You volunteering to help pack out? But good luck… if you can find elk closer it’s an anomaly
Irrelevant
Well-known member
in wy? I can do it from my couch 3 beers deep.
D
Deleted member 52098
Guest
I’m not blowing up units… but after 40 miles in that area over 48 hours I can tell you that ON or NEAR public, there were no elk near the roads. trust me, I would have shot two of those if there were
why do you think we stopped after hauling out two elk?! it wasn’t a lack of not finding the elk, we just had no energy left to haul two more out.
I can too I’m Wyoming. This unit in particular is what we are referring to. I had a bone to pick with the unit that almost killed me via lightning on a deer hunt last year.
The area gave @MtnElk a good initiation as well. I promise we will fill in the story before we leave for his 1st season CO elk hunt in a little over a week.
Ok here comes the first part of the hunt recap.
Friday:
I was able to finish packing up on Thursday because I got home from work a bit early. Spent some good family time and then tucked the girls into bed and said my goodbyes.
I got into the truck early Friday morning and headed to Cheyenne to grab a couple things for my water bags that I had misplaced. Luckily Murdoch’s and sportsman’s were next door to each other and between the two I got the last couple items I couldn’t find or were broken the night before.
Kept driving for a bit and grabbed some good Chinese food. I was taking it easy and was going to just do a mellow hike in with my cart. Was hoping to get there before dark but ended up changing plans a bit and going in further than I was originally planning.
This area is not a typical elk hunting spot and had zero water I would trust to drink. Just a couple cattle retention ponds maintained by rain. Zero running water. I loaded the cart up with all my food and water and then through my 5 day pack on my back. It was going pretty well, very glad I added the pull rope attachment to the cart!
I quickly realized a couple minor changes I wanted to make with the cart. Better tie down strap. Better places to mount said tie down straps. And I needed to lengthen the handles by about 6-10”. If the cart is was comfortable for my arms in would flat tire me(hit me in the heals). That all being said it worked great to haul in about 28L of water and 5 days of food. I might have splurged on the food.
The fence crossing actually ended up better than I expected. I was able to basically set the cart on the top rail and slide it to the other side. It then aided me in stepping over the fence with pack on.
Friday:
I was able to finish packing up on Thursday because I got home from work a bit early. Spent some good family time and then tucked the girls into bed and said my goodbyes.
I got into the truck early Friday morning and headed to Cheyenne to grab a couple things for my water bags that I had misplaced. Luckily Murdoch’s and sportsman’s were next door to each other and between the two I got the last couple items I couldn’t find or were broken the night before.
Kept driving for a bit and grabbed some good Chinese food. I was taking it easy and was going to just do a mellow hike in with my cart. Was hoping to get there before dark but ended up changing plans a bit and going in further than I was originally planning.
This area is not a typical elk hunting spot and had zero water I would trust to drink. Just a couple cattle retention ponds maintained by rain. Zero running water. I loaded the cart up with all my food and water and then through my 5 day pack on my back. It was going pretty well, very glad I added the pull rope attachment to the cart!
I quickly realized a couple minor changes I wanted to make with the cart. Better tie down strap. Better places to mount said tie down straps. And I needed to lengthen the handles by about 6-10”. If the cart is was comfortable for my arms in would flat tire me(hit me in the heals). That all being said it worked great to haul in about 28L of water and 5 days of food. I might have splurged on the food.
The fence crossing actually ended up better than I expected. I was able to basically set the cart on the top rail and slide it to the other side. It then aided me in stepping over the fence with pack on.
I think the actual hike to camp was about 9 miles but I rounded up to ten because it was an easier number. I saw a number of antelope on the way, one deer, and zero elk. I was a couple miles from camp when the sun went down. It took me a little over five hours to get into camp. I set up a nice camp and then got ready for my big scouting day. I would start glassing from camp and then work my way further in.
Saturday:
Saturday morning rolled around quickly and I new I needed to fill up my water. I thought for a scouting day 2L would be plenty. Loaded up my yeti with some coffee from my neighbors new t-bag coffee company and hiked up to a better glassing point just out of camp.
He asked me to take some pictures so I may add a few here and there because I really like how some turned out. He launched his company the week before I left. It’s good coffee and like the t-bag concept for backcountry.
First setup was silent and didn’t see a thing moved. Moved to three other spots with good visibility but didn’t see anything more than a few deer way off in the distance. I worked into a watch a lake on private in the late morning thinking some stragglers may hit it but no luck. I was about a mile and a half from camp at this point and just over ten from the truck. I knew I had to go higher and deeper. The terrain changed pretty abruptly so I went in search of some elk.
I made it about as far back as I wanted to go. Another small retention pond on public. This pond is closer to the access point but some rougher country not conducive for the cart. At this point it was about 80 degrees and thought I might see some elk come to water.
Well it didn’t take long to figure out this place was smoked. Someone decided to camp on the edge of the lake. Ended up catching up with him on his way out, nice guy, but never saw or heard an elk. I wonder how that works… Sleeping 10 feet from the only water source in 3-5 miles might have had something to do with it.
Since that area was shot I figured I would work my way back closer to camp and glass some areas that would be closer to hunt in the morning, opening day. I found some recent tracks and sign in the hills but nothing within the last couple days. Heard the occasional faint bugle but nothing that screamed hunt here. My internal pull was to go back. It was about 5 pm at this point and a I ran out of water. 80 degrees and it being so dry out there just zapped my water. I was tired and thirsty and making my way back to camp. Rounded a counter and had a great vantage.
I took out the tripod and binos and picked up my first elk of the trip. A very nice bull chasing around 2 cows and two calves. They had just worked onto private and as I scanned around for more elk I saw a nice rag horn following behind them. At this point he was still on public.
Saturday morning rolled around quickly and I new I needed to fill up my water. I thought for a scouting day 2L would be plenty. Loaded up my yeti with some coffee from my neighbors new t-bag coffee company and hiked up to a better glassing point just out of camp.
He asked me to take some pictures so I may add a few here and there because I really like how some turned out. He launched his company the week before I left. It’s good coffee and like the t-bag concept for backcountry.
First setup was silent and didn’t see a thing moved. Moved to three other spots with good visibility but didn’t see anything more than a few deer way off in the distance. I worked into a watch a lake on private in the late morning thinking some stragglers may hit it but no luck. I was about a mile and a half from camp at this point and just over ten from the truck. I knew I had to go higher and deeper. The terrain changed pretty abruptly so I went in search of some elk.
I made it about as far back as I wanted to go. Another small retention pond on public. This pond is closer to the access point but some rougher country not conducive for the cart. At this point it was about 80 degrees and thought I might see some elk come to water.
Well it didn’t take long to figure out this place was smoked. Someone decided to camp on the edge of the lake. Ended up catching up with him on his way out, nice guy, but never saw or heard an elk. I wonder how that works… Sleeping 10 feet from the only water source in 3-5 miles might have had something to do with it.
Since that area was shot I figured I would work my way back closer to camp and glass some areas that would be closer to hunt in the morning, opening day. I found some recent tracks and sign in the hills but nothing within the last couple days. Heard the occasional faint bugle but nothing that screamed hunt here. My internal pull was to go back. It was about 5 pm at this point and a I ran out of water. 80 degrees and it being so dry out there just zapped my water. I was tired and thirsty and making my way back to camp. Rounded a counter and had a great vantage.
I took out the tripod and binos and picked up my first elk of the trip. A very nice bull chasing around 2 cows and two calves. They had just worked onto private and as I scanned around for more elk I saw a nice rag horn following behind them. At this point he was still on public.
I was so excited to see such an amazing bull and find cows the night before the opener. I watched as they worked down the valley and then rounded the corner.
I must have been so excited I popped the last little remaining piece of nail off from my tree accident.
At this point I knew there was only one thing to do. I needed to bail off the face I was on and figure out where they went around the corner without blowing them out. I knew if they kept going they would be on public. I made it down and peaked over the edge. The raghorn I’m tow had just come into public but I could not see the others. I didn’t want to risk blowing them out just to get eyes on them.
As the sun was setting the harvest moon was coming up. I did not need a headlight to get the mile and a half or so back to camp. It was like someone had a flood light on my tent all night long. I figured the chances of those elk still being on public in the morning would be slim with the harvest moon but would be giving it my best shot. I set my alarm for about an hour and a half before shooting light and went off to bed. At this point I was solo with two cow tags in my pocket and expecting @MtnElk to show up sometime around dinner time. I joked that I would have two dead and all ready to hike out by the time he got there.
With it being so bright I didn’t get the best night sleep but I was ready to roll in the morning.
The adrenaline of the hunt is finally wearing off now, I’m going to head to bed now and will add more days as soon as I can.
D
Deleted member 40728
Guest
Crossing that creek with the cart and wooden plank would take skill and balance. I’d fall in for sure.
D
Deleted member 40728
Guest
Congrats on the cows. 10 miles in is crazy and hard earned. Glad you were successful. Had to be exhausted after getting them out that far.
On the way in I did it with the cart and pack on. It wasn’t smart and I got lucky that everything didn’t need up in the water. I walk on tree branches all day though so the balance isn’t usually an issue.
Irrelevant
Well-known member
Ahhh gotcha
LuketheDog
Well-known member
Dang, that's a nice bull!
D
Deleted member 52098
Guest
We thought it would add some depth to this write up to each write things up from our individual perspectives. @Dsnow9 writing from the perspective of an accomplished hunter and me from the perspective of his really, really good looking sidekick.
SATURDAY NIGHT
Having been in constant contact with @Dsnow9, my excitement is building and my anxiety is too. I so want to be there, but cannot. In 2022, my father was scheduled to come visit us so that he could go to RMNP for the height of the rutting action, but the hurricanes that rolled through Naples in 2022 grounded all air travel. Without knowing that I would be hunting in WY, we agreed to just push the trip a year to 2023. Thankfully the dates worked out that he left first thing in the morning on opening day, and not later.... dodged a bullet there.
My anxiety of not being out there came from a few places, but mostly because I am normally the first guy out, setting up camp, getting things ready... it was tough to feel like someone else was doing work for me, but @Dsnow9 assured me it was all good. Still, getting those updates and photos had me jonesing for camp. As some of you know, my deep dark secret is that I had yet to get an elk. I love them, I study the shit out of them, but I've yet to tag one. I really want to get that monkey off my back on this trip, and I know it's going to suck - any camp ten miles back is going to suck. But I want it, and want it bad.
I pack the truck up the night before opening day and have everything ready for my 630 am departure for the airport the next morning, to drop my dad at DIA and head north to Wyoming. I tuck my daughter into bed and she says "it's happening for you, I can feel it". I smile, my heart swells and I kiss that sweet girl goodnight. If only we could see ourselves the way our kids do, we'd all be better off for it.
I talk with Jenny before bed and go over a few things, since she has a busy week of her own, including coming to WY for work on Wednesday. We go over the boring house chores I normally do that she needs to cover, I go over the check in process for our van renters coming back Tuesday and then we get to talking about everything. She asks me the normal wife stuff "how are you feeling?" "are you nervous" "are you ready" and we talk for a bit about how bad I want to get this monkey off my back and not only be a good hunting partner, but a good hunter too. As my awesome wife normally does, she tries to assure me that it's entirely possible to be good hunter without having to harvest an animal every time. I consider retorting with an analogy of the same to her life, but think better of it. Peace, not justice - as Randy would say
But of course I am somewhat attached to the outcome.
We say goodnight and I have a really hard time falling asleep... which is rare, normally I'm out five seconds after the light. I am tossing and turning. I've heard and witnessed how opening morning can be where it's at and how the deck can get reshuffled quickly after the flurry of activity. I am starting to worry that I am going to miss out. FOMO hard, like really hard. I try to assure myself that it's going to be ok - just take this trip one step at a time. But all I can think about is that I am not going to be there at 630 am when legal shooting light opens and it's eating away at me. And worse yet... keeping me from sleeping, and I am going to need that rest come my hike Sunday morning.
I roll over onto my back and try some breathing exercises to calm my mind. I start thinking about what Jenny was telling me - or trying to tell me and it gets me thinking. Thinking about whether I am pressing... aka trying to force something to happen in order to drop that first elk. Some times, you can try TOO hard. You can push too much to the point where it clouds your vision and judgement. I start to think about how I could detach myself from the outcome and focus on the experience. It's all this shit my wife gets in my head and in this moment, I am a little annoyed that she is right. But after about 30 mins of internal dialogue, I check the clock and make a decision.
Anyone can be a good hunter, but being a good hunting partner is more important.
New goal for the trip. New mindset. Fast asleep five seconds later. The mind is a fascinating place.
SATURDAY NIGHT
Having been in constant contact with @Dsnow9, my excitement is building and my anxiety is too. I so want to be there, but cannot. In 2022, my father was scheduled to come visit us so that he could go to RMNP for the height of the rutting action, but the hurricanes that rolled through Naples in 2022 grounded all air travel. Without knowing that I would be hunting in WY, we agreed to just push the trip a year to 2023. Thankfully the dates worked out that he left first thing in the morning on opening day, and not later.... dodged a bullet there.
My anxiety of not being out there came from a few places, but mostly because I am normally the first guy out, setting up camp, getting things ready... it was tough to feel like someone else was doing work for me, but @Dsnow9 assured me it was all good. Still, getting those updates and photos had me jonesing for camp. As some of you know, my deep dark secret is that I had yet to get an elk. I love them, I study the shit out of them, but I've yet to tag one. I really want to get that monkey off my back on this trip, and I know it's going to suck - any camp ten miles back is going to suck. But I want it, and want it bad.
I pack the truck up the night before opening day and have everything ready for my 630 am departure for the airport the next morning, to drop my dad at DIA and head north to Wyoming. I tuck my daughter into bed and she says "it's happening for you, I can feel it". I smile, my heart swells and I kiss that sweet girl goodnight. If only we could see ourselves the way our kids do, we'd all be better off for it.
I talk with Jenny before bed and go over a few things, since she has a busy week of her own, including coming to WY for work on Wednesday. We go over the boring house chores I normally do that she needs to cover, I go over the check in process for our van renters coming back Tuesday and then we get to talking about everything. She asks me the normal wife stuff "how are you feeling?" "are you nervous" "are you ready" and we talk for a bit about how bad I want to get this monkey off my back and not only be a good hunting partner, but a good hunter too. As my awesome wife normally does, she tries to assure me that it's entirely possible to be good hunter without having to harvest an animal every time. I consider retorting with an analogy of the same to her life, but think better of it. Peace, not justice - as Randy would say
But of course I am somewhat attached to the outcome. We say goodnight and I have a really hard time falling asleep... which is rare, normally I'm out five seconds after the light. I am tossing and turning. I've heard and witnessed how opening morning can be where it's at and how the deck can get reshuffled quickly after the flurry of activity. I am starting to worry that I am going to miss out. FOMO hard, like really hard. I try to assure myself that it's going to be ok - just take this trip one step at a time. But all I can think about is that I am not going to be there at 630 am when legal shooting light opens and it's eating away at me. And worse yet... keeping me from sleeping, and I am going to need that rest come my hike Sunday morning.
I roll over onto my back and try some breathing exercises to calm my mind. I start thinking about what Jenny was telling me - or trying to tell me and it gets me thinking. Thinking about whether I am pressing... aka trying to force something to happen in order to drop that first elk. Some times, you can try TOO hard. You can push too much to the point where it clouds your vision and judgement. I start to think about how I could detach myself from the outcome and focus on the experience. It's all this shit my wife gets in my head and in this moment, I am a little annoyed that she is right. But after about 30 mins of internal dialogue, I check the clock and make a decision.
Anyone can be a good hunter, but being a good hunting partner is more important.
New goal for the trip. New mindset. Fast asleep five seconds later. The mind is a fascinating place.
FillTheFreezer
New member
Nice to know members are friendly and even open to mentorship to new new hunters on this forum.“It’s the season of elk bro!” - was the text I got from Mt Muley
But that was an actual text I got when I opened my phone from my hunting partner / mentor @Dsnow9, as the tag dust settled on the morning of June 15, when we both woke up to zero WY pronghorn tags. Seemingly striking out in every state on everything except elk; between us, there are 6 elk tags in two states, in units that are easier to draw and hard to hunt. If all goes well, I’ll need a second freezer by the end of the season and will be able to give meat to families around us that don’t hunt, but love elk.
I was introduced to D$ through HT, randomly enough on a thread about tree cutting, as we needed some fire mitigation done and he had a tree company. We met when he came up to give me a quote just before fall season. We chatted about hunting, our kids, and the joys of fire risk in Colorado. Despite being pretty damn green, I believe D$ realized over time I was willing to put in the hard work to learn and get better at hunting elk. He - and some other awesome HTers - even stayed in contact during last years goat rodeo of hunts (link below) in which I got food poisoning 2 days into 1st season and my daughter got really sick 3 days in 3rd. My hunts were cut short, but damn if it wasn’t exciting as hell. I realized I waited too f-ing long to get into elk hunting, but that this was a great first season of learning hard truths.
https://www.hunttalk.com/threads/mtnelks-season-of-firsts-tag-soup-edition.315822/
After the season concluded with a desperately empty freezer, we kept in touch and chatted on what we were each going after in 2023. He was going all in on Elk in WY, and my plan was to be a stubborn moron and go back to my 2022 barren wasteland of a CO unit and try again. I do not think that idea went over well with him lol. As we continued talking, it became more and more apparent he thought I was an idiot for even thinking of going back there, so he strongly encouraged (in his words “forced”) me to apply in another CO unit this fall and join him. At that point, he told me to go crazy on the unit in OnX and send him some waypoints. Which in terms of mentorship, was an awesome approach; because I wanted to make sure I was earning my keep to justify this invite and also wanted to show I was not a complete moron.
Our Colorado apps in, we then decided to put in for longs shots in the random of NM and UT, in the off chance we got really lucky. We group applied for WY pronghorn and well, based on the intro, you know we only drew elk tags in CO and WY cow tags. As much fun as the anticipation of drawing a tag is, it’s so much more fun to have the tags and then get to planning dates, type of hunt, campsites, scouting, etc. Once we both lost out on the awesome RMBS RFW Elk tag and our secondary apps in WY and CO approved, our season was set.
It’s amazing the little things one can learn just by listening to a more seasoned hunter talk - even when they are not giving direct advice. The ability to share the waypoints I’ve e-scouted and get feedback on them has probably been the greatest boost to my confidence going into 2023. I left last years hunt feeling like all my time studying elk, learning about behaviors, pouring over maps was a complete failure. In e-scouting a new unit and sharing it with someone that had been there, it was great to see that my e-scouting was often in areas where there have been elk in the past. I realize all the best laid plans in the world can fail miserably, but I feel like I’ll be more fluid in my decision making processes this time around. Having a solid mentor has meant all the difference.
For now though, back to fishing with my dad in northern Manitoba. But will update when I am back and the scouting begins. Going to be an epic season chasing elk, hauling elk out of not so fun spots, and throwing a nice rack on top of the Subaru for all the haters
Sunday Morning:
I need to break this up. It was a very long day and you already know the outcome… thanks @MtnElk! Lol
So, the night before I was feeling ambitious and set my alarm for 4:30am. Shooting light was at 6:30am and I had about a mile and a half to the first point I wanted to check out. The moon was still lighting up my tent like I was camped in a Walmart parking lot. The alarm went off and I laid there for a while. I didn’t want to get up and knew I couldn’t shoot for two hours and didn’t want to mess something up before legal light.
It was so dry up there that I didn’t even need to do the early morning camping piss that I’m usually trying to hold back for that last hour of sleep, before the alarm goes off. I ended up getting up around 5 and slowly got ready and stretched out for what I knew was going to be a hard day. If I didn’t find them in the flats my plan was to hike every drainage I could until I found them. Either way my goal was to have elk on the ground before @MtnElk got there.
In all honesty I don’t feel like I’m a good hunting mentor when I have a tag in my pocket. My laxer focus is on getting meat in the freezer for my family and I don’t usually have the patience that it requires for a new hunter to have a good learning environment. I figured if I could get one down and get it back to camp I would focus on him filling his tag.
I dropped my morning puffy jacket and went down to my thin long sleeve shirt. I sweat quickly hiking so I like to keep the layers as minimal as possible when hiking. I go at a steady pace but don’t usually stop.
I think I covered the mile and a half in about 30 minutes because I got to the first ridge just before 6.
With the moonlight I could glass enough to see the spot closest to the private lake. No elk to be seen.
I checked two more spots along the ridge but because of the mellow slope I couldn’t see the ravine below me. I worked my way a couple hundred yards down the ridge and found just the spot. A steep flat top knob on top of the ridge. The night before I thought this would make a great spot if the elk were lower. I start crawling up with pack and rifle so I can see over the edge.
And that’s when the bugle fest took off. I had bulls firing off from my 11 o’clock to my 3 o’clock. They sounded like they were in the timber behind. I crawl a little more and I am just starting to look over the edge and a short bugle erupts from 100 yards below me in the ravine.
I hit the deck and peak over. It’s the raghorn from the night before, and as I pull out my binos another deep growly bugle rips off close but not in my eyesight. Forget the raghorn, I have a cow tag. I lay down with my pack braced behind my back, glassing the hillside over my toes.
Movement!
I need to break this up. It was a very long day and you already know the outcome… thanks @MtnElk! Lol
So, the night before I was feeling ambitious and set my alarm for 4:30am. Shooting light was at 6:30am and I had about a mile and a half to the first point I wanted to check out. The moon was still lighting up my tent like I was camped in a Walmart parking lot. The alarm went off and I laid there for a while. I didn’t want to get up and knew I couldn’t shoot for two hours and didn’t want to mess something up before legal light.
It was so dry up there that I didn’t even need to do the early morning camping piss that I’m usually trying to hold back for that last hour of sleep, before the alarm goes off. I ended up getting up around 5 and slowly got ready and stretched out for what I knew was going to be a hard day. If I didn’t find them in the flats my plan was to hike every drainage I could until I found them. Either way my goal was to have elk on the ground before @MtnElk got there.
In all honesty I don’t feel like I’m a good hunting mentor when I have a tag in my pocket. My laxer focus is on getting meat in the freezer for my family and I don’t usually have the patience that it requires for a new hunter to have a good learning environment. I figured if I could get one down and get it back to camp I would focus on him filling his tag.
I dropped my morning puffy jacket and went down to my thin long sleeve shirt. I sweat quickly hiking so I like to keep the layers as minimal as possible when hiking. I go at a steady pace but don’t usually stop.
I think I covered the mile and a half in about 30 minutes because I got to the first ridge just before 6.
With the moonlight I could glass enough to see the spot closest to the private lake. No elk to be seen.
I checked two more spots along the ridge but because of the mellow slope I couldn’t see the ravine below me. I worked my way a couple hundred yards down the ridge and found just the spot. A steep flat top knob on top of the ridge. The night before I thought this would make a great spot if the elk were lower. I start crawling up with pack and rifle so I can see over the edge.
And that’s when the bugle fest took off. I had bulls firing off from my 11 o’clock to my 3 o’clock. They sounded like they were in the timber behind. I crawl a little more and I am just starting to look over the edge and a short bugle erupts from 100 yards below me in the ravine.
I hit the deck and peak over. It’s the raghorn from the night before, and as I pull out my binos another deep growly bugle rips off close but not in my eyesight. Forget the raghorn, I have a cow tag. I lay down with my pack braced behind my back, glassing the hillside over my toes.
Movement!
I set up the tripod so I can see what’s going on. And it is the big bull from the night before! Clear as day!
Oh, wait, I have a cow tag… Where are the cows? He rips off another big bugle and looks left. There they are! It’s the darkest it has been in the last 24 hours. The moon is dropping and the sun is just about to come up. I watch and admire what is taking place.
The raghorn is slowly feeding back towards the lake. Only about 125 yards away at this point.
I am freezing, the lack of morning layers is starting to make me shiver pretty bad. I feel like the raghorn can see me shaking. I reach around my pack and have another long sleeved shirt on the outside of my pack but all my jackets would require zippers and that’s not happening right now. I try to use the shirt as a blanket but it’s not working.
6:30 finally rolls around which has felt like hours already with bugles firing off everywhere. I haven’t even looked around to see where the others are. I am pinned bad. I was lucky to get the tripod up when the raghorn was eating behind a bush.
I threw my phone up on my magview adapter on my binos and started taking photos.
First I took a photo of the raghorn. A magpie made some noise and he picked up his head faster than I could believe. I thought this whole thing was over before it started. He went right back to eating though.
Then I started taking pictures of the bull chasing the cows. He was chasing them around and I was having a blast!
At the time of this photo, the elk were 350 yards away, on public (bull is 10 yards inside public), and it was now legal shooting light. They were slowly working towards me but I knew I didn’t want to miss an opportunity if they turned to go over the hill into private. My best guess was they would follow the route of the raghorn.
Oh, wait, I have a cow tag… Where are the cows? He rips off another big bugle and looks left. There they are! It’s the darkest it has been in the last 24 hours. The moon is dropping and the sun is just about to come up. I watch and admire what is taking place.
The raghorn is slowly feeding back towards the lake. Only about 125 yards away at this point.
I am freezing, the lack of morning layers is starting to make me shiver pretty bad. I feel like the raghorn can see me shaking. I reach around my pack and have another long sleeved shirt on the outside of my pack but all my jackets would require zippers and that’s not happening right now. I try to use the shirt as a blanket but it’s not working.
6:30 finally rolls around which has felt like hours already with bugles firing off everywhere. I haven’t even looked around to see where the others are. I am pinned bad. I was lucky to get the tripod up when the raghorn was eating behind a bush.
I threw my phone up on my magview adapter on my binos and started taking photos.
First I took a photo of the raghorn. A magpie made some noise and he picked up his head faster than I could believe. I thought this whole thing was over before it started. He went right back to eating though.
Then I started taking pictures of the bull chasing the cows. He was chasing them around and I was having a blast!
At the time of this photo, the elk were 350 yards away, on public (bull is 10 yards inside public), and it was now legal shooting light. They were slowly working towards me but I knew I didn’t want to miss an opportunity if they turned to go over the hill into private. My best guess was they would follow the route of the raghorn.
D
Deleted member 52098
Guest
Just underneath the base of the suppressor there is a big open face, 200 yards away, and the closest private is 150 yards straight uphill. Left and right I have hundreds of yards.
The bull keeps going to high points and bugling and showing off his antlers as the cows and calves enjoy their breakfast.
