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Cold weather and heavy packs!!!

Joined
Oct 1, 2013
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282
Location
Dillon/Helena MT
Went out Monday afternoon to try and spot some decent mulies in our first real cold snap. We didn't plan on really leaving the truck but were just gonna drive and glass to see what we could find in a fairly new area.
Long story short we finally decidied on a new spot after our first choice place was clouded in and then we almost chose a different area to go to but we decided on an area and headed out about 2p.m.
After glassing a group of deer go up and over the ridgeline we decided to go check it out and see if there was a decent buck with them. An hour and a half before dark we left the truck and headed up the hill to see what we could find for bucks. upon reaching the top we were trying see if any of the deer filing up the other side of the were bucks when my hunting buddy says "there are two bulls!" sure enough at 600 yards down and across the draw they were just coming over the top towards us!
We dropped back worked along the ridge till we were straight across from them and were at 400 exactly. 4 of the 7 bulls that were there dropped off of the ridge towards us and at 320 yards my buddy shot the third bull which we had decided was the biggest and I shot the third immediately after he shot. a quick follow up and both bulls were down about a hundred yards apart!
The two pictures where it is darker is my bull and the one when it was a little lighter was my buddy.
 

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We then got both bulls quartered and hung for the morning pack out. We took the heads out Monday night and went back in the morning for the quarters with the sleds. Monday night when we were back at the truck the temp was 6degrees and Tuesday when we got the quarters out... they were froze solid it was -6 Degrees!!!:D
 

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I can see that I am the only one left in MT that hasn't shot a 6 point elk yet.
 
The best deer hunt is the one where you shoot an elk instead!
 
We then got both bulls quartered and hung for the morning pack out. We took the heads out Monday night and went back in the morning for the quarters with the sleds. Monday night when we were back at the truck the temp was 6degrees and Tuesday when we got the quarters out... they were froze solid it was -6 Degrees!!!:D

Elk horns, carhartts, and no orange.

Good way to get shot!!!

Congrats on the elk though.
 
Elk horns, carhartts, and no orange.

Good way to get shot!!!

Congrats on the elk though.

Nicely done on the hunt. I second the suggestion about taking additional precaution when packing out antlers or horns. Drape an orange vest on them or tie orange marking tape. Unfortunately, there are people who blast away at 600 yards without properly identifying the target. The growing number of people setting up rifles to shoot 1000+ yards will only make this more risky. Add in some low-light conditions with a bit of rain or fog and could be deadly for a hunter happily trekking back to camp with his harvest.
 
Nicely done on the hunt. I second the suggestion about taking additional precaution when packing out antlers or horns. Drape an orange vest on them or tie orange marking tape. Unfortunately, there are people who blast away at 600 yards without properly identifying the target. The growing number of people setting up rifles to shoot 1000+ yards will only make this more risky. Add in some low-light conditions with a bit of rain or fog and could be deadly for a hunter happily trekking back to camp with his harvest.

Well I guess I should have elaborated a little more... we left the kill site at 9:30 pm about 4 hours past dark so I wasn't too worried about getting shot walking back in the dark but if it were anywhere near light enough to see I would have been my normal pumpkin colored self! :) But safety tips are always appreciated!
 
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