CaliJeephuntr
Well-known member
- Joined
- Aug 29, 2004
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I was with Alan’s (MyFriends410) group but wasn’t able to help out with the hunt the first day due to having to work. But I got there Wednesday night and everyone was really happy due to the bull they got that morning. So we went to bed with high hopes for the next day. Since I wasn’t there for the opening day hunt I’ll just post the days I was there for.
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Day 2 of the hunt saw Josh, my dad, and I back in the same area where they got the bull the previous day. However all the activity going on pushed the elk out of the area and we had to do some searching. We spotted a couple bulls later in the morning in area 9 but by the time we pulled a stalk to where they were they had given us the slip. Around <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com
</st1:time>2pm we spotted a bull in 16B that we decided to make a stalk on. Josh and I worked in along the river and worked in to within 300 yards of where the elk were bedded. But we could get no closer then the little rise we were on. The elk were bedded in a wide open field under a tree and there was just no way to close the distance for a bow shot. So we waited for hours on end for the elk to get up and move towards us. But it wasn’t meant to be and the elk just never gave us an opportunity. But it was exciting because they did get within 100 yards of us right at last shot. We also had some hogs come out on us within 100 yards… one was pushing 200+, but he spotted us and rushed back to the river. It was exciting even though we didn’t score.
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[FONT=border=]***** Note, the time stamp on my camera is an hour fast*****
Our view of the elk under the tree. 279 yards out from us.
The elk wondered off the other direction before coming back. But the black dot to the right of the closet tree (above the grass patch) is a big pregnant sow that came out of the river.
Day 3 saw us back in area 15 looking for elk since there had been a lot of people in area 24 the day before. No luck there so we went back towards the river. Came across a herd of cows with no bull…. Just our luck! Decided to try something different and hunt 13A. Walked in at 930 (gates were closed) and didn’t come out till dark. But we got onto a herd with a huge 7x6 that just didn’t want to cooperate. We got up high and started glassing. At <st1:time Hour="12" Minute="0">noon</st1:time> we spotted the herd and the bull and at 1230 decided to make the stalk. I stayed up high while Josh tried to get close for a bow shot. I was up there all day long watching Josh belly crawl and scoot to get close. The elk never knew we were there, but their feeding habits just kept taking them farther and farther away from Josh. Patience was definitely required for these stalks. Near last shot Josh tried to charge it and walk on them, but they wouldn’t have anything of it. It was a huge bull and would have made everything worth while. But sneaking in on 20+ pairs of eyes is no easy feat.
Day 4 we were starting to wonder if we were going to get Josh’s bull since the bachelor herds all seemed to have worked into the restricted zones. We ran area 15, 12B, and 9 again just in case… but they were still MIA. Went down river road along area 22 (was open to archery) and came across a hog that Josh shot at and grazed with his bow. Pig decided to cross the road on us after being stung and ran into area 21. Went in late in the afternoon with escort but he was long gone.
When we went back to the check station to inform them about the pig going into 21 we found out area 22 had been changed from archery only to muzzleloader zone. We went to Sam Jones road, set up to glass the herds and we immediately spot a lone bull walking towards the river. Josh and I high tail it into position and after an hour of hands and knees crawling in the flat lands we got into a position on the bull. He had bedded down in the trees along the river and had no clue we were there. We had to keep repositioning ourselves because we either had bad angles, or no shots due to the trees. And on land that only has little 3 foot depressions, it makes it tough. We finally got a decent angle with a shot through the trees on him about <st1:time Hour="13" Minute="0">1pm</st1:time>. One cloud of smoke shot later we were all smiles! He made a beautiful 131 yard shot with his TC Omega. He used a 250gr. Barnes TEZ with 110 grains of blackhorn209. The bullet took out part of his lungs, shredded the valves and veins of the heart to the lungs, and lodged itself in the opposite shoulder. The elk got up ran 20 yards and fell over dead. When that elk fell over we were overjoyed! Finally! After all those stalks and no luck going our way we were able to close the deal on another exciting stalk. This time we didn’t have 100’s of eyes to worry about… just 2. I don’t know who was more excited/happy… the shooter or the spotter. It was such a great feeling to succeed after all the hard work we’d put in.
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Elk weighed in at 403 lbs. He was 5x5 with no breaks, scratches, or chips.
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[FONT=border=][/FONT]
[FONT=border=]***** Note, the time stamp on my camera is an hour fast*****
Our view of the elk under the tree. 279 yards out from us.
The elk wondered off the other direction before coming back. But the black dot to the right of the closet tree (above the grass patch) is a big pregnant sow that came out of the river.
Day 3 saw us back in area 15 looking for elk since there had been a lot of people in area 24 the day before. No luck there so we went back towards the river. Came across a herd of cows with no bull…. Just our luck! Decided to try something different and hunt 13A. Walked in at 930 (gates were closed) and didn’t come out till dark. But we got onto a herd with a huge 7x6 that just didn’t want to cooperate. We got up high and started glassing. At <st1:time Hour="12" Minute="0">noon</st1:time> we spotted the herd and the bull and at 1230 decided to make the stalk. I stayed up high while Josh tried to get close for a bow shot. I was up there all day long watching Josh belly crawl and scoot to get close. The elk never knew we were there, but their feeding habits just kept taking them farther and farther away from Josh. Patience was definitely required for these stalks. Near last shot Josh tried to charge it and walk on them, but they wouldn’t have anything of it. It was a huge bull and would have made everything worth while. But sneaking in on 20+ pairs of eyes is no easy feat.
Day 4 we were starting to wonder if we were going to get Josh’s bull since the bachelor herds all seemed to have worked into the restricted zones. We ran area 15, 12B, and 9 again just in case… but they were still MIA. Went down river road along area 22 (was open to archery) and came across a hog that Josh shot at and grazed with his bow. Pig decided to cross the road on us after being stung and ran into area 21. Went in late in the afternoon with escort but he was long gone.
When we went back to the check station to inform them about the pig going into 21 we found out area 22 had been changed from archery only to muzzleloader zone. We went to Sam Jones road, set up to glass the herds and we immediately spot a lone bull walking towards the river. Josh and I high tail it into position and after an hour of hands and knees crawling in the flat lands we got into a position on the bull. He had bedded down in the trees along the river and had no clue we were there. We had to keep repositioning ourselves because we either had bad angles, or no shots due to the trees. And on land that only has little 3 foot depressions, it makes it tough. We finally got a decent angle with a shot through the trees on him about <st1:time Hour="13" Minute="0">1pm</st1:time>. One cloud of smoke shot later we were all smiles! He made a beautiful 131 yard shot with his TC Omega. He used a 250gr. Barnes TEZ with 110 grains of blackhorn209. The bullet took out part of his lungs, shredded the valves and veins of the heart to the lungs, and lodged itself in the opposite shoulder. The elk got up ran 20 yards and fell over dead. When that elk fell over we were overjoyed! Finally! After all those stalks and no luck going our way we were able to close the deal on another exciting stalk. This time we didn’t have 100’s of eyes to worry about… just 2. I don’t know who was more excited/happy… the shooter or the spotter. It was such a great feeling to succeed after all the hard work we’d put in.
<o
></o>Elk weighed in at 403 lbs. He was 5x5 with no breaks, scratches, or chips.
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