deerhuntr4885
Active Member
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So my elk was in the bag. Bob still had a cow tag to fill and I had a deer tag. We were both pretty tired. We decided to take it easy the next day. We went for a drive around the area and took some photos.
We located a Block Management ranch completely by accident. We saw two hunters at the parking area and decided to pull in and see what was going on. They happened to be the ranch owner's nephew and his friend from CA. I took photos of these barns. They were built in the 1880's according to the nephew.
He told us that they had been chasing a heard of about 12 elk around on the ranch for three days. He shot at one and hit it but could not find it in a nasty canyon. They also showed us a small 4X4 muley they had taken behind the house.
The nephew told us that he was the only one with permission to drive on the ranch and said he would be hunting it every day. They seemed like good guys and we BS'ed for about 30 minutes before moving on.
We drove around some more and I spotted this little band of goats off the road. The buck was not huge, but he was a keeper in my book.
We checked out a different canyon and talked with a hunter. He told us that they had seen a sow and cub grizzley in the west canyon and a big boar grizz in the east canyon. His friend fired a .44 over the boar's back in an attempt to scare him off of the trail. The boar looked at him and went right back to digging in the ant hill he was feasting on. We decided to eliminate this canyon from our hunt.
That evening we went back to the ranch and just sat in the parking area looking at the hillsides. We spotted a herd of nine cow elk high on the mountain. I also saw three white butts against the edge of the timber next to the elk. I commented to Bob that I bet those are bucks up there. Before I could get my spotter out they were in the timber. We spotted a herd of six elk further away, also up high on the ridge.
We decided to come back in the morning and go after the smaller band of six because they were in an area the nephew was not hunting. We climbed high in the morning and I only saw one elk. It was above us and moving to the timber right at daylight.
We talked to the nephew and he told us about three bucks, one really good one he jumped on the top of the ridge (DANG IT!) I missed my opportunity and what sounded like a good buck.
On the ay back to camp I spotted this goat right along the highway, across the river.
That night we rode up above our camp. This time only a couple miles up the trail. We hiked into some good steep county with alot of open hillsides. We were working our way slowly uphill through some meadows. Suddenly I got a really strong smell of elk. I signaled to Bob and we crept up further. We side hilled around and Bob peaked over below us. He quickly jerked back and whispered "There they are!"
We moved forward and I saw about six cows and a bull heading for the timber at a trot. Three cows stopped and stared right at us for what seemed like an eternity. I was whispering to Bob to shoot. But nothing.... After about 10 seconds they whirled and headed into the timber. They were at about 40 yards!
Bob said that there was another bull behind them that I could not see and he did not want to risk the shot. It was just at dark so after a few minutes we left and headed back to the horses. The bulls were both small rag horns.
The next day we went for a ride to the top of different mountain. We saw no elk but alot of sign and some beautiful scenery.
Bob was starting to lean toward leaving on Friday. I told him I was OK with that. He suggested that we check out the ranch on the last morning and just see if we could see anything from the parking area before tearing down camp. I agreed. He changed his mind about three times before morning but at about 5 AM he decided to go check it out.
We got there right at daylight. I got out of the truck and walked to the fence. There they were! There was 40 head way out in the flats. 37 cows, 1 five point, 1 four point and a spike.
Bob snuck out there while I watched from the spotter. The elk knew something was up and were looking the other way, walking towards Bob. They walked single file past Bob at about 400 yards. I kept saying "Shoot, Shoot, Shoot!" I was crawling out of my skin because it looked like they were going to get past him.
Bob fired two shots and the heard stopped. They then turned around and walked past him again. I heard a shot from up the hill. I looked up and saw three other guys sneaking in on them from above. The elk stopped in a depression and balled up. They did not know what to do.
They then turned back the way they had come and started cautiously walking off. Bob fired two more times and the last cow and I saw it drop. He told me the shot was approx. 425 yards. The rest of the herd ran around the ranch and into the deep canyons to the south. The other hunters turned out to be the nephew and his friends.
I felt terrible at first as they had been hunting hard for a week and were obvioulsy stalking in on this herd. I went to talk with them while Bob worked on his elk. They were very gracious and offered to drive in and get the elk out for us.
When we got to the cow it was huge! We had to drag it about 100 yards and it took four of us. They got it to our truck and we took it straight to a nearby butcher shop. For 30 bucks they hung it and skinned it for us. They had the whole thing processed in less than 12 hours and ready for Bob to pick up. It was pretty impressive and they were really good people.
That was the first time I have ever gotten an animal to the butcher in one piece. Bob suggested that we tear down camp and move into a motel for the last night. We located a lodge with horse corrals! I could not believe that. We packed up and headed to Ennis where the Sportsman's Lodge awaited.
Bob and I spent Holloween night in a local bar (Bob drank soda). There were people walking around town in costume, bar hopping. It was really kinda weird to see.
The next day we had breakfast and said our good-bye's. I really enjoyed my time with Bob. He was everything I could have hoped for if you have to spend a week alone with a perfect stranger.
I love this site and have met some really great people on here. If you ever thought about trying to find a hunting partner on here I would recommend taking the chance. You never know what might happen. I am already toying with the idea of taking up a bow and visiting Bob in the Gila next year for elk.
Here is a picture of a sculpture in downtown Ennis I took before heading home. I thought it was pretty cool.
Another one:
Here are some tammarack's along the highway.
Well, thanks for reading. I hope I did not bore you. I still have a buck tag for Montana and Washington. My wife says I can't afford to go back again for the closer but it sure is killing me. Anyone need a partner? HAHAHA! (Seriously)
Mike Henne
We located a Block Management ranch completely by accident. We saw two hunters at the parking area and decided to pull in and see what was going on. They happened to be the ranch owner's nephew and his friend from CA. I took photos of these barns. They were built in the 1880's according to the nephew.
He told us that they had been chasing a heard of about 12 elk around on the ranch for three days. He shot at one and hit it but could not find it in a nasty canyon. They also showed us a small 4X4 muley they had taken behind the house.
The nephew told us that he was the only one with permission to drive on the ranch and said he would be hunting it every day. They seemed like good guys and we BS'ed for about 30 minutes before moving on.
We drove around some more and I spotted this little band of goats off the road. The buck was not huge, but he was a keeper in my book.
We checked out a different canyon and talked with a hunter. He told us that they had seen a sow and cub grizzley in the west canyon and a big boar grizz in the east canyon. His friend fired a .44 over the boar's back in an attempt to scare him off of the trail. The boar looked at him and went right back to digging in the ant hill he was feasting on. We decided to eliminate this canyon from our hunt.
That evening we went back to the ranch and just sat in the parking area looking at the hillsides. We spotted a herd of nine cow elk high on the mountain. I also saw three white butts against the edge of the timber next to the elk. I commented to Bob that I bet those are bucks up there. Before I could get my spotter out they were in the timber. We spotted a herd of six elk further away, also up high on the ridge.
We decided to come back in the morning and go after the smaller band of six because they were in an area the nephew was not hunting. We climbed high in the morning and I only saw one elk. It was above us and moving to the timber right at daylight.
We talked to the nephew and he told us about three bucks, one really good one he jumped on the top of the ridge (DANG IT!) I missed my opportunity and what sounded like a good buck.
On the ay back to camp I spotted this goat right along the highway, across the river.
That night we rode up above our camp. This time only a couple miles up the trail. We hiked into some good steep county with alot of open hillsides. We were working our way slowly uphill through some meadows. Suddenly I got a really strong smell of elk. I signaled to Bob and we crept up further. We side hilled around and Bob peaked over below us. He quickly jerked back and whispered "There they are!"
We moved forward and I saw about six cows and a bull heading for the timber at a trot. Three cows stopped and stared right at us for what seemed like an eternity. I was whispering to Bob to shoot. But nothing.... After about 10 seconds they whirled and headed into the timber. They were at about 40 yards!
Bob said that there was another bull behind them that I could not see and he did not want to risk the shot. It was just at dark so after a few minutes we left and headed back to the horses. The bulls were both small rag horns.
The next day we went for a ride to the top of different mountain. We saw no elk but alot of sign and some beautiful scenery.
Bob was starting to lean toward leaving on Friday. I told him I was OK with that. He suggested that we check out the ranch on the last morning and just see if we could see anything from the parking area before tearing down camp. I agreed. He changed his mind about three times before morning but at about 5 AM he decided to go check it out.
We got there right at daylight. I got out of the truck and walked to the fence. There they were! There was 40 head way out in the flats. 37 cows, 1 five point, 1 four point and a spike.
Bob snuck out there while I watched from the spotter. The elk knew something was up and were looking the other way, walking towards Bob. They walked single file past Bob at about 400 yards. I kept saying "Shoot, Shoot, Shoot!" I was crawling out of my skin because it looked like they were going to get past him.
Bob fired two shots and the heard stopped. They then turned around and walked past him again. I heard a shot from up the hill. I looked up and saw three other guys sneaking in on them from above. The elk stopped in a depression and balled up. They did not know what to do.
They then turned back the way they had come and started cautiously walking off. Bob fired two more times and the last cow and I saw it drop. He told me the shot was approx. 425 yards. The rest of the herd ran around the ranch and into the deep canyons to the south. The other hunters turned out to be the nephew and his friends.
I felt terrible at first as they had been hunting hard for a week and were obvioulsy stalking in on this herd. I went to talk with them while Bob worked on his elk. They were very gracious and offered to drive in and get the elk out for us.
When we got to the cow it was huge! We had to drag it about 100 yards and it took four of us. They got it to our truck and we took it straight to a nearby butcher shop. For 30 bucks they hung it and skinned it for us. They had the whole thing processed in less than 12 hours and ready for Bob to pick up. It was pretty impressive and they were really good people.
That was the first time I have ever gotten an animal to the butcher in one piece. Bob suggested that we tear down camp and move into a motel for the last night. We located a lodge with horse corrals! I could not believe that. We packed up and headed to Ennis where the Sportsman's Lodge awaited.
Bob and I spent Holloween night in a local bar (Bob drank soda). There were people walking around town in costume, bar hopping. It was really kinda weird to see.
The next day we had breakfast and said our good-bye's. I really enjoyed my time with Bob. He was everything I could have hoped for if you have to spend a week alone with a perfect stranger.
I love this site and have met some really great people on here. If you ever thought about trying to find a hunting partner on here I would recommend taking the chance. You never know what might happen. I am already toying with the idea of taking up a bow and visiting Bob in the Gila next year for elk.
Here is a picture of a sculpture in downtown Ennis I took before heading home. I thought it was pretty cool.
Another one:
Here are some tammarack's along the highway.
Well, thanks for reading. I hope I did not bore you. I still have a buck tag for Montana and Washington. My wife says I can't afford to go back again for the closer but it sure is killing me. Anyone need a partner? HAHAHA! (Seriously)
Mike Henne
