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Blake Howren, left, and his father, Brad, share congratulations after taking this large bull elk on Oct. 17 during the Cascade hunting season. The bull had a 6-by-7-point rack and was estimated to weigh more than 900 pounds.
Brad Howren and his son, Blake, have been hunting partners for more than 20 years.
The two, with numerous friends, have camped, stalked big game in the Cascade Mountains and gathered around the campfire at night to tell stories.
The Howrens now have a whopper of a story to tell, and it's true.
On Oct. 17, the opening day of the Cascade bull elk hunting season for rifle hunters, the two teamed up to take down a trophy bull that sported a 6-by-7-point rack.
“It's the biggest bull I've been around and I've been hunting since I was a teenager,” said Brad, now 62. “All I've ever encountered during the season is a spike. I didn't get this one, but I helped get it.”
“I've seen some elk that big before (hunting) season or at Dean's Creek (elk refuge near Reedsport), but nothing like this during the season,” said Blake, 35. “We've worked pretty hard (at hunting). It finally paid off. And we were lucky.
“Part of the reason why this was so cool was that dad had retired from Roseburg Forest Products, and we combined on this big bull together and it was kind of a send-off for his retirement,” the son added.
Brad, an electrician, retired from RFP after more than 40 years with the company. He lives in Myrtle Creek.
Blake, an Oregon Department of Transportation employee, lives in Roseburg.
The two were camped with six of their hunting friends up Rock Creek in the North Umpqua River drainage in the Cascades. They hunted an area on opening morning and then returned to camp for lunch. Believing they had jumped some elk during the morning hunt, they returned in the afternoon to about the same area.
They didn't see anything so they gathered at a logging landing to discuss strategy for the next day. Blake also made a cell phone call to tell his wife he was coming home that evening to get their 7-year-old son so the boy could join them for the next day's hunt.
But as the three rigs of hunters headed down the forest road, Brad driving the first rig and then Blake coming along next, Blake glanced down into the unit to his left and spotted elk. He stopped.
“They were feeding away,” he said. “I jumped out of the rig.”
Having motioned the third rig to stop, Blake hurried a few steps back down the road to improve his view of the animals and then edged over to the side. The first elk he saw when he looked through his scope was a big bull.
“They started to get nervous when we stopped,” Blake said of the elk. “They were definitely nervous after my first shot.”
The hunter took a 250-yard shot and hit the bull. But it continued on; Blake got off a second shot before the bull disappeared over a small finger ridge in the unit.
The elk, however, then moved in below Brad and friend Todd Vogt, who had gotten out of the first rig and hiked down off the road. They saw the bull.
“I took my time and hit it in behind the shoulder,” Brad said of his shot.
Blake, in the meantime, had gotten back in his rig, gone down a nearby spur road and with Brad directing him on the radio, drove in on the road that turned out to be only 25 to 30 yards below where the bull had gone down.
“He was a pretty tough bull to put down, for sure,” said Blake.
It was only the second bull he had ever tagged.
“You dream about getting one that big,” the hunter said. “When it comes true you don't really know what to think … excited, disbelief, maybe even a little relief that you actually did it. I don't know if I can top that. It's pretty awesome.”
Besides the impressive rack, the hunters got 449 pounds of hanging meat from it, so they figured the animal weighed more than 900 pounds live weight.
“It was a joint effort and we're both pretty tickled,” said Brad. “Now hopefully I can get a tag on one like that.”
The hunting party had more success before the weeklong season ended. A spike and a forked horn bull were both taken on Wednesday.
The Howrens also filled their tags during the Eastern Oregon mule deer season. The father and son were in a party of five that filled all five of their tags with bucks.
• You can reach Features editor Craig Reed at 957-4210 or by e-mail at creed@nrtoday.com.
The two, with numerous friends, have camped, stalked big game in the Cascade Mountains and gathered around the campfire at night to tell stories.
The Howrens now have a whopper of a story to tell, and it's true.
On Oct. 17, the opening day of the Cascade bull elk hunting season for rifle hunters, the two teamed up to take down a trophy bull that sported a 6-by-7-point rack.
“It's the biggest bull I've been around and I've been hunting since I was a teenager,” said Brad, now 62. “All I've ever encountered during the season is a spike. I didn't get this one, but I helped get it.”
“I've seen some elk that big before (hunting) season or at Dean's Creek (elk refuge near Reedsport), but nothing like this during the season,” said Blake, 35. “We've worked pretty hard (at hunting). It finally paid off. And we were lucky.
“Part of the reason why this was so cool was that dad had retired from Roseburg Forest Products, and we combined on this big bull together and it was kind of a send-off for his retirement,” the son added.
Brad, an electrician, retired from RFP after more than 40 years with the company. He lives in Myrtle Creek.
Blake, an Oregon Department of Transportation employee, lives in Roseburg.
The two were camped with six of their hunting friends up Rock Creek in the North Umpqua River drainage in the Cascades. They hunted an area on opening morning and then returned to camp for lunch. Believing they had jumped some elk during the morning hunt, they returned in the afternoon to about the same area.
They didn't see anything so they gathered at a logging landing to discuss strategy for the next day. Blake also made a cell phone call to tell his wife he was coming home that evening to get their 7-year-old son so the boy could join them for the next day's hunt.
But as the three rigs of hunters headed down the forest road, Brad driving the first rig and then Blake coming along next, Blake glanced down into the unit to his left and spotted elk. He stopped.
“They were feeding away,” he said. “I jumped out of the rig.”
Having motioned the third rig to stop, Blake hurried a few steps back down the road to improve his view of the animals and then edged over to the side. The first elk he saw when he looked through his scope was a big bull.
“They started to get nervous when we stopped,” Blake said of the elk. “They were definitely nervous after my first shot.”
The hunter took a 250-yard shot and hit the bull. But it continued on; Blake got off a second shot before the bull disappeared over a small finger ridge in the unit.
The elk, however, then moved in below Brad and friend Todd Vogt, who had gotten out of the first rig and hiked down off the road. They saw the bull.
“I took my time and hit it in behind the shoulder,” Brad said of his shot.
Blake, in the meantime, had gotten back in his rig, gone down a nearby spur road and with Brad directing him on the radio, drove in on the road that turned out to be only 25 to 30 yards below where the bull had gone down.
“He was a pretty tough bull to put down, for sure,” said Blake.
It was only the second bull he had ever tagged.
“You dream about getting one that big,” the hunter said. “When it comes true you don't really know what to think … excited, disbelief, maybe even a little relief that you actually did it. I don't know if I can top that. It's pretty awesome.”
Besides the impressive rack, the hunters got 449 pounds of hanging meat from it, so they figured the animal weighed more than 900 pounds live weight.
“It was a joint effort and we're both pretty tickled,” said Brad. “Now hopefully I can get a tag on one like that.”
The hunting party had more success before the weeklong season ended. A spike and a forked horn bull were both taken on Wednesday.
The Howrens also filled their tags during the Eastern Oregon mule deer season. The father and son were in a party of five that filled all five of their tags with bucks.
• You can reach Features editor Craig Reed at 957-4210 or by e-mail at creed@nrtoday.com.
