My hunt

[Gselkhunter]

It was nice having the day off before season started. Up and out early[5am] for a sunrise drive to set up camp. Camp was up by 8am and the day was mild and sunny. The intention was to run off and get in a day of fly fishing, never happened. David was late getting to camp and I waited for him. By the time he showed the clouds were already building even though it wasn't supposed to rain but rain it did. Opening morning was wet and frozen. Should have been a great day for calling in elk.
The morning walk in was cool and felt great. I was soon to learn that these conditions and my legs were a poor match. The elk were very quiet which is abnormal in this unit in this type of weather. I pressed on calling into all the hiding places I know, not a peep. I cut fresh track but couldn't catch up with the elk that were hiding. The slick conditions, dead fall and side hilling caused much discomfort. On several occasions slipping cause pain in the knees that turned into stiffness. In places side hilling felt that I would pull the screws out of the plates in foot and leg bones. By late morning I was heading back to camp gimped up.
By 4pm I headed back out to sit a water hole. About the time things should have gotten active the rain came again and I bailed out to save my legs.
Sunday morning was much the same as Saturday. I made it back into the valley but took a different route. Coming up to a fence line I spotted a cow with twins walk up hill toward the place I was standing. The cow stopped and stood for a long time. I had wind so she must have seen something she didn't like. She and the first calf jumped the fence and headed into the woods. The second calf walked up to the fence and backed off. After a time the calf came back again but balked again. The third time the calf loaded the legs and up it went. The calf caught one front leg and went face first into the dirt. Then a back leg caught and the calf flipped onto its back. Almost half way under the fence the calf took a while to free then right itself. Then off into the forest after mom.
Sunday afternoon was back up to the pond but never had an elk come to the pond.
Monday morning was at least dry and I covered a lot of ground but still no elk. Monday night I took off, the legs needed a rest. I walked up the road with Paul and my dog. As we headed back we heard rocks rolling and looked up the hill. A 5pt bull covered in mud was running down the hill right at Maddie. He got 50yds from Maddie and dropped his antlers, he was going to attack my dog! She had no clue she was in trouble, lucky for her the bull saw us and ran away.
Back at camp we made a plan to go up where the bull came down. The next morning we went up that hill[not so smart]. I don’t have the strength in the left foot to propel up wards on a slope like that one and by the time we hit the top of the ridge my legs felt like lead.
I had my plan on how I wanted to attack the ridge but the elk didn’t read the plan and screwed me up and David helped them. I will let him comment on that. I did however get that bull to talk and he wasn’t happy. We covered some great ground that morning but there were places I would have bailed off into in the old days I had to walk by[this is the hard part for me].
In the evening I went back up to the pond and again no elk came to the pond.
Wednesday morning I had a bull going but I couldn’t get to where I needed to be to get him to react. Later I had 5 cows bedded and I was going to kill one but the wind had other ideas. With very tired legs and not having heard from my son the day before I bailed and went home[I had to be at work Thursday to do paper work anyway]. I got home to find out my son had broken a finger. So I had to deal with that and work on Thursday, yuck. The work part took 15 minutes so I went home and packed. Benjamin came for dinner and when his mom picked him up I was out the door.
The drive back up was horrid, increasing rain intensity and ground fog. Friday morning was going to hurt.
Friday morning was raining, I went but was very unhappy. Sweating inside rain gear and soaked on the outside not to mention poor footing again. There was a bright side however. Once the rain quit I did get a bull to respond and he did come. Silently but he did come in. A small 4X started above us then called from below. We adjusted our position and as I called again trying to figure out where he went, he was standing 25yds to my left. Paul and I didn’t see him until he whirled to leave. He didn’t run fast but he wasn’t going to come back. That night I stayed in camp. I told Paul sat morning was going to be my last hunt. The legs were gone.
Saturday morning was dry[good thing] and as we were walking in 3 bulls bugled. We had to go to the end of the valley and double back. Paul was afraid it was a bad choice but it was the only one I had. I can’t go up hill through dead fall and make time.
The plan worked, we got into three bulls. Two called in, one I could have shot. Quartering to me at 40yds[a shot I can make in my sleep] but it felt wrong. The bull was not at ease[I found out why later] And I waited for him to settle a little or move but he ran off instead. Shortly after that another came in. We had him at 30 to 40yds for a while but I couldn’t get him to stop where Paul or myself had a shot, to much crap in the way.
Figuring we were done I showed Paul some meadows on the ridge he had not been to. I called and got a response from a good bull. He wasn’t more than 80yds away. I set Paul in a place and I went in. He had 5 cows out front posted as guards and he would call back but not move. For 5 minutes I had a cow I could have killed if she took one step but she never did. I finally moved on the bull and he wasn’t more than 45yds away but all I could see was his back leg[he wasn’t small]. I planned my attack called and he turned then the wind came off the back of my neck. The forest erupted and the hunt was over.
I am heading back up on Friday. I have the weekend and I will enjoy being out. I understand the ground I can navigate has been pounded by the muzzle loaders[not surprised] and where I need to go I can’t do. So we will see. In December the Doc is going back into the leg to remove plates and screws. I don’t know if this will be good or bad but I will be back to trying to rebuild the leg again. Where that leaves me for elk hunting only time will tell.

[BrentLaBere]

Keep at it! and I wish you luck.
Cant imagine how much harder elk hunting can be with previous injuries. Its hard enough the way it is. I hope it works out for you.

[Gselkhunter]

Thanks Brent. It is still better than work.

[Lark Bunting]

Let me know if you'd like to call in an elk for this rookie. I'm only 45 minutes away.

Sorry to hear about your leg. Hiking through the blow-downs is hard enough with two decent legs...

[Elkduds]

True Grit. Thanks for the writeup, it reminds me how inspired I have been since meeting you and making real progress on calling. I'll be thinking about you in 2 days when I return to archery elk hunting for the first time in 20 years. Good luck, be safe, watch out for the moose:!:

[jswbga]

sounds like a pretty exciting hunt.

like others, I know the struggles of crossing blowdowns in good conditions and intact legs is bad enough!

a guy I met at a lodge once called snow covered aspen branches "snow snakes" because you cant see them and they are a helluva hazard! I have to agree. glad you got to see/hear as much as you did.

[Wapiti]

WOW ! Way to battle through bud !! I hope it gets better and I know you have it in you. They just started talking up here and in the last 4 days I've called in 8 bulls !! Good luck !!

[Gselkhunter]

Go get them Trav. I am going to give it all I have. According to a friend they are pumped up and that increases my odds.
The new tube is working great. I am using #2 3.5 and the #1 double as a tandem. Only had 1 bull run and he isn't big enough to hold his cows.

[ElkNut1]

Gregg, lots of action there bud, very nice to be in the elk no matter our physical condition! Looks like lots of close calls there I hope lady luck has a break for you in her forecast! (grin) It sucks getting old! (grin) Good Luck!

ElkNut1

[Gselkhunter]

Friday the drive was ridicules! I swear Americans get dumber not smarter but that is a story for another time. I finally get to Mike’s camp and Mike isn’t there. He is still out and about, so I hang out and wait.
Mike finally makes it back to camp. As we get ready to head out he tells me about what he has been hearing. As we leave camp a bull sounds off to the north of camp across the valley. However we are going away from this bull to another location. I did mess with that bull however and he didn’t much care for it.
Up where we went it was silent and no elk showed themselves but on the way down that bull across the way was still talking. So I got nasty with him. Three other bulls chimed in. I wound them up pretty tight. I threw almost everything at them I can do and they responded in kind. Screams, multi pitch, lip bawl and grunts in a variety of sequences. It was quite the show and they came a ways down off the mountain.
Mike said they would go on like this all night but they didn’t. I didn’t sleep great and would hear the elk pipe up every couple hours. The plan was up at 5am but a little before 4am I was up and out listening, just couldn’t sleep.
It was mainly the big bull talking and I did get to listen to a fight. Mike rolled out of his sleeping bag and I was in explaining my plan and trying to speed him up. He told me my plan wouldn’t work and it wasn’t the stated time to leave[6am]. The elk were already moving up the mountain and we needed to get on them if we were going to have a chance.
We drive down to the bottom of the valley and Mike tells me we are too close as the bull sounds off from up the ridge. We need to make time if we are going to catch them. Then three other bulls sound off. We move up the ridge as fast as I can go. Had Mike been on his own he would have closed the distance in half the time. As we move up in the dark the bulls sound off every so often and they are moving away at a speed we are going to lose them. It is still some time before shooting light but I have to do something to slow them down. I told Mike I was going to call and I told him it might back fire on us. I let out my 5 tone bugle and the response was immediate. I told Mike they would remember me.
The elk kept moving up the ridge and the bugling became intense. Mike said at one point that we were losing them but they were in the bottom between two ridges. The one we were on and the one the big bull was heading to. The two ridges intersect up from where we were at and that is the place I needed to get to, to cut them off. So we moved as quickly as I could go to get there.
About 300yds from the intersection of ridges the bull made his stand. We were straight across the valley from him. He was on top in a notch with two bulls to his right, one below him and a bull bugled up the ridge to my right. At this point I lost Mike. He did what I would have done with better legs, bail off and go straight at the bull.
I headed for the bull up the ridge from me and got cut off by a spike. I almost shot a tree next to him with a judo point to get him to leave but he did it on his own when a cow called. I followed him up the ridge to a huge meadow. I expected to see a group of elk with a younger bull at the helm but it was just the spike and a young cow. I was able to make my way into the timber without blowing out the cow and spike.
This is one of the timber pockets you see in photos, in a word perfect. Great canopy cover and yet trees not crammed together, not a huge amount of dead fall and there was feed. I stopped and bugled and was answered by three bulls scattered along the ridge. The closest being about 100yds away, perfect striking distance. I eased my way forward and bugled again. The same response only more intense and closer. I didn’t go 50yds and had a 4X4 and a cow come up the hill. He made his way to a spot that I knew I would get a shot. Not knowing where Mike was I figured I had better take the offering. I nocked an arrow and waited for him to walk into the opening. He did just that, 40yds away broad side. This was a dead elk I knew as I drew the bow. Settled the pin and released. The arrow was perfect except for that little diversion off a twig that sent the arrow into the dirt under the bull’s chest. The bull jumped straight into the air and spun out 10yds. Now facing downhill toward the cow. Not believing that he isn’t hit even though I saw it with my own eyes I nock another arrow. He catches the movement and trots off down the hill. The cow just stood there and watched him go. Then after some time she headed out too.
I bugled hoping to bring him back and locate the other bulls but there was only one response. It was the bull that was furthest down the ridge. I made a quick march in that direction and found Mike. He was looking for an arrow. He too had hit a stick but was shooting at a much better bull.
The search ended when a bugle came from less than 50yds away. The bull down the ridge was upon us but downhill from us. Not sure if he got wind or saw us move because he moved off. We stalked for a while but could never get a shot. Had another bull sneak in and then a spike but they both got wind.
We heard a couple more bugles and the bulls answered my bugles but the jig was up. It was a good morning. There is nothing more I like than getting under bulls skins. All in all there must have been over 200 bugles that morning. The intensity of irritation was extreme. I got to use everything I know. If only I had legs. I came home without an elk for the freezer but not without a great memory for the books.

[zpd307]

i would love to hear a morning like that some day...... the most I have heard was 20ish between 6 bulls one morning. and I thought that was fun!

[LckyTylr]

Man, what an amazing day! Awesome write-up, I felt like I was there.

[Gselkhunter]

So my son Benjamin[11] has decided he wants to see Dad work in the field. So I will get at least another half day of elk hunting but this will be extra special.

[BrentLaBere]

So my son Benjamin[11] has decided he wants to see Dad work in the field. So I will get at least another half day of elk hunting but this will be extra special.

Good deal! Should be a fun hunt. Good Luck

[msd1228]

Best of luck Gregg! Hope you can put it all together. I'm heading up to Trav's in about 3 hours - hopefully all of us can swap success stories this weekend.

[Gselkhunter]

The things that make a season might not be killing an elk.

[Elkduds]

If your day w your son was half as nice as the photo, it was a special day for sure. Thanks for posting.

[Gselkhunter]

If your day w your son was half as nice as the photo, it was a special day for sure. Thanks for posting.

It was the first time Benjamin was in the middle of it. He got to hear screaming elk vs his Father. He heard a couple bulls fight and we even saw a moose. He said on the way home he wants his Hunter Safety Card. I like that, now I just need to figure out how to get more out of these legs.