Khunter
Well-known member
Here's a nice bull (video and still photo) wallowing late one evening maybe 1. 5 miles from camp. ABQBW hunted near that wallow on a different day and had some close calls. Video is pretty cool if you like watching wallowing bulls!
I believe it was the next day, after we had literally hunted our way completely around a large knob (see below screenshot) that was close to 3 miles to hike around that we ended up near this same wallow and encountered a couple of of the better bulls of the trip. We were chasing and in and out of a larger dispersed and rutting herd most of the afternoon. One bull we called in was real nice 320-330 and I came very close to getting a shot at. He came straight in after the most basic of cow calls on the heels of a raghorn he was trailing but he never quire stopped moving as he came by and at 60 yards so not shot opportunity. As we headed the direction he went we landed near this wallow and ABQBW spotted a solid 340" bull just across the draw. Actually the bull and 12? cows were just about where we were standing the day prior when I took this video. For 10-15 minutes the bull and cows hung out, calling and bugling but we were pinned down by thin cover and two doggone 5 point raghorns that were bedded 150 yards from the big bull maybe 80 yards from me and had me pegged. ABQBW gave me the go ahead to be the one to make a try for the big bull once he had moved into the timber a bit more and was slowly trailing his cows down the ridge.
Interestingly this bull had a bleeding puncture wound high in the right shoulder above the lungs. I thought at the time the wound was from another bull given all antler clashing/sparring we had been seeing/hearing but the Amish hunter, when I talked to him after the season thought it was a bull he arrowed high in the void between lungs and spine--all the horn configuration particulars and the sound of his bugle with a deep grunt at the end seemed to match. Finally, I decided the big bull was far enough away and I did not care how the little 5 pts reacted to me scooting across a mostly open area of the draw to get across and onto the ridge the big bull was on. I scooted across the open area and the 5 pts quietly exited into the timber and thankfully not in the directing the 340 bull had gone and surprisingly? did not even bark.
I ended up chasing down the big bull but bumped one of the cows who trotted off (no barking thankfully). Once within maybe 150-200 yards I started bugling at the big bull. He responded well with his own bugles and after I added in some cow calls came into me as close as 50 yards but was covered by small trees over his vitals and turned back to be with the cows.
Here is a screen shot of the track as we hunted around the above knob. Called in the first big bull on "North" side of track. The little 5 point bulls were just inside the timber east of the track on the far "east" side of photo. The big bull I was really trying to kill that a;ready had the wound on high shoulder was just south of the 5 pts and had come out into the meadow a bit then back into timber. Track shows where I crossed the top end of meadow and headed south trailing that bull and cow and had a close call.
I then moved another 400 yards and got right on a cool sounding bull and cows that were out in the meadow just outside the timber. At this point I was 3/4 mile up the meadow from where we first saw the big bull. This one was a BIG 5 point I would definitely arrow, cuz who does not want a whopper of a 5 point with a whale tail, if given the chance. ABQBW was actually a 1/3 of a mile away on the other side of the meadow and got a good look at him and watched how this stalk unfolded. He could not see me but could see the elk. Got within 65 yards and got quite a show as he tended the cows, bugled and glunked. While waiting for him to slip up and get in range the wind which had been great for the entire stalk of the last hour plus rolled up my neck and out to the herd...and you know the rest of it. Pounding hooves as they ran off never to be seen again. This was 20-30 minutes before the end of shooting light so I worked my way the 1.5 miles back to camp and actually got a good nibble from another unseen bull in some timber along the way but never got to see him. Figure he was a bit less than a hundred yards out from me.
I believe it was the next day, after we had literally hunted our way completely around a large knob (see below screenshot) that was close to 3 miles to hike around that we ended up near this same wallow and encountered a couple of of the better bulls of the trip. We were chasing and in and out of a larger dispersed and rutting herd most of the afternoon. One bull we called in was real nice 320-330 and I came very close to getting a shot at. He came straight in after the most basic of cow calls on the heels of a raghorn he was trailing but he never quire stopped moving as he came by and at 60 yards so not shot opportunity. As we headed the direction he went we landed near this wallow and ABQBW spotted a solid 340" bull just across the draw. Actually the bull and 12? cows were just about where we were standing the day prior when I took this video. For 10-15 minutes the bull and cows hung out, calling and bugling but we were pinned down by thin cover and two doggone 5 point raghorns that were bedded 150 yards from the big bull maybe 80 yards from me and had me pegged. ABQBW gave me the go ahead to be the one to make a try for the big bull once he had moved into the timber a bit more and was slowly trailing his cows down the ridge.
Interestingly this bull had a bleeding puncture wound high in the right shoulder above the lungs. I thought at the time the wound was from another bull given all antler clashing/sparring we had been seeing/hearing but the Amish hunter, when I talked to him after the season thought it was a bull he arrowed high in the void between lungs and spine--all the horn configuration particulars and the sound of his bugle with a deep grunt at the end seemed to match. Finally, I decided the big bull was far enough away and I did not care how the little 5 pts reacted to me scooting across a mostly open area of the draw to get across and onto the ridge the big bull was on. I scooted across the open area and the 5 pts quietly exited into the timber and thankfully not in the directing the 340 bull had gone and surprisingly? did not even bark.
I ended up chasing down the big bull but bumped one of the cows who trotted off (no barking thankfully). Once within maybe 150-200 yards I started bugling at the big bull. He responded well with his own bugles and after I added in some cow calls came into me as close as 50 yards but was covered by small trees over his vitals and turned back to be with the cows.
Here is a screen shot of the track as we hunted around the above knob. Called in the first big bull on "North" side of track. The little 5 point bulls were just inside the timber east of the track on the far "east" side of photo. The big bull I was really trying to kill that a;ready had the wound on high shoulder was just south of the 5 pts and had come out into the meadow a bit then back into timber. Track shows where I crossed the top end of meadow and headed south trailing that bull and cow and had a close call.
I then moved another 400 yards and got right on a cool sounding bull and cows that were out in the meadow just outside the timber. At this point I was 3/4 mile up the meadow from where we first saw the big bull. This one was a BIG 5 point I would definitely arrow, cuz who does not want a whopper of a 5 point with a whale tail, if given the chance. ABQBW was actually a 1/3 of a mile away on the other side of the meadow and got a good look at him and watched how this stalk unfolded. He could not see me but could see the elk. Got within 65 yards and got quite a show as he tended the cows, bugled and glunked. While waiting for him to slip up and get in range the wind which had been great for the entire stalk of the last hour plus rolled up my neck and out to the herd...and you know the rest of it. Pounding hooves as they ran off never to be seen again. This was 20-30 minutes before the end of shooting light so I worked my way the 1.5 miles back to camp and actually got a good nibble from another unseen bull in some timber along the way but never got to see him. Figure he was a bit less than a hundred yards out from me.
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