Lark's son Bridger takes a giant!!

[CouesWhitetail]

Lark asked me to post these for him:

 

 

 

 

 

[bonecollector]

Wow what a great looking bull! Congrats.

[Mrs125coues]

Wow, Really nice bull...Congrats

[TAM]

Aren't big pretty bulls like that supposed to be all broke up on the late hunts? Congratulations on a great bull!!!

[Red Rabbit]

Bridger- Congrats on a great bull. Hope to read a detailed story.

Lark- are you flashing gang signs or doing your Richard Nixon imitation?

 

Doug~RR

[Apache7mm]

Awesome!

 

DAN

[izquik72]

That's a dandy for sure

Archery, Early rifle, Late rifle No brainer congrats To Bridger on a great bull.

[.270]

red, you're sposeta ignore my index finger.

 

Bridger, great job son. you and your brother and pals really worked hard for that thing. you've killed a bull of a lifetime 2 years in a row now. what are ya gonna do next year? you fellers have turned into good hunters who will do what it takes to be successful. Lark.

[COOSEFAN]

WOW!!!! Giant for sure!!! That's the best late season bull I've seen so far this year! Huge congrats to all involved, absolute stud right there! JIM>

[Chef]

Congrats to your boy.

That sure is one heck of a bull.

[Kaffer62]

Awesome looking bull! Congratulations!!

[GreyGhost85]

Well, i figure since it's my bull, i oughtta add a story for all of you. The main reason i put in for this hunt, is that i only had 2 bonus points (hunter ED, and loyalty) because i drew an archery tag last year and took a great bull that a lot of you probably remember. (he went a little over 370"), and it was fairly wasy to draw, the other reason is that while taking one of my friends on a hunt in the same unit 3 years ago, I saw a monster bull that never really left my mind.

this is last year's bull

 

After finding out i was drawn i was excited but also nervous because i knew how tough of a hunt this was going to be. I went through a job change around the end of september and wasnt able to scout nearly as much as i felt i needed to. Luckily i was able totake the whole hunt off and i was fairly confident that i would be able to fill my tag somehow or another. The first day of the hunt was very uneventful and humbling, only seeing one wild @$$ cow elk a mile or so away. the next morning i glassed a big heard of elk probably around 40, but they were to far to tell if any were bulls, much less a bull that i wanted to take. We spent the next about 6 hours trying to figure out how to get to where the heard was at. We found them later that evening, and they were all cows except for one spike. i went to bed that night pretty worried and the next day things only got worse. we woke up to bitter cold, howling wind and snow blowing sideways. needless to say i didnt see a thing that day, and i knew the next day i (thought) would be hunting alone for the duration. about 4:30 a.m. my friend suprised me at camp, and man was i happy to have someone else there. monday morning started out the same as the day before, about 15 degrees and really windy.. after another elk-less morning i decided to call it off around 10:00, and we ran into the closest town for a hot breakfast at and i got on the horn with some people and re-strategized for the evening. monday evening jake and myself hiked up a very steep and tall mountain that i figured would give us a good vantage point, and it did. right before dark i glassed up big bull a LOOOONNNGGG ways away, probably about 3 miles, i wasnt sure how big he was, just figured he was a heck of a bull. we watched him until dark, trying to figure out exactly where he was, and how we were going to get in there to where he was living. i was able to con another friend of mine, Forest Kirchner, into coming to help because his wife took a great bull a few days prior, and my old man, Lark, AKA .270, called and said he would be coming up the next day to help. needless to say i was excited for the next day with more help in camp and a great bull located. the next morning it took forest, jake and i quite a while to figure out exactly where the bull was and how to get in there without spooking him out. it was about 7:30 before we finally got set up glassing for the bull, much much later than i had hoped for. we sat there all day long without seeing anything but an occasional muley. my dad was giving words of encouragement whenever he could but i was gettin a little discouraged when we could'nt turn him up. the sun was starting to set, and i stood up to take my binos off my tripod and i noticed a white figure a ways across the basin that i didnt remember seeing earlier. It was my bull. jake was with me and forest was on another knoll across the way. i told jake "dont take your eyes off that bull, not even for a second! i'm gonna go try to get a bullet in him" . it was gettin' dark quick and i knew if i was gonna get him i had to make a move quick. i half hiked half sprinted for about a half mile through some of the nastiest oak brush and manzanita in the state to try to get somewhere that i could see over the brush and get a shot off. i made my way up a little ridge and finally found him again, he was just feeding and either didnt know i was there, or just wasnt very concerned about my presense. the only shot i had was a touch under 400 yards and would have to be off hand, because if i tried to lay down or sit i could see over the brush. After a couple warning shots, I was tired and nervous and I wanted to give him a fighting chance (my dad woulda shot him with his using a mirror and shooting over his shoulder trick) I connected. He was looking straight at me, and the .264 caught him just above the soft spot in his chest, and shot through his spine and into the chest. He didn’t even kick one time. It took a little while to get to the downed bull, and I wasn’t quite sure how big he was, I just knew he was big enough. When I finally got to him I let out a few hoops and hollers of elation. Forest met me at my bull where we got him dressed and snapped a few pictures. I had to leave him over night because he was a long ways back in there and we couldn’t possibly get him out at night. The next morning, Jason Rippey was gracious enough to act sick from work and bring in a few horses to haul him out. This was a great help. This hunt had about every emotion you could think of in it. The highest highs and the lowest lows. It all came together with the help of some GREAT friends and family members who were not only willing, but were glad to help. Id like to thank everyone involved, My dad Lark Hubbard, my brother Gunner Hubbard, Jason Rippey, Jake Watzke, Forest Kirchner, and Troy Burns. Without the help of these guys I would have lost my mind on this hunt. The kept me motivated and positive the whole time. When we got the elk back to camp, my dad reminded us that this was a REAL elk hunt! We hunted our tails off in the nastiest country day in, and day out, killed a great big bull in the back country on public land and hauled him out on horseback when it was all said and done. This was definitely the most rewarding hunt of my life and one that will probably always remain on the top of my all time best hunts list. Thanks to everyone once again, I hope I can repay you all for your time and hard work some day.

 

 

[mje1]

That sure is an awesome Bull Congrats.

[fido]

Congrats on a tough hunt!!! I'm pretty sure my boot-prints were in the same area. That first couple days of cold and wind up there kicked my butt too! I've decided no more tent camping in November. Were you camped near PS?

Joe

[daryl_s]

The story is every bit as good as the bull itself. Great write up and a big congratulations.