58 Colonial and The Bull Elk

[Freedom]

"The Texas Heart Shot"!!! That cracked me up!!!

Here is the tree I nailed with the second shot... I was 45 minutes trying to find my backpack that I had dropped onto the ground.
Thank goodness I put that piece of toilet paper in the tree! But if I hadn't found this piece of shiny new, blown-out wood.... I might still be searching for my backpack LOL

 

[Ranch 13]

Yup scared the bark right off of it. Common occurrence among them pine tress when elk hunters are a float. LOL

 

[Pukka Bundook]

That looks a lot like a "Butt shot" Freedom!

I hope the mods clean this thread up and remove all the silliness!

 

[minish]

deleted post was quoted here

Here is the tree I nailed with the second shot... I was 45 minutes trying to find my backpack that I had dropped onto the ground.
Thank goodness I put that piece of toilet paper in the tree! But if I hadn't found this piece of shiny new, blown-out wood.... I might still be searching for my backpack LOL
View attachment 177542

I’ve heard of “barking” squirrels, but not elk!. Great story, thanks!

 

[Brokennock]

Don't fret over that Brit.. just keep using your "report" and "ignore" buttons! Don't engage these folks.. absolutely never quote them! The mods will clean up their posts and it'll be "as if they never were"...

You're story is excellent and well written.
I love the later inclusion of the picture of your trophy class tree,

Given the dilution and degeneration of the topic thread that follows I feel it would be most excellent if you would copy and paste your story, to include the tree pic and others of course, to the section labeled "Hunting Journal."
This would allow it to stand freely without further comment from those of us in the peanut gallery.

It is well worth reading again.

 

[PathfinderNC]

Thoroughly engaging and wonderful hunting stories! It seems you have channeled the spirit of long hunters of long ago

 

[Eterry]

Please stop discussing politics outside the premium section.

 

[Freedom]

You're story is excellent and well written.
I love the later inclusion of the picture of your trophy class tree,

Given the dilution and degeneration of the topic thread that follows I feel it would be most excellent if you would copy and paste your story, to include the tree pic and others of course, to the section labeled "Hunting Journal."
This would allow it to stand freely without further comment from those of us in the peanut gallery.

It is well worth reading again.

That is a great idea Brokennock.
That way I will even be able to share it with my family.
I still have a few more pictures to share too.
I will keep updating this thread a little longer so that I can get everything in order... Then I'll do as you suggest.

 

[Meriwether]

The thread has had a severe clean up. And I love the amazing photos. Let's keep this about this great hunting trip.
Congratulations Freedom475.

 

[ElkStalker]

Man, that sounds like the perfect elk hunt. Congratulations!!!!! I haven’t harvested an elk with my muzzleloader yet, but this story is all the things I dream about. It’s amazing how tough these animals are. Your story causes me to doubt the capability of my 50cal.

 

[Brokennock]

Man, that sounds like the perfect elk hunt. Congratulations!!!!! I haven’t harvested an elk with my muzzleloader yet, but this story is all the things I dream about. It’s amazing how tough these animals are. Your story causes me to doubt the capability of my 50cal.

Sometimes you guys make me wonder how bowhunters get the job done, lol

"If you can get closer, get closer. If you can get more stable, get more stable." - Col. Jeff Cooper

I also would want something larger than a .50 but I also dint doubt that the job can be dine with one. Probably just need a more precise shot from a closer distance compared to a larger ball. Nothing can live long with a hole through both lungs. Get that 1st shot placed properly and get a second one ready as quick as you can,,, and send it as soon as you can if need be.

 

[bushytail]

Congratulations!

 

[ElkStalker]

Sometimes you guys make me wonder how bowhunters get the job done, lol

"If you can get closer, get closer. If you can get more stable, get more stable." - Col. Jeff Cooper

I also would want something larger than a .50 but I also dint doubt that the job can be dine with one. Probably just need a more precise shot from a closer distance compared to a larger ball. Nothing can live long with a hole through both lungs. Get that 1st shot placed properly and get a second one ready as quick as you can,,, and send it as soon as you can if need be.

Bow seasons run during the rut, you can call elk in like turkeys. 3 months later, they are very very wary and not responsive to calls. At least that is what elk hunting is in my neck of the woods. If you can get within 75 yds of a bull elk this time of year, you got “real close”.

 

[Appowner]

Sometimes you guys make me wonder how bowhunters get the job done, lol
.................................

Patience! Lots and lots of patience. And not just the wife either.

I have always been amazed how much better I shoot when I'm hungry!

1969, my first deer with a bow when I was 16. It was near the end of the day and I was slowly making my way down the center of a small meadow before heading for the car. All day the deer had stayed in the edge of the woods so from where I was I could scan the woods on both sides of the meadow. As I moved my head back and forth, all of a sudden there appeared a four point buck some 15 yards dead in front of me. Being my first ever, had it not been such an easy shot I probably would have missed.

BTW, still have the same 54 pound recurve bow and the dozen Bear Broadhead fiberglass arrows.

 

[appalichian hunter]

Here is the tree I nailed with the second shot... I was 45 minutes trying to find my backpack that I had dropped onto the ground.
Thank goodness I put that piece of toilet paper in the tree! But if I hadn't found this piece of shiny new, blown-out wood.... I might still be searching for my backpack LOL
View attachment 177542

i carry a roll of orange surveyors tape for if those type of things happen, less chance of it blowing away, just tie a loop or two around the tree and let about 2-3 foot of it hang down lots easier to find especially if there is snow on the ground. When finished take the tape with you.

 

[Brokennock]

Patience! Lots and lots of patience. And not just the wife either.

I have always been amazed how much better I shoot when I'm hungry!

1969, my first deer with a bow when I was 16. It was near the end of the day and I was slowly making my way down the center of a small meadow before heading for the car. All day the deer had stayed in the edge of the woods so from where I was I could scan the woods on both sides of the meadow. As I moved my head back and forth, all of a sudden there appeared a four point buck some 15 yards dead in front of me. Being my first ever, had it not been such an easy shot I probably would have missed.

BTW, still have the same 54 pound recurve bow and the dozen Bear Broadhead fiberglass arrows.

Yes, I understand how we archers get things done.
My point was more that we do get it done,,, but some of the rifle guys on here actually like getting within 50 to 70 yards of certain animals can't be done,,,, despite archers getting within 10 to 30....

The gentleman referring to the elk run corresponding to archery season does also raise a good point.

 

[Keith Lilienthal]

With first-light beginning to scatter the darkness of night, I can faintly see the buckskin shapes of the magnificent Wapiti moving quietly through the sage.

The wind is perfectly in my favor. The lightly falling rain has softened the land, and silenced most of it's sounds. The smell of elk is all around me.

The terrain is comprised of shallow canyons full of old growth timber, and separated by open meadows of sagebrush and juniper trees.
My license is only good for a bull elk, and he has to have a brow tine (no spikes).

While slowly moving with the herd through the timber, I keep a close watch with my binoculars,....cow, cow, calf, spike, cow..?
Then I notice an extremely light colored elk moving through the openings in the timber. I can clearly make out his antlers. A legal bull!

The shot is an honest 80 yards through the broken timber. I take a knee to steady my shot, the bull see's my movement and stops, nicely framed in an opening through the timber. I thumb back the hammer with my soaking wet hand. The rain pours off the back of the lock... oh, I hope this thing goes off! BOOM!. The shot broke perfectly and I was quite proud of my follow-through given the excitement of the moment.
Down in the timber I can hear the unmistakable sound of the big roundball hitting hair. Whuomp! The heavy blue smoke just hung in the now quiet forest.

Dropping my backpack on the ground, I retrieve my possibles bag and horn from my pack and put them on. I quickly reload my rifle and flag the tree with a piece of toilet paper to mark the spot where the shot was taken.
(Now I know that an experienced hunter will wait a period of time for the animal to expire before giving chase... but when you're hunting public land on opening day, you don't wait, or someone else will inevitably be claiming your animal as their own.)

So I moved towards the area where I'd last seen the bull. 30 yards to my right he appears out of nowhere, throws his head back and with that perfect elk gate, he just trots over the ridge.

I scramble up the ridge and can see the bull going straight away slowly through the sage and junipers about 70 yards out. A big 4-ft boulder offers a solid rest. I line up the sights for the dreaded "Texas Heart-Shot" Bang!!...nothing(?) Missed my opening and blew a 58 caliber hole through the middle of a 5-inch tree at 20 yards. Ughhh..RELOADED!
Now the bull is at 100 yards and slightly quartering, so I aim to allow the ball to exit the opposing shoulder by way of his right hip...Bang! The thick blue smoke seemed to hang forever, and as it cleared I could see the bull struggling back to his feet...RELOADED!

Loading on the run I head out into the sagebrush. As I prime my pan, and snap the frizzen shut, a glance up to see where I'm going and I run right past the bull elk. He leaps to his feet and makes a full gallop circle past me like a flushing pheasant at 30 yards.
The 58 caliber hole from my first shot is now clearly visible right behind the shoulder. I recall thinking to myself "just stay on the gun and follow through", and I trigger the lock....Bang! At the shot the bull immediately slowed to walk and then stopped and stood 40 yards from me. RELOADED!!
As I quickly begin to reload my rifle, his Royal Majesty noses over, and gives up his spirit.
"The Beast is dead, long live the Beast"

Now, watching a bull elk run past the long barrel of a Kibler Colonial is hard to describe, it just has to be lived,..And yes, it is even more exciting than it sounds!
God Bless
View attachment 176791
The smoke from my last shot is still hanging in the sagebrush in the background of this photo.
Such a grand experience and a total blessing to be out amongst God's beautiful creation.
View attachment 176792

Kibler Colonial
58 caliber
.570 Lead RB
.018 Ticking
Neatsfoot oil lube
100 Gr. 2ffg Olde Eynsford
1816 fps Chronographed
View attachment 176793

That is impressive brother. That one guy is correct. You should write some suff for books and magazines.

 

[pamtnman]

This is an excellent post, thank you and congratulations. That cloud of smoke hanging in the background is beautiful. Get that picture framed at 24”x24”. Probably like 99.9% of the other readers here, I feel badly for the one bizarrely negative comment from Rudall. It’s best to hit the “ignore” button on this confused and abrasive person and expend no more energy engaging with him. Everyone else here is an experienced hunter and is cheering you on.

 

[pamtnman]

Was it or was it not shot three times? That's all I said.

The OP wrote:
The 58 caliber hole from my first shot is now clearly visible right behind the shoulder.

He doesn't say whether that was the entry wound or the exit and there is no mention of lungs or trajectory through the beast. And if he can't see what he is doing because of the smoke, then that is hardly an advertisement for black powder hunting.

Also, thank you but I can read perfectly well. And write, too. There were a couple of stylistic and grammatical errors in your post, but I doubt that you would want me to point them out.

Rude-to-all you are a strange person to be writing these clueless things on this website. This website is devoted to black powder and hunting with black powder firearms. If the subject bothers you, then remove yourself from it. Don’t maintain an abrasive presence here. This is both a request and life advice.

 

[2 shots]

great story, pics and rifle.