November 2026
San Juan Bull: A Utah Archery Elk Hunt
Hunter: Brach Nelson
Species: Rocky Mountain Elk
Location: San Juan, Utah
Method: Archery
The opening weekend of the hunt was hot. After not seeing anything during the first couple of days, we decided to hike into an area where we had seen bulls in years past. Mason was spotting for me and Caden from across the canyon while we hiked in to get close to where we had put a trail camera up over the summer. We found a place to wait. As the sun began to go down, Mason radioed us and said that two bulls had fed out. We got into position and had a six-by-six in full velvet broadside at seventy yards. I decided to pass, as I was wanting something a little bigger, and this was only the opening weekend.
Second-Guessing the Pass
We spent the next week down there before heading home to see our wives and kids. We were home for a couple of days, then back down on the mountain. Going into the last few days of the hunt, I was getting nervous, thinking that I should have shot that first bull. It was the only bull we had gotten on, and we hadn’t been seeing much.
On Saturday, Caden and I spent the morning and part of the afternoon down in a canyon with a lot of elk that were talking back to our calls, but no luck. When we went back up the mountain to try another spot, Caden’s IT band froze up, so he and Tad manned the spotter while Mason and I hiked about 1,000 yards down a face in a windy hailstorm, jumping a chocolate bear.
He Just Came Back Out
After being down there for a couple of hours, we hadn’t seen many elk, but we could hear them in the distance. After checking in with Tad and Caden a few times, we turned the radio off for a bit. After a couple more hours, we checked back in. Caden was frustrated, as he’d watched a bull come out about 200 yards from us, but he couldn’t get in touch to tell us. The bull had fed back into the timber, and he said we’d lost our opportunity. But then, he said, “You guys, he just came back out of the trees! And he bedded down!”
Mason and I hightailed it to the spot they’d described, but we couldn’t see him yet. I shed my pack, and when we got to within ninety yards, we finally got eyes on him. He was bedded down and facing away, wind in our faces. Mason and I crept in, only moving each time he let out a bugle. We were fifty-seven yards away when he stood up. We assumed the wind had swirled and that he’d caught scent. I drew back, aiming down what almost seemed like a path towards him, as there were two maple trees on each side, and he was right in the middle.
He was faced directly away from us, and as I held back my bow, I thought to myself, “Please don’t walk straight into the trees!” I held, and he gave me just enough of a turn that I was able to release the arrow and sink it right behind his shoulder. He jumped and started to run back towards us. He went down inside of fifty yards. It wasn’t until then that I had the adrenaline dump and my legs began to shake. As I turned around, Mason jumped on me and yelled! We made our way over to where he’d been when I shot him and followed his blood to where he’d lain down. Tad and Caden made their way down the face to come meet us for pictures and help us get him ready for the pack out. We boned him out, and each of us had over a hundred pounds in our packs as we made the 967-yard climb with 1,000 feet of elevation gain back to my truck.
Three Amazing Friends
This was an amazing experience with three amazing friends. I couldn’t have done it without them. Caden and I spent fifteen days on the mountain, and to be able to have Tad and Mason there for some of that time is something I will cherish forever. Also, Mason took a few videos of us sneaking in, and Caden and Tad got the whole thing on video—so awesome!
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