5X6 Bull Elk, 2003

This is a picture of a bull taken in the Bob Marshall Wilderness in Montana. I had ridden my horse and lead four pack mules 14 miles into the wilderness to camp. On the second day of the hunt at first light, I saw 40 head of elk high on the mountain silhouetted on the four inches of new snow. It took my horse and me one and a half hours to get within shooting distance. I could see about 15 elk with this one bigger bull. I took the shot at 235 yards from above the elk. The 300 Winchester Magnum Remington core-lokt hit the 5X6 bull in the left shoulder and went through the right shoulder, stopping at the hide on the left shoulder. He took only a few steps before going down. If you look closely at the photo, you can see a small bump low on his right shoulder. That is the Remington core-lokt under the hide. After gutting the bull, I headed back to camp to saddle two pack mules to haul the bull the six miles back to camp.

Having shot the elk at 8:30 a.m., it took me till about noon to get back up the hill to the elk. Skinning and quartering the elk took some time, as I was hunting alone. After quartering and bagging the quarters in the game bags, I had to load the mules and head the six miles back to camp. The trip down the snow covered mountain was uneventful until Shania, my lead mule, fell on the steep hill side. Being a big strong mule, she jumped back to her feet, and we arrived at camp at 6:00 p.m. The next morning I loaded the mules with the bull and camp gear and headed the 14 miles back to the trail head. Remington core-lokts made the hunt successful. --Ray Woodside

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