Slim9300's (aka Elknut's Apprentice) - 2012 Hunting Blog

[slim9300]

Well I can't believe it's September 1st! As I type this I am sitting in my deer stand just a couple miles from home in WA and it's nearly 80 degrees. Let's just call tree stand hunting an exercise in patience because it's all I have for the time being. Just a couple more days until the WA elk opener and the time cannot come fast enough. My partner and I will only have 5 days in the WA early season to get it done (weekends at that), but thankfully we will have 11 days in MT during the end of the month. It's shaping up to be another good season and if we can match last season's 4 for 4 performance on elk, that is all that matters (okay, maybe bigger bulls would be nice too).

I will sporadically post updates throughout the season when I can and pictures if things go well. Good luck with your seasons guys and remember, NEVER GIVE UP!

-Conlan

[cantgetdrawn]

Good Luck!

I still have 12 days for my mulie hunt in NM, then up to CO to chase elk the last week of the archery season. If I can't tag out for deer I will be back in Jan.

[dreamhunter]

Now this is what i was talking to my buddy about and will talk more when we get together in about a week. Hunting two different states the same year. I think that would be a blast. Good luck to you

[WapitiTalk1]

Good luck Slim. The expectation is two bulls.. One from WA and one from MT .. RJ

[slim9300]

Good luck Slim. The expectation is two bulls.. One from WA and one from MT .. RJ

Fingers crossed for that.

[ElkNut1]

Hey Slim, sounds like you're chomping at the bit dude!!! (grin) Great to see the enthusiasm you have for elk hunting! Keep that fire burning!!

The Idaho bulls are starting up fairly decent at this time, there will be a short lull but should kick into gear real good by the 10th! Shoot straight & good luck guys!!!

ElkNut1

[slim9300]

Hey Slim, sounds like you're chomping at the bit dude!!! (grin) Great to see the enthusiasm you have for elk hunting! Keep that fire burning!!

The Idaho bulls are starting up fairly decent at this time, there will be a short lull but should kick into gear real good by the 10th! Shoot straight & good luck guys!!!

ElkNut1

Thank you Paul! Good luck knocking down that bull of your dreams.

[eltaco]

Good luck Conlan!

We've hit the lul here in CO. They were super fired up a few days ago and now haven't heard much for 3 days. Caught a bull this morning, he just happened to be 150yds away and gave two soft chuckles. I could only her him to chuckle back on calls after that, but he was really cautious about making any real noise!

[slim9300]

Good luck Conlan!

We've hit the lul here in CO. They were super fired up a few days ago and now haven't heard much for 3 days. Caught a bull this morning, he just happened to be 150yds away and gave two soft chuckles. I could only her him to chuckle back on calls after that, but he was really cautious about making any real noise!

So when are we going to see the pics of the 5x5 Jeremy? Who killed it, your pops or your uncle?

[slim9300]

Scott and I got done packing everything up for the weekend and headed south to the SW corner of the state. I can't believe it's already 10pm. Ouch. Going to ride in a few miles on our bikes and sleep with the elk. Hopefully locate a bull or two for the morning just before going to sleep at around 2am.

Here's everything laid out for two days. 35.2 lbs. including 6.25 lbs. of water, and my rangefinder and binos. It feels pretty good to go light for once.

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[ElkNut1]

Awesome!!!! Keep us Updated !!

ElkNut1

[slim9300]

Well, I have debated posting this all last night and today. I decided that lying about what happened wouldn't be right.

Saturday Sept. 8th was a great day and a horrible day all in one. It was the highest of highs and the lowest of lows and it will forever be burned into my memory like a bad dream. We covered 15 miles on the bikes and easily 5 walking. As of Sunday morning at 1:00am, Scott and I hadn't slept in 37 hours and could hardly function when we pulled into his driveway and the reality was that it wasn't close to being over.

I called in Scott's bull, a legal 3x3 about 9:00am on Saturday morning and he laid the hammer down. The bull responded to a locator bugle from about 400 yards away. We moved in with terrible wind and attempted to get above the elk to gain a more favorable cross-wind. As I bugled another location bugle at what I figured was 200 yards from the bull, he responded with some loud chuckles right where we figured. Time to move, since he rounding up his cows. We had only gone 60 yards and popped over a little ridge and there were about 6-7 cows staring at us. Now we knew why the bull had chuckled so loudly. Lol. The cows busted quickly and side-hilled through the timber and below the bull. Next Scott and I headed up to try and hook around the herd of cows and head them off from above, while also trying to stay above the bull. After covering about 1/4 mile we figured that we were above the bull by about 200 yards. We took a seat in a spot that allowed us to see about 80 yards downhill and decided to let the elk calm down. We pulled out a quick snack and waited about 5 minutes. Next we started a calling sequence that made quite a racket. We represented two bulls going at it and a large herd of cows. About 2 minutes later we shut it down. A few minutes after that, I heard an elk crunching in from below and to my right. I couldn't see the creek bottom it was standing near so I left Scott to call and crept down about 60 yards until I saw the "huge spike" looking at me from about 60 yards straight on. I waited for the bull to walk out of sight and called Scott down. We moved toward where the elk went, thinking that the other bull that chuckled was probably near by. Scott was now up as shooter and I took over the calling.

When we popped over the top of the next ridge we saw the other bull about 120 yards away, walking parallel to us and downhill. Once he went out of sight we moved ahead quickly and got as close as we dared. I started with level 2 of the threat as Scott and I slowly stalked in, me staying 40 yards behind. As he came around the ridge between us and the bull, both small bulls were waiting for us downhill at about 45 yards. Scott quickly confirmed the one with a clear shot was legal with the binos and proceeded to double lung him. I watched the arrow fly, heard the report and saw the elk run. It went about 100 yards and piled up. By 2:00pm we had his elk near the truck and cooling in the shade. We were dog tired.

The evening hunt is another long story and a long walk. But I ended up smoking a 5x5 with what I thought was a perfect shot until I saw it hit his shoulder (top of the heart in terms of height) and the bull dropped in his tracks. He began fighting to stand up violently but couldn't. It was 10 minutes before last shooting light. I kept trying to put arrows into him from about 45 yards away but he fell into a low spot in the clear cut with a pile of slash and branches protecting his body and I couldn't get an arrow through. They just kept hitting the wood in front of him and it was horribly frustrating. Between the bull and I was a 50' drop into a blackberry choked creek bottom that was truly uncrossable, hence the reason I didn't run right in to finish the job. Finally, I was down to my last arrow out of 5 and made the fatal mistake of trying to walk around the impassable creek bottom (on Scott's suggestion) and trying to get close with the last arrow before dark. My thought process was that after all this time he couldn't get up and light nearly being gone, it could be a critical arrow. For the 5 minutes it took me to walk around, the bull continued to fight to stand up per Scott. When I was within 80 yards and closing coming up the edge of the timberline toward him, Scott began yelling at me that he had gotten up and was walking away like nothing happened. By then it was too dark to shoot for me (probably 5 minutes of "shooting light" remained) and I was cursing my decision. I located all my arrows and found that the arrow that hit him penetrated about 6", but it was hard to tell what blood was from splatter and what was from actual penetration. There was a lot of blood where he struggled. The last inch of the arrow was mushroomed and the insert and broadhead were still in his shoulder bone. I knew how bad things were at that point but I was confused as to what caused the temporary inability to stand (since it was nowhere near the spine).

With Scott's elk down and the temps being pretty warm we knew that we had to get home to take care of Scott's meat or it would spoil. After talking to my dad he felt like the best bet was to leave the elk overnight and this confirmed our thinking. The longer the elk had to stiffen up the better in his mind. I hoped he would lay down and bleed out but I knew something wasn't right.

Scott and I got there in the morning and once we starting following the tracks we realized that he was not bleeding at all. We found two tiny drops in the first 100 yards. We painstakingly followed his tracks up the timberline in the clearcut and after 500 yards and 2 hours we found the third and final tiny drop of blood. We continued to follow his tracks over the next 2 hours all the way to the top of the ridge where the clear cut turns into 20 year old doghair. We didn't find a single bed or another speck of blood. My nightmare became a reality. My bull just walked away and he was not mortally wounded. I had to live with not attempting to get my last arrow into him from 45 yards away and passing the neck shot I did have once I looked through the binos. I don't think time is going to heal this one.

It's a crappy thing to post, I know. I have this coming Saturday, Sunday and Monday to kill my WA bull. Let's hope this time I get it done.

[slim9300]

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[easeup]

dang the sorry luck!

but congrats also to the group.

[ElkNut1]

Slim, been there done that, I hated it! Good chance the bull is OK. You shocked his system with a scapula/shoulder blade hit but did not reach lungs, crap happens & it can really suck, gather your composure & elk knowledge & move forward with full confidence in your abilities, you're an excellent elk hunter!! Good Luck!

ElkNut1

[slim9300]

Slim, been there done that, I hated it! Good chance the bull is OK. You shocked his system with a scapula/shoulder blade hit but did not reach lungs, crap happens & it can really suck, gather your composure & elk knowledge & move forward with full confidence in your abilities, you're an excellent elk hunter!! Good Luck!

ElkNut1

Thank you Paul.

On a side note: Holy smokes on the hog of a ID bull you killed over the weekend! Way to go buddy.

[WapitiTalk1]

Two bull opportunities between you and Scott over the course of a weekend. Pretty damn good hunting Conlan. I think the Roosey you hit will get over the stinger you gave him just fine. I know when we talked, I said I would have tried to put one in the neck but after reading your very descriptive account, (finding all but 6 inches of the arrow), I think the right decision may have been to not take the follow on neck shot. Maybe you'll meet up with him again next year, as a "6 point". RJ

[slim9300]

Two bull opportunities between you and Scott over the course of a weekend. Pretty damn good hunting Conlan. I think the Roosey you hit will get over the stinger you gave him just fine. I know when we talked, I said I would have tried to put one in the neck but after reading your very descriptive account, (finding all but 6 inches of the arrow), I think the right decision may have been to not take the follow on neck shot. Maybe you'll meet up with him again next year, as a "6 point". RJ

I hope you are right Rory!

[slim9300]

If there is something most western bowhunters understand, it's humility. Looking back over my hunting career prior to last weekend, I naively figured that the most painful lessons in bowhunting were behind me. Obviously I was wrong.

Friday night (Sept. 14th): Scott and I got into bow range of 4 separate herds of elk. One of the herds was over 30 animals but didn't have a single legal bull. I could have arrowed a cow or a spike in every situation.

Sept. 15th: Chased the same herd bull and his cows around from daylight to 9:30am. He would call and we would chase but the closest we could get to him was 100 yards. Late morning we attempted to predict his bedding location and figured him to be bedded in one of the last patches of large timber about 1 mile to the North. We relocated about5 miles around on the lower road system so that we could get the wind right and let the elk settle down. We came in below the bull and still hunted about 3/4 mile from west to east across the timber at mid slope. Eventually, we walked right in to the 4x4 bull and his couple cows at 40 yards. I cow called to stop the bull broadside. Scott gave me the range as I drew back and I proceeded to settle my pin. When the arrow hit an unforeseen twig a few feet before the elk and barely defected over his back I was in shock. I could already taste the backstraps.

The rest of the day was spent passing cows and spikes like they were flies. Where were all the branch bulls?

Sunday Sept. 16th (the last day of the season): In the dark Scott and I side-hilled it through the timber toward the bull's last bugle from the night before. When we were within 300 yards we waited for first light and a bugle to give us his location. A few minutes after I could shoot in the timber I heard a quiet bugle that seemed like he was still in his bed. Game on. Scott and I snuck in to 60 yards before the bull popped up on the ridge above us. I guessed him at 60 yards but knew I had time to range him. Scott and I held him there with cow calls as I ranged him over and over again straight uphill. 93 yards?! No way. 93 yards. 93 yards. WTH. Eventually I just stopped and figured I would add 10 yards to my guess (what an idiot I know). I'm sure you can guess what happened. The arrow sailed 3" right over his back. The actual range was 60 yards. Next we cow called madly to try and stop the running bull. 2 seconds later a cow came running into 15' from us looking confused.

The rest of the day was spent chasing bulls and passing shots on cows and spikes. I passed another long shot on a 3x3 that wouldn't stop for long enough. The day ended with me standing there 40 yards from a spike that I held in place with cow calling for about 60 seconds broadside.

I accepted that I was going to have to wait until November to get my revenge on a WA cow.

On to the elk hunter's "promised land" tomorrow night. My confidence level seems to be waning.

[slim9300]

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[slim9300]

September 20th: Redemption.

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I'll post the story and other photos after we kill Scott's bull. Just stepped out to the butcher and now it's time to stumble back into the basin.

[ElkNut1]

Slim, way too go!!! Can't see any photos though? Congrats!!!

ElkNut1

[slim9300]

Slim, way too go!!! Can't see any photos though? Congrats!!!

ElkNut1

Sitting on the side of a mountain and for the first time ever I have service. Odd. With my help calling, my old man and Scott called and stalked into 20 yards of two separate great 6x6's this morning (the bulls were 80 yards apart on the North facing slope out of camp). One had to be 350" easy, the other about 300". Both shots were iffy in their opinions so they didn't shoot an arrow. Then my pops headed up to the saddle to the west and out since he was out of time. He was here a few days before us and sat a remote wallow for 5 days straight. He had three shots and three misses in that time and saw quite a few bulls.

After my dad left, Scott and I continued down to two of the bugles below us. As we were sneaking in on the bugle of our focus I looked right and had a clear frontal shot at 20 yards on a nice 6x6 that snuck in silent to my constant cow calls. If I had a tag he was dead. Scott was 20 yards ahead and just as he got back to me the bull busted. We continued toward the mean sounding scream with chuckles, Scott as far forward as I could see him (20-40 yards) and me cow calling my way in. We walked right into a very solid 6x6 and Scott proceeded to try and sneak an arrow in on him. It defected right before hitting him.

Currently I'm sitting here what I would guess is 200-400 yards from a herd bull that likes to scream (and I mean a gnarly scream) his position from his bed every hour or so. We heard him about 45 minutes ago from 1200' away and made our move to get above him. As I speak my boots are off and my feet are taking a well deserved rest. Next time he bugles his location he's going to die.

Paul. I'll try the picture again. Let me know if it works. Can you see my older pics?

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[Fullabull]

Nice job Slim...good story. Sounds like you guys had some good times
Would be nice if you could get the pictures going...

Congrats!!!

[slim9300]

We got Scott his bull and it's bigger than mine to boot. The 23rd was a good evening hunt.

It's going to take me a few days to post field pics and the story.

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[pointysticks]

awwww damn..

not only are you good hunters..you take great pictures too??!!! fantastic image!!

[Vanish]

Damn, nice work!

[ElkNut1]

I see them now, thanks! Good stuff guys, looks like you're hunting the desert!!! (grin)

ElkNut1

[Swede]

Excellent pictures and a fine bull. Way to go!

[slim9300]

I see them now, thanks! Good stuff guys, looks like you're hunting the desert!!! (grin)

ElkNut1

Nope. I'm just really good at hiding where we hunt.

[slim9300]

Sept. 18th: We left at midnight with everything packed and finally ready to go. Redbull was flowing freely.

Sept. 19th : After driving all night Scott and I reach the trailhead at 10am. After checking our bows at 40 and 60, we load up our packs and head East into “our” basin. It's about a 5 mile walk to basecamp where my old man had been staying since the 16th. I have made this walk over 30 times since I was 19 years old, so hitting the right meadows and making the right turns are almost second nature to me now. If you don’t choose the correct way the walk, it can be a bear due to thick blown-down and sheer cliffs. We get into camp around 2pm after taking our time coming in. Once we have everything setup it's after 4 and we are beat. It's been quite a few hours without quality sleep and I wasn't getting out of my sleeping bag unless the elk came real close to the tent. And if they did that evening, I never heard them.

Sept. 20th: The alarm went off at 5am. The strategy was to go after the closest bugle come 30 minutes before daylight. During the night 5-6 bulls sounded off from all around us. Most of the bulls were on the 1/2 to 3/4 slope and since we are camped on the bottom, it always means an uphill climb in the morning. The biggest positive is that our wind is always good heading up. At 5:45am we had three bulls bracketed in the NW corner of the basin. Off we went. The first bull was the furthest East (ie. closest) and the biggest sounding, so we proceeded after him with haste. After climbing 600 feet up the South facing slope and going about 0.5 mile, we were within 350 yards. The bull was clearly a herd bull and moving his cows up. There was no way we were going to slow him down without a reason. My favorite option for dealing with this situation is to give a few loud & pleading cow calls right to the bull. 90% of the time the response is an immediate short scream to come his way. Just like it always seems to happen the bull barked his order and we cooperated. As we headed toward the bull from below we kept reassuring him with cow calls every 40-50 yards. Once we reached 150 yards we realized that this bull had topped out in terms of protection. He was at the top of the alpine directly below a shale rock field that stretched to the top of the mountain (another 1/2 mile up). At 150 yards Scott gave the final cow call and we began the sneak in. The bull screamed at us to hurry up but we remained silent. Once I had made it in to 60 yards I could see his cows. I motioned back to Scott who was 40 yards back to begin a few cow calls. The bull came unglued. At the same time one of his cows had moved into my only shooting lane and had me pegged. The herd was about to bolt and I knew it. As soon as I heard hooves meeting shale rock I ran. As I reached the edge of the Alpine at 7900 feet I immediately ranged the herd bull struggling to move up through the rock; 65 yards. I tried not to look at the antlers of this giant as I knew he was a 350" bull without a doubt. I cow called ferociously and the bull turned back. I figured 70 now. An easy shot with no wind? Odd. The arrow left the bow and the shot felt good. As it moved toward the elk it moved more and more to the right. As it crashed against the rocks at perfect height just missing the bulls rear end I was confused. I was snapped back to reality as Scott bugled and cow called up a storm below me. A bull was closing on us fast and he was trying to call him in to himself while distracting my bull at the same time. I immediately grabbed my tube and motioned for him move West and down as fast as he could. I struck up an intense scene of a bull taking advantage of an unwilling cow (ie. The Threat). Scott couldn't even get all the way through the shale field to the West before he realized he just had to sit still in the open. The herd was making its way along the timberline (tiny wind-blown timber I might add), and heading right to the racket I was making. At 52 yards a cow walked through a lane straight downhill and Scott took his range. 20 seconds later the bull was stepping into the same lane. Before the shot was clear Scott let out a popping grunt that stopped the 6x6 bull perfectly. He settled his 60 pin bottom of the heart and released (we don't have 50 pins for the record). The arrow puffed hair as it shaved the bulls back. My first question to Scott was why not use your 40 high? He looked at me with that puppy dog face like “I know.” Next we headed to get my arrow. As I walked up into the shale rock field I felt an increasingly stiff wind from West to East. By the time I got to my arrow it was a solid 20 mph and I knew why my arrow did what it did. The arrow was toast but I felt better in my shooting abilities.

By the time we had gotten back to timberline out of the shale it was about 8:30am. We were talking about our next move and watching Scott's bull 800 yards down below in the bottom moving briskly through a small meadow with only a few of his cows. As we began to question or bowhunting prowess a bugle erupted below us and to the West about 300 yards. “Time for redemption,” I told Scott. We blazed down hill toward the bull. He was just above a small semi-open meadow at 7,400 feet of elevation and we were almost even with him on the opposite side of the draw. At 150 yards I gave two loud and pleading cow calls telling him that we were coming in to give him a “good time.” At 80 yards Scott stayed back and I snuck in. I knew if I could get in range of the meadow, he would be dead. At 60 yards I still didn't have a clear shot of the meadow and I could tell by his bugle he was looking for Scott from the open edge. I snuck the final 10 yards to an opening and had him perfectly broadside. The range was 52 and straight downhill, but the problem was the only thing not covered by branches was part of his front shoulder, his heart and his neck and head. There was a long branch 20 yards in front of the elk covering his back line and his belly line and leaving a narrow window in between. Even the lungs were covered. I figured he would take one more step and be 100% clear and I would wait. I didn't need any more atrocities this season. After a full 90 seconds he hadn't moved and he was surely getting impatient. I got this feeling that I was out of time despite having more time than I have ever had. I now decided to thread the needle. I drew back my bow and placed my 40 pin just below his back line (which happened to be dead center of the upper branch). I settled, leveled my bubble and released. Crack! The arrow burried about 23" right through his front shoulder and what I figured was his heart. Man that seems low when you see it! 30 seconds later we heard him crash close by. After a painful 60 minute wait we proceeded slowly toward the bull. 20 yards into the walk I heard him get up and crash back down. W T H!? Scott and I sat down and gave him another 30 minutes. As we snuck in 30 minutes later the blood was good at the POI. I had hit lungs. I went 20 more yards up the trail to the right looking for the next sign of blood or antlers and I heard Scott say “holy crap” and turned to watch him arrow my bull at 10 yards bedded. The bull fought to get up and went another 10 yards and I laced him in the heart. Well, I hoped it was the heart this time. A few minutes later I was holding my second biggest bull and elk number 11. I couldn't help but think what happened on the first arrow? There would be no gutless method on this elk. Lol. Eventually we figured out what happened. My arrow had broken the entire shoulder bone in half (two pieces) just above the elbow, broke a blade and continued into one lung and just nicked the heart. The bull was one tough SOB. I feel bad posting the pictures but I don't think anyone would believe me unless they saw the shoulder bone. Let me know if you want me to post them. You can shield your eyes if you are squeamish. By sundown Scott and I were able to get the boned out meat and antlers to the top of the mountain halfway between the truck and camp. It was the heaviest pack I have ever shouldered at 120 lbs. Keep in mind I am 6' 2" and 160 lbs. by this point in Sept., but needless to say, my Kifaru Timberline performed flawlessly. My one trekking pole was also a godsend but I was wishing for the other one instead of my bow. (Thank you for the advice Aron aka ElkReaper!) At the top (8k’) Scott took a few pics I will never forget with my iPhone and we left the meat just inside timberline to cool. The plan was to hunt our way up the mountain in the morning and get the meat to the butcher by 2pm if possible. Well, we didn't get back to camp until 2 hours after dark and getting up early didn't happen.

[slim9300]

Sept. 21st: By 7am we were headed West up the slope and it was already stifling hot. No wonder the elk were mostly mute on this rare silent morning. We ended up getting to the butcher at 4pm and by the time we had gotten something to eat it was 6pm. Looks like we would be headed back into the basin in the dark via our headlamps.

Side bar: Before I go further I want to "plug" a product I have no stake in what-so-ever. Before I left on my hunt I researched headlamps. I have always desired a bright SOB that wasn't a tank in terms of weight and size and a tiny one that I could use in camp and as a backup. I have always been prone to tripping on my 'you know what' at night when either packing meat or just stumbling back to camp hours after dark. Many hours of research in the deer stand in early Sept. (lol) led me to Zebralight. The claim all over the internet was that they were far and away the most technical and advanced lights on the planet. I ended up purchasing the H502c that runs on a single AA battery and is brighter than any headlamp that runs on 3 AAAs that I have found. (including my Petzel's) This is a “flood type” light that gives you a 20'x20' wall of light. And the H600w XM-L that runs on one 18650 rechargeable battery. This is the brightest headlamp on the planet with both an amazing flood of light and a beam that will fully illuminate 80 yards in front of you. It makes walking at night seem like it's daytime and I’m being serious. I will never leave for a hunt without these two items ever again.

When we reached the trailhead to head back into base-camp the sun was setting in the West and we were both beat down. The 3 hour hike with a semi-light pack went surprisingly smooth and we arrived in camp after 10pm. By midnight we were sleeping soundly.

Sept. 22nd: "The day the elk were destined to die." This is the same day I miraculously had cell service at the top of the North facing slope out of camp. I texted an update after my dad and Scott blew a great opportunity at two bulls that came in to the same place (ie. me). I'll give the details...

This was my dad's last morning. It happened to be his only day hunting out of the treestand and he was more than ready to try his luck on the ground. The plan was to hunt the couple square miles around his wallow where he had been listening to bugles all week but seeing only a few bulls come in. As we headed South out of camp we climbed the thick North facing slope toward a handful of screaming of bulls. We call this area “Elk Mecca.” Scott and I always stay out of it until my dad is done hunting, so as not to disturb his wallow or the behavior of the elk. One is particular sounded extra deep and fired up. We figured him to be a herd bull with a small harem like most of the herd bulls in the basin. At 300 yards I announced our presence with a few loud and excited cow calls. He immediately screamed our way and it was game on. Scott and my dad stayed 30 yards apart as they moved in on the elk. It wasn't very difficult since he responded to every cow call I gave. He did move slowly with his herd upward and it took about 300 yards before we started catching him. Once inside 100 yards I setup and Scott and my dad moved in. One bull was 80 yards above us and the larger sounding bull was 60 yards below and both were closing. Both bulls were great 6x6s. The herd bull was a tank. Somehow both bulls came in to 20 yards of the shooters and went back the way they came without getting a Slick Trick in the boiler room. I may have given some stern advice to my dad and Scott on how they could have setup better but I’ll try to save you the details. lol

After this encounter we parted ways with my dad as it was time for him to head to Northern NM for his rifle elk hunt with my little sister. Scott and I dropped quickly toward the three “new” bugles NE of us about 500 yards out. The next encounters are described above on my post from the mountain. After blowing yet another prime opportunity it was time to cover some ground and head up the opposite side of the basin to the North.

Once toward the top of the South facing slope we ended up blowing 2 opportunities at large lone bulls on the move. Both times the cow calls shut them up and they moved away. I have no idea what we could have done since they weren't herd bulls and I'm confident they were looking for cows. I assume they could have been elk that we already blew opportunities on with the same tactic just 2 days prior. With 90 minutes of light remaining we noticed there were two bulls screaming their heads off 3/4 mile away on the same side of the basin we started the day on, just further East. Keep in mind we are at 7,700' and these elk were at 7,400 across from us. We had to go down to 6,800 and back up the other side. Scott said, "F that, there's no time to get over there! Don't even think about it! We just got up here and we came from over there." My exact words were, "Don't be a bi tch!" I know, I'm Mr. Sensitivity as my wife likes to call my old man. I will say one thing, not having to carry a bow lets me cover ground like never before. It's my favorite part about being the "guide."

Anyways, 30 minutes later we were in position 200 yards under the screaming bulls. He sounded real angry but I figured I would give him the safe bet and go with the cow calls. He responded by moving away slowly and calling his way as he went. What is going on with these elk, don’t they want some tail? At this point he's 300 yards away and moving up from us. There is no way we are catching this elk so I figured what the heck, let's challenge him and sound real mean for the first time in the trip. As the bull screamed I cut him off with the best "mean" I have and the hardest hitting grunts too. I took a heavy dead branch and began pounding every dead branch in sight. The bull came unglued and immediately started heading our way. I just remember shaking my head in disbelief. Within 5 minutes the bull was 40 yards from Scott and staring down at me 80 yards below. The shot was marginal so Scott passed the smallish 6x6. When the bull turned tail and had seen enough Scott dogged him up the mountain with me calling still in the bottom. Scott had two close calls with this bull stopping on his backtrail as he moved up the mountain but no arrow was released. Toward the top Scott had two bulls come charging in to 10 yards on him together. One was a small 4 and the other a tiny forked "spike." He told me it was like taking candy from a baby how dumb they were. Sept 22nd ended with me asking Scott how the heck he didn't kill an elk today and pointing out to him that it was their day to die!? Lol. I reassured him that he was due and there was no way he was going home without a bull. After all we had 7 days left if need be!

[slim9300]

Sept. 23rd: "The unexpected kill day." At 5:45am, neither Scott or I wanted to move from our warm sleeping bags. When I rolled out of that bag I think Scott got motivation from seeing me want to move. I told him it was time to find a dumb MF that would stand there and commit suicide.

As the sun just began up rise in the East we were already peering into a small meadow 600 yards NE of camp. Bull! Small 5x5. Crap. I tried to get Scott to shoot him but he wasn't buying it. Just then a much bigger bull screamed 60 yards above the 5 point in the timber above. Scott ended up getting in on the bull at 40 yards but didn't have a clear shot. He figured him to be a 290" 6x6. Next we climbed to timberline at 7,900 and sat looking into the next basin to the East for quite some time. 2 constant bugles on the opposite side; A long ways away. We decided to leave these elk for later in the trip due to them being 8+ miles from the truck. We were both beat and it was nap time. We dropped down to 7,700 feet and found a nice small pocket of small timber that overlooked a few small finger shaped meadows that were all in bow range. Once we were settled I threw out 5-6 cow sounds and covered my face with my beanie and passed out. 20 minutes later I woke in a panic to an elk crashing a few feet from me. I looked down at Scott 10 yards away and he had a look of disgust on his face. "18 yards and I thought I could sneak one through a small window. Nope. I can't believe that thing snuck in that silent." He was eating his M&Ms and reading a book when he caught movement below him. He said the big 5x5 was looking right at him as he moved his book and M&Ms out of his way, grabbed his already "loaded" bow and drew. “It just stayed there dumbfounded.” I went back to sleep after pointing out that he couldn't even kill the dumb ones.

By 2pm it was hot. Really hot. It had to be 80 degrees and we hadn't heard a bugle since 10am. What's with this warm crap this late in Sept? The plan was to move back up to 7,800-7,900 and head West above where I killed my bull on the 20th but a little to the East. We told each other that we wouldn't budge until we heard a bugle below us. If that meant waiting until dark, so be it. When 6:15pm rolled around and we hadn't heard anything I was staring to question our decision to sit on our butts all day long. Scott pointed out that we could use the rest and that running around was just a waste of time and energy. I conceded. The sun would be going down around 7:00pm and I was feeling like it was time crunch. Right on cue at 6:45 a bugle erupted 1/4 mile below us and to the west. It was immediately followed up by a bull 300 yards straight below us. Bingo. A huge smile came over both of our faces and thankfully the thermals were still moving upward. We assumed the bull would be moving down toward water and we quickly moved downhill toward him. After covering 100 yards I caught movement below us. The bull was headed right up to us and he was 80 yards and closing fast. I grabbed Scott and pulled him down violently. He looked at me with a questioning angry look. Where is the elk!? Nock an arrow QUICK, he's going to walk right up to us. His eyes got really big and he moved fast. I watched as the bull closed on us. His gaze was fixated on the bull below him and to the West. He never even actually looked straight upward. At 40 yards the bull's head went behind a tree and Scott drew. He continued as if he was on a string dead at us. At 20 yards he began to cut slightly to our right and was hard quartering to. I tried to whisper to Scott, "NO, NO, NO. He will come closer." But I could tell that he was getting worried about how close the bull was getting with almost nothing in between us minus a few 10" diameter tree trunks. Scott put the first arrow through the front of the front shoulder and it disappeared into the middle of the body cavity. It was almost a frontal shot. I immediately went crazy with some cow calling and the bull jumped few feet and paused. He looked back confused at the arrow that just exited his body and struck the ground behind him. Scott didn't miss a beat and sent an arrow through both lungs no more than 2 seconds later. The bull was rocked and ran East and down the slope. With 30 minutes of shooting light remaining we gave the bull 15 minutes and headed after him. A few minutes later we watched the bull take his last step lodging his left front hoof and antlers between two small trees, and literally die partially standing. We got him unstuck as quickly as we could via my Sawvivor 15" saw and rolled him to the meadow 20 yards below. We had just enough time for a few good photos without the flash.

2012 will be an elk season I will never forget.

[slim9300]

[planebow]

Great bulls, enjoyed the write up.

[slim9300]

Great bulls, enjoyed the write up.

Thanks!

[cantgetdrawn]

Nice read. Congrats on the Bulls.

[ElkNut1]

Slim, way to go!!! I enjoyed the story as well as the whole thread, you done well!! Knowing when to call & when not too is a big piece of the puzzle in ones success!! Great job & congrats!!

ElkNut1

[Vanish]

Great story! I am jealous of all the bugles you get to hear!

[slim9300]

Thanks guys! We are very lucky to have "our" spot.

[slim9300]

Headed east to Montana again. This time for a short rifle Mule deer hunt in the Breaks. I actually made it to Missoula in just under 7 hours, which has to be a record. Lol. Now it's Scott's turn to drive.

Yesterday was a sad day for this country. The only way I know how to ease my pain is by killing something.

[slim9300]

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1352275325.400833.jpg (101.67 KiB) Viewed 21897 times

[ElkNut1]

Ha Ha, Good luck with those muley's!! I'm heading out this weekend & more myself before the 24th!!!

ElkNut1

[WapitiTalk1]

Good luck Conlan (and Scott).. Shoot straight!

[dotman]

Good luck, i'll be putting in for some points in that area next year.

[planebow]

Hope you are hunting a different area in the breaks than that I was hunting elk in this year. Spent 2 weeks there and saw 3 deer.

[T/H]

Headed east to Montana again. This time for a short rifle Mule deer hunt in the Breaks. I actually made it to Missoula in just under 7 hours, which has to be a record. Lol. Now it's Scott's turn to drive.

Yesterday was a sad day for this country. The only way I know how to ease my pain is by killing something.

kill something for me too will ya?

[slim9300]

Ha Ha, Good luck with those muley's!! I'm heading out this weekend & more myself before the 24th!!!

ElkNut1

Good luck Conlan (and Scott).. Shoot straight!

Good luck, i'll be putting in for some points in that area next year.

kill something for me too will ya?

I killed my first Mule deer buck on the morning of the 7th. It's a dink but I'm happy with it. We are currently relocating to central MT for Scott's buck. (Probably a WT) The conditions are blizzard-like and will be two more days in the Breaks. We literally just barely got out with all 4 chained up on the Tundra. It rained for a couple hours and then immediately dropped 8" of snow. Did I mention the 30 mph winds? Fun stuff.

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1352448036.607746.jpg (88.6 KiB) Viewed 21859 times

[slim9300]

Hope you are hunting a different area in the breaks than that I was hunting elk in this year. Spent 2 weeks there and saw 3 deer.

Remind me not to go there.

We did see a couple cows and small bulls. Lol. 75 yards and lots of time to shoot if we were hunting elk.

[slim9300]

He was standing just shy of the skyline in the middle of the picture.

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1352448476.324189.jpg (63.35 KiB) Viewed 21852 times

[slim9300]

She's a stark contrast to just two days ago. Lol.

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1352454935.303108.jpg (87.35 KiB) Viewed 21848 times

[ElkNut1]

Slim, nothing wrong with that buck bud!!! Yes, weather can change in an instant. Congrats & good to see you made it safely out of there for now!

ElkNut1

[T/H]

Nice "dink" bro. The dink I killed last year makes yours look quite big actually lol. Congrats! Go get em Scott

[WapitiTalk1]

Nice job Conlan. Good to luck to Scott on his. Have a safe trip back to WA.

[slim9300]

Nice "dink" bro. The dink I killed last year makes yours look quite big actually lol. Congrats! Go get em Scott

It would be a trophy in my mind with a bow David! But when you shoot them with a rifle at 1/4 mile away, it's kind of a different type of accomplishment.

Scott's sitting in the treestand now. We saw a great 140-150" whitetail about 2 hours ago just 1/2 mile down the river. He had 15 does and was dumb as a rock standing in the open. However I'm not sure Scott cares what he shoots at this point, so I don't expect anything big. I will fill my B tag as soon as he's tagged out.

[slim9300]

Slim, nothing wrong with that buck bud!!! Yes, weather can change in an instant. Congrats & good to see you made it safely out of there for now!

ElkNut1

Nice job Conlan. Good to luck to Scott on his. Have a safe trip back to WA.

Thanks guys!

[slim9300]

I figured I would give an update on the late season cow hunt. If there is any hunt that can humble a bowhunter very quickly, it's this one. Imagine unrelenting pouring rain, elk that are spookier than heck after rifle season, and very few decent units open to hunt. That's the WA late season for you.

Anyways, I went out on Saturday morning alone to my favorite spot and rode my bike back in a few miles just before first light. I worked my way into the back-end of the area glassing the many clearcuts to the West as I went, and doing my best to keep my glasses dry from the rain under my hood. Thankfully the Chugach raingear worked flawlessly.

After covering a few more miles and not seeing anything I finally spotted a couple elk about 500 yards away feeding on the edge of a few year old clearcut. I rode my bike that direction and down into the valley as fast as I could and once I was close, I started to stalk in on the logging road. As I got to about 80 yards I noticed the wonderful loggers had blocked the road with a pile of slash and branches. Since they had laid down logs on both sides of the road the only way I could go was over the pile of slash. So I nocked an arrow and began trying to crawl across this pile I figured to be 2-3' deep. I was just a few steps into the pile when I realized it was deeper than I figured, and just then I fell down into a hole making a bit of a ruckus. One elk looked at me from 70 yards away and began running for the RMZ (Riparian Management Zone – ie. Narrow band of timber) that followed the creek away from me. As I cursed every logger on the planet, (jk!) I scrambled to get back to my bike.

Then I proceeded to ride downhill and paralleling the RMZ trying to get ahead of the elk. Once I covered about 1/4 mile I struggled down through the dozens of freshly downed trees and slid into the 80 yard wide band of timber. I started to realize that the elk probably weren't that spooked and climbed up the other side to look into the large clearcut that I just seen the elk in. As I moved up into the clearcut, I spotted them about 200 yards away feeding. They had run a few hundred yards and probably figured the cow that spooked them was seeing things. lol.

The problem I had was that the elk were in the wide open and my only hope at a stalk was to drop back down to the RMZ and cut around an open knob to my left. Once I did this and peeked over the knob I was within about 100 yards of the 6 elk I could see. The wind was perfect and the elk were slowly feeding my direction. I figured I would let them come to me. After about 25 minutes of painstakingly watching the small herd come my way, I began ranging the three cows feeding perfectly broadside in front of me. 78, 79 and 80 yards. It was at this time I started arguing with myself (crazy I know). Roosevelt elk are funny animals. Unlike Rocky Mountain elk that never seem to "sense" me if the wind is right, Roosevelt's will almost never tolerate humans within 100 yards for more than a few minutes. They just know something isn’t right.

Just as I was telling myself not to shoot (even though it was an easy shot for me) I felt the wind hit the back of my neck. Oh no! I immediately drew back and just as I found the biggest cow at 78 yards with my pin, she began walking nervously forward thanks to the lower 6 elk I had not seen already running her way. As the elk circled around me at 60 yards I tried everything to stop them but it wasn't happening. The 12 elk made it into the timber and I about collapsed right there. I felt like crying like a girl and I was cursing my stupidity to wait for a closer shot.

I gave the elk 15 minutes and picked up their tracks in the timber. I figured they wouldn't go very far (Roosevelt's are much different than Rocky Mountain elk in this regard). After creeping on their tracks for about 1/4 mile I figured I was getting close. A few minutes later the herd busted at 40 yards and I couldn't get a shot. As I ran after them I was playing cat and mouse with the back of the herd. A good shot never presented thanks to a few trees and branches getting in the way. As I crossed the swollen creek and crawled through the hell hole of fallen timber to get back to the logging road I felt like quitting. The rain seemed to pick up even harder and the wind was soaking my glasses under my hood. Just perfect I thought.

I pushed my bike about 1/2 mile straight uphill to the road I originally spotted them from in the first place. The logging road I was on looked like a creek, as hundreds of gallons of water ran downhill. Once up top, I found a flat spot in the timber and setup my MegaTarp for a mid-day break from the rain. Bringing shelter and my 30* bag was a good decision. I “cooked up” a Mountain House and crawled into my bag for a power nap. Just before I fell asleep I made a quick video on my iPhone for my hunting partner joking about the day and the typical late season weather. I made a comment in the end of the video that I will forever regret but I will get back to that later.

At 2:15 I had my gear all packed back up and I was pushing my bike back to the road. I heard a log truck coming my way and I was thinking it was time for some intel. I asked the driver if he had seen any elk and he directed my back toward my truck about 3 miles. He has seen 1 bull and 2 cows together. I reluctantly rode through some of the best country in the unit that I planned on saving for just before last light and got to the location he has spotted the elk. Nothing. I decided if I booked it out I could get to my truck about 30 minutes before last light and then maybe I could drive around to the back side of the timber where I had pushed the elk this morning. There is a perfect aged clear cut that's on the drivable side and it's only 1/2 mile from where I last spotted them going.

Well, I got to my truck just in time and flew down the logging roads a quickly as I could. With 15 minutes of shooting light left I was slowly working my way through this clearcut. As I almost broke over the top, I spotted an elk to my left about 100 yards and quickly spotted another feeding on the side of the road about 40 yards above me. When this cow saw me she walked over the edge and dropped off the landing into the large cut below. I ran up to the top calling like crazy and when I got there I was already drawn back. The elk were all balled up facing away but looking back at me over their shoulders at 50 yards. I did not like the prospect of taking a poor shot or simply flinging an arrow into a “ball” of elk.

As the elk started to move away I was thinking of letting down but I kept trying to stop the herd for a shot. Immediately I heard noise to my right and starting turning with my bow drawn. I caught the movement of an elk and immediately called to stop it. As my pin met the elk just as it hit the brakes and faced me almost straight on at less than 20 yards, I verified no antlers and the arrow was gone. As soon as the arrow left the bow I felt sick. The arrow buried perfectly to the fletching and at the same time I was cursing myself. I had just shot my first CALF! As I walked immediately toward the edge of the landing and looked off the edge, the poor b a s t a r d had only gone 10 yards and was already stone dead. It was then that I watched the herd moving away and realized it was the same herd from the morning.

So here is what I said in that video I made a few hours earlier. "Tonight, let's hope I can find a dumb f*$#er right on the road... and I'm thinking as small as possible to make the pack easier..." I truly said this jokingly but God clearly has a sick sense of humor. I really did need the steaks and burger so obviously this meat will go to good use. I do wish I had shot a normal sized elk though.

[WapitiTalk1]

Two legal elk in two states, including a whopper bull in MT. Nicely done Conlan. Thanks for sharing your adventures this year. RJ

[ElkNut1]

Nice work???? I think???? You left me baffled as to your feelings!! A guys gotta know what he's shooting!!! (grin)

ElkNut1

[dotman]

Ha Ha, Good luck with those muley's!! I'm heading out this weekend & more myself before the 24th!!!

ElkNut1

Good luck Conlan (and Scott).. Shoot straight!

Good luck, i'll be putting in for some points in that area next year.

kill something for me too will ya?

I killed my first Mule deer buck on the morning of the 7th. It's a dink but I'm happy with it. We are currently relocating to central MT for Scott's buck. (Probably a WT) The conditions are blizzard-like and will be two more days in the Breaks. We literally just barely got out with all 4 chained up on the Tundra. It rained for a couple hours and then immediately dropped 8" of snow. Did I mention the 30 mph winds? Fun stuff.

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1352448036.607746.jpg

Man you are bringing back some good memories with your Breaks experience, time to start getting some points built back up. Been close to 13 years since I was last there. I'm putting in for elk archery and deer rifle this coming year. Probably not draw for a year but if I do well I'll be in ID and MT in 2013

[slim9300]

Nice work???? I think???? You left me baffled as to your feelings!! A guys gotta know what he's shooting!!! (grin)

ElkNut1

It was certainly a mistake on my part but when you put a calf at close range by itself and you make a split second decision, it can look a lot like a normal sized elk. Like I said, I verified quickly that it wasn't a bull and that's the only "legal" factor I had to consider.

I never planned on shooting a calf and would have passed the shot if I had a clear mind. I actually passed a calf while hunting with my wife last weekend. I guess I just felt bad at the time is the explanation. Call me sensitive.

I guess my way of rationalizing the situation in retrospect is that I needed the meat and instead of killing two elk (ie. cow and fetus) I only killed one cow calf. IDK.

[slim9300]

Ha Ha, Good luck with those muley's!! I'm heading out this weekend & more myself before the 24th!!!

ElkNut1

Good luck Conlan (and Scott).. Shoot straight!

Good luck, i'll be putting in for some points in that area next year.

kill something for me too will ya?

I killed my first Mule deer buck on the morning of the 7th. It's a dink but I'm happy with it. We are currently relocating to central MT for Scott's buck. (Probably a WT) The conditions are blizzard-like and will be two more days in the Breaks. We literally just barely got out with all 4 chained up on the Tundra. It rained for a couple hours and then immediately dropped 8" of snow. Did I mention the 30 mph winds? Fun stuff.

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1352448036.607746.jpg

Man you are bringing back some good memories with your Breaks experience, time to start getting some points built back up. Been close to 13 years since I was last there. I'm putting in for elk archery and deer rifle this coming year. Probably not draw for a year but if I do well I'll be in ID and MT in 2013

Good luck!

[easeup]

slim you are a hunting machine.
thanks for the posts which have interestingly provided insight to the mind of a successful boowhunter; especially when presented with changing events and decsion points.

the moutain bike thing has me going......but the country I have been hunting is much to steep for one.....but the seed is planted.....

regarding the dink.......come on, guy. A dink must depend upon where you have been hunting I guess.
That dink was about twice the size of my first muley that took me about 6 yrs to make happen.
hey...congrats again.

[slim9300]

slim you are a hunting machine.
thanks for the posts which have interestingly provided insight to the mind of a successful boowhunter; especially when presented with changing events and decsion points.

the moutain bike thing has me going......but the country I have been hunting is much to steep for one.....but the seed is planted.....

regarding the dink.......come on, guy. A dink must depend upon where you have been hunting I guess.
That dink was about twice the size of my first muley that took me about 6 yrs to make happen.
hey...congrats again.

Thank you for the kind words yet again. You should have seen the pressure the wife was putting on me to provide some elk hamburger for the family freezer. The idea of letting her down was terrifying.

I do still have a deer left to get in WA. I screwed up a shot at a monster Blacktail on the afternoon of November 17th. At this point I'm just planning on ending my season on Saturday morning on a doe if the shot presents itself. That buck is still haunting my dreams. Next year it's going to be back to daily practice with my bow.