A couple days of feeling under the weather didn’t do much in the way of helping Tom Carter along on his 2011 general bull elk tag. Now facing the last day of his hunt he was feeling a little better than terrible facing a not so favorable weather forecast for the day. Not the best of circumstances for a very hard to draw hunt in Northern Arizona, but Tom and the MuleyBull crew were not likely to let the last day get away from them without giving it a try.
A few bulls were found earlier in the hunt, but fighting the flu while trying to get around in the Arizona mountains in the bitter cold of mid-November is no easy task. So far Tom’s hunt had been the usual late Arizona bull hunt, but as they say, they save the best for last, and the last day turned out to be the one day we didn’t want to miss.
Usually by the tail end of the season, things seem to get more difficult. Hunting pressure moves elk into areas that make them difficult to find, and your chances for success begin to drop as the days go by. This was not a typical “end of hunt” day. Daylight found the bunch on a vantage point trying to get a better look at a couple bulls in the distance. Unfortunately these bulls were able to drop low enough into a canyon to stay hidden, however nothing in the group seemed to catch anyone’s eye. For the next hour or so it became a contest on who could say “I got a bull” the most times. Lots of small bulls, average bulls, a few “we might wanna keep an eye on that one” kind of bulls when finally P.T. glassed up the kind of bull that needs no introduction! Gear was jammed back into packs, and the foot race was on.
The weather was beginning to act up, so everyone was thinking how lucky we were to locate this bull before the conditions became any worse. Now think back in your hunting career, how many times has that big bull or big buck slipped out without any idea of where he went? Well, add one more to that list. It will likely happen again, but it probably won’t be any easier than it was this time. Hunter and guides searched and waited, then searched and waited some more, but the big bull might as well of disappeared into thin air. To add insult to injury, the weather beginning to look like it had something against us.
The world started closing in on everyone. The hills and draws we were finding elk in earlier in the morning were beginning to disappear behind a curtain of white. Everyone’s eyes began to feel like they were gonna pop out of their heads when P.T. glassed up another good bull. Tom took a look and agreed to go after him. This time things worked out much better than they had earlier in the day. Tom finally found himself within range, set up, and aired his rifle out. The report came quick, the dull “whomp” sound that usually indicates the first stages of success have begun. The bull took a couple steps behind a clump of cedars and went down.
As it turned out, it’s a good thing Tom didn’t want to throw in the towel for the final day, and the grin said it all as Tom got to his elk and the pictures began.
