diamond hitch
Well-known member
In these trying times, I almost feel guilty sharing to much on the forum. If I need to go away Big Finn - just let me know. This time of the year I tend to have a lot of time on my hands and I love elk hunting and all of the parts of it. The other part of me is I like to share. I have 2 ft of snow in the yard and 2 days ago it was -2. I think I have reached the peak of 'Social distancing'. In the old days I think they called this cabin happy.
When I was learning all about hunting, my father would sit in the sun in a park and killed an elk every 2-4 years. I didn't have the patience for that and had a yondering soul and wanted to see new land and learn. I developed a love of tracking and the chess games with especially big bulls. I didn't always win but like chess learned from my numerous mistakes.
Big bulls can be errigant and egotistical. The little ones range from stupid to paranoid. There is no pride in killing stupid elk only dinner. Big bulls can play with you and teach you life lessons. One of which is yo-yoing. When they haven't caught your scent and don't know what you are, they will sometimes bail off the ridge and go to the bottom and wait for you. As you slowly follow them down the hill, they will walk up the drainage a couple hundred yards and work their way back to the top and wait for you to show. To put you in your place they will bed down and chew their cud while you sweat your way to the top. As you near the top they will jump up and go back to the bottom. Often in these situations, the vertical drop is only 300 or 400 ft. I have seen some that just don't want to be bothered, dump 500 - 600 ft and go up the next ridge. When I was young I have played this game for up to three 'yos'. At nearly 70 I'm more inclined to poop out around 2 but lord how I love the chase. Every once in a while, they will get bored with you and after a couple of hours will get tired of waiting for you and will get up and walk off to feed. Once their brain switches to food and they are making noise eating, I have walked in on them for the kill.
Elk are creatures of habit. The goal of jungle hunting is to know enough to start to think like an elk. Over time and exposure by following them, you will learn favorite feeding zones, bedding grounds, which ridges are cow ridges and which ones the bulls favor. Often after I tag out I will continue to hunt. In Montana I can always shoot a deer if I choose (it better be big) or just carry a gun for protection or conditioning. Hunting early and late in the season has given me exposure to patterns and an understanding of what they do and how they react. Such as if you jump them here which ridge should I hunt tomorrow to pick them up. Hunting elk is really a big chess game with a lot of variables. Weather is one of the biggest.
When I was learning all about hunting, my father would sit in the sun in a park and killed an elk every 2-4 years. I didn't have the patience for that and had a yondering soul and wanted to see new land and learn. I developed a love of tracking and the chess games with especially big bulls. I didn't always win but like chess learned from my numerous mistakes.
Big bulls can be errigant and egotistical. The little ones range from stupid to paranoid. There is no pride in killing stupid elk only dinner. Big bulls can play with you and teach you life lessons. One of which is yo-yoing. When they haven't caught your scent and don't know what you are, they will sometimes bail off the ridge and go to the bottom and wait for you. As you slowly follow them down the hill, they will walk up the drainage a couple hundred yards and work their way back to the top and wait for you to show. To put you in your place they will bed down and chew their cud while you sweat your way to the top. As you near the top they will jump up and go back to the bottom. Often in these situations, the vertical drop is only 300 or 400 ft. I have seen some that just don't want to be bothered, dump 500 - 600 ft and go up the next ridge. When I was young I have played this game for up to three 'yos'. At nearly 70 I'm more inclined to poop out around 2 but lord how I love the chase. Every once in a while, they will get bored with you and after a couple of hours will get tired of waiting for you and will get up and walk off to feed. Once their brain switches to food and they are making noise eating, I have walked in on them for the kill.
Elk are creatures of habit. The goal of jungle hunting is to know enough to start to think like an elk. Over time and exposure by following them, you will learn favorite feeding zones, bedding grounds, which ridges are cow ridges and which ones the bulls favor. Often after I tag out I will continue to hunt. In Montana I can always shoot a deer if I choose (it better be big) or just carry a gun for protection or conditioning. Hunting early and late in the season has given me exposure to patterns and an understanding of what they do and how they react. Such as if you jump them here which ridge should I hunt tomorrow to pick them up. Hunting elk is really a big chess game with a lot of variables. Weather is one of the biggest.
