Pure hell

Poke 'Em said:
My hunting partner was feeling a little discouraged. I had promised him this area was worth hiking into because we would be able to glass a huge area and I was confident we would see lots of activity. Well, as of noon we had seen one cow and one far off grizzly. I assured him that caribou move around a lot, and are experts at hiding without cover. It's not uncommon to be watching a wide-open tundra and all of a sudden there's a caribou there.

Early afternoon, the skies parted and we began seeing wildlife. First two grizzlies sunning themselves.

View attachment 291325

Then a group of six cows a couple of miles off. Then as we were packing up to move to a different vantage, my buddy says "don't move." A small bull had appeared out of nowhere at 40 yards.

View attachment 291326

We watched as he trotted around us, then through my binos I saw what looked like a promising bull a couple miles off. But as I was looking at him, I looked back behind me and instantly said "there's a bull. He's a shooter."

He wasn't a giant, but I'd sent my buddy lots of photos of bulls leading up to his first Alaska hunt, and he was bigger than a lot of bulls he had said he would shoot on Day One. He was 730 yards off and moving quickly toward a creek bottom.

We moved quickly to cut him off and close the distance. We crept up on a bench that overlooked creek bottom, and he appeared out of the willows at less than 200 yards. But before my friend could get a bead on him, he disappeared into the willows and went out of sight.

View attachment 291328

We sat there for a solid 15 minutes hoping he'd reappear, but nervous he had somehow slipped out through the willows. Finally, I suggested that I could circle around to possibly bump him out of the bushes, or at least get a different angle and be able to find him. As I eased up toward the edge of the bench, he popped out of the willows and headed toward my friend.

It was only the afternoon of Day One, but the first tag was filled.

View attachment 291330
Click to expand...
This is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. Next to the birth of my children lol.
Wow. Wow Wow! 🤩 Congrats!
 
Congratulations and thanks for sharing the story with us. I was wondering if you hunted this general area before, or if you chose the spot completely from e-scouting? Did you do anything in the field to preserve the velvet on your antlers?
 
This was a GREAT write up.
Every aspect...story, pics, trophy bull.
Thanks for sharing.
Hope your buddy survived to hunt again.
 
Awesome bulls and great story. Thanks for sharing. Hunt recaps like this are why I keep my account.
 
That’s a great bull and that was a great write up.Congrats on the successful adventure. This thread defines what a hunt should be,an adventure! Thanks for posting I really enjoyed reading it.
 
Everything about this was cool. Awesome adventure, awesome bulls, awesome storytelling, photos and photoshop. It’s early in the season but this recap needs a Talky nomination.
 
Awesome trip and great write up. Dang I wish my Alaska caribou hunt had turned out half as good as yours. Congratulations on an awesome bull
 
Poke 'Em said:
I sent an inreach message to the pilot that said "second bull down. Still working to pinpoint a spot to land." I was still hoping to find a better spot on the pack out back to camp. Without finding one, I followed up, describing the spot I had found just before the bull reappeared.

"Got a spot. Straight into the wind atm. 600' (a very slight exaggeration). It's clear of rocks and ruts it's just pretty bouncy tundra."

After some back and forth with me describing the terrain in greater detail he finally said "mark it out good on both ends. I can't guarantee anything but I'll do my best to get in there."

He had to drop some other hunters off in the morning, and would then head our way. I told him to text me when he was about to leave the airport and we would start hauling meat.

My friend was still very nervous about whether the pilot would be able to land, given the implications if he couldn't. I told him I was 70% sure he could land. Reality was my confidence was higher, but I was worried if I told him 95% and then the pilot said no go, it might crush his spirits.

The next morning, visibility was intermittent.
I sent in a weather report and when I got word he was about to leave I started hauling meat. Unfortunately, my friend had woken up in the night with a bathroom emergency and wasn't feeling any better in the morning. "I'm going to start hauling meat, catch up when you can."

View attachment 291361

I had planned on two trips each, but he was just loading up his pack by the time I returned from the first round trip. I quickly loaded up my second pack and hoofed it toward the landing zone. We offloaded meat and set up a line of meat bags at the landing site as an indicator for the pilot. Unfortunately, we still had meat back at camp so I accompanied my friend to help out where I could. I thought we still had enough time to get back before the pilot arrived, but a third of the way back to camp we heard the rumble of his engine.

As he flew overhead I pointed in the direction of the landing zone and picked up the pace back to camp. For what seemed like an eternity, we would see the plane disappear, and then reappear. Finally, I heard what I thought was the plane landing and then turning around on the ground. I told my friend, "I think he landed." A moment later we saw his plane appear in the sky again. My heart sank. I was worried the 5% was coming to fruition. We loaded up the last meat and increased the pace. As we created the last hill, a feeling of pure elation came over me. I turned around and shouted "he's on the ground!"

When we got to the plane the pilot said, "that was pretty dicey, I don't think I'll do that again." But no matter, he was on the ground.

We loaded up the caribou, and he told us we would have to hike back down to the river as the "runway" wasn't long enough to get us out.

As he became airborne the feelings fully shifted from anxiety to joy at what we had accomplished.

View attachment 291365

The next morning we headed back down through the torture chamber to the river. Going downhill only took 2.5 hours to go 2.5 miles.

View attachment 291366

When we got there the gravel bar, the rains had risen the river so much that it was half as long as when we landed. Thankfully it was just enough to land on, but he had to shuttle us one at a time to a bigger landing strip.

It was over too soon. Killing two bulls in two days, and a day before we had even planned to start, was bittersweet. The range of emotions was unlike any hunt I'd done before. But as we got back to town, I told my friend, "I rescind my regret."
Click to expand...

Man, that is a wild story. Congrats on an absolute slammer of a bull.

Know I wasn't there or anything... but with a decent breeze channelized by that topography, there are a bunch of spots to get an M-7 with 250 pounds of meat out of there. Just shoot me a PM with a lat/long and I'll proof of concept it for you lol
 
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