The bull was taken in the Packwood,WA unit. I called in four or five bulls over five days, all came in silent after waiting 30-45 minutes. I passed on a 3pt. & a 4pt. that came in together, and what I believe was another bull ran off when I got up to leave. I missed a 5x5 that I really wanted my hunting partner to take, but when he came to me at about 20 yds we'd invested so much time on him I decided to take the shot and just plain blew it. Called one in on another day, but didn't get a good look before he disappeared. That brings me to this bull. We spotted elk at daylight on a hillside and moved in, my partner went high and I went low. I got on a trail and headed for the trees I hoped the elk were on the other side of. There was a cow feeding on the trail. Not really knowing if there was a bull with them I backtracked and setup thinking they might feed by. I stood there and watched the bull chase cows probably 10ft from where I'd just been. With no elk now in sight, I moved back up the trail and looked into the small ravine ahead. He was a short distance away with a few others and feeding his way above me. With a few small trees for cover, I positioned myself to stealthfully (Luckily) avoid the cows ahead of the bull and obtain a shooting lane. He gave me a broadside shot at aprox. 25yds but I hit him too far back. He swapped ends and surprisingly ran less than 100yds farther out into the open and stopped. Wanting to keep him in sight and knowing that with the shot placement I needed to put another arrow in him, I kept cow calling as he watched the others run down the hill and into the trees. He barely moved for at least 5 min, then a few steps at a time moved farther out in the opening towards a clump of trees. Not wanting him to circle around and follow the other elk into the trees, I moved back to some cover and worked my way to be in position to intercept him. The bull had moved into the clump when Dean, my hunting partner caught my attention. I motioned for him to watch his escape routes as I went in for another shot. I moved in so that if the bull spooked he would hopefully exit past Dean. He did and Dean was able to put an arrow in him at 35yds. Dean watched him enter the trees, so we waited an hour then started tracking. My shot had filled him with blood, so when Dean's arrow passed through it left a large blood trail. We found him less than 100yds in the trees. As you all know, that's when the REAL work starts. Here is the 6x6 taken in '98 a few 100yds from this years.
[ 09-13-2002, 10:13 PM: Message edited by: ISeeFish ]
ISeeFish
5x6 Bull
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