godogs57
Senior Member
Wow.....mentally, a tough hunt. The bulls had pulled off the cows two weeks ago after a super intense rut. The bulls had all gone underground, disappearing into the deepest, darkest places nasty places to recuperate. Had this been what I call a "trickle" rut, we might have had a little action here and there but that was not the case. There was literally no bugling and zero response to bugles or cow calls. But that was the cards we were dealt so we had to stick with the mindset to keep chopping wood and do your best not to become discouraged. The first two days of the hunt were mixed with light rain and pouring rain. I've killed bulls in the rain before and it appeared this would be one of those type hunts. Days later it cleared and I got a glimpse that morning of a nice bull 350 or so yards up a steep hillside. I eyeballed him through the binocs and got awfully excited but he turned tail and was out of Dodge before quick. Nice whale tails, good swords....he was pretty and all I could do was hope for a rematch. Keep chopping wood.....
I hunted that general area that afternoon and didn't see a single elk until last light. I called it a day and turned around to look one last glance around. To my astonishment that morning's bull stepped out of the timber, 50 yards from the Colorado state line! 310 yards away. I had about ten minutes of legal shooting light left. I got a good rest and took my shot. I was shooting my 1968 Sako338 with 225 grain North Forks. It had killed seven bulls prior with this rifle and load and not a single bull moved out of his tracks. The first shot hit home and he hunched up like it was a gut shot (I was wrong).....just stood there. Round two hit him with the same effect....took it and just stood there. Shoot again! The third shot hit solid and he finally fell, but was thrashing around. It turned out my first three shots had landed dead on his lungs, all shots within 5-6" of each other. He was still breathing when I got to him and round 4 through his heart did the job. I was astounded. I've always known elk to be tough but this one had another degree of toughness I hadn't personally experienced. Glad I had a 338!That last pic shows three shots just above the "elbow", Unreal...but that's hunting I suppose.
Thanks for looking.
I hunted that general area that afternoon and didn't see a single elk until last light. I called it a day and turned around to look one last glance around. To my astonishment that morning's bull stepped out of the timber, 50 yards from the Colorado state line! 310 yards away. I had about ten minutes of legal shooting light left. I got a good rest and took my shot. I was shooting my 1968 Sako338 with 225 grain North Forks. It had killed seven bulls prior with this rifle and load and not a single bull moved out of his tracks. The first shot hit home and he hunched up like it was a gut shot (I was wrong).....just stood there. Round two hit him with the same effect....took it and just stood there. Shoot again! The third shot hit solid and he finally fell, but was thrashing around. It turned out my first three shots had landed dead on his lungs, all shots within 5-6" of each other. He was still breathing when I got to him and round 4 through his heart did the job. I was astounded. I've always known elk to be tough but this one had another degree of toughness I hadn't personally experienced. Glad I had a 338!That last pic shows three shots just above the "elbow", Unreal...but that's hunting I suppose.
Thanks for looking.
