I was lucky enough to draw a Unit 1 ML bull tag this year and really busted my tail scouting and working with some archery hunters to try and get a good bull lined up for opening day. I had pretty high hopes for a 370 class bull and had a couple located with the help of some good friends prior to the hunt. In the last 2 days before the hunt started the main bull I was hoping to get onto opening day had vanished, so I opted to go after another bull some friends had watched and video taped for a couple of days. This bull was in a very accessible spot, but they hadn't seen anyone else watching him, so we figured it would be a good bet.
Well, it turns out, opening morning there were several groups of hunters on this same bull, so it was kind of a foot race - not exactly what I was hoping for on this hunt, but still worth getting in the mix. Just as I was getting into position on the herd, the shooting started and the herd buggered out of the open areas into the thick stuff. There was one really nice bull with them that morning, but I'm still not convinced it was the one we had on video. He would drop in from time to time, and looked a lot like a smaller 6x6 that had also been in this herd since before the archery hunt started. I heard later that no one taken either the smaller or the real big 6x6 of that herd.
The rest of the hunt was really exiting, and I was into bulls pretty much every morning and evening, but was still hoping for something really big. I got close a few times, but the hunting was much harder than I expected. The elk had gone pretty much nocturnal, and it seemed the big ones were staying quiet and in the timber until after dark, and were doing all of their rutting between an hour after sunset to an hour before sunrise.
Finally, on Tuesday morning, with only a couple days left to hunt I was going after a particular bull with a distinct bugle. I got into the location I knew he was hanging out before daylight, and immdediately heard a loud raspy bugle close by. I moved carefully toward the bugle waiting for shooting light and knew he was right there. Sure enough, the cows start moving by. The wind was right, I was in position prone with my bipod out watching the herd move across an opening right in front of me - this was it - I knew it. Sure enough, here comes the bull!
Wouldn't you know it? As he steps out in front of me at 70 yards, he's a stringy 4x4 with nothing going on at all. I just had to laugh out loud. He sounded exactly like the bull I was after, and was in the same area pushing cows. So now it's getting light and I know there's not much hunting left for the morning so I bust a move back to the truck and start heading for a backup area.
On the way I stopped and listened for bugles in an area that has had lots of bulls in the past. Sure enough, I get a bugle not too far off and start making a move. After crossing a couple rises and scanning I pick up an elk body right in front of me. I put my binos up, and it's a cow looking right in my direction. This area is pretty open and I didn't have much to hide behind but I crouched behind the only stump I could. Almost immediately, a big bull came to mount the cow I was watching so I started checking out his horns. Sure looked like a shooter to me - nice 6x6 with great fronts, and really good 5ths. Unfortunately I couldn't shoot from my position so I moved a little up and to the left for a better angle.
He had pushed the cow over a small rise and was moving off so I started to reposition. I scanned to the left and there's another cow - and she too has me but this time I'm out in the open. She barked once and everything froze. I couldn't do anything but just freeze and not make eye contact. After what seemed like an eternity, she barked once more, but then went back to feeding. At this point, my heart was beating out of my chest, my mouth was dry and I was shaking. I could see the bull's nose sticking out from behind a tree but none of his body. I just stood there until he finally moved out from behind the tree. I raised, got him in my cross-hairs and fired - too fast it turns out.
The whole herd bolted, but I was sure I had hit him - I had been practicing at long range and this was around a 100 yd shot. I checked the direction they had run, then backed out and called in some help to find him. After about 4 hours of re-living the whole event we couldn't find a single drop of blood. We found his tracks and trailed them for several hundered yards - still no blood - nothing.
I came back the next day and spent the majority of the day with my buddy trying to make sure he hadn't gone down. No birds, no smell, no coyotes, nada. I finally had to accept the fact that I had just flat-out tanked the shot. As hot as it was, if he had been down, we would have smelled him or picked up some crows or something. I was now getting really discouraged having flat-out blown my shot at a shooter bull, and was down to the last day of the hunt.
Thursday morning I went back to the same area hoping to get on him again, but the wind was all wrong. Then behind me a bugle rings out. The wind is much better to hunt in this bull's direction, so I started a stalk. After about 20 minutes of slowly making our way toward where we had last heard him, my buddy and I hadn't heard another bugle and were backing out to go back into the area I had missed my bull 2 days earlier.
One more bugle rang out right where we had heard him before, so we were back on him. This area is fairly open with lots of pines, but has been recently cut, so it's good for seeing elk, but good for them to see you too. We moved slowly and quietly toward a draw we figured they would be heading for, as it was already getting late - for this hunt. My buddy, Kenny, motions to me that he can see the herd and I pull up my binocs and there they are about 350 yards out.
As luck would have it, there was one little rise on this ridge top that had some flowery weeds we could use for cover to close the distance. As we approached the weedy knoll, I put up my binos and could see the bull at the back of the herd. I could make out some tall points, and good width, and saw one 6 point side really well. Being the last morning of the hunt, I was not about to pass up a bull with the frame I could make out, so belly crawled up to the top of the knoll we had been using for cover, extended my bipod laid down prone. I found the bull with my binocs and ranged him at 240 yards - pretty much the outer most limit of my comfort zone, especially after blowing an easy shot at 100 yds. He was feeding and still, and I forced myself to slow down and focus on the shot. I put my 250 yard mil dot behind his shoulder and forced myself to breath slowly and squeeze. BOOM! The bull bucked twice so knew the shot was good. The cows all ran off, but as we continued to watch the bull, he stayed behind, but was still standing.
I knew he was hit, and wanted to shoot again, but didn't want to risk a long shot again if he was staying put. I reloaded and we slowly stalked toward him and kept him in sight until he bedded down. He hadn't gone far from where he was originally hit, but I didn't want to risk him walking off to die so I moved closer until I could see his body and shot once more, this time right through both lungs. He stood up, took a step, and fell over. It turns out the first hit was a little back. While eventually fatal, I was glad to have the opportunity to get close enough for a clean finishing shot.
When I finally walked up to him, I could tell he was an older bull, in his declining years, and was 6 on one side with a broken 3rd and 5 on the other with a nice main beam. He certainly wasn't the 370 or 380 bull I had been dreaming about, but under the circumstances, being a grueling hunt and down to the last day, I couldn't be happier. A huge thanks goes out to all the people who were willing to take time away from work and family to be with me on this hunt, Kyle who helped locate the "opening day" bull, Casey and Steve, two great guys from Montana I met before their archery hunt and was fortunate enough to be a part of, and especially Kenny, who kept me going through the tough parts of the hunt and was with me throughout almost the entire hunt. Special thanks also to my wonderful wife Carrie, who stayed supportive throughout the entire scouting/hunting experience and had to maintain the homefront for weeks, while working full-time, so I could experience this hunt. Without their help, this hunt would not have been nearly as fun and memorable as it was.
Here are some pictures. Enjoy.
With Casey and Steve's permission I will hopefully add some pictures of the bulls these guys who came down here from Montana took.
