I just got back from Colorado and don't have time to tell the whole story, but the Huntsman did the number on this li'l 5x5 with the help of a 430 grain Super Slug and 80 grains FFFG Triple Se7en. :wink: I will come back and tell the story as time permits. Yeah, it's that pesky work thing. :cry: I did have three bigger ones within 100 yards after I had my tag filled, but you know how they say patience is a virtue.
[EDIT] for "the rest of the story"
Our trip began on September 6th, 2005 at a meeting point in central Michigan. We started our journey South towards Chicago at 7 AM and were delayed for at least 30 minutes while going around Grand Rapids due to road construction. Just a little set back compared to when we arrived in Chicago, we were gridlocked for over 2-1/2 hours there, also due to road construction. The rest of our trip out went pretty much without a hitch. It is nerve racking driving West of Denver with the big trucks putting the squeeze on you from both sides while driving like a bat out of Hades. We arrived at our destination on the morning of the 7th about 3 hours behind schedule due to the delays.
While in the parking lot getting checked in we started glassing the mountain in front of us and did see an elk in a small opening up above us. After checking in we decided to go up top and glass from the rim. We did see a few cows and a little 4x4 bull. We glassed and scouted for the next few days as our hunt did not start until Saturday the 10th. We did see several more cows and a few bulls, but no really big ones. At this point I had made a decision that I would take any 5x5 with decent looking tines. The minimum legal bull on this hunt is a "4 point on one side or at least a 5 inch brow tine". Any legal bull is a trophy and if you don't believe me, try it sometime. This hunt was a "DO-IT YOURSELF" hunt from start to finish all on "PUBLIC LAND". The videos you see are mostly shot on private land with boat loads of elk that can't wait to come to your call. Of course we all dream about that big 6x6, they are far and few between on public land, but they do exist.
My hunt started Saturday morning September 10th by dropping in off the rim around 10,500 feet going down to around 8,500 feet. The thermals were working down the mountain early and were predictable. Daylight was upon us and a couple bugles were heard in the distance, a good sign this early in the season. The actual rut seems to start at the very end of the Muzzleloader Season, so the bugling activity is usually limited to a herd bull warning off challenging satellite bulls. I did see two cows on the first day in an area that I expected to see more animals. I also heard three shots on the other slope that we would be hunting the third day. One guy in our group seen a good 5x5 right on the trail while walking in just after daylight. He had his young son with him who had a bow tag for a cow. He however had a muzzleloader bull tag and was not expecting to have the bull cross right in front of him on the trail and was unable to get a shot.
The second day of my hunt started in an area that I had never been to and after the three mile walk back in on the trail, daylight was upon us. I was with two other guys walking in that had been here on a previous hunt. We decided to hunt the benches on this fairly steep slope on the way back to the truck. We all worked the slope on different levels. I ended up in the middle with one guy below me and another guy with his son working near the top. There were many game trails on the benches working both up and down as well as parallel to the rim. We still hunted down the length of the benches. A couple hours into the hunt, I saw an elk approaching through the dark timber. I knelt down and the cow elk walked by at 30 yards, not knowing that she was being watched. I then waited for several minutes, hoping that a bull would be in tow. No such luck.
After about a half hour wait, I started still hunting my way back toward the truck. There were several rock slides on this face and quite frequently found myself working up and down the slope trying to stay on a bench. I stopped occasionally to give a few soft mews on the cow call. I started to notice that my elevation was increasing on my GPS while checking to see how far I had progressed. I could not help but to notice the beauty of the mountains in the distance when the trees would occasionally open up for the view. Some of the scenery is absolutely breath-taking. I stopped to take a picture and reflect on the privilege that I was able to partake in this hunt. After all this day was September 11th, 2005. It was hard to believe that just four years ago at about this time our nation was being attacked by some misguided terrorists.
After reflecting awhile I started to get back to the task at hand and moved ever so slowly down the bench I was on. After seeing the cow a half a mile back or so, my hopes were high that I would see more elk. I stopped at a small clearing just above a rock slide and gave a couple soft mews on my cow call. I waited a few minutes and started to move when I noticed antlers, elk antlers moving my way through the trees. I dropped down to a kneeling position as the antlers approached. At this time there was a slight rise between the elk and me, so I could see only his antlers coming and he could not see me due to his eyes being below that level. While I waited to get a look at him the nerves started in a bit. I was sure he was a 5x5 but wanted to get a good look at the rest of him. When his body finally came into view he stopped behind a group of trees, with only his neck, head and antlers exposed. He was looking straight at me, almost through me trying to find the cow he had heard only moments earlier. I had a big decision to make at this point, so I started counting points and looking over his tines. While I knew right away that he was a legal bull, with close to 10" brow tines and over 4 tines on both sides, it was only the second day of my hunt. That big decision really only took maybe a few milliseconds, because I know that any legal bull on a do-it-yourself hunt is a trophy. At this point, knowing that I would take him, all I had to do was wait for him to make the next move since I had no shot where he stood.
He was burning a hole through me trying to find the cow and I was thinking to myself if he bugles now I would probably turn to jello and never be able to regain my composure for the shot. He had a blow down right in front of him and I never dreamed he would move forward to where I could get a clear shot. I figured he would not see what he was looking for and simply turn around and disappear out of my vision. After what seemed like hours but was really only a couple of nerve racking minutes, he did the unthinkable. He stepped over the blowdown for a closer look and into a small opening where I had a clear shot at 46 yards. When he stopped, he quartered to me and started to look for the cow again. Now I had a decision to make, do I take the shot or do I wait for him to turn for a better shot knowing that he could get my wind and whirl and be gone in an instant. I know the bullet that I am using, a 430 grain solid lead conical and the Huntsmans accuracy was up to the task, but would I be able to hold steady enough off hand to thread the needle. I took a deep breath and slowly expelled about half while cocking the Huntsman. As soon as my sights hit the sweet spot everything seemed to go into automatic, at the shot the smoke never blocked my vision and I seen the bull jump straight up. The bull then whirled and headed back the way he came, I noticed he was favoring his front left as he cleared the blow down. I could only see him for about ten yards and he was out of sight. I was blowing into my cow call in hopes to calm him back down as he departed.
I gave him some time, knowing my shot must have been true. I approached the area he was standing at the shot and immediately noticed blood on a rock on the other side of the blow down. I took some marking tape and marked the spot with tape as well as on my GPS. After what seemed like an eternity I decided to take up the trail. I had noticed he stayed on the trail and it curves sharply to the left and around some rock. As I rounded the turn I could clearly see my quest had came to an end. He still looked as majestic as he had only moments earlier 56 paces away. I really got a case of the old butterflies in the old stomach then. I circled around and approached cautiously to make sure it was over. I then took a moment to reflect on the hunt and to give thanks for such an experience. A few pictures and then the WORK began. :wink:
Click on picture for a better quality original sized pic.
