Muzzleloader Mania - Part 1 - Foggy Bottom Bull

[trb]

782 mm rough gross score velvet bull

 

[trb]

Now for the real kicker. I got to work quickly, and had it quartered within about an hour or so. While just about to dive into get the tenderloins, I heard hoofbeats from further into the basin quickly approaching. As I was knelt over the carcass, knife in hand, an extremely nice 6x6 RAN into within 10 yards of me, slammed on the brakes, and proceeded to stand there, head lowered, drooling, and panting, staring at me broadside for close to a minute. Eventually, he walked off, leaving me wondering what could have been if I had any sort of standards, patience, or restraint whatsoever.

 

[trb]

 

[TheTone]

Threw me for a surprise!

I’m super jealous of the time you’ve spent out with your little one. I haven’t spent near as much woods time with mine as I would like but the thick brush and timber around me doesn’t seem ideal for packing around a kid

 

[trb]

I shuttled the meat in three loads from the bottom of the basin to the saddle near my tent, which took me a couple hours to about noon.

I rehung it in a bristlecone pine, and after refueling a bit, began the packout process. From noon on Saturday to noon on Sunday, I packed the spike out in 3 loads. The first, with a rear quarter and the bonus bag, was definitely type 2 fun. The second load was both front quarters, was slightly less awful. On the way down with that 2nd load, I was treated to a beautiful sunset of the retreating fog bank.



I slept at my truck that night, and did a final load of the rear quarter and the head in the morning. I ran into 4 different moose on the way out with meat, one of which was a bull that spooked at less than 10 ft from me in the dark, nearly causing me to make use of the baby wipes in my glove compartment.

 

[seeth07]

So I shared this with my wife to which her reaction was "he had to take three loads for that? It's a baby!" I can't stop laughing lol

 

[trb]

For me, this hunt was honestly a microcosm of my whopping 4 months of experience as a father. Would I have preferred to hold out for a chance at that 6x6? Absolutely. But ultimately, there will be more opportunities next year, and the year after that. This year has been a learning experience in humility and contribution to the "greater good" of our new family, often stepping outside my comfort zone to do so. This spike has filled our freezer just as well as that monstrous old bull I saw through the spotter and on my trail cam over the summer. And ultimately, I am simply grateful for the chance to do something I love, on public land that I love, and come home to a daughter who I love.

Dinner last night:


But seriously, I am headed back out on Wednesday in search of my one TRUE love: alpine mule deer. Stay tuned for part 2.

 

[seeth07]

For me, this hunt was honestly a microcosm of my whopping 4 months of experience as a father. Would I have preferred to hold out for a chance at that 6x6? Absolutely. But ultimately, there will be more opportunities next year, and the year after that. This year has been a learning experience in humility and contribution to the "greater good" of our new family, often stepping outside my comfort zone to do so. This spike has filled our freezer just as well as that monstrous old bull I saw through the spotter and on my trail cam over the summer. And ultimately, I am simply grateful for the chance to do something I love, on public land that I love, and come home to a daughter who I love.

Dinner last night:
View attachment 239219

But seriously, I am headed back out on Wednesday in search of my one TRUE love: alpine mule deer. Stay tuned for part 2.

Heck yeah, great story, best of luck!

 

[trb]

So I shared this with my wife to which her reaction was "he had to take three loads for that? It's a baby!" I can't stop laughing lol

Hardest part was keeping all the meat dry from the milk dripping off his lips.

 

[trb]

Odds and ends:

Shot a 300 gr Thor bullet with a 95 grain BH209 load by weight. Complete pass through of both lungs, but somehow missed all ribs. Would have been interested to see how it performed against bone given that I didn't get a complete pass through on my buck with a 250 gr Thor bullet last year.

Shout out to Argali ultralight game bags, those things are pretty sweet.

Tried out Altra Lone Peak boots. Love how light they are, and preform great on trail, but I don't think I will buy them again both due to durability and their performance off trail/side hilling.

Thanks for following along, God save the Queen.

 

[CPAjeff]

So awesome - thanks for taking the time to share your adventure!!

 

[rtraverdavis]

@trb

Your write ups are always top-notch. This was no exception.

Soak up that backpack time with your daughter. Doesn’t last nearly long enough.

 

[woods89]

Well told! A freezer full of elk is an incredible thing.

Good luck with the deer!

 

[gwhunter]

Excellent write-up. Thanks for taking us along!

 

[Stocker]

Awesome work! You killed an elk, and still have some self esteem left because you didn’t grow a horrible looking mustache. I’m jealous.

 

[Hunting Wife]

Nice recap once again. Congrats on the elk, and on getting your daughter out already to share some of it with you.

 

[Sask hunter]

Congrats! I hope to tip over a spike like that when season opens Thursday here

 

[jvanhoy]

Awesome story. Congrats on the tasty bull and I would say a mule deer is in trouble!

 

[Irrelevant]

That's a very manly and humble move. Nice work. I look forward to the muley thread.

 

[LousyResident]

Great read, thanks for taking us along.