BlakeA
Well-known member
I've been meaning to type up some stories on how my hunts in September went but between being busy at work and then well, hunting, I haven't had a chance. So here goes....
After striking out on an epic archery DIY hunt in Nevada's Jarbidge wilderness in August I was ready to get back in the mountains and chase what has become my favorite specie. ELK.
My buddy and I left our hometown here in ND and made the LONG drive out to the mountains in western MT for a 5 day hunt. We were planning on backpacking in for 4 days and then also having a basecamp setup in case something changed. We hit the trailhead at about 3 a.m. in hopes to be in some good elk country by sunrise.
Over 4 days of hard hunting we had multiple close encounters on some bulls but could never quite make it happen. It's unbelievable how close you can get to them in the timber yet not have an ethical shot. It's the most frustrating yet most fun hunt. If you have never gone out and bowhunted elk in September, you are missing out!!!!
On our last evening in the mountains I wanted to try a different area so we hiked up into some nasty blowdown and some deep dark timber where we had heard a bugle the morning before while just waking up (about 4:30 a.m.). We got into an area that just "felt" right to me and seemed like a great place to call with the conditions we had. Twenty five minutes later I had this spike come into me on a string and I arrowed him at 21 yards! I was PUMPED! He went about 60 yards and was done. I love elk meat too much to pass on that opportunity on our last night. I was just incredibly thankful for even having the chance to release an arrow. Public land elk hunting in the backcountry is not an easy hunt....but it is incredibly rewarding
The pack out sucked because it was in nasty blowdown and extremely steep but I could have cared less. Our packs were full of some of the best meat on our planet and I was going to have a freezer full of steaks and burger for another year!
After we got him all packed off the mountain I started a fire back at our base camp. I walked over to the creek and washed the blood from my hands and washed my face. As I walked over to the fire I had an overwhelming feeling of gratitude. Sitting under the stars listening to the fire crackle and the creek run in the quiet stillness of the forest with a great friend after hauling meat off the mountain is just an awesome experience. No phone service, to computers, TV's, people, traffic, nothing....just the natural world. My favorite place.
On this hunt my buddy had a close up encounter with a black bear. They had a stand off at 12 yards and he was a full draw with his pin on the bears throat. The boar ended up walking away but it was still quite the rush.
Later in the month I helped my dad and a friend try to get an elk but we just couldn't put it together. Just couldn't catch a break this year.
On one of our last days I set my dad up at a wallow that had been getting used and took my buddy Mike up the mountain with me into a new area I had been wanting to check out.
Typically I will always have the shooter 50-75 yards up ahead of me (the caller) but in this area it was just super super thick and we were starting to smell elk so I decided to just setup right there. Mike was only about 15 yards from me but I couldn't see him through the thick brush. It was QUIET....I mean QUIET. The type of quiet where you can hear you own heartbeat. The forest floor was like walking on potato chips. Leaves had fallen, pine needles, twigs, deadfall, you know what I am talking about. I was in an opening about a 10 yards wide with a big tree in the middle. I made a HUGE mistake and decided to sit down while calling. About 30 minutes and multiple calls later I hear a whistle come from Mike's direction. Again, I can't see Mike but he is only 15 yards from me. Then, another whistle. I'm confused and then shortly after the second whistle I hear mike in a very stern voice say "Blake, get up and get you gun". I always carry bear spray and a sidearm but because it was 90 degrees out and I wasn't "on edge" like I should have been I elected to leave my handgun at our camp. The only time the entire year I didn't have it on me. I instantly thought a black bear came in to 20-30 yards and wasn't leaving so Mike wanted back up. I had the bear spray ready and stood up and took two steps. On my second step a HUGE flash of tan hide leaped from 4 yards in front of me back into the timber...........
Mike walked over to me and said that while he was standing there he noticed something white move so he looked over. It took him a minute to realize and truly believe what he was looking at. Here, tail curled and hind legs perched was a big cat crouched down behind a log zeroed in at me. FIVE yards away from me looking at me through the leaves. He didn't flinch when mike whistled twice or talked. He jumped when I stood up. My first though was a whitetail deer because of the hide...I was just stunned and couldn't quite wrap my head around what just happened.
I cannot believe how he snuck in between both of us and was in straight up kill mode without us knowing. We were both dead still and quite the entire call session and it was totally quite....I mean, I can't even describe how quiet it was. I know for a fact that if Mike had been the typical 50 yards up ahead, the minute I stood up I would have had a cat on me and Mike wouldn't have had a clue. They truly are the most lethal predator. I'm a believer......and I will never, NEVER be sitting on the ground calling again. Just a very stupid decision on my part. Take it from me. Be on edge every minute you are in the mountains because you don't know what will happen. This was my 4th encounter with a Cat or Bear in 5 years of elk hunting in MT
It took 11 years but this year I was lucky and finally drew my first antelope tag in my home state of ND! Opening day came and thanks to the scouting I did on multiple trips I knew exactly where I wanted to go. The weather was miserable as it basically rained and the wind blew 35 mph+ all morning. After looking over about 10-12 bucks (a lot of the same ones I saw in my scouting trips) I found this guy in the middle of a huge walk in section of public land with 25-30 does. There was one other smaller buck in the group but this guy kicked his ass and he left. This buck was definitely the dominant buck in the area.
I got the wind in my favor and made the half mile stalk to a hill that was directly over where all of them were bedded in the rain. I belly crawled up to the top of the ridge and set up my bi-pod. I squeezed off on him at 120 yards and he dropped instantly!
The weather made for an interesting pack out and ending to an extremely memorable hunt! I was able to take the best buck I had seen in all of my time scouting and hunting the area on public land in my home state. Just an awesome adventure
Good luck to the rest of you this fall!!
After striking out on an epic archery DIY hunt in Nevada's Jarbidge wilderness in August I was ready to get back in the mountains and chase what has become my favorite specie. ELK.
My buddy and I left our hometown here in ND and made the LONG drive out to the mountains in western MT for a 5 day hunt. We were planning on backpacking in for 4 days and then also having a basecamp setup in case something changed. We hit the trailhead at about 3 a.m. in hopes to be in some good elk country by sunrise.
Over 4 days of hard hunting we had multiple close encounters on some bulls but could never quite make it happen. It's unbelievable how close you can get to them in the timber yet not have an ethical shot. It's the most frustrating yet most fun hunt. If you have never gone out and bowhunted elk in September, you are missing out!!!!
On our last evening in the mountains I wanted to try a different area so we hiked up into some nasty blowdown and some deep dark timber where we had heard a bugle the morning before while just waking up (about 4:30 a.m.). We got into an area that just "felt" right to me and seemed like a great place to call with the conditions we had. Twenty five minutes later I had this spike come into me on a string and I arrowed him at 21 yards! I was PUMPED! He went about 60 yards and was done. I love elk meat too much to pass on that opportunity on our last night. I was just incredibly thankful for even having the chance to release an arrow. Public land elk hunting in the backcountry is not an easy hunt....but it is incredibly rewarding
The pack out sucked because it was in nasty blowdown and extremely steep but I could have cared less. Our packs were full of some of the best meat on our planet and I was going to have a freezer full of steaks and burger for another year! After we got him all packed off the mountain I started a fire back at our base camp. I walked over to the creek and washed the blood from my hands and washed my face. As I walked over to the fire I had an overwhelming feeling of gratitude. Sitting under the stars listening to the fire crackle and the creek run in the quiet stillness of the forest with a great friend after hauling meat off the mountain is just an awesome experience. No phone service, to computers, TV's, people, traffic, nothing....just the natural world. My favorite place.
On this hunt my buddy had a close up encounter with a black bear. They had a stand off at 12 yards and he was a full draw with his pin on the bears throat. The boar ended up walking away but it was still quite the rush.
Later in the month I helped my dad and a friend try to get an elk but we just couldn't put it together. Just couldn't catch a break this year.
On one of our last days I set my dad up at a wallow that had been getting used and took my buddy Mike up the mountain with me into a new area I had been wanting to check out.
Typically I will always have the shooter 50-75 yards up ahead of me (the caller) but in this area it was just super super thick and we were starting to smell elk so I decided to just setup right there. Mike was only about 15 yards from me but I couldn't see him through the thick brush. It was QUIET....I mean QUIET. The type of quiet where you can hear you own heartbeat. The forest floor was like walking on potato chips. Leaves had fallen, pine needles, twigs, deadfall, you know what I am talking about. I was in an opening about a 10 yards wide with a big tree in the middle. I made a HUGE mistake and decided to sit down while calling. About 30 minutes and multiple calls later I hear a whistle come from Mike's direction. Again, I can't see Mike but he is only 15 yards from me. Then, another whistle. I'm confused and then shortly after the second whistle I hear mike in a very stern voice say "Blake, get up and get you gun". I always carry bear spray and a sidearm but because it was 90 degrees out and I wasn't "on edge" like I should have been I elected to leave my handgun at our camp. The only time the entire year I didn't have it on me. I instantly thought a black bear came in to 20-30 yards and wasn't leaving so Mike wanted back up. I had the bear spray ready and stood up and took two steps. On my second step a HUGE flash of tan hide leaped from 4 yards in front of me back into the timber...........
Mike walked over to me and said that while he was standing there he noticed something white move so he looked over. It took him a minute to realize and truly believe what he was looking at. Here, tail curled and hind legs perched was a big cat crouched down behind a log zeroed in at me. FIVE yards away from me looking at me through the leaves. He didn't flinch when mike whistled twice or talked. He jumped when I stood up. My first though was a whitetail deer because of the hide...I was just stunned and couldn't quite wrap my head around what just happened.
I cannot believe how he snuck in between both of us and was in straight up kill mode without us knowing. We were both dead still and quite the entire call session and it was totally quite....I mean, I can't even describe how quiet it was. I know for a fact that if Mike had been the typical 50 yards up ahead, the minute I stood up I would have had a cat on me and Mike wouldn't have had a clue. They truly are the most lethal predator. I'm a believer......and I will never, NEVER be sitting on the ground calling again. Just a very stupid decision on my part. Take it from me. Be on edge every minute you are in the mountains because you don't know what will happen. This was my 4th encounter with a Cat or Bear in 5 years of elk hunting in MT
It took 11 years but this year I was lucky and finally drew my first antelope tag in my home state of ND! Opening day came and thanks to the scouting I did on multiple trips I knew exactly where I wanted to go. The weather was miserable as it basically rained and the wind blew 35 mph+ all morning. After looking over about 10-12 bucks (a lot of the same ones I saw in my scouting trips) I found this guy in the middle of a huge walk in section of public land with 25-30 does. There was one other smaller buck in the group but this guy kicked his ass and he left. This buck was definitely the dominant buck in the area.
I got the wind in my favor and made the half mile stalk to a hill that was directly over where all of them were bedded in the rain. I belly crawled up to the top of the ridge and set up my bi-pod. I squeezed off on him at 120 yards and he dropped instantly!
The weather made for an interesting pack out and ending to an extremely memorable hunt! I was able to take the best buck I had seen in all of my time scouting and hunting the area on public land in my home state. Just an awesome adventure
Good luck to the rest of you this fall!!
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