20 year bull!

[strictlyRUM]

Well it may not be a monster but is was a fair chase bull on a well excecuted hunt. To give you a quick rundown of my story..... I have been hunting for 20 years to dang near the day. My first hunt was an elk hunt with my dad and some of his work buddies for elk during the cascade general season. That was in fact the first time I had even seen an elk. Since them I have lost one elk to an arrow. Sat out a few seasons here or there but have pretty much hunted my but off for years with not one punched tag. Last year I had drawn a Bully Creek rifle tag. 9 points to draw. This was going to be my chance. A september rut rifle hunt in open country. Well one week before season my father passed due to an unexpected stroke. Needless to say I was not in the mood to do much last year. This year I drew a east side tag with no points. Usually takes 6 points to draw. I didnt find a real need to go out into western oregon to chase blacktails but spent most of my time gathering knowledge and gear for this hunt. This is probably the best chance I have ever had at killing an elk. It also happens to be in an area that I can get a few miles in and away from the masses. So this was the plan. With a good friend I can count on to BE there and game for a night or two off our back in some not so friendly weather.
Fast forward to opening morning......
We ended up having to hike in opening morning because we were late to get camp set up. No worries. We have 9 days. So we hit the trail at 4 am. Well 2 hours later we had made it a total of 2 miles! Yes 2 miles? Holy crap are we out of shape. Did I mention that the 2 miles was from 5000 to 7200 feet! Well we didnt make it to the spot that I wanted to by daylight. So we head out another finger ridge to glass for the first half of the day. Well it started spitting snow and rain at a 20 mile an hour speed. We bumped a heard of the very top of the mountain with out seeing them. We spent hours in the wind and hail just to hear a severe weather alert come over the radio. Thunderstorms and lightning. Not the best thing when on the top of a mountain at 7000 feet. Feeling very beat from the hike and not wanting to continue on the next 3 miles planned just to spend a day or two stuck in the tent or worse packing an elk out for 3 days in that weather. So I opted to pull out and come in the bottom. This way we can see what the area looked like and we would be out of lightning alley. The best part would be if we killed something we would be packing back down hill. My body told me this was the best idea. Well we drove around an found a road that took us in the bottom. We were about 3 miles from our last vantage point up on the ridge and about 5 miles from the spot I wanted to reach in the first place. Not a road one for miles. So we throw the packs on and start in in the hopes of finding some of these elk that never reached the peaks above this year. Wheather it be the amazing amount of snow in the high country or the amazing amount of water and green vegetation down low. We were headed in to typical wintering area not fall hunting spot area. Well to shorten my long story we headed to the bowl between the two closest ridges. We were just coming to the first vantage point were I had planned of spying out a plan. I notice this bench and the perfect look. The perfect topography. Maybe there will be some sheds....... Maybe I should scan the area first? What is that? There is an elk 9 o'clock about 100 yards away. Its head is behind a root wad. Bull or cow? Do I care? It IS a hair tag. Ill just do a quick scan. I dont want to shoot a cow if there is a bull around. My mind was in overdrive at this point. Nope no other elk. Its alone. its got to be a bull. I swung the scope over its head again and saw ivory tips. BANG! The cross hairs just found the spot. He took off down the hill like he wasnt hit. He stopped suddenly when he ran into a large pine. Spun around in a circle and stopped. No more movement. I did it. I just killed a bull! 20 years of sweat, pain, frustration, close misses, and thousand of dollars and miles traveled. I finally did it. I punched my tag with more accomplishment than most have ever felt. I felt proud of me for my father. I felt proud because it wasnt in the road or just crossed a road but in a spot that I decided on after hours on topo maps and satelite photos and a couple of trips to the area in past bow seasons. I know dad was over my shoulder because I felt it. I should not have drawn that tag this year. I shouldnt have friends crazy enough to pack in miles just to sit in the snow and rain for me. But I did and I do. I just wish he was here to shake my hand. Instead I have the love for hunting that he inbedded in me. Thanks to my friends and family for putting up with me. I also included some pics of bucks we found when driving around. I hope you enjoy. Oh yeah I forgot to add, I was using a custom 300 WSM that I threw together a week before the hunt. Weatherby vanguard in Mcmillan stock shooting 190gr hand loads at 2900 fps out of a 24 in barrel. Thanks for looking.

Jason

[Oregon Sportsman]

Great way to honor your father IMO.

I'm sure he is very proud of you!

Congratulations on a great accomplisment, one that I'm sure will never be forgotten.

Allan

[huntercope]

Nice Bull! Congrats!! Looks like a great time!!

[No Fences]

Great bull and story. Congrats and way to stick it out. 20 yrs, that's determination.

[RogueFishr]

good job!

RF

[Rusty Psoadman]

I enjoyed your story..congratulations.

[Scrillznac]

Nice story and congrats on the bull!

[Nw dukn]

Congrats on a great bull..

[ehunter]

Congrad on a hard won trophy

[Norski]

What do you think on how the 300WSM perform, I shoot the same, and it puts them down.
Congrat's on a fine bull.

[fishin' is livin']

Nice story, and that was a well earned bull!! BTW Nice pics of the bucks.

[Beamerfish]

Great story Jason. Lost my dad too several years ago and every now and again I feel him with me like he is standing there beside as surely as I am sitting here typing now. Great elk and it sure is nice to hear the appreciation and gratitude equal to the magnitude of the moment.

[buck0523]

Nice work Jason!!!! I do have to ask...where's the camo paint??? LOL I thought you said that was the key!!! Congrats bro....you were due

Eric

[BlacktailBowhunter]

Congrats. That is a nice bull.

BTBH

[ORsouthpaw]

That was worth the wait. I'm sure you dad would be proud that you didn't compromise your hunting style in search of that elusive "easy elk". Not ot take anything away from the guys that hunt for big antlers but that bull (in my mind) is the trophy of a lifetime! Congratulations!

[SandyRiverFisher]

Nice story, and nice bull. Hope it doesnt take me twenty years to get one with horns.

[quit wishing]

Good hunt , good story, good thing the skunk is killed as well!! Did your buddy have a tag or was he just along for the packing?

[Zbynek]

Super Cool! Way to endure, work, and win a great prize! Sometimes things just work out, and sometimes you are being watched from above. I'm sure your dad's hand was the one drawing your name for this hunt!
Thanks for sharing!

[Lunkerlander]

Nice bull Jason congrats,

Kevin

[Coastalfisherman]

Nice job Jason. Glad to see things work out with ya.

[dwsurfer]

great story, I can relate to a lot of what you said. Nice bull and I am sure your dad is looking down on you and very proud.

[Basskit]

Nice Job, great story!! Keep it up!!

Basskit

_________________________________

Member OHA, Member RMEF, Life Member BASS

[oregonmuley]

Congrats on a nice bull, nice muley pics as well.

[shadowstalker]

Great Job and Story; Congrats for a Lifelong memory

[jacobp]

Nice Job, Cool story...those are some great pictures.

[alwaysfishing]

Great story and excellent photos, congrats on the bull!

[strictlyRUM]

Thanks alot guys. It definately is a lifetime memory. I am glad to have friends and family that help out. The guy in the pic had no tag just a love to be in the woods and pack meat! He is there anytime I ask. I hope to repay the favor someday. The rifle I built you doesnt count either! My wife and mother in law were in the kitchen the whole day before I left making food, that we didnt have time to eat. We were joking about staying over a couple more days and not telling anyone so we could eat the food. Then come back with tales of 10 mile spike camp and 4 day pack out of a bull we had to cut in to bite size bits to survive the pack out.


As for the camo paint.... I was so caught up in making sure I didnt freeze to death and had all my little gadgets as well as a gun that shot straight. I completely forgot the face paint. If I didnt sweat it off it would have washed off in the rain.

For the rifle, the 300 short mag is a great round. Extremely accurate and efficient. It is basically a 300 win mag with less bolt throw, less barrel, less powder, less weight. Usually I say you dont get something for nothing, but in this case the only thing you may get in return is a little more recoil because the gun usually is a bit lighter than a long action. I still like my BIG guns for long range shooting. For actual all purpose cary gun the WSM rounds are great. That gun which only weighs 7.5 pounds(with big heavy scope) will keep 5 under .75 most off the time with a couple groups dropping down under .5. Not too shabby. Thanks again guys.

Jason

[chromecatcher]

Great story and good kill to

[GO-FASTER]

Nice bull, Great shot,you were due for that kill, Wish I could have been there to drink beer with you guys

[Larry G]

Nicely said and done!!!!

[Roguerunner]

beautiful animal and love the story!!! hope that its the first of many!