dack77
Active Member
- Messages
- 209
So I had a good idea that I was going to draw a LE muzzle elk tag this year. Needless to say I was pretty excited because up until this point I had only shot one elk in my life and that was a cow. My experience hunting elk has always been late season muzzle spike, I had never hunted during the rut.
About a month and a half before the hunt I had to make a big decision. I had come to the realization that I was going to have to go solo on this hunt. With no calling or rut hunt experience, I was at a loss for what to do. I bit the bullet and decided to get some guide help and I am happy that I did. I ended up contacting High Top Outfitters and hoped that some quality guides were still available. There were a couple names that I knew of that I knew would treat me well, and one of them ended up being the only person on the list I was given. So that decision was a no brainer. I had been in the same hunting party with him a few times and I knew his work ethic so it was an easy choice. My guide's name was Brett Guymon and he did everything he could to make this an awesome experience. I would never hesitate using him as a guide.
The night before the hunt we got settled in and did some quick scouting, and the first thing I told Brett was the size of the elk means very little to me. For me it's all about the quality of the time outdoors and the overall hunt experience. I did tell him I have no idea how to judge antler size so try and give me a yes or no as quick as possible when we run across something.
The first morning was pretty action packed. We got onto what Brett thought was at least a 350-360 bull, possibly bigger. He didn't need to tell me yes or no on this one, it was pretty obvious. Ended up about 75 yards from him but a cow busted us and the rest is history. There was more action later as we had elk all around us bugling. We kept seeing cows but no bulls came within sight. After 9:30am the place went dead silent and we never did hear another bugle in this area as we stayed in the general area until after dark. There was a full moon during the muzzle hunt this year so maybe that had something to do with it.
Next morning we went to a different area because we weren't sure where the elk had moved to. When we pulled off the road to see if we could hear any bugles, we immediately had 4 different bulls calling from multiple directions. So we started walking towards what we thought sounded best. As we started across this big open flat I looked up and could see a couple elk on the hillside. There were two bulls out alone and we figured they were smaller satellite bulls, one was much smaller but we couldn't quite make out the size on the bigger one because it was still pretty dark. The rest of the herd was making it's way through some trees. We quickly got up into this clearing and it was a steep son of a gun. The herd bull was bugling quite often so getting in front of him was quite easy.
We ended up 50 yards from him and Brett said take him if you want him. The first opportunity he gave me was a straight on view, I hesitated because I didn't feel comfortable taking that shot. The second was a neck shot where a big pine got in the way of the rest of him. I didn't take that shot either. That ended up being the only opportunity I was given on him because the hillside was so steep. He walked broadside to us for about 30 yards but the sage brush and very small aspen trees blocked his view. He then spooked about 5 minutes later as we tried to reposition. My guide told me it was about a 320-330 bull. The elk were in the top left of the horseshoe shaped opening on this hillside. The white stuff on the ground is hail from a seriously crazy storm. This was after most of it had melted.
Next picture is halfway down the mountain looking back at the road we were packing the elk out to. The date and time stamp on most of the photos are wrong. Didn't notice until I got back to the truck. It doesn't look that far from the picture but from where the bull was shot and a straight line to the road it was a mile and a half hike and steep.
After all this early morning action, the hillside went quiet. So we started walking along the terrace right below the peak in the first photo in hopes of picking something else up. About 45 minutes later and after going even higher on this steep nasty mountain, we heard a bugle from a couple hundred yards away. We quickly worked our way up and the bull was giving a constant answer to our cow calls and bugles. The bull was moving our direction fast. I don't know how long it took from the first bugle to him being right in our lap but it was pretty darn quick. Brett said there he is as he was coming through the trees. He stopped broadside to us at about 50 yards and about 2 seconds later my gun went boom. He didn't have a chance to say yes or no on this bull, lol. The bull went just a few yards and then fell over.
Being my first bull I was extremely excited. I did not know that it was missing it's G2 on the left side until it was on the ground as it happened all too fast. What I knew at the time of the shot was that I thought it was a straight 6x6. With that bull on the ground I was like a little kid in a candy shop. It wasn't the biggest bull I had an opportunity at and the hunt did end pretty quickly, but it was an amazing experience. My only regret was not being in better physical shape. That first day of hiking 9 miles was pretty brutal and I can easily see how people can get discouraged quickly especially if they aren't seeing much.
About a month and a half before the hunt I had to make a big decision. I had come to the realization that I was going to have to go solo on this hunt. With no calling or rut hunt experience, I was at a loss for what to do. I bit the bullet and decided to get some guide help and I am happy that I did. I ended up contacting High Top Outfitters and hoped that some quality guides were still available. There were a couple names that I knew of that I knew would treat me well, and one of them ended up being the only person on the list I was given. So that decision was a no brainer. I had been in the same hunting party with him a few times and I knew his work ethic so it was an easy choice. My guide's name was Brett Guymon and he did everything he could to make this an awesome experience. I would never hesitate using him as a guide.
The night before the hunt we got settled in and did some quick scouting, and the first thing I told Brett was the size of the elk means very little to me. For me it's all about the quality of the time outdoors and the overall hunt experience. I did tell him I have no idea how to judge antler size so try and give me a yes or no as quick as possible when we run across something.
The first morning was pretty action packed. We got onto what Brett thought was at least a 350-360 bull, possibly bigger. He didn't need to tell me yes or no on this one, it was pretty obvious. Ended up about 75 yards from him but a cow busted us and the rest is history. There was more action later as we had elk all around us bugling. We kept seeing cows but no bulls came within sight. After 9:30am the place went dead silent and we never did hear another bugle in this area as we stayed in the general area until after dark. There was a full moon during the muzzle hunt this year so maybe that had something to do with it.
Next morning we went to a different area because we weren't sure where the elk had moved to. When we pulled off the road to see if we could hear any bugles, we immediately had 4 different bulls calling from multiple directions. So we started walking towards what we thought sounded best. As we started across this big open flat I looked up and could see a couple elk on the hillside. There were two bulls out alone and we figured they were smaller satellite bulls, one was much smaller but we couldn't quite make out the size on the bigger one because it was still pretty dark. The rest of the herd was making it's way through some trees. We quickly got up into this clearing and it was a steep son of a gun. The herd bull was bugling quite often so getting in front of him was quite easy.
We ended up 50 yards from him and Brett said take him if you want him. The first opportunity he gave me was a straight on view, I hesitated because I didn't feel comfortable taking that shot. The second was a neck shot where a big pine got in the way of the rest of him. I didn't take that shot either. That ended up being the only opportunity I was given on him because the hillside was so steep. He walked broadside to us for about 30 yards but the sage brush and very small aspen trees blocked his view. He then spooked about 5 minutes later as we tried to reposition. My guide told me it was about a 320-330 bull. The elk were in the top left of the horseshoe shaped opening on this hillside. The white stuff on the ground is hail from a seriously crazy storm. This was after most of it had melted.
Next picture is halfway down the mountain looking back at the road we were packing the elk out to. The date and time stamp on most of the photos are wrong. Didn't notice until I got back to the truck. It doesn't look that far from the picture but from where the bull was shot and a straight line to the road it was a mile and a half hike and steep.
After all this early morning action, the hillside went quiet. So we started walking along the terrace right below the peak in the first photo in hopes of picking something else up. About 45 minutes later and after going even higher on this steep nasty mountain, we heard a bugle from a couple hundred yards away. We quickly worked our way up and the bull was giving a constant answer to our cow calls and bugles. The bull was moving our direction fast. I don't know how long it took from the first bugle to him being right in our lap but it was pretty darn quick. Brett said there he is as he was coming through the trees. He stopped broadside to us at about 50 yards and about 2 seconds later my gun went boom. He didn't have a chance to say yes or no on this bull, lol. The bull went just a few yards and then fell over.
Being my first bull I was extremely excited. I did not know that it was missing it's G2 on the left side until it was on the ground as it happened all too fast. What I knew at the time of the shot was that I thought it was a straight 6x6. With that bull on the ground I was like a little kid in a candy shop. It wasn't the biggest bull I had an opportunity at and the hunt did end pretty quickly, but it was an amazing experience. My only regret was not being in better physical shape. That first day of hiking 9 miles was pretty brutal and I can easily see how people can get discouraged quickly especially if they aren't seeing much.
