YORT40
Well-known member
- Joined
- Sep 29, 2003
- Messages
- 1,216
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We just got back from the late cow season. 5 of the 7 tags were filled with a lot family fun to throw in. My father, my son & myself met my older brother, his son & my younger brother & his pal from Del Mar. We got into the mountain cabin to find heavy winds the day before the hunt. We were hoping the wind would stop, but the 1st day was miserable. We did see several nice bulls & some good bucks, but no cows.
Day 2 had the same conditions, but we split into 3 groups, & found some herds.
At first light, my son, Brad & I spotted a herd of 75 elk feeding in a meadow. We used a timberline & the wind to get us within 175 yds of the nearest spike. Brad set up on his stixs & we waited for the body to seperate from the pack. Finally a small cow/calf moved to the left. We made sure we were watching the same animal, & Brad pulled the trigger. The shot was good, but the cow just flinched & walked into the pack, which had their heads up, but didn't move. After waiting 5 minutes, nothing was on the ground so we backed into the timber & tried get around on the herd which was now slowly moving away. As we moved North to get back into range, I looked East & saw 1 lone small cow walking toward us. I knew it was the cow we were looking for so I got Brad get ready, but the cow stopped & layed down in the grass 75 yds from us. We waited about 20 minutes to see if she was going to stay down. After a while we moved to about 50 yds away to check her out. Her head was up, looking away from us. I told Brad to get down & make a head shot. He pulled the trigger & she shook her head. I said to try again. We got the same results with a shake. Slowly the head went down & I thought it was over, but as we walked closer, she got up & walked away. Fortunately, she only walked about 50 yds & layed down again. This time we went for a kill shot & put her down for good. After a closer look, we found that Brad had pierced both ears.
While we were piercing ears, the other group had found a herd coming out of the black timber into a small park which generated 4 shots & 3 nice cows by my father, my brother & his son who was on his 1st big game hunt.
On the 3rd day, the wind had slowed down, but it was snowing hard. I spent the morning trying to find tracks. I did find a small group on a ridge line, but ranged @ 400 yds, it was too far for my shooting abilities. That afternoon, I sat in the snow overlooking a park which a herd had pasted through in the morning. As the sun went down & it turned bitter cold, I thought the day over as we worked back to the truck. But as we walked a clearing, I spotted a group of about 30 running out of the trees. The last animal out was a big, fat cow & I was able to get a good shot on her & end my hunt. Sorry, but with little light, freezing fingers, & an elk to drag to the truck, I didn't get any pics of her.
All in all, it was a fun hunt & even better time with the boys. Theres nothing like 4 days of dishing-out & caughting crap with no wives to protect the weak.
Day 2 had the same conditions, but we split into 3 groups, & found some herds.
At first light, my son, Brad & I spotted a herd of 75 elk feeding in a meadow. We used a timberline & the wind to get us within 175 yds of the nearest spike. Brad set up on his stixs & we waited for the body to seperate from the pack. Finally a small cow/calf moved to the left. We made sure we were watching the same animal, & Brad pulled the trigger. The shot was good, but the cow just flinched & walked into the pack, which had their heads up, but didn't move. After waiting 5 minutes, nothing was on the ground so we backed into the timber & tried get around on the herd which was now slowly moving away. As we moved North to get back into range, I looked East & saw 1 lone small cow walking toward us. I knew it was the cow we were looking for so I got Brad get ready, but the cow stopped & layed down in the grass 75 yds from us. We waited about 20 minutes to see if she was going to stay down. After a while we moved to about 50 yds away to check her out. Her head was up, looking away from us. I told Brad to get down & make a head shot. He pulled the trigger & she shook her head. I said to try again. We got the same results with a shake. Slowly the head went down & I thought it was over, but as we walked closer, she got up & walked away. Fortunately, she only walked about 50 yds & layed down again. This time we went for a kill shot & put her down for good. After a closer look, we found that Brad had pierced both ears.
While we were piercing ears, the other group had found a herd coming out of the black timber into a small park which generated 4 shots & 3 nice cows by my father, my brother & his son who was on his 1st big game hunt.
On the 3rd day, the wind had slowed down, but it was snowing hard. I spent the morning trying to find tracks. I did find a small group on a ridge line, but ranged @ 400 yds, it was too far for my shooting abilities. That afternoon, I sat in the snow overlooking a park which a herd had pasted through in the morning. As the sun went down & it turned bitter cold, I thought the day over as we worked back to the truck. But as we walked a clearing, I spotted a group of about 30 running out of the trees. The last animal out was a big, fat cow & I was able to get a good shot on her & end my hunt. Sorry, but with little light, freezing fingers, & an elk to drag to the truck, I didn't get any pics of her.
All in all, it was a fun hunt & even better time with the boys. Theres nothing like 4 days of dishing-out & caughting crap with no wives to protect the weak.
