Getting this elk thing figured out

[Deckerp]

I enjoy the hunt story write ups most of all so will go ahead and add our elk hunt to the mix again this year.

My hunting buddy and I both had first rifle bull tags this year and a this was gonna be the year we filled not one but both tags - or at least that was our mindset going in.

Getting a bull down opening morning always seems like the best plan so we both left home Thursday morning so we’d have Thursday evening and all of Friday to try and turn up something to make a play on for opening morning.

First up was a glassing point we’ve hiked out to every year we have hunted here. It’s a long drive but a modest hike and if you split up one guy can glass down into one drainage and the other guy can cover the other side. However - if you see something on the first side you actually can’t go after it directly as you are completely cliffed out here. I will unfortunately refrain from included some excellent photos as they would certainly give away our location to anyone familiar with this region.

I had been on quite a streak of seeing at least some elk during every single legit elk glassing session for the last couple years but Thursday night was a bust - neither of us spotted any elk.

We walked back to the trucks in the dark and decided rather than spend the time driving to a new spot that night we would give it another go in the morning. That night we were treated with my first ever view of the northern lights.

 

[Deckerp]

The next morning (Friday) we hiked back out the ridge in the dark and took up our same respective spots as the night before. Morning typically being better than evenings (elk seem to generally feed later into the light time wise than they do feed out before dark - in my experience anyway) we were optimistic. And that proved to be justified. My glassing vistas is primarily treed but with small open and visible patches and with some high meadows. I spotted an excellent 6x6 with just one cow. My hunting partner spotted just a single cow on his side - likely there were more elk on his side that we didn’t see but as we didn’t see a bull we didn’t want to go after them.


This bull was not in a particular easy to kill spot but he was in the general area of where I killed my bull last year and I felt like the strategy I had used then of getting up on the ridge behind him and glassing and hunting from above might ultimately work if a more direct approach initially didn’t work. Either way I wanted to kill this bull so we decided to drive around and commit to this drainage.

We hiked back out, checked zeros, and then made the move to a different trail head for better access. My bull was spotted relatively down low in the drainage and we were both curious about what the upper basin was like. We had killed elk two years prior towards the top of it but coming in from a different direction. Seeing as there was a lot of daylight left we both hiked up to the lower part of the upper basin - I was curious and thought perhaps we’d spot a herd out that might provide either a double up opportunity. After getting into the low alpine and not seeing anything we decided the best play would be to split up for opener. My partner would get higher and glass this upper basin the night before opener and I would head back down to see if I could pick up the 6x6 again in the evening. I got back down and got up as high as I could across valley from where I had seen him that morning to glass. I was joined by another friend shortly before dark (he wasn’t hunting but was there for weekend to hopefully help pack some meat). We glassed until dark but the bull did not appear - visibly on his side is not great overall and we were pretty much banking on him using the same clearing as that morning. We dropped down and found a flat spot near the trail and slept out there. That night we got a message from my partner that he had thrown up but was feeling better and had spotted a bull that he planned to go after in the morning… mixed news there. I am a wuss when it comes to feeling sick and probably would have been headed for the truck!


The next morning the plan was to get into a more aggressive shooting range position on the clearing the 6x6 had been in that morning with fingers crossed he had come back out into that same clearing. Felt like low odds but worth the try at this point. Not quite the opening morning play I had been wanting though.

 

[Deckerp]

We got into position at first light approached. The spot proved to be a great shooting point for the clearing I had seen him in the day before but as the light improved it was clear there were no elk there. The black bear passing through that clearing the night before probably didn’t help. We made code and kept eyes on it. Most the the area is treed with lots of holes and topography that you cannot see into so there was a decent chance they were nearby but not visible. My friend offered to loop around and then come through this area where the wind would be at his back - see if he couldn’t drive anything out into the visible area. Since he was offering I said sure. It seemed like it might work and if they bumped the other way down valley it was into a better spot to be hunted from the ridge later. While he was doing this I got a message from my friend up valley that he had a bull down! One tag filled.

The elk drive didn’t yield results - no elk were bumped. So as soon as he got back to me we packed up and started up valley to help out. It was hot out and we added at least .5mph to our pace by de-pantsing. Which was definitely the right choice up until the willow brush bushwhacking at the end.

Before the final off trail climb we dropped camp at a nice looking spot off the trail and then made it up to the kill site in time to help finish up. The bull was an oddly narrow 4x5 that was relatively heavy and long brow tined for how otherwise smallish he was. I skinned out the head and took the lower jaw off - something I still find to be challenging and intend to improve at.

Between the three of us we packed the whole elk back down to this upper camp spot. I had left my hunting gear at the kill site as I planned to head back up there for the evening anyway and could carry more that way.

 

[Deckerp]

While the two of them chilled at camp I made my way back to the kill site and then up to the top of the ridge as I had never seen down into the area on the other side. We were fairly far from the truck at this point - 6 or so miles and 3k’ above the trail head so although I kinda wanted to hunt this other side I figured my friends would not be overly pleased if I sent them a pin that night from somewhere down there.

Saw a band of rams, a moose, a buck and had a cow at 240 yards near last light but no bulls were spotted that evening. The thought had been for me to hunt this upper basin again the next morning and then pull the plug since we wouldn’t have a third guy Sunday night. But I decided that night to instead start the meat shuttle early enough to get another look at the clearing the 6x6 had been in… I should have just let it go but I couldn’t yet. So we got up real early and loaded up with some of the meat and started down. Once again no elk showed up.


After prime time we finished the hike out to the trucks and dropped meat off at the coolers. We all started back in but I turned off partway with the plan to still hunt through the timbered areas while they did the final pack out trip. I did bump elk this time but didn’t good a good look - I think two cows.

After they finished up the pack out in the afternoon we decided to take some R and R and headed to town to get some pizza and beer.View attachment IMG_1374.jpeg

 

[Deckerp]

More to come.

 

[duckhunt]

I'm pretty sure another bull is going down.

 

[Deckerp]

After some excellent pizza and a beer our friend headed home and the two of us headed back up to the trail head. We loaded up packs for a two night effort with the plan to get up on and camp on the ridge above the general area the 6x6 had been in in though further down drainage in the hopes that we could make a repeat of my success last year - glassing and shooting from the ridge above. Even if he wasn't in there we hoped other bulls might be. There's no water up there so we each took what we could - 7L. We opted to sleep in the trucks and then hike up in the dark so we could get a morning glassing session in. During the night a very bold fox came around a few times to try and eat some meat off my friends bull's face and he had to put it on the roof of the truck ultimately as the fox really didn't care that we were shines lights at it and yelling to it.

After getting up on the ridge the next morning and dropping camp further down out of the good zone we set up to glass. This proved to be yet another bust - no elk spotted. We explored further along the ridge than previously and found some more good glassing and shooting points. I was feeling a bit dejected at this point - my hunting partner had expressed a desire to NOT drive all over the unit this year as we have done in the past so I felt bad pulling complete out to try a different spot all together, plus this spot was by far the easiest pack out of any of the other spots we have gotten into elk. He planned to leave after Tuesday nights go either way and I was really hoping to get one down before then. My wife was leaving on a trip Friday so I needed to be back Thursday night at the latest so I figured I had Wednesday morning to kill one as long as it wasn't too far from the truck I could get it out in time. But here we were - somewhat committed to this spot that didn't seem like it had elk in it after all.

We headed back along the ridge to camp that afternoon with the plan to glass again that evening. The ridge is open to the south but on the north dense timber grows right up to the top of the ridge. There's meadows and good area to the north but you just can't see any of it due to the dense trees. While leaving camp that afternoon I noticed for the first time there was an opening to the north - literally the only opening along this entire ridge system. I thew up my binos and peaked through the spot I could see and immediately got to say "Elk". We set up the tripod and got some better eyes on them - it was a group of 5 - all cows calfs and spikes. Still this was interesting. We watched them for a bit and then continued up the ridge to glass and set up for a shot on something to the south. Another bust. Monday was in the books and tomorrow was the last day I'd have my buddy to help pack out. We decided that the next morning he would stay by camp and glass to the north while I would go up ridge and set up yet again on the south side since at least there if something did show I could likely get into position for a shot. Anything spotted to the north was more a move, and if we'd seen a bull we'd already be headed that way but as it was we'd glass from further off.

Nothing for me. However that was not the case for my buddy - he had heard a bunch of bugles and spotted numerous groups of elk, some that were probably on private but others not so much.

 

[Deckerp]

I returned to camp and we decided to drop off into this northern section and get up on a knob that would put us into striking distance of a few of the different areas he had seen elk. I contemplated leaving my own camp thinking maybe this area was too far for me to kill anything myself Wednesday morning but ultimately decided every time I have left my camp behind I regret it.

We dropped through the timber and quickly found ourselves in some pretty flat aspen groves. Impossible to be quiet in with all the dead leaves down but still we slowed down. Soon the elk smell was very strong. Another few steps and we heard and saw a number of elk bumped by our noise or movement (wind was good). Having not smelled us I think a lot of this group didn’t know what was up and we had inadvertently kicked off a rut little action.

We kept hearing more elk moving through just out of site and then bugles and a ton of cow and calf calls. It sounded like they were moving away and then uphill. There was an old road grade that provided the only shooting lane past 15yards, so I snuck up along that as it sounded like they were likely crossing it ahead. I had a cow do just that and stop with a nice broadside shot under 100 for a min or so. (This was now the second cow I could have harvested were my tag an either sex) but I was hoping there was still a bull trailing behind as there were still noises coming from below. I waited for a number of minutes but nothing else crossed within sight. I probably should have been more aggressive and tried to get in tighter earlier but was playing it too cautious after initially thinking we had actually bumped them.

We followed the road grade for a time picking up our plan to get to that knob. A final steep climb and we were made it up there about mid day or late morning. We settled to take a long break but then got talking about how we would essentially be wasting time doing that.

My buddy had seen the same group of cows and spikes feed up and then disappeared above us that morning. We decided there was a chance they were bedded up the ridge we were on and who knows maybe a bull had joined them. So we headed up there and found another grade that contoured through the dark timber on the north side. We followed that and found some heavily used wallow and bedding areas. We popped out on the next figure ridge and enjoyed a short break in a nice small clearing that couldn’t have been glassed from anywhere even remotely close.



We were fairly far from the truck at this point so we hunted our way back through the dark timber section. Just when we were back to the open ridge some bugles started sounding off below us and back above the track we had just been on. We closed back that direction and tried some raking.( I had lost my only cow call the day before) Shortly there after the bull passed within 50yard headed down to check out that other bugle - I didn’t see him at all however and my buddy only caught a tiny glimpse. Either way today was shaping up to be a pretty good day in the elk woods.

 

[Deckerp]

At this point we decided to head back to the glassing knob. We had too many options we thought going into the evening. We could see if anything fed out onto the cleanings behind the glassing knob, we could glass for elk to feed out in the lower clearings below and to our left, or we could close back in on the group we'd lightly bumped hoping they got active in the evening and gave us an opportunity.

We were contemplating this choice while starting to glass even though it was still pretty early and we didn't expect to see anything. But sure enough about a mile and a half out we spotted a couple bulls sparing, and another nearby. Unfortunately these were all just a few hundred yards onto private. Then we spotted some cows closer in on the public about a mile or so away and 1K feet below. Watching them for a few minutes I saw an elk run and then a bull pop out. "Bull!" I said. And it was go time. We stowed the glassing stuff and went. We bombed straight off the face we were on which turned out to be wicked steep, then we literally jogged and ran through a complete burn area to get to this bull. We hauled ass and had a blast doing it. We were just about there when BOOM a gun shot rang out directly in front of us... my heart sank. BOOM - another one. This was the second time I'd been about to close the distance and seal the deal when another hunter shot the bull before I could get there. This time we were max 2 minutes away from being into shooting position. We went up and found the two hunters, a father and son, still waiting to walk up on him. At least we couldn't say "only if we had been a little faster". Turned out the bull was bugling and had called these guys right in. We knew the bull wasn't too far off the trail but didn't realize he was also bugling. The bull was a pretty decent 5x5 and we walked up with them to take a look, these guys said another bull had been killed not a 100 yards back right by the trail the day before. It was a bummer we didn't get it cause it would have been an excellent story and it would have felt like a perfect execution of strategy.

While standing there we heard more bugles further down towards the private, apparently the recent gun shots hadn't put a damper on things. Although those elk had been on private before we figured we should go check it out. We closed the distance - another half mile or so and followed the fence line only to get into elk that were literally standing just on the other side of the fence. Oh well bust here. We started making tracks again back towards the area of the big heard from earlier that day. On the way there we heard another gun shot to our 6 o'clock - not where we were headed - but it felt like a lot of elk were getting killed in this area. We were hiking pretty fast on another unmarked old road grade when I caught sight of an elk up ahead at about 40 yards with its head down just out of sight. We dropped down and started glassing. It was a spike. Then another spike and a few cows came into the lane. Again an opportunity to kill something other than a bull. Then some bugles just over a small rise to the right. Started to sneak that way to catch a peak, good wind, but again our movement got caught. Two branch antlered bulls were slowing moving away through some small gaps in the burnt trees. I put the scope on one but didn't get a good presentation and I wasn't fully sure they were legal. They fed off and we continued up the road. As we got closer to where we thought the big group might be we didn't hear any bugles to guide us in so we climbed the same knob we'd been on an hour or so earlier going for the 'maybe something will feed out' play. Another gun shot below us - possibly on one of those small bulls or that group. We'd be going basically non stop all day at this point. We hunted our way to a point on this ridge that offered an excellent shooting opportunity if we were lucky enough for something to feed out onto this one face and we waited. Last light quickly approached and I figured about now is when the wise old bull that hasn't been bugling his head off all day amidst multitudes of gun shots should feed out. But alas, shooting light passed and no elk appeared. There was a perfect camp spot right there so I pitched my tent while my buddy made his way back to his truck to head home. Earlier that day we'd joked that I was very likely to kill an elk tomorrow if not today.

 

[Deckerp]

As night fell the bugles kicked off and continued off an on for a lot of the night - the moon was nearly full that night. They sounded like they were just below me and I could hear fighting in the middle of the night. I was pretty much thinking I could probably shoot one from my tent in the morning. I didn't sleep great but got up before light to see if there were indeed any elk on the face I could see - but there were not. I packed up - hoping to head towards the truck and chase some bugles. I was missing my kids and wife at this point and was liking the idea of just hiking to the truck and driving home, no meat to pack or meat to process when I got back. But I told myself I'd regret that while I wouldn't regret getting bull. And so I chased a bugle in the opposite direction - up the ridge I was on. I could see some cows on a high clearing ahead, more or less within shooting range but with some trees in the way and no sight of the bull. I dropped my pack and snuck in until I was actually on the face the cows had been on. I didn't see anything and heard cow calls down to my right in the dark timber and hadn't heard a bugle in several minutes. I thought they had all fed over back into the timber and headed back for my pack. Getting to my pack I looked back up to the clearing and there were cows on the face again... wtf! I circled off the ridge to see if I could get a better vantage and then heard a bugle that was coming more from the left. I started closing in on that and figured out it was coming from the bottom of the clearing I had just been on a few minutes earlier. I was able to sneak through the trees and spotted elk in a flat meadow directly ahead. With a bull too. I dropped prone using my bipod and got him into my scope, good brow tines, didn't look too hard. I didn't bother ranging as it was probably 80-100 yards. The cows sorta ran left - I think just rutting behavior, and he presented a nice broadside shot and I pulled the trigger. He went down. I cycled my bolt and stayed in the scope ready for a follow up. He started to get up and I pulled the trigger, CLICK. I messed up big, having short stroked the bolt and failed to chambered a new round. Now he was up and moving left. I chambered another round but then he crashed 15yards but nearly out of sight. I was lucky - that could have turned into a real shitty situation quickly if he had been able to actually go far and I don't think I would have gotten that second shot into him with the way things were.


I was pumped! Then I started cutting him up and I started thinking - I could just be driving home right now!

 

[Deckerp]

He was a was an odd bull - a big 6(ish) on one side and basically 3 points on the other with no actual browtine. The spot he died in was wonderful - a nice flat open meadow, shaded for most of the morning and nearby lots of all day shade. The weather was starting to look a little dreary and seemed like moisture was coming. I've cut up one bull myself, and a few other animals solo, and it's honestly the part I dislike doing alone the most. I got into it and was feeling some rather strong regret for not just heading home that morning. It didn't help that when I got the top side off and flipped him over I discovered a wound in his hind quarter that was oozing pinkish goop. My shot had exited through his off side scapula - this is the first Hammer Hunter bullet I shot that had actually made an exit wound. I left that wounded quarter till last and after skinning it I could see there was a giant abscess which was also dumping its contents on most of the rest of the quarter. I felt like it was all contaminated and I decided to abandon that quarter all together. This was unfortunate - but on the bright side it meant one less trip. While taking his jaw off I also found a three bladed broad head completely healed over just under an antler base and above the eye. Luckily I didn't find that by cutting myself on it. On top of that - the taxidermist would tell me that the reason his one horn was so strange is because he'd broken his skull plate while fighting some previous year - apparently this is typically fatal. So this guy had been having a rough go of things.

Anyway, I got him all cut up and moved everything to the full shade. Then I loaded up the totally intact front quarter with all my gear and started the trip back. I was feeling better now - regret fading. Got that load out to the truck - the pack out was just under 4 miles one way, mostly down hill with 1,600' of decent. The life saver was that we'd discovered that unmarked road grade that was mostly clear. There were a few crappy spots still but mostly it was very fast going. If it had been through the woods I would not have felt the same.

Dropped my gear and that load at the truck and headed back up. I shuttled the good hind quarter down the initial section to an old camp we'd seen with an A frame and a tarp and hung it under that. Then I headed back up. I bonded out the front I'd shot though and took that and the rest of the loose meat and the head and got back to the truck a bit before dark. Headed into town to get ice and some food and then slept in my truck at the trailhead.

That evening I began wondering about the suitability of the meat to eat in general and started asking around. CPW, and several more experienced hunters all suggested leaving the one quarter was the right move and that the rest of the meat should be fine, as long as it's cooked fully. I'm not sure those to statements totally agree with each other - I ground it all though as I don't care for well done elk steaks.

The next morning I made the final partial trip for the hind quarter while getting rained and snowed on most of the time. I was rather wet by the end of it but was on my way home quickly enough - eta late Thursday afternoon. Had I not had to leave that other load of meat I would still have met my deadline of being back Thursday night though it would have been a bit tight.

As the pack out had progressed my initial feelings of regret shifted to satisfaction and have since firmly landed there. I guess my earlier feeling that I would in the long run only regret failure were of course accurate. Still - I'm leaning towards not killing bulls solo in the future.

 

[duckhunt]

That is such a cool bull.

 

[Sask hunter]

Cool bull!!

 

[CRJR45]

Wa Hoo , great hunt !

 

[ashersdad]

That's a cool looking old bull! Congrats on your success!

 

[Flatbrimmer]

Congrats!! There is great satisfaction that comes with being successful solo!!

 

[EastTNHunter]

Cool bull, and thanks for the story

 

[Caseknife]

Awesome story and unique Euro, congrats.

 

[TheTone]

Awesome looking bull and congrats

 

[CPAjeff]

Congrats, what a cool bull!