Bull Down

I was fortunate enough to be drawn for a Zone 2, October-season bull tag.

The week of my hunt turned out to be crisp, very windy, and wet, miserable for most. I stayed in a Davis canvas tent with my cameraman, Colby Kessler. It wasn’t luxurious; we were restless through the nights and cold in the mornings. But we stayed dry in camp, and once the wood stove got going, it didn’t take long to warm up.

I don’t like to do things the easy way, and the last thing I wanted was to spend the entire week “heater hunting” for a moose. So Colby and I put in upwards of 10 miles on foot, trekking through hilly terrain, thick hardwoods, and 6-7-year-old slash cuts with whippets taller than us. We did see several moose, mostly cows, but it was almost impossible to stay quiet, so they were easily spooked.

By Tuesday evening, we were exhausted. Both of us were fighting off sickness, likely from the harsh conditions and being so drained. After spending the entire day still-hunting, we agreed to spend the evening glassing a vast cut until dark.

The wind was brutal, and the air was wet and heavy. I wasn’t dressed to sit for a few hours in these conditions, and about half an hour before sunset, I made the call to pack up and head back to camp. The hike out of the cut was spent shivering and sniffling.

As we headed back to camp, Colby interviewed me on camera, and I said quote, “Well, on to the third Monday of the week.” That was the mindset I wanted to have for the entire hunt, though I’ll admit it’s sometimes very difficult to stay positive.

Maybe a mile from camp, with only 15 minutes left to hunt, we were driving by a clear cut when I glanced over and saw the tall, wide rack and silhouette of a bull on the back edge of the clear cut, about 150 yards out.

In a matter of seconds, Colby and I both got out of the truck. My adrenaline kicked in, but I stayed calm and took deep breaths. I had the bull in my scope, just waiting to hear Colby’s voice saying, “I’m on him.”

I fired. He dropped.

It still doesn’t seem real, it feels like a dream.