UT MZ BULL
I finally drew a MZ elk tag in UT this year. After the 14 year wait, I have to say I was a little surprised and almost unprepared for the successful notice. I’ve hunted deer and antelope many times, as well as multiple species in AK, but as far as elk are concerned I was a true rookie. This would be my first out of state elk hunt, other than having a tag in my pocket just in case on a CO deer hunt once.
I have always hunted opportunity hunts here in OR with my family and we take the first legal elk we can. These hunts traditionally have very low success rates. Over the years we have beat the odds and been very successful on these hunts, but taking time to judge a bull for score is never even been considered. With the opportunity to take a bull that could be my biggest yet, I would have a new challenge. The thought of passing on multiple mature bulls to find the one I wanted was totally foreign to me and would take some discipline.
Thanks to my wife dragging me to cross-fit, I did my best to get in decent shape during the busy summer. After last year’s trip Mt. Goat hunting, where at times my legs were like noodles and I felt like laying down to let the bears eat me to put me out of my misery, I knew at 49 years old, the days of just winging it were about over.
As usual time slipped by and I found myself up against the clock. It was a whirlwind trying to set up my new MZ and prepare my old faithful truck and utility trailer. Thankfully, due to some great advice from folks on the forums, the MZ prep went great. The truck and trailer seemed sound, but I have to admit I was a little nervous about the long trip to UT with a pick-up that had over 320,000 miles and who knows how many on the home made utility trailer.

It was hectic and I was a little behind schedule, but things were coming together. I had done so much research I was almost burnt out on it. Here again, I would like to thank all the great folks that selflessly offered their knowledge, advice and help to someone they never even knew. There are a bunch of great folks in the hunting community! To add to the delayed departure I had decided to try one last night for a bear and whacked a big old bruin. I’m definitely not complaining, but due to the need to cut, wrap and get him in the freezer before I could leave, it would cost me my” planned two preseason” scouting days.

To add a little extra anxiety to the scramble-drill; was the news that due to unforeseen business obligations, both my hunting partners would have to cancel for at least a week. This just became a SOLO Hunt!
I was finally on my way, prepared to stay the whole season. It felt good and I couldn’t get the smile off my face. I truly love every hunting adventure! I expected a tough hunt with hot weather, so I brought my little generator and freezer to make my own ice and hold half the meat. I also had another large cooler to hold the other half. My wife had assured me she would be ok if I shot a little bull; just make sure I got home with a lot of good elk meat, as it is her favorite. Really though, she knew this was no problem since I was raised in a family where the meat always came before antlers. The concept of passing on any legal animal came much later in life for me!
I made the long trip to my camp in UT with no delays, except for a nice visit with my daughter on the way through the town where she goes to college and a couple 1.5 hour cat naps alongside the road. I had camp set up before dark and hit the sack with one day to spare before season. After a quick day of driving the unit roads to get the lay of the land and make sense of all my scouting information, I decided on my plan for opening day.
Opening morning was exciting, as I spotted two bulls and was able to call in the smaller one. He was actually a great bull, but the thought of a chance at the bigger one kept me from pulling the trigger. Eventually they both left and I felt like maybe I had” this passing a bull up” thing down. Although it did create some anxiety because it is just not a concept that I’m familiar with when it comes to elk! Mid-day was hot and slow, but then I bumped a huge 5 point right as I left the truck for my evening hunt. I decided I’d like a closer look at this bull, as to me he truly looked huge. This bull totally had my number though. He countered every move I made and ended up leading me to the bottom of the canyon. By the time I realized, I was just being worked, I figured I should head back to the truck. I made good time coming out and was within 75 yards of the truck when I heard splashing. It dawned on me that I’d heard that noise before during archery season at home. It was probably an elk in a water hole or wallow.
Instantly, what I call “Predator Mode” set in. I crossed the dirt ridge road and began to sneak down the draw towards the sound. Right as I could see the berm on the water hole; a bugle roared out of the draw, sending shivers down my spine. As I started to creep forward, I was pinned down by 5 cows and a little 4x5 bull coming towards the water. I managed to crawl to an old dead juniper and work myself up in through the branches to get a rest without being detected. For the life of me I couldn’t see over the bank enough to get a look at the bull making all the commotion. Light was fading fast and only about 20 minutes was left. A couple growly bugles that could be felt to my core and I have to admit, I was getting pretty juiced up.
All the sudden all the other elk scrambled away from the berm as the big guy came out to chase the other bull away from the cows. As the bulls awesome fourths came into view over the dirt bank, I forgot all about score, he looked big to me and he would top anything I’d shot. All my mental preparation was gone. There was no judging fronts or thirds, no waiting for a better angle to see lengths etc. Auto pilot had taken over; the fourths had me from the start. The sights of the new Knight UL locked on to his front shoulder and the Barnes bullet did its job. The bull was down before the smoke cleared. He dropped in his tracks and I remember instantly grinning and shaking my head thinking “I wonder how big his fronts really are” simultaneously thinking “what a pretty bull”. As I grabbed my pack and headed down to him I laughed as I thought, “ I make a crappy trophy hunter, but I don’t care, what a fun hunt!” I took photos, which were tough on my own in the dark due to the still dry night and dust particles floating and reflecting in the flash. I probably looked pretty amusing as I tried to run back and forth while not stirring up dust!

I ended up dropping my bull less than 200 yards from where I had parked my truck for the evening hunt. I was able to use a long climbing rope and my old Nissan, believe it or not, to drag the bull up on the old two track that led to the pond. This allowed for a much cleaner spot for the anticipated long dressing/breaking down process. I took a couple more quick pics and field dressed the bull. As I started the first cut to break down the hindquarters, unbelievably a super nice local couple saw my lights and pulled off the road to come check on me. Long story short, before I knew it I was headed back to camp with my elk in the truck, WHOLE! Another example of some of the awesome people I met on this hunt. I’ve got to admit I felt a little guilty that it all went so easy. If someone would have told me how this would all unfold, I would have never believed it. I could have left my pack at home and skipped cross-fit! But, the work began again as I skinned and broke the bull down. It just never cooled down that night and to top it off there was no breeze what so ever! I stayed up all night getting him broke down in little enough pieces to cool down and be small enough to rotate the whole elk through the freezer and the cooler. By, morning I rotated all the meat through the freezer and the cooler, making sure to expose different sides each rotation. I also had to be careful to leave plenty of space for airflow between the parts. It took all day of running the generator and icing the cooler, but by the end of the next night I was satisfied the meat was cool enough to pack tight and make the long trip home!

In the morning I broke camp and headed for home. 16 hours later I was taking a nice hot shower and getting a good nights’ sleep. In two days I had the meat cut, wrapped and in the freezer. It turned out awesome with loads of steak and hamburger! Although I probably under achieved for this unit; I think it was an awesome trip. I met some great people and I’m proud of my biggest bull to date. Heck, if point creep isn't too bad, I can possibly hunt it again when I'm in my early 70's

Now it’s time to get ready to switch gears and try to root a big Blacktail Buck out of the Oregon brush. But, that’s another story!