BLooDTRaCKeR
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This year will go down in the books for dad and I as being one of the best times Spent in the hills together.
just when you think you'll never top the year before, this happens.......
Dad and I arrived at our usual spot the day before the opener. We set up camp and headed to the "cheesehole" as we called it. This area produces elk for us every year and we were excited to see what this year would bring!
We snuck into the area at roughly 6:00 pm to find a rag horn 4x5 out feeding. We backed out of the area quickly so we wouldn't spook anything, knowing there was activity in there.
Keep in mind, dad is 68, we are NOT trophy hunters for elk. The meat tastes far better than any antler could ever. So we went into this hunt like any other year, the first legal bull we see is hitting the dirt.
On our way out we heard bulls bugling all around us. It was dark so we just listened and tried to make a game plan for the opener.
Dad wanted to chase some of the bulls we heard closer to camp and I wanted to hit the cheeshole for a shot at something up there. So on the opener, we set our radios, picked a meeting spot and time (12:00 PM at the "fort") wished each other good luck and parted ways. I was into my area 15 minutes before sun light when I saw a set of eyes up ahead through my head lamp beam. I pulled out my binos, and at 35 yards in the dark, I see a 5 point bull staring at me! We stood there for a good five minutes before he moved off the trail into the pines. Just too early to pull the trigger! I knew the area very well and thought I could head him off by the time it was light. I ended up jumping him again right at light but could not get a shot.
So I bailed back over the ridge to the "cheesehole" to see what was stirring around in my favorite spot. I was standing over a large clearing with small pines scattered in it revisiting a haunting memory from 2 years earlier when I had missed a large 6x6 bull. Then out of no where walks a calf and a cow elk! I ranged them.....315 yards. I watched the elk feed for 5 minutes and then behind them I see antlers materialize! I move down the hill a bit and range the bull. He is at exactly 300 yards. I just finished loading up some 200 grain accubonds backed by 91.5 grains of Retumbo powder, shooting less than 1" groups at 200 yards out of my 300 RUM. I was more than ready for the shot.
When the bull turned broadside, I put one in the boiler room. He walked 50 yards and expired. 7:30 am BULL DOWN!
At the same time, dad was on a massive 5x6 bull, had his rack in the cross hairs at 30 yards just waiting for a vital shot when a young kid shot him out from underneath my dad. Dad took a few pics of the bull, congratulated the young hunter and headed in my direction.
We packed my bull out to the trail all day. Then at 5:30 pm dad says, "Lets go hunting!" Without hesitation, we headed down into the other end of the cheese hole, 500 yards from where I just shot my bull. At 6:15 pm a 5 point walks out of the trees with 2 cows at 189 yards. Dad can't get a clear shot so the bull walks away. We turn around to look at the other end of the cheese hole and elk are coming out of the trees over there too! The last elk was a rag horn 4x5. Dad steadied the old 300 win mag and let the bull have 1 shot to the heart. BULL DOWN! We were over 4 miles back in with two bulls down! I will take that problem any day! We were prepared though. We had done this over and over for the past 12 years. Our average is 1 elk a year out of this area so we know exactly how to get an animal out......
This old boy was grinding pines before the shot...
My bull
My bull after dad showed up (had most of the meat off one side)
dads bull (head photo because the rest wasn't a pretty sight with the butcher job under way)
Both bulls on the famous "deer cart" (that thing was screaming at me with 500 lbs of elk...gotta overhaul wheel bearings this winter)
Both kills finally back at camp after two days of packing!
With all the time spent in this area, we are finally figuring it out. The experience gained from elk hunting all these years has almost made it "routine" when it comes to where and how we are going to hunt them. On our way out of this area, while pulling the trailer down the dirt road, we ran into two different herds of elk off the road in different areas. Both herd had a 5 point bull with the cows.
The secret to a successful general season elk hunt is to not be picky or have high expectations. Meat in the freezer is far better than the rack on the wall. For me, the rack on the wall represents "the hunt" and everything associated with it, not just the animal.......
Hope you all enjoyed this long winded post. Already looking forward to next year!
just when you think you'll never top the year before, this happens.......
Dad and I arrived at our usual spot the day before the opener. We set up camp and headed to the "cheesehole" as we called it. This area produces elk for us every year and we were excited to see what this year would bring!
We snuck into the area at roughly 6:00 pm to find a rag horn 4x5 out feeding. We backed out of the area quickly so we wouldn't spook anything, knowing there was activity in there.
Keep in mind, dad is 68, we are NOT trophy hunters for elk. The meat tastes far better than any antler could ever. So we went into this hunt like any other year, the first legal bull we see is hitting the dirt.
On our way out we heard bulls bugling all around us. It was dark so we just listened and tried to make a game plan for the opener.
Dad wanted to chase some of the bulls we heard closer to camp and I wanted to hit the cheeshole for a shot at something up there. So on the opener, we set our radios, picked a meeting spot and time (12:00 PM at the "fort") wished each other good luck and parted ways. I was into my area 15 minutes before sun light when I saw a set of eyes up ahead through my head lamp beam. I pulled out my binos, and at 35 yards in the dark, I see a 5 point bull staring at me! We stood there for a good five minutes before he moved off the trail into the pines. Just too early to pull the trigger! I knew the area very well and thought I could head him off by the time it was light. I ended up jumping him again right at light but could not get a shot.
So I bailed back over the ridge to the "cheesehole" to see what was stirring around in my favorite spot. I was standing over a large clearing with small pines scattered in it revisiting a haunting memory from 2 years earlier when I had missed a large 6x6 bull. Then out of no where walks a calf and a cow elk! I ranged them.....315 yards. I watched the elk feed for 5 minutes and then behind them I see antlers materialize! I move down the hill a bit and range the bull. He is at exactly 300 yards. I just finished loading up some 200 grain accubonds backed by 91.5 grains of Retumbo powder, shooting less than 1" groups at 200 yards out of my 300 RUM. I was more than ready for the shot.
When the bull turned broadside, I put one in the boiler room. He walked 50 yards and expired. 7:30 am BULL DOWN!
At the same time, dad was on a massive 5x6 bull, had his rack in the cross hairs at 30 yards just waiting for a vital shot when a young kid shot him out from underneath my dad. Dad took a few pics of the bull, congratulated the young hunter and headed in my direction.
We packed my bull out to the trail all day. Then at 5:30 pm dad says, "Lets go hunting!" Without hesitation, we headed down into the other end of the cheese hole, 500 yards from where I just shot my bull. At 6:15 pm a 5 point walks out of the trees with 2 cows at 189 yards. Dad can't get a clear shot so the bull walks away. We turn around to look at the other end of the cheese hole and elk are coming out of the trees over there too! The last elk was a rag horn 4x5. Dad steadied the old 300 win mag and let the bull have 1 shot to the heart. BULL DOWN! We were over 4 miles back in with two bulls down! I will take that problem any day! We were prepared though. We had done this over and over for the past 12 years. Our average is 1 elk a year out of this area so we know exactly how to get an animal out......
This old boy was grinding pines before the shot...
My bull
My bull after dad showed up (had most of the meat off one side)
dads bull (head photo because the rest wasn't a pretty sight with the butcher job under way)
Both bulls on the famous "deer cart" (that thing was screaming at me with 500 lbs of elk...gotta overhaul wheel bearings this winter)
Both kills finally back at camp after two days of packing!
With all the time spent in this area, we are finally figuring it out. The experience gained from elk hunting all these years has almost made it "routine" when it comes to where and how we are going to hunt them. On our way out of this area, while pulling the trailer down the dirt road, we ran into two different herds of elk off the road in different areas. Both herd had a 5 point bull with the cows.
The secret to a successful general season elk hunt is to not be picky or have high expectations. Meat in the freezer is far better than the rack on the wall. For me, the rack on the wall represents "the hunt" and everything associated with it, not just the animal.......
Hope you all enjoyed this long winded post. Already looking forward to next year!
