200"mulie Report post Posted December 8, 2012 Well my bussy went up Wednesday. Checked his cam down low and no elk on cam. Set up camp Thursday up high and found two groups of bulls. Me and his other buddy showed up Friday mourning at 1:30am. got couple hours of sleep and it was time to eat breakfast. The plan was stay near the top of the ridgeline and hope to run into some bulls. Since the ground was frozen out in the open from the dew and 18 degree temperature. Well we ran into couple cow elk right out of camp but no bulls. We crossed the main road and up another hill ... no more elk but deer sign everywhere. While we get to the edge of the hill we glass some pockets of meadows we can see and still nothing ... no deer no elk ... no nothing. While other two guys are talking about the "plan" i hear a short bugle across the small valley. We end up hurrying down and up this small valley to hopefully catch this bull moving. By time we get to cresting this hill some water bottles fall out of my pack. I take it off and start putting the water bottles back in my pack and a hear our buddy whistle. I quickly look at him and he was pointed down in front of us. I turn more and see a cow elk making its way torward us in this small draw. We get on our knees hoping that they won't see us. From my point of view i can only see a small portion of this draw....i glass and glass and glass and not seeing anything more and my arms are getting tired so i let them down. Well that one cow i saw is now 30 yards away right in front of me and she snapped her head to me. I felt terrible that i ruined the hunt that mouring... but she turned back to my left cause my buddy is moving and she turns and takes the other elk with her (calf). But the guys are talking i cant hear them but they keep pointing down and talking. All of a sudden hear thats a good bull and my buddy moves into a better position. waiting and waiting .. .. .. .. .. and boom! I remember saying all right he got a shot on opening mourning! and than Boom! he shoots again .. .. .. now im starting to think ohh no he missed ! After couple mins he waived us over and starts shaking his head. He says his first shot was broadside and the bull quartered to him and stared at him. He puts another bullet in and on his second shot the bull didnt hump, flinch, it just ran and not seeing blood. Now we waited 10 mins and started looking for blood where the bull was standing .... not seeing anything we are getting discouraged after couple yards. All of a sudden i hear OH MY GOD !! THERE HE IS !!......he only ran 25-30 yards no blood at all .... We waited couple more minutes and poked him to make sure he was dead. We went to the off side to see the exit wound ... except there was none ! 180 grain 30-06 ?? really no exit ? it had an entry but no exit really strange. We took pics, tagged him, and gutted him ... i stayed with the elk while they got the truck. Luckily he dropped 30 yards from a road. Well since the wallow fire there arent that many good hanging trees anymore. We skinned him while his head was on the ground ... good learning curve there... not many pics but hope they work. This first one is how close we walked up by time we saw him. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Antmo23 Report post Posted December 8, 2012 Nice bull! Strange about the no exit wound from a 30-06 and 180 gr pills... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Flatlander Report post Posted December 8, 2012 Very nice late bull. It really just depends on where you hit the bull and what bullets you were using. If you hit bone and the bullet doesn't hold together real well then the bullet doesn't have a lot of KE when it pushes up against the hide on the other side. This happened on my bear this year with my .300 Win Mag. Also if the bull was quartering to him and the bullet traveled the length of the body there are a lot of places for the slug to go. I saw this on a poached cow years ago. I searched through the carcass for hours with game and fish, and even with a metal detector we couldnt find it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Shedhunteraz Report post Posted December 8, 2012 Very nice story on a late hunt. Congrats to the hunter on a nice looking bull and meat in the freezer. Nice job guys. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pine Donkey Report post Posted December 8, 2012 Great bull, thanks for posting the story and pictures. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rossislider Report post Posted December 9, 2012 Nice bull! I wouldn't be too surprised that the bullet didn't exit the bull. I've seen elk shot with larger calibers that likewise never exited the animal. It’s probably a good thing. It left the cape in better shape and might have saved some meat. I’d look at it like a good handgun self-defense round. FMJs are great for practice and cheap to shoot. Likewise FMJs would pass through a person or animal with easy, but they are less likely to put your target on the ground. The best defense rounds (like hydra shok) are designed for maximum bullet expansion and knock down. A pass through means the bullet did not leave all of it’s energy in the target. Additionally, anything behind you target is at risk once a bullet has passed through your primary target. Not a good thing if you should need to shoot a home invader with possible loved in nearby rooms. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
brent Report post Posted December 9, 2012 I had a similar experience on a cow elk this year. I was using 30-06 180 grn rem core locks. She took three to the chest without flinching (thats why i kept shooting). All three were recovered under the hide on the opposite side. The elk did not bleed externally at all. It was a good learning experience for me. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lucky2hunt Report post Posted December 9, 2012 Nice bull, congratulations! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CouesWhitetail Report post Posted December 9, 2012 A good reminder that everyone should follow up their shots even when they don't see blood! congratulations on your bull! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
randyolson Report post Posted December 10, 2012 Awesome!! Congradulations! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chef Report post Posted December 11, 2012 Congratulations! I'm glad it turned out the way it did. Especially with not seeing the bull react to being hit. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
200"mulie Report post Posted December 11, 2012 ya, it was strange, but i did say to him hey i rememebr couple times in "hunting videos" couple bulls didnt react. And maybe he's just right up here. His 1st shot definitely missed. But the second was right on target and blew the lungs apart ... thats why he only went 30 yards max. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JLW Report post Posted December 11, 2012 nice! thanks for sharing! James Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bonecollector Report post Posted December 12, 2012 Thats a good late bull. Way to follow up the shot. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Thesteeleboy Report post Posted December 19, 2012 Great job, thanks for sharing your hunt with us. This is my late hunt 6A bull. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
