New Mexico Wapiti Wanderings

[JC]

Yeeeeehaaaaaa! We're cookin with grease now!

[Talondale]

and?.....and??!!

[beachbowhunter]

While I couldn't see down slope from my position in the aspens, I could hear the racket. I heard some branches being broken...a gap in the sound...and some LOUD crashing. I didn't see Joe shoot so my thought was he had a bull thrashing a tree in front of him. Wrong.  

[swp]

More story, more pics!

[IB]

             


BAD "WHIP"

COLD "WHIP"      

[Whip]

They always say in the books and the videos that when you put an arrow in a bull you should cow call to stop him.  I'm not sure how I managed to remember that in the heat of the moment, but that's exactly what I did.  And wonder of wonders, just like on TV, he came to a stop about 75 yards away and turned back to look at me.

I put up my binoculars, but couldn't locate him - probably due to a severe case of the shakes and excitement.  As I put the binos down to try to relocate him I just caught a flash of him through the brush - going backwards from where he was standing!  Was it my imagination playing tricks or did he tip over backwards?  Or had he just spun around and raced back down hill. There was loud crashing and breaking of brush, and I hoped it was caused as he fell, and not just as he ran away.  But I couldn't see any more movement to confirm or deny what I hoped.

I knew he was hit hard. But could he have really gone down that fast?  With a hit so far back would there be blood to follow?  I was sick thinking about the possibilty of a mortally wounded animal tearing away into the deep and thick valley below.

If he really did fall where he last stood there was no need to wait.  But if I hadn't seen what I hoped I did going in too soon could be disasterous.  All I could do is sit down, wondering and waiting as it all played over and over in my mind.
 

[Whip]

I set a goal of a two hour wait.  I was pretty confident that my arrow had at least made it through liver, if not into the lungs.  But time stood still in the aspens.  An hour and twenty minutes was all I could take, and as the day heated up we began to worry more and more about dealing with meat if he was down as I thought.  So we slowly eased our way down to where he had last stood.

As I worked down the slope that familiar barnyard odor hit me again - very strong full in the face.  I didn't even bother looking for blood sign and followed my nose to find a bull at rest.

[Jim Jackson]

Great Story Whip! Congrats!

[knife river]

       

[hormoan]

Congrats Joe!!!!!!!!    This was worth losing a little sleep over!  :D  

                   Brent

[IB]

AWESOME.....BRO.....AWESOME          

[steadman]

A very big congrats on a fine bull!!          

[beachbowhunter]

Vance, now we gotta call him Cool Whip  

[Whip]

That's right.  Six trips.  And to finally walk up on him like that - I can't begin to describe the feelings and emotions that came over me.  I was awestruck.  Some of you may remember my telling of some of my past elk adventures.  I will never call any of them failures, as each one is special in my mind.  But never before had I been able to put my hands around the prize.  This time was different.

Do you think the smile makes me look too happy?

[rabbitman]

Congrats Joe...great hunt and story.  You the man!

[Forester]

   
Only about this happy.  Congratulations!!

[Whip]

The bull is not a giant like maybe we all dream of one day taking.  But I don't need a tape measure to tell me he is a World Record in the only record book that matters - Mine!  

And WAY DOWN is right!  Now the enormity of the task at hand began to set in.  The bull had raced part way down the hill, and fell and slid even further.  By some miracle he had come to a stop at the last tree and bush that could have stopped him. Had he not stopped there it would have been at least another hundred yards before anything else would have even begun to slow him down.  We were thankful that is where he decided to end the slide.

The pictures cannot really show the steepness of the slope, but trust me - we did NOT want to go down there.  And as we tried to move him to a better position for the task at hand he almost took us down with him.  Quick work with some rope secured him from making things more difficult than they had to be.

[Tim Fishell]

Congrats Joe.  The smile on your face says it all!!  Great story I could visualize the whole thing.

[Orion]

Very nice animal Joe.  Congrats.  Waiting to hear about the pack out.  Given the short distance he went, you must have placed the arrow better than you thought.  More details, please.

[Talondale]

Congrats!