campfire Member
|
Campfire Member
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 174 |
Awesome. Must have been a real rush being that close. What load in the MZ? Congrats. Tom
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 4,218
Campfire Tracker
|
Campfire Tracker
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 4,218 |
Holy crap what a bull! Congrats.
Karma and Trouble have busses, and there's always an empty seat.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 10,915
Campfire Outfitter
|
Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 10,915 |
|
|
|
|
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 318
Campfire Member
|
Campfire Member
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 318 |
Holy moly!!!! That's an INCREDIBLE bull for Colorado. I just gotta ask... public land? Which unit? Certainly a bull of a lifetime! I can't believe you thought the 2.5 mile pack out was 'not too bad'
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 623
Campfire Regular
|
Campfire Regular
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 623 |
You weren't in Colorado!
DUDE! DUDE! DUDE! DUDE! ....... DUDE!
Fantastic! WOW! Congratulations!
|
|
|
|
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 645
Campfire Regular
|
Campfire Regular
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 645 |
All I got to say is............................
YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAW.
and forgot
CONGRATS
Last edited by BroncoLope; 09/24/08. Reason: Congrats
Where is that wascally Wapiti?
|
|
|
|
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 52,680
Campfire Kahuna
|
Campfire Kahuna
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 52,680 |
Good job! Very nice bull!
Liberalism is a mental disorder that leads to social disease.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 455
Campfire Member
|
Campfire Member
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 455 |
What do you mean, no a CO bull. There are monsters in here, just not everywhere. Awesome hunt! Congratulations!
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 19,111 Likes: 6
Campfire Ranger
|
Campfire Ranger
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 19,111 Likes: 6 |
If God wanted you to walk and carry things on your back, He would not have invented stirrups and pack saddles
|
|
|
|
Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 11,738
Campfire Outfitter
|
Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 11,738 |
Nice job of making the right decisions. That is a mighty fine bull!
Brent
Save an elk, shoot a cow.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 57,494
Campfire Kahuna
|
Campfire Kahuna
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 57,494 |
Dayum.... thats a beauty, I"d be happy for a lifetime. Congrats! Jeff
We can keep Larry Root and all his idiotic blabber and user names on here, but we can't get Ralph back..... Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, over....
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 3,767
Campfire Tracker
|
Campfire Tracker
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 3,767 |
Saaaaweet!! Thats a hoss.. Coordinates??? I bet he has a daddy..
|
|
|
|
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 999
Campfire Regular
|
OP
Campfire Regular
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 999 |
Saaaaweet!! Thats a hoss.. Coordinates??? I bet he has a daddy.. I'd be surprised if his 'daddy' was alive. This one didn't have any cows, nor much fat on him. I think he was looking at a pretty long winter. Not to mention he needed a few crowns.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 24,851
Campfire Ranger
|
Campfire Ranger
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 24,851 |
Wow! awesome bull! That bull is a good bull in any state. Yes there is bug bulls in Colo, but you have to know where to go...and who to know.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 8,787
Campfire Outfitter
|
Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 8,787 |
|
|
|
|
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 2,430 Likes: 5
Campfire Regular
|
Campfire Regular
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 2,430 Likes: 5 |
As The Kids say OMG. An outstanding bull for ANY State. Well done brother. If Oct 11th will ever get here then I'll try and add one to the list.
A true friend is someone who reaches for your hand but touches your heart !!!
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 46,289 Likes: 15
Campfire 'Bwana
|
Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 46,289 Likes: 15 |
A wise man is frequently humbled.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 478
Campfire Member
|
Campfire Member
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 478 |
Wicked bull and awesome story... thanks for sharing.
"Everyone who receives the protection of society owes a return for the benefit." -- John Stuart Mill
|
|
|
|
548 members (222ND, 219DW, 1Longbow, 10ring1, 204guy, 1beaver_shooter, 65 invisible),
2,645
guests, and
1,178
robots. |
Key:
Admin,
Global Mod,
Mod
|
|
Forums81
Topics1,194,480
Posts18,529,651
Members74,033
|
Most Online11,491 Jul 7th, 2023
|
|
|
|