Passed up 2 bulls today, my bow wants something bigger than a 4x4 and a 3x3...Who else has passed up an opportunity like this? Am I an idiot for doing it?
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Passed up 2 bulls today, my bow wants something bigger than a 4x4 and a 3x3...Who else has passed up an opportunity like this? Am I an idiot for doing it?
I salute you for passing up the shot, I have been elk hunting for most of my life and still have yet to harvest one, I think at this point I would be happy for a 4x4.
Let's see, which would I rather have, elk meat in the freezer and on the grill for the next year or the glory of saying I passed on a 4x4 bull? Hmmm, tough choice.
Best of luck in your quest!
This year I'm all about filling a freezer so I don't care if its a bull or cow its falling to my arrow. I can't wait until tomorrow so I can finally get out and start my stalks.
Elk hunting isn't my thing. I used to hunt deer.
I've passed on nice bucks hoping for something better to come along and then didn't see anything else that season and wished maybe I would have taken the shot when I had it.
But, I've also waited and then taken a much nicer animal.
I have passed on deer before, but not elk!
My personal experience-
Simple dilemma.... meat hunters hunt females and don't worry about such silly things as how big it was. The meat is better quality and more abundant.
If you are hunting for a trophy, many of those folks don't even want the meat. They are just interested in something to hang on the wall.
This is from over 40 years of bug game hunting and guiding.
I also have a Pope and Young white tail buck out of New York State. Awesome rack...but nobody wanted to eat him....nasty!
I'm more in it for the meat, so with a bull tag I take the first I can get. 3x3 would be preferable, still young enough for the meat to be good but enough age to have a good amount. I prefer to grab doe or cow tags. Though I have yet to get an elk, the couple of does from around Meeker I harvested were good eats.
It's simple for me, I've got an either sex tag, so if either sex, as long as it's legal bull, and it gets in range, I'm shooting. My taste buds have a hard time telling what it was before I cut it up and cook it, so I'm not picky.
ThisQuote:
Originally Posted by TRnCO
Been thinking about this all day, i'm an idiot. Next time up, and the bow is drawn, it's getting slung. I'd be done elk hunting and going up bear hunting this weekend. Oh well, maybe they'll be back, I know I will...
I already have my 6x7 on the wall...I'm a rolling in the idiot factor...
JMHO, but I'd be in it for the meat. I have no use for trophys. I like to look at them in other places, but wouldn't want one in my home. Just me though.
I'm packing out a 5x5 right now. Took it first day muzzleloader. I could wait but I might end up empty handed. There are bigger bulls and I've seen them but meat on the table is more important to me.
Great job Sniper, lets get some photos up.
Soon as I get home. I'm about 150 yards from my ATV right now. Exhausted. 2nd load today. First was rear quarter and all back straps tenderloins and half of neck/residual meat. Right now is cape with head/antlers and another rear quarter with other neck/residual meat. Last night I didn't have a pack frame but tossed a front quarter on my backpack ...those shovel holding things work alright! My dad is 61 and carried a front quarter down but struggled so I am working my nuts off. About 3 miles each way.
I hunt for the meat, I don't actually care about antler size/spread etc.
So, no, I haven't actually passed a shot on an animal that I have a tag for.
3 miles each way is a lot of work. Good for you though, congrats on the harvest.Quote:
Originally Posted by sniper7
That right there is why I'll never shoot a elk. There's NFW I could do all that with my busted-up old body. They'd have to Life Flight me outta there.Quote:
Originally Posted by sniper7
Sniper7, congratulations on your success! Looking forward to the story and pics.
One of the ways we succeed in hunting and anything in life is by learning from our mistakes. If you passed up a good opportunity on a 4x4 bull because you were looking for something bigger, that's a decision for you to make, and reasonable if it fits your goal. Should you have another opportunity you'll have a fresh decision to make based on the importance of your goal and on the evolving circumstance of your experience such as the number of animals you're seeing, the likelihood of success, and the time left to hunt. Besides the quality of animals in the hunt area, a hunter's experience, age, physical ability and hunting skills will all play a part.Quote:
Originally Posted by buckshotbarlow
It's easy to get caught up in the fantasy stories of magazine hunting writers who often report about guided hunts on private land or other restricted areas managed for trophy animals. But for most hunters using public land where hunt success averages around 23%, getting any elk, bull or cow, is a good measure of success, and any legal bull is a good bull.
While my first goal is bringing home the meat, I'd be lying if I said that taking a good antlered bull means nothing to me. I appreciate a trophy bull because they are magnificent and I know how hard they are to come by in the areas I hunt. Given my first goal, I take pride in bringing home an elk almost every year. Our family relies on the elk, deer and pronghorn I bring home. The 6x6 bull I took last year was exciting but I'll be every bit as appreciative should I run into a cow elk or a smaller bull next month. Where I hunt I know better than to pass on any legal elk, but what's important to you is a very personal thing.
^ good point, i've seen some monsters where I hunt, and when u see em 3 years in a row, and u have a cow tag during rifle it just pisses you off. I'm gonna get the meat this weekend and just be done with the hunt. I think my wife would like that. Then i can get my bear tag filled...
Horses!!!Quote:
Originally Posted by rondog
You said it not me [ROFL1].... I'd have a really hard time passing one up knowing how hard they are to get, especially with a bow. Last I heard, this was a while ago, the ratio was 1 elk for every 7 years hunting. I will say that if that was my ratio I'd find another animal to hunt. Don't beat yourself up too bad. I'm just glad to hear you're out there. Good luck with the bear hunt. I hear they like jelly doughnuts.Quote:
Originally Posted by buckshotbarlow
From what I hear, my father and his archery gang are not doing well either. FYI.
I thought I read one bull every 10 years is the average for Colorado hunters. Might have just been elk in general. I know several people who fit those stats plus some.
Well the hunt this past weekend had it's highs and lows. First off, my buddy stuck a 6x6 in the exact same spot. Problem was, i was up on the ridge cowering in a very small bush while the herd bull was coming to me. Right when my buddy let loose on that satellite bull, the herd of cows broke and I never got a shot on the herd bull as he decided it would be best to go with his ladies. He was a massive 7x7, with a rack wider then my arm wingspan. I just sat there and cried, but was very impressed that I was able to call him away friday night. We spent the entire night looking for his bull, and the morning after we got done hunting and never found it. So, saturday morning, we got into the herd bull again, and we tried and tried and tried to get him to come up from the valley he was in, and couldn't get him to come up.
/start of rant/
About 8:30am saturday morning, idiots started opening up with some sort of rifle capable of 30rd mag dumps. The animals spooked and we were pissed and also scared. These mofo's had no concern about firearm saftey as bullets where whizzing over our heads. We decided to make it back to camp through the valleys, preferring to stay on the lower ground versus the ridgetops. We got back to camp, and got our guns and went looking for those guys to let em know hunters are in the area, and at Pike Natl forest, shooting like that is illegal. So we never found the fuckers, and tried to find some cell reception to make a call to the dow. I guess my S3 and my buddies I5 couldn't get service, so we never got a chance to make the call. Then, we took our naps, and got ready for the afternoon hunt. We were planning on hunting a different location, and started going there when all of a sudden the fuckers started up again, this time with a larger caliber rifle. We decided to hunt by camp in the deeper meadows and never saw jack shit the rest of the night. So we start sunday morning, elk are bugling their balls off, and charging at any call (but this is at 530am) and we couldn't let loose our telephone poles...Right at 730am, those fuckers opened up again, and bye bye said the animals. We decided to try another ridge and right as we crested it, here's mr 5x5 at about 10yds. We just sat there, cussing him out, and him cussing us out. What a frig'n tragedy...So he bolts, we head back to camp while there's a withering firestorm going on. We break camp, and while doing this my buddy goes over to the general area to get his bow case and runs into the fuckers. He tells him there are hunters in the area, and that it's illegal to shoot while not in lawful pursuit of game. He gets the middle finger salute and told to fuck off verbally. He comes back to camp, we load our guns and go over there. I guess those 3 punks got the message and packed up their camp and made it out of there before we could get their license plate to report them to both the forest service and the DOW. I just wish TIM, the GW was around to write them a fucking ticket and get em arrested.
/end of rant/
Overall, saw lots of animals and was very happy with the hunt, even though i didn't get to sling an arrow at elkzilla.
Sorry about the bad experience. My area had some issues with people on dirt bikes. Had several heated conversations, a few Dow calls and now the Forrest service shut it down big time and lots of volunteers helped to clean the area up.
Old man filled his cow tag...yippie...No pics, but it took 4 of us 4 hours to debone, trim, package and get ready for the hamburger grinding...
I hunt for the meat mainly. If it happens to have nice antlers attached, that's just icing on the cake. But antlers don't taste good to me.
I've harvested more does and cows over the years than bucks or bulls. Have never taken anything larger than a 4x3.