Opening day 2019

[Elkhunttoo]

Well, not opening day, but our first day. It’s Monday morning elktember the 7th. I get off of night shift at 5:30 am. An hour and 20 minute drive and we unload the dirt bikes. We go up the trail (camp on our backs/bikes) for the week. It has rained hard all night so every thing is soaked. We get to our previous planned camp spot around 3-4 miles in and drop the bikes and camp. Bows in hand we head up the trail with excitement at a high. About a mile from camp the trail leads up into a nice saddle. Sage brush steep slopes with broken timber. We stop and let out a location bugle with no response. Proceed onward about 100 yards When I look across the draw to my left and freeze! We have a small 6 point bull 250 ish yards across the draw feeding towards the same saddle we are heading towards. This bull noticed us about the exact time we noticed him..............

Put this bull in your freezer??? Because I didn’t ...tell me what I should of done

[Tigger]

Shoot! Yeah, I know it was archery season, but might as well try! Just kidding of course.

It all depends on what he saw. If he goes on alert, there really wasn't anything you could do. If he goes back to feeding, then it is game on. Then you have to look at the wind and terrain. Can you get to the backside of the saddle? If so, I would get there and set up. Might do a couple of quiet cow mews and see what he does. Where is his bedding area? how big of a saddle? Maybe just ambush him in the saddle if you think he is gonna cross.

Cue Swede to say find the first tree you can find an crawl up!

[Lefty]

Hunt him tomorrow? How did he react,.. Did he bolt? slip into timber?
Enjoy more of the season-hunt, life goes on


And
Depends
There are a lot of things more important than meat in the freezer and horns on the wall.!!!!!! ( bands on the lanyard)
I use to be too competitive, to a fault, some things it took a while to realize there were other ways to enjoy things(life)

Ive passed on game just minutes into the first mornings hunt . Sometimes it was because it just didnt seem "sporting". Seemed too easy.
Also have passed because the hunt would all be over.
I was just bit upset this fall when my first year hunting partner passed on close cows, waiting on a bull to come in

When my daughters first hunted geese, I was all about getting their birds not our (my) birds. My daughters hunting with me was way more important.
Drives a buddy crazy. I vaguely remember some of our "great( goose) hunts" but recall the little things with my wife, daughters and grand daughter.

As a kid I became a catch and release guy, knowing I would get stuck cleaning everyone else's fish in the camp ground when I brought fish back to shore .

And My father in laws comment, "Why ruin a good hunt by killing something" Killing game is only one reason of who knows how many reasons I hunt
Ive been one of those goofy dudes that has climbed mountains because I could


After school hunt; 5 flights of geese . The oldest shot twice the younger shot 4 times

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Ill brag on this one too, My youngest had maybe shot a shotgun less than 20 times, she only shot once intro each flight , 4 shots, 4 birds. we ended up with our birds, I dont remember shooting a one of them, don't remember eating them, While I don't remember ( recorded in my journal. ) I shot my birds after she shot hers and with my girls gun I do remember we didn't use many decoys that day and shot a total of 8 times

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[Indian Summer]

All is NOT lost! Go into observation mode. Watch where he goes. Then head the other way and let him forget about you. Come back in the evening but lay low and see what’s goon then hit it hard the next morning. For the most part they don’t go far.

[Swede]

Cue Swede to say find the first tree you can find an crawl up!

You did not have a chance since you forgot your tree stand. If you hurried right then you could have been back with your stand that evening. Hang it near that saddle, you would be in a great place to fill your tag very soon. You characters are sure slow learners. I see there is a lot of work left to do on this forum.

[Elkhunttoo]

Someone besides the mods has got to chime in here!!!

The mods are crazy!!! One has me just taking the shot from my position ...the next one says to go home and send me on a wild goose chase (not sure if I should use my bow or slingshot for this hunt) ... one thought about it but he says wait til tomorrow (I want him now ) ... and the last one tells me to go home and build a tree house because I have no chance either way !!!!

RJ you better help this crew out

[Swede]

I was only partly kidding you about the tree stand. The truth is, if you find a saddle where elk pass back and forth, it can be an excellent place to set a stand. I have not seen your saddle but you wrote;

We have a small 6 point bull 250 ish yards across the draw feeding towards the same saddle we are heading towards.

You were heading to this saddle for some reason. Was it because you anticipated it could/would have elk there? The essence of tree stand hunting is locating yourself where your quarry is likely to show up. Saddles can be great. The tree stand locates you in a spot where you will not be detected. Saddles can be great for that, and you do not have to hang your stand as high as you do in a basin.
I have had elk breeding about 100 yards below my stand and I just listened and waited. I did not leave my stand to chase after them. It paid off within an hour.

[Elkhunttoo]

Original plan was to sit wallows about a mile from this saddle we were at. I agree with you Swede that saddles are really good places To sit but for me there are better then this one. We were still on the trail and it is open to dirt bike so not a great one imo.

We only needed about 10 steps to be able to stay out of sight from this bull and get to the saddle. We sat down and watched him for 2-3 minutes. Options we debated were Stay put and watch him and see if we can watch where he beds. Or get to the backside of the saddle and give a few cow calls (wind was perfect for this option). We crawled to the trees. There was a few places we could see him through the branches and he was still in the same area. We got to the back side and my partner set up I I went through it about 100 yards...waited a few minutes then let out a 3-4 soft cow calls and then waited for 5 ish minutes and repeat. There had been a few elk go through just in front of us from the way the tracks looked. Early season and I felt this bull was kinda Just hanging close to a small group of cows....anyway, no luck

[WapitiTalk1]

Just curious, was the bull vocal at all as he moved up towards bed?

[Elkhunttoo]

Never made a sound.

We had bugles about 100 yards away from where we saw him and he didn’t respond to that either

[Lefty]

Well I may still not have a clear pic

My experience, if they have seen you they haven’t responded to any calls

And as you suggested often with other elk around many elk seem uninterested in other elk sounds