Sad Day!!! Total Bummer
Elk
Contributors to this thread:
Never before in my hunting career have I experienced such a situation. The story begins 2 years ago after I had filled my archery tag and was minding my own business...
As I left my hunting area with my camp packed, I caught a glimpse of a great looking bull. Fleeting as it was, that image was forever burned into my memory. It was a younger bull with insanely great genetics for the area. That fall I frequently checked with area taxidermist, the guide in the area etc. No one turned up the bull which by my best estimate was 330ish and had great big tops...
Last fall I spent the vast majority of my time in the area where this bull was last seen. Through conversations with the guide and others I confirmed that he was till alive and kicking. The third weekend of the season I came face to face a truly great bull, although it was not the bull I named Daddy Big Tops. The bull I took last year scored 338 and by all means is a truly great bull considering this is public land in an OTC unit. Thrilled with my kill I knew that this was not the biggest bull in the area. On Oct. 6th last year I once again caught a glimpse the bull that haunted my dreams. He seemed to have it all. I had a cousin with a 1st rifle tag that opened up on Oct 13th or so. We spent the week trying to locate this big bull and never even caught a glimpse. Third season my wife had a bull tag and we again hunted for the big bull with no luck at all.
Again last fall I was busy trying to determine if the bull had been killed. I checked with the outfitter, he knew of the bull but was unable to get on him, local taxidermist never saw him, and local packing plant never saw him. I knew he existed, and I knew he was great...
This year we made several attempts to locate him. Many hikes over 10 miles long and never managed to get close. I saw him at over 4 miles away in the spotting scope and he looked again like a monster...
Sadly today I got the bad news. Over the weekend the outfitter in the area had a muzzy hunter take the bull out. He was everything I thought... He has great tops, and scored out at 373" with 8" broke off.
He was simply an amazing animal and a will be a legend in my hunting camp for years to come... I can only hope that he spread his genes far and wide and in 6 years he will have some offspring with massive tops.
As I write this I am not sure what exactly I feel. It is almost like someone close passed away, but not really. I had an emotional tie to a great animal and as I mentioned this is the first time i have ever hunted a single animal for multiple years etc. Almost like breaking up with a great girlfriend etc.
Who else has such a story? How did you deal with it?
Hopefully the guy that took him is excited an appreciative. If he was 330 2 years ago he has likely been breeding since before that, so Big Tops the II is likely lurking up there somewhere.
Better than being hit by a car, which happens a lot in Colorado.
Exactly - be thrilled for the guy who took the bull. Maybe your 338 was "someones" bull ??
You had a great chase, other bulls are out there, don't focus on the negatives, enjoy the hunt !
many a guys would love your 338 bull
"Who else has such a story? How did you deal with it?"
Thank God every day if this is one of the biggest issues in your life.
Bummer deal. But that's hunting. Big horns makes people get jealous real quick. And makes people do weird things. You might have felt attached to the bull and wanted it so bad...but it was by no means "your" bull. For all you know that guide and muzzleloader hunter hunted for it longer than you.
You killing a 338 bull is a heck of a trophy especially in Colorado..., not only for OTC but even for a limited unit in my opinion . In Colorado a 300 inch bull is awesome in my opinion.
I've had similar things happen. Bow hunting doesn't always result in the biggest animal. And more often than not the orange gun guys get the big ones. But people can't be jealous.
I know a few guys who if someone else kills a nice animal in the unit they hunt. They get so pissed and throw a hissy fit like they own the place.
This is what is wrong about hunting world today. It's all about size of the antlers and not the experience.
On a positive note.. There will always be other bulls out there. There is a big one that replaced this bull as soon as he dropped. And that bull has babies that will grow into great bulls. And sounds like your hunting a heck of a OTC spot with bulls like that. Like I said there are hard to draw units in Colorado with bulls that aren't over 300
Almost like repeatedly passing on a 150 in 3 year old buck, a twelve point with split g2's, just to find out the neighbor shot him 5 yards on his side of the fence. Sometimes it just doesn't work out like you want it to. Maybe daddy big tops has a younger brother running around.
If this is the worst thing that happens to you this year,...you've had a helluva year.
Hope the hunter who shot the bull made a good, humane hit and appreciates what he has.
I am not upset that someone else took him. Just really bummed that he is gone. I am happy for the outfitter and his hunter.
It was just really cool knowing that a bull of that size and magnitude existed in a spot/area where I could actually hunt.
Like many have said, just finding a 300" bull in an OTC Colorado unit is awesome. But finding a bull that was easily 350" last year and as over 380" this year is unreal. I had many great trips trying to find him and a lot of good experiences looking for him. 1 close call...
He was just an awesome animal!
When people start thinking a wild critter is theirs negatives soon follow.
You got the thrill of pursuing him. Just hope he was killed legit and teh guy appreciates it. Then go find another object of your obsession.
Those bulls will leave an area when pressured. They will sometimes travel over 30 miles or more. Another things is many folks use their taxidermists back home and they process the animal their selves. If a non-resident shot him, there is a good chance no locals ever laid eyes on him. I have known of over half a dozen B&C whitetails that were killed here in KS that never entered into the books or were taken to a local locker or taxidermist.
The thrill of the chase, now its time to go find a bigger one :) I had a huge 9 point I was chasing for a few years get hit by a car, I have so many videos and pics of him but he was the smartest damn thing on four legs. Great memories that wont fade, it keeps us still seeking the ultimate challenge, hope you find another soon.
Be thankful he wasn't taken by TBM
well.... he was taken by member of the orange army.... that kinda sucks all on it's own..... heheheheheh...
Least you didn't have to watch em at the Senior Ball dancing together.... er, never mind.... =D
In 2009 I got several trail cam pictures of a large whitetail deer. I thought he would push 200 typical. I got a couple pictures a week during the last three weeks of October. All the pictures were at night, so I thought the rut would be my only chance at him. I decided that I would tag this buck or one of his equal or none at all. I got no more pictures of him after the first of November. After the season I found out he was taken on a neighboring property the first week of November. I heard about a deer that scored in the mid 180s taken but did not think about him being the same deer until I saw his picture after season was over.
I was truly happy for the hunter that got the buck, although I did not know him. Knowing he was a friend of a landowner that sometimes lets me fish his property was enough for me to tell the landowner to offer my congratulations the next time he saw the hunter.
Pig Doc said it first and I'll say go with his thoughts cause I agree with him.
To quote an old trapper I hunted with long ago, when a big buck is killed, there's one there ready to take it's place. I would say the same holds true with elk.
I had a similar situation happen to me. First thing I did was destroy all my hunting equipment. Started drinking heavily, lost my job, then my family.
Now I live under a bridge and hold a little cardboard sign out by an intersection that says "homeless need money". I get enough to get a bottle of vodka and usually find some day old muffins in Starbucks trash.
Overall, I'm doing pretty well and I rarely think about that elk anymore.
We can ALL be thankful TBM didn't kill that bull.
coelker, think how many have bowhunted the area you hunt and never gotten an elk. Every time they see or hear you've gotten another one, they must feel a "Total Bummer." :-)
We all have our Moby Bucks or Bulls that we never seem to get.
When you live an breathe hunting trophy animals and one that u have history, blood an sweat invested in gets taken out, its depressing. Coelker, I totally get it.Not going to preach at u like many others,it bites.
if you'de have killed him wouldn't you be facing the same problem with him being gone ?
I get what you're saying too - we all do ...... I'm just trying to say perspective is everything
whenever I feel crappy, I just think how easy it would be to drive to a cancer ward at a children's hospital and see what crappy really is
just sayin is all , sounds like you had exceptional hunting in the elk mtns, I've not been in ... 8 years now? maybe 9 :(
I have pics of the bull dead, but they are not mine to share.... He was simply an amazing animal and to think that he dodged the outfitter, guides, me and other hunters for at least 2 years being a trophy is very impressive. I know there are other 300 plus bulls and I seem to find them each year but tthis dude was awesome.
Again not claiming he was my bull, it was not about who or how he was taken. Just simply about the fact that he is no longerr around. He was a really cool bull and one that I will miss catching a glimpse of from time to time.
My first thought was oh no The bull was killed by a truck or worse yet a poacher. If the animal was killed by an ethical hunter you should rejoice. After that you can dream about if it had only been you and let a little envy creep in. Both emotions are valid.
your gonna leave us hanging with no picture... come on man...
Where I hunted some years ago and for four years straight there was a herd bull there that we called Growler. He was the king if the 30,000 acre area we hunted. We chased him for three years and never got in close enough to get him. He always had 40-50 cows with him. Every year we would get there we would always be listening for his call. If there was a mass of bulls screaming some her growler would be in the middle of the mess. The last year I hunted there and got into a number of herd bulls and cows. They merged together and the ensuing ruckus was a sight to behold as bulls were trying to sort there cows out. Couldn't find growler as he was always in the mix of these. Then off in the distance we heard growler calling. He had his cows and was circling way on the outside of all the rest of the bulls. He was old by then and that was his last year. He was at a point where he couldn't battle like he used to and avoided as much conflict as he could. He was a crazy non typical with his number 4 on his left side that curved over almost touching his right beam.
I know how you feel. On my deer lease there was a giant we called Bullwinkle. He was about 180-200" buck. I saw him once when he was trailing a doe but he was about 40 yards away and in the brush. So I had no shot. This deer was massive. He was a main frame 12 point, tall and wide and some other odd points. He had it all except drop tines. My best friend on the lease shot over him the year before with his bow. Bullwinkle tended to stay in a fairly small area but was very nocturnal except during the rut. The year he got killed he started roaming. Guys on the other side of the lease started seeing him and getting trail camera pictures of him. He had never ventured over to the other side in the past. If he had, guys would have likely seen him He was killed on the property that is adjacent to ours to the north. He was 7 1/2 yrs. old and just starting to go downhill. It was sad to see him gone from our lease. But, that's huntin' and I am happy for the guy that got him. I know his genes got passed along to many deer on our lease. So, hopefully one of his offspring will get to be as big as he was.
I had a similar situation take place. I had several years of trail cam pictures, and a set of sheds, off of a real heavy, typical 10 point whitetail. He hung around our small piece of land, and was a bit of a legend and a ghost. In year 4 of trail pics (as a 6.5 year old approximately), for whatever reason, he grew a non-typical right side - a full extra main beam with 3 points at the end - and a typical 4 point side. The left side was a tall, heavy 5 point side. I estimated him at 180" gross (or higher - no idea what the extra main beam/non typical side would do for him, but knew he had a 150-160" frame). In my good fortune, I had a great encounter and a "gimme" shot at him at 25 yards in early October. It was a wide open shot, and I whiffed right below the front leg due to my carelessness of allowing my bow to get bumped and having not shot since prior hunts (I found out afterwards I was shooting 8" low), and I was rushing out after work to "steal" short hunts as I had work obligations and an infant daughter. That deer was later shot during "muzzle loader" season by someone nearby who is known to, to say it kindly, hunt "outside the prescribed rules". He was not even going to mount the animal from what I hear (but was talked in to it). Needless to say, my first reaction was that of great disappointment, and worse yet, a creeping feeling of resentment.
Yet, I realized right away that I was an idiot for thinking that way. I realized my feeling wasn't so much resentment with the other person, but rather with my own failure and with the loss of not having that deer around to chase. I realized I didn't care so much that the deer wasn't killed by me, but was feeling a loss over the possibility of him showing up at any given moment. My biggest loss, was knowing there was no longer a chance of that "chance encounter." In that sense, I can relate with anyone who has had this happen. What I can't relate to, is an honest feeling of resentment, or other emotion of disdain for the successful hunter, as these are wild animals, owned by no one.
In the end, it's like the prettiest girl in class; you like the possibility of making things happen with her. But when your friend marries her, you can't be mad at your friend, he just had the same desires you and every other red blooded male had.
awesome! the guy got a great bull elk :-)
Nowhere in COELKER's post did I read that he thought the bull was "his", just an animal he admired and a good adversary. I understand the feeling. As others have said hopefully another will step into his spot!
My first feeling would be sadness for the loss of my opportunity, my second feeling would be thanksgiving for having had the chance to pursure such a magnificent animal over the course of two seasons, and thirdly I would be happy for the hunter who has able to take such a trophy.
The next thing I would do is find a new Daddy Big Tops to chase. You know there's one out there somewhere, there always is.
I didn't read the whole thread but I see no sadness in it.
I thought you were going to find the remains eaten by coyotes or wolves. That would be sad.
I had a nice buck deer I would photograph each year. He lived most of the year in a cemetery here in SLC, but each fall during the rut he would leave his sanctuary and head for the hills to do his thing. It eventually cost him his life. I hated to see him go!
Have a great bow hunt. BB