Meant to post this back in fall...and forgot... I’m already missing the mid-20 degree wake ups and that smell of pine all day long. This year’s elk hunt started off with planning in early spring as usual…but this year my dad mentioned this might be his last time bringing the bow along…so I really wanted to get him an opportunity at his first archery elk. Plans came together nicely and we ended up having one of our smallest groups in years…my Dad and I with elk tag, long-time friend Shawn with a mule deer tag, and new friend Bill joining us in camp to assist in any way needed in filling tags. Dad and I would be hunting a new area and I have to thank those on rokslide that graciously offered any tips or advice…a couple even reaching out via phone or text…truly living by the golden rule…each little piece of the puzzle helped point us in the right direction. The drive into camp was cold and snowy…but as soon as we began setting up camp the sun poked out as usual in Colorado…we nailed the campsite…our view for the week was perfect. And no wonder why I always love my time in the mountains…I don’t remember seeing the mountains any prettier than the week of our hunt…the high peaks were dusted with snow 3 times to go along with the turning aspens…sometimes you just have to stop and soak it in. The week was progressing perfectly. We were into elk each day and my dad was getting some good encounters. Unfortunately his best encounter did not end up with the arrow being released…he was able to come to full draw on a spike bull at 25 yards and as often happens with archery gear, the vitals were behind a tree and he needed the bull to take 1 more step…which did not happen. Overall we were happy with the numbers we were seeing…but we had still yet to lay eyes on anything bigger than spikes. A couple different times we chased bugles and got near a small heard but again only saw bodies moving thru the thick timber, never actually laying eyes on the bulls making the bugles. By Tuesday afternoon I knew I needed to try a high mountain basin I had good info on so I planned to give it a try…but half way up the mountain the winds were gusting 40+ and it felt like it was 70+ degrees out…my mind was not right for pushing on so I backed out and tried another spot. Mid-day on Wed I get a text from another rokslide member who I’d shared emails and messages with throughout the summer…and this intel could not be ignored. Big bull spotted just couple days prior in the high basin I was wanting to hunt…so Dad and I made off on Wed afternoon to try it. The climb was a little brutal but I did manage to get on 2 bulls bugling, closed the distance, jumped 1 cow…and managed to get the “growler” all fired up and answering my calls near sundown. He was not coming in and wind was starting to change as I ran out of light…I decided to back out the last 15 min and get away to avoid the elk winding me. Dad made it up to the basin as well that night and on the long walk down he said he thinks he would have to sit out the next morning to give his hips and knees a break. This meant Bill would be coming out of the bullpen on Thurs morning to make the trek back up the mountain with me. Little did we know it would turn into an EPIC day of elk hunting.
Bill and I were up and gone early on Thurs morning to make the climb with our headlamps. Sure enough, as soon as we got the elevation I thought we needed to be able to listen for bugles, we hear the “growler” from the night before and it sounds like he has not moved at all…locked down in a small patch of dark pines that are hard to approach from any angle. With the morning thermals going downhill, we knew our best play was to wait for uphill thermals to allow us to approach from the high side (nearly treeline). Just as we’re planning this…a bugle rips off at the top of the basin. We have the wind right, let’s make a play on this bull while we wait for wind to change. As we begin our approach we catch the small herd of elk moving from right to left just above treeline…and the bull’s bugles were constant. That visual gave us the line we’d need to take…and it felt like our best option was to just get in front of the heard vs. trying to call the bull away from cows. The 600 ft. climb sure warmed things up for the morning. The question on the climb up was “do I shoot the first cow” as this was our last day. I ran up ahead to where I thought the herd was coming and decided if I had an open shot at a cow with no bull in sight I would take it. Ends up I had overshot the lane just a bit and the cows crossed at about 50 yards in the direction I came from with no open shots. As I made a play to get a shot one of them spooked downhill taking the others and bull with them. He continued to bugle most of the way down the mountain as I felt like I may have blew my opportunity for the day. Bill and I took a quick break to discuss, have a snack, and weigh our options on making a move on the “growler” who continued to sound off enough to keep tabs on him. As the sun began to hit the hillside, we began to make our move…but ultimately had to approach more sidehill than from above due to the inconsistent winds. I’m not sure of the time, but I think we spent an hour just approaching this bull as we took small slow steps and continually checked the wind. Almost instantly he bugles and we know we are in the zone…and took our spots in cover quickly. I began to bugle and over the next 30-45 minutes I almost blew my guts out blowing my bugle call…and boy was it worth it. Quickly I began to have the “growler” answer from below and a satellite bull answer from above…great spot to be in (with a sidehill wind). Just like what often happens turkey hunting when all of a sudden the gobbler is just standing there…the big bull is just about 60 yards away scanning the area. We are in a very open area of grasses with some pines mixed in. Everytime I think this bull is going to leave I scream a bugle right at him and each time he comes back into this 55-60 yard range looking for me. He eventually makes his way up hill and I range an open shot at 55 yards…draw my bow…and make a cow mew with my mouth as he enters the lane…but he turns his front shoulder/leg toward me effectively covering up his vitals. I hold at full draw until he eventually swings straight away to walk off…and let my bow down. I scream again at him only to have the satellite bull answer at approx 40 yards surprising me. Now my focus is on him…he makes his way slowly downhill and as he creeps into the open grass I make my way back around the big pine I’m hiding behind to get a shot. I have time to range him and again 54 yards, wide open, broadside. I practiced this all summer, even 60-70 yard shots were nothing, but 50yds I had 100% confidence in. I bring the pin up slowly and release…I think that arrow sailed 2 feet over his back…may never really know what happened…but I center punched a tree down the hill and left a broadhead in the mountains. I find Bill still hiding among another clump of pines and as I approach we here the “growler” again. It’s sometime around noon at this point…if they’re still bugling, you have to keep trying. We made our slow and quiet approach and eventually had him in site as he raked pines approx 60 yards downhill. He answered my bugle nearly every time but I couldn’t quite get him to close the distance. I motioned to Bill to break some branches…that fired him up as well and he continued to thrash the trees. As we snuck forward again we even caught wind of intense pine smell only to find a double trunked pine that was freshly torn up with green limbs laying all around. We were now chasing this bull back and forth down the face of the mountain…and I finally said I need to just go right in on him with no more bugles and try to get a shot…it was after 1:00pm. The bull continued to bugle and we made a big push to get in close…as we listen for another bugle…Bill motions that I mine as well try another bugle. GREAT IDEA. I let out another screamer as Bill broke limbs…instantly the big bull responded and nearly scared me as he had somehow gotten above us and was very close. I dropped the bugle, clipped on my release, look uphill to see movement and draw my bow. This bull looked like the Hartford buck as he came into view at a steep uphill above me…I told myself 30-some yards and held the pin steady…this was my last chance. The arrow looked perfect and he bolted. Bill and I gave the fist pumps…1:20pm. We took some time to gather our thoughts, get a snack and drink…but I knew we didn’t have to wait long, the arrow looked fairly deep right in the sweet spot. But as hunting would often go, after about 50 yards of blood…it turned to nothing. Couldn’t even find fresh tracks. For the next hour we searched the likely path for any sign. Things were not looking good…but I knew he was a dead bull running. Going back to last blood I started looked for tracks only and it appeared he took a right to head uphill…sure enough we began to find small drops of blood…but primarily followed tracks. At 3:20 I look up and see what looks like the belly of bull…it was him…man, was that a sweet moment! I bet this bull didn’t lose a quarter cup of blood and I couldn’t have placed the arrow much better…you never know. High fives, radio calls, hollering…it all came out, I was fired up. My best bull by far, and the emotion after the day we had, knowing I made a great shot, then losing sign, only to find him…it felt great! Me and Bill who gets the assist with his branch breaking skills I’m so lucky that on each of my bulls my whole party has made it to the kill scene to assist. I truly cannot imagine trying to tackle this job solo. I tried to tell Dad to save himself and we’d run a load half way to him but as we begin deboning…here he comes ready to haul a load of meat. Nothing beats having family and friends around. 252 lbs of deboned meat plus the skull/antlers…6 trips (that means 2 round trips for Bill and I…and I’ve got a treestand in IL with Bills name on it). I brought the last small load of meat along with antlers down just at dark. That was a full day! Carryout pizza cutting through town to eat fireside back at camp with firelight glistening off that 6x6 rack…I think I found heaven on earth. Dad sure came close to punching his tag, sure wish he could have connected…but I believe he had a great week regardless. Camp could not have been better…I enjoyed every minute with our group of four…from some of the mid-day bacon and egg cookouts, to the nighttime fires, to the laughing and ridicule when it was time to cash in for the night…Good Times! One of the best parts that was totally unexpected was the countless people on our ride home who were genuinely happy for me…hanging out of the truck windows on the interstate to give me a thumbs up, pulling up along side to take pictures, or yelling “nice bull” at gas station stops. The majority of hunters are just good people…especially when a timely text/tip leads me on the hunt of a lifetime (Thanks again – you know who you are) This was one week of elk camp that will be hard to top…but I’m always up for trying The strongest feeling I felt was that I think it’s time to start bringing the next generation along…cannot wait to share all of this with my kids!
Congrats again Matt! I don't know if I'll be back after elk next fall, but I'm definitely ready to be seeking another adventure of some type!!! Sent from my LGLS992 using Tapatalk
Just now back on the forum. Great story and pictures. I'm getting old but this is getting me the itch again. Congrats!
I missed Matt's posting here back in Dec. Trying to go very lightweight I only packed the phones to snap pics and video. Here are the videos: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLRiqIDVRUl_yo-j5C5Hf5xmNjaXsL5fgg
That is a awesome bull and a great story. I can't wait until I get a chance to do this type of hunt. Just wondering what type of broadhead was you using?
3 blade expandable. Can't fault the broadhead on this, I think it was just a perfect entry through the front leg flesh first that ended up plugging up the whole (kind of like if you got cut under your arm pit and then closed your arm back over top of the cut - slows the bleeding big time)...never found arrow to examine the arrow/head. My other bulls were shot with same BH and went down quickly. I've been shooting these heads since 2011, multiple elk, deer, and a turkey and this was the first animal I have had to blood track in that time, all others went down in sight or earshot. Carbon Force arrows with 50 grain brass inserts, 70# 2011 BowMadness bow
