Fishcarver
New member
- Joined
- Aug 23, 2010
- Messages
- 23
As promised here is my story. It seems like I had been collecting points for years and years now with the thought of never drawing. As the points accumulated I thought about the type of elk hunt I wanted. I wanted a back country wilderness get away from it all hunt. I wanted a true adventure with bugling elk and beautiful scenery. That’s why I put in for the Book Cliffs Roadless. Now that it is said and done, it’s exactly what I got.
I worked hard throughout the summer in getting in to shape to be able to hunt those animals. I knew the hills would be steep and the animals tough. I wanted to keep up.
We headed in two days prior to the opening to do some scouting. The ride in on horses was amazing. It is a steep and rugged country that we went into. We set up camp and as the evening hours came upon us we were looking over elk right off the bat. They were bugling and working up a storm on the mountains around us. We worked our way into some elk that evening and spotted some really nice bulls. The bull that caught my eye was this really white coat with long thirds. He was pushing cows around and fighting off the little satellite bulls. It was a site to behold. We snuck back out of there for the night to not disturb them. The next day we went up high on the ridges to look over more elk and just watch the show that nature has put in front of us. The rut was heating up and it was fun to watch.
Opening day brought us back to the same canyon that we spotted the white bull and another big bull. We hiked in as the light was getting where we could see. I can still remember the feeling of anticipation and nervousness that I was feeling. The sights and sounds of the mountains were so vivid. I was in hunting mode and it felt good. We got up to a spot we wanted to be in and a big bull was bugling right above us. We held tight as another small bull was pushing cow along. Next thing we know the big white bull comes running in to the meadow below us at 200 yards. It was the bull I wanted right from the start. With a couple of shots the bull was down. The feeling of relief and excitement overtook us. As hunters there is no real way to explain that feeling. I believe that’s what keeps us going through thick and thin. The chase of that feeling will always there for me.
Nothing like a good mule when you're along ways from a truck.
This truly was an adventure. We had seen 15 bears over the 6 day we were there. We did see some decent buck and hundreds of bugling elk that sang to us day and night. I can see now why the Book Cliffs are a magical place.
I worked hard throughout the summer in getting in to shape to be able to hunt those animals. I knew the hills would be steep and the animals tough. I wanted to keep up.
We headed in two days prior to the opening to do some scouting. The ride in on horses was amazing. It is a steep and rugged country that we went into. We set up camp and as the evening hours came upon us we were looking over elk right off the bat. They were bugling and working up a storm on the mountains around us. We worked our way into some elk that evening and spotted some really nice bulls. The bull that caught my eye was this really white coat with long thirds. He was pushing cows around and fighting off the little satellite bulls. It was a site to behold. We snuck back out of there for the night to not disturb them. The next day we went up high on the ridges to look over more elk and just watch the show that nature has put in front of us. The rut was heating up and it was fun to watch.
Opening day brought us back to the same canyon that we spotted the white bull and another big bull. We hiked in as the light was getting where we could see. I can still remember the feeling of anticipation and nervousness that I was feeling. The sights and sounds of the mountains were so vivid. I was in hunting mode and it felt good. We got up to a spot we wanted to be in and a big bull was bugling right above us. We held tight as another small bull was pushing cow along. Next thing we know the big white bull comes running in to the meadow below us at 200 yards. It was the bull I wanted right from the start. With a couple of shots the bull was down. The feeling of relief and excitement overtook us. As hunters there is no real way to explain that feeling. I believe that’s what keeps us going through thick and thin. The chase of that feeling will always there for me.
Nothing like a good mule when you're along ways from a truck.
This truly was an adventure. We had seen 15 bears over the 6 day we were there. We did see some decent buck and hundreds of bugling elk that sang to us day and night. I can see now why the Book Cliffs are a magical place.
