FIRST BULL!!!
By Montana Grant

Posted: August 25, 2018

Bull elk are amazing critters! How can something so big, with such huge antlers, survive in our wild places?

Only a small percent of elk hunters fills their tags. Rifle hunters score most often while bow hunters score even less. Less than 25% of elk hunters tag out.

When deer hunters dream, they see bull elk. If they do not live in elk country, hunting elk is on their bucket list. Giant deer are always more exciting. Many save up for years to get a crack at a huge Bull. It is called hunting and there are no guarantees that you will tag out, but the hunting memory is huge.

Harvesting a Big Bull also means meat for the freezer, a hide to tan, antlers or head to mount, and Elk Ivories for rings and jewelry.

You never forget your first elk. Each moment is permanently etched into our brains. The memory of the first Bull will determine what kind of hunter you become. If you shot a bull off the back of farm truck, hauled it with a tractor, and had someone else butcher it, it will not make you much of a hunter. No sweat or effort was needed. Sure, you tagged a bull but… This was too easy and not much of a challenge.

If your first Bull was bugled in atop a mountain, arrowed at 20 yards or less, and packed out several miles, you have earned the title of an Elk Hunter. This Bull was well earned, hard, and memorable.

You know what kind of elk hunter you are. Did you carry the antlers with pride? Did you give the meat away or feed your family and friends? Are you excited every fall to hunt elk again?

Every Bull feels like the first Bull when you harvest them legally, ethically, and honestly. You will elk hunt for life even if you never tag out again. It is great because it is hard. The hunt is an annual test of whether you can still hunt. There are only so many elk hunts in a hunter’s life. Enjoy them all and celebrate your annual pilgrimage into the wild mountains of Elk Country.

Hunt hard!

Montana Grant

For more Montana Grant, bugle him up at www.montanagrantfishing.com.

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