Bull elk down in Arizona!!

[Indianhunter]

Just wanted to share my first elk hunting experience with ya'll. I applied for this tag in jan based on a friends recommendation who had drawn the hunt the year before and had done well. I would have preferred a early season bow tag but due to my job i cant hunt for sure until nov. or possibly in october. After skipping out on thanksgiving with the family in order to travel to arizona for the hunt that started the following day i arrived to some nasty weather. At this time of year all the elk are herded up getting ready for winter so they can be tough to find. It was sleeting and snowing off and on all day for the first two days of the hunt and i didnt see a thing. I really thought i was doing someting wrong. Im used to stand hunting and this spot and stalk stuff was tough. Finally on the third day i found several groups of elk and it turns out i was just in the wrong area. This was a big lift cause i was hunting my tail off (all day)covering miles of national forest with nothing to show. The next few hunts were all about the same. Saw a group or two of cows and an occasional small bull with no shot opportunities. I was down to my last day of the hunt (day 6) and tried a new area ( a walk in only wildlife habitat area). Turns out this is where the animals go whenthere is lots of hunting pressure. Well at ten am sharp i caught a glimpse of some movement ahead of me through the trees but it was just a flock of turkeys. this got me back on track cause i was tired of walking at the time and losing some focus. Not five minutes later i spotted a bull through the trees and threw my newly purchased TC triumph muzzleloader up as he was walking straight away from me in the thick brush and i contemplated a head shot but it just didnt seem right with a muzzleloader. We played cat and mouse a few times and was trying so hard to get a shot but he just kept ducking me. All of a sudden he started getting real nervous as the wind swirled in this small canyon and then bulls came flushing out of the thick brush like quail. At least 15 bulls came running out that i had no idea they were all there. They didnt know where i was they just knew i was a little too close for comfort. There were some huge bulls that came out but this is the one that gave me somewhat of a shot opportunity and i took him down. The shot placement looks bad in pic but it exited behind opposite shoulder low and tight. it died quickly within about thirty yards which surprised me. This was my first bull and couldnt be happier. Just a note another hunter killed a 380" bull that afternoon a 1/2 mile from there. It was prob in the same group i just didnt get the shot. Im happy with mine though! enjoy

[maglite]

CONGRATS!! I HOPE TO GET ONE NEXT YEAR IN COLORADO WITH MY BOW!!! Great Bull and thatll be some good eating!!

[1FREAK]

congrats on that elk

[A&M 90]

Very cool. Congrats.

[scubasteven25]

That is a good bull most any hunter would envy. Congrats on a successful hunt.

[Tmag]

Very nice, congrats!

[chrisk]

congrats!
Chris Kiefner

[Big Spec]

nice bull, congrats

[thebomb6_99]

Congrats on the bull

[Hawg]

Congrats!

[BIG RED BOWHUNTER]

Congrats

[AZ&F'sDaddy]

Thanks for the story. Was this your first time to apply in Arizona?! People sometimes apply for ten years without drawing in Arizona. I have applied for the past two years and have not drawn. What unit was this?

[Z7BBD]

Still a great bull! Congrats!

[jjbuilder]

Congrats on the bull ! Unit 1 ?

[K9carlo]

good job