FIRST EVER ELK HUNT

[PlacerCountyNWTF]

Here is my the results of my first ever Elk hunt. First time ever using a guide too. Story to follow.

 

[PlacerCountyNWTF]

Here is another pic of the success of the hunters the week beofre our hunt and the week before the fog set in.

 

[Speckmisser]

Congrats, there Placer! That's a nice bull, too!

I took my first two years ago, and I can still relive the experience. Nothing else like it!

Don't know about you, but I am now seriously hooked on elk hunting.

 

[Arrowslinger]

Yep, that my friend is a great bull

Congrats!
Now give up the details & story.

 

[Lan-Lord]

awesome bull, cant wait to read the details, congrats to you on your first (and NICE) bull elk

 

[Common Sense]

We want to hear more!

 

[PlacerCountyNWTF]

OK here it is.

The first day of the hunt, the owner/guide took me out to the top of a ridge and we started to hike in about 3 miles. The snow was up to my knees and he was busting my ass to get to this ridge by day light. We get there and my legs are like rubber. As soon as I sit down, I hear a bull bugle and then another. Shortly thereafter, I hear two bulls horns clashing together and I am thinking this is gonna be easy. The guide says this isn't usual behavior this time of year so they are probably two young bulls goofing around but we are going to wait til they come out of the timber. Five minutes goes by and the fog rolls in so thick that I can't see the guide sitting next to me. We try to wait out the fog but the rest of the hunt is a bust as the fog stays, so we go hunt whitetails in the valley. Saw a few decent onnes but nothing I wanted tp put a tag on.

We return to camp and find out one of the other guys in the camp shot a 7x7 and they are going to need to use the horses the next day to get out the meat. So, my guide says we are going to take horses into "Deep Creek" the next morning to get out the other guys meat and to hunt "big" mulies and hopefully score an elk. We arrive at the trail head and it takes two hours on horses and another hour on foot to get to where we need to go.We are sitting down glassing a few ridges and we hear what sounds like a horse loose behind us. My guide goes to investigate and comes back running and says, "Eric there is a huge f%^#% mule deer over here, let's go." He literally pulls me up a steep, steep snow covered hill and I am very winded at the time I try for a running shot about 150 yards at this toad of a mulie and miss. My guide estimated him at 30 wide and around 300 pounds. He says he hasn't seen a larger bodied mulie in those parts in 20 years of guiding. So I am pretty happy with myself.

We go back to glassing and I spot my bull about 2500 yards away just stepping out of the timber to feed. He is in the open about ten minutes and goes back into the timber and we lose sight of him. The guide says the bull will probably come back out to feed between 3:30 and 4:00 so we will wait him out. Ten minutes til four, he comes out along with two smaller bulls and they start to feed. My guide grabs his pack, says, "let's go," and starts running. I am already sore and trying to keep up with this dude who has been doing this for 8 weeks already this season and is in great shape. We close the gap to 500 yards and he says that is as close as we can get. It takes me about five minutes to catch my breath for the shot. The guide ties his belt around my gun and a tree for a rest and tells me the bull is 470 yards away and to aim for the top of his back. My first three shots miss and the bull is starting to trot up hill. The guide says to aim between his horns because he is heading up hill. So I aim between the horns and let her fly. I shot him right in the back of the head between the horns. When I hit him, he fell head over heels down a very steep hill. The guide says "You polaxed his ass. Now the work begins."

The other guide watches the show and runs down to help us quarter him out. By the time we head up the snowy, shale steep hill side it is dark. We got to the top and the other hunter had a fire started and the horses saddled. I was so sore that I needed help getting up on the horses.

What a rush and great hunt. We did a rough score on him the next day and was was around 315.

 

[Speckmisser]

Great story! Sounds like you earned that meat!

So, are your legs still sore?

 

[PlacerCountyNWTF]

Speck, Yes they are but they are getting better today.

 

[in2blacktail]

Congrats!!

 

[bigtusker]

Excellent job, great story and an awesome bull! Congrats

 

[PlacerCountyNWTF]

Thanks for all of the feedback. I was hesitant to use a guide but, it was a great experience and I will definetly do it again.

 

[hntnnut]

YA lucky dog, thats a fine bull.


Richard

 

[bighorn67]

Hey Placer,

That really gets me fired up for my cow elk hunt next month in Utah. I'm using a guide too. You got an awesome bull and told a great story. Congrats.

Dave

 

[TeamRealtreeHD]

Awesome bud! Nice Bull!!

 

[XDHUNTER]

Bighorn67

Which unit did you get ? i got drawn on central gordon creek price canyon area

which guide do you use?

good luck.

Eric

 

[PlacerCountyNWTF]

Good luck to you guys going for cows. No better meat in the world in my humble opinion

 

[Bwana Turtle]

Congratulations

When you first posted about your trip in July I checked my Topo Programs and the land around Noxon looked scary vertical. I bet you earned that Bull.
Congrats again.

 

[D-Zone]

Congrats Placer!

 

[PlacerCountyNWTF]

Bwana, it was very scary vertical. If you look at pic you can see we had to prop sticks on the side of the elk to prevent it from rolling down into the bottom.