Wayne in BC
New member
After the excitement wore off we examined Cliff's Bull, he was huge, a herdmaster in his prime! 7 points on one side and 8 on the other, massive bases and length of beam, and i was thinking he may be close to record book size. I was an official measurer for Boone and Crockett and had a good idea but without a tape i was not saying anything to Cliff, did not want to get his hopes up. It did not matter as he was pumped, he had taken several Bulls over the years but never a true trophy. I was quietly feeling sorry for him because that meat would be tough
As Cliff field dressed the Bull i was caping it and struggling with the small axe and a wire saw to free the skull plate. We would pack the head down the mountain (and the liver cause we had lots of onions with us
) that late afternoon and were hurrying to keep the daylight.
We hated leaving the meat overnight, the risk of a Grizzly finding it was always present and we would lose the meat because fighting a Grizz for it could never come to any good for us or the poor bear who was just being a bear and did not deserve to die for it.....neither did we.
Therefore we emptied our bladders several feet away and all around the propped open and cooling meat after i dumped the last of the coarse salt on it from doing the cape, we always had 2 lbs in our packs in the warm early season.
The first hour going down was bad enough even in the daylight, then it got dark.......
Those antlers are wide, heavy and awkward on a bush trail. The antlers, cape, and skull plate weighed about 70 odd lbs and one gains a whole new respect for an animal that can run through thick timber all day carrying those while picking fights!
We each would carry for 10 minutes or so, the head sitting on the pack, our hands holding the brow tines, the wadded and tied cape on the pack with the antlers swept back. Glad to trade off, legs burning from balancing over logs and rocks we both fell a couple times, it was now full dark, and still, at our snails pace, an hour from camp. The flashlight was used sparingly a few seconds at a time by the guy not carrying to help light the way in the darker places beneath the trees.
I was leading with the light, being careful to keep it out of our eyes, moving ahead then turning to shine it on the ground for Cliff whenever an obstacle, stump, rock etc showed up. I had just turned to navigate another steep spot in the trail when i heard a bitten off curse and a thump! coupled with a grunt/moan. Thinking he had barked a shin or such i flipped a comment about clumsy clowns but hearing another low moan, i turned with the light to see my buddy on his back, one brow tine protruding under his arm and a look of pain and fear on his face!
As i bent to him he hissed.....don't move me! One tine is in my back! It hurts bad and i can feel the blood running.
Its late.....continued tomorrow maybe
As Cliff field dressed the Bull i was caping it and struggling with the small axe and a wire saw to free the skull plate. We would pack the head down the mountain (and the liver cause we had lots of onions with us
) that late afternoon and were hurrying to keep the daylight.We hated leaving the meat overnight, the risk of a Grizzly finding it was always present and we would lose the meat because fighting a Grizz for it could never come to any good for us or the poor bear who was just being a bear and did not deserve to die for it.....neither did we.
Therefore we emptied our bladders several feet away and all around the propped open and cooling meat after i dumped the last of the coarse salt on it from doing the cape, we always had 2 lbs in our packs in the warm early season.
The first hour going down was bad enough even in the daylight, then it got dark.......
Those antlers are wide, heavy and awkward on a bush trail. The antlers, cape, and skull plate weighed about 70 odd lbs and one gains a whole new respect for an animal that can run through thick timber all day carrying those while picking fights!
We each would carry for 10 minutes or so, the head sitting on the pack, our hands holding the brow tines, the wadded and tied cape on the pack with the antlers swept back. Glad to trade off, legs burning from balancing over logs and rocks we both fell a couple times, it was now full dark, and still, at our snails pace, an hour from camp. The flashlight was used sparingly a few seconds at a time by the guy not carrying to help light the way in the darker places beneath the trees.
I was leading with the light, being careful to keep it out of our eyes, moving ahead then turning to shine it on the ground for Cliff whenever an obstacle, stump, rock etc showed up. I had just turned to navigate another steep spot in the trail when i heard a bitten off curse and a thump! coupled with a grunt/moan. Thinking he had barked a shin or such i flipped a comment about clumsy clowns but hearing another low moan, i turned with the light to see my buddy on his back, one brow tine protruding under his arm and a look of pain and fear on his face!
As i bent to him he hissed.....don't move me! One tine is in my back! It hurts bad and i can feel the blood running.
Its late.....continued tomorrow maybe
