I put the gun in the truck and we continued our hunt.
We hiked up the draw about two miles, all the while in stealth mode listening for distant bugles or glimpses of elk.
We decided to hike the opposite slope but first decided a few calls might be productive.
I make a few pleading cow calls followed by a wimpy bull bugle.
Several minutes pass, then a bull erupts with a raspy sounding bugle.
It seems to be still quite a ways from us.
We hurry up the hill which was quite a hike straight up.




As we crest the top, we hear him again, this time he is coming straight toward us and we can also hear his harem of cows.

We decide to sit down right there and set up.
Thomas readies his Knight muzzleloader and gets a solid rest as he readies for this eminent encounter.
Suddenly, I see an elk.
I throw up my Swarovski's and there he is.
About 150 yards away I see the bull, he has very good browtines and heavy beams.
I whisper "SHOOT!"
It seems like an eternity, then "BOOM!" followed by a cloud of white smoke.

The bull still stands humped up as the cows crash through the timber.
Thomas frantically reloads his rifle, which is a mad scramble at best.

He gets the thing ready to roll and the woods are silent.

We let the bull sit for a few minutes, then Thomas cautiously sneaks forward.
I see him level his rifle and "BOOM!" he fires again.
I then hear the most Hellacious crash, it sounds like a semi rig crashing through the trees.

Thomas shouts out at the top of his lungs.....
"I JUST SMOKED A TOAD!"
"I LOVE YOU DAD!"

WOW.

I proudly holler back..."I LOVE YOU THOMAS!"


WE topped the hill and look down and can see the path of destruction where the bull crashed, flipped and careened down the mountain to his final resting place.





AS we approach the downed bull we realize that in the crash down the mountain he has broken off his browtines.



After some glory shots it was time for Dad to get to work.



As I skinned & caped the bull I found the perfectly mushroomed bullet.
The .50 cal Barnes TMZ performed to perfection.



We savored every moment of this hunt.





After dismantling the bull, we each took a shoulder back to the truck as we started the two mile hike back to get our packs.