I drew a pretty good bull elk tag for 2012...One night I was headed back to the truck on my atv when I saw another atv parked in a wide spot on the trail glassing up the opposite side so I pulled in and asked him if he was on something ...I didn't want to ride by and blow out what ever he was glassing . Turns out he was just glassing the side of the mountain.
As I sat there talking we heard a noise behind us, he said it was coyotes. I kept listening and it was no coyote it was a cow elk mewing and snapping branches as she walked. We all got off our 4x4's and headed over to get a look. He had already killed a bull a few days earlier in the week and his buddy only had a cow tag. We glassed across a draw into the side of a steep wooded game trail and saw 6 to 8 elk coming down.
The last elk down was a big bull and Im the only one with a bull tag. Well it was dark 30 for sure but I could see him through my Swaro's. Pretty soon one of the guys moves around too much and the elk bust out....Well the 6 to 8 elk turned out to be a herd of at least 80 elk and they were stampeding out of that draw and across a big meadow...
They stopped about 350 yards out all 80 - 90 of them looking back at us. Every one was saying ...he's the 7th one from the end...Now, I was standing there with no rest to get steady with and it was REALLY dark. I could tell it was a bull but knew it was way past shooting light. I stood there looking through my Swarovskys then my scope I could make out a bull (kinda) and knew it was a good one and I hadn't been seeing much all week.
I stood there thinking do I take a shot??? or hunt him again tomorrow.... The next morning I was back there and never saw an elk. But I have a good story to tell my grandsons.
As I sat there talking we heard a noise behind us, he said it was coyotes. I kept listening and it was no coyote it was a cow elk mewing and snapping branches as she walked. We all got off our 4x4's and headed over to get a look. He had already killed a bull a few days earlier in the week and his buddy only had a cow tag. We glassed across a draw into the side of a steep wooded game trail and saw 6 to 8 elk coming down.
The last elk down was a big bull and Im the only one with a bull tag. Well it was dark 30 for sure but I could see him through my Swaro's. Pretty soon one of the guys moves around too much and the elk bust out....Well the 6 to 8 elk turned out to be a herd of at least 80 elk and they were stampeding out of that draw and across a big meadow...
They stopped about 350 yards out all 80 - 90 of them looking back at us. Every one was saying ...he's the 7th one from the end...Now, I was standing there with no rest to get steady with and it was REALLY dark. I could tell it was a bull but knew it was way past shooting light. I stood there looking through my Swarovskys then my scope I could make out a bull (kinda) and knew it was a good one and I hadn't been seeing much all week.
I stood there thinking do I take a shot??? or hunt him again tomorrow.... The next morning I was back there and never saw an elk. But I have a good story to tell my grandsons.