Coming Full Circle

[WIbiggame]

This is my first time doing a “big” write up on a hunt. And it ended up being a lot longer than I anticipated. I was hesitant to do it but after having the privilege of spending a couple hours talking with a couple of the nicest guys ever and true OG’s of this site they convinced to type up a recap of our hunt. Little back story I have received a lot of help from a couple members on here 1 in particular who has become a great friend, so thank you to all for the insight and knowledge. I have been coming from WI to chase elk out west for 8years now and was finally able to seal the deal on a bull. So, without further ado here is the story of our epic 10-days of hunting adventure:



Day 1 September 7th:

After the 18hr drive from WI we arrived at our camp about 1hr ahead of schedule, so we tried to catch an hour of sleep in the truck before heading up the mountain. That was much easier said than done and no sleep was had. With the sun cracking over the mountains we met up with a great friend and his son and headed up the trail. After 18hrs in the truck it felt good to stretch our legs be breathing the mountain air. That “fun” feeling all left us when we realized that resident’s being “out of shape” can make an “in shape” easterner feel silly. These 2 are machines in the mountains and made us look bad. We got to the top of the ridge and saw a cow and a calf but no bulls. After letting out a few bugles and hearing nothing the decision was made to sit tight for a little bit and then head back the way we came. Football practice was at 1500 so the father son duo had to be back and get ready to head back home. Morning 1 came and went, in the afternoon my cousin and I ventured up a new trailhead to find no trucks parked at the end or along the way. With the wind howling and snow flying we decided that some rest and a little relaxation would be best served. So, an end to day 1, the real deal starts tomorrow.

 

[WIbiggame]

Day 2 September 8th:

Day 2 dawned cool and calm with anticipation running high we ventured up a trail close to camp that we have ran into elk in years before. As we hiked up the hill, we found some new wallows and seeps which would come in handy as the hunt rolled on. The dryness this year was crazy. After a 6-mile hike with our bows in the mountains and no bugles heard we arrived back at camp as the sun was setting. One thing I learned a few years ago is that elk hunting sucks and “Isn’t fun” but if you can embrace that suck and not fun it is the most enjoyable thing in the world. Back when I started to have a full day of walking through good looking elk country and seeing a lot of sign albeit old sign and not hearing anything I would’ve been extremely discourage and crabby. Now I can look at a day like that and see it as a “well I know where the elk aren’t so onto the next spot.”

 

[WIbiggame]

Day 3 September 9th

Day 3 found us hiking up a hill we know very well “The Elevator Shaft or Bitch Face” as its 1400’ of elevation in just over 1 mile. This little hike has been super good to us in the years past with several close calls some of the craziest encounters we have had in our young elk hunting careers. This trip up the hill would no different. As we crested the spine ridge and could see into 2 huge basins just as the started to come up, we let out a couple locations bugles and waited for the return bugle…. AND NOTHING. This was a new experience in this spot as it is always money. We glassed across a huge canyon to the other ridge and saw 2 herds of elk roughly 10 animals in each herd. They were about 1.5 miles away and down and back up some super rough country. Knowing that there had to be elk closer we mentally noted their location and decided to leave them for another day. So, we hiked around on the spine exploring new country and learning more about the game trail system through the dark timber. Hopefully this information would come in valuable on this hunt or another one. We learned several new trails and found some more water. As we came off the hill I froze /jumped standing 35yds in front of us was a horse! Not what either of us where expecting at 9500’. No saddle no bridal no nothing. The horse kept “pulling us” to one spot. I told my cousin if we find the rider, I am done hunting here. No rider found fortunately; we still don’t know where the horse came from. So, after another uneventful day of walking around the woods we ended day 3 without hearing a bugle.

 

[WIbiggame]

Day 4 September 10th

Day for started out with us at the same trailhead as day 3 but we decided to head in a different direction towards where we had seen the 2 herds the morning before. After a 3-mile hike we came out into a big meadow below a nice saddle that would allow for an “easy” climb up the ridge to hopefully find 1 of the herds we saw the day before. The sun was just coming up when we hit this meadow and as I raised my bugle tube for a location bugle a bull sounded off above us and our north. Our first close legitimate bugle of the trip and after checking the wind everything was perfect. We looked up the hill and made a plan to drop south and climb the hill figuring the elk was coming through the saddle and probably going to work a wallow we had found in previous years. As we started up the hill (about 1/2 way up) another hunter started bugling in the bottom and this bull would respond so it worked perfect allowing us to keep tabs on him and get into position. After a brutal up hill climb, we felt we were above the bull (the other hunter must have figured his attempts to call the bull off the mountain where futile) the thermals had started to blow uphill at this time. I let out a little location bugle and less than 100yds away the bull screamed back, 20 seconds later the bull bugled again and I cut him off, at that moment we heard the woods erupt sticks breaking and he was coming and coming fast! My cousin was up to shoot so ranged the trail we figured he was on and 20yds was the number. As we sat there waiting for the bull to come, we heard cows start talking coming down the trail everything was working perfect. Every time this bull would bugle, I would cut him off and he was getting fired up. Well as is elk hunting the elk decided to drop down the hill to 45yds and all my cousin could see was his back and antlers a solid 6pt bull. The cows never showed. As the bull worked past us our wind was still perfect, so we stayed above him and ran to get ahead of him. When we setup and I called he answered and was on the same line. However, through all this commotion another bull had started bugling above us. When we setup in the new spot we heard a stick break not 60yds away and we had another bull coming in hot. I was just over a rise from my cousin and started working this “new” bull hard and he was even more fired up than the first. Again as is elk hunting miscommunication between my cousin and I I kept calling because I couldn’t see the bull and didn’t feel he was moving, but come to find out he was only 40yds away just over a rise that he could see over and couldn’t see me so was hung up. My cousin needed 3 more steps and that bull would’ve had an arrow (5pt bull). Eventually this bull had “not seen” enough and barked and ran off towards the first bull and the mountain went silent. After letting all the adrenaline subside, we ate a snack and got a message on the increach that my dad had made it to camp. My cousin and I both said without hesitation we needed to get back to camp and get my dad on a bull. Both of our passions for the outdoors and elk hunting stem from the stories from my dad as he elk hunted the same area in the glory days of elk hunting back in the mid-80s early 90s. So, we were not missing this opportunity to spend some time on the mountain with him and hopefully find him a bull with his bow. I don’t know how many mountain elk hunts he has left so I was going to make the best of this trip.

PM DAY 4

We decided to try the trailhead my cousin and I had driven to on day 1 as this looked like a great area that was relatively easy walking and would be a good “break in” hunt for my dad who had just spent 18hrs in the truck alone. The spot we were headed to has some well used hiking trails and the plan was to walk down one of these about a mile a veer off and head up the mountain. Well as you all the know the best laid plans sometimes don’t work, but sometimes they do. After walking about 300yds down this very well used path I let out a location bugle just for the heck of it and sure enough a bull ripped a bugle back 150yds away up on a small spur ridge. After checking the wind, we were good to go and made it to the top of this tiny little ridge and started working in on the bull. In my over excitement of actually working a bull for my dad I bugled way to much as this bull was answering and when we got to about the 100yd mark coming from 200 as we had to back track a bit to get the wind on the hill the bull had had enough and gathered his cows and went off over the edge into a difference drainage. Was still a cool experience to be able to “show my dad I could call elk”. After that we all were pretty jacked as my dad had been in camp for less than 1hr and already been on a bull. So we dropped back down to the trail and went ahead with our plan. After seeing a string of horses (Trail riders and 4 hikers with dogs) we left the trail and climbed to the top of the ridge to have a quick snack. As we sat there my cousin let out a location bugle and a bull very lazily answered us across the canyon. A pin was dropped on OnX and we headed up to the head of the canyon to work around on this bull. After a short (1mile) walk around we were on the same ridge as the bull and we started occasionally cow calling as we walked, with our bows still on the slings, I looked down at my phone and saw we were withing 100yds of where we thought the bull was but we hadn’t heard him again despite our cow calls or bugles coming in so we got complacent. I no more than put my phone back in my pocket and coming running straight at us a young 6pt. I am whispering/yelling “BULL BULL BULL BULL COMING” as I am in the front trying to act like a tree hoping my dad gets his bow out. Well they didn’t know what in the heck I was doing until the bull put the breaks on at 18yds. My dad was frantically trying to get his bow off the sling and an arrow nock as the bull whirled to leave. My cousin let out some cow calls as I was grabbing my bow and the bull stopped and turned and started coming back in. Range 45yds front leg closed need 1 step and an arrow will be sent from me. Well my dad can’t see the bull and thought he had ran farther so my dad is sneaking to our right trying to “find” the bull well the bull found him first and was gone without an arrow being shot. We had a good laugh about how close (10yds) our estimate was with the pin to where the elk had been. Lesson learned always be ready. Day 4 ended with no more encounters.

 

[WIbiggame]

Day 5 September 11th

Day 5 found us leaving the same trailhead as the morning prior in hopes of getting back on those bulls from yesterday. Again, we made it to the meadow as the sun was just starting to come up. Although this morning we didn’t get any responses to our bugles. We made the decision that the elk had to still be in the area so we hiked up the saddle to the wallow to see what the activity up there looked like. As we made it to the top about 80yds from the wallow a bull let a deep growling bugle and we could tell he was coming to the wallow. My cousin and dad ran ahead and set up 20yds from the wallow and I stayed back, and cow called. The bull was coming and answering everything I threw at him. After 30minutes of this the bugling stopped and I slowly worked my way to the wallow to discuss what had happened with my dad and cousin. Well my dad didn’t have much to say other than the bull stopped short (a man of many words) my cousin said the bull had gotten within 70yds but stayed in the timber and then the last bugled sound a ways away. So, we thought we had a good idea where the bull bedded so we had the wind and planned on slowly easing our way towards the spot. Well short story short the bull bedded 70yds from the wallow and we spooked him and his 2 cows out of there bed. After this my dad spoke up and said yeah, I didn’t think he went anyplace just turned his head. Well with hindsight being 20/20 we probably could’ve called that bull to the wallow with 1 splash and 1 bugle. Another good “laugh” was had at our bonehead mistakes. We decided we would explore this ridge a little more and walk it out back to camp. After about ½ walk from the wallow my cousin let out a bugle and a bull answered us along ways off and in the bottom of the canyon. Knowing that a trail was in the bottom we thought probably a hunter no way a bull is in the bottom at 10am. Well after about 2 minutes of standing there my dad suggests why don’t you bugle again and just see. Well my cousin bugles and this bull rips back at less than 100yds he covered a lot of ground and a lot of vertical feet quick!! I ran up the hill to call with my dad cousin setting up. After 15minutes of calling and no response I worked my way back down to them and they said the bull had stayed just inside the wood line and never presented a shot. The morning hunt ended around 2pm as we walked off the hill to the truck.



Day 5 PM Hunt

After 5 days of a lot of hiking my cousin and I decided to just walk up behind camp to a big meadow and listen for an elk to hopefully chase in the morning. No such luck didn’t hear a peep, did need a pair of clean underwear after a blue grouse flushed from under my foot though Sorry BigFin no arrows fired.

 

[WIbiggame]

Day 6 September 12th

My cousin and I decided at dinner on day 5 we needed to leave camp an hour earlier to be on top of the mountain before the sun came up to hopefully locate a bull. Well my dad didn’t like the idea of getting up at 0330 so it would be just my cousin and I today. We decided to head up the elevator shaft and made good time getting to the top. As we stood there in the darkness the morning silence was shattered by a bull bugling below us. He was bugling pretty regularly, so we sat and waited for the sun as we had had bulls do this before and we were in a great position to ambush them as they went over the spine to bed. Well this bull decided (or most likely his lead cow decided) they were going to bed in the timber on the west side of the spine not the east like they usually do. So we had the bull pegged where he was going just needed the herd to move off a bit so our downward thermals wouldn’t spook them and we would follow them to bed and make a play midday. As we dropped down to follow the herd, we crested a small rise and I saw a small 5pt feeding 20yds away our wind blowing right at him but he didn’t lift his head. I wanted my cousin to get a bull so bad I ducked down and said bull at 20yds he crawled up over the rise and bull was gone? How in the world did he disappear in 10 seconds well apparently he did smell us because we than saw the bull running through the bottom directly at the herd. Dang it. Well the big bull went silent so we decided well we know where they are bedding so lets just hope they calm down and we can still get on them midday. We got to a comfortable spot and sat down to eat a little breakfast. Well as we opened our granola bars the big bull started bugling again right where we figured he would bed. AWESOME!! We were waiting for the thermals to start switching and I looked down and saw another hunter (only 1 of the trip) working up towards the bull. My cousin and I tipped our hats and decided to hump it back up the mounting about 800’ to the spine and see if we could find something on the other side leaving this bull to this other hunter. We hit the spine of the ridge that runs north and south so the east side had been getting good sun and the thermals had started to rise. I let out a bugle and 3 bulls responded below us. We glassed the area and found a small pond and figured the bulls where just below that pond. Taking out our phone we were 6miles from the truck and these bulls were about 1000ft below us and about 1mile through some thick country. I told my cousin that these bulls were on the edge of where I felt comfortable packing an elk out of and is this something we want to do. Without missing a beat, he looked at me and said, “Are we here to listen to bulls or shoot one?” enough side off the mountain we went. After about an hour we had reached the pond and the bulls were bugling good on their own so made the walk a little easier. After getting to the pond we released the bulls had moved off and were 2 finger ridges away from us. We were able to get over 1 little ridge and setup and had a growling bull answering us but not moving, we figured he was the herd bull and had cows as the other 2 bulls had moved off about 500yds below us. After attempting to try and call this bull in without him moving we decided to learn from previous mistakes and stop calling hopefully letting the bull bed. The plan worked perfectly about 20minutes later a lazy bugle echoed from across the draw and we both were certain he had bedded with his cows. A pin was dropped on OnX and we mapped our path to make the 1.5mile loop around this bull. It took some time but we were able to make the loop and felt confident we were within 100-120 of the bull and he hadn’t spooked. I was dead tired so I took a nap, after about 45minutes of amazing sleep I woke up and asked my cousin what the plan was and this was his response: “I am going to cow call 1 time we are going to watch him stand up and bugle and he is going to walk over here and you are going to shoot him.” I chuckled and said ok better get an arrow nocked then. Well my cousin was so confident in his statement he got his phone out and hit record. And sure enough 1 cow call we watched the bull stand up from his bed 100yds out bugled 1 time and started his march in bugling 5 more times as he closed the distance. The bull hit 35yds and stopped broadside in a wide opening I was at full draw and squeezed the release the arrow left the bow and was flying true when all of a sudden a branch had grown in the time it took me draw and “TWANG” my arrow deflected down and under the bull! He had no idea what happened and just hopped once and started walking slightly away from us but up the hill to try and get down wind of us, I ranged in front of him 48yds, he entered the opening I stopped him and squeezed again the arrow arched perfect and I watched it bury in the pocked just behind his shoulder. Instantly my cousin said great shot the bull didn’t flinch and started walking again, stopping behind some trees where he stood for 4 minutes. I noticed his ears start to droop and he appeared hunched up. The bull than had had enough and trotted off without offering another shot. After much excitement and rewatching the video and both agreeing the hit was perfect I walked over to find blood. NOTHING!!!! Well my emotions crashed, I walked to where the elk had stood nothing. I was feeling sick to my stomach I knew what I saw when I shot and knew what I saw on the video why is he not bleeding. At that moment I looked down and there is was a puddle of blood!! I jumped up and down and motioned for my cousin to come over. AS he was coming over, I found my arrow about 10yds behind where the elk was when I shot and it was covered in stomach matter, again my emotions crashed. After watching the video again and finding more blood my cousin and I agreed the entrance was great but obviously I had hit guts somehow, so we elected to back out and come back in the morning (temps were suppose to be in the low 20s that night) with my dad who is an amazing tracker. That was the hardest and longest walk back to the truck of my life. After getting back to camp and telling my dad the story and showing him the video, he was certain the bull was dead too. Let’s say I didn’t sleep a wink that night.

This was my view when i woke up from my nap before the calling started.

 

[WIbiggame]

Day 7 September 13th

We made it to the trailhead just as the sun was rising knowing we had a 9mile hike to the spot where I had hit the bull the day before. After making the walk to the shot site we arrived at first blood at around noon. A quick granola bar and the track began, I wont bore you with the details but as a crow flys we tracked the bull for 887yds (just under 1000yds on my track on OnX) losing blood no less than 10 times only to find a drop on a dead fall. We were determined to not leave until we had the bull or ran out of blood. So after 3hrs of tracking I came over a rise and found a huge pile of blood than another and I said he is looking to die, I no more than got die out and saw OUR BULL lying dead. What an emotional experience to have worked so hard and to have an animal that big laying there. I will be honest and say a few tears were shed and I had to excuse myself for a couple minutes and just be in the moment. The entrance was perfect like we had thought but I must have hit a rib because the arrow exited just in fron of the rear leg, the bull was perfectly broadside at the shot. Everything was perfect, my cousin was there and to have my dad be there for the recovery is a memory I will never forget no matter what! Well after the cutting up of the bull the pack out began, and 7.5miles later we were at the truck as the sun was setting! What an amazing day!!

 

[WIbiggame]

Day 8 September 14th

Today was spent running the bull into town and getting a shower first one in 8 days and a real meal. It was a great “rest” day as we all were pretty beat up from the days before.



Day 9 (8th day hunting) September 15th

My dad woke up and could hardly walk so he decided to take the morning off, my cousin and I wanting to get my dad a bull decided we would hike up just behind camp and hunt the morning and come back to get my dad for the evening hunt and hopefully have a bull bedded for him. We hiked up the trail we had on day 1 and got to the top again as the sun was just rising. We glassed out into a large meadow and saw a lone cow entering the timber below us. I let out a couple location bugles but no response. I sat down to eat a granola bar and play 1 game of cribbage on my phone. My cousin and I were both still riding a pretty good adrenaline high from the harvest of the bull a few days early. When I was done with my game I asked my cousin again what the plan was and he responded well I put 6 pins on OnX where hypothetically a bull should be so lets check these out and then get your dad back in here to get one. Sounds good. We hiked about 400yds up another hill and we stopped I bugled. At the end of the bugle I looked at my cousin to find him looking at me “Okay you heard that too?” yup a bull bugled ALONG ways away and all we caught was the tail end of the bugle. My cousin pulls out OnX and sure enough that bull is within 100yds we figured of the hypothetical spot 1. We had a large meadow to walk through to enter the timber and start working towards this bull. After about 150yds of walking we were about 80yds from the timber, my cousin stopped me and said lets cow call incase he came running “Okay” I said rolling my eyes, but he had been right more times than not this trip. A couple cow calls nothing, so I decided to let out a wimpy little bugle, I didn’t even finish the bugle and he answered back at less than 100yds. I sprinted back to a patch of tress about 80yds back my cousin setup in front of the 1 tree we were by. I cow called 1 time and heard stick breaking and looked up to see antlers sprinting out of the timber. I heard a “MEW” then a “Thwap” I knew exactly what had happened and immediately started cow calling to calm the bull down, after about 10 seconds of calling I looked through trees and here comes a bull with an arrow hanging from his chest, the bull is coming right at me I pull my phone out and hit record the bull still coming. I had to move or be run over by this bull when he hit 2ft. The bull spooked and ran back into the meadow and I heard “Thwap” again and the walked a few feet and tipped over. My cousin had double lunged this bull twice! His first shot at 25yds and the second one at 68yds both entry hole within an inch of each other. We had killed 2 public land over the counter bulls in 2 days of hunting!! After pictures and cutting up my cousins bull we made the trip down the mountain (yes the pack out was 100% downhill) my ad couldn’t believe it when we strolled into camp with another elk on our backs! We had to make 1 more trip for the hind quarters but that was a leisurely walk filled with lots of stories and laughs among the 3 of us. All in all we did just under 13miles to recover my cousins bull and just over 17 to recover mine, a lot of hiking under heavy packs in 2 days. We ended the day taking my cousins bull into town to get processed and having another great dinner! My dad said at dinner we had packed enough meat off the mountain, and he was going to take our last day off as he was staying to hunt with a buddy for the next week.

This is a still frame when my cousins bull entered the timber I was calling from.

 

[WIbiggame]

Thank you for reading and sorry it got long winded I actually cut it down. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did typing it. I learned so much on this on trip and it was GREAT TO GET TO SPEND 1 MORE SEASON IN THE MOUNTAINS WITH MY DAD!! Also thanks to the 2 members who encouraged me to write this you both are amazing hunters and more importantly amazing people!! Until next year!!

 

[Crumb]

Fantastic story of an even better hunt, congrats!!!

 

[maxracx]

What a great story!!! Congrats on 2 awesome bulls. Thank you very much for sharing.

 

[Bambistew]

Congrats! Well earned and great story and pics.

 

[elkhnter]

Congratulations. A good write up.

 

[Lone Elk]

Congrats on a great hunt. You did the work and were rewarded for your efforts. Curious to which state you were hunting?

 

[Gila]

Great story....good photos....nice elk!

The hunt was not in the Gila, that I know. Thanks for sharing!

 

[7mm08mo]

Congrats on two great bulls and what sounds and looks like an epic adventure. Cherish those times with your dad, I know I do as well.

 

[Jape]

Great story! Congrats and thanks for sharing!

 

[Green Hunter]

That is quite an experience! Great work

 

[JMG]

Not too long in my book … thanks for sharing.

 

[Carbon]

Awesome story! Thanks for putting it together!