Nebraska “slam” attempt

[Stocker]

did you listen to his advise about where to go this morning? or afternoon? I'm guessing not because you are on here bs'in rather than cutting up an elk

He’s been advising chasing doves and grouse. He also took a nap while I watched this bull mulling around in the corn.

I think he’s related to Randy somewhere. Wants to chase grouse and nap on an elk hunt. I on the other hand am devising a scheme to crawl out to the end of the pivot to get a shot.

Arrows, 12’ off the ground, trying to navigate a wet galvanized surface. What can go wrong?

 

[seeth07]

How many elk has Randy taken down? How many have you? You really should listen to your son!

 

[Stocker]

How many elk has Randy taken down? How many have you? You really should listen to your son!

I think he has more than 1, maybe…….. grouse and naps it is.

 

[brazilianch]

I’ve never done a live hunt, mostly because I ramble incoherently, have horrible grammar/spelling, and I’m basically the Bill Dance blooper reel of hunting. While discussing my luck drawing a bull elk tag on the same year I had enough points to draw a muzzleloader antelope tag (elk are bonus antelope are PP) it dawned on a buddy and I that I have a chance at a Nebraska slam, albeit made up just by us. It’ll be elk, antelope, mule deer, and white tail. The hardest part at having a chance is drawing the elk tag. The 2nd hurdle is killing an archery antelope on a year that you drew an elk tag and didn’t have enough PP to draw a rifle or MZ antelope tag. So I’ve cleared the 2 biggest hurdles.

So the plan so far is chase elk with my bow starting September 1st. Archery for deer opens the same day. If I don’t get a bull killed by September 21st I can use a rifle until October 31st. MZ antelope season runs from Sept 17th until October 2nd. So I may end up doing some combo hunts in the area if I still have both tags to fill in that timeframe. My mother in law also has a bull elk tag for the same unit so I’ll be up there guiding her on the rifle opener and/or trying to still fill my bull tag. I’ve got plenty of WT to chase around home with my bow so I should be able to get that done. If I haven’t bagged a MD by the end of October I’ll probably buy a rifle tag for a western unit to get that done.

Maybe I’ll draw the 1 sheep tag in Nebraska too………………

I’m pumped. My wife who loves hunting is a little less so. I basically marked the calendar from Sept 1-Dec31 and erased everything she had on there. If I drag it out until the end of the year I’m a dead man.

I’d say my chances of pulling it off would be 70% if I was a better hunter. For me it’s probably a shot in the dark. It’ll most likely be the only opportunity I’ll ever have to do it since bull elk tags are currently once in a lifetime if you kill one and I have to sit out 5 years if I don’t. View attachment 228031

Good luck! Looking forward to hearing how it goes!

 

[Gellar]

Is this what they call full circle? Elk to whitetail to elk to antelope to grouse to dove and now back to elk. I’m glad someone is killing something!

 

[Stocker]

 

[kansasdad]

The King of the cornfield appears to be dead……long live the king.

Hope it’s a done deal and you’ve got fresh batteries for your headlamp.

 

[Stocker]

 

[rtraverdavis]

And there it is, mustache and all.

Congratulations! Great bull.

 

[Jbotto]

You’re much less of a tease than some people on here!

What a bull! Congrats man!

 

[Irrelevant]

Helluva bull congrats @Stocker !

 

[Sask hunter]

Congrats!!

 

[seeth07]

Damn that's a great bull. I bet you took a nap and then woke up and there he was!

 

[mdeerjunkie]

That’s awesome! Great bull! Congratulations.

 

[Gellar]

Congratulations! What a fun hunt! I’d stay with the mustache. It’s obviously good luck.

No pictures of the Case powered pack out?

 

[Festus]

Outstanding!! Great bull! Some great memories with your  son guide!

 

[seeth07]

Outstanding!! Great bull! Some great memories with your  son guide!

I actually don't understand why the grip n grin didn't have his son holding up the bull. He clearly earned that moment more than @Stocker did

 

[BrentD]

Don't forget to tip your guide well!

Congrats, but please work on the mustache. Painful...

 

[Stocker]

Sorry for not much last night. It was cooling off but I really wanted to get him cut up quick and out of the field.

So I went back into an area that kind of got everything started with elk for me in Nebraska. I setup in the middle of a section with 4 pivots. The temp had already started dropping from 90 to mid 70’s by 7pm. Honestly I was getting a little frustrated at the lack of sightings with all the sign around the corn fields. I sat against a little plumb thicket, I called a little bit around 7:00, nothing responded or showed. About sundown or 30 minutes left of legal light I stood up and ripped the loudest bugles I could, nothing responded. @seeth07 isnt far off, I turned around and dropped my stuff to take a whiz. Over my shoulder I see this bull come out of the corn 200 yards away. He was raking the ground and bugling right at me. I abandoned me urinating efforts immediately.

He’s still closing right to me raking the ground and bugling. At 70 yards he turns hard right and is angling away from me towards a field road. I cow called, he stopped and looked, but kept going. I’d left my bugle tube about 7 steps away in an effort to get more cover. I turned and let a weak bugle out with just cupping my hands. He turned, bugled, and bashed a small tree close to him. He was on a mission to kick my butt then. He was headed right to the opening I had. There just wasn’t much to range besides a little patch of wildflowers, they were 28, I stopped him what I guessed was 10 yards behind them.


The next part is a little learning experience that I already knew but in the moment, brain being mush I let slip.

He was stopped at ~40 yards. Quartering slightly to me. I let the arrow fly, it was dark enough I couldn’t tell exactly where it hit. He bolted about 100 yards, got wobbly then laid down. I thought it was over. About the time I though he died, he got up walked 10 yards and went back down. This repeated for the next 20 minutes before it got so dark I couldn’t see him. I was a nervous wreck, no hunter worth a damn wants to see an animal get up after a shot. I backed out and waited an hour.

My son, a friend of mine up here, and I went back in at 10pm with lights. We got in his trail and we ended up finding him the last place I seen him go down. I didn’t hug the shoulder tight enough on the shot, caught all of 1 lung, the back little bit of the other, and the liver. Not a horrible shot, but there was things I could’ve done to make it better.

My wife had just got up here so we got him all cut up, packed out and into coolers or hanging up with the cooler weather.

That’s part 1 of hopefully 4.

 

[seeth07]

Was it you calling or your guide? I refuse to believe you could call a big mature bull like that into bow range! Haha man congrats, that is awesome