wannakillabigbull
Well-known member
Colorado first rifle bull; picked up the tag on leftover day.
Elk .... Let's see them!!!
- Thread starter Big Fin
- Start date
Poke 'Em
Well-known member
Wyoming general tag, solo hunt. 13 mile packout.
Irrelevant
Well-known member
13 miles... one way? Holy cow man. That's brutal. How many loads, how many days?Wyoming general tag, solo hunt. 13 mile packout.
Poke 'Em
Well-known member
Round trip. One trip. Me + 3 llamas. 18 miles if you count the trip back to camp to get the llamas.
Were you going east on 50 by chance? If so I think I gave ya a thumbs up LOL
No a bit North on 36 all the way from Colorado to Indiana.
Even if we did cross paths on the road I would have been in a daze and not noticed...lack of sleep and drove straight through there and back with another night of no sleep after killing my bullWell either way,!!
blacksheep
Active member
Hydrophilic
Well-known member
Freezer was empty and I decided I was going to shoot the first bull I saw. 4 miles into a roadless area I got into a large herd, 20-30 I’m guessing. Bugling could be heard just below me, and getting closer. Watched a couple cows pass through an opening, then the spike came and without hesitation I double lunged him with a Barnes TSX copper. I walked up to him, thanked him for the gift, and did a long miserable pack out. Totally worth it! My group of 6 shot 3 bulls on opening day.
Attachments
Wow, you are a better man than I. Im 67 however. Nice job, nice elk.
Lilhowie83
Well-known member
Beautiful bull!
3855WIN
Well-known member
Salmonchaser
Well-known member
- Joined
- Nov 12, 2019
- Messages
- 2,433
We had a successful year; Carson got his first bull I got my 44th plus or minus. Carsons bull came from the same area I shot my first bull 54 years ago. I see some very good bulls have been taken this year. Well done folks
Attachments
PablitoPescador
Well-known member
- Joined
- Dec 7, 2020
- Messages
- 125
IK-NWhunter
Active member
That's one hell of a 6-point!
Hydrophilic
Well-known member
Our season ended with 5/6 tags filled.
After I packed out my spike I threw on a pack frame and followed my dad up to his time proven spot - a high saddle, hard to access. He has a particular stump he stands at, at the edge of the timbered section, about 60 yds lower than the bare saddle. He watches the saddle and the animals that cross back and forth just below a rocky knob. It’s a convenient place for elk to filter between drainages.
I went with him for a few reasons. He has bad hearing and has had life long tinnitus. I figured I could discern the forest noises for him and alert him to incoming large animals. He has a hernia and cannot lift much weight, so I would need to pack out anything he shot. He has also been hunting this very particular place for 40+ years and I wanted, at least, just to be there and sit around a small fire with him.
I filtered out some noises for him. An hour after sunrise some big thuds were actually large pine cones being dropped by nearby pine squirrels - not slow footsteps of a large animal. I scanned below a bit and turned to him. His eyes were intent and he grabbed his rifle quicker than I thought possible and aimed it up with intention. A cow passed through the opening. Followed by another, and another. Then nothing. He lowered his gun.
We start chatting, quietly, but his eyes never quite leave the openings just up from us. 10 minutes later I turn to him and see the same intent look, the same rifle grab. His muscles are more tense. Without looking away from the scope, or at me, he raises a hand while still clinging to the gun, to signify antlers. I watch and find a small opening where a large bull elk is passing through, same direction as the cows. A 6 pt. With one clean shot the bull is down. We celebrated our victory and the life of a beautiful animal, his third largest bull.
The humbling part was he didn’t need my help to compensate for his hearing deficiency. He has spent years relying more on his eye sight than his hearing and has more than compensated for his hearing with excellent elk vision and by setting himself up in situations where his knowledge and vision have the upper hand.
After I packed out my spike I threw on a pack frame and followed my dad up to his time proven spot - a high saddle, hard to access. He has a particular stump he stands at, at the edge of the timbered section, about 60 yds lower than the bare saddle. He watches the saddle and the animals that cross back and forth just below a rocky knob. It’s a convenient place for elk to filter between drainages.
I went with him for a few reasons. He has bad hearing and has had life long tinnitus. I figured I could discern the forest noises for him and alert him to incoming large animals. He has a hernia and cannot lift much weight, so I would need to pack out anything he shot. He has also been hunting this very particular place for 40+ years and I wanted, at least, just to be there and sit around a small fire with him.
I filtered out some noises for him. An hour after sunrise some big thuds were actually large pine cones being dropped by nearby pine squirrels - not slow footsteps of a large animal. I scanned below a bit and turned to him. His eyes were intent and he grabbed his rifle quicker than I thought possible and aimed it up with intention. A cow passed through the opening. Followed by another, and another. Then nothing. He lowered his gun.
We start chatting, quietly, but his eyes never quite leave the openings just up from us. 10 minutes later I turn to him and see the same intent look, the same rifle grab. His muscles are more tense. Without looking away from the scope, or at me, he raises a hand while still clinging to the gun, to signify antlers. I watch and find a small opening where a large bull elk is passing through, same direction as the cows. A 6 pt. With one clean shot the bull is down. We celebrated our victory and the life of a beautiful animal, his third largest bull.
The humbling part was he didn’t need my help to compensate for his hearing deficiency. He has spent years relying more on his eye sight than his hearing and has more than compensated for his hearing with excellent elk vision and by setting himself up in situations where his knowledge and vision have the upper hand.
Attachments
270.Rose
Well-known member
- Joined
- Dec 12, 2020
- Messages
- 265
Wyoming General tag bull taken in the national forest in the Bighorn Mountains.
Salmonchaser
Well-known member
- Joined
- Nov 12, 2019
- Messages
- 2,433
I know your dads frustration. Been a long time since I had hunted with young ears around to filter out the tinnitus. Carson spent most of our time together amazed at how little I could hear. You guys did well, but I suspect your group is the exception, there is a reason your old man has been hunting the same spot for 40 years. Knowing your ground and the elk in it is key. Great story, thanks for sharing.
