Longbow Creek Reunion

[Kevin Dill]

We kept our heads down and headed out into the valley. I kept us to low ground and tried to avoid the noisier brush. Experience gave me an edge when it came to judging how far we needed to go, and where the bull might likely pass. We selected a couple spruce trees maybe 20 yards apart and split up. I spent about 3 minutes pruning and clipping small branches to give myself every possible edge in getting a clean shot if one presented itself. I heard the snip-snip of pruners coming from Jeff's position and I knew he was doing the same. I lofted a couple cow bawls up the valley and then we waited.



I was beginning to wonder how long this might take, and then I saw what we all crave. Big tall antlers were far out ahead and above the brush, but working toward us. A couple more cow calls to encourage him. I signaled Jeff that I had a visual on the bull. I was just beginning to think this might actually work out, and then I spotted the cow accompanying him. I couldn't believe the amount of bad luck this represented for us. The cow obviously wanted to hang with him and I knew she would be a huge complication. Girls always cause problems, right? Apparently the bull felt the same as I did because....with no warning...he spun and threatened the cow with a toss of his massive head. He snorted simultaneously and the flirtatious cow was suddenly running for cover. Imagine that; a big bull that turns down a cow because he's feeling surly. Suddenly good and bad luck were back in harmonious balance it seemed.

This is NOT the bull in the story, but it is one JT nearly killed at the same location a few years ago. Same approximate size too:

 

[Kevin Dill]

The bull was meandering, but definitely coming our direction. So far the air movements had held in our favor, but I didn't trust that to continue. The situation felt fragile....uncertain...and the question was whether he would get within our desirable range. I didn't want him to pinpoint my location, but needed to bring hm close. I dropped a couple little cow squeals just to help vector him into our trap. And here he came...walking like only a big dominant bull does with those heavy shoulders, and the rack tilting side to side. Mesmerizing. I remember thinking these exact words: “I was born to be here in this moment...to do this”. Everything slowed down for me. I could see his mouth open and hear the grunts. I began answering his grunts with my own...a rhythmic dance of vocals between us. He pulled up at 20 yards and stopped broadside, big as any draft horse. Surveying the area, he was seeing no moose and I felt he probably wouldn't hang around. I wanted him to relax and give one of us a sweet shot. I fell back on a trick I learned many years ago and gave him some very low volume bull talk. He answered the same and we exchanged maybe 8 or 10 of those in total. It worked, but not necessarily the way I expected.

 

[Agross]

Always enjoy your threads. keep It coming.

 

[Kevin Dill]

Love or War. The bull was ready for either possibility. Fully wide-open and broadside at 20 yards, he studied the area. Then without warning he braced his massive shoulders and lowered his head into the scrub birch and blueberry brush, raking hard and aggressively. At that moment I realized it was time to swing the bat. Head down...eyes blocked...raking hard...chest fully exposed. I recall seeing the longbow rise in front of me and the broadhead coming back as I began the draw. The arrow suddenly crashed through ribs and into the chest, and I instantly knew the bull was dead on his feet. The sting of the arrow put the bull into flight and...as he ran past Jeff's position...I saw his recurve coming up and a swing-draw happen. Jeff's arrow smacked the bull in the chest about 4 inches from mine....as cool and perfect a running shot as any man has ever made. We watched the bull pound out to maybe 60 or 70 yards, where he stopped, turned and crashed to earth.

I like to think the last thing he saw was his beautiful valley.

 

[Kevin Dill]

You really had to be there in the moment to know how we felt. I swear...our eyes were literally blazing as we looked at each other over the 15 yards of brush. The intensity of such an encounter puts a brand on your mind which can't be erased ever. I found my knees and had an emotional moment under the spruce, then joined Jeff for the walk-up. Approaching any game animal I've taken is always a solemn thing for me. I want to burn the image and moment into my memory. We approached the bull from his rear and marveled at his size.

 

[bbrown]

This is awesome Kevin! Thanks for taking us along

 

[Kevin Dill]

The first thing that struck me was seeing my broadhead and shaft protruding straight up out of the bull's chest. It was a perfect testament to the killing power of the longbow and a good 2-blade broadhead. Complete penetration is extremely desirable when hoping to drop a huge bull as quickly and humanely as possible.

I knew this bull had good fronts (brow palms and points) but seeing them up close made them simply amazing. Six points on the left and five on the right as we counted them. I did not measure or even estimate overall width, as I'm one of those guys who has no interest in measurement numbers.

We admired the bull and replayed the sequence of events leading up to the kill. Then we headed off to camp for a quick bite before starting a long day of butchering and packing.

 

[Kevin Dill]

A couple photos were in order of course.

 

[Nick Muche]

Tremendous! Fantastic account of your hunt, congrats on the success!

 

[Kevin Dill]

The bull died in a great spot for butchering, and only a couple hundred yards from the airstrip. We got busy and made meat....lots of it. I notified the important people of the kill, and our pilot cruised past an hour or so later to survey our progress. We finished the chores by late afternoon and cached the meat near The Twins, putting up the electric fence to protect it. Sadly, I discovered the batteries (new alkalines) were totally DOA and the fence therefore had no juice. The answer was juice of another type...urine. We/I basically hosed the perimeter of the fenced area with our urine every day until the plane arrived. I turned the meat bags religiously twice a day and made certain they were cold and protected. It was 4 days later when meat pickup happened and the meat was in great shape. I skinned the head out at the cache site and carefully discarded the waste.

 

[Kevin Dill]

Jeff continued to hunt hard, and moose were moving the next morning. I joined him from time to time, while also keeping up with camp and meat care chores. Moose activity (near us) dropped off hard on the 20th, and I had a creeping feeling about the weather. The NWS forecast had us in a zone of snow with 4-8 inches and maybe localized 10 inches, along with up to 40 mph winds. We needed to do some camp work quick. Tents got adjusted, and guy-lines put in. Extra wood gathered. Tarp the meat cache. It began snowing as we were working, and our world was white by dinner time. Thankfully we were on the northern edge of the snow zone. By morning we had only a heavy skiff and the skies didn't look all that terrible. The higher hills around us were obviously cloaked in deeper snow on top.

 

[Kevin Dill]

Experience told me we probably needed to get out at our first opportunity, lest we find ourselves part of a backlog waiting for eventual pickup. That's how it is sometimes at the end of a hunt...you go when you can, even if it means an unfilled tag. About 9 am I heard a Super Cub and knew our meat was getting picked up. Our pilot advised us to immediately start breaking down camp so he could get us out before the weather changed. Two loads of meat and antlers went out while we hurriedly packed up our camps. Jeff was first out, and 45 minutes later I was loaded and gone. Two planes and a truck ride later, we were back in Fairbanks. A couple more hours and we had all the meat packed in labeled plastic totes and into a freezer. Time to hit the shower.

 

[Kevin Dill]

Rental cars were just about impossible to find, but my wife set us up with this little beauty. We were in a class of our own as we ran around town the next couple days.

Cool things: While walking the creek one day I noticed an odd rock and picked it up. Turned out to be a perfect heart-shaped quartz stone with beautiful markings.

Did I mention that I have a blueberry problem? I miss them.

 

[Wapiti1]

What a great experience. Thanks for sharing it with us, Kevin.

Not a writer, my ass.

Jeremy

 

[Kevin Dill]

We stopped by The Great Alaskan Bowl Company, which has some phenomenal wood pieces for sale. I found this remarkable spalted birch arrowhead bowl...truly one of a kind...and bought if for us.

I also bought my coffee-loving bride a rather stiff brew to try.

 

[Kevin Dill]

The weather in Fairbanks didn't really improve much and the snow persisted. Great town, and I always love it but it was time to go home. One last celebratory meal at The Pump House and we jumped on our redeye flight home.

 

[Kevin Dill]

Little epilogue.

I damaged my right knee on the hunt. I was in a lot of pain after the hunt and really hobbled. Doc says it's a torn meniscus and I'll be a while recovering. Not very happy about that. All my moose meat made it home along with 15 pounds of fresh halibut. No gear issues on my end. Jeff actually suffered stage 2 frostbite on the bottoms of both feet and toes during the hunt, and he's having considerable pain still. I'm still adjusting to 'normal' life and missing the valley I love. About 340 days to count down until my return with my very good friend and partner for 2022. JT... if you're reading this, get it together.

Moose meat is extremely valuable to me and more important than antlers. We brought out over 500 pounds of it and all of it went home with us. Mine is now cut and vacuum sealed in the freezer. It's a very good feeling to see almost 200 packages of roasts, steaks, burger, and tips in there. Nothing but gratitude for that big bull and the nutrition he will provide us.

Thanks for following along. My one piece of advice: Don't be a dreamer. If you want it, go get it. Alaska is still big, still beautiful, and still wild.
KD

 

[USMC2602]

Fantastic, thank you for sharing it so meaningfully.

 

[Agross]

Congrats !! Great write up and awesome pics. Thanks for sharing.

 

[BAKPAKR]

Thanks for sharing a great story and congrats on a cool bull.