elks96
Long Time Member
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- 3,802
Ended the year on a very sour note… Early morning bathe season (1st week of September) my wife got an archery bull. With plenty of meat in the freezer I was trophy hunting. Through archery I passed on several east small bulls. Killed a good buck with my rifle, but still passed on shots of lesser bulls for n the rifle.
Last weekend was to be the end of my hunt. Saturday at mid day I am glassing and see a group of elk eat off the mountain and down in the flats. No other vehicles around them and they were bedded. So far away could not tell what they were. So I hammer on the truck trying to get to the ek before they get blown up. Get down to where they are a white truck is sitting there watching them and a hunter is sneaking up. I talk to the guy says it is “her first elk”. Despite the elk being well with in my legal range I back out and tell him I will let them be and try to get in front of the elk. So back into the truck I go, drive up and guess where they might be. I guessed wrong. The girl never got a shot but was on the group of bulls at least twice. At least one bull was over 300 and the rest were decent branched bulls. I follow the bulls across the flats for miles and they never stop until they made it into private. No big deal.
That after noon I head back up higher to glass. At 5ish I am down a ridge and hear all he’ll break loose above me towards the main road. Sounded like a small army battle. Then silence. I get in the truck start my way back up to the main road. As I move up there is a small elk calf laying in the Sage with it head up 70 yards off the road. I easy my truck up and the calf gets up and attempts to run. The front right leg was destroyed just below the knee.
I get out, and hear the second great battle as the hunters must have caught the herd again. Meanwhile the calf lays down and leaves me just a head shot. Since my tag was an any elk I take the calf.
I have only had a few times where I clean up someone else’s mess but this one really chapped my hide. The ATV and the other hunters never came back to check for any sign, when they shot it was 3-4 guys and probably 15-20 shots the first time. Second time was similar but because the elk were in a canyon they got off even more shots.
They never back tracked. Never came back.
Last weekend was to be the end of my hunt. Saturday at mid day I am glassing and see a group of elk eat off the mountain and down in the flats. No other vehicles around them and they were bedded. So far away could not tell what they were. So I hammer on the truck trying to get to the ek before they get blown up. Get down to where they are a white truck is sitting there watching them and a hunter is sneaking up. I talk to the guy says it is “her first elk”. Despite the elk being well with in my legal range I back out and tell him I will let them be and try to get in front of the elk. So back into the truck I go, drive up and guess where they might be. I guessed wrong. The girl never got a shot but was on the group of bulls at least twice. At least one bull was over 300 and the rest were decent branched bulls. I follow the bulls across the flats for miles and they never stop until they made it into private. No big deal.
That after noon I head back up higher to glass. At 5ish I am down a ridge and hear all he’ll break loose above me towards the main road. Sounded like a small army battle. Then silence. I get in the truck start my way back up to the main road. As I move up there is a small elk calf laying in the Sage with it head up 70 yards off the road. I easy my truck up and the calf gets up and attempts to run. The front right leg was destroyed just below the knee.
I get out, and hear the second great battle as the hunters must have caught the herd again. Meanwhile the calf lays down and leaves me just a head shot. Since my tag was an any elk I take the calf.
I have only had a few times where I clean up someone else’s mess but this one really chapped my hide. The ATV and the other hunters never came back to check for any sign, when they shot it was 3-4 guys and probably 15-20 shots the first time. Second time was similar but because the elk were in a canyon they got off even more shots.
They never back tracked. Never came back.
