here is what happened....we spotted this herd from about a mile away, glassing from a lookout where we could see an entire valley....7 days earlier Tom Miranda and his film crew where at this same spot and ultimately Tom arrowed his nice bull from 37 yds catching the whole thing on film for an upcoming episode on ESPN... back to the story...My guide and I headed out on foot to the area where we could approach the herd that was feeding in a meadow. Having attempted many spot and stalks all week thus far, we arrived this time with the wind in our face and prayed no wind swirling would ocur and bust us like had happened all week long,,,,fortunately my prayers were answered... the herd was at the meadows edge and we had positioned ourselves just inside the trees...I shed my pack and binocs, had my face camo net in place, my hands gloved, an arrow on the string and set out to stalk the last few feet of cover...moving carefully and slowly and leaving my guide behind...the wind continued strong in my face...a nice cow and calf were first to feed in range and I stood motionless at 32 yards hoping the wind would not alert them I was waiting...next came a very nice bull...Praise the Lord i rejoiced! I had seen bulls all week but not where I could confidently draw and comfortably set myself ready for a great shot. The big guys don't travel with the herds typically and when i had seen them, they often were moving about inside the group and not on an outer edge.... I had little time to think this over.. one instant there is a cow/calf and the next I am seeing massive horn bases, a dark head and then a quick glance to check sex and it was now or never...a small spruce sappling group hid me and my shooting lane was between the limbs and branches. I had already bent a few and twisted othe limbs to give me adaquate clearance to thread an arrow thru and now in an instant there he was...feeding along and in my shooting lane...My bow was already vertical, my fingers applied tension on the string, this was the moment and then he paused and looked up to view his surroundings... in one motion I drew... my 55lb Palmer at 28", stretching it to my 30.5" draw length and the 585 gr Easton FMJ 300 was set to do the job I had in mind when I put the 4 fletch 4" feathers on it. The 175 gr single bevel Zwickey head just touched my riser, anchor 1, then I touched my nose to the feather end,anchor 2, my leather glove tip touched my mouth corner and thumb caught the back of my jaw bone, anchor 3, and in my sight picture I focused on the spot behind the shoulder, just at the top of the the bottom 1/3 of his enormous body, all 1500lbs of him. Later i learned my guide ranged him at 32 yards from my shooting spot... Earlier in the week, 2 compound hunters had lost their bulls after sticking them and having them bust out and disappear into the timber and never recovered them... I was doing my best mentally,to not have him tagged and mounted before I even released the arrow... I prayed for calmness and asked God to annoint the path of my arrow and keep it free from deflection....I heard Rick Welch saying "hold, hold, hold..let everything stop moving" just as if he was there again beside me during his coaching school...I revisted the mental imagery I had rehearsed over and over and over again in my mind....seeing my sight picture with my bull in clear position, my chosen spot defined to individual hairs and upon release, my arrow, flying true to the spot..... then it happened, I released...as in slow motion, it all came together but as the arrow traveled part way to him, i went from releasing it, to the next moment of, what happened? My guide's whisper seemd like a silent shout..Did you miss him? Where is your arrow? Confused, I looked hard at the big bulls vital area and strained to see red and white feathers, nothing.... the big bull just stood there unaware a bow had just lanched an arrow his direction...My heart sunk, my eyes and ears told me I missed...there had been no familiar striking thud.. the sound successful hunters hear as the unmistakeable confirmation that their arrow found the mark...nothing... then the bull turned slightly and I caught the view of the broadhead and shaft exiting his other side! I was able to confirm a great hit, a pass thru penetration and now it made sense at that moment why I was not able to see feathers in the fur of his kill zone... they were not there but rather inside his body cavity! Now the heavy praying began..Dear Lord put this bull on the ground... keep me hidden and don't let him spook....and just that, He granted...the bull appeared as if nothing happened...I watched him intently... I studied his every move... Yes, he was beginning to appear weak! ... he stopped feeding and just took steps in the general direction away from my position... He got out to 66 yards and then to my satisfaction, laid down...at this point I am convinced there is a very good chance this hunt is almost over...I am thanking Jesus and praisng God and hoping he is down permanently...The rest of the herd continued feeding away and he did not care to join them..then I got nervous...He got back up and walked to the edge of a patch of willows. his steps less than solid, his hind quarters showing some wobble... fearing he may not be as hurt as he appeared...we backed out of our position to try and get close again for a 2nd arrow. The bull was not interested in staying with the rest of the herd. yet he was not in an approachable spot either...we were unable to stalk close enough to get a second shot.. He got to his feet again and went back toward the area where he first laid down. along the way, he chose to lay down again and this time he would not get back up. Without notice, the herd fed away and were soon into the trees at the meadows far edge...my bull did not rejoin them and we broke out of the cover of trees to begin the process of getting him back to camp. The outfitter was able to get his truck, equiped with a winch, into the meadow.
after a few pics we were on our way back to camp and I was thinking about a shoulder mount and backstraps for dinner....
Topic: Free Range Bison hunt pics (Read 1367 times)
