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Lots of Antler: a matter of life or death

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Lots of Antler: a matter of life or death

Postby Lefty » 03 19, 2019 •  [Post 1]

I find elk fascinating; I am not a trophy hunter but Ive passed on easy shots on archery cows, calves and bulls. I kind of like to hunt more than put something in the freezer or wall. Unfortunately some of that has spilled over on my daughter. Twice she has let spikes to0 small 6x6 s pass because a big bull was very near. Not sure why with her.But Buck fever was certainly part of it. My wife was only allowed to shot deer over 24 inches. My father in law was a big horn shooter,,, not a trophy hunter. The biggest deer he ever saw was never killed
One huge buck I was watching was only seen by the mailman, the rancher and myself. The rancher sent a number of guy out to get the buck but it wasnt ever seen by other hunters.
Back to big bulls.

RMEF Trophy bull tour trailer this year had 6 big bulls. Of those six bulls How many were sheds finds! Any Idea?

When I was a13 year old kid in 1971 a hunter paid my brother and I to track down a big whitetail he and other trophy hunters were ferociously hunting for a number of years. That buck was killed by a truck .
Four consecutive seasons I hunted a "bench" buck in Washington state. I saw him once during season. There were two others that were specifically hunting that buck. and as far as I know he was never shot.
One year I focused on a huge old lame bull . I had watched him for 17 days in August,.. School Started so I missed the opening few days watching that bull before archery season. He had lived to be big because he was conditioned to live. Maybe I was the only person to see him during daylight hours his last years. While ATV ing in western Wyoming I was glassing when a fellow came down a ridge , then another came down the drainage trail I was on. Both were scouting some big bucks, one for his big buck blog, the other for an outfitter. Surprisingly they had nearly a dozen different bucks over 27 inches. Stories How the outfitter had targeted a number of them though the years and most died of winter kill.
Ive related this story before. I was watching over a deep and steep canyon expecting the bucks to drop down lower. I saw as a group of hunters pushed dozens of deer. passed a thick 30x50 yard thicket. I watched how 3 bucks worked their way in and stayed all day as hunter after hunted ( well maybe 8 or nine total walked passed those buck.
A total of five of the six bulls on tour in the trailer were shed finds! I believe that says a whole lot about the ability of big bulls and how elusive they can be.Maybe some of you remember some of the Spider bull controversy.No previous sheds found and he hadnt been seen previouslyhttps://www.boone-crockett.org/news/featured_story.asp?area=news& How many of those huge bucks and bulls die of old age?
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Re: Lots of Antler: a matter of life or death

Postby Swede » 03 19, 2019 •  [Post 2]

I really don't know how many big buck and bulls survive the hunting seasons, but there is a reason they get old. I have no doubt they can adapt to hunting pressure and learn to avoid calls. That I have witnessed. I killed a 9X10 buck years ago. My dad, brother and I were together. I decided to stop and wait as they walked away. This old buck came out of no where behind us, and was going to slip out of the area. He just did not anticipate one hunter was going to stop, stay silent and wait a few minutes.
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Re: Lots of Antler: a matter of life or death

Postby elkstalker » 03 19, 2019 •  [Post 3]

The big ones definitely have a sense about them, and I think a lot of them don't take many chances. I shot a mule deer buck some years ago that I had jumped from his bed, I shot twice and the buck that was standing with him took off as the one I shot dropped. As I approached the buck I killed, a much larger buck stood up less than 40 yards from where I jumped the other 2. He had learned when the shooting starts, its best to stay put. It took me walking within 30 or 40 yards of him to get him up, even when I had shot twice right over his head.
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Re: Lots of Antler: a matter of life or death

Postby Tigger » 03 20, 2019 •  [Post 4]

I saw a forkhorn...a FORKHORN! and a hunter walking towards each other down a brushy fenceline in a swamp. The buck saw the hunter first and layed down. The hunter went by at about 5 yards max and when the hunter was 50 yards past the little buck, the little buck stood up and nonchalantly continued on his way.
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