RATHERBEHUNTING
Member
- Messages
- 36
LAST EDITED ON Nov-02-12 AT 08:37PM (MST)[p]LAST EDITED ON Nov-02-12 AT 08:36?PM (MST)
The news that I would have to work during my muzzloader elk hunt hit me pretty hard. I know that every fall I will need every day that I can spare, so I never call in sick and rarely take vacation. This year was no exception, and though the thought of living off the grid in the woods is tempting, I have bills to pay, and so off to work I went. Maybe it was my vacant stare, or all the times I was caught staring at the mountains that finally changed their minds, but they finally decided to give me the last two days of my hunt off. I raced home, and in less than three hours I was in the mountains. I was not as prepared as I like to be, but I figured that sleeping in the truck and eating ravioli out of the can, was better than any day at work. My hunt had been on for three days without me and lucky for me the majority of hunters had left. The firs morning started off great. The morning was cold with very little wind, hard to beat a morning like that in the mountains. It wasn't long before I spooted a nice bull up on a ridge about 800 yds away only to watch him disappear to the other side. The day quickly heated up and the elk I spotted in the morning would be the only elk I saw on day one. Hoping the elk I saw the day before would be up on the ridge, I hiked up to the top in the dark and prayed they would return. This morning was not pleasant. The temperature had dropped and the wind was howling, not the best time to be upon a ridge. After a couple of hours of waiting I decided to drop off the ridge and head down a draw that gave some protection from the wind. That's when I jumped two bulls. The first and larger bull I could see running between the trees towards a small opening that might provide a shooting oppurtunity, but he went through before I had a chance to get my cross hairs on him. The second bull was not as fast, and a 250gr barnes bullet pierced his front shoulder and sent him into the dirt. A few high fives that I gave myself, and a few awkward poses if front of a camera on a timer (not to mention the pack out I was about to do) left me with the realization that I should have brought a hunting buddy
http://www.monstermuleys.info/photos/user_photos/3707281.jpg
The news that I would have to work during my muzzloader elk hunt hit me pretty hard. I know that every fall I will need every day that I can spare, so I never call in sick and rarely take vacation. This year was no exception, and though the thought of living off the grid in the woods is tempting, I have bills to pay, and so off to work I went. Maybe it was my vacant stare, or all the times I was caught staring at the mountains that finally changed their minds, but they finally decided to give me the last two days of my hunt off. I raced home, and in less than three hours I was in the mountains. I was not as prepared as I like to be, but I figured that sleeping in the truck and eating ravioli out of the can, was better than any day at work. My hunt had been on for three days without me and lucky for me the majority of hunters had left. The firs morning started off great. The morning was cold with very little wind, hard to beat a morning like that in the mountains. It wasn't long before I spooted a nice bull up on a ridge about 800 yds away only to watch him disappear to the other side. The day quickly heated up and the elk I spotted in the morning would be the only elk I saw on day one. Hoping the elk I saw the day before would be up on the ridge, I hiked up to the top in the dark and prayed they would return. This morning was not pleasant. The temperature had dropped and the wind was howling, not the best time to be upon a ridge. After a couple of hours of waiting I decided to drop off the ridge and head down a draw that gave some protection from the wind. That's when I jumped two bulls. The first and larger bull I could see running between the trees towards a small opening that might provide a shooting oppurtunity, but he went through before I had a chance to get my cross hairs on him. The second bull was not as fast, and a 250gr barnes bullet pierced his front shoulder and sent him into the dirt. A few high fives that I gave myself, and a few awkward poses if front of a camera on a timer (not to mention the pack out I was about to do) left me with the realization that I should have brought a hunting buddy
http://www.monstermuleys.info/photos/user_photos/3707281.jpg
