Silentstalker
Long Time Member
- Messages
- 3,165
Going into the draws this past winter I was debating on an archery tag or holding out for a muzzy. I grew up with a bow in my hand and having already successfully taken 3 LE bulls with my bow, I finally decided to do archery one more time! My son only had 2 points so I told him to apply “just in case”. My buddies daughter also applied. She and I both had enough points to draw.
Well, all 3 of us drew…. Archery elk is a tough hunt especially in Utah but being very familiar with the unit and having great friends who know it better than I do, I was apprehensive of 3 tags but very excited!
We scouted the unit all summer and found some familiar bulls and even a few new ones. It seemed antler growth was exceptional.
I created a mental hit list and we had no less than 1/2 dozen first day shooters picked out including a few we had trail camera and live pics of for years.
The monsoons hit and made hunting pretty tough the first week. Thankfully the storms broke and hunting slowly picked up for us.
This past Sunday night I had the humbling opportunity to arrow a bull we have kept track of since 2018. He was a big 5 point that year. He has been hunted by our group for years to no avail. He was even missed 4x on the muzzy hunt a couple years ago. We think he is probably 12-13 years old. Could be older as his teeth are nearly worn out. He has regressed the last couple of years but always carried the 5 pt gene.
He is honestly the largest bodied elk I have ever been a part of killing. An absolute toad. I am so grateful for my friends and family who helped me out on this hunt. They have put in a ton of time scouting and had a huge impact in the success of this hunt.
This all happened when “Big 5” appeared in the draw below me. I had him at 35 yards and wasted no time in sending an arrow. A couple hundred yards later we stood over a magnificent bull. We celebrated, took a few pics and got to work.
Here are a few pics to get this thread started.
Well, all 3 of us drew…. Archery elk is a tough hunt especially in Utah but being very familiar with the unit and having great friends who know it better than I do, I was apprehensive of 3 tags but very excited!
We scouted the unit all summer and found some familiar bulls and even a few new ones. It seemed antler growth was exceptional.
I created a mental hit list and we had no less than 1/2 dozen first day shooters picked out including a few we had trail camera and live pics of for years.
The monsoons hit and made hunting pretty tough the first week. Thankfully the storms broke and hunting slowly picked up for us.
This past Sunday night I had the humbling opportunity to arrow a bull we have kept track of since 2018. He was a big 5 point that year. He has been hunted by our group for years to no avail. He was even missed 4x on the muzzy hunt a couple years ago. We think he is probably 12-13 years old. Could be older as his teeth are nearly worn out. He has regressed the last couple of years but always carried the 5 pt gene.
He is honestly the largest bodied elk I have ever been a part of killing. An absolute toad. I am so grateful for my friends and family who helped me out on this hunt. They have put in a ton of time scouting and had a huge impact in the success of this hunt.
This all happened when “Big 5” appeared in the draw below me. I had him at 35 yards and wasted no time in sending an arrow. A couple hundred yards later we stood over a magnificent bull. We celebrated, took a few pics and got to work.
Here are a few pics to get this thread started.
