Seven Days, Four Backcountry Bulls - 2
Solo Bull
I took Sunday and rested, picked up some groceries as soon as the store opened up and headed back up to the trailhead and up on the mountain for an evening hunt. I had some buddies coming up the next day so the original plan was to get up and see what the elk were doing that evening, but sometimes the best laid plans can change. I got up on the mountain to the first lookout and saw a couple young bulls down in the meadow my brother-in-law had set up on just a few days before. Then I glassed a little further down and saw two spots of blaze orange on the point we had set up on for the shot. Soon it sounded like a world war had just broken loose. I counted 34 shots in all before I glassed the wounded bull trotting out of the clearing. I hate to assume but I'm guessing the fire for effect hunters were just guessing and got excited at the sight of elk and started shooting. The ranges I had ranged while I was down there was about 560 at the bottom of the opening and right around 740 at the top so this was no easy shot, especially with the solid 1 minute of wind that is blowing. I felt a sick feeling in my stomach as the hunters were hot on the trail of the bull.
I kept hiking on up to the second vantage point and stepped over to see a few cow elk feeding up out of the timber to me. I backed off where I wouldn't bump the cows and started to glass the west side of the mountain. About a minute later I saw the silhouette of a bull coming over the skyline and headed over the saddle to the cows below me. I still could not believe how rut crazed the elk were. As I looked this bull over, he was raking a tree and bugling his heart out. I decided he was a bull worth taking and set my rifle up for a shot.
I ranged him 3 times and his surroundings as well. I confirmed his range to be 659, checked my drop chart and dialed up 9.5 minutes. I checked the wind and it was steady at 10 mph straight out of the west, which is pretty common for that area. I held for 2.5 min on my reticle and dry fired on the feeding bull 3 or 4 times to make sure I could hold good enough for such a shot. He fed behind a tree and I waited for him to step out. I took a few deep breaths and held the hashmark right on his shoulder as I squeezed the trigger. The rifle went off and the 168 grain Berger was on its way. I had the scope right back on him just in time to see the bullet strike him square on the rear of the shoulder about halfway up (Thanks, muzzle brake). The bull took one step and stumbled before he rolled a long ways down the ridge. I hurried over to him but the light was fading very quickly and I was by myself in pretty serious bear country, so I had to leave the bull overnight unfortunately. I had called my hunting buddy and he and another guy were coming up the next morning to help get the bull out. I checked in on the Spot GPS Messenger my father-in-law had sent up with me and headed off the mountain in darkness. I didn't get much sleep that night as I was worried about a bear getting into my bull.
My buddies showed up before daylight the following morning and we headed up the hill to retrieve the bull. We got to him and found that a bear had not gotten to the bull but a coyote had chewed on his nose a little bit. We set him up for photos and de boned the meat and headed off of the hill. The 3 of us ate some lunch and napped, getting ready for the evening hunt. My one buddy had yet to fill his tag so the 3 of us were going to focus on getting him a bull for the next day and a half. We hiked up the mountain and it was not very long before we started seeing many elk.
The wind was dead calm and we could hear bugles ringing out all around us as we walked up to the lookouts on the mountain. We glassed two very nice bulls that were bugling and tending a herd of about thirty or so cows and then they started to fight. It was an awesome sight to see the two bulls going at it the way they did. These were both trophy class bulls that looked to be at least 330" and they were definitely the kings of the area. Unfortunately they were down in a hole that we only look at and will not shoot an elk in. As we watched the bulls go out to check some more cows, we heard a bugle directly beneath us and a group of cows started to feed out of the trees right in front of us. Light was fading very quickly as the bull came out to view in front of us, and he was a shooter bull. We ranged him at 389 as he stepped behind a tree. We waited as every elk in the herd had now cleared that one tree. It was almost dark and he that bull just never would step out until it was way past shooting light. We hiked off of the mountain in darkness, filled our bellies with MRE's, and slept anticipating the next morning of hunting.
I took Sunday and rested, picked up some groceries as soon as the store opened up and headed back up to the trailhead and up on the mountain for an evening hunt. I had some buddies coming up the next day so the original plan was to get up and see what the elk were doing that evening, but sometimes the best laid plans can change. I got up on the mountain to the first lookout and saw a couple young bulls down in the meadow my brother-in-law had set up on just a few days before. Then I glassed a little further down and saw two spots of blaze orange on the point we had set up on for the shot. Soon it sounded like a world war had just broken loose. I counted 34 shots in all before I glassed the wounded bull trotting out of the clearing. I hate to assume but I'm guessing the fire for effect hunters were just guessing and got excited at the sight of elk and started shooting. The ranges I had ranged while I was down there was about 560 at the bottom of the opening and right around 740 at the top so this was no easy shot, especially with the solid 1 minute of wind that is blowing. I felt a sick feeling in my stomach as the hunters were hot on the trail of the bull.
I kept hiking on up to the second vantage point and stepped over to see a few cow elk feeding up out of the timber to me. I backed off where I wouldn't bump the cows and started to glass the west side of the mountain. About a minute later I saw the silhouette of a bull coming over the skyline and headed over the saddle to the cows below me. I still could not believe how rut crazed the elk were. As I looked this bull over, he was raking a tree and bugling his heart out. I decided he was a bull worth taking and set my rifle up for a shot.
I ranged him 3 times and his surroundings as well. I confirmed his range to be 659, checked my drop chart and dialed up 9.5 minutes. I checked the wind and it was steady at 10 mph straight out of the west, which is pretty common for that area. I held for 2.5 min on my reticle and dry fired on the feeding bull 3 or 4 times to make sure I could hold good enough for such a shot. He fed behind a tree and I waited for him to step out. I took a few deep breaths and held the hashmark right on his shoulder as I squeezed the trigger. The rifle went off and the 168 grain Berger was on its way. I had the scope right back on him just in time to see the bullet strike him square on the rear of the shoulder about halfway up (Thanks, muzzle brake). The bull took one step and stumbled before he rolled a long ways down the ridge. I hurried over to him but the light was fading very quickly and I was by myself in pretty serious bear country, so I had to leave the bull overnight unfortunately. I had called my hunting buddy and he and another guy were coming up the next morning to help get the bull out. I checked in on the Spot GPS Messenger my father-in-law had sent up with me and headed off the mountain in darkness. I didn't get much sleep that night as I was worried about a bear getting into my bull.
My buddies showed up before daylight the following morning and we headed up the hill to retrieve the bull. We got to him and found that a bear had not gotten to the bull but a coyote had chewed on his nose a little bit. We set him up for photos and de boned the meat and headed off of the hill. The 3 of us ate some lunch and napped, getting ready for the evening hunt. My one buddy had yet to fill his tag so the 3 of us were going to focus on getting him a bull for the next day and a half. We hiked up the mountain and it was not very long before we started seeing many elk.
The wind was dead calm and we could hear bugles ringing out all around us as we walked up to the lookouts on the mountain. We glassed two very nice bulls that were bugling and tending a herd of about thirty or so cows and then they started to fight. It was an awesome sight to see the two bulls going at it the way they did. These were both trophy class bulls that looked to be at least 330" and they were definitely the kings of the area. Unfortunately they were down in a hole that we only look at and will not shoot an elk in. As we watched the bulls go out to check some more cows, we heard a bugle directly beneath us and a group of cows started to feed out of the trees right in front of us. Light was fading very quickly as the bull came out to view in front of us, and he was a shooter bull. We ranged him at 389 as he stepped behind a tree. We waited as every elk in the herd had now cleared that one tree. It was almost dark and he that bull just never would step out until it was way past shooting light. We hiked off of the mountain in darkness, filled our bellies with MRE's, and slept anticipating the next morning of hunting.
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