king' s outdoor world - Index

king' s outdoor world - Hunting Illustrated Magazine Dec/Jan 2008 - Coyote Crazy! - Index

little nervous with only three days left
on my hunt. Suddenly, Mike found
some bulls moving in the bottom of a
thick draw. Soon, Thomas had Morris
found again. It was now warming up
and we were hoping Morris would
bed in an area where we could
possibly make a stalk on him while he
was bedded. Just as we began to get
our hopes up again, another military
fi ghter jet made a low pass and Morris
disappeared into the thick trees again.
We glassed for hours trying to relocate
him, but there was no movement
around the thick patch of trees. We
found ourselves scratching our heads
wondering what our next move would
be. Thomas said he thought it might
be better to try to get into the valley
east of where Morris was hiding and
come up from the bottom across the
canyon to get a different angle into the
deep, thickly covered pocket. We had
lunch back at the truck and decided
that we should start at the bottom of
the draw to navigate our way to where
we needed to be for the evening hunt.
Evening found us on a south
facing ridgeline tucked in the trees off
of the skyline of the area where Morris
had disappeared into the trees. Mike
and I were positioned lower on the
ridge as Thomas hiked a little higher
to look into another drainage. With the
sunlight directly in our faces, glassing
conditions were far from good. I
was now getting fairly anxious. It
was about 3:40 p.m. and Thomas
whispered that in a few more minutes
the sun would be behind the hills and
out of our eyes. As we continued
to glass, Mike suddenly sat up. As
Thomas looked through his spotting
scope, I could tell they were excited.
Mike rolled to his stomach and turned
his pack over so that it was fl at on the
ground. He then motioned for me
A comparison of the previous years sheds (left) next to the big Nevada bull
nicknamed Morris (right) that scores 391 4/8 gross and 385 3/8 net B&C
to lie down with my rifl e on the pack.
Thomas whispered that the bull was 605
yards away, so I steadied myself. I didn’t
know which bull they were focused on,
so I asked Mike if it was a “shooter bull.”
Mike assured me that it was defi nitely a
shooter bull and for me to take my time
and make a good shot. I was surprisingly
very steady and calm. I found my mark,
steadied my breath and slowly squeezed
the trigger and with that, the fi rst shot
of the hunt was fi red. The 180-grain
Swift Scirocco found its mark. Mike
and Thomas were telling me to get ready
for another shot, so I chambered another
round and searched for movement. There
was a quiet moment and soon Thomas was
jumping up and down shouting, “Morris,
you won’t be reaching life number ten!”
I knew I had just harvested a huge bull.
The celebrations then began and I was
literally jumping for joy. There were
high-fi ves all the way around.
I knew the bull was big, but
when I had the opportunity to see him
up close, all I could do was jump up and
down and yell. What a magnifi cent bull
elk to harvest on my fi rst ever elk hunt.
Thomas had judged this bull on the
hoof to be a 390-class bull and, as
it turned out, Morris the bull taped
out at 391 4/8 gross and 385 3/8 net
Boone and Crockett. As a non-typical
8x7, he should be ranked in the top
fi fteen largest non-typical bulls ever
harvested in the state of Nevada.
We fi eld-dressed Morris that
night and came back in the morning
after yet another sleepless night.
Pictures were taken and we packed
the huge animal off the mountain. I
was so excited that I didn’t even feel
the soreness from the miles of hiking.
When we arrived back to Ely and
fi nally came to a stop, people came
out of the woodwork. Cell phones
were burning up the air waves.
Groves of people lined up to get a
closer look at Morris. Camera fl ashes
went off and fl ocks of people came
over to congratulate me on harvesting
such a fi ne animal. I tell them that
I owe it all to a hardworking young
guide named Thomas Brunson and
Timberline Outfi tters. What a year
2006 turned out to be.
Hunter: Verne Atwood • Location: Eastern Nevada • Area: Public land • Guide/Outfi tter: Timberline Outfi tters &
Guide Service Ely, Nevada • Date: December 8, 2006 • Time: 3:45 pm • Days scouted: 26 • Days hunted: 5 • Weather:
unseasonably warm • Temperature: 45 o f • Moon: 84% waning gibbous • Terrain: Thick pinyon & juniper ridges •
Camoufl age: King’s Mountain Shadow • Gun: Remington 700 BDL • Caliber: .300 Ultra Mag • Bullets: 180 gr. Swift
Scirocco • Scope: Sightron • Spotting scope: Leica APO Televid 77 • Binoculars: Leica 10x42 Geovid • Range fi nder:
Leica • Recoil pad: Sims Limbsaver • Footwear: Cabela’s Perfekt Hikers • Pack: Eberlestock “J104 Just One”
December/January
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