Mike Ukrainetz's Link
DJ
How bout some details about the hunt?
Nice bull.....!!
He had to have been an 8+ yr old bull. He had a huge body! I tried to pack out a whole hind quarter, hair on and it just about killed me. I could walk on flat ground with it but not uphill, probably 130 lbs. Maybe I could do it when I was 20 but not at 47 yrs old. I dropped it down, skinned it out, cut some big chunks of fat off and cut the end of the leg off and it was manageable, about 100 lbs. Couple hour hike and I was out. 5 more trips over 1 1/2 days and it was all packed out, one of my guides took one load. The cape and antlers were also a 100 lb load. That was the last one and the sweetest!
CONGRATS!!! A giant indeed!
The broadhead on the arrow that is resting on the bulls rack looks like it is missing a blade?!
Mark
Matthews z7 did the trick.
Good job Mike. Much sweeter beating the odds like that. Congrats!
and here is the 2014 elk hunting story:
I have always loved to hunt elk, ever since I was introduced to it by my Dad where we hunted the famed Canmore, Alberta bow only zone, better known for it's Bighorn Sheep hunts than it's elk hunting. I began hunting rutting elk in 1981 there when I was just 14 years old. Wow, was it some awesome elk hunting! Big, bugling bulls that came right out of Banff National Park. The only problem was, we didn't know how to call them other than with some tin whistles we messed around with a bit. We just stumbled around the woods trying to shoot one, total blast though. I was part of a team effort kill on a 4 point bull that year and I was hooked for life. After high school in 1985 I spent 2 1/2 months hunting elk, bighorn sheep and muleys and I killed a giant elk, at least a giant in Alberta with a bow, a 331 gross score bull in November. Ever since then I have been trying to kill another Pope and Young class bull. The hunting in Canmore and all over the mountains in Alberta deteriorated because of housing development, wolves and fire suppression though.
I started my own outfitting business, Mike's Outfitting Ltd. in 1992 guiding bears, mule deer, moose and of course elk and then my time to hunt elk for myself became very limited. I did manage to kill 5 other bulls, including one that grossed 265 and netted 255 but nothing to make P and Y. Fast forward to 2012 after many successful elk hunts for my clients I was finally getting some time to hunt elk for myself. I got out about 10 days in 2012, called in a dozen different 4, 5 and small 6 point bulls within bow range and then finally got a 45 yard whack at a decent 6 point on Sept 29 in the general rifle season as the rut was winding down. Wasn't sure if he would make it and he didn't, 265 gross 255 net again, happy I got one though, little bummed he didn't make it.
more to come...
I'd be thrilled to get a 265/255 with a bow. My one and only gun kill was nice and thrilled me but likely wouldnt make that.
Fortunately Matt and I have hunted Mulies with Mike and that is something everyone should do at least once!!!
continued from above...In 2013 I drew a moose tag and focused on moose hunting taking a nice bull on Oct 30th. Now was 2014 and I was more determined than ever to kill a Poper bull elk. A 260 inch P and Y qualifying bull is a nice benchmark in our guiding area of Northwestern Alberta. We have quite a few elk, especially in certain pockets but we also have a general rifle season that starts right in the peak of the rut Sept 17th and goes to November 30th. Over the counter tags and only a minimum 3 point rule means that most bulls are lucky to make it past 3 years old. A good bull is a 250 to 300 inch, 3 or 4 year old. On occasion you see a 300 plus inch, 5 year or older bull but they are usually very cautious and shy. With a few too many cow elk in our area the 250+ score bulls become herd bulls, tough to fool or get close to. A 260 net score bull with a bow is a big accomplishment.
In 2014 between guiding hunters I got a couple days to hunt early in September and I choose to go into a favorite area of mine, no secret honey hole or anything, just a good spot that I like to hunt. I go to the same area with my hunters fairly often but not so often that I push the elk out. If I have any secret to hunting the elk it is that I go ninja style as much as possible, full stealth mode. Which means a face mask and face paint on any exposed skin, camo gloves and leafy wear jacket, also tennis shoes, or runners as we Canadians call them. I also wear wool socks to keep my feet warm and the water can run in my shoes and back out again. Small fanny pack with just a rain coat, water bottle, a snack, matches, headlamp, elk license and a knife. Then I bugle just enough to get a bull to respond and get him located, then I sneak in close, hopefully close enough to get a look at the bull. The bush is very thick so sometimes you can't see the bull, even at less than 50 yards or I'll spot a cow and can't get any closer so I will let out a cow call or two and see how the bull responds. Some bulls will light right up from just a cow call and come right in, others just shut up and sneak off, especially in the early part of the season. Some take a bugle to really get them going, others have to be dogged for miles to get them to turn and fight. If I accidentally make some noise while sneaking in then I will make a cow call to get the bull to hopefully think I'm a cow, no threat.
more to come...
thanks for the compliments and encouragement too guys, good to know somebody is reading the story!
and the rest of the story...
Anyway, on this fateful hunt it was a nice calm morning and I could hear three different bulls bugling off and on, more off than on. I snuck in on the closest bull and he was by himself, a small 5 pointer, I got right into 40 yards, he never had a clue I was there and I backed out. The next closest bull didn't sound very big, only a few notes and a nice musical sound to it. Not usually what I find to be a big bull so I left him alone and pressed on to the furthest away bugle. As I got closer he sounded better and better, not many notes but deep and raspy. I tiptoed in closer to where I thought he was hanging out. It can be very difficult to pinpoint where a bull is especially in an echoing river valley but I thought I was getting close. One misstep and I broke a branch, "dammit", I cursed myself. So I let out a couple of cow chirps and carefully peeked over the little ridge in front of me. My jaw hit the dirt when I saw the beast of an elk, way bigger than what I hoped he would be! It was a small but wide open clearing, good daylight and I could see his whole body and most importantly his gigantic rack. I didn't know his score and didn't care, he looked huge! He was also staring right at me. Not good.
My heart went into overdrive but I was certain he couldn't see me well, at least I prayed that he couldn't, I was sure he didn't know I was a person. It was dark and brushy where I was standing, back lit by the rising sun, he was out in the open clearing. I scrambled to ever so slowly get my range finder binoculars up to my eyes, my face mask got caught on the strap, my glasses fogged up and I started to panic a bit. "Calm down, he doesn't have a clue", I tried to tell myself but so many times on the bigger bulls they suddenly figure out something is wrong, quickly turn and leave. I got a range, 70 yds. Not great but not impossible. As everyone says, I practice a lot at that distance, he was quartering towards me anyway, no shot. There was also a few big scattered spruce trees around him and he walked in behind one of them as I got my face mask straightened out, glasses cleared off, release on my string, muscles relaxed and heart rate slowed down a bit.
Then fortune smiled on me as a cow elk chirped off to the side and behind me. The big bull walked out from behind the tree and let off an incredible, growly bugle, just a 2 note one but with that beautiful, deep, raspy sound. I was in awe, this I what it is all about, absolutely incredible! He was still quartering towards me but then he cut down the distance. I got a final reading at 67 yds, he took a few more steps angling towards me and then turned broadside. I guessed 65 and drew back, he was focused on the cow sound and I let fly. The arrow had a loud smack to it, right in the chest area. He bolted away from me and I could see about 12 inches of arrow sticking out, mid body top to bottom. As he took off, he quickly slowed, turned broadside and stood still about 120 yards away, half covered by bushes. I whipped up my binos but could not see exactly where the hit was, just that it seemed to be up front, maybe too far forward. I let out a few cow calls to hopefully keep him in place and he stood for a maybe a minute then slowly disappeared into the trees. Not good."I will leave him be for at least an hour then sneak in", I thought.
I stood in the same spot for an hour, not daring to make any noise, then I crept in to where I last saw him standing. Tons of blood! Awesome. I slowly followed the trail. "Assume he is alive though", I cautioned myself. 20 yds, 50, 100. All of a sudden he stood up out of the jungle like undergrowth. I quickly guessed the distance at 45 yds and shot my 2nd arrow. It hit right behind the shoulder but a bit high. He bolted sideways about 30 yds and I nocked another arrow, bobbed up and down searching for an opening through all the branches and shot again, perfect hit. He stood trembling and then his legs gave out and he crumpled to the ground. I was in shock, not hooping or hollering with this one.
I slowly approached the downed bull and I truly could not believe that I got him. It was like walking up on someone else's big trophy elk. I was speechless and didn't dare think how much he might score and how old he was. I must have just stood and stared at him for over 5 minutes just saying the same words over and over, ones I can't repeat here. I was absolutely overflowing with appreciation for what a giant bull he was, just a gigantic body too. I had not made a perfect shot or done anything special in my hunting method so I certainly wasn't giving myself too much praise, I was just being very thankful that I had been the one to find him before he had gathered up all his cows and had become practically unkillable, at least with a bow. Maybe even with a gun unless he was caught standing out in a farm field in November. I couldn't believe it and I was thrilled.
The six 100 lb packout trips over one and a half days was almost a whole other story but me and my guide Josh Harb got it done. My favorite load in dying daylight the next day was the last one with the 60 pound cape and the 32 pound antlers. It was two of the toughest and best hours of my hunting career! The bull officially gross scored 345 2/8 and netted 332 7/8 with 10 1/2 inch bases and 19 inch eye guards.
THE END
You have some real nice bulls in your area, no doubt. Just wish I could have stuck one..oh well.
Think I know that area you took the pic of Troy?
Think I have one of me...lol
As a side note, Mike is very intense when hunting, he takes it seriously.
Someone once told me this about Mike, you may walk with him, BUT you won't out walk him!
Mike and his family are great.
