A 7x7 bull elk and a black wolf would be nice.

[Husky7mm]

The 2023 season started off like many. I had high hopes of big bucks and big bulls but not enough time to scout as I would like. Fortunately I have a few decent honey holes, and 10-12 cameras to keep tabs on the inventory.
It seemed to be for the last few years that my best producing spot was in decline due to a heavy presence of wolves and even pretty regular cougar pics.
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Fortunately I have a few decent spots that were showing great promise.
I added a few cams and found a few mineral licks and was surprised at how many more animals were in the area than I was seeing. One of the cams revealed a full 7x7 bull elk. I have had a few 6x7 and a 6x8 on cam from time to time but this was the first clean 7x7. The area also had a huge bull moose ( are draw only) and a couple wt bucks including one with an extra beam. I focused my attention on this area and planned to spend the opening week camping there with my oldest boy Brandon and my BIL Ryan from BC that I hunter host.
The Bow season came and went without much action, it was very hot out, and it was still very hot as rifle season opened. My brother-in-Law was hinting he would rather hunt the original elk spot but I again reminded him it was in somewhat of a decline and the newer spot had and good 6x6, a 6x7 and 7x7.
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We hunted hard ,and not much of a peep. We did have a cow elk come up and stand right beside us. 2^nd time this has happened to us in this spot. Its low density for elk and remote so maybe she was lonely. As the days wore on Brother in law was again wishing we were hunting the other spot. There are more elk there, but not the same quality. I finally gave in and said “fine, lets brake camp and get out of here. Its too hot, they must be way down in a dark river bottom miles from here, BUT I want to check one spot on the way out, a nice, shaded creek bottom in between a few overgrown log offs.”
“How far of a walk is it?” He says. “About 1 km” I say , he says “**** that, I’ll stay here and wait” ….. this turns out to be a big mistake on his part, as the out of town guest he would have been the shooter.
About 15mins later we are almost to the spot I want to call, its just around the corner. All of the sudden we startle a yearling cow, she trots off in to the pine and a bull lights up around the corner. My son does a challenge bugle as I sneak up the bank in the corner in hopes of a clear view. There he is, the big 7x7 from the cam, he has a small group of cows down in the shady creek bottom. He was starring in the direction of Brandon but catches my movement. He starts at me , and then looks for and exit to stage right. I have about 120m free hand shot as he starts to depart. He locks for second and then is going in slow motion up through the timber. I knew I hit him but kept shooting as he lumbered through the bush and then either fell or fell from sight.
Brandon came up grinning, “did you get him?” “I hit him a few times and am pretty sure he is down, and I am pretty sure it was the 7x7”!
We snuck up the slope and into the forest that the Bull had ran into. A short way in I could see his antlers moving but his body was hidden from view. I asked Bandon to move up slope and see if he could get a better view and put one in this neck while I watched him from where I could was. I did not want to chance losing this bull. I inch closer to try and get a view of a vital and his head went up and down. Suddenly he tried to get up and Brandon and I fired simultaneously and back down he went, and still the big rack was moving. I walked up and put one is this neck and finally he gave up and died. He was a fighter. I felt a sense of sadness for the big guy.
Next to zero blood where he lay. He had at least 3 in the chest, 1 in the neck, 2 grazing’s, and one in the antler, OH MY GOODNESS!!!


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[Husky7mm]

I stood over him and whipped the sweat from head. What a body on this guy, as big as the biggest moose I have ever killed, perhaps even bigger!
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Time to get to taken pictures and then quartering. It is hot and around high noon.
Where’s bro in law???? 20 mins to ½ an hr had past, where is he? He’s got to see this beast before we cut him all up! I send Brandon out to bring him over to us. Finally, they return. Apparently with all the shooting he thought we ran into Grizzly issues, and he didn’t know where to go, or how to deal with that! Fair enough.
Anyways we all had to drink in the moment and get some pictures. We have all hunted together for quiet some time, but this was a very special moment and animal to share.
We quarter him all up and made a few bridges and got him back to camp in a few hours, gotta love powersaws and ATVs! We packed out camp and headed for home, and the cooler, it wasn’t cooling down anytime soon.
The next day with the bull in the cooler we decided to hunt my main spot for elk.
We actually did hear some bugling that evening and got in to some bulls through out the day but they gave us the slip out the back door. Toward evening a herd bull was sounding off to get the ladies up and going to the feeding areas. Bro-in-law and I decided to stay up in the hills while Brandon moved in for the interception. He had his work cut out for him to reach the herd before dark but he is in really good shape so I didn’t rule out him out of getting it done.
A surprisingly short while later we hear a shot, and then comes the text. Bull down! Nice. First blood with his new tikka 300wsm, LH, and finally actually even having a LH gun inside of one of Dads normal people rifles.
He killed a nice 3 yr old 6x6 trailing a herd of cows with a big bull in it, he said after he knocked the bull down a bull with a big frame stood over the downed bull. You don’t see that every day, wish I had a picture.

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So it turns out he killed the bull on the other side of an area the beavers flooded and it was going to be a war to get a machine into them. Uncle Ryan and Brandon butchered while cut my way in on over grown seismic avoidance lines from at least 2 k away. All of us had the pleasure of doing this in the dark, and against the clock as Brandon had to work in the morning.
I got to them around 12:30 am and its still a mystery how I even found my way through all the blowdown and jungle to them. They had just finished bagging everything. Brandon needed to hit the road so I escorted them around the flooded beaver area to the ATVs and then hiked back into load the bull on my machine and the pick my way out. I was beyond exhausted and so was the over loaded machine with the entire quartered elk on it minus the head and antlers which I packed to their machine when we parted. Its still a mystery how I found my way out weaving down a minimally cut out avoidance line in the dark, also with my gas light flashing and phone was dead. Ill chalk it up the Creators guiding hand.
I made it to camp around 2 am and was welcomed by a fire and a few stiff cold ones. Brandon was gone for an hour already and it turns out he had to pull over and take a power nap on the way home cause he couldn’t keep his eyes open. We weren’t hunting tomorrow, we were done. We share the meat and 2 bulls would be good enough. We had other tags left and so did my local hunting partner. Good enough.
Much more to come…..

[caddisguy]

Wow that's a lot of action and excitement.

Before I read about the power nap, I'm think this Brandon fella is gonna be wrecked for work tomorrow. Doubt the power nap would have done much. He called out didn't he? I won't tell the boss! j/k

Warrior that first elk. Animals can be so powerful. Us humans are lucky we figured out how to use your thumbs to make tools like firearms and what not. Otherwise we'd just be thin skinned critters with no without claws!

Okay so the part I have to ask... and maybe I missed it? I'm reading this in the "Out of Province" hunts section. Is this in Alberta?

Congrats all around and thanks for posting up the story (with pic linkages too!)

[Husky7mm]

Wow that's a lot of action and excitement.

Before I read about the power nap, I'm think this Brandon fella is gonna be wrecked for work tomorrow. Doubt the power nap would have done much. He called out didn't he? I won't tell the boss! j/k

Warrior that first elk. Animals can be so powerful. Us humans are lucky we figured out how to use your thumbs to make tools like firearms and what not. Otherwise we'd just be thin skinned critters with no without claws!

Okay so the part I have to ask... and maybe I missed it? I'm reading this in the "Out of Province" hunts section. Is this in Alberta?

Congrats all around and thanks for posting up the story (with pic linkages too!)

Thanks Caddis!
Brandon made it to work on time, I don’t think it was a very fun day. Luckily for all he is a Lineman and not a Brain surgeon!! Lol

They sure can be tough, I butchered that elk and his entire shoulder was shattered, if not he would have just sucked up the lead and took off. I felt under gunned that day with my 270wsm shooting 140 accubonds. Usually 1, or at the most 2 shots and its all over.
I mentioned this to an old friend from the kootenays that has a lot of herd bulls under his belt well into the mid 300’s and he said with those big old bulls you got to double lung them. I would have to agree 100% with that now.

This is an Alberta hunt, moved away in 2013, so yes out of province. I don’t think the majority of people look there for stories, but thats where they are.

[IronNoggin]

Great Hunt!
Great Tale & Pix too!

Congrats!

[Harvest the Land]

About time you posted this story Richie - I think you texted me these pics many months ago. Much better to see them on a bigger screen. Wow - what a magnificent bull! Great write up - thanks for taking the time

[caddisguy]

This is an Alberta hunt, moved away in 2013, so yes out of province. I don’t think the majority of people look there for stories, but thats where they are.

When I was reading it I'm thinking

"huh... sounds like he's living in Alberta. I wonder when he moved? Recently?"

2013... sounds like you had a little while to settle

Thanks again for posting up the story and pics.

[kodeman]

Awesome bull...thanks for posting

[Husky7mm]

About time you posted this story Richie - I think you texted me these pics many months ago. Much better to see them on a bigger screen. Wow - what a magnificent bull! Great write up - thanks for taking the time

Ya probably like 9 mths ago lol.
I have been so busy, its hard to find the time.
Anyways, thanks. Working on besting him this year with “Hank the Tank” ……

[Husky7mm]

Thanks all, I will try and finish up the story in the next week or 2. Lots left to share.