Montana Rifle Elk - Gonna be a good one
- Thread starter Big Fin
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sweetnectar
New member
Hunker down. It's a white out on those hills! I would think the elk are programmed to get up earlier and eat with the weather turning nasty and all.
Horn Seeker
New member
Oh Cmon Randy... pictures and more stories already!!!
wingman1
New member
Just for the record, all my operations conducted in that spot have been 100% legal. No FAR'S, MCA's or BLM regs have been broken. I have been doing this kind of stuff for six years now and know the laws very well. Hope you got your shot today Randy.
nidahunter
Well-known member
Looking forward to an update, hope you got one down!
belly-deep
Active member
- Joined
- Oct 31, 2009
- Messages
- 3,459
No news must be good news...
elkwidow
New member
- Joined
- Oct 25, 2010
- Messages
- 26
I have been checking this thread for an update about every half hour....I am dying here! Update us!
I am beyond tired. We just rolled in.
Yeah, late updates are usually a good thing, and this time is no exception. Other than the last half hour of the day, this was one of the most miserable weather days I have ever had elk hunting. The wind was beyond brutal. It was plenty cold, and there was no way a chopper could have hauled us out today - pretty much white out where we were at.
The morning was a bust. Four cows feeding in a small opening, trying to keep the wind from blowing their hide off. We walked, and walked, and ..... We knew we would not hear any bugles, so we had to go up and across every little finger ridge we could find, hoping to find elk on the lee side of a ridge.
Finding nothing, Bart and I decided to split up and parallel each other, hoping one would raise an elk and the other might see it. Nothing. To stop moving was to ask for severe chills. The wind was just more than I have hunted in, ever. The forecast was for 55 mph. I am sure it was all of that up on these ridges.
I had pretty much concluded that the hunt was done. I called the chopper service to find out if they could pick us up tomorrow - "Yeah, so long as the visibility is decent." That was not encouraging.
We decided to meet at 5:30 on a ridge above camp, where we had seen two bulls each of the previous evenings. One was heavily broken and the other we just a raghorn. We figured that would be our last option and would put us close to camp at dark.
Troy stated we had no more than 20 minutes of filming light, even though we had over an hour of hunting light. The cloud cover and being in thick timber on a north ridge steal the filming light quicker than normal.
I walked off to glass from behind a big rock and try keep the wind off my face and hands. I looked and Bart was frantically waving me over. He and Troy had spotted the same two bulls from the night before, just further up the ridge, almost below us.
There was no question we would try to make stalk. It was not that far of a run, maybe 500 yards, but most of it vertical. We had identified a ridge that we could get to and not have to drop down and climb out of the adjacent drainage. If a shot was presented, it would be across this small but deep canyon. We really had no choice, as the time it would take to drop down and climb out would be precious minutes of filming light.
With the aid of gravity, we were in place, in about 15 minutes. The elk had not hardly moved. They were feeding broadside across from us in some small scattered pines. Bart gave me a range. I set the CDS system and held for a cross wind, which was much less down here than it was up on the ridgetops where we had spent most the day glassing.
Troy said he was ready. Hearing that, I told him I would take the first available shot. The bull turned completely broadside and was clear of the smaller bull.
I shot. It felt good from the bipod. I was loading another round when Bart yelled that it was a good shot. The bull was staggering and facing straight on. I was waiting for him to turn. Finally, he turned uphill and I shot again, He buckled and was almost down for the count. He turned downhill and I shot again, wanting no doubt that he was dead.
The bull finally gave it up. We were hooting and hollering. We dashed down the draw and back up to make sure he was dead. Yup, all three bullets were complete pass through. Two in the chest, and one a little further back, which I think was the third shot as he was going down hill.
We had glassed this bull from afar and thought he was broken up. When we saw him tonight, he was much closer and we knew for sure he was broken. A closer inspection showed he was broken much worse that I thought, but such is life.
What I thought was going to be a great hunt, was just that. I thought this would be the easiest elk hunt of the year, but just flat out hard luck made it much harder than expected. Mentally, I had almost conceded that the bulls had won, given the weather today and the forecast for tomorrow.
I will try to fill in more details, but am too tired now. Fortunately, we don't have very far to get the final pieces to camp tomorrow morning. How ironic that we walked so far today, only to shoot a bull less than a half mile from camp, right below our noses.
Can't tell you how much fun it is to hunt with Bart. He is always making me laugh, almost to the point of hysteria. He and Troy are like two teenage brothers, always cracking jokes and harassing each other. I am not sure if Troy should even get paid for these hunts with Bart, as he seems to have way too much fun to call it work.
Here is the bull. He would have been a good one, if still in tact. He was busted on his passenger side, right at the 4th point, so I don't know if he was originally a 5, 6, or 7 pointer. And the 3rd point was busted off on that side. The driver's side was a seven, but he broke off the end of the main beam and the sixth point. He has great mass and bases, with decent width. Body size, he was a tank, as are many of the bulls I have seen in my Eastern Montana elk hunts over the last six years.
His good side.
A look at his busted side.
There are much bigger bulls here, and I think if I had more days and my luck was a little better, I could have scored on one of those big guys. But, who really cares. It was a great hunt, a cool adventure, and something I am likely never to be able to do again, given how hard the tag is to draw.
Thanks so much Bart and Troy. You guys are not only two of the best guys I could ever share a hunt with, and should seriously think about starting your own comedy team.
Yeah, late updates are usually a good thing, and this time is no exception. Other than the last half hour of the day, this was one of the most miserable weather days I have ever had elk hunting. The wind was beyond brutal. It was plenty cold, and there was no way a chopper could have hauled us out today - pretty much white out where we were at.
The morning was a bust. Four cows feeding in a small opening, trying to keep the wind from blowing their hide off. We walked, and walked, and ..... We knew we would not hear any bugles, so we had to go up and across every little finger ridge we could find, hoping to find elk on the lee side of a ridge.
Finding nothing, Bart and I decided to split up and parallel each other, hoping one would raise an elk and the other might see it. Nothing. To stop moving was to ask for severe chills. The wind was just more than I have hunted in, ever. The forecast was for 55 mph. I am sure it was all of that up on these ridges.
I had pretty much concluded that the hunt was done. I called the chopper service to find out if they could pick us up tomorrow - "Yeah, so long as the visibility is decent." That was not encouraging.
We decided to meet at 5:30 on a ridge above camp, where we had seen two bulls each of the previous evenings. One was heavily broken and the other we just a raghorn. We figured that would be our last option and would put us close to camp at dark.
Troy stated we had no more than 20 minutes of filming light, even though we had over an hour of hunting light. The cloud cover and being in thick timber on a north ridge steal the filming light quicker than normal.
I walked off to glass from behind a big rock and try keep the wind off my face and hands. I looked and Bart was frantically waving me over. He and Troy had spotted the same two bulls from the night before, just further up the ridge, almost below us.
There was no question we would try to make stalk. It was not that far of a run, maybe 500 yards, but most of it vertical. We had identified a ridge that we could get to and not have to drop down and climb out of the adjacent drainage. If a shot was presented, it would be across this small but deep canyon. We really had no choice, as the time it would take to drop down and climb out would be precious minutes of filming light.
With the aid of gravity, we were in place, in about 15 minutes. The elk had not hardly moved. They were feeding broadside across from us in some small scattered pines. Bart gave me a range. I set the CDS system and held for a cross wind, which was much less down here than it was up on the ridgetops where we had spent most the day glassing.
Troy said he was ready. Hearing that, I told him I would take the first available shot. The bull turned completely broadside and was clear of the smaller bull.
I shot. It felt good from the bipod. I was loading another round when Bart yelled that it was a good shot. The bull was staggering and facing straight on. I was waiting for him to turn. Finally, he turned uphill and I shot again, He buckled and was almost down for the count. He turned downhill and I shot again, wanting no doubt that he was dead.
The bull finally gave it up. We were hooting and hollering. We dashed down the draw and back up to make sure he was dead. Yup, all three bullets were complete pass through. Two in the chest, and one a little further back, which I think was the third shot as he was going down hill.
We had glassed this bull from afar and thought he was broken up. When we saw him tonight, he was much closer and we knew for sure he was broken. A closer inspection showed he was broken much worse that I thought, but such is life.
What I thought was going to be a great hunt, was just that. I thought this would be the easiest elk hunt of the year, but just flat out hard luck made it much harder than expected. Mentally, I had almost conceded that the bulls had won, given the weather today and the forecast for tomorrow.
I will try to fill in more details, but am too tired now. Fortunately, we don't have very far to get the final pieces to camp tomorrow morning. How ironic that we walked so far today, only to shoot a bull less than a half mile from camp, right below our noses.
Can't tell you how much fun it is to hunt with Bart. He is always making me laugh, almost to the point of hysteria. He and Troy are like two teenage brothers, always cracking jokes and harassing each other. I am not sure if Troy should even get paid for these hunts with Bart, as he seems to have way too much fun to call it work.
Here is the bull. He would have been a good one, if still in tact. He was busted on his passenger side, right at the 4th point, so I don't know if he was originally a 5, 6, or 7 pointer. And the 3rd point was busted off on that side. The driver's side was a seven, but he broke off the end of the main beam and the sixth point. He has great mass and bases, with decent width. Body size, he was a tank, as are many of the bulls I have seen in my Eastern Montana elk hunts over the last six years.
His good side.
A look at his busted side.
There are much bigger bulls here, and I think if I had more days and my luck was a little better, I could have scored on one of those big guys. But, who really cares. It was a great hunt, a cool adventure, and something I am likely never to be able to do again, given how hard the tag is to draw.
Thanks so much Bart and Troy. You guys are not only two of the best guys I could ever share a hunt with, and should seriously think about starting your own comedy team.
thecrittergitter
Well-known member
Wingman.........so its safe to assume you were one of the two guys who had the "confrontation" with the crew?
thecrittergitter
Well-known member
Awesome job Randy! Knew it would pay off for you!
See you tomorrow!
See you tomorrow!
nidahunter
Well-known member
Great finish to what sounds like a true adventure. Further proof it pays to never give up. Thank you for the story and inspiration!
msnyder
Member
Nice job and nice bull!!
wingman1
New member
You bet! What's up?
ashersdad
Well-known member
That's a hell of a bull!! Way to stick it out to the end. Thanks for taking us along for the ride. Be safe tomorrow.
belly-deep
Active member
- Joined
- Oct 31, 2009
- Messages
- 3,459
Nice! Good to hear you got one on the ground, too bad about the broken beam though.
NVLongbow
Active member
Congratulations guys; another great adventure.
BuzzH
Well-known member
Been fun reading this story, glad it all came together.
Congrats!
Congrats!
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