Had a great hunt with my good buddy in Montana the last couple weeks.  Plenty of elk and a great time.  Saw/heard lots of action despite some real nasty weather - couple of hail storms, a snow storm, and LOTS of rain.  Probably had 5 good weather days out of 13.

On the last morning I had 5 bulls all bugling within 1/4 mile and at 9 am a cow moved past with a raghorn 4X4 trailing her.  A half hour later I heard something walking in the grass and a nice 5X6 bull stepped out.  He followed through the meadow I was watching trailing the cow/bull from earlier and I sent a big Snuffer through him at about 20 feet (I'm generally a pretty good shot at 20 feet!).  After an easy blood trail we had an elk to pack (in other words, the FUN is over and the WORK begins!).

That morning was really neat - between myself and my friend we saw a total of 8 bulls in the same drainage and they were running around after cows like whitetails in November.

I shot the bull at 9:30, we were taking pictures by 10 am, and had the last load of meat to the truck at 7 pm that evening.  A pretty good day.

I shot the bull with my vintage Jack Howard Gamemaster Jet (62 lbs at 29 1/2 inches), an old 2217 JDA natural shaft (remember those?) and a 160 grain Snuffer - total arrow wt around 640 grains.  Fortunately the elk that far back in the wilderness area don't have internet access and nobody told them that you need a 2-blade single bevel head to shoot through an elk....I was shooting down on him a bit (in the 2nd elk pic you can see the entry hole behind the left shoulder) - and the arrow exited low behind the offside front leg.  I centered a big rib about 4 inches below the spine going in and the head literally pulverized the wide rib into 6 or 8 fragments and I had to the fletching penetration.  The blood trail was 4 feet wide all the way to him.

My father killed his big Colorado bull in 1974 - 36 years ago...the year I was born...with his 62 lb Jack Howard Jet.  He was 36 years old at the time - the same as I am now...so I figured I had a little Karma on my side with this bull.  (Not to mention a 1st class hunting buddy that took me along with him...that never hurts!).

Ryan

Home for 2 weeks - 10X12 wall tent 5 miles in..

 

Hmmmmm, I wonder if anyone is using this wallow?

 


Yep, somebody's around here!


 

And here's the result....as you can see he's been rolling around somewhere!  I've never seen a bull this dirty.  The mud probably added 5 pounds to the pack out weight of the cape/horns.







Ryan

QuoteOriginally posted by Ryan Rothhaar:
[QB] Fortunately the elk that far back in the wilderness area don't have internet access and nobody told them that you need a 2-blade single bevel head to shoot through an elk...

I luv it!!    

Outstanding.  Especially rewarding with a vintage bow, I remember seeing the posts when you looked hard for that Jet.  Congratulations.

Congratulations sir!  Awesome animal!

Nice story and pics. Way to go.

Congratulations Ryan. I've always admired your dad. He is an outstanding hunter and shot. Looks like you get it honest. The apple does not fall far from the tree.

Congratulations Ryan. It is neat to think you did it like your Pops did, and you made your own memories too. That's not a big deal about the Snuffers and elk though, right?

Congratulations!

Nice bull for sure and great story about your dad and you.

Is that an electric fence in the camp pic?

Very nice.  My father, an accomplished archer and founder of an archery shop from the 70's, spoke very highly of the those Gamemasters.

Great pics and story.  Thanks for sharing!

Congrats Ryan!

Very nice bull Ryan and better story!  I'm sure your dad was as excited as you were. Awesome!

Awesome, Congrats!!

Way to go Ryan. Just like your Father eh?
Great story. Thanks.
Chuck

Congrats Ryan....you resemble your Dad soooo much!  

             

Great story and awesome pictures!!

Thank you for sharing it all with us.

God bless,Mudd

Congrats!!!

Great bull, story, pics, and a memory to last a lifetime. Way to go.

Great to see a Jet out there getting it done!

Awesome!

Congrats Ryan that is an awesome bull.