58 Colonial and The Bull Elk

[Freedom]

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

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.

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

 

[DuncNZ]

Wow , Great story , great hunt and getting a Bull in the rain in a lovely part of the country . Well done , that is an experience that will last a lifetime .

 

[Christophero]

You had to shoot this poor animal three times?

No, the first shot, as he wrote was a perfect double lung shot behind the shoulder. The elk was Mortality wounded and dying on his feet. The black powder smoke was so thick in the still air that determining the lethality of that first shot, though, was undeterminable. If you would have read closely, he wanted to finish it off quickly to ensure no one else tried to claim it as their own. When in doubt, keep shooting. He did very well.

 

[deermanok]

Excellent story and congratulations on the hunt.

 

[deertraks]

Congratulations! What an exciting story.

 

[VA Hawken]

Great pictures and story, and congratulations on a nice bull elk!

 

[BillKilgore]

Congrats on a magnificent elk. Also, thanks for posting a great story and pics. It felt like we were there, running through the sage and junipers with you. What state were you hunting in?

 

[bang]

Pay no attention to Rude. I'm sure Rude is perfect every time. Just ask.
One heck of a hunt.

 

[Ranger94]

“Oh, I hope this thing goes off” - I thought I was the only one who says this.

Wonderful story - you should consider writing articles for magazines.

What state are you hunting?

Thanks for a great morning read!

 

[sb 54 cal.]

very inspiring story to stay with your prey.

 

[Rudall]

No, the first shot, as he wrote was a perfect double lung shot behind the shoulder. The elk was Mortality wounded and dying on his feet. The black powder smoke was so thick in the still air that determining the lethality of that first shot, though, was undeterminable. If you would have read closely, he wanted to finish it off quickly to ensure no one else tried to claim it as their own. When in doubt, keep shooting. He did very well.

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.

 

[jdw276]

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.

Nope was not shot three times. Second shot took out a tree at 20 yds. Only twice. Gotta hate that when it happens. Might consider editing the post to twice.

"my opening and blew a 58 caliber hole through the middle of a 5-inch tree at 20 yards. Ughhh..RELOADED"

 

[Stykbow]

Congrats on a nice bull. Seems that I’ve read on several forums where lots of elk are shot multiple times even with modern firearms. I believe most prescribe to the “shoot till it’s down” school of thought in elk. Can’t say I’d do any different.

 

[Patocazador]

To the OP, nice job and outstanding photo of the bull.

Note: I have just placed "Rude(to)all" on my IGNORE list with his other perfect countryman, Feltwad.

 

[Loja man]

Great narrative!! You had me hooked!! I could feel your excitement!! Well done!! Elk are such big animals.
I also know hunters who take multiple shots with magnum cartridges to stop elk. Not just after bad shots but after kill shots.

 

[Brokennock]

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

Great story, very nicely told. Thank you for sharing it.
Ignore the fool from across the pond, for knows not of which he speaks.
Read some of the old tales of the early days of British hunting safaris in Africa,,, they dump more rounds into an animal at times than a Marine trying to put down a drugged up jihadi. And seem proud of it.

You did excellent. Your 1st shot would have been enough, but given the circumstances could still have resulted in a lost animal, following up was the right thing to do.

Great pictures too by the way, do you have any more from the hunt?

 

[mushka]

A good story in spite of the minor pissin contest. You done good. It looks a lot like the ranch that I hunted elk on in past years up in northern Arizona with the junipers and open places. Just your pictures brought back memories of those hunts. I than you for that.

 

[Walkingeagle]

I’ve been involved in a lot of elk kills, and the first thing I tell folks is that an elk ain’t dead until it is dead!! Elk being down doesn’t mean its dead…yet. I’ve seen elk get up after being hit with a more than adequate modern cartridge, only to never be recovered. As you approach a downed elk, be very ready, and any sign of life a follow up shot is a must!!
Walk

 

[Bushfire]

Great stuff mate did you recover the balls?

 

[tradoerr]

Congratulations!! Great story!