# LE Archery elk Boulder 2019



## PBH (Nov 7, 2007)

(good material to put someone to sleep)

*Viewpoint of the tag-along spotter.*

The archery hunt is nearing an end. Richard was able to fill his tag, after a grueling 15 days in the field. It took him 16 points, plus some additional years of unsuccessful applications during the old "AR-301" days, to get this tag. We've hunted this mountain for a long time. We knew from past hunts where the bulls would be, and had a good plan in place. All of us had looked forward to this for a long time.

Mike Tyson famously said "Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth".

The first punch came by way of the weather. Summer monsoon season? Nope. Just hot, dry, and dusty. No clouds in sight. Blue-bird skies with lots of sunshine. We've dealt with the full moon over the opening weekend for years. But a full moon with daytime temps in the high 80's at 10,000 ft elevation? Elk usually go partially nocturnal, but go for walkabouts mid day. Not this year. We watched bulls hit beds in the oak brush right after sun-up, and there they would stay until dark. Meanwhile, sitting on a west-facing slope with no shade to speak of, we'd bake in the hot afternoon sun. We started tethering off to the brush in an effort to prevent the black flies from carrying us off.

The plan remained. Sit and wait for a bull to wallow. Or maybe just get a drink. Day 1. Day 2. Nadda. Day 3 brought something new. The #1 (6x7 with a forked 5th on his right) decided that instead of bedding down, he'd go on a walk. We watched him head out down the valley, over the hill, and disappear. The rest of the week brought very little action. Just sunburns.

The next punch in the mouth came by way of a pack of dogs chasing a bear sow and cub. We first heard the noise, which slowly crept closer over the ridge. That's when we watched the sow and cub run through a clearing in the oak, closely by the hounds. This chase went down the ridge, across a meadow, and into a grove of ponderosa directly above the bedded elk. The sow went up a tree. The dogs gathered and gleefully continued to bark for the next hour (or so it seemed) until the houndsmen caught up, leashed the dogs and left. The sow came down the tree and disappeared into the brush. The bulls were long gone -- and most likely now reside on the Henry Mountains. Ouch. This hurts.

It was still hot. The wallows were still abandoned. We were still baking in the sun. The 9 year old nephew continued to ask "Do you really think just sitting here is the right plan? We need to _hunt_them! Take some risks!". The Labor Day weekend was fast approaching. Richard needed something more than the solar shower could provide. A real shower and a few nights in his own bed should help both physically and mentally.

Back at it. Temps have now started to be normal again. Still not much for rain. The trail cameras (did I say that out loud?) still showed very little activity. A couple elk hitting the wallows, and each one at 10pm. Not a single elk during daylight hours. The bear (a very pretty boar) is. He visits Richard, and Richard decides that the boar doesn't care that the elk hunter is there. The bear stays, the hunter leaves. We're still getting hit in the mouth, but this plan that a bull will eventually wallow is going to work -- so back to the honey hole for another day sitting in the sun swatting flies. But we aren't finding bulls bedded any more. We are finding people, always "looking for a friend with a rifle tag". Nice guys, all of them.

The plan isn't working. Our morale is starting to wane. It's time to go for a hike. That's when I not only hear, but I _feel_ a bugle, not 30 yards from me through the trees! I creep forward and find the mature bull with a small harem of cows. I'm not attempting to fill my cow tag, and back out. Later that evening after the sun disappears behind the western ridge, we hear him. But he's a little to far away, and by the time we get down the ridge, through the grove of aspen, and across the flat, we're just simply too late. The next morning, the elk are nowhere to be found, or heard. Just another 14 miles on the boots.

Things have changed. The bulls have disappeared from the low country. They've skipped their "wallowing period" and have gone straight to gathering cows. The plan, finally, has been forgotten, and it's time to start hitting back. Sunday morning was different. The air was crisp. The stars were hidden by black clouds, causing the morning light to be delayed. A few flashes in the sky light up the hillside for a brief second. We begin our hike, as light rain begins to fall. As we cross through the "rosebush Hell" we hear it: a faint scream letting us know where he is. We cross the stream, and glass through the aspen to the rising hillside behind it, and find cows feeding. We hear him call again. We know where they are going, so we head them off. That's when we see a solitary bull feeding. The first bull continues his serenade to the harem. The solitary bull morphs into two. They begin to lightly spar, pushing and shoving like a couple teenagers fresh off their first wrestling practice. They aren't paying attention, providing us a chance to improve our position. The bugles get closer, and the third (or first) bull makes his first appearance, followed by numerous cows and calves. We're already in position as the three bulls, two still pushing and shoving, come into our window. 60 yards. The string is stretched, and the arrow is loosed. THWAP! 30 yards away, a dead aspen tree lurched out and blocked the path of the arrow. $&#%! The bulls startle and look around confused, but quickly go back to their pushing and shoving. A deep breath, another draw, another arrow flying through the air. The bulls all startle, and begin moving in and out of each other, over to the cows. "Which one is it?" "Did it hit?" "look at that one."

One bull had his head low, and appeared to stagger. But I can't see any arrow, no blood, nothing to make it look like a hit. Then one of the other bulls turns, lowers his head, and rams the staggering bull. The staggering bull tucks tail, turns, and starts to run with the other bull close on his heels. They bolt around the side of the hill out of site, and the ensuing crashing of timber tells a tale of war, and death. We walk around the edge of the hill to find the bull laying on it's side, dead.

Like a swollen red, white-headed zit squeezed, the pressure was immediately released in a gush of emotion. The defeated hunter was immediately transformed into a triumphant champion in a matter of seconds. Bruised, battered, and punched too many times, but now standing victoriously. Success!

The game plan failed. The irony is that we killed the bull in the same area that we've hunted for the past 25 years killing cows and spikes. It seems as if all that previous practice may have actually paid off.

The ups and downs of the emotional roller-coaster, the sore feet, the sunburned nose and lips, the bug bites, the trailer that smelled like ripe gym socks growing fuzz like a chia-pet, the sore sit-bones that screamed at the very sight of a rock, and a sore back from too much pack weight -- all worth it. We'll remember this hunt for a long time.


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## PBH (Nov 7, 2007)




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## wyoming2utah (Sep 12, 2007)

You forgot that key detail: "Hey, Richard, do you think we should just keep sitting here. Or, should we take some risks?"


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## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

Great bull and a epic telling of the saga. Well done!


-DallanC


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## Hunttilidrop (Jun 12, 2018)

Way to grind it out! That’s a helluva bull! Congrats


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## sawsman (Sep 13, 2007)

Awesome!


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## middlefork (Nov 2, 2008)

Very nice. Great story and pictures.
I always figured if you didn't hunt more than 14 days you were wasting the tag :smile:

I've been lucky to help on 6 different LE Archery tags and everyone of them went 14 to 18 days of hunting. I think that is just archery in general.


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## 3arabians (Dec 9, 2014)

Way to go!! “Good material to put someone to sleep.” 

NOT!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Vanilla (Dec 11, 2009)

Good stuff PBH. 

Congrats W2U!

Score one for the Heppys.


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## CPAjeff (Dec 20, 2014)

Incredible story and fantastic bull - congrats!


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## provider (Jan 17, 2011)

Congratulations. Love the dark antlers. I killed a Boulder Mountain bull in 2007 muzz that looks very similar genetically. It's at Ace Hardware in Cedar City. I don't know if it's up anymore after they moved things around in the past year.


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## goofy elk (Dec 16, 2007)

Awesome Boulder Bull!
Contrast


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## johnnycake (Jul 19, 2011)

Loved the read, congrats!


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## Raptorman (Aug 18, 2009)

Awesome! Way to stay after it and get it done!


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## Tmccoy (Sep 7, 2019)

Way to go, congrats!!


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## Steve G (Nov 29, 2016)

Congratulations to the hunter and writer. Wish I could take a bull like that and wish I could write like that. Great work.


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## wyoming2utah (Sep 12, 2007)

Same bull? Not sure from these pics, but the video shows a little better. I can't upload the video, though.


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## PBH (Nov 7, 2007)

try this:


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## waspocrew (Nov 26, 2011)

Thanks for sharing! Excellent write up and great bull. Love this time of year!


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## turkinator (May 25, 2008)

Hunts can definitely be a roller coaster of emotions. Great bull and thanks for sharing!


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## bloodbath (Dec 9, 2019)

awesome bull! way to go


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## pollo70 (Aug 15, 2016)

Congrats! nice Bull, cool story thanks for sharing


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## PBH (Nov 7, 2007)

Finally got around to making a video from the footage I had on this hunt. It's a little over 3 minutes long. Enjoy.






(It looks like Youtube is reducing the quality to SD. Darn. Oh well...)


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## middlefork (Nov 2, 2008)

Nice job!


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## 3arabians (Dec 9, 2014)

Well PBH..... that was awesome!! Are you sure you’re in the right business? I loved the video!!


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## KineKilla (Jan 28, 2011)

Thanks for sharing.


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## CPAjeff (Dec 20, 2014)

Awesome video - thanks for sharing!


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