Day 3 - The opener

[Elkhunter]

Well the day started out early, about 2:45 or so. Put the coffee on and gave the kids some hay and prepared some bacon and scrambled eggs for breakfast. We actually got a late start and left camp about 4:50 in the morning for our opening day adventure. It was a long and cold ride that morning, about 30 degrees, but sitting on the back of a horse for 2 hours, gets one a little chilly. We arrived at the meadow to watch just after first light and sat and watched/listened til around 8:15 or 8:30 and headed into the timbered area. Martin sat looking over a gladed area while I tromped through the deadfall and timber. It is while on this little walk in the woods that I realized that I did not even have my elk tag with me.

DUHHHHHH!!!!! Well I headed back to where Martin was and tried to call Michele but there was no reception. We walked up through the timber to the upper edge and found one carcass from a morning kill and watched this meadow for a little while in the hopes of seeing a elk or two or three cross as there were other hunters walking around. We then headed back towards the horses through the timber. Once we got there we decided to have lunch and a cup of coffee and take an afternoon siesta in the 75 degree sun. I have never seen this area with so many hunters in it before. I knew we would see the Hansen bunch up there, and we found out yesterday that the Indiana boys were up there, but we ran into some more, the Vegas boys. All in all there were about 18 hunters in the area.

We hopped on the horses and headed up the trail to a different place and stopped by to say helo to the Hansen group. An hour or so later we decided to head back out. We dropped down to the bottom whare we say the elk yesterday afternoon and guess what, we saw mor elk. The rest is a big blank and I do not remember it that well.

I do remember that we had some great mainated elk steaks for dinner with some blackeye peas for dinner with a beer chaser though. I do remeber opening the truck and finding that Michele had brough me my elk & bird tag and lunch meat for the week. Other than that, it is like a big blur.

 

[mtmiller]

A blank, what the hell are you talking about? Come clean dammit.

Oh, by the way, glad there was a beer reference. I was getting worried.

 

[Elkhunter]

LOL mtmiller

Maybe I was a little dehydrated at the time from being out in the heat all day long. As you can see, after we got back and we had a beer, I was able to remember again. I think we might have seen some elk, or maybe not. Really not too sure on that.

 

[pa mt man]

Who shot at the elk, you or meathead or both????

 

[wyomingtim]

NAH, nothing like that. I think they wondered back to that carcass a little delerious and started knawing like a few wolf pups

This is just getting my blood pumping. I am leaving tomorrow afternoon for my hunt on Friday.

 

[MEATHEAD]

It's a long story on a slow pc. Come home to broken pc. I'll tell the story alittle better when the pc's fixed.

But I did miss, 322 yds up hill 230 feet in elevation. Don't know for sure the reason for missing but I know what my gun shots at 350 yds on flat ground.

I'm sick to the bone for missing. It was a nice bull. Had to go drink alot of cold beer to get over it and still drinking cause i'm still not over it.

Can someone tell me what happens when shooting up hill at 322 yds and feet in elevation. How much dose it change your point of impact.

 

[Fullabull]

Elkhunter,

Got to love this day to day update!!! Must have been the heat that made you forget where the elk dinner came from

So now who is the brush beater (quide) and who is the hunter?

Fullabull

 

[mtmiller]

Wow, been awhile since I have done any math. Unless I screwed up, you are not going to like the answer.

If the elk was 322 yards away and elevated 230 ft (77 yds), then the distance affecting the trajectory was 312 yards. Guess you should have been holding about right on.

 

[dgibson]

Miller's got it right according to my math, too. I don't know what you're shooting, but for a .300 WM it comes out to less than an inch difference between flat and 250 feet higher elevation at 320 yards. Yuk.

 

[schmalts]

Hey guys, just a question, dont take this wrong but you got horses so instead of being mad there is too many hunters why wouldnt you get back in an area where there is no one else? Hell, i would go to a wilderness area if i had my own horses.

 

[Nut]

Sorry to hear about the miss!

How many hunters per square mile is there?

 

[Elkhunter]

schmalts, not really mad about the other hunters. Hell, I was expecting to see at least 5-7 others up there as they are up there every year. With the heat we were having, I was actually hoping some of them would move some elk around. And as far as going back farther, well that was also done. Horse or no horse, you can go only so far. You see, a horse gets tired just like a person does when they are riden everyday like that. One thing that I do not mind is some hunters. True, there may have been more than what I like, but this area has been a successful area for me since I have been hunting out here.

 

[A-con]

Meathead, have you tried shooting your gun after you got there ?
Sometimes a long trip can knock something out a whak !
Put up a paper plate and touch off a few rounds at it, if it's off, fix it, if it's on, it will give you some confadince.

Good luck, wak a big one !

 

[schmalts]

Good advice on the paper plate. Better luck next time meathead, i hope you get a biggun, both of you.

 

[MEATHEAD]

After the miss I shot it and it was right on, so I guess it was all me.

Not mad about it just wish I could have done better. This was a hunt that really had a hellll of a time on and would Love tpo go back and try it again.

Special Thanks to Bill { Elkhunter} for a good time.

 

[1_pointer]

Elevation changes will also change drop figures. Too bad on the miss, hope lady luck shines a bit brighter next time.

 

[Moosie]

MAybe it was the BEER ?!?!