Nevada Elk Hunting: Bo's Mega Bull

My hands were shaking. The giant bull looked like a yellow school bus standing in the sunlight. Was this real? My heart was pounding out of my chest. Was anyone else watching this bull? It looked like he had a Christmas tree tangled in his antlers. I knew right away this was one of the biggest bulls I’d ever seen. The giant bull and his buddy were 825 yards away. I was terrified of screwing this up. Jumping back to spring application season, I had seriously considered no longer applying in Nevada due to the high cost with such low odds. Well, I’m so thankful I stayed the course and continued to apply in Nevada. I was stunned to see the result of “Successful” for my first bull elk choice.
 
We were blessed with an amazing fall of hunting, so this November rifle hunt received the least amount of planning. I had some basic intel on the Nevada unit. Unfortunately, my good hunting buddy had to bail at the last minute. I was heading to Nevada completely solo.
 
On my long drive to Nevada, I reached out to the Huntin’ Fool team. Garth Jenson and Matt White were both super helpful in getting me pumped up for the hunt. Being my first ever hunt in Nevada, I was excited and anxious to get into the unit.
 
The unit was incredibly remote and required a quarter tank of gas just to get one way into my unit from the closest town. I had brought extra gas but not enough. By my second day, I found myself back in town buying more gas jugs.
 
This was a highly-coveted tag and one of the best units in the state, so I was shocked at how many giant hunting camps were in the area. It was a bit intimidating being a solo hunter when there were so many people, tents, campers, trucks, and ATVs spread throughout the unit.
 
By the third day of scouting and hiking the unit, the pressure was getting to me and I was completely exasperated. It was difficult to get away from the ATV crowds. Even after a few 8-10 mile hikes, I hadn’t located any mature bulls. It was time to relocate.
 
Before I knew it, I was inching my Land Cruiser up an incredibly steep mountain. There was no way to turn around. I had to keep going. All of a sudden, there was a three-foot rut in the middle of this jeep road. My tires were balanced on either side of this rut. My heart was pounding, and I was terrified. Of course, it was getting dark and starting to snow. “Why am I such an idiot and get myself in these situations?”


 
Moving to a different part of the unit was a game changer. This side of the unit was more huntable terrain without needing a long ATV ride. Driving unexplored roads in the dark always stresses me out. I had managed to navigate these crazy roads and get deep into the other side of the unit. I was super pumped to get up on a few new glassing knobs at first light.
 
Hiking up a ridge in the dark, I had seen ATV lights moving in my direction. Once at the top, I saw what looked like a guide and his hunter heading in the direction that I had planned to go. I changed course and hiked in the opposite direction. I crossed a small canyon and hiked up to the rocky knob, and the wind was howling. That’s when I glanced over with my naked eye in total disbelief. I yanked my Swarovski NL Pures to my eyes.
 
There was a stud bull standing out in the wide open with the sun glowing on him. He looked like a school bus. There were two bulls together. They looked so incredibly nervous that even 800+ yards away I was terrified to screw this up. The wind was howling in my face and away from the bulls.
 
The next thing I knew, the bulls looked like they had disappeared, but I quickly realized they had just stepped in the shadows of pinyon and juniper trees. It was mind blowing that the bull that looked as big as a school bus simply vanished by stepping into the shade. My first concern was if anyone else was watching this bull. After studying both bulls in my new mini Swarovski spotter, the second bull was a gorgeous 7x7. He just didn’t have the same “Wow!” factor as the stud 6x7 with giant royal points. The tree branches stuck in the antlers of the stud bull were making my heart skip an extra beat with pure excitement.
 
It was time to make a move. I had mapped out a route to get close to the bulls that were now both bedded. I climbed back down the backside of the knob, staying completely out of sight. All of a sudden, I walked up on a clearing with a completely flat spot and totally unobstructed view of the stud bull. I changed my plans and decided this was the best vantage for me.


 
I got my Gunwerks 28 Nosler set up with bipod and rear bag. The bull hadn’t moved, so I quickly set up my spotter with Scope Cam to try and film. My heart was racing as I slid the extra 180 grain Hybrid Target Berger bullet in the chamber and closed the bolt. There was a slight breeze, so I made a wind adjustment. A few relaxed breaths, check parallax, gently pull the trigger. The suppressed rifle barked, and I lost my sight picture. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the bull looked hit on my phone screen. I scrambled to find the bull again in my scope. He was down and kicking, so I sent one more just to make sure this was a clean kill.
 
I rolled over on my back in complete disbelief. Did this really just happen? I was thrilled and thankful for this fortunate chain of events. There was a tremendous amount of work ahead, so I hustled over to lay hands on this awesome bull.
 
After the always challenging solo photoshoot, I broke down the bull, taking care to get the meat in the shade as soon as possible. With all the meat in the shade, I finally enjoyed a ceremonial cup of coffee and a snack. This was a huge blessing, and I wanted to soak up every bit of this incredible experience.
 
Having never even seen this country before in the daylight, I was a bit anxious about how to get back to my truck. There were a few cliffs that I had to navigate around. Thankfully, I made it back to my truck with the first load shortly after dark.
 
With the help of onX, I relocated my truck closer to the meat to shorten the remaining pack outs the next day.
 
I also want to recognize the local guide who I had briefly met for the first time at the gas station in town. This stud of a gentleman knew I was completely solo and sent me a message checking on my hunt. To my disbelief, he showed up the next day to help me pack out this bull. Wow! What a stud!
 
This was an awesome solo adventure in Nevada. I am thankful for the incredible experience and amazing adventure. What a blessing!