mrcowboy
Well-known member
2024 Late Muzz Bull hunt
Quick trip report for wife’s late Muzz bull hunt. Wednesday and Thursday it snowed a lot in the northern half of the state. I was a bit worried about the roads and being able to get to the cabin. Drove down with the family on Friday. Met this Hank guy in Q town. He had prepared some carne asada for us. It was freaking delicious. The road to cabin late in the afternoon was sloppy. We decided that we’d hunt one spot closer to the cabin due to sloppy roads. Mornings would be frozen, but afternoons would be slop. Day one we saw 4 bulls. All being legal, with one very nice guy who was flying solo. The first three kind of surprised us, so she was not ready for a shot. Big guy was bumped due to the crunchy snow. Late in the afternoon wife heard distinct howl. This would contribute to a lack of action on Sunday.
Get back to eat some Frito pie, feed the pooches, and watch Godzilla/King Kong (new version). Not a recommended movie in my opinion. Sunday head back to the same area due to good sign and decent roads. We hunt all day. No fresh tracks and no elk sightings. I glassed pretty hard and turned nothing up. As we head back late in the day, I see tracks in the mud where we had bumped big guy. Set up on a bench where I can glass and she can see below. At 4:30 pm I hear rocks move below us. It had to be an elk but we cannot see anything move. Maybe we winded him? Head back for dinner and another movie and a dog mess. One of the dogs managed to each full tin of Danish cookies. How’d he get the lid off? We talk about a plan for Monday, and we decided that the wolf action maybe temporarily bumped the elk out, so we’ll hit another area where the roads should be better by Monday.
Get up thirty minutes earlier as the drive is a bit longer. As we drive around, I notice there aren’t as many camps along the FSR probably due to the mud and possibility of getting your rig and trailer stuck for several days. One camp near the turn with horse trailer and several trucks. We park and head out on foot. Watch a big draw as the elk will funnel up at day light to bed. Nothing shows up. We started climbing the mountain from the east due to the snow melting out and being less crunchy. I tell my wife, if you smell elk, stop and look around for legs in the brush. About halfway up the mountain, the sign is good and fresh. We creep slowly. I hear some rocks below me and pause. I cannot see anything and then my wife says, “horses and hunters”. I tell her they have the same plan as us but the are entering from the west. We need to get to the top before they do. We at least have a head start. Its public land so we cannot get irked. As the wife gets close to cresting, she stops. I’m 2 yards or so behind her but can’t see anything because I’m still on the down hill side. I hear elk talking and smell elk. Next, I hear antlers banging against each other. She is standing still with the gun up. No rest. I’m saying chit no rest for the gun in my head. From my right, I see antlers walking towards us but she is looking forward. Next thing I see is her turn to the right and boom. Off hand shot. She says “I missed”, and I say, “reload”. She reloads and we creep out a yard or so to look downhill in front of us. She’s starts glassing and I say. He’s right in front of you bedded facing away. Hundred yards. The snow looks like a Freddy Kruger movie scene. I grab the sticks, set up, and tell her if he stands up again, shoot. Five minutes later he stands, and she shoots. He moves few yards towards us and clears some oak and crumples. Reload again and wait 15 minutes. No movement. Tag filled. Her third bull in this unit. I joke with her; you are closing in on the cycle for the unit. She’s harvested a 6x6, 5x5, and now 4x4. 2x2 will be tough to find in the future LOL. We settle in for photo or two. One of the horse hunters rides within 75 yards of us and doesn’t even wave or acknowledge we are there. Found that to be odd. As we start walking out that afternoon with a load of meat, I notice the rider followed our tracks down the east side. He was probably curious as to how we got up there so quickly in the morning. Oh well, my sneaky approach is now known by someone else. Fun morning. We have tenderloin that night and go back up the following day for the remaining elk. Oh, I almost forgot, the offhand shot was 25 yards.
Quick trip report for wife’s late Muzz bull hunt. Wednesday and Thursday it snowed a lot in the northern half of the state. I was a bit worried about the roads and being able to get to the cabin. Drove down with the family on Friday. Met this Hank guy in Q town. He had prepared some carne asada for us. It was freaking delicious. The road to cabin late in the afternoon was sloppy. We decided that we’d hunt one spot closer to the cabin due to sloppy roads. Mornings would be frozen, but afternoons would be slop. Day one we saw 4 bulls. All being legal, with one very nice guy who was flying solo. The first three kind of surprised us, so she was not ready for a shot. Big guy was bumped due to the crunchy snow. Late in the afternoon wife heard distinct howl. This would contribute to a lack of action on Sunday.
Get back to eat some Frito pie, feed the pooches, and watch Godzilla/King Kong (new version). Not a recommended movie in my opinion. Sunday head back to the same area due to good sign and decent roads. We hunt all day. No fresh tracks and no elk sightings. I glassed pretty hard and turned nothing up. As we head back late in the day, I see tracks in the mud where we had bumped big guy. Set up on a bench where I can glass and she can see below. At 4:30 pm I hear rocks move below us. It had to be an elk but we cannot see anything move. Maybe we winded him? Head back for dinner and another movie and a dog mess. One of the dogs managed to each full tin of Danish cookies. How’d he get the lid off? We talk about a plan for Monday, and we decided that the wolf action maybe temporarily bumped the elk out, so we’ll hit another area where the roads should be better by Monday.
Get up thirty minutes earlier as the drive is a bit longer. As we drive around, I notice there aren’t as many camps along the FSR probably due to the mud and possibility of getting your rig and trailer stuck for several days. One camp near the turn with horse trailer and several trucks. We park and head out on foot. Watch a big draw as the elk will funnel up at day light to bed. Nothing shows up. We started climbing the mountain from the east due to the snow melting out and being less crunchy. I tell my wife, if you smell elk, stop and look around for legs in the brush. About halfway up the mountain, the sign is good and fresh. We creep slowly. I hear some rocks below me and pause. I cannot see anything and then my wife says, “horses and hunters”. I tell her they have the same plan as us but the are entering from the west. We need to get to the top before they do. We at least have a head start. Its public land so we cannot get irked. As the wife gets close to cresting, she stops. I’m 2 yards or so behind her but can’t see anything because I’m still on the down hill side. I hear elk talking and smell elk. Next, I hear antlers banging against each other. She is standing still with the gun up. No rest. I’m saying chit no rest for the gun in my head. From my right, I see antlers walking towards us but she is looking forward. Next thing I see is her turn to the right and boom. Off hand shot. She says “I missed”, and I say, “reload”. She reloads and we creep out a yard or so to look downhill in front of us. She’s starts glassing and I say. He’s right in front of you bedded facing away. Hundred yards. The snow looks like a Freddy Kruger movie scene. I grab the sticks, set up, and tell her if he stands up again, shoot. Five minutes later he stands, and she shoots. He moves few yards towards us and clears some oak and crumples. Reload again and wait 15 minutes. No movement. Tag filled. Her third bull in this unit. I joke with her; you are closing in on the cycle for the unit. She’s harvested a 6x6, 5x5, and now 4x4. 2x2 will be tough to find in the future LOL. We settle in for photo or two. One of the horse hunters rides within 75 yards of us and doesn’t even wave or acknowledge we are there. Found that to be odd. As we start walking out that afternoon with a load of meat, I notice the rider followed our tracks down the east side. He was probably curious as to how we got up there so quickly in the morning. Oh well, my sneaky approach is now known by someone else. Fun morning. We have tenderloin that night and go back up the following day for the remaining elk. Oh, I almost forgot, the offhand shot was 25 yards.
