Way to go Jeff, he's a bruiser... give us the detail's!

Yaaahoooo!!! Way to go! Don't hold back.. where, when, how, what, who, etc!!

Frans

Thanks. There's a little background to this hunt and I'll try and be succinct. My best friend and I have been buddies and hunting partners since we were 10 years old (Currently 47). When we were in our early 20's our parents divorced and my dad ended up marrying his mom. That was cool because she had always been like a second mother to me. My dad passed away 4 1/2 years ago and 2 years ago Dottie was killed in a car crash. That threw the family into a lot of turmoil and some of it got ugly. Through all of it Doug and I told each other our friendship was too important to get caught up in the infighting. In January he called me and told me to not make plans for last week because he had booked an elk hunt for the two of us. He booked the hunt through Atcheson & Son's who we have used with good results on a few various trips. We hunted with Jed Wayment of J&J Outfitters in Henefer Utah.
The property we hunted was large ranch in NE Utah. It was the second day of our hunt when my guide and I spotted this bull from the top of a ridge we were glassing from. I told him that I wanted to get Doug a shot at him if we could. He looked at me kind of funny but we watched the bull bed down in some thick oak brush so we went and found Doug and his guide. We knew this was an exceptional bull so we wanted to put a plan together with someone to cover any potential escape routes so I volunteered to do that. We hiked to where we had last seen the bull and just before we split up Doug insisted I get first crack at him. I said no and he said no so we looked for a coin. Unable to find one we played rock paper scissors and I won. I snuck along about 200 yards below where I had last seen the bull with the plan to get to a small ridge to use as cover for the final stalk. As I was sneaking along I looked up the hill and spotted the bull up and feeding in the brush. I was able to sit down and get a good rest and shot him with a 225 gr. North Fork out of my .338. He staggerd about 5 feet and I put a second bullet through his vitals which dropped him. It was good fun and I was very happy with the bull but the highlight of the trip came two days later when I spotted a big 6x6 right at dark and was able to find him the next morning for Doug. I got to sit on a ridge with my bino's and spotting scope and watch the entire drama unfold as Doug put the stalk on and nailed the bull with his .300 WM. I was doing the elk hunter happy dance and had tears streaming down my face and a grin from ear to ear. It was one of the most magical moments I've had in the field.

Jeff

... and everytime you look at the bull, you will not only remember the Elk, but the hunt and your friend.

What a successful hunt in every aspect.

Awesome bull! Awesome story! Friends like that are hard to come by.....

What a great story Jeff... you were worthy of that bull!

Congrats Skibum, that is a great story and a truly nice bull.

Skibum,
Thanks for sharing the story and the picture. Congradulations to you and Doug on the success of your hunt and your friendship.

SKelly, hey man... you've been missed! Haven't seen you for a long time and was recently wondering what'd become of you!

Man, looking forward to the opener Sunday...

Hey Brad,

Yeah, I've been AWOL from the forums for awhile now, just getting back into the swing. I am super stoked for Sunday man!! I didn't get to hunt much last year due to work (no excuse, I realize). This year I happen to be laid off so the bucks and bulls better watch their back trail real close. Good to hear from ya!

WOW!!! A trip like that doesn't happen very often. It's great that you got to experience it with a good friend. Gary T.

What a Great Hunt! It is awsome the two of you have had that kind of friendship, but to share this kind of hunt is worth more than $$$ can buy! The pic is cool but the story behind it is what I really appreciated. Nate

SKelly, it's so dang warm here it's amazing... hoping for cold and snow!

Jeff, BTW, like me I know you're not interested in B&C but for conversation's sake what'd that big boy tape?

Thanks!

WOW!!
nice bull (very,very nice!) and an even neater
story,
Charlie

Jeff,
Your a good man. Great bull.

Great story and 2 great bulls for 2 great friends. Congratulations

What a GREAT bull!!!!

And a very heart warming story!!! Will be wonderful memories for the rest of your life.

Congratulations,

quote:

Jeff, BTW, like me I know you're not interested in B&C but for conversation's sake what'd that big boy tape?

He was a bit over 350 which I guess is good <shrug>. What's cool about him is he has all kinds of charachter to his rack.

Jeff

Great story, great bull and thanks for sharing. jorge

I don't think the picture shows how big that thing is. Most 7 bys have dinky sixth points. This one's are huge.

AZ, I disagree... however, like Jeff implied, an artificial number system can never take into account the character of a rack, and that rack has fabulous character, not to mention beautiful color! For me, that's what I love in a real "trophy." My guess was the bull didn't go much over 360 even though it's a genuine 7x7. Another friend thought it'd be in the 380's but I just couldn't see that. Photo's are a funny thing though and, regardless, he's a real trophy in "my book!"

Man, that is one heck of a bull!!!

And what a great story behind it!

You are one lucky man.

Seriously, that is one great bull elk and the story behind it is very gratifying.

Congratulations to you and your buddy.

I do not care what that bull scores, it is a trophy of a lifetime.

I'm just glad I did not have to get him out of that darned brush.