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Finally ended my 3 year drought!!

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Finally ended my 3 year drought!!

Postby JJ Overkill » 09 30, 2021 •  [Post 1]

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The story behind this bull. As I sit in camp waiting for cooler temps for the afternoon hunt, I keep thinking about how fortunate we were to take this bull. It actually started the day prior to the day we harvested him. Lisa Jensen and I were hunting up a ridge with dark timber that tied into a large burn area. On the other side of the mountain it went back to dark timber. We crested the mountain and made our way into the timber. We had the wind in our favor. I called our way down the mountain hear no response. It was around 11:30am so I felt everything would be bedded down and all I wanted was a bull to respond from his sanctuary. As we worked down the mountain a bull finally responded but he was up hill and up wind from us and moving. Calling from where we were was a losing scenario. And I can’t run as fast as an elk can walk up a mountain. We decided to back out and go after him the next morning while the thermals were coming down the mountain. I wasn’t about to circle all the way around and climb that mountain again to get the wind. As we descended down I heard a bugle. Not from the bull we heard above us. I have a bugle and chuckles back. Got the same reply back but the chuckles weren’t right. I told Lisa it’s another hunter. Sure enough not much later a hunter came down from ridge off to the side of us. An older gentleman. We meet up and started talking and heading down the mountain together. He asked if we had any luck. I wasn’t about to advertise we had heard a bull farther up the draw, and said it’s been fairly quiet. (Which isn’t a lie. Only hearing two other bulls in 6 days is quiet) He then tells us he was on a bull in the same draw towards the top that morning. He said he got to within 50yards but another hunter came in and messed it up for him. He also told me that the bull wasn’t aggressive at all. He would move away from and type of challenge. the more we talked the more I felt my plans for the following day slipping away. We walked down the trail a ways I felt I should come clean and told we heard a bull up top as we came down. He looked exited. I told him we didn’t have to wind to make a move on the bull and backed out. Farther down the trail I asked if he planned on going after that bull in the AM. I told him I was planning on it but since he was on him first I’d make different plans so we don’t mess up each other’s hunt. He said he wanted to try a different area. That evening as I sat in camp thinking about this bull and the hunter saying the bulls not aggressive, how do we proceed to killing him? I decided to use a lighter diaphragm reed than normal to get soft quieter cow sounds. Not my normal ones that can be heard to mountain tops away. I also decided to grab my heads up elk decoy that mounts to my bow. I haven’t used it since ‘16. I told Lisa she’s going to have to bugle since this bull already heard mine. (She has a quieter and smaller sounding bugle than me) she wasn’t thrilled but went along with it. I wanted to get her on this bull but I knew we were going to have to move fast to get on him. Running if needed.

4:30AM We got to the trail head early to make sure no one beat us to the spot. We made our way in half ways up the draw and sat and listened. Not making a sound. Right before first light a bull bugles to our left, then one bulges above us. I look at her and said that one! We started towards him, he only bugled one more time. It’s now light enough to see my pins. I put the decoy on my bow and told Lisa to bugle. She did and the bull answered, nothing aggressive or intimidating. I went at him and was about 100yards away from Lisa and cow called. Nothing no response from the bull. Lisa bugled again from the same location she was at and bam bull answered right away. I cow called and went at him again. Now Lisa’s following me but staying that 100yrd distance from me. When the bull would get quiet she’d bugle, he’d answer and I cow call my way towards him. After this going on for 15min he finally bugled and chuckled at my cow calls. GAME ON!! I was finally getting close to him, I was out of breath and my pulse was racing. Then I saw his antlers and head moving from my left to right. I nocked an arrow, held my bow/decoy up in front of me but I couldn’t see the bull any more. I came around a pine tree and all I could see was his body and the very tips of his top antlers, I knew it was him and he’s a legal bull. In that brief moment I guesstimated the bull was at 60yards. From where I was I don’t know if he could see me or not but I wasn’t going to risk trying to range him AND move my sight down to 60. (My guesstimating skills are actually very good. Ask Lisa) I moved my sight, hooked up my release drew settled my pin and I don’t remember touching my trigger. The arrow was gone, heard what sounds like hitting a watermelon thud. I knew I hit him but didn’t see the actual shot. I frantically cow called, trying to stop the bull and to let Lisa know I had taken a shot. As she made her way towards me I heard a death moan. (The first I’ve ever heard). She gets to where I’m at, it took her about 20 min to get to me. We make our way towards where the bull was when I shot. No blood anywhere. As I start searching for blood in the direction I thought the bull had went Lisa looked for my arrow. I’m not seeing anything, no sign at all. I feel this sinking feel start coming on. Then Lisa yells, I found your arrow! I yelled back, is there blood on it she says yeah but it’s broken in half. Then she says, I see the bulls he’s down. I get to her and look up the hill and sure enough there he is!!!! From that sinking feeling to a ball of excitement in .0001 seconds. Once we finally made sure the bull was down I saw I hit him high in the lungs resulting in no external blood lose. I knew he was dead but not seeing any blood and me nervous and worried. Needless to say it’s a hunt I won’t soon forget. I hope you enjoyed the long story of this hunt.
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JJ Overkill
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Re: Finally ended my 3 year drought!!

Postby Swede » 09 30, 2021 •  [Post 2]

Congratulations on a fine bull and for sharing the story behind your successful hunt.
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Re: Finally ended my 3 year drought!!

Postby Trumkin the Dwarf » 09 30, 2021 •  [Post 3]

That's a heck of a bull! Congrats!
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Re: Finally ended my 3 year drought!!

Postby Jhg » 09 30, 2021 •  [Post 4]

JJ Overkill wrote:
F0C0937F-81DC-42E9-869E-4E29CBF732F2.jpeg
... We walked down the trail a ways I felt I should come clean and told we heard a bull up top as we came down. He looked exited. I told him we didn’t have to wind to make a move on the bull and backed out. Farther down the trail I asked if he planned on going after that bull in the AM. I told him I was planning on it but since he was on him first I’d make different plans so we don’t mess up each other’s hunt. He said he wanted to try a different area...


That right there is awesome and why I choose not to be stingy with my information about what I have seen and what my plans are. I met the best hunting partner ever this way and he was like that older gentleman, sharing his info and just not uptight about whether someone else might use it against him. And most of the time doing so doesn't affect your hunt at all in the negative.

Nice bull too.
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Re: Finally ended my 3 year drought!!

Postby Lefty » 10 03, 2021 •  [Post 5]

That is so great!!!

Certianly a short long story, Congratulations on the great looking bull
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Re: Finally ended my 3 year drought!!

Postby JJ Overkill » 10 04, 2021 •  [Post 6]

After replaying everything in my head over and over, I think I know why my shot was higher than I was aiming. I’m fairly certain I didn’t have proper form on this slightly up hill shot. I lifted my bow arm to put my pins on target rather than hold the proper T and bend at the waist. I’m confident that was my mistake. I shot 60yds like it’s 20 even when tried and worn out from swinging a 16# hammer at work all day. 115 yds not so much, things really open up when I’m fatigued.
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Re: Finally ended my 3 year drought!!

Postby WapitiTalk1 » 10 07, 2021 •  [Post 7]

Damn nice bull mister, congrats!
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Re: Finally ended my 3 year drought!!

Postby Elkhunttoo » 10 08, 2021 •  [Post 8]

Congrats on an awesome bull!!! Thanks for sharing
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Re: Finally ended my 3 year drought!!

Postby Lefty » 10 09, 2021 •  [Post 9]

First Congratulations again.

You say three years! :D 8-)



My daughter really hassled her boyfriend about the bull he shot responding to his comment "after three years of hard hunting" on his Facebook page.
" No,, my dads 55 years in the woods and my 10 years hunting with him!"
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Re: Finally ended my 3 year drought!!

Postby JJ Overkill » 10 10, 2021 •  [Post 10]

Lefty wrote:You say three years! :D 8-)


That’s three years with one complete miss on a 5pt in ID, the last two years having bulls within 30 yards and not getting a shot. Before that I had two elk down in back to back years. 3 elk in 8 years of hunting not the greatest average for sure.
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