Jackson Baugh writes, "7-east Rifle bull ends today, Dec. 4th, and both my Dad and I finally tagged out. On Saturday the 29th, we hiked up one of the numerous cinder cones north of the San Francisco peaks, slowly walking 5 yards then stopping to look through the thick pinon trees. Usually on the north side in the pines is where the bulls will bed.

We had tried several hills that morning and now it was about 11:30. Very unexpectedly, about 10 yards away, a bull stands up from the shadows of a pinon. I raised my .300 WSM and fired at the quartering away bull. In a moment, he was gone. I hurried to where he stood, but no blood and even worse no track, as the ground was still frozen.

We fanned out and started spinning circles. My Dad later told me that he though there might have been another bull with him as he heard one crashing though the trees. We searched all day. I believed that being so close, that I had over shot or missed all together and with no sign to go off of, I very well could have. But, I didn't feel quite right, so we kept hunting in the area hoping to find him or another bull.

On Monday morning, I was still-hunting near the base of the same cinder cone and saw a coyote (you know what that means). The bull my Dad had heard crashing away was the bull I had shot. As I got closer, the hindquarters had been eaten already. I tagged my bull and carried out the front, but come to find out all the meat was ruined. Talk about the right thing being the hardest to do! I could have hunted another elk, but I tagged this one. Luckily my Dad still had a tag and we filled it on the third with a spike...good meat for the freezer.

My bull should score about 290-300. He's got 3 main beams on the Left and in total he's a 7x8. Looking forward to next year."