I went to the Cabelas near my home and took a gander at the new world record Spider Bull from about a foot away. He looks a whole lot more impressive in the pictures than in person. The rack on that bull doesn't even constitute "cool, gnarly, impressive or have the cool trash factor". His rack is retarded, ugly and looks like a bad birth defect. It doesn't even look real, since it is so mangled from bizarre growth. The main beams are short and stubby looking. To say I was unimpressed was an understatement. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE trashy, unique racks better than anything, but his rack didn't do a thing for me. There are a couple of 400 class bulls near the spider bull and they look IMPRESSIVE! Too bad such an ugly bull holds the record. There are hundreds of better looking bulls that adorn the walls of stores and homes in the area. Do a search for the "spider bull" and you will see what I mean. I need to figure out how to post pictures again...LOL Flinch

It was here this winter, three miles from my house... I didn't bother to go. I'm with you, what an ugly rack... have said that since the first pics I saw last year.

Agreed, never thought it deserved the #1 ranking. The pics of it with the "hunter" always cracked me up, as he was surrounded by a small army of guys that probably hand fed it until he could catch up and shoot it...

'Freaky' deal all around...

It was a "public land" bull, but cost something over 100K, with a small army of guys keeping an eye out for it.

I could care less what a guy wants to do with his time and money, but some things don't impress, and The "spider Bull", what he cost, and how he was taken is one of them.

Hell, even the name is ugly...

if i was that guy you would not be able to get the smile off my face for a year and look at him it is like he just shot a jackrabbit must be nice to have money

Brad,

Was that a Utah Governor's tag that he bought at auction?


Casey

I have the link and story on my site, but can't post it, because I am not a sponsor. Let me post the article.
Dennis Austad of Ammon, Idaho, with the new world record American non-typical bull elk he killed on Monroe Mountain in Utah in September 2008. (Mossback Guides and Outfitters)

It's official.

A behemoth male elk dubbed the "Spider bull," taken by a hunter on Monroe Mountain in central Utah last fall, carried the largest antler rack ever recorded by the Boone and Crockett (B&C) Club and has been recognized as the new world record for a nontypical American elk.

The antlers did more than land at the top of the record books - they also proved to be points of contention among hunters.

The final measurements -- 478 5/8 -- shattered the existing record of 465 2/8 taken from a bull found frozen in a lake in British Columbia in 1994. The points based on a combination of measurements from the antlers.

Doyle Moss, head guide for Utah-based MossBack Guides and Outfitters, led hunter
Dennis Austad of Ammon, Idaho, to the bull.

"We all knew he was a special bull, but the reality of just how big he was really set in when we walked up to him," Moss said.

A quick measurement by Moss in the field turned up a gross score of more than 500 points. And that's when the controversy started.

Online hunting forums buzzed with rumors that the bull had escaped from an elk farming ranch or a hunting preserve. Columnists from national hunting magazines joined the fray and criticized the program that allowed Austad to bid and win a $150,000 elk conservation permit to hunt anywhere in the state for several months.

Money from the permit program funds conservation projects around the state. More than $17 million has been raised by the program in the last 12 years, $2.9 million of it in 2008.

But investigations by the state of Utah and B&C confirmed the animal was wild, was taken on public land, and was killed legally, which qualified it for the record.

"We are confident it was not a farmed elk," said Terry Menlove, director of the animal industry division of the Utah Department of Agriculture. "We keep an inventory and there were no missing animals and it had none of the required
markings for an elk on a farm."



Moss can understand why some people figure the bull must have escaped from a breeding facility. He first heard about the bull when friend e-mailed him some pictures.

"Even I questioned how he could be so big," Moss said. "There had never been a bull killed on that mountain that scored 400 inches. It was kind of shocking."



Moss says anybody who spent time trying to find the bull during hunting season will confirm it was born in the wild.

"After seeing him disappear like he did during the hunts it is easy to see how he could have survived the last couple of years," Moss said. "He was very nocturnal. We would see him the last few minutes of light before dark and at first light, but that was it."

Jim Karpowitz, director of the DWR, uses that point to counter the argument that only a hunter with the means to pay $150,000 for a permit and guide fees could take such a trophy.

"All the other permitted hunters - archery, rifle and most of the muzzleloaders - had a crack at that bull," Karpowitz said. "A lot of other people knew it was there and they all looked for it."

Austad hunted with MossBack guides for 12 days in early September before leaving due to other obligations. He managed one shot at the "Spider bull" during that time. A Mossback guide spotted the bull, alive and well, on Sept. 28, two days before Austad was scheduled to return. Early on Sept. 30, Austad dropped the bull with one shot from a rifle he designed himself.

Karpowitz was impressed with the bull, but said it has never been the agency's goal to produce a world record.

"Our objective is to maintain healthy population of elk and provide a diversity of hunting opportunities," he said. "It's exciting that we produced the largest elk ever known in the wild and an indication of the high quality elk program we have in Utah."

I talked to Doyle, whom I went to school with, and they had been hunting this bull up high all year. They had watched this bull breed, so his genes are very much alive and he was on public land. He somehow evaded hunters throughout the hunting season. Several groups of guys were after him. A couple of Doyle's guides were cruising around in the low land, sage brush flats and found the bull all by himself out in the open. The bull was obviously tired from a long rut and was just tanking up on grub for the long winter ahead. They called the hunter and he came up and shot it. We had Doyle on the phone as he was measuring the bull a few minutes after they shot it. They had some 10-15 guys hired out looking for this bull. That isn't hunting boys, but each to his own. I wouldn't feel too good shooting a bull when I didn't do any of the work, but that is the kind of clients Doyle caters to and he does very well at it. They have the money and aren't afraid to throw it around for the biggest animals in the world. Would I turn down the chance at a record? No, but I wouldn't feel very good about it either. It's still a fugly bull...LOL Flinch

A 285 6 pt, done solo on public ground, is more of a real trophy in my book. "Trophy", to me, is more about the "how" of the hunt than the outcome of the hunt... but money has never bought taste or class in any realm...

Well said Flinch and Brad.

I agree 100%.

The guy wants to spend the money to buy the tag that's great.

Using an army of guides to take down an animal puts nothing but a bad taste in my mouth.

The tag was more than $100K I've heard...plus the fees for baby sitting the bull all summer....even on Utah public land its a fantastic animal....just the way it was taken is a crock of BS...

+100

Agreed. The effort involved, for me, means so much. It's good to earn your meat. But don't be too harsh on this guy for doing it (the hunter). Maybe this guy didn't pay his dues out in the field scouting the bull, but I bet he's paid some dues somewhere. Not saying I'd do it if I had the cheddar, but just sayin. I'm happy for him.

Better than the stinkin spyder bull my 16 yr olds first bull a 6x6 opening day in NW Montana! What does it score?? I could care less! When guys spend a fortune on a trophy I am very unimpressed.. MY son's bull cost tags and gas...Public land no guides..

Holy Krapp!!!

That IS a beautiful bull!!!'
Good on you two.....

Ingwe

One of my best friends killed this bull this past September in the the Yukon.....Fair chase and un guided. How refreshing to see a great trophy go to a common guy who is a hunter and hunts because he loves to hunt....this guy is a throw back from another era...He's coming up here next fall to hunt mule deer with me for a couple weeks.

So thats real???...No schitt???

I figured it was just one of those things that makes the internet rounds this time of year...

Good to get confirmation......

Ingwe

Guarantee it....that man is one of the most gifted hunters I'll ever know. We guided Dall sheep together in the Northwest Territories for two years back in the early 90s.

At the time this all unfolded various people posted links to photos that had been previously captured of this bull - mostly during the summer months.
I'm sure the bull was very nocturnal as Moss stated but there was plenty of daylight photos of him on different hunting forums, including one of him wandering past some camping trailers.

Within a very short time after the kill Mossback had the website up with the sponsors and logo featuring the unique rack. It was clear it had all been prepared in advance. It didn't appear that there was ever a question about the what the final outcome would be.

Al Klassen is the guy who shot the elk in the Yukon.....he snapped this pic of me....we hunted up there 58 days that year.

OK...this is getting ridiculous!!!

Do you ever stop and take time out to eat?....or do you just hunt..???

And I thought I had BTDT.........


Ingwe

Sorry....I've got a thing for dall sheep.....grin!

No hijack intended....

I also saw the bull at cabelas, in person its surprising how small it looks, the height and spread may even be less than my 324 bull. if you look at the pictures keep in mind the hunter is sitting back as far away as he can from the rack, I agree the other 400 class bulls in the cabelas trophy room look alot better and bigger, this rack isn't that big it just has measurable points going everywhere.

I Love it!

Ingwe

Those are some very nice sheep there, scenarshooter. I'd love to hunt them someday before I'm too damn old...if my knees will let me. I don't figure too many of those critters come easy for anyone. There is, for me, a direct relationship between effort involved and the feeling of accomplishment/satisfaction one has after it's all over. I reckon a guy's gotta be pretty high after killing one of those white beauties. Hope to find out for myself one of these days.

I aggree, butt ugly and a sorry world record.
It really is too bad Utah doen't have wolves as this frankenelk would have been served up long befre he was a "spider" anything.
Says a lot about the need for preditors to clean-up the jean pool.

Just because people don't like the hunter or the method it doesn't take away from the animal.

Real Elk live with wolves.

Some of the DWR have speculated to me that the total cost was probably in the $600K range...

Flinch,

I would have to agree. As I was looking at the bull last February in SLC at the EXPO, I was talking with a friend. We were debating the Wall of Elk that Mossback was displaying. We both agreed that there were several other bulls on that wall we would have gladly killed, before the Spider bull. I especially liked the big Typical 6 points that have made central Utah famous.

FH

Monroe Mountain has always been a special draw hunt, but with the taking of this bull, "Special Draw" takes on a whole new meaning. I hunted the Escalante Mountains for several years, unguided but was able to draw for Monroe Mountain.

I agree it's an ugly bull. I'd much prefer a lower-scoring typical 6x6 on my wall. That being said, I find it strange that the guy is being criticized for hunting techniques that are commonplace in Africa. Let the wealthy enjoy their money. It means nothing to me. Trophies are in the eye of the beholder. Where I hunt, ANY legal bull is a trophy.

JV

The spider bull is the world record nontypical Rocky Mountain bull--I keep forgetting that B&C has a nontypical catagory for RM elk now......

The typical record is still that Arizona bull that was killed in the late 60's, and discovered 10 years ago or so......

Casey

I drew "THE" tag a couple of years ago for Wasatch Mountains. Patterned a 400 bull like crazy. He lived in the worst country you could imagine. I did everything right one evening, started to draw back on him at 25 yards and a twig cracked under my boot. I sat down and cried. I got on the bull 3 days later again. He was tough to get on due to the steep terrain and extremely thick brush and poor wind conditions. He and his 29 cows were coming up the trail towards me at 400 yards, right on schedule. The wind was finally right and all was well. I was going nuts waiting for him to herd his cows along. Suddenly a rifle shot rang out with the "thwack" that comes shortly after it. Yup, he got poached right out from under me. I never caught the guy and try as I may, couldn't locate the dead bull. I cried a lot that day. I had one day left to hunt, so called in and wacked a nice 5x6 bull. No huge trophy, but with a bow, it is a dang nice bull. I had passed up tons of bigger bulls during the season. I was so fixated on that big bull. I knew I could get him and would have. You just don't see them that often. Then the next night I had 2 350 class 6 point bulls come in on my water hole. Uggg...my luck totally sucks! Flinch

Flinch and others,

My good friend and his brother finally drew Monroe tags this year. Only 16 years of putting in. Anyway, Mike was in bulls the entire time and had a BLAST. He ended up killing a 350 5 point bull on the last night, but had passed on bulls pushing 385 hoping for that elusive 400 point bull. His brother killed a bull around 380.

He keeps telling me to "not settle". I have 9 points going into this next draw and find myself willing to "settle" for a different hunt. I know I could draw several tags for archery, but shoot, for a once in a lifetime hunt, I think I should have my rifle with me. Decisions, Decisions.

Sorry about your bull being poached Flinch. I think I read that story before. Still what JV said about any legal bull, seems so true here in the general seasons too.

FH