Sometimes We Miss....A Lot.

[lancetkenyon]

About 2.5 years ago, I officially acquired a new son. Even though Ryan had been part of the family for the previous 6 years, he finally "bought the cow" and married my oldest daughter, Paige.

 

Paige and Ryan drew 7W bull elk tags this year. This would be Ryan's first elk hunt ever, and Paige has not had an elk tag since she was 11 and drew a 6A Jr. cow tag, which she filled and took her first ever big game animal. That was 14 years ago.

 

Fast forward a few months, and while on Taylor's cow hunt this year, they came up to spend the weekend with us, and dropped a bomb on me that I will be a Granddad next year!

 

So far, my family has had a great hunting season. Taylor took a big fat juicy cow in October, then a great mule deer buck in mid-November. So hopes and excitement were really high going into the late rifle bull hunt. Now 7W is not known for huge bulls, and not even a LOT of animals like some units around the state. But Paige was going for a meat bull, she said the first thing with antlers was going down for her since she only had 2.5 days to hunt, and Ryan would hold out to let Paige have the first 3 days, and then go for a raghorn for the first few days of the hunt, and then switch to a meat bull after that.

 

We left for the cabin on Thursday, Thanksgiving Day, in the late morning. When Paige and Ryan got to my house, Paige was sick with a killer cold, on top of being just under 3 months pregnant. Yay morning sickness and added congestion. Got to the cabin by 1PM, unloaded, turned on the heaters, and headed out to scout a bit. I think we glassed up a few cows that afternoon, as temps were still pretty warm, and really windy.

 

 

Friday morning came early. 4:45AM had us up and getting ready. Windy conditions, cold for us Phoenicians. With Paige being sick, we had no plans for hiking a bunch, just get out, cover some ground and glass a bunch, and hope to find a bull on a hillside within 500-600 yards for Paige. Paige was fast asleep in the back seat.

 

 

First thing in the morning, I spotted a small herd of elk about 150 yards from a minor road we were on, and it ended up being 6 cows, and a small spike bull. I said, "Spike bull!". Paige jumped up, I grabbed the 7mm, and got her set up just off the road. Paige got the bull in the scope, with a clear shot. For about 2 seconds. Then the cows started trickling by, blocking a shot opportunity on him. They fed off the ridge, and into the PJs, never to be seen again.

 

Miss #1, an opportunity.

 

So we continued to glass hillsides, and canyons for the day, checking high ground because the weather had been warm until now. Late in the afternoon, while driving to check out another area, about 30 minutes before sunset, we saw another small herd of elk about 200 yards through some trees. Paige and I jump out to try and get a shot. Stalk through some trees, and see the elk in a small meadow about 250 yards away, but definitely knew we were there. I get the rifle ready, and see a spike bull. Telling Paige to get down, she wants to see the bull through my binos to see which one is the bull. About 5 seconds later, the herd heads into the thick stuff and up a hill. Never to be seen again.

 

Miss #2, an opportunity.

 

Head back to the Jeep, and Ryan driving, head down the road with about 10 minutes until sunset. I tell Ryan t stop as I notice something on top of a small mountain. Grab the binos, a decent raghorn. I got out my new spotting scope to get a better look at him. 5x4 bull. Range him...1026 yards, about 15 degrees uphill. We discuss getting the rifle out and getting set up. Paige has shot out to 300 yards only. So with the windy conditions, distance, difficulty, and quickly waning light, we opt to pass on the shot.

 

Miss #3, an opportunity that was really not that good of one.

 

Saturday morning, 3:00AM. I wake up to hear snow falling on the cabin!!! Yippee! Up again at 4:45, and off to find some elk. Head back to the same spot we saw the elk on opening morning, Paige, fast asleep in the back seat again......ELK! Two decent bulls, small 6x6 & 5x5, but right at legal light, but not necessarily shooting light. Get Paige out and the 7mm, and get her set up. 150 yards. We see elk walking back towards the PJs. But Paige can't see antlers due to deadfall behind them, and neither can I. Without being totally sure it was one of the two bulls we had seen, we were hoping to get a positive ID to ensure it wasn't a cow. They walked off the ridge and into the PJs.....again....never to be seen again. Ryan asked, "Why didn't you shoot that bull???" We told him we couldn't make out antlers. He said he could as he was standing up and could make them out against the snow. We gave chase and followed them for about 2 miles and 2 hours in the fresh snow, but never saw them again. We saw some other cows, but no other bulls.

 

Miss #4, miscommunication, missed opportunity, but a good lesson learning experience we would put into play the next few days. Wait 5 minutes longer to head into an area to make sure we have enough light. 5 minutes more wait time before heading to a spot would have netted us a bull this day.

 

Sunday, still snowing and blowing. Paige had just a morning hunt, and had to be back to the cabin by 10:00, so we drove and glassed hillside with little luck. We dropped Paige off to head home, grabbed a quick lunch, and headed back out with just Ryan and I for the rest of the week of hunting. We got to a mountainside to glass that would become a daily ritual to visit to check for bigger bulls. I glassed up a 4x4 raghorn, 3 cows, and a small 3x3 raghorn. We watched them for about 30 minutes to make sure a bigger bull wasn't anywhere around. No luck. Drove a little further down the mountainside and glassed some more. Found about 15 cows, 3 spike bulls, and two 4x4 raghorns. While we were watching them, 2 trucks pulled up to chat. I asked Ryan if he was interested in one of the raghorns, and he said not yet. So we told the two trucks who were together, that we had 5 bulls we were watching on the hillside. Out of 8 people, only 1 guy had a tag, an out-of-stater from Hawaii!!! We showed them the bulls through my spotter, They were super cool people, and we had a great time spotting for them as they went after one of the raghorn bulls. He wound up taking one of the 4x4s we had glassed up for him, which was awesome to see. We left after the shot, because we still had daylight left to try and find a better bull for Ryan. On the north side of the mountain, we found more elk, a bunch of cows, a 4x? that was broken off, a 4x4, a couple spikes, and a decent 5x5. We thought about going after the 5x5, but it would have taken us about 4 hours to get within shooting range, as he was WAY up on a mountaintop that was crazy steep. The day ended with no more bulls sighted, but had a great day glassing elk.

 

Monday, up and back at our spot that had been producing bull sightings every morning. We waited an extra 10 minutes to drive in to our glassing spot.....to make misses # 5, 6, 7. Driving in, I spotted a big 6x6 at about 150 yards. Ryan could not get on him quick, and he was gone quickly, miss #5. We grabbed the packs and were heading to trail him in an attempt to put eyes (and a bullet) on him again. On the way to the tracks, 2 more bulls, a 5x5 & a 4x4, came running to us to about 50 yards. I looked at Ryan, and said, "Get that 5x5!" Took him too long to get down, and the elk ran off, for miss #6. Thinking they might be easier to find than the big bull, we went to follow their tracks, as they went in an easier canyon to possibly find and get a shot. Literally 2 minutes later.......3 more bulls came running right at us. A small 6x6 and two 5x5s. They literally stopped 75 yards away from us, the 6x6 in the lead, in the open, and broadside. I told Ryan, in a stern but hushed whisper, "SHOOT THAT BULL!!!"

 

BOOM! Elk take off, Ryan is jumping up and down. I tell him to stay and not take his eyes off the spot the elk were standing. Mark the shooting spot on his GPS.

 

 

I waited about 5 minutes, and went to the spot the elk were standing and began to slowly follow tracks. Only tracks.....not a drop of blood. I followed for about 200 yards. No blood. So I went back to the starting spot, and got Ryan. We followed those 3 bulls for about 500 yards, when they split up. A single and a pair. I followed the pair, Ryan followed the single in the fresh snow. After about 800-1000 yards, I turned back. Went to the split, and started following the single. I found a single drop of blood about 100 yards later. Hmmm. I caught up to Ryan, and we followed that bull for 3 hours and over 3 miles with nothing more. No stumbling, no blood, no dragging feet, nothing. We finally lost the tracks when he mingled with a bunch of other tracks. Miss #7.

 

Later that day, we wound up seeing another 8 bulls, all smaller raghorns or spikes.

 

Tuesday, was fairly uneventful, seeing small bulls, cows, and nothing Ryan wanted to shoot. At the end of the day, I was glassing a hillside, and saw a good bull moving from a crazy thick bedding area down into some feeding areas. Since he was at 1652 yards, we jumped in the Jeep and tried to get into range. We got to the base of the hill, about 1/4 mile away, and I started to pick apart the base. I picked up a bull, a spike. Ryan was feeling the pressure, and we got the rifle out. I ranged the bull at 440 yards. Ryan was ready, and was on the bull. When he saw a 5x5 antler below the spike, and wanted to wait to see if the 5x5 came out. It didn't, the sun set, and we packed it up.

 

Miss #8, missed opportunity.

 

 

Wednesday, back to the spot at first light to where we saw the bulls the previous night. Ryan picked out a cow, and I grabbed the spotter. I started picking out elk on the mountain. 6 cows, and......a decent 5x5 bull! Grab the rifle and start ranging. 689 yards. Dial it up, and Ryan finds it in the scope. The bull was constantly feeding and moving, always keeping something between us and him. He eventually fed over the hill.

 

Miss #9, missed opportunity. But not really, since it would have been an iffy shot.

 

Ryan put up the rifle in the Jeep, and I told him, "Get that rifle back out. There are more elk on the hill!" We glassed for another 20 minutes, and I pick up another bull, a 2nd 5x5. Ryan gets back behind the gun and we range him. 830 yards. Slowly moving, feeding, broadside. Dial it up, and I am calling the bull's movements. Finally get him to stop and dial to 3.6MIL. I tell Ryan, "Hold right on the shoulder and shoot that bull. Now."

 

Boom!

 

 

Has time ever slowed down for you while hunting? I was behind the spotter at the shot, and I swear I had time to watch the vapor trail of the 215 Berger Hybrid at 3100fps. Like a field goal kick, I was thinking, "It's up....looking good....." And then I see the bullet clip the hair on top of the shoulder and kick up snow above the bull.......miss #10.

 

​"Put another round in!!!" The bull stood there for about 5 seconds, wondering what just happened......then the hillside came alive with bedded elk. About 30 cows, a spike bull, and another decent bull, a 6x6. Off they went, all the time, me ranging and calling what to dial, Ryan dialing and following the bulls. The herd went over the top, and we grab everything and jump in the Jeep to try and get to the other side where there is a meadow and road to see if we can pick up the herd before they disappear into the thick nasty stuff. No dice. They are gone.

 

Miss #10, missed shot.

 

A very dejected Ryan and I scoured that hillside for hours with no luck. We packed up the stuff about 10AM and headed out. About 45 minutes later, I glass up a small 4x4 raghorn on the very top of a mountain. The only shot we had was 404 yards, head shot.

 

 

Ryan did not feel comfortable taking the shot, so we tried to get a better angle, higher across a canyon, left, right, nothing. After about 40 minutes, we decided to let the bull go. Miss #11.

 

Miss #11, missed (or passed) opportunity.

 

Back to where we had been seeing elk everyday on the hillside. Lots of cows, not a single bull.

 

Thursday, day of desperation, last day of hunt. Ryan is now shooting anything with horns, any location, any reasonable shot.

 

We try what has been working. Glass hills, find the elk. At about 11:00AM, I am glassing a hill about a mile and a half away, and pick up bedded elk. Break out the spotter and.....IT's A BULL! A small 2x2. We grab the packs and stuff and head out to get this bull! Plan was to cross the hill in front of us, and cut the distance to get within 500-600 yards for a cross-canyon shot at the bedded bull.

 

 

We cut the distance to 850 yards. Ryan wanted to try it, I told him, "We can cut another 200-300 yards off. Stay in the PJs, and move slowly."

 

 

We managed to cut the distance to 700 yards, and were just checking the bull when he jumps up and bolts......WTF? 3 cows, and 2 other spike bulls join the mad dash.....a truck that had passed us when we were packing up and heading over is driving across the mountainside on a closed road.......I told Ryan, "Get down and watch them!" We watched them go up the hill, with the truck below them about 100 yards, and the truck never saw them. After the truck passed, the bulls headed back down and into the canyon below us to never be seen again.......miss #12.

 

Miss #12, missed opportunity.

 

 

It is now 3:00PM, 2:15 until sunset and the end of the hunt. Last ditch effort is back to the hillside of the missed long shot.

 

3:30PM While making out way back, we stopped to glass a hill that always sees a ton of pressure. Every time we passed it, there were a minimum of 4-6 trucks parked at the bottom on all sides, and hunters glassing and hiking it, no matter what time of day. Ryan tells me, "I see a cow."

 

I get a location, and have my 10s out. I say, "That is a bull. A good bull!"

Ryan, "No, it is a cow."

Me, "Bullshit"

I grab my spotter and set it up. "It is a GOOD bull!" Probably top 3 this whole hunt.

 

 

 

Range him at 1345 yards. Bedded, no wind, open vitals, totally relaxed. Here is the problem. There is a small road at the base of the hill that we will have to shoot WAAY over, like 500' over, as the bull is way uphill. Pulling my hair out, we discuss the legality of the shot. I have talked to AZGFD before about this. "What if I am on one side of a canyon, and a buck is on the other side of the canyon, but there is a road at the bottom 500' below?" The answer I got is a "grey area, depends on the Warden".

 

We discussed the possibility of seeing him from the bottom, and determine it is HIGHLY unlikely we would be able to see him due to looking up the hill through trees. But, trying to do everything possible to remain out of a "grey area" and stay legal, we decide to give it a shot......

 

3:45PM, jump in the Jeep and get to the base of the hill. Start glassing off the landmarks we thought we might be able to see from the base.......nothing.

 

3:55PM, "Hey Ryan, did you grab my backpack from down the road?" "Uh.....crap. No."

I jump back in the Jeep and burn back to grab my pack sitting on the side of the road. Double check the bull is still there. Yep.....still bedded.

 

4:00PM Back to the base and glassing up the hill moving left, right, trying to find that bull. I am literally praying, "Dear Lord, please give us just one chance at this bull. We did the right thing by not taking a "grey area" shot. Just one chance Lord." All the time thinking here comes miss #13. Lucky number 13.

 

4:30PM, Ryan says, "Let's burn over to the other hills and try to pick up a last minute bull over there."

Me, "We don't have time to get there. It is this bull or nothing now. Either we find him, or he stands up and moves in our direction across the hill."

Ryan (very bummed out), "OK, I get it."

I got Shooter all ready to go just in case. Temp, density altitude, temp, angle, etc. I had the chart pulled up ready to go.....just in case/

 

4:40PM "I got legs moving in the trees!!! Get down and get the rifle ready!!!"

4:41PM "I see antlers! It is your bull!"

4:42PM Out walks a mature bull and stops broadside. I range him at 420. "Dial .9 and put one in him."

Ryan dials and gets on him and the bull turns and heads straight uphill. "Dial 1.0-range 437 yards."

The bull turns left and stops broadside, at 17 degrees uphill and 437 yards away.

Me, "Squeeze slow and shoot that bull. Hold right on his elbow. Squeeze slow, squeeze sl....."

BOOM!!!

While watching through my spotter on 30X, I see the most amazing sight of the hunt. The vapor trail quickly disappears into the shoulder of the bull, the bull's butt drops instantly, followed immediately by his front, bouncing his head off the ground, rolls once downhill into some small pines, kicks his front legs about 5 times, and is completely still..........

 

Ryan jumps up and is whooping and hollering, with me yelling at him to get back down and chamber another round. He drops and gets back on him. But no need. Ryan has just taken his very first bull elk, a great first bull, a 5x6. After passing up or attempting to take 45 other bulls, #46 (and LUCKY #13) bull is down. That is one happy and tired guy right there. Coming in at the 11.5th hour, Ryan got it done, in a stellar fashion.

 

 

See that single open area to the right of Ryan up on the hill? That is where the bull is down. The only open area we could see from our vantage spot.

 

 

 

 

 

It took us 45 minutes to get up to that bull. About 15 minutes after sunset. Took a bunch of pictures, and got to work quartering and caping him.

 

 

 

 

While caping the bull, we found the bullet just under the offside skin, and noted the path. Whoever says a Hybrid should not be used for hunting? Entered behind shoulder, top of lungs, completely destroyed a vertebrae into pieces, and came to rest under the skin, completely using all energy it had.

 

 

 

Got back down with the first load at 8:30PM. Cape and head and a rear quarter. Went back to the cabin for a shower and some sleep. Headed back to pack out the rest on Friday morning.

 

 

We had hung the other quarters, backstraps, tenderloins up in a dead tree, wrapped them with some of our T-shirts, and peed all around to keep the coyotes away. How about that view? The bull sure had a beautiful view from his bedroom that afternoon.

 

 

Ryan is standing where that bull was bedded, and I am taking the photo from where the bull came to rest. You can see the screen of trees that bull was using to keep out of sight. If that bull would have stayed put for another 10-20 minutes, we never would have seen him. If he would have walked any other direction, we would have never seen him.

 

 

When I got home, I cleaned up the bullet and weighed it.

 

 

 

From 215 grains to 88.5 grains.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This year has been a fantastic hunting season. I got to spend a ton of time with my kids in the field, teach them about the sport, tactics, limitations, resolve, and the animals we hunt. I thank God again, for all of the fantastic time, opportunities, and food He has put in our freezers and tables.

 

I hope you all have had a great year, and will continue to do so. Sorry for the long read, but I am so proud of my kids (by blood and by marriage).

 

As a lot of you know, I lost my father-in-law this past January. We used to hunt this unit together for elk and deer, and I have a lot of great memories with him hunting up there. I know he loved Ryan too, and I am sure he was grinning ear to ear watching over us from On High. I told Ryan many of those stories this trip for laughs, and lessons I learned from him. I thought about him often this year during my two elk hunts with my kids. I hope someday Ryan will look back and tell his son or daughter, or son-in-law or daughter-in-law, or grandson or granddaghter, some great stories about this hunt when I am gone.

 

I miss you Bus, thanks for showing me the unit and spending time with me.

 

And thanks Ryan, for allowing me to be on your first elk hunt and the pleasure of spending the week with you.

[Big or Bust]

Awesome stuff -

[Okbow87]

Awesome late season bull!

[MULEPACKHUNTER]

Cool, congrats

[Big Browns]

As always Lance "You da man"!!!!!!

[mattys281]

Awesome bull for any unit. Congrats on the bull and especially congrats on the grand baby!

[Shedhunteraz]

Another great write up. Congrats to your son in law and yourself on a very good memorable hunt. Those ones are always the best. You can't take the inches to heaven with yah but you always have the memories.

[Javelinasports]

Awesome story, I like the details!

Way to go!

[218buck]

You guys worked your tails off for that bull sounds like it was well deserved congrats to you guys. Sorry to here about your father

[AZHog]

Congrats on soon becoming a Grandad! As always Lance, awesome story and pics. Congrats to Ryan on a great looking Bull!

[StraightTequilaNight]

Thanks for sharing... great write-up! Congrats!

[Mocha1545]

Congrats on a great season. Awesome time with family and meat in the freezer! Great write up as always. Thanks for sharing.

 

Congrats GRANDPA!

[Coues assassin]

Congrats! That's a lot of bulls for road hunting!

[PowellSixO]

Great bull. Thanks for sharing!!

[buddydog]

Sweet!! Way to stick with it and get it done!!