# Big Bull Rumors?



## Clarq (Jul 21, 2011)

'Tis the season... has anyone heard rumors of big bulls coming off the mountain?

I've got one...

I was in Bicknell today when I saw a truck roll by heading west on the UT-24 with a very nice bull. I'm assuming it came off of Plateau Boulder/Kaiparowits, or maybe San Juan unit, but who really knows? It had dark antlers and looked pretty heavy. One side was a textbook 6-point antler and the other had kind of a funky 5th and 6th point that made it look really cool and quite unique. I'm no pro on scoring elk, but I don't think 350 is out of the question.

If anyone knows the story, I'm all ears.


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## colorcountrygunner (Oct 6, 2009)

I can tell you a story about a big bull that is still on the mountain because my 76 year old grandfather in law is too slow on the draw. :grin:


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## AF CYN (Mar 19, 2009)

Fishlake and Monroe units are close to Bicknell, too. However, if they were heading West, I bet you're right--probably a Boulder bull. It's fun to see trophies in the beds of trucks this time of year.


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## hazmat (Apr 23, 2009)

I know of a 380 beaver bull that hit the dirt. I have been seeing quite a few in the back of trucks heading north on i-15


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## bowgy (Oct 10, 2007)

I saw a picture of a Panguitch Lake bull, I would guess 330 to 340


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## Vanilla (Dec 11, 2009)

I have seen quite a few big bulls on Instagram in the last week from both Utah and Arizona. 

Tis the season.


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## alpinebowman (Sep 24, 2007)

A co-workers brother slammed a 374 on the snatch by 7:00 am of the opener.


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## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

I keep spreading a rumor I'm going to kill a big stinky bull next week... does that count?


-DallanC


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## OldRookie (Jun 30, 2016)

hazmat said:


> I know of a 380 beaver bull that hit the dirt. I have been seeing quite a few in the back of trucks heading north on i-15


I know of a 380 Beaver Bull as well. The old lady's cousin took him down.


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## stripey22 (Oct 12, 2009)

This is a 377 bull from the Wasatch that was a rumor for a couple of years and is now no longer a rumor.


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## johnnycake (Jul 19, 2011)

I think that wasatch bull was posted up on here wasn't it? 

Bowgy, was that panguitch bull the same one the DWR posted a picture of? pretty bull.


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## alpinebowman (Sep 24, 2007)

different one than that bull.



johnnycake said:


> I think that wasatch bull was posted up on here wasn't it?
> 
> Bowgy, was that panguitch bull the same one the DWR posted a picture of? pretty bull.


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## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

Neighbors son just got a big 'snatch bull... I haven't seen pictures of it yet, my boy has and said it was huge. Knowing that family, I highly doubt they pulled the trigger on anything under 360. They pulled it out of a canyon that has produced 370-380 bulls each year for the past 5 or 6 years.


-DallanC


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## bowgy (Oct 10, 2007)

johnnycake said:


> I think that wasatch bull was posted up on here wasn't it?
> 
> Bowgy, was that panguitch bull the same one the DWR posted a picture of? pretty bull.


I don't know, just saw it on a friends phone that helps guide. One of the same guys that helped me on one of my hunts.


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## PBH (Nov 7, 2007)

Bowgy -- I was really happy to hear someone say "330". That's a term you just don't hear anymore. It's always "370 this" and "380 that" and "400 here" and "400 there"


.....


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## bowgy (Oct 10, 2007)

PBH said:


> Bowgy -- I was really happy to hear someone say "330". That's a term you just don't hear anymore. It's always "370 this" and "380 that" and "400 here" and "400 there"
> 
> .....


Really, I agree. Now I can appreciate anyone wanting a 400+ elk or a 200+ mule deer but any 300+ bull is an awesome bull.

My first bull is about 310 +/- and it is my favorite bull, probably because it is my first and it has a lot of character but mostly a lot of memories.

I admit that last year I didn't shoot because the biggest I saw was 340ish but the main reason I didn't kill is I felt I didn't have to, I was out for the hunt and the experience of hunting and finding elk and had a blast doing so.

If I had a 330 bull and a 380 bull standing next to each other and both offering a good shot I admit I would shoot the 380 but I would be happy if I took the 330 too.


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## High Desert Elk (Aug 21, 2012)

I know of a guy who has a Premium SJ tag and is looking for a very specific bull. Last year he took a 396 off the mountain.

Be interesting to see if he gets the one he is after, not too excited seeing as how he got (gets) those tags, but...

Saw a couple myself in the high 300's, and even had a couple at bow range that would easily go 350.


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## High Desert Elk (Aug 21, 2012)

bowgy,

I feel the same way. I'd be pumped to take a 330 bull with a San Juan tag in my pocket, even knowing the caliber of bulls in that unit.

1) never shot anything that big before.
2) 330 bull is respectable, no matter who you are.
3) may be my only chance ever at a bull like that.


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## johnnycake (Jul 19, 2011)

Having only ever shot spike bulls, I'm pumped to have an LE tag in my pocket! While I would really like to shoot a +350" bull (and admittedly there might be a specific bull or two I'm dreaming of), once November 12 hits I'll know my bull the minute I see him. That has been my experience on every other "trophy" animal I've been lucky enough to take and it has always served me well with no regrets. Whatever bull ends up giving me that immediate mental clarity of knowing what I want and how to get it, is going to make me very happy! Assuming I even get to see a bull that is...


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## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

johnnycake said:


> Having only ever shot spike bulls, I'm pumped to have an LE tag in my pocket! While I would really like to shoot a +350" bull (and admittedly there might be a specific bull or two I'm dreaming of), once November 12 hits I'll know my bull the minute I see him. That has been my experience on every other "trophy" animal I've been lucky enough to take and it has always served me well with no regrets. Whatever bull ends up giving me that immediate mental clarity of knowing what I want and how to get it, is going to make me very happy! Assuming I even get to see a bull that is...


Think about it... the difference in a 330 bull and a 350 bull is only 1.6" less per tine. Enough to matter? Certainly not to me... only 4 more days!

-DallanC


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## hazmat (Apr 23, 2009)

DallanC said:


> Think about it... the difference in a 330 bull and a 350 bull is only 1.6" less per tine. Enough to matter? Certainly not to me... only 4 more days!
> 
> -DallanC


What unit did you draw Dallan


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## bowgy (Oct 10, 2007)

DallanC said:


> Think about it... the difference in a 330 bull and a 350 bull is only 1.6" less per tine. Enough to matter? Certainly not to me... only 4 more days!
> 
> -DallanC


And once they are in a crock pot you can't tell the difference;-)


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## colorcountrygunner (Oct 6, 2009)

bowgy said:


> And once they are in a crock pot you can't tell the difference;-)


The spike I shot last year you can cut with a fork (dead serious). I doubt you could do that with a 330 or 350 bull. I also can't nail his back straps to the wall and brag about it to my friends.


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## bowgy (Oct 10, 2007)

colorcountrygunner said:


> The spike I shot last year you can cut with a fork (dead serious). I doubt you could do that with a 330 or 350 bull. I also can't nail his back straps to the wall and brag about it to my friends.


I said crock pot not grilled:mrgreen: And you put those back straps on a plate and you can do a lot of bragging


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## Critter (Mar 20, 2010)

colorcountrygunner said:


> The spike I shot last year you can cut with a fork (dead serious). I doubt you could do that with a 330 or 350 bull. I also can't nail his back straps to the wall and brag about it to my friends.


One of the best eating elk I have ever shot was a 7x6 that scored 343 that I shot in the Book Cliffs. And one of the worst I ever ate was a cow that was just plain old tough and she was only about 2 years old. 
I shot a 5x6 two years ago in Colorado on the muzzle loader that is being relegated to either ground meat or jerky. Your jaw muscles get a work out on him no matter how you cook that meat.

You just never know until you get it home and start cooking it.


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## Ut.juice (Aug 25, 2016)

I have a few bulls on cameras for the south slope. But with a bull and control tag in my pocket I'm looking to fill the freezer. If it's an elk it is going down. If I have my choice I'll shoot a bull first. Mainly we just have rag horns and spikes on cam.


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## johnnycake (Jul 19, 2011)

colorcountrygunner said:


> The spike I shot last year you can cut with a fork (dead serious). I doubt you could do that with a 330 or 350 bull. I also can't nail his back straps to the wall and brag about it to my friends.


My dad's 365" bull was a very tasty animal-you never know sometimes! That particular bull weighed 967lbs dressed, no head and hide at Carson Meats in AF. Big doesn't even describe that bull, and we were so happy he dropped practically on the road! We had photos from the previous fall of him and he likely was pushing 400 then. DWR aged him at 13 years old. Very old bull, but tasty and surprisingly tender. He wasn't no calf mind you and i love me a freezer full of calves and fawns, but I'm hoping to put a set of antlers on the wall too!

And yeah, 1.6" difference is pretty small, and even though I enjoy guessing scores and obsess over pictures like that when I'm in the field that isn't how I decide to pull the trigger. It is all about that first sight and wow factor. The whole sum of who I'm with, how the hunt has gone, and the experience is way more important than the score in my decision to shoot. It started that way years ago with my first buck antelope tag in a good unit in Wyoming. My dad also had a tag and we set aside a whole week to hunt, talking about how we wouldn't even get our guns out until day three yada yada yada. 7:20 am headed down the highway to get to our desired turn off I holler to my dad so the truck I see my buck! He did, I got gun, loaded it and took off into the sage. Got into 150 yards and dropped my buck. He ended up scoring really well but when I first saw him, it was obvious and that has been my philosophy ever since! My dad ended up shooting a very tall and wide speed goat an hour later and we were home by lunch! Plans, huh?


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## colorcountrygunner (Oct 6, 2009)

johnnycake said:


> My dad's 365" bull was a very tasty animal-you never know sometimes! That particular bull weighed 967lbs dressed, no head and hide at Carson Meats in AF. Big doesn't even describe that bull, and we were so happy he dropped practically on the road! We had photos from the previous fall of him and he likely was pushing 400 then. DWR aged him at 13 years old. Very old bull, but tasty and surprisingly tender. He wasn't no calf mind you and i love me a freezer full of calves and fawns, but I'm hoping to put a set of antlers on the wall too!
> 
> And yeah, 1.6" difference is pretty small, and even though I enjoy guessing scores and obsess over pictures like that when I'm in the field that isn't how I decide to pull the trigger. It is all about that first sight and wow factor. The whole sum of who I'm with, how the hunt has gone, and the experience is way more important than the score in my decision to shoot. It started that way years ago with my first buck antelope tag in a good unit in Wyoming. My dad also had a tag and we set aside a whole week to hunt, talking about how we wouldn't even get our guns out until day three yada yada yada. 7:20 am headed down the highway to get to our desired turn off I holler to my dad so the truck I see my buck! He did, I got gun, loaded it and took off into the sage. Got into 150 yards and dropped my buck. He ended up scoring really well but when I first saw him, it was obvious and that has been my philosophy ever since! My dad ended up shooting a very tall and wide speed goat an hour later and we were home by lunch! Plans, huh?


After hearing you and others talking about how delicious infanticide can be, I told my wife that if we can't find any big bucks on the Wasatch extended archery hunt we should murder a baby deer to try out. She just laughed and said no. Doesn't sound like I'll be able to get her on board with skewering a fawn with a grim reaper. Darn


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## Clarq (Jul 21, 2011)

colorcountrygunner said:


> After hearing you and others talking about how delicious infanticide can be, I told my wife that if we can't find any big bucks on the Wasatch extended archery hunt we should murder a baby deer to try out. She just laughed and said no. Doesn't sound like I'll be able to get her on board with skewering a fawn with a grim reaper. Darn


Story time:

I went on my first cow elk hunt at the age of 13. Dad and I hiked as high up as we had intended to go when we spotted a herd of 6 elk above us another few hundred vertical feet and about 1/2 a mile away. We decided to make a stalk. It was just the two of us, and we were in further than we probably should have been by the time we made our way to the herd.

We crested a ridge and emerged about 250 yards away from the herd. We scoped them out. 5 cows and one calf. Dad picked out a cow for me to shoot. I asked him if we could shoot the calf instead so we'd have an easier pack out. He told me that we weren't going to shoot the calf or its mother. He didn't like the idea of it. He told me I'd understand when I was a parent.

I managed to shoot a rather large cow. It was down at about 10:00 AM and we didn't get it all back to the car until 6:00 PM. It was a rough pack job. We were hurting all over by that point (and for several days after). When it was all said and done, dad told me that my idea to shoot the calf may not have been so crazy.

Moral of the story: some ideas are good ideas whether your wife (or my dad) thinks so or not. And when she takes her first bite of bambi, she'll wonder why she ever doubted you.


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## johnnycake (Jul 19, 2011)

colorcountrygunner said:


> After hearing you and others talking about how delicious infanticide can be, I told my wife that if we can't find any big bucks on the Wasatch extended archery hunt we should murder a baby deer to try out. She just laughed and said no. Doesn't sound like I'll be able to get her on board with skewering a fawn with a grim reaper. Darn


Sometimes it is best to introduce the plate product before trying to convince someone to murder baby animals. It makes the heartlessness that much easier. Mmm, a nice deer or antelope fawn grilled whole like a lamb.... That is a great meal!


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## Critter (Mar 20, 2010)

Not bad, we went from talking about big bulls to shooting caves and fawns. Talk about a 180

The worst eating deer that I have seen was a fawn. A friend shot it and had it hanging in his shed. When I opened the door the stink was purely rotten. He tried to eat it but couldn't stand it and even his dog turned it's nose up at it. 

I'm guilty as charged.


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## johnnycake (Jul 19, 2011)

How did he screw up a fawn?! Gut shoot it? Leave it whole in high temps? Whatever it was, that is a shame! 

But back to big bull rumors I know of a beautiful 350ish 6x6 that hit the dirt on the Wasatch today.


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## Critter (Mar 20, 2010)

johnnycake said:


> How did he screw up a fawn?! Gut shoot it? Leave it whole in high temps? Whatever it was, that is a shame!
> 
> .


He didn't do it but the meat was just bad. He is a very experienced hunter and knew what he was doing as far as shooting and cleaning the animal. I have gut shot animals and know what that smells like and this was way different. It wasn't too hot since there was 2' of snow on the ground. It was just bad and neither of us have ever experienced it. I told him it was because it was still on the tit and not eating the right stuff yet.

And to keep us a little bit on subject here is a bull shot in Montana in the Breaks.


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## colorcountrygunner (Oct 6, 2009)

And to get us back off subject my grandfather-in-law killed a roadside forky on the rifle hunt two years ago. Nice, clean necks hot and the meat was well taken care of. My wife and I both agreed that the deer just did not taste all that great. It's true what you guys say, you just never know.


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## colorcountrygunner (Oct 6, 2009)

johnnycake said:


> Sometimes it is best to introduce the plate product before trying to convince someone to murder baby animals. *It makes the heartlessness that much easier.* Mmm, a nice deer or antelope fawn grilled whole like a lamb.... That is a great meal!


I like how you worded this. It's as if the heartlessness was easy in the first place, but knowing how tasty they are makes it even more effortless. I'll keep my eye out for you on the 6 o'clock news, johnnycake.


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## johnnycake (Jul 19, 2011)

colorcountrygunner said:


> I like how you worded this. It's as if the heartlessness was easy in the first place, but knowing how tasty they are makes it even more effortless. I'll keep my eye out for you on the 6 o'clock news, johnnycake.


Good to know my psychosis did not go unappreciated 

And dang about that fawn, you really never know sometimes!


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## El Matador (Dec 21, 2007)

A friend of mine took a 400+ bull on the Boulder unit......with her bow :shock:


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## colorcountrygunner (Oct 6, 2009)

El Matador said:


> A friend of mine took a 400+ bull on the Boulder unit......with her bow :shock:


got her permission to post pics?


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## Clarq (Jul 21, 2011)

Critter said:


> Not bad, we went from talking about big bulls to shooting caves and fawns. Talk about a 180


Can you blame us? Hunters have a hard time concentrating on anything this time of year (according to my boss, anyway).


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## El Matador (Dec 21, 2007)

colorcountrygunner said:


> got her permission to post pics?


I'll check with her and see. I only have one pic of it and it's not the best pic. It's a huge 6x6 frame with an extra brow tine on his left side. One guy green scored it at 404 and another guy measured it at 414. She's having it officially scored after the drying period.


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## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

Saw my neighbors kids bull finally... it went 386. Surprisingly it wasnt very massive, but it had all kinds of extra points.


-DallanC


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## goofy elk (Dec 16, 2007)

Here is the 404 Boulder bull.

http://www.monstermuleys.info/dcforum/DCForumID12/16752.html


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## El Matador (Dec 21, 2007)

goofy elk said:


> Here is the 404 Boulder bull.
> 
> http://www.monstermuleys.info/dcforum/DCForumID12/16752.html


That's the one! Congrats Donna on the clean kill and amazing bull.


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## Vanilla (Dec 11, 2009)

I would say that this thread is worthless without pictures, but it is in fact titled "Big Bull Rumors" and not "Big Bull Pictures." 

Maybe we should start a new thread so people can actually share the pictures and not just the rumors?


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## Clarq (Jul 21, 2011)

Vanilla said:


> Maybe we should start a new thread so people can actually share the pictures and not just the rumors?


Go ahead. No one's stopping you. Be warned, though, that we here on the UWN tend to love rumors, unsubstantiated claims, hearsay, and outright lies more than anything.


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## Vanilla (Dec 11, 2009)

Clarq said:


> Be warned, though, that we here on the UWN tend to love rumors, unsubstantiated claims, hearsay, and outright lies more than anything.


How can I even trust that statement?


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## johnnycake (Jul 19, 2011)

Clarq said:


> Go ahead. No one's stopping you. Be warned, though, that we here on the UWN tend to love rumors, unsubstantiated claims, hearsay, and outright lies more than anything.


You forgot our favorite: "non-peer reviewed 'scientific' observations "

But in other news I know of 3 more neat bulls off the boulder unit from last week. One 350ish, one 360ish and one freaky funky bull that must have spent way too much time looking at his nuts in the reflections of a pesticide laden pond.


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## johnnycake (Jul 19, 2011)

If anybody is interested, High Top outfitters is looking for a Manti muzzy tag holder. They have a 370" plus bull they'd like to hunt and are willing to make a deal. It isn't for everybody, but you never know.


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## DanSaldivar1 (Sep 12, 2016)

An acquaintance (Wife's, friend's husband) took a 6x6 from The Ephraim/Spring City area of the Manti range. Absolutely beautiful bull. So jealous.


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