my solo backpack hunt (with pics)

K

KILLERBEE

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HE WONT NET VERY WELL, CAUSE HE'S GOT A TON OF DEDUCTIONS. IN FACT HE WONT GROSS VERY WELL EITHER, CAUSE HE DONT HAVE ALOT OF ANTLERS:) but he sure will eat well

i left last sunday to do a weeklong ,solo backpack trip in oregon. it was awsome!
i got to the trailhead right at dark, got my gear together and headed in with my headlamp. there was alot of trucks at the trailhead, but that parking spot opens up miles and miles of country to get away from people. i passed 11 guys who were on their way out within the first 2 miles. i was a little bummed after hearing everyone complain of so many guys. but knowing that once i get to where i was going - i never run into people. i hiked the first 3 1/2 miles and set up my tent. when i woke up monday morning i noticed i had slept right next to 2 other tents . no worries i still had another 3-4 miles to where i wanted to camp!

so i had my gear together by the time i could just see and headed off. after about another mile i heard a bugle. first thing i thought was , it had to be a hunter :thumb . i sat down just to listen and he bugled a couple more times confirming it wasn't coming from a tube. so i dropped my pack in some bushes, grabbed my calls and took off.

he wouldn't respond to my cowcalls, he wouldn't respond to me "small" sounding bugles, but when i strarted sounding like a big , growly old bull he started going nuts. i'd bet he bugled back at me no less than 30 times. finally i closed the gap to where i knew he was within 80 yrds. but couldn't see him. somehow i missed him going from 80 yrds to 50 yrds, but i looked over and could see antlers swaying through the trees. he was tearing this little sapling to shreds! it seemed like forever but he started to come out to the right so i drew my bow. but he stopped at the next sapling and demolished it! after about 2 minutes i couldn't hold my bow any longer and had to let down. we bugled back and forth a few more times and he started coming out, so i drew my bow. well-- then he came to another sapling ](*,) ](*,) after another minute, and my arms shaking from holding my bow so long i had to let down Again.

i still had no idea how big he was, but all he would do is growl, grunt , and chuckle back to me. + only responding to my bigger bugles, i figured he was something mature- if givin the shot, i was taking it.

well while he had his head into that last sapling i gave him 1 more "little" bugle and he picked his head up and turned around. he walked right through an opening and i cow called to stop him. put my 40 yrd pin on his heart and let it fly..........

i was 99% posative i hit him perfect. i watched him in my bino's run just a ways and stop. he was acting goofy for a couple seconds and then i saw glimpses of tan Rolling down the hill [ at least i thought]

so it was 8:00 am and i wanted to give him 1/2 hr. after 10 minutes i couldn't take it and wanted to just see if i could find my arrow. well before i got to the arrow i looked over and there he was piled up! it was awsome!

i did see right before the shot that he was just a 4 point but was still shooting. after all that excitement it was great!

it was so steep where he was at, later i ranged at 50 yrds. but i used my 40 yrd pin and hit to a "T" where i wanted to. i gutted the bull and drug him 400 yrds by myself. 1 pull and he'd slid 20 feet till he got hung up. i did this all the way to the bottom. then i spent the rest of monday packing him to my pack, which is where i set my camp for the night. and then most of tuesday packing him to my truck. from camp to my truck was 4.7 trail miles. stupid like i took the elk AND my camp out in 3 loads. that last load was a tough one. but once i was at my truck it was still worth it!

so my "weeklong" trip ended up being about 1 1/2 hrs of hunting and 2 days of packing:)


i did meet "another monster muley" guy up at the trail head. in fact his dad made one of the nicest gesture from a sportsamn i've ever had. after i told them i was going solo, he made sure to tell me where they were camped and if i got in a bind to come let them know. i thought that was great of him!

anyway so here a couple pictures
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cooking some dinner
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as i found him
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back at camp
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nothing like packing meat and watching the sun rise!!!
 
sounds like a great hunt. going solo seems to be the hunting life, hard to get anyone to do expedition type hunts.We try to do group chukar hunts, predator hunts. but more often than not only 2 in 10 show up. ----------------------------------------------------------------support your local guzzlers. OHA life member,lapine oregon
 
congratulations man!! way to push on past the other people, it was worth it!! I hope i have some of your luck for the remaining season!
 
Very cool man! Any bull kill is a GREAT bull kill! Im doing the same thing rifle first season. Usually do the archery thing but drew the rifle tag after waiting a few yrs...

Congrats to you...very nice

muleyman
 
MANNY, my pack weighed 52 lbs when i left the truck. that will change next time. i tried out a 10 day pack from WILDERNESS ATHLETE. problem was that 10 day pack weighed over 10 lbs.
i've never had my pack weigh more than 40 lbs. and i cant really say that it was any different than not having it. i liked the hydrate and recover mix. i do think it helped. but those gel packs you swallow for energy are about the nastiest thing i've ever tried to choke down. many times i had to really try to keep them from coming back up!

and the protein bars-- well i compared them to the cliff bars i normally take and they were pretty equal. and the cliff bars taste WAY better. the whole 10 day kit didn't hurt anything but for the money, and the added weight, i wouldn't buy it again.

as far as how much those packs weighed on the way out? i dont know. but that last load kicked my ......! it would have been different if i just did it in 4 loads. but it was hot, and i wanted to get the meat to a locker. oh-well, lesson learned.
 
DAMER, did you guys get into anything? i heard and seen more elk on my packout. very huntable.

again, i didn't think about it to much then, but later i thought that was pretty cool of a gesture{sp??} when your dad said if i got in a bind, look them up. pass on a thank you for me, if you wouldn't mind.

good luck and if your going to be back up there i let you know where i seen other elk to hunt. but you guys sounded like you were getting into some good hunting too.

anyway,thanks. killerbee--brian
 
Thank you for sharing your hunt! It is tons of fun pullin bulls in to a call! That seems to be how are hunts end up, more work(packing) than fun (hunting)

Well done on the solo hunt!
 
What a thrill KILLERBEE! That's awesome indeed!

I've gone on 2 week solo backpacking/fishing trips in my younger days and always limited my total pack to 35lbs max.

You have my respect for doing a solo elk hunt!

Eel

Know guns, know peace, know safety. No guns, no peace, no safety.
 
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