Missoulaz28
Active member
- Joined
- May 6, 2009
- Messages
- 411
My dad and I decided to go chase some elk with a little encouragement from Randy11.
The old guy took the camper down and did some scouting over the weekend and I was going to head down after work on Sunday. I got a call Sunday morning saying I needed to throw on the snow tire and bring the truck instead of the Subaru due to the road being drifted and a foot of snow in camp. So after all of that fun I pull into camp around midnight and get to meet MinnesotaHunter as he was getting back from dealing with his elk. Him and his father in law are great guys and I look forward to meeting up again.
So after a late night we decide to sleep in a bit and head up the trail around 8:30. We head up the ridge looking for our prey, seeing tracks but no elk all of the way up. After we get up as high as the two of us are willing to go we eat some lunch and make a change of plans. We had planned on crossing the draw and heading down the next ridge over but decided that we should try going down the draw. We hadn't seen anything and the wind and snow were blowing like crazy.
After we drop down a half mile or so I saw some movement and noticed an elk looking right at me. Three bulls started feeding up the draw toward me so I dropped and got ready. A few minutes later I had a bull standing broad side at 35 yards, unfortunately he wasn't legal. Instead of feeding past the opening and drawing the raghorn into it, he looked strait at me and they bolted down the draw. Thinking I missed my chance I waited for my Dad to meet up with me and decided to follow the tracks to see where they went to make a game plan for the next day. A couple hundred yards down the trail we came out of the trees to see the bulls standing feeding 150 yards away but no way of knowing which was the legal bull because of the trees in the way.
They took off up and around a group of trees that I could see through enough to tell which of the tree was legal. following him through the scope I was able to get a shot off as soon as he cleared the group of trees. I didn't see him buck but Dad was sure he had. I took off the ridge hoping to get a view of where he was heading. I crested a little rise and the bull was standing under a pine tree with a streak of blood running down his shoulder. I wasn't going to waste the opportunity and put another round into him, dropping him where he was.
After some pics we got him quartered out and headed to camp with the straps, tenders, and head in the pack. The next day we headed in with the sled and brought out the quarters.
All in all it was a great trip, and I'm beyond happy to have my first bull.
The best sight after bringing an elk out of the mountains.
The old guy took the camper down and did some scouting over the weekend and I was going to head down after work on Sunday. I got a call Sunday morning saying I needed to throw on the snow tire and bring the truck instead of the Subaru due to the road being drifted and a foot of snow in camp. So after all of that fun I pull into camp around midnight and get to meet MinnesotaHunter as he was getting back from dealing with his elk. Him and his father in law are great guys and I look forward to meeting up again.
So after a late night we decide to sleep in a bit and head up the trail around 8:30. We head up the ridge looking for our prey, seeing tracks but no elk all of the way up. After we get up as high as the two of us are willing to go we eat some lunch and make a change of plans. We had planned on crossing the draw and heading down the next ridge over but decided that we should try going down the draw. We hadn't seen anything and the wind and snow were blowing like crazy.
After we drop down a half mile or so I saw some movement and noticed an elk looking right at me. Three bulls started feeding up the draw toward me so I dropped and got ready. A few minutes later I had a bull standing broad side at 35 yards, unfortunately he wasn't legal. Instead of feeding past the opening and drawing the raghorn into it, he looked strait at me and they bolted down the draw. Thinking I missed my chance I waited for my Dad to meet up with me and decided to follow the tracks to see where they went to make a game plan for the next day. A couple hundred yards down the trail we came out of the trees to see the bulls standing feeding 150 yards away but no way of knowing which was the legal bull because of the trees in the way.
They took off up and around a group of trees that I could see through enough to tell which of the tree was legal. following him through the scope I was able to get a shot off as soon as he cleared the group of trees. I didn't see him buck but Dad was sure he had. I took off the ridge hoping to get a view of where he was heading. I crested a little rise and the bull was standing under a pine tree with a streak of blood running down his shoulder. I wasn't going to waste the opportunity and put another round into him, dropping him where he was.
After some pics we got him quartered out and headed to camp with the straps, tenders, and head in the pack. The next day we headed in with the sled and brought out the quarters.
All in all it was a great trip, and I'm beyond happy to have my first bull.
The best sight after bringing an elk out of the mountains.
