Done!

[ishy]

9-7-2016 (3) small.jpg (227.92 KiB) Viewed 7817 times

Well two hours is all I get this year. Hopefully I can find some friends that need help calling, filming, packing, cooking, etc...

[sojurner 65]

Awesome! Congrats!

[ElkNut1]

Bryan, way to go bud! Great looking bull!

ElkNut1

[elkhuntfever]

Hearty Congratulations!!!!

[bald9eagle]

Story man! We need details!

[Dr. Rx]

That is Awesome!
What a good looking bull!
Kris

[Mike_Parson]

Great Job!!!! Congrats !!!!

[Lefty]

Just remember they wont always come that easy

[TurkeyBowMaster]

Nice bull....but there ain't no holes in him or blood. Sure he didn't have a heart attack?

[Backyard]

Sweet!!
Details...

[Elkhunttoo]

Congrats!!!!

[lamrith]

Story man! We need details!

Yeah talk about not enough foreplay!!
Build up the suspense with some small talk!! Lets here the story!

CONGRATS!!

[WapitiTalk1]

Congrats Bryan, dandy bull!

[ishy]

So I decided to go into my stand from a new drainage. It's a rough 3 miles from any direction and this new way had a creek in the bottom and a saddle at the top that is always hammered. Due to the new way I didn't want to start till first light and good thing I had a cow nervous grunt at me soon after starting. I knew she hadn't smelled me so I immediately imitated her and added grunts to it. If you haven't heard about this it confuses the daylights out of them, and this is exactly what happened and we played for about 20 minutes of her nervous grunting and making a heavy panting noise and I'd return my barking with grunts. She didn't want to give up her higher ground to smell me, but tried hard to get a visual for what seemed like forever until heading out slowly. I know the bull heard all of this and I think it helps calm things down compared to having them make a couple nervous grunts and blowing out.
So I headed upward and let out a soft mew after crossing the next ridge. Got an immediate bugle and seemed a few hundred yards out (estimating distance is not one of my more honed skills). Wind was good (still blowing down) and he was slightly uphill and to the North of the east west ridge I was climbing. At this point I am trying to close the distance quietly, but unsure if he is coming yet. Typical of North Idaho some of the hill is the jungle 12' mess with no shootability beyond about 5 yards, so I had to pick my spots. I would call and run up trying to figure a good spot from what I could see. It was actually perfect that he held tight until I was quite a bit closer and the brush opened up. So he was vocal and answered I think everything I did, cow call or raking. Once I figured I was under 100 yards and it opened up a little I hit the cow call, he answered and I bugled immediately right over the top of him. That was it...crunch...crunch...I see a good bull headed in clueless. He got in range walked behind a tree and I drew. He never saw or heard any of it, cleared the last brush and stopped 30 yards broadside. I had the thought, "It just doesn't happen like this". Thwack! He went about 100 yards and piled up.
It had only been 17 days since Ironman and I don't know if I'm not fully recovered or packing is just that tough but I didn't have anything left. I was sore, shaky, and torn up from packing downhill through that Idaho jungle, but man it felt great. I've packed a couple of elk solo before but never this far with a tangled mess to push through. The only time I wasn't fighting brush was the first and last few hundred yards the rest was combative. The last load was finally at the truck at 6 pm. I have thought a lot about how tough Ironman is and I agree it was life changing hard, but one thing about Ironman was I knew if I put in the time I could do it. Elk hunting has that unknown factor, you can do everything to be ready and there is no guarantee that you will be successful. I think that was one thing about Elk hunting that made Ironman almost easier for me-I had put my heart and soul into elk hunting for many years before I filled a tag. I love that part of the challenge (I might even hate it years I don't get one). But that's all part of the magic of September.

[Elkhunttoo]

Great story... Congrats again!!!! Always nice to get one

[Cowbell]

Congrats! That is awesome!

Is that an Allegiance?

[ishy]

Tomkat-nobody makes an 8.5 brace height anymore and I love it.

[wunder6]

Nice bull and good story. I like how you say you can hate hunting after a season without a kill but you never stop. That's what it's about, the drive and never giving up on something jusy because you don't succeed at first. Better to try and fail than never try at all or give up.

[JKaboom]

Great bull and great pics; congratulations!

[CurlyTail]

Now thats a nice Bull! Great job. You are having a great year.

[baddaddy]

Great job. Congrats.

[Deafirishman]

Congrats on your bull and awesome story to go with it. Thanks for sharing.


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