444pt bull just taken

[*zap*]

Awesome animal!

 

[Skinnj01]

That's insane! To dang hot to be hunting in July. For me.

 

[5MilesBack]

To each their own. I've never been a fan of velvet bucks or bulls. I would have already shot one last Fall though, during the rut. I'd rather have a 350" rut bull on the wall than a 440" velvet bull.

 

[Dos Perros]

Are we calling inches points now?

 

[kiddogy]

right on ! congrats to the man who kilt him!

wow , can you feel the jealousy !lol.
I suspect there are few(none) on this site who would have passed on that hunt or that bull if they were lucky enough to get the tag.

 

[fnf01]

So 444 mid july would it break 450 if out of velvet? In other words aren’t the antlers still supposed to be growing right now?

 

[2five7]

So 444 mid july would it break 450 if out of velvet? In other words aren’t the antlers still supposed to be growing right now?

That bull is likely all done growing, or close enough for it not to matter. Velvet actually adds to gross score, somewhere around 3% or so.

 

[805Bowhunter]

That bull is likely all done growing, or close enough for it not to matter. Velvet actually adds to gross score, somewhere around 3% or so.

The 3% is interesting. Makes sense but I never thought about that. I’ve only shot two blacktail that were in velvet and I didn’t score either one.

 

[5MilesBack]

I suspect there are few(none) on this site who would have passed on that hunt or that bull if they were lucky enough to get the tag.

Like I said above........wouldn't have passed on the tag or hunt, but I would have already been done with it last Fall. Have no idea why someone would pass up the rut hunting for a July velvet hunt. But I'm sure there are those that prefer velvet........I guess.

 

[DenverCountryBoy]

Seems like saying you scored with a 20 year old Bo Derek - after you gave her rohypnol.

Pulled a Cosby.

 

[robby denning]

They musta thought he’d finished growing or the public tag holder knew of the bull.

What a giant. Good job God.


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[dakotaduner]

Wow congratulations to the hunter. Incredible animal by all accounts

 

[Dkiss103]

stud

 

[Hoghead]

Nice bull.

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[Thomas11]

Am I the only one that doesn’t see 444 of inches? I mean I know he’s in velvet but I don’t see the point length to get there. He just look that big to me! But I could very well be wrong and he is a giant but 444 is really big.

 

[deerkiller]

Seems like saying you scored with a 20 year old Bo Derek - after you gave her rohypnol.

THAT is funny, don't care who you are !!

 

[deerkiller]

Bull was taken July 15th, the hunter hired a primo guide seeking a true trophy. Now I personally have no problem with that...respect it even. Tens of thousands of people enter that raffle and winning is like winning the lotto so why not find a local expert and go for it. Who wouldn't want a 400+ trophy bull? If I were the guy in that pic, I'd want a skilled hand helping me skin this once-in-a-lifetime bull for a shoulder mount. I have hunted elk solo and it's much harder without a good caller helping you pull em in. But some people just wanna criticize everything and everyone...dragging us all down. Fine, be that way. I saw the pic and was like, "That's a damn fine bull and I can't wait for September!" I'll be hunting bulls in unit 8 with a recurve this year. I can only dream of drawing back on the monarch like this. Kudos to the guys who got it done. Oh and I can attest to the superior taste of a velvet bull, I've taken two in summer in Colorado on AG vouchers. They were fat and had been feeding on crops and are delicious before getting all rutted up. Best freezer meat you'll get.

View attachment 111427

this is a "good news … bad news" sort of thing - it's legal which is a big point - he obviously has the $$$, another big point - it employs local guides and such which is a good thing as long as those guides and outfitters are not driven to "money means everything" styles - with no competition (July) it's not truly a "trophy" in most hunters' estimation but then again, it's gonna look impressive hangin' on a wall (the Spider Bull story made my ass ache)
I have no personal knowledge of this but all my rancher friends (a few) say "August elk" is the best eatin' of them all …..

 

[wind gypsy]

Can we bring it back to life just to see what it would look like hard horned!? Excited to see if the hype of moisture conditions produces some monsters in the SW this fall!

 

[Beendare]

Killer bull- nice.

Not my style of experience though.

 

[Life_Feeds_On_Life]

To each their own. I've never been a fan of velvet bucks or bulls. I would have already shot one last Fall though, during the rut. I'd rather have a 350" rut bull on the wall than a 440" velvet bull.

While I agree that a velvet bull doesn't look at cool as hard horned, the antler growth in AZ this last season wasn't the best plus if you're hunting in the rut you're competing with others as well. With the raffle tag you have 365 days to hunt statewide so I guess it just depends what you really want but this way they drop a giant before everyone else gets a crack.