Trad Gang

Congratulations are in order for Steve Osminski. Steve just returned from Arizona where he took a huge 6x6 with his 53# Super Shrew Longbow. Steve was using 35-55 GT carbons with 250gr Wensel Woodsman broadheads up front.

Note the glazed look in Steves eyes in the picture    ;)    

Congratulations Steve, it couldn't have happened to a more deserving person.

   (http://www.shrewbows.com/rons_linkpics/stevesbull.JPG)

WOW super elk!

Yeah Ron! What was the weight of that 53# Super Shrew he was shooting?  :D

Way to Go!!!

Super bull...Congrats Steve   :thumbsup:    :notworthy:

That's one big hoss right there. Very nice Steve!

I forgot to mention that Steve is from Michigan and he is quite an accomplished hunter. Having said that, this is his first big game animal taken with a stick bow. Steve felt very fortunate to draw a tag for Arizona and he was considering hunting with a compound. A friend talked him out of it and fortunatly for Steve(and his friend) everything worked out for the best.    :bigsmyl:

I see I am a little late with my story  :D  

I sent out a little note to my friends this morning and have been trying to catch up on all the work I have missed for the past two weeks.

I did manage to set up a Photobucket account, so we will see how that works.

First off, everything you have heard or read about AZ is true.  IF you can draw an archery tag, in  any unit, I think you are going to have an experience you will not forget.  My buddy and I actually saw and judged 36 bull elk in our 2 days of scouting and 12 days of hunting.  27 of those would have made P&Y!  We had probably an equal number of encounters with bulls we could not see due to cover.  It was an amazing experience.  The bulls were very vocal, but did not really come in to our calls.  We did a lot of stalking and ambushing by talking with and listening to them.

(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b351/osminski/54f08237.jpg)
Here is a nice rub.  I am pointing to branches that are broken out of my reach.  I am 6'-1".  The bulls were rubbing on trees the size of my thigh and snapping pines thicker than my wrist.  

(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b351/osminski/4e40ec6f.jpg)

My gear: 53# Super Shrew Chameleon with bamboo limbs and elk antler tips from a shed I found on my last trip to AZ (good karma).  This bow has the Bevel-Lok takedown system and is a dream to travel with.  Gold Tip 35/55 XT with 250g Wensel Woodsman.  They weighed 550g total.  I love that CatQuiver fanny pack, but if anyone wants to trade the Mini Quiver itself that attaches to it for a Great Northern bow quiver, give me a PM.

(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b351/osminski/41a68943.jpg)

My bull.  He is everything I ever dreamed of.  The pictures really don't do him justice as I am not a big fan of the Chuck Adams pose (standing behind with outstreched arms)  ;)  .  I cannot get my hands around the main beam until after the last point.  He is a mature bull elk and that is all I really ever hoped for.  The taxidermist scored him at 363" gross and 352" net and his main beams are just a smidge under 55".

I hope these pics work so I can share with my "friends" here.  This is a wonderful place and I missed checking in to see what I could learn while I was gone.

Great bull, congrats!!!!

A big congratulations. Can't beat those Super Shrews.

Awesome!

It sure don't get any better than that - Way to go Steve!    :scared:

Steve: That is indeed a wonderful bull. What unit were you hunting in and what elevation? What kind of temperatures did you encounter?

Steve, congratulations on a really great bull!!

Sorry Steve if I stole any of your thunder. I didn't know when or if you were going to be able to post any pictures so I took the liberty of starting the thread and putting up a picture. I'm leaving in the morning for the Michigan opener and I wanted everyone to know about your success.   :thumbsup:

Bill,

I can't give out the specific unit, but I will say it was in the White Mountains and the elevation was 7-8000 ft.  Temps were 40s in the am and 80s in the pm.  There are a half dozen units surrounding the Indian Reservation and they are all good.  Actually, ALL the units out there are good!  I was talking with a fellow at Compton this year that took a bull that would make mine look like a raghorn and he was out by Flagstaff.

Joe,

Up close and personal???  I don't think I mentioned the shot distance, but since you mentioned it, it was LESS than 10 FEET.  It is funny, but as everything went into slow moting as I was shooting, I swear I heard Gene Wensel saying; "Heck, I'm a pretty good shot at 10 feet"   :saywhat:

Congrats , very nice animal :0)

Ron,

No problem, I'm just glad I saw your post before I made another.  It did not dawn on me that post would have been about me, I was looking forward to seeing who shot the monster elk.

For those of you who do not know, Ron was the friend that helped me over my compound "devil".  I got rid of my compounds 3 years ago, and due to me drawing some pretty nice rifle tags out west, I have not had much time hunting at home with my Shrews.  To make a long story short, my confidence was in the tubes and in a weak moment I bought a new compound.  I shot it occasionally and could hit at 60 yds what I do at 20 with my stickbows.  I spent some sleepless nights after drawing this tag but after talking to Ron with his experience and just the right amount of shame   :notworthy:   thrown in for stewing, I was back on the right track.  I sold that bow for a nice loss and chalked it up to experience.  From the time I saw the bull to the time my arrow was in him was less than 3 seconds and I could have NEVER done that with ANY other bow than one of my Super Shrews.

Congats on a great bull.

Dave

Great animal! Congrats on the trad kill  :thumbsup:

QuoteFrom the time I saw the bull to the time my arrow was in him was less than 3 seconds and I could have NEVER done that with ANY other bow than one of my Super Shrews.

The waiting time for a Shrew is getting longer by the minute.      

12 months to wait for a bow....tough

3 seconds to put an arrow in a bull....priceless   :bigsmyl:

Way to go Steve!Fantastic!  :thumbsup:

Very nice, I will take one 1" thick steak!!(LOL!!)It is always nice to see that first Trad kill. Congrats!!! Shawn

Wonderful Elk! The smell and sound will stay with you always.
Did you get a complete pass through with the Wensels?

10 FEET!!!    :scared:    :scared:    :scared:    Bet you didn't save that pair of underwear!

Steve,

That's an incredible bull.  Congratulations on a fine animal and for doing it the RIGHT way.

Steve, Good hunt! Isn't it a great place to hunt? My son got his first elk this year and is as proud as he can be. They saw about 200 elk in the area he was hunting. Az. is a real sleeper when it comes to hunts. I sure love this country. You should see some of the mulies we saw this year. Great year for big racks. Glad you had a good time here in this great state.......Chort

Congrats on a great hunt!  :bigsmyl:

Great hunt Steve and great job.  I happy for you in that you did it with traditional equipment too, seems like it was meant to be.


David

WOW, what a great bull!!!  Good for you Steve..Jim

Fantastic animal.
Well done .

Some day! I can only dream  :)  

Thanks for sharing.

Dan

John Nail,

It went in up to the feathers.  It either broke the shaft or worked itself all the way into the cavity as I did not find the shaft.  I boned him out so I did not go in the cavity and I saw him go down so I did not track him.  At that point in time all I was concerned with was getting him cut up and not letting anything go bad.

Many Congrats Steve....sounds like you had a heck of an experience....one to last you a lifetime.

Good job Steve O.  Your time to shine.   :thumbsup:  

Beautiful bull.

We do not have elk here in Arizona! They are just funny looking deer.
Good going Steve. Was the bull the one eating my flowers here at the ranch?
Nice to see a Stickman taking an elk. I had a buddy that took a well known Compound shooter out that has a bowhunting TV show. I will not buy that guys product anymore, very poor ethics. I will not post what happen,would give the anti's fuel for the fire. Nice bull Steve.

Egads what a critter!

  :notworthy:

Congrats!! It was the right year to draw a tag. You Michigan Boys are hard on the AZ Elk herds. We might have to put a stipulation in our regs about that. A MI recurve shooter killed a huge bull in a Unit near me last year and the fact he used a recurve became the talk of the town. Some acted like it was some form of voodoo or something.

Took note of the ASAT too. Same outfit I was wearing when I killed a (much smaller) bull at 6 yards and this years deer. That stuff works good.

Ron are you sure that is a Shrew   :bigsmyl:  
Real nice Steve, Congratulations. Bob

Hey Bob, What are you doing up so early? I thought only your helpers got going this early.     :bigsmyl:     Of coarse you can tell right away if it's a Shrew after you shoot the first arrow, by the blistering speed and incredible accuracy            

Simply awesome..... Congrats...  :thumbsup:  AZ is Elk Nirvana for sure..... Terry

Great Bull Congrats

Congratulations Steve. That's a fine looking bow, I'm mean bull!   ;)

53# and a 3 blade woodsman.....the question of bow weight and elk with other than 2 blade comes up a lot. That'll be a good reference for some to know.

Save some loins for Comptons next year. We'll show you how to properly eat,err I'm mean cook them.   :D

Great bull!  I ran into a father/son hunting in my NM unit, they were from AZ and told me about all the talking the bulls were doing there, ours were very quiet.

What unit may I ask?

Congrads, super bull!

Ron I'm in training in case I have to get up early to hunt.. The help doen't even know when or if I'm up. Shrew and WW was a good combination, Sure don't need 70# to take Elk.

Outstanding!!!!!

How ya gonna top that'un there?

QuoteSave some loins for Comptons next year. We'll show you how to properly eat,err I'm mean cook them.   :D    

Ray, Steve told me he was going to put the loins in his chili for the chili contest at Compton next year. This year he made a really good batch made with Blacktail deer and black beans. Gene Wensel was a chili judge and when he ask Steve what broadhead he used on the Blacktail, Steve said,"I used a .270" Gene said, "WRONG ANSWER!" So next year he's going to try to win Genes vote with elk loin in the chili killed with a Wensel Woodsman.  

Now thats funny, I dont care who ya are.

BadKarma, it WAS funny to see the look on Gene's face (thru gobs of chili liberally slathered on said face).  With that said, I am a very honest person, but, I really wanted to tell him the answer he is looking for  :D  .

I swear the first thing I thought of when I knew that bull was mine was "my 6 year old son is going to be so proud of me and we are going to WIN that stinkin' chili contest this next year!!!"

Steve O. great story and what a "Bruiser" of a bull.  I too think of my 8 year old son when I am out hunting in the high country, looking forward to the time when he is along side me.

Sounds like you have an edge on the next Chili Cookoff.

Larry

What an awesome bull! Not to take anything away from Steve's hunting prowess (which is obviously awesome) but Ron, the Game Department called, and they want you to stop making the Super Shrew Chameleons.....waaaaay to deadly on the big game populations!

Steve,

I thought you had a great batch of chili this year. Just make sure you get any bows on order from Ron delivered before you whup him in the contest next year.   :readit:

Steve
My wife and I loved the chili 270 or not ( my favorite deer caliber)  Anyway who did you go thru to drawa a tag.  I would like my first elk hunt to be in Arizona or NM

Congrats on a super fine animal

Ray,

You know I'm pretty good at ciferin'--It would be a VERY cold day before I ground up some loin.  Believe me, I will have enough burger to last till June  :D  

Dalebow, I went thru myself to draw that tag.  I actually hunted turkeys in the same area years before and saw first hand the damage the bulls did the previous fall.  I did a lot of research and made some real good contacts and got lucky to draw the tag.

Ray
that is quite the accomplishment

10 feet.  I hunted pretty hard this elk season with my Super Shrew and WW broadheads but couldnt get-em closer than 40 yards.  Must be the cheapo shafts I'm using thats the problem.  Gold tips you say? I'm on it.  :bigsmyl:  

Congrats, that is quite impressive.

Beautiful animal! Congratulations!  :thumbsup:    :thumbsup:

Well guys, I got my official P&Y score:

361 gross and 350 1/8 net.  I'm filling out all my paperwork for P&Y and the Compton archives.  Never had to do THAT before  ;)  

I hope you all get the chance to hunt elk when they are in the rut, it was awesome  :thumbsup:

Nice Bull!!!!! Way to go!

Congrats Steve, thats one fine bull.    :thumbsup:

yikes, I can't believe I missed the first post. Awesome bull and equally awesome journey, way to go Steve! P&Y archives is just icing on the cake. - eric

Too cool Steve- 'Course you had plenty of room to spare so there really wasn't any doubt!

Beautiful bull, Steve.  Congrats!!!

Jerry

Way to go Steve, from your old fellow lol brother.  Gary told me all about it and I'm happy for you.

cote

Awesome bull! A mighty fine achievment for a guys first trade kill! Where does one go from there?

Steve, curious to know, did you use the services of a guide or was this a do it yourself hunt? If you used a guide would you PM me a contact number or info as I have been looking for a good guy in Arizona. Thanks.

Congrats again Steve. You'll have to bring that rack to the MBH banquet this May to show off in person.

I hope Steve posts his story here sometime that I got to preview before it went to our State bow hunting organization magazine. It was a very informative and well written article on an out of state, "do-it-yourself" hunt.

jeez...nice huntin

WOW!!! CONGRATULATIONS, STEVE!!!!!!!!  :thumbsup:

WOW!!! CONGRATULATIONS,is right!! I missed this one too

Hunt It--this was a DIY hunt.  I had hunted turkeys in the same unit a few years back so I had some familiarity with the area.  We did luck out though as the fellow we rented the cabin from was a die hard elk hunter and helped us learn a lot more about the area real quick.  He even went out with us a the first couple days to get his "fix".

That is a dandy, sure is a great feeling to bag a big bull with trad gear.  Congrats.