"King Of The Hill"

We first learned of this bull in September of 2023 while checking cameras, we had our first video of him. The camera had malfunctioned and stopped taking videos shortly after he appeared. He didn’t really grab our full attention in '23, nor did we have any information on his consistency to this area.

We placed a camera in the same location in 2024 hoping he would show back up. Not only did he show up, he was larger than last year and also we had two other large bulls on the same spot as well. The other bulls seemed to be pushed out by “King of The Hill” once he had arrived, as they never re-appeared on camera. We did believe we were very close to his fall area as the amount of sign he was leaving and camera videos shows he spends a lot of time in this spot.

This bull would be pursued by guides Jerod Kronholm and Matt Hunnewell teaming up with a pair of hunters Tessa and Byam.

On Tuesday evening of the September hunt the conditions were right to hunt this area. We setup and began our calling session. We received 6 different responses from bulls all at the same time. There seemed to be grunts coming from all directions. After sorting through all of the noise we could hear what sounded to be a fully mature bull on the hill, as well as one in the valley below us. Those two bulls stood out as we could hear large antlers hitting trees, and loud roars coming from their locations as a warning, suggesting to us “don’t come any closer”. We could also hear cows with them. Despite not laying eyes on the larger bulls that evening, we had figured out our game plan for the next morning.

We arrived to the area at first light and listened, not hearing as much as the evening prior. We made our way into the spot a short distance from our camera and quickly called in a small bull and then a mid to upper 40s class bull which we decided to pass. After checking the camera from the prior nights activity, we had a video of our target bull going towards where we thought he might bed.

We set up to call for him and had a cow respond. We made a plan and quickly relocated, spotting our target with 5 cows. The hunters, Tessa and Byam settled in to take long awaited shots on this incredible 56” bull.

This was the end of a story much greater than I can tell or could imagine, but we are humbled to have been a part of it.

Stay tuned to hear about “King of the valley” which came to a conclusion 2 days later.