My buddy Jim's high country bull..

Jim Byers

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On last Friday evening around 6:30 I receive the text, "bull down."
For those of you who live in the west know what that means.. your plans just got changed.. if a buddy kills...your going in to help..
One of my two best friends, Jim and John have been hunting this high country area for three years now.. having taken three archery and two rifle bulls out of there in the past three seasons.. this archery season was a bust cause the feed dried out up high early this year but despite it they continued to make the 6 mile and 2000 vertical foot accent into there each week.. well Friday they head in to break camp and move to lower attitude.. wouldn't you know it Jim cuts a fresh track not 50 yards from their camp and finds the bull not more than 300 yards distant... boom, bang flop...
I get the text within minutes.. snow is deep I'm told.. conditions difficult..
An extraction plan is made.. They break down the bull into manageable boneless loads.. it is decided that the easier way out is not the way they came in from.. dropping off the backside of the mountain would allow for the use of an old gated logging trail for the last 3.5 miles at least.. and considering they had a mature bull plus camp, gear and rifles, that old road allows the use of sleds and my game cart as well.
They will spend Saturday getting 1/2 the meat and some non essential gear to that road, hike back to their camp and spend the night.at daylight that will break camp and carry the remaining elk and gear to the road... I will be coming in the 3.5 miles or so on the road with cart and snow sleds.. we meat at the rally point, load everything and make the pull out.. All went well...it took us 4 1/2 hours to cover the 3.5 miles... carts+sleds+ deep soft snow = a serious grind...
 
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Myself and my old trusty game cart... I pulled 156lbs of the 262 lbs of boneless meat we recovered from this elk.

I was smiling cause we just hit the gate and my truck was just on the other side..
 
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Jim and John ready for a lift home.

This is the fifth bull I've helped them take off that mountain. I sure wish they'd hunt closer the road...I'm getting to old for this $&#!!
 
This also makes for the fourth bull I've helped retrieve this season.. and there's several week's left yet.. hope to get John on a bull Friday...
 
Nice bull. Elk are a lot of work. I never realized how much bigger they are than a deer until I helped pack the first one out. I've never had an easy one, but I've never had one nearly as hard as your buddies bull there either!
 
Nice Bull!! One heck of a cart out too!! Those especially hard but successful hunts make for the best stories down the road!! Nice Job......
 
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