live4muleys
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Sometimes people ask why we hunt or why we mount our "trophies". Trophies and what they represent sometimes are priceless. And when I say trophies it is not always the biggest one that brings us the biggest smiles and best memories. Sometimes there was not even a harvest.
2019 was one of those years. It was my brother in laws hunt. He had drawn deer and elk in the same unit at the same time, both with the bow. It was a unit that didn't have great success harvest and he knew he wasn't going to be picky. Luck would have it and he finds a nice muley in full velvet. He makes a perfect shot and one tag is filled.
So now elk time. We hunt all weekend and not a single elk seen. He ended up staying all week out there and still nothing. Following weekend me and my nephew head back out there to meet up with him and hunt. Once again spend the weekend out there and no elk seen. We were planning on staying through the evening but my brother in law ended up sick as could be and decided he was not going to hunt the evening. So me and my nephew head home to my nieces birthday party. My brother in law was planning on staying a couple more days and was hoping he would start to feel better. So me and my nephew make the 3 hour drive back home.
We are all hanging out at the party and all the sudden I get a text, it is from my brother in law. He had just stuck an elk. It was still alive but hurting bad. So I am texting him back and forth as things are playing out. He tells me he feeling like crap again, but knows he has to finish the elk off. Me, my nephew and a another brother in law decide we are going to head back 3 hours to help him out. As we are driving I get a text and all it says is bull is dead. We were all relieved but knew the work was just starting. I let him know we will be there as soon as we can, this time the 3 hour drive went a little faster.
We meet up with my brother in law back at camp, by this time he had found just enough energy to gut the elk. We knew it was time to get to work and get the elk quartered and back to camp. We take care of the elk and get everything back to camp. It is around one in the morning at this time.
The three of us that had drove from the party all needed to get back to go to work the next day so we get camp all packed up and head back home. I rode back with my brother in law as we talk about his hunt and just hang out. We arrive back home around 5 in the morning.
Fast forward two years, my brother in law passed away in December and this was the last two tags that he ever had. I miss him more than I can ever explain, but I have the memories of this hunt and this time spent together. He never got to see either of his trophies in their finished form. We picked his deer up in February. It is an awesome reminder of the time spent together. I really enjoying seeing it when I go over to my sisters house and it means a lot to her.
One of the days right after he passed we were at my sisters and I noticed his elk antlers sticking out of a tire. I ask my sister if she would allow me to take his elk head and freshen it up and carve the skull. She liked the idea. I cleaned up the little bit of flesh left on it and recolored the antlers. I asked her what she wanted on it and I carved it for her. This one meant more to me than anything I had carved. I added the 12%, because we always laughed about him being a 12%er. That was the success rate for this hunt for elk.
I took this over to my sisters house the other day and my nephew, who is 5, says, "what is that" I told him it was his dad's elk and he got the biggest smile on his face and said "Now we have two mounts" Sometimes mounts mean more than just the biggest animal you can get. Most the time it is the memories that go with the mount that makes the "trophy".
2019 was one of those years. It was my brother in laws hunt. He had drawn deer and elk in the same unit at the same time, both with the bow. It was a unit that didn't have great success harvest and he knew he wasn't going to be picky. Luck would have it and he finds a nice muley in full velvet. He makes a perfect shot and one tag is filled.
So now elk time. We hunt all weekend and not a single elk seen. He ended up staying all week out there and still nothing. Following weekend me and my nephew head back out there to meet up with him and hunt. Once again spend the weekend out there and no elk seen. We were planning on staying through the evening but my brother in law ended up sick as could be and decided he was not going to hunt the evening. So me and my nephew head home to my nieces birthday party. My brother in law was planning on staying a couple more days and was hoping he would start to feel better. So me and my nephew make the 3 hour drive back home.
We are all hanging out at the party and all the sudden I get a text, it is from my brother in law. He had just stuck an elk. It was still alive but hurting bad. So I am texting him back and forth as things are playing out. He tells me he feeling like crap again, but knows he has to finish the elk off. Me, my nephew and a another brother in law decide we are going to head back 3 hours to help him out. As we are driving I get a text and all it says is bull is dead. We were all relieved but knew the work was just starting. I let him know we will be there as soon as we can, this time the 3 hour drive went a little faster.
We meet up with my brother in law back at camp, by this time he had found just enough energy to gut the elk. We knew it was time to get to work and get the elk quartered and back to camp. We take care of the elk and get everything back to camp. It is around one in the morning at this time.
The three of us that had drove from the party all needed to get back to go to work the next day so we get camp all packed up and head back home. I rode back with my brother in law as we talk about his hunt and just hang out. We arrive back home around 5 in the morning.
Fast forward two years, my brother in law passed away in December and this was the last two tags that he ever had. I miss him more than I can ever explain, but I have the memories of this hunt and this time spent together. He never got to see either of his trophies in their finished form. We picked his deer up in February. It is an awesome reminder of the time spent together. I really enjoying seeing it when I go over to my sisters house and it means a lot to her.
One of the days right after he passed we were at my sisters and I noticed his elk antlers sticking out of a tire. I ask my sister if she would allow me to take his elk head and freshen it up and carve the skull. She liked the idea. I cleaned up the little bit of flesh left on it and recolored the antlers. I asked her what she wanted on it and I carved it for her. This one meant more to me than anything I had carved. I added the 12%, because we always laughed about him being a 12%er. That was the success rate for this hunt for elk.
I took this over to my sisters house the other day and my nephew, who is 5, says, "what is that" I told him it was his dad's elk and he got the biggest smile on his face and said "Now we have two mounts" Sometimes mounts mean more than just the biggest animal you can get. Most the time it is the memories that go with the mount that makes the "trophy".
