We got our group LEH in 6-* this year, an area where we've been hunting for the last 15+ years. We get there Sunday evening and decided to just sleep in the cargo trailer for the night and set up camp the following day after a morning hunt. The morning came and I decided to go to the same cut block where I shot my last bull in 2015 (see The "New King" vs "El Diablo"). Called a bit but no answers or movement. No big deal, it's just the first morning. Head back to camp, we have breakfast, set up the wall tent, cut firewood, etc... Next to you know, it's time for the afternoon hunt. I decided to go back to that same cut block, I figured the morning calling might have attracted a bull in the area.
I get to same knoll and sit on the same log where I had called in the morning and from which I shot my bull in 2015. Did more cow calling. After a few sessions of cow calling, I introduced a few bull grunts and some brush trashing to try to entice a territorial bull. Still no answer. Suddenly, I noticed a moose on the far edge of the cut block, can't tell if its a bull or a cow. Get the binos on him, sure enough, its got antlers! Ok, lets try to do like last time, some soft cow calls to get him closer. He's not budging and looking directly in my direction.
I figure he's about 300 - 350 yards. I get down prone, I can't quite see him from this angle. I crawl back to my log where my pack is sitting and drag it over. I get prone again and rest my .375 Ruger on my pack, perfect. I give him another soft cow call, still no interest in coming down closer. I knew that my .375 Ruger with the 250gr TTSX I'm shooting would drop 8" at 300yds, 15" at 350yds and 24" at 400yds. I have a rock solid rest and I'm confident I can make the shot. He's slightly quartering towards me and I aim at the top of the hairline at his shoulder. I slowly squeeze the trigger and BOOM! He takes a few steps at the shot and by the time I reload I see him tip over. I walk up the hill where he fell and find him dead as a door nail.
The next day while were skinning him, I found the 250gr TTSX on the off side. Kind of surprise to recover a 250gr TTSX from a .375 Ruger but the necropsy revealed that the bullet hit him square in the shoulder joint and destroying the joint before it continued through both lungs and coming to a stop against the off side hide.
I went back the following day to mark on my GPS the location where I shot it. Using the GPS, the distance from where I was shooting to where he was standing was 355 yards.
He's probably the smallest bull I ever shot but he should be good eating!
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RJ
