The dream of hunting big bulls started nearly 20 years ago for me. When I was a young child I used to beg my Dad to tell me hunting stories as I lay in bed about to go to sleep. It was then that the dreaming began. The dreams developed as I got older. Soon my Dad and I would dream together about hunting big bull elk as we drove around Black Mesa looking at big bucks. My Dad spoke of wanting to take a hunt out of state and hunt bull elk using horses, a dream I shared. During March of this year I found out that the dream of chasing big bull elk was going to come true as I found out I had won a fully guided elk hunt in Colorado with Bookcliff Outfitters. It was a simple Facebook contest. I liked and shared a photo. The winner was to be announced at 10 o’clock one evening. I was studying for an accounting test when I realized it was time of the announcement, I checked Facebook on my phone expecting to see another person’s name. Low and behold I read the post and it says, “The winner for the fully guided elk hunt is….Greg Acton of Utah.” I flipped my phone around to show my wife and she immediately asked, “is that real?!” That is when the adrenaline kicked in and my hands started shaking, a feeling that ironically would happen a short seven months later as I sat with a huge six point bull in my sites, but I’ll get to that later. The next seven months were filled with anticipation, excitement and a lot of day dreaming of the bulls I would eventually be able to chase. I thought long and hard on which rifle to use for my hunt. As many know, my dad passed away in a tragic plane crash along with two other amazing Blanding men. As stated previously, my dad and I had long dreamed of chasing big bull elk together. It only felt right taking the rifle he was given by his Dad when he was just 10 years old, a beautiful model 70 in 308 caliber. I also deemed my dad’s hunters orange hat with the “Elk Ridge Restaurant, Blanding Utah” logo on it. If I were to live the dream shared by my dad, I was going to do it with him by my side. Soon it was time to head to elk camp. I met my guide, Jake Nay, in Vernal Utah on Friday October 10th. We met up with his good friend Whit and we headed out to camp. Opening morning proved eventful. We saw a small six point bull which I opted to pass on. We also saw a herd of about 30 elk up on a distant hill side that was impossible to get to in time to have any type of a decent shot. That afternoon Jake too myself and Les, another hunter, up a canyon that was littered with small clearings perfect for feeding. Not long after entering the canyon we heard two herd bulls bugling back and forth. Jake opted to leave Les and Whit behind to watch a meadow in case the closer bull came out to feed. Jake and I hiked deeper in to the canyon to get a head of the other bull in case he decided to push further in to the canyon. After a decent hike we stopped to listen for bugles. The bulls simple stopped talking. We sat there for nearly a half hour with no bugle to speak of. Jake decided to head back down the canyon towards Whit and Les. As we slowly hiked down the bottom of the canyon we head a deep bugle through the thick forest maybe 250 yards away. We slowly started walking towards it and heard another bugle by the same bull. It was game time! The wind was perfect. We still knew there were obstacles to get back. We were walking through dense forest and being quiet was a task in and of itself. We made the slow hike towards the bugle not able to see any elk because of the dense bushes and trees. Eventually Jake spotted a cow elk through some trees feeding in a clearing. We had a creek bed to cross before we could see any other elk. As we started down the ravine the cow took off to a trot, we thought for sure we had spooked the cow and that the herd, along with the big bull, would leave. Luckily the cow stopped and began feeding again. We slowly, and I mean very slowly, walked down the ravine, crossed the creek bed and went up the other side. Jake was 5-10 feet ahead of me. We started seeing more elk. Jake turned, walked back to me and said “there is a big 6 point and I want you to shoot him.” This is when the adrenaline kicked in. I walked up and could see the bull feeding away from Jake and I. We slipped 15 yards to the south in order to have a clear shooting window as we were still in the cover of the trees on the edge of the clearing the elk were feeding on. I knelt down 60-70 yards away from the bull of my dreams. As I looked through the old Weaver scope on my Dad’s 308 my heart started beating out of my chest. My hands shook with excitement. I took a long deep breath and squeezed the trigger. I hit the bull, the cows scattered and the bull turned broad side. Jake said quickly, “shoot him again.” I shot again. The bull started quartering towards us. Jake once again said quickly, “shoot him again.” I shot again and the bull stumbled. Jake said, “put another one in him!” I shot again the bull reared back then dropped in his tracks. My dream bull was down! What an amazing experience! The celebration/photo shoot began. I couldn’t have been happier with the bull I had just had the opportunity to take. He is a beautiful six point bull. We prepped the bull and left him in the canyon overnight. The next day we went back with horses, quartered the bull out and packed him on the horses. I can’t thank Jake Nay enough. As described by Whit, Jake is has an equivalent of a PhD in elk hunting. I couldn’t agree more. The stalk we made on this bull was flawless, much credit going to Jake. The dream of chasing big bull elk came true. I had dreamt of chasing bull elk with my Dad and I did. Not only was he there with him in memory as I held his rifle and wore his hat, he was there along with me. He shares my joy of the hunt. That is what hunting is all about. Tradition and heritage, they do not stop when loved ones pass on. They care on. My dad’s dream came true as his son was able to do what they had discussed countless times. My dreams will come true as I pass on the hunting tradition to my future children. I can’t thank Bookcliff Outfitters and Zelus Outdoors enough. They helped dreams come true. I can’t write this story without thanking my wonderful wife as well. She has supported my dreams in every way. Thank you Becky! May we all develop dreams and seek to fulfill them. Let us foster a love for the outdoors in our families. Families grow closer as they spend time in the hills.
Posted on: Wed, 15 Oct 2014 17:11:42 +0000
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