Dreams come true.

[cmc]

I can’t believe it’s over and I’m not sure what the next few days are going to feel like after 11 days of casing elk with a bow… but now my hunt is over. Packer coined it best, and I again echo him that the Lord blessed me with a bull of my dreams. I know I passed on larger bulls base on score but I was never hunting for a number. Instead the day I learned that I drew the elk tag I envisioned the type of bull I wanted to try and harvest. I wanted a big wale tail bull and preferably a clean 6x6. Today I achieved my quest. Lots of blown stalks, lots of them... lots of miles hiked along with a lot of bulls passed on but it all came together today at 30yds on the bull of my dreams.

 

I had several opportunities on this bull over the past week, but I just could not get everything to go right. They say that you need to have 100 things go right to shoot an animal with a bow but honestly I think that number is quite low. It sure felt like I was reaching 150 items and yet I still had not scored an arrow into this beast.

 

To try to cover most of the days prior to the day I shot my bull I’d sum them up that they were some of the best 10 days of great hunting with friends and family. I had the joy of helping my buddy get his monster bull out of the woods after being within bow range of it myself earlier that day but the timber too think to get a shot off. On the 4th day of the season we spotted this bull and I put my focus on this bull and this guy alone. Well ok, not really that one bull as there were two other bulls in the area that looked just like him but not as big. I would have been just as happy to have wrapped my tag around one of them if given the chance. So after we seen my bull I put in a hard week of hunting him chasing his growl bugle over several canyons and ride lines. At times sitting a wallow that we seen this guy leave one day as was getting hit hard with other bulls when times were quiet and bulls were making trips to get water. There was a point in there when I had Packer and his dad both with me at the wallow and a 7x6 bull came in and I passed. He just didn't have what I wanted. Packer’s dad looked at me as if I was completely nuts. In most cases I would agree but I knew what tag I had in my pack and that cliché line that you have to pass on the small ones to get the big ones was running through my head. Except this meant I was passing on a 360-370 class bull to hopefully shoot a smaller bull that met my requirements. Then again I’ve never been known to be that square in the head.

 

I’ll pause and take a quick step back in time that when I learned of drawing the tag I discovered quickly that it was going to overlap with my daughter’s 9th birthday. Being that I’ve wanted to get her out with me more on my trips I figured I ask if she wanted to go elk hunting with dad for her birthday and I don’t even think she hesitated with her “yes daddy”. Even if I tagged out before she got up to camp, I’d take her out for the day and try to call in elk, but mostly just spend quality time with her in the woods just the two of us. Honestly though when the day came I had dropped my standards immensely and was not holding out for anything of quality nature. I held that true when a small 6x6 that Packer called into 15yds a few days earlier strolled in to the wallow we were watching and tried to shoot him. I was struggling with instructions for my daughter to run the camera and waiting for the bull to offer a shot of which he never did before he spooked. Even though I never shot a bull that day it was the highlight of my hunt and one I wish I could have lived every day of the 11 days in the field. So as the days went on through the season I was passing on bulls almost every day. Again that’s tough for this meat hunter. We started to learn bulls by their bugles and thus it helped us know when to move in and when to move on looking for one we want to pursue. Each day though we were on the ‘lookout’ or read that as “listening” for ‘Growler’. He had an unmistakable deep growl through his entire bugle that we would key in on and set our stalks. Through the next week we learned a lot about my bull and how he responded to calling. He didn’t care about cow calling but bugles would get his goat, to a point. What we did learn was that he would not tolerate seeing other bulls and would aggressively run them off. Unfortunately my Montana elk decoy is that of a cow elk and that wasn’t cutting it with him.

 

Having chased this guy for almost a week we had him pretty well patterned and we kept hunting him in his home range trying to get into the right spot at the right time. As I mentioned before I had a few encounters with growler but most of the time I struggled to be able to get clear shooting lanes. As Packer and I rolled out of the jeep Monday in the dark I told myself a legal bull was fair game. I felt that I had more than my share of fun trying to kill a big bull and I was not looking to fill my freezer with elk for the year. We hiked the mile and half to a wallow getting there late being distracted by a huge 8x something bull and his cows. The bulls were quiet at first but started up mid morning and it didn’t take us long to realize it was time to leave the wallow and take after them up on the ridge. We could hear growler and several other bulls all on the same ridge which left me excited at the opportunity of filling my tag on something. Packer and I climbed out of the bottom of the draw to the ride top and started to work our way closer to the flurry of bugles. As we closed the distance I noticed a small 6x6 bull running at us and the bugle coming from behind him let me know who was pushing him our way, growler. The 6x6 slowed his pace and paused at a tree in which he took out some frustration on and started racking it pretty good. That’s when I figured I better make my move on him and try to get the wind just right so I can come in from above. While I was moving in him I caught movement of an elk to my far right on the ridge top in the clearing. It was growler, sitting there watching his cows as if he was king of the mountain. Well honestly, he was. I told myself - don’t be greedy and kill that 6x6 let growler have this one. It was hard to not overlook the gift of all that meat sitting there raking a tree unaware of my presence 45 yards above him. As I started my decent towards the bull to get a clear shooting lane a bull below him bugles. Turns out that was all that growler could take and lets out one of his low rumbling growl bugles back. I turn to my right and see growler lower his head and charge right through a tree snapping of limbs heading right towards the small bull I was trying to shoot. As growler closed the distance I knew the small bull was going to go move into a clearing offering me a wide shooting lane and most likely at 30yds or less. My hunch was right and the bull jumped closer to me and as I drew froze at 25yds. I started to center my bow on him as I noticed growler coming into an opening down the ridge from me. I was now torn, take the bull 25yds offing his quartering away vitals to me or try for growler. I said if growler comes two more steps closer I’m changing up and going to give him a shot. Sure enough not only does he move those two steps he walks right up to 30yds and stops facing me with a tree between us. The wind changed and was going right at him. I was still at full draw and it was not a matter of if he was going to move or bolt. I had opening in either direction and prayed he’d only try and walk off instead of bolting. What felt like forever, but more of reality of 25 seconds he turns to the left to walk off. I locked my 30yd pin right behind his shoulder let out a ‘mew’ with my voice where he paused just long enough for me to send my arrow. It hit exactly where my 30yd pin was and the report of the ‘whack’ and the sight of the arrow buried up to the fletching secured my notion that I hit him. He spun back to the right and dropped down the ridge where I could only see his spine and rack. He moved another 20yds out of sight and I began to call with my mouth reed in hopes to have him pause and let the slick trick broad head take effect. I turn back to Packer looking to see if he could see more but was distracted by the loud crashing of my bull going down. I then looked back and got a thumbs up from Packer and a motion that he was down. We joined up and retold each other what we seen, heard and witnessed trying to piece together the last 3 minutes of time. Since Packer said he saw him go down and I was positive of a solid hit we didn’t wait but wait but 2 mins before we swung wide and kept glassing where Packer last saw him. It didn’t take long before we saw the massive antler rising up in the grass 50yds from where he stood when my arrow connected on him. As we glassed him I noticed a bleached out shed about 40yds below him under a cedar tree. I commented to Packer that it looks big enough to be my bulls and started laughing. Later upon inspection we both feel that the shed is from my bull as it’s an exact match to his current antler. That shed was dropped before the Wallow fire yet survived with minor burn marks.

 

As I walked up on my bull I was speechless. I was humbled by his beauty and very grateful that the good Lord was gracious enough to let me experience the joys of taking such an animal as he is. Now that hunt is over I can say I would have wanted it to have gone any other way. The day elk hunting with my daughter was something I will never forget. The week in elk country was a well needed break from work and society but the time away from family has me more than ready to be home.

 

If I’ve learned anything on this hunt it’s that my wife is by far the most wonderful thing that God has given me. She held down the home front while I was out chasing a dream these past two weeks. Without her support I wouldn’t be writing this story and sharing the tale of the hunt. I am always in debt to her and trying to find ways to make it up. I guess as a start, I promise to work my hardest to find her a cow elk for her rifle hunt that starts just a few weeks after mine closes. Second I will try and be a good patient when I return home from knee surgery the week after her elk hunt as she mends me back to health. Good thing I have a five hour drive home as I write this it’s quite apparent that I need to add some more items to that ‘making it up to her’ list.

 

God Bless,

 

cmc

 

 

 

Packer and I after 11 days of chasing elk. Thanks for all the help Aaron (Packer) not many would have committed that much time to helping someone else fill their tag.

 

To the left you can see the shed and to the right you can see my bull where he took his last step. That is a sight that will forever be etched into my memory banks.

[CATERPILLAR]

very nice bull and a good story. way to stick to a plan

[CouesWhitetail]

Awesome! Congratulations! that's great that Packer was there to help you out too! Nice shirt Aaron!

[bigorange]

Great story and awesome bull! Congrats!

[lucky2hunt]

Congratulations on an incredible hunt, one that many of us also dream about. You made your dream come true and ended up with great memories and a fantastic trophy! Well done!!!

[tjhunt2]

That was a great writeup and you got yourself a dandy of a bull. Good friends are a blessing and you certainly have one in Packer. Good luck on your wife's hunt and she does indeed deserves to connect on a cow for holding the fort down. You sure made a bundle of memories on this hunt. Thanks for sharing Growler with us.

 

TJ

[reganranch]

Great looking bull/writeup.

[cmc]

Thanks folks for the kind words. Packing up and heading home today.

 

Amanda you should see how worn that shirt is. It's been on every hunt we have done since i bought it for him several years ago. I have nicknamed it his holy shirt based on all the holes in it but it is turned into his lucky shirt i think and I'd hate to see him retire it.

 

cmc

[Coues Sniper]

Awesome bull - Even better story. Well done.

[JTElk]

Congratulations on a great hunt and awesome bull! Love the story and the commitment to the hunt and more importantly to your family!

[bonecollector]

Very cool story. Congrats on a dream hunt and a great bull.

[couespatrol]

Beautiful bull. Congrats!!!

[cramerhunts]

Congratulations on a beautiful bull! What an awesome job on writing up the recap as I could feel the excitement building as if I was tagging along with you each day. You just can't beat spending time with your kids in the field and I know exactly how you must of felt with your daughter in tow that day. Super job all the way around! Really cool being able to find the shed from your bull, just icing on the cake! Congrats again to you and Packer on a couple of great bulls!

[trophyhnter]

Great story. We were all right there with you! Congrats on a great memory and bull!

[200"mulie]

great write up and great bull. congrats!