Sunday morning we got up early to get on the road, heading back home, and to look for moose while driving. Slightly discouraged since we hadn’t seen any moose all weekend (previous weekend we saw quite a few), but onward we went. The previous night we had supper with a few of my uncles, aunt and dad. All of them telling my wife to keep working at it, and with all the work she was putting in it would happen sometime soon. Dad straight up said, "Don't kid yourself, there's probably a good one hanging around within a few miles of us right now."
Within a half hour of hitting roads to head home Sunday morning the wife spotted a good bull just outside the last row of a 80 acre corn field. He was in the 40-42 inch range. We watched him for an hour and he decided to move, we shadowed him for nearly 7 miles before we lost him. Within 30 seconds of losing him out the right window of the pickup, I looked to my left and spotted another bull in the middle of a soybean field. I knew he wasn’t quite as wide, but he had great tine length and was much, much more uniform, just a better looking bull overall. What are the odds of taking the gravel road we did, losing sight of one bull, and just glancing to the left and seeing another one? It was meant to be at that very moment. Wife said, I'm going to kill that bull.
I called dad and he slowly made his way to us. We put the bull to bed in the 2nd of 5 large half mile long evergreen tree rows. We chatted about it and headed back to the farm for a good breakfast and to make a game plan.
Around 10:00 am we left the farm. We stopped at landowners house to get permission as we were needing to come from the west/southwest, through a quarter of his non harvested soybeans. The landowner was great and wished us luck. Winds were S/SE at 2-5 mph. We geared up and I grabbed my paddle (wood boat oar)and rangefinder. Wife got her bow all ready and dad dropped us off, and he drove to NE corner of 3rd tree row and got the spotter on the bull, and us. This is around 10:20 am.
The beans were loud, and crunchy, and we were in 10-12 inches of standing water multiple times for hundreds of yards, as they've had some insane rain up north the last week. We took our time as best we could, but I keep thinking we are too loud and this is over before it began. At this point I’m estimating we are under 200 yards. The closer we get to tree row, the drier the beans are, and the louder they are. We both know this is a long shot that the bull is still there. We take another 10-15 minutes to get to tree row. Wife is behind me and I peak around corner.
He’s still there!!!! Sleeping hard like a baby. 74 yards. I get back behind tree and tell wife she is going to go in front of me. I’ll range over her shoulder and tell her distances the entire time. With my hand on her shoulder we SLOWLY move straight east towards sleeping bull. It’s 11:20 am now.
We inch forward.
At 52 yards he woke up and lifted his head. I immediately bull called twice and hammered the evergreen tree next to me with my oar. He gets to his feet quickly and shakes his head violently. We have now woke up and pissed off a big brown bull moose. I pull wife back behind me. I’m still calling and raking tree. He turns to his nearest tree and rips the absolute hell out of it for 5-10 seconds. We keep pushing forward. He is now walking at us head on.
I keep calling but now have the paddle over my head. Tilting it back and forth, back and forth, continual calling every 15-20 seconds. Range finder in one hand, paddle in left hand over my head. He’s snorting back at me while I call. He matches my tilting of paddle with his own back and forth swaying motion of his head.
We are now 34 yards and closing.
I range again and it’s 31, and I tell wife to draw. She tells me to GET CLOSER. I'm sure the look on my face towards her was priceless at this moment as I'm about shitting myself. But we continue to move forward. I’m quietly telling her the distances. I stop completely and bull stops. I tell wife I’m moving straight north to get him broadside as he's still head on with us. Wife stays in tree line and I slowly move north into bean field. I call him again and he moves towards me again, mimicking every move I make with my paddle back and forth. He’s ready to square up.
I move 5-6 yards into bean field drawing bull out of tree line towards me. I am not in a safe position. I have no cover, and I am too far away from tree to dive in. I range one more time. 22 yards. I tell wife, first pin, 22 yards center punch that fucker!
A few seconds later I hear the beautiful THWAP of an arrow hitting the bull behind the shoulder and watching 25+ inches of arrow disappear into him.
He makes a heavy noise as she just double lunged him. He trots 50 yards to north and I start calling again. I see some arrow break off, but only a few inches. We starting recording with phone and I can see the blood coming out of his left side. He’s done, he just doesn’t know it yet.
Wife is shaking uncontrollably and I’m gitty as ever. My wife just killed a beautiful Nodak bull with her bow. We watch and record the bull for the next 120 seconds and he dumps over dead on film. It is now 11:31 am.
Wife called my dad right away as he was watching through spotter entire time. She’s crying, I’m crying and laughing like a child. She called and FaceTimed our nephews as they are such big parts of our lives. She called her mom and best friend.
We gave him 15 minutes and then made the 100 yard or so walk to him. The Lord was thanked a lot at that moment. Dad made his way down tree row and hugs and high 5’s all around. Tag was put on and some pictures taken. More phone calls made and the real work began to get him out of field, gutted and skinned in a quick manner, as it was 80 some degrees out.
Special thanks to the landowner, my dad, my uncles and neighbor for all of their help. A truly once in a lifetime experience with family and friends that I will never forget.
I'm beyond stoked for my wife. She worked really hard like she always does in anything she does, she practiced with her bow almost every night the last few months, getting her draw weight up to a comfortable 51 lbs on a near 28 inch draw. A perfect ending to the biggest highlight of my hunting career yet to date. This one is Simply hard to put into words boys and girls. It was insane. INSANE. I have never had a high like that in my life, ever.
Equipment : PSE Stinger, 28 inch draw, 51 lb draw, 500 grain Gold Tip arrows, 100 grain Exodus broadheads.
Still riding the high today, 2 days later. I hope this feeling never ends, and I wasn't even the one sending the arrow.
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I'll try getting the write up on here sometime today. One hell of a hunt and amazing story!
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