390" Bull

[bobcats]

Sitting in a makeshift blind on a water hole for 4 hours in the Arizona afternoon heat, waiting for a big bull elk to come in and quench his thirst, makes it hard for a guy not to sit and reflect on what he is doing there. So I'm sitting here thinking of the success the archery elk season has already brought to Corey and me.
Opening morning of our Idaho hunt finds me flustered and panicked not to forget anything, although I had already double and triple checked to make sure I had everything ready when we started up the trail at 5:30AM. We had walked 1/2 mile up the trail and I just had that feeling like I was forgetting something. Sure enough, after a quick mental inventory of my gear, I realized that I had left my bugle tube on the back of the truck. Some help I'm going to be! I stopped Corey and told him. He was okay with that and said that he'd do the calling (makes me wonder if he didn’t just hide it before we left so I wouldn’t be scaring the elk off). We continued up the hill another 1/4 mile and as it started to get light I reach into my pocket to grab a reed in case we get into the elk. As my hand slid into my pocket with the greatest of ease I had one of those jaw dropping moments…how can my hand go into my pocket so easy with a release around my wrist? Then I realized what important piece of gear I had forgotten - my release. "Uh?" "Corey?" He stopped and I caught up with him holding up my hand to tell him the news."O.K." he said, and took his off and handed it over. "I'll just be calling". Boy did I feel great! (Corey's most likely thinking, how convenient, that’s one way to make sure you get the 1st crack at the elk).
An hour later, and near the top of the mountain, Corey's bugle did its job and a bull answered 300 yards across the draw. We scaled the hillside and I got set up with Corey 60 yards above me. The bull started coming in and I caught a glimpse of him, a nice 5x6. He’s just above me and I prepared for him to circle downwind of Corey's bugle where I can get a shot. Suddenly, the forest exploded with crashes, and a small rag horn that had been trailing the 5X6 busted out above me. Then the nice 5x6 came to the edge of an alder patch 40 yards above me and started somersaulting down the steep hillside, landing 15 yards in front of me. What just happened? Corey came to a rock outcropping directly above me and said "I had to shoot in self defense with my fingers!" The bull had come straight in to him and he had shot it at 10 yards. "It was supposed to be your bull" he said. We laughed and enjoyed our opening morning success.

 

[bobcats]

One week later we once again found ourselves on the hill, this time I have my release. We headed out on a point and Corey bugled, getting an answer the next ridge over. We got to the next ridge and bugled with the same result, the elk are once again one ridge over. By this time it's nearing noon and we had to do a jungle-like push through the thickest alder patch on the hillside, making enough noise to alert every game animal on the hillside. Corey had continued cow calling and once we reached the edge of the brush we found a deep, dark pocket of timber where the elk had been taking their daily naps. We had come into their bedroom and our scent alerted the cows bedded below us that we weren't elk. A dozen or so cows started crashing down the hill and I saw a mature herd bull pass through an opening 40 yards below us. I drew on him but he stopped just behind a tree offering no vital shot. He continued on, following his cows down the mountain, bugling his head off in an effort to keep them all together.
Corey and I sat down and considered our chances of heading down after them. As we sat there whispering, I heard a small branch break just below us. Corey let out a soft cow call as I stood up to see an elk walking right back up the hill from our left, just inside the trees. I drew my bow just as the elk stopped behind a tree at 20 yards. After 20 seconds, he continued up the hill, and when he walked into an opening, Corey let out another muffled cow call and stopped him at 15 yards. My bright yellow pin found the spot just behind the shoulder and I released. The arrow hit right where I was aiming and buried up to the fletching. I was JACKED! My 1st bull with a bow! I high-fived Corey and listened to a crash 40 yards below us. We slipped down the hill and found my 6x6 bull laying next to a fallen tree, just 40 yards from where he was shot.

 

[bobcats]

One week later we were packing gear and supplies into the truck for Corey's Arizona archery elk hunt. Joining us on the trip is good friend David Burdette. After a short, 16 hour drive, we got camp set up in a central location and headed out to see what was in store for us. With only 30 minutes of daylight left, we spotted three nice branch antlered bulls and heard lots of bugling.

 

[bobcats]

The following morning we went to a different hill and stopped the truck to bugle. Just over the ridge, a bull answers Corey's location bugle and we set off to see what he is. A short hike and quick set up with Burdette calling from behind us, and the bull and a cow came in to 25 yards - a decent 250-class bull but Corey was holding out for something a little bigger.

 

[bobcats]

We backed out and went across the draw to where another bull is bugling and called him in to 15 yards - another 260-class bull…another pass. That afternoon, another friend, Dave Perry, arrived to join us to play the roll of the desperate cow in estrous, carrying the Montana decoy.
Tuesday morning we went back into the same area as the day before, but climbed in from the bottom to keep the wind in our favor. 200 yards from the truck the elk were bugling like crazy. There must have been 20 of them going and we hiked right into the middle of them. There were bulls on both sides of us, walking the ridges and screaming at each other. We tried several times to set up and call to them, but they didn’t seem to be very interested in any challenges yet. That evening we decided to sit a water hole in the middle of where all the bugling was taking place, but after 2 hours, we couldn’t stand sitting there any longer. We took off in the direction of the closest bugle and Corey called a cow in to 2 yards. As he made a small movement to keep the cow from running over him, a small bull passed by him at 30 yards. He once again passes.
Wednesday morning we found ourselves chasing the screaming bulls up the ridges from the day before with the same results…a couple bulls came in but only smaller ones. Chasing the elk like this is a lot like the Indians chasing a herd of buffalo - they are all around us but we can only manage to see a few of them. Finally, we got a bull committed and got set up with Dave doing his best to make the decoy seem life-like. The bull came right in - another 250-class bull - and Corey just sat and watched as the bull passed by him intently checking out the decoy.

 

[bobcats]

He came in 20 yards from Dave and gave the decoy a good look-over, but turned to run when he noticed she didn’t have any legs. We continued on chasing the herd of bugling elk till they went quiet for the morning. These elk are covering around 2 miles going to and from their feeding grounds to their beds, and we can’t seem to get in on a big one as of yet.

 

[bobcats]

Burdette and Dave spent the afternoon checking out a couple different areas while Corey and I sat another waterhole nearby where Burdette had seen a nice bull the evening before. Corey called in nice 5X6, but not the big one we had hoped to find. It was fun watching the bull strut his stuff and bugle over and over at 25 yards.

 

[bobcats]

The next morning (Thursday), we went into the same area from the east side, hoping to cut the elk off before they made their way up the mountain. The rut seemed to be intensifying, and we called in 3 small bulls to the same set-up, the largest bull being about 300”.

 

[bobcats]

200 yards up the meadow, Corey set up and called in a big 5X5 to 25 yards, again electing to pass.

 

[bobcats]

We climbed the ridge and got on another bugling bull and Burdette was able to call him up the hill to within 45 yards of Corey. Although it was the biggest bull we had seen so far (probably 320”), Corey again decided to pass. That night we tried a new area and didn’t hear any bugles, but the sunset after a small rainstorm provided a nice ending to a great day.

 

[bobcats]

Friday morning we moved into the middle of the elk as we had done the day before, and the bulls once again seemed to be responding a little better to the calling. Burdette called in a small 5X7 to 30 yards, as well as a couple other small bulls.

 

[bobcats]

As we came over a small ridge, we could hear 5-6 bulls going crazy below us, and as antlers started crashing 120 yards in front of us, Corey took off running in their direction. We got there just as the fight broke up, and the loser, a 320” bull walked right by Corey at 25 yards. Another big 5X5 came walking by from the opposite direction. However, we couldn’t get closer than 60 yards from the bigger bull to get a good look at him.
That evening, after covering 500 yards in a new area, Corey let out a bugle and we got an instant response from 100 yards to our right. Corey and I got set up with Burdette and Dave 20 yards behind us. As I set the video camera up I heard Corey whisper "he's a shooter." The bull came in to 43 yards and as he came into the opening, I realized that Corey was right! The bull was a big 6x7 with a 5" cheater coming off his G5…his tops were huge. Corey came to full draw, but the bull hung up behind the last obstacle in the meadow, a brushy juniper tree at 40 yards. He must have sensed that something wasn’t right about the situation and turned back down the hill without offering a clear shot. Corey kicked an imaginary football and began hitting himself on the head with his bugle tube…we were so close!

 

[bobcats]

The next morning, the Dave’s headed to Phoenix to catch a flight back home and Corey and I went back to find the big bull from the night before, now named the Circus bull (big tops). We moved down the ridge and immediately start chasing bugles. After calling in 2 small 6 points, we heard the distinct bugle of the Circus Bull. We watched as a nice 310-class bull with a dozen or so cows moved up the draw to bed down, then sat down for a quick Wilderness Athlete bar breakfast. As we sat there, Corey let out a bugle and a bull responds from 200 yards below us. We sat there and watched as a small 6 point bull came screaming up the hill and started tearing up a small tree just 60 yards below us. Corey let out a couple cow calls and the bull came walking right up the hill to Corey, passing by him at only 4 yards. "Where are the big bulls?" Corey said, smiling.

 

[bobcats]

Another bull had been bugling from the base of the mountain, so we moved down and got into position. Corey turned around to motion for me to get set-up, and as he turned back down the hill, the Circus Bull stood up 30 yards away and slowly walked away through the thick trees. We made our way back towards the truck and headed down the road in search of a water hole we thought the big bull might be headed to. On the way there, I watched first-hand as one of Corey’s greatest phobia’s coiled up and rattled just a mere 12 inches from his boot as he stepped over a small rock…

 

[bobcats]

So, back to the beginning of the story…it’s been a great year so far. Corey's bull on opening morning and I had harvested my first bull with a bow. Old friendships have been rooted deeper and whatever worries we had brought with us had managed to elude us, no doubt due to spending time with great company doing something we have a great passion for.
I've been sitting here in my nice shady makeshift blind inside a juniper tree looking 20 yards to my right where Corey is sitting in his own makeshift blind, his red face showing the effects of the relentless sun pounding down on him for the last 4 hours. Not able to stand it any longer, Corey's ready to head out and find the bull before he finds us. 400 yards down the mountain, we find ourselves in the same spot as the night before where we had first seen the big bull. Corey bugles and we get a response from near the spot that we had seen the bull earlier that morning. We make a mad dash across the draw to an opening, hoping to get set up and cut him off. The bull comes out into the opening 70 yards away, making his way towards Corey, then veers off to follow a couple of cows that seem to be much more appealing than the cow calls Corey is making. The big bull is once again headed away from us. It's a long, quiet walk back to the truck.
The following day we find ourselves sleeping in and taking the day off to observe the day of the Sabbath and take a much needed shower. We head 30 miles away to Corey’s good friend, Steve Chappell's camp, where we rejuvenate ourselves in Steve's trailer with a hot shower. After showing Steve the video we captured of the Circus Bull, our spirits are greatly increased. We figure the bull is a 380+ bull and Steve is planning on accompanying us the next morning as his hunter had harvested a great 367” bull the previous evening. Corey and I head back to camp and look the maps over only to find that there is another water hole just 400 yards from the one we had sat the evening before that is much more secluded and decide that is were we should be in the morning.

 

[bobcats]

We met Steve at our phone booth (a place a mile from camp that we would go to call our loved ones back at home) and piled into Corey’s truck, then headed down the road towards the water hole. Corey and Steve get set up on the south end of the newly discovered waterhole, while I find an area 20 yards to their left to set up with the video camera. Darkness fades with a bugle 400 yards up the hill. Then, 30 seconds later the bull bugles again, only 100 yards away. He's heading our direction. 10 seconds later the bull appears, walking straight towards Corey and from the corner of my eye I can see Corey drawing behind a bush. I focus on the bull, now broadside to Corey, then SNAP! Corey had found his mark and let the arrow fly. The bull turned and ran back from were he had come. Corey makes his way over to me and as he nears me he is looking over the water hole, I can see the wheels turning as he is going over the shot in his head. His look of joy is fading fast as he notices the tree that he had ranged for his shot appears to be 6-7 yards closer than where he thought the bull was standing. Was the bull hit? Was the shot low? We head over to the place the bull had been and find no obvious blood. Corey heads back to the spot the bull had been standing when he was drinking and pulls out his rangefinder to confirm the distance. You can just see the look on his face go from uncertainty to enthusiasm. "40 yards on the dot" Corey bursts. "I know he's hit hard" Steve and Corey work their way up the ravine that the bull had retreated to while I scour the ground looking for more blood. I hear Corey let out a "YAHOO!" from 60 yards up the hill. Making my way up to them I see Corey brimming from ear to ear, "He’s down!" he declares. "Is it him?" I ask as we cover the last 30 yards towards him. It wasn't the Circus bull, but man was he ever his equal! Walking up to the bull seeing those G3's laid out like that was incredibly impressive. The guesses as to the score abound. Steve states that he has a tape and asks if we want to know for sure "heck yes!" is heard and he puts the tape on him. Corey's mind turns to calculator mode and the tape keeps the numbers coming, 360, 370, 380…….dang, 390 and small change. One heck of a bull!

 

[bobcats]

Corey and Steve start the quartering process while I make my way back for the pack frames. I hurriedly load up the pack frame before Corey can get half the elk on it and make short, light packs out of there, instead of Burdette’s typical 200 pound pack just once. What a morning! What a hunt! What a season!

 

[AZ402]

Cool bull, I love the country you hunted. Congrats to Cory!!

 

[bobcats]

A few more pictures...

Corey's bull green scored 390 4/8". He had 58" main beams, 22" fourth's, 24" thirds that were 55" tip-to-tip. He also had 30" of mass per side!

 

[cjcj]

Awesome pics and story Nice going