- Thread starter mslagle1
- Start date
Hitechhunter
Well-known member
- Joined
- Sep 12, 2006
- Messages
- 1,302
- Reaction score
- 6
Sweet!
7mm MAGNUM
Well-known member
- Joined
- Feb 27, 2003
- Messages
- 185
- Reaction score
- 0
Congratulations on a fine lookin' Wapiti,.. hope to hear the story that lead to it !
forkehornreggie
Well-known member
- Joined
- Aug 10, 2004
- Messages
- 712
- Reaction score
- 0
That is very satisfying isn't it? Great job!
Here is the story…
We arrived on Friday the 29th to scout a little before our archery opener on the 30th in unit 33. We had little competition in the woods with only 3 other hunters in the area. The Elk were not bugling and our calling seemed to do more harm than good. So I would sit the morning and scout during the afternoon. My GPS would report 8 – 10 miles a day of scouting and to and from camp travel. What I found surprised me because I had not read it before. The transitions between dark timber (pine trees for a Michigan boy) to aspens that ran horizontal along the mountain side seemed to be very well used travel areas. Because most of the dark timber in our area went to the ridges I only found two areas that had this type of transition and they were both tore up. Both of these areas seemed to be frequented by bulls and by “rubbing” out the tracks with my boot I determined that these areas were used early in the day. On day 4 of the hunt I went to the area closer to camp to get setup and crested the saddle at sun up to be surprised by a 5x5 standing broadside at 20 yards. After clearly being out too late and blowing a possible opportunity I decided to go to the more promising looking spot that is an hour walk in the dark for the next day. So I sat that night and all of the next day in my transition area in the rain waiting for my chance.
Thursday morning the day before we had to break camp we had nice weather and I was up at 4am with my pack ready from the night before. I said good luck to the other hunter and headed to my spot. I sat quietly for three and a half hours with my cow call in my mouth and my arrow knocked, hoping he would make a day light appearance. When the mountain side was hot enough that I started to think about removing some layers he appeared. He worked his way though the area rubbing his antlers lightly and doing his best to put every pine tree (sorry “dark timber”) between me and him. Finally with him heading up hill and me sitting in one of the weird positions I had been practicing shooting from all summer I had a shot. Quartering away inside 30 yards I placed my top pin on his last rib and watched the arrow bury up to the fletching. He took off, but stopped when he heard my dry throat attempt at a cow call. He wandered another 40 yards before deciding he needed to lay down for a nap. I pulled out my range finder and could see hide at 91 yards. I waited almost an hour with him not moving to be sure he had expired. I snuck as quietly as possible to his location with an arrow ready, but it was not needed. I had made my hunt a success.
I shared this hunt with my Dad, Uncle, and Great Uncle. I do not work for or endorse any companies, but if you want to know I can tell you what worked for me and what didn’t.
We arrived on Friday the 29th to scout a little before our archery opener on the 30th in unit 33. We had little competition in the woods with only 3 other hunters in the area. The Elk were not bugling and our calling seemed to do more harm than good. So I would sit the morning and scout during the afternoon. My GPS would report 8 – 10 miles a day of scouting and to and from camp travel. What I found surprised me because I had not read it before. The transitions between dark timber (pine trees for a Michigan boy) to aspens that ran horizontal along the mountain side seemed to be very well used travel areas. Because most of the dark timber in our area went to the ridges I only found two areas that had this type of transition and they were both tore up. Both of these areas seemed to be frequented by bulls and by “rubbing” out the tracks with my boot I determined that these areas were used early in the day. On day 4 of the hunt I went to the area closer to camp to get setup and crested the saddle at sun up to be surprised by a 5x5 standing broadside at 20 yards. After clearly being out too late and blowing a possible opportunity I decided to go to the more promising looking spot that is an hour walk in the dark for the next day. So I sat that night and all of the next day in my transition area in the rain waiting for my chance.
Thursday morning the day before we had to break camp we had nice weather and I was up at 4am with my pack ready from the night before. I said good luck to the other hunter and headed to my spot. I sat quietly for three and a half hours with my cow call in my mouth and my arrow knocked, hoping he would make a day light appearance. When the mountain side was hot enough that I started to think about removing some layers he appeared. He worked his way though the area rubbing his antlers lightly and doing his best to put every pine tree (sorry “dark timber”) between me and him. Finally with him heading up hill and me sitting in one of the weird positions I had been practicing shooting from all summer I had a shot. Quartering away inside 30 yards I placed my top pin on his last rib and watched the arrow bury up to the fletching. He took off, but stopped when he heard my dry throat attempt at a cow call. He wandered another 40 yards before deciding he needed to lay down for a nap. I pulled out my range finder and could see hide at 91 yards. I waited almost an hour with him not moving to be sure he had expired. I snuck as quietly as possible to his location with an arrow ready, but it was not needed. I had made my hunt a success.
I shared this hunt with my Dad, Uncle, and Great Uncle. I do not work for or endorse any companies, but if you want to know I can tell you what worked for me and what didn’t.
