![]() Someone e-mailed that video clip to a MossBack guide and he contacted longtime client Austad. Anyone who drew a tag for the Monroe Mountain Unit was hunting there in bow and muzzleloader season. In August 2008, a video of the live bull walking public land surfaced on the Internet. It's a fact that about every hunter in the area knew about the bull. Verde said many other hunters had the same opportunity to bag the Spider Bull. We wouldn't be in business if we did things like that." Other accusations range from MossBack guides blocking public access to the hunt area and intimidating other hunters who had heard of this public-land trophy. No tattoos were present on the Spider Bull, said Verde of MossBack. "There are a few elk ranches near Monroe and this elk looks pretty 'ranchy.' No way of saying for sure though." "Looks like a ranch elk," said one central Utah taxidermist who asked that his name not be mentioned. In phone interviews with, some wondered if it was even a wild bull at all. "For hunters who are passionate about America's tradition of free, public hunting and fret the implications of trophy hunting at any cost, the Spider Bull represents a troubling trend." "There are a couple of unsettling aspects to this story," he wrote on the F&S Web site. He also had a large number of guides scouting out the location of the bull for him while he was still in Idaho.Īustad had purchased a six-figure Governor's Tag for the right to hunt any game management unit in the state with whatever legal weapon he wanted to use (Governor's Tag proceeds go to wildlife conservation organizations).įield & Stream writer Andrew McKean called this hunt "troubling." Austad claims he hunted just as hard for two weeks to take the Spider Bull.īut he used a centerfire rifle in muzzleloader season. The Ammon, Idaho, man has taken record pronghorn antelope and mule deer among other hard-to-hunt game. Maybe there is something to the accusations.Īustad is a well-known hunter in the Western big-game circles. While sentiments of congratulations pour in, just as many observers complain about the way the majestic bull fell. The G1s, also called fronts, and G3s are especially mesmerizing. All bulls have unique tine lengths, points and shapes, but the Spider Bull is overwhelming to elk-hunting experts. The term "spider" comes from guide Doyle Moss' reaction to the way the tines form what looks like the legs of a spider. "Something like this, a pending world record, hasn't sunk in yet, but it's starting to." "The reality still hasn't set in," said Brandon Verde of MossBack Outfitters. ![]() The current world record non-typical is a 465 2/8 bull found dead in 1994 at Upper Arrow Lake, British Columbia. Never before in the record-keeping club's 100-year history has anyone come close to taking, or even finding, an elk with these proportions: a green-score 500 4/8 inches total antler length, and a net score of 488 B&C inches. ![]() The armchair sportsmen recognize that they're watching hunting history being made. Most hunters have a big congratulations for Austad and the MossBack guides. Since then, the Spider Bull has had a life of its own on Internet chat rooms and outdoor sites. 30, 2008, Austad dropped it with a shot from a rifle he designed himself. Hunter Denny Austad hired MossBack Outfitters to help him find this 9x12 bull elk on public land in the central Utah area near Monroe. "Its tines are splayed out" like a spider's legs.ĭenny Austad poses with the 'Spider Bull' that stands to be a world record. "The Spider Bull is an outstanding specimen and aptly named," said Keith Balfourd, B&C's director of marketing, as he looked at a photo of the bull on the Internet. The huge-racked "Spider Bull," as the outfitter calls it, reportedly green scores more than 500 Boone and Crockett Club non-typical gross points (the current world record is 465 2/8). An Idaho hunter tagged what looks to be a new world record Rocky Mountain elk.
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