Mudranger1
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jun 30, 2010
- Messages
- 2,895
Short story...hunted hard 4 days in sub freezing weather close calls every day Tuesday around 330pm it all came together
Long story. Wednesday before season I get a call from CPW at 455pm someone had turned in a tag and I was next line. Heck yea I want it. Get there Friday evening set up camp and wait for opening day with my wife and dad in tow. Opening morning we start hiking about an hour before daylight here zero bugles. We get to where I want to be and there are 4 bulls in a meadow with 1 being about a 320 bull but I cant get him on him before he finds his way in to the trees. His little buddies hang out for about 30 more minutes. The rest of the day all I see is people. I'm like I used 8 points to hunt OTC style..finally I ask what the hell is going on and find out 13000 acres are closed due to a summer fire. Saturday night nothing but more people.
Sunday brings snow and fog. I spook a rag horn and cow and decide track them a bit just to make sure they are the only 2 were in the group. I follow them over a ridge and am contemplating continuing when a bugle rings out.. I see some cows and begin making my way thru some timber. I get to about 75 yards and start trying to find a shooting lanes when a cow spooks and takes the herd with her. I hike a total of 16 miles that day with no more elk seen.
Monday wake up to -6 degrees and a frozen generator and dead batteries. Sleep in a bit and head to town. People are parked in just about every valley or trailhead most places 2 vehicles. We get some breakfast and head back and get the camper squared away and I head back up the mountain around noon. I have a bull come out right before dark but no shots fired.
Tuesday brings -3 and me headed up the mountain about 30 minutes before daylight. I get tired of watching a certain ridge around 9 and head over to the next one where I hang out for a couple hours before getting bored with it. I move on to find somewhere new and come across some single tracks in snow and some intermittent meadows and as I think I have found my spot for the evening I look over to see a cow feeding about 250 yards away. I slowly work my way closer and closer seeing more cows and a spike. They eventually start bedding under some trees in which time I am having a constant battle with myself on whether or not to shoot the spike. As its wearing on me more a bugle rings out up above in the trees. Then over the next 30 minutes a couple more. Eventually the spike jumps up and I see another elk hurrying towards him. The spike runs towards me of course up to about 50 yards. This is really pressing my trigger finger as I'm not about to leave this situation with a shot going off. The big bull is pushing cows getting them all up and weaving in and out of the trees. Finally he stops about 150 yards out slightly quartering towards me. I figure this is my chance and fire. I see him buckle a little and elk are going everywhere. I find him quartering away hard and fire a second shot. With all the commotion I cant tell where he goes. I find him laying there about 30 yards from where I originally shot him. 1st shot killed him 2nd shot I must have pulled just a little as I gave him a new butthole. I quartered him up and loaded up a shoulder some neck meat and the back straps and tenderloins. 2.7 miles to the road and get a ride back to base camp.
Wednesday my dad and I pack up the cart and head up the mountain 6 hours later we made it back out with the rest of the elk.
Long story. Wednesday before season I get a call from CPW at 455pm someone had turned in a tag and I was next line. Heck yea I want it. Get there Friday evening set up camp and wait for opening day with my wife and dad in tow. Opening morning we start hiking about an hour before daylight here zero bugles. We get to where I want to be and there are 4 bulls in a meadow with 1 being about a 320 bull but I cant get him on him before he finds his way in to the trees. His little buddies hang out for about 30 more minutes. The rest of the day all I see is people. I'm like I used 8 points to hunt OTC style..finally I ask what the hell is going on and find out 13000 acres are closed due to a summer fire. Saturday night nothing but more people.
Sunday brings snow and fog. I spook a rag horn and cow and decide track them a bit just to make sure they are the only 2 were in the group. I follow them over a ridge and am contemplating continuing when a bugle rings out.. I see some cows and begin making my way thru some timber. I get to about 75 yards and start trying to find a shooting lanes when a cow spooks and takes the herd with her. I hike a total of 16 miles that day with no more elk seen.
Monday wake up to -6 degrees and a frozen generator and dead batteries. Sleep in a bit and head to town. People are parked in just about every valley or trailhead most places 2 vehicles. We get some breakfast and head back and get the camper squared away and I head back up the mountain around noon. I have a bull come out right before dark but no shots fired.
Tuesday brings -3 and me headed up the mountain about 30 minutes before daylight. I get tired of watching a certain ridge around 9 and head over to the next one where I hang out for a couple hours before getting bored with it. I move on to find somewhere new and come across some single tracks in snow and some intermittent meadows and as I think I have found my spot for the evening I look over to see a cow feeding about 250 yards away. I slowly work my way closer and closer seeing more cows and a spike. They eventually start bedding under some trees in which time I am having a constant battle with myself on whether or not to shoot the spike. As its wearing on me more a bugle rings out up above in the trees. Then over the next 30 minutes a couple more. Eventually the spike jumps up and I see another elk hurrying towards him. The spike runs towards me of course up to about 50 yards. This is really pressing my trigger finger as I'm not about to leave this situation with a shot going off. The big bull is pushing cows getting them all up and weaving in and out of the trees. Finally he stops about 150 yards out slightly quartering towards me. I figure this is my chance and fire. I see him buckle a little and elk are going everywhere. I find him quartering away hard and fire a second shot. With all the commotion I cant tell where he goes. I find him laying there about 30 yards from where I originally shot him. 1st shot killed him 2nd shot I must have pulled just a little as I gave him a new butthole. I quartered him up and loaded up a shoulder some neck meat and the back straps and tenderloins. 2.7 miles to the road and get a ride back to base camp.
Wednesday my dad and I pack up the cart and head up the mountain 6 hours later we made it back out with the rest of the elk.
