Califelkslayer
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LAST EDITED ON Nov-03-09 AT 11:52PM (MST)[p]The next day, Sunday, i was alone and needed a break. I glassed from the truck for a few hours in the AM. Ely to shower, do laundry, and watch my 9ers loose to Houston, back out glassing in the PM. Saw elk but nothing warranting a closer look. I did get a call from Eric tellin me that him and a mutual friend, Billy would be in Ely by 2 PM Monday. He was hooked!!
Monday AM I hiked to a basin I'd scouted mid-afternoon preseason. Tons of sign and beautiful country. Plus the vertical was only 1,000 feet over 1.5 miles. Still feelin the Saturday climb. Daylight brought a herd of 35 elk, 11 bulls on a high peak about 600 yards away. After wasting an hour making sure none of the bulls were great, I moved to see the rest of the basin. Another herd of 11, 1 bull, second herd of 9 cows plus 6 more cows feedin that ended up bedding in the middle of the basin. I attempted to back out figuring I'd be back the next day and blow by where the first herd was in the dark so I could see the rest of the basin earlier. Gettin out several cows from the original herd had bedded where they could see me goin down the mountain. Decision to climb up over the peak in cover and find my way back to the truck. As I topped out at 11:30, I glassed the big basin from higher and a different angle. I spotted a bull at about 1,000 yards. VERY tall, narrow and heavy. After 15 minutes I thought his 3rd on his left side was broke. That and the fact that I had company coming that evening made up my decision to not make the stalk. I figured a good bull but not a great one. I started referring to that basin as "Bull Basin." More glassing by the three of us that evening. No bulls back in the basin I'd screwed up the stalk in.
Tues/Wed was more of the same, lots of elk but no big guys. Wednesday evening I took Eric into Bull Basin and we saw 6 bulls, no cows. Snow and high winds had seemed to move the cows lower. Eric and I had decided before he left that the big bulls had seperated from the herds and moved up the mountain BUT we also knew that a 400" bull had been missed there the opening day of rifle last year so a great bull could move in at any time. Thursday Billy was out lookin at another area when Eric and I saw a good bull push a couple of 5 points off of a herd of 50+ cows. I looked at this bull for some time and decided to make the stalk. A BIG 5 point, main beam extending 22-24" past his last fork and very, very heavy. I dropped over 2 canyons and headed uphill. About thirty cows fed out and I was out of cover so I had to sit tight for an hour til they fed out of sight. I
pushed it cause it was gettin late. As the last elk went in the timber I was 200 yards away. I called Eric and told him I was going in after them which I knew was chancy. As I entered the timber, I had cows meowing left, right and in front. I also had a bull screamin approx 150 yards away at 2 o'clock. And the wind was swirling. A cow to my left winded me but wasn't sure from which direction. She trotted across a 10 yd wide openin at 60 yards followed by 3 spikes, several cows and a small bull. I thought this might work out. 6 more steps and another cow got out of her bed 40 yds away lookin at me through the timber. Cows/calves meowing all around me, wow. After 5 minutes the cow turned and I glanced right. Another cow locked on me, probably for the entire time, damn. They just walked over the hill taking lots of elk with them. Now the bull was screamin at 12:00, maybe 150 yards away. I called Eric who told me that most of the elk were in the next canyon which I was familiar with. He also told me the screamin was coming from the big bull. That canyon was open and I was hopeful. My mistake was going directly towards him. Thick mahogany!! On my knees at times. 5 minutes later he told me they had moved through the saddle where we were glassin on the opener. I cut above that with the wind in my favor. Tons of tracks, a few meows and I determined that most of the elk had crossed into some aspens. I saw a few elk and decided I'd pushed them enough. I started down the ridge as I was now back on the same one Eric and I had started on. Too fast!! It wasn't over yet. I jumped a cow and 4 point. First elk that had actually crashed out all day. Elk were goin everywhere, not knowin where the danger was. I hurried to an openin and kinda got made by a couple of cows. They stared, moved downhill about 40 yards and just stared. In the meantime, the bull I was after was screamin his head off less than 100 yards away to my right. I couldn't go that way cause the 2 cows would see me. In the next 5 minutes several cows and a couple of bulls joined the cows below me. These elk where 100-120 yards below me. As I kept glassing them, a nice 4 point buck walked between me and them. Then in the binos I saw a wad of horns. As I focused on this, one bull moved to the right and the bull I was after moved to the left. Plamated rear tines, very heavy, loong 4ths. Not the bull I hoped for but a very good bull, you'll do!!! 120 yards broadside, no rest and elk milling all around. I settled the front sight just behind the left shoulder, 1/3 up. Then after I made sure the front sight was centered evenly between the back 2, I focused on him. I saw movement between us and realized a cow had moved between us and the movement was her actually gettin out of my way. Panic. I'd almost hit her in front of him had I not double checked. Clear now, shoot!! I rushed it and blew it. 3 herds of 40-50 elk went north, down through the bottom and up on an open hillside about 400-500 yards away. They lined out, one herd after another and walked about 800 yards to junipers. I watched the bull I missed for over 5 minutes, no signs of a hit. I saw both sides and watched him herd his cows. No blood either. As I left the timber, I saw a herd of 35 elk on the ridge to the south. Guess where I wasn't huntin the next day?? As I got back to Eric he seemed more disappointed then me. I found out the next day that Billy had hunted a private ranch in Utah in Sept and the Landowner was going to let him come back the next two days to take a meat buck if his hunters were done. Had I made that shot they would have made the 2 day deer hunt for Billy. But they'd sworn not to say anything to me to influence my decisions. I didn't find out till the following day. I'll leave it at that for now.
Monday AM I hiked to a basin I'd scouted mid-afternoon preseason. Tons of sign and beautiful country. Plus the vertical was only 1,000 feet over 1.5 miles. Still feelin the Saturday climb. Daylight brought a herd of 35 elk, 11 bulls on a high peak about 600 yards away. After wasting an hour making sure none of the bulls were great, I moved to see the rest of the basin. Another herd of 11, 1 bull, second herd of 9 cows plus 6 more cows feedin that ended up bedding in the middle of the basin. I attempted to back out figuring I'd be back the next day and blow by where the first herd was in the dark so I could see the rest of the basin earlier. Gettin out several cows from the original herd had bedded where they could see me goin down the mountain. Decision to climb up over the peak in cover and find my way back to the truck. As I topped out at 11:30, I glassed the big basin from higher and a different angle. I spotted a bull at about 1,000 yards. VERY tall, narrow and heavy. After 15 minutes I thought his 3rd on his left side was broke. That and the fact that I had company coming that evening made up my decision to not make the stalk. I figured a good bull but not a great one. I started referring to that basin as "Bull Basin." More glassing by the three of us that evening. No bulls back in the basin I'd screwed up the stalk in.
Tues/Wed was more of the same, lots of elk but no big guys. Wednesday evening I took Eric into Bull Basin and we saw 6 bulls, no cows. Snow and high winds had seemed to move the cows lower. Eric and I had decided before he left that the big bulls had seperated from the herds and moved up the mountain BUT we also knew that a 400" bull had been missed there the opening day of rifle last year so a great bull could move in at any time. Thursday Billy was out lookin at another area when Eric and I saw a good bull push a couple of 5 points off of a herd of 50+ cows. I looked at this bull for some time and decided to make the stalk. A BIG 5 point, main beam extending 22-24" past his last fork and very, very heavy. I dropped over 2 canyons and headed uphill. About thirty cows fed out and I was out of cover so I had to sit tight for an hour til they fed out of sight. I
pushed it cause it was gettin late. As the last elk went in the timber I was 200 yards away. I called Eric and told him I was going in after them which I knew was chancy. As I entered the timber, I had cows meowing left, right and in front. I also had a bull screamin approx 150 yards away at 2 o'clock. And the wind was swirling. A cow to my left winded me but wasn't sure from which direction. She trotted across a 10 yd wide openin at 60 yards followed by 3 spikes, several cows and a small bull. I thought this might work out. 6 more steps and another cow got out of her bed 40 yds away lookin at me through the timber. Cows/calves meowing all around me, wow. After 5 minutes the cow turned and I glanced right. Another cow locked on me, probably for the entire time, damn. They just walked over the hill taking lots of elk with them. Now the bull was screamin at 12:00, maybe 150 yards away. I called Eric who told me that most of the elk were in the next canyon which I was familiar with. He also told me the screamin was coming from the big bull. That canyon was open and I was hopeful. My mistake was going directly towards him. Thick mahogany!! On my knees at times. 5 minutes later he told me they had moved through the saddle where we were glassin on the opener. I cut above that with the wind in my favor. Tons of tracks, a few meows and I determined that most of the elk had crossed into some aspens. I saw a few elk and decided I'd pushed them enough. I started down the ridge as I was now back on the same one Eric and I had started on. Too fast!! It wasn't over yet. I jumped a cow and 4 point. First elk that had actually crashed out all day. Elk were goin everywhere, not knowin where the danger was. I hurried to an openin and kinda got made by a couple of cows. They stared, moved downhill about 40 yards and just stared. In the meantime, the bull I was after was screamin his head off less than 100 yards away to my right. I couldn't go that way cause the 2 cows would see me. In the next 5 minutes several cows and a couple of bulls joined the cows below me. These elk where 100-120 yards below me. As I kept glassing them, a nice 4 point buck walked between me and them. Then in the binos I saw a wad of horns. As I focused on this, one bull moved to the right and the bull I was after moved to the left. Plamated rear tines, very heavy, loong 4ths. Not the bull I hoped for but a very good bull, you'll do!!! 120 yards broadside, no rest and elk milling all around. I settled the front sight just behind the left shoulder, 1/3 up. Then after I made sure the front sight was centered evenly between the back 2, I focused on him. I saw movement between us and realized a cow had moved between us and the movement was her actually gettin out of my way. Panic. I'd almost hit her in front of him had I not double checked. Clear now, shoot!! I rushed it and blew it. 3 herds of 40-50 elk went north, down through the bottom and up on an open hillside about 400-500 yards away. They lined out, one herd after another and walked about 800 yards to junipers. I watched the bull I missed for over 5 minutes, no signs of a hit. I saw both sides and watched him herd his cows. No blood either. As I left the timber, I saw a herd of 35 elk on the ridge to the south. Guess where I wasn't huntin the next day?? As I got back to Eric he seemed more disappointed then me. I found out the next day that Billy had hunted a private ranch in Utah in Sept and the Landowner was going to let him come back the next two days to take a meat buck if his hunters were done. Had I made that shot they would have made the 2 day deer hunt for Billy. But they'd sworn not to say anything to me to influence my decisions. I didn't find out till the following day. I'll leave it at that for now.
