jryoung
Well-known member
So a year ago my buddies and I were in the Yolla Bolly Wilderness here in CA and we decided that and elk hunt would be fun.....which means "J.R., plan it and tell us what to buy and when". Fast forward to March and 6 apps were in for elk combos in MT and come April, we find out we all drew. Sweet.
So we plan some things
Do some exercise type things
Cook some meals
Lose two hunters on the way due to work and family stuff and it's just 4 of us heading up.
I should probably introduce the characters. Paul, has hunted off and on his whole life, he's hunted elk once in Colorado a few years back, but not successful. Mike is a new hunter, an eager new hunter that has lots of questions and ambition, and will buy almost any piece of gear we tell him to.....also, he's the only native Californian (you see that show up here). Finally, Don, a brand new hunter who has only successfully hunted a rabbit with a 7.62x39 (I cooked what was left for him). Two years ago Don wasn't super keen on guns or gun ownership, we've remedied that in him now he's a licensed hunter, gun owner and NRA member.
Word limit almost reached, switching to pictures.
First night out after setting up camp and not sleeping for 36 hours, it got a little western. I was trying to hustle to a glassing point for the last few minutes of light and missed a turn.....ooops.
Fortunately an InReach message to a fellow hunt talker interrupted the beer he was just poured at the bar and he camp to our rescue shaving 7 miles off our 10 mile hike back to camp.
Ursa Major guiding our hike
Recovery gear for the win
On to hunting, this is me taking Don a short 8 mile loop in the snow.
Fresh tracks, followed them for 3 miles.....every moment felt like we were in the 9th pitching a no hitter and it was going to be won or lost until this bull dropped out of the snow and into untrackable land.
Hey look, the bar is open. Can you guess which guy is actually from CA?
Never had a threesome, but I have to imagine the pleasure here was pretty close.
Back to hunting, these two kept finding elk 5 seconds too late. In fact Don has now earned the nickname Snow White, he finds the animals, but they don't die.
Maverick's inversion in top gun was way cooler.
So we plan some things
Do some exercise type things
Cook some meals
Lose two hunters on the way due to work and family stuff and it's just 4 of us heading up.
I should probably introduce the characters. Paul, has hunted off and on his whole life, he's hunted elk once in Colorado a few years back, but not successful. Mike is a new hunter, an eager new hunter that has lots of questions and ambition, and will buy almost any piece of gear we tell him to.....also, he's the only native Californian (you see that show up here). Finally, Don, a brand new hunter who has only successfully hunted a rabbit with a 7.62x39 (I cooked what was left for him). Two years ago Don wasn't super keen on guns or gun ownership, we've remedied that in him now he's a licensed hunter, gun owner and NRA member.
Word limit almost reached, switching to pictures.
First night out after setting up camp and not sleeping for 36 hours, it got a little western. I was trying to hustle to a glassing point for the last few minutes of light and missed a turn.....ooops.
Fortunately an InReach message to a fellow hunt talker interrupted the beer he was just poured at the bar and he camp to our rescue shaving 7 miles off our 10 mile hike back to camp.
Ursa Major guiding our hike
Recovery gear for the win
On to hunting, this is me taking Don a short 8 mile loop in the snow.
Fresh tracks, followed them for 3 miles.....every moment felt like we were in the 9th pitching a no hitter and it was going to be won or lost until this bull dropped out of the snow and into untrackable land.
Hey look, the bar is open. Can you guess which guy is actually from CA?
Never had a threesome, but I have to imagine the pleasure here was pretty close.
Back to hunting, these two kept finding elk 5 seconds too late. In fact Don has now earned the nickname Snow White, he finds the animals, but they don't die.
Maverick's inversion in top gun was way cooler.
