CO 1st season bull

[huntsman22]

Drove from my home in eastern Co. friday to my mountain elk grounds 250 miles away. At 7:00 am on the saturday opener, I had a nice freezer bull down. Had him packed out, struck camp, and was home before bedtime sat. nite. Rifle was a Kimber Montana in 260 rem., range about 60 yds., bullet thru both shoulders(recovered), bull stumbled and nose-dived into a downed quakie. A real whirlwind of a day.....Don

[acloco]

AWESOME! That will be some good eating. Great hunt!!

Barnes bullet by chance?

[huntsman22]

Yep, 130 gr tsx

[WYLDRUCKUS]

GREAT JOB

[Ray P]

huntsman22............ Congrads and nice pics and story. Good bullet performance. Have you used this bullet before or is it the 1st time? Thanks for sharing and enjoy the meat.
Later
Ray P

[huntsman22]

Ray, this is the second bull I've killed with this rifle/bullet combo. Both under 100 yds and both never made it but maybe 10 feet. The first one fell to a neck shot. I do have a few boxes of the 120 grainers to try, but I'm not out of 130's yet. Don

[Rick in Oregon]

Don, way to go buddy! Sort of a short elk season, but hey, you were hunting elk after all, and took a nice bull home the same day you got there....sweet.

Two things I'd like to comment on; first, this should settle the debate about .308-based cartridges being "too small" for elk (re: the Magnum Boys). Second: The Barnes TSX's just plain work!

Nice bull, sweet little rifle, good photos. Thanks for sharing, I bet you're still smiling.

[Glen]

Nice lookin bull you got there!! Congratulations for sure!!

[Guy M]

Huntsman - you have to throw him back. You didn't take him with a Magnum - therefore he's not really been taken...

Excellent job and thanks for sharing the great photos. Nice looking elk!

Congrats, Guy

[bullfrog]

Nice bull Don. I always like seeing recovered bullets also. Very interesting to see.
You must know those hills pretty well!

[huntsman22]

Maybe.......I've been there once or twice, OR most every year since '78. It was easier when I lived there, and didn't have to drive halfway across the state....... Thanks, guys. Don

[huntsman22]

I covered his horns in black leather and mounted them to a black-bordered maple base. Colorado/euro style... He is on the wall, and I like how it came out. Don



closer up....

[bullfrog]

That came out great Don!
I've tried a "do it yourself" kit for a set of deer antlers once, and it just wouldn't turn out right. But I think you've got yourself a real nice look using that black leather. Looks like it stretched over the skull nicely so that you didn't end up with a bunch of wrinkles.
You might want to patent that.

[Guy M]

The mount looks great!

Trophy deer mounts here have gone up to the $500 - $600 range, with at least a six month wait, more likely a year. I've become real fond of the European mount or simply putting the antlers on a wooden plaque and hanging 'em on the wall like that. Looks good, price is right and turnaround time is fast. Your black leather looks great - haven't seen it done quite like that before.

Regards, Guy

[huntsman22]

Thanks, guy and 'frog. The reason I cover with leather is, I am too cheap to hire it cleaned by beetles and too lazy to want the mess of boiling. I've done a few, and all ya gotta do is clean 'em up a little and let dry before wrapping. So much easier than the alternatives...... another bull, in brown.

A set of deer horns in turquoise...