Bull Jealousy

[AaronMColeman]

Here's the thing about those types of scenarios. It probably won't happen every year or even every 3, 4, or 5 years for those "lucky" people who shoot one near the Truck, on opening morning, or a massive 6x7 for their first bull. So let them have their day while you continue to build your skillset toward being one of the people who consistently gets opportunities every time out. Over time you will have the most rewarding experiences vs the dude who got lucky that one year.

Great thoughts! My experiences have been incredible, and I've learned so much this season.

You're good enough.

You're smart enough.

And doggone it, people like you.

Because you aren't shooting their elk.

Jeremy

P.S. I hope you are old enough to recognize the SNL reference here.

haha 100% Stewart Smally has been inspiring me for 25 years.

 

[cgasner1]

I look at it more like the elk has to get lucky every time I only gotta get lucky once


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[trophyhill]

Suck it up man! Get your alpha back!

 

[wannakillabigbull]

A few years ago I used to get really "bull jealous." I felt like I put in so much work, got on elk (and deer) but just couldn't close the deal on anything good. I kept wondering "why not me?" Honestly it was pretty exhausting emotionally; I wasn't even having fun anymore. Coming into last year I decided to make a concerted effort to stop worrying about everybody else. So I started to let it go, started to enjoy the journey more, started to focus on my personal growth instead of everybody else. And honestly it has been a game changer for me.

This year on my Colorado elk hunt I backpacked in about 6 miles solo for opening weekend. Woke up that first morning, hiked about 1500 feet up to my favorite spot and sure enough ran into another hunter. It was his first year with the tag and had shot a bull right in the spot I wanted to hunt. He had a couple horses and loaded the bull up and started packing him out. Two years ago I would have been all down on myself, wondering why it wasn't me instead of him, what the heck did I hike all the way in here for, and probably would have ruined my own opening weekend. But I stayed positive, was really happy for the guy, wished him a safe packout, and went about my day. I almost shot a nice 6-point that evening less than half a mile away, and ended up getting a cool bull the next week. I hope I can maintain this kind of attitude over the long haul because getting "bull jealous" can suck all the fun out of it.

 

[traviswdalton]

I’m one of those butthole out of state guys that killed an elk on my first day of hunting. Yes I consider myself very lucky.

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[Huntosolo]

ALWAYS practice positivity (you never know...) and time kills-eventually!

 

[trophyhill]

The best thing one can do is use each experience and each failed encounter to learn and self motivate. Our typical elkhunts for most of us average Joe hunters aren't what you see in a Primos video where you make a call, the herd bulls are running over each other to get to you, and you kill every time you call.

Don't get caught up in the millennial mentality of instant gratification and success either. Your hard work will pay off with a huge gut pile. Don't lose confidence. It's coming!

 

[elkduds]

OP, did you wonder who was bull-jealous the years you killed?

 

[Southforkguy]

You think its bad being jealous? I have been stewing over photos on line for at least 2 months now, safe to say I am green with envy. But now I am having my moment and posting my trophy photos . THings can turn around in a hurry! Recent grouse guiding photo with my AWS Keeper and a happy client, and my archery 8 point.

 

[forestpaper223]

More first world problems: I live in the unit I hunt so I still have until the end of the month. Plus I still have a deer tag, doe antelope tag, and a late cow tag in my pocket. Things could be worse

But it would have been nice if it you were the one who shot the deer. and shared the experience and Pictures lol

 

[AaronMColeman]

I’ll tell the story later, but after all this whining and being a baby I got one. Little raghorn but I’m pumped. Put in the work and your chances increase.

I’m not longer “bull jealous”.


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[trophyhill]

I’ll tell the story later, but after all this whining and being a baby I got one. Little raghorn but I’m pumped. Put in the work and your chances increase.

I’m not longer “bull jealous”.


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Can't wait to hear your success story! Congrats!

 

[Rich M]

I’ll tell the story later, but after all this whining and being a baby I got one. Little raghorn but I’m pumped. Put in the work and your chances increase.

I’m not longer “bull jealous”.

Excellent! Glad you got him!

I leave in 8 days and was supposed to be the only guy in our group with an elk tag. Last weekend was ML and a fellow sent me a cell phone photo of a bull (decent tall rack but fuzzy) and suddenly I'm not the only guy with an elk tag. LOL!

Hoping to tag one.

 

[kiddogy]

guess the sun shines on every dogs arse now an then , congrats!

 

[Donjuan]

This is how I feel in ks when someone rolls in and bags a booner whitetail

 

[AaronMColeman]

So, here's what happened...and I think this is all an analogy for the rest of life.

I spent all of archery season in the field (Sep 15-30). Called in tons of elk, drew back on probably 6, shot one in the shoulder (4" of penetration and the bull took off). It was a blast but no elk in the freezer. Rifle opened Oct 1st and I probably hunted 9-10 times between 1st and 15th.

On the 14th, I didn't want to hunt because I was worn out from hunting hard all weekend. But a buddy called, and I went with him for an evening hunt. For some reason I told him to turn down the wrong trail and we ended up in some country I don't know without enough light to move to the trail I wanted to be on. So to make the best of it I pulled out my OnX map and found a nice ridge with 3 good glassing spots. We hiked to the furthest and spent an hour just glassing meadows and timberlines. While we were glassing I would let out a sexy cow call every 5-10 min. The goal was to maybe draw in a raghorn looking for some action...I didn't expect any huge bulls or bugles in response, and I'm definitely going to shoot the first legal bull to give me a shot.

Around 630 I decided we couldn't move on anything we could see from that ridge and we decided to move to another point where we could move on the elk if they came out of the timber. As we loaded up to move, a raghorn (exactly what I was trying to call in) came right up to the tree we had been calling from...70 yards or so from me broadside...not still but trotting slowly. I threw off my right glove, took a quick standing shot, and he went down.

Not the biggest bull of all time, but we were in the wrong place, on a day I didn't want to hunt, neither of us are super experienced elk hunters, and our strategy was a half-assed "spot and stalk and cow party" plan.

Lesson 1: that's life sometimes, things work out best when the plan is all messed up, and I'm at my most frustrated.. Lesson 2: be patient and persistent, a few cow calls helps, and most bulls come in silently.

 

[cody21peterson]

This is my 6th season bowhunting. Zero success. Drew a good limited entry elk tag this year in Utah and I thought it would finally be my year. I hunted the last full week of the season and only saw 3 bulls. No shots. Not a lot of calling action. I met a kid with the same tag who was hunting on the other side of the mountain. He was into bulls everyday and killed a nice 340 bull. I consider myself quite unlucky but hunting is fun sometimes. You see a nice buck or bull and it keeps you coming back. I believe my time will come just don’t know when.


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[Wolf76]

A couple of years ago, I was that lucky hunter. My elk hunt lasted about 35 minutes. Shot the herd bull and he face planted almost instantly. Being as flatlander, I was barely adjusted to 6800' elevation.
Usually though, I'm like you and get frustrated by all the hard work-with a rather delayed payoff.
Hang in there-hoping you get that stud bull!

 

[Southforkguy]

No longer Bull jealous!! stoked for this opening day bull and maybe one of the only taken off the mountain before the snows hit!! As i said in my previous post, I am finally having my moment in the sun!

 

[jsb]

^^Nice job man