Live2hunt
Forever Hunting
- Joined
- Sep 24, 2002
- Messages
- 2,289
- Reaction score
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Fellow JHOers,
Sorry for the late report and long story. I tried to post the report as soon as I can but with cancer to battle and trying to get the pictures from my brother who works the graveyard shift, I just now finally get to share the hunt with y'all.
This was the Tinemaha and West Tinemaha second period antlerless hunt Oct. 3rd-11th. Lymphoma cancer continuously gave me extreme high fever, coughing, and vomitting 24x7 two days before the opening day. I thought I was going to just waste my elk tag, I managed to forced my brother to do the driving and we were off to Bishop the day before the opener. I was determine to not waste the tag as I have burned my max 7 points on it, so regardless whether I'm sick or not sick I'm gonna shoot a cow elk. Well my brother was driving and dad came along to help do the skinning. We arrived in Bishop at 11pm Friday night. We thought all the small hotels in Big Pine may already be full so we decided to find a hotel in Bishop which was only 15 miles away from Big Pine. The next thing I knew the alarm was beeping at 5am. Stopped by Dennys for breakfast and were on the road bound to Big Pine by 6:45am. Dawn was cracked over the horizon so dad and I thought we were late. The 15 miles to Big Pine seemed like forever although I thought my brother was pushing the gas pedal at to 80 mph. When we made that left turn into Steward Lane about a mile south of Big Pine, it was 7am and we started glassing the green alfalfa fields to the north of the valley. There were already two trucks parked on Steward Lane and we though if there were any elk in the alfalfa field those hunters would have seen and shot them. We decide to take a dirt road towards the north and check out some of the alfalfa field that were not visible from Steward Lane. We drove all the way to the end of the all the green fields and only spot two mule deer doe. We drove back to Steward lane and wanted to glass towards the south of the valley until the sun come up. The plan was that if we don't see any elk by about 9am, we would go down to Fish Spring Road and wait to shoot one when the rancher flush the herd in the no-hunting alfalfa field up to the lava rocks hills. On the way back, my brother kept stopping to glass east towards the sage brush and I kept telling him the elk are usually not in the sage brush this time of the morning. So only glass the green alfalfa fields. He didn't believe me. So minutes later we were back on Steward lane and glassing south. Again my brother was working his bino in the sage brush near the river. I threw up my bino over at the green alfalfa field and spotted the herd of elk all bedded down near the tree line. I swung my bino to look for a way to get to the elks. I spotted a guy crouched at the edge of the green field in the sage brush. He was about 800 yards away and just watching the elks with his bino. We waited to see if he would make a move at the elks, but it seemed he was setup waiting for the elk to move first. Then I remember two years ago when my dad had a tag, we drove over to the tree line on a road closer by hwy 395. We headed over and yeap there's the road. So we turned heading down the road towards the elk. As we got within 300 yards, all the elks got up stared at our moving truck. I told my brother to stop the truck and I got out. There were about 15 heads in the herd and they were all starring at me in the open field. I had no bush to hide to get any closer. I was comfortable with my Browning A-Bolt 7mm. Mag up to 200 yards, but at 300 yards I just didn't feel like taking the shot. So I played the next 100 yards stalk like I was minding my own business and not looking at the elk while I kinda walk towards them at an angle. The trick worked, the elk didn't spook or move more than a few steps and I was able to close the distance another 150 yards. Now I have a 150 yards shot. Still acting like I was minding my own business and not paying any attention to the elk, I deployed the bipod on the A-Bolt 7mm Mag., threw up my bino to see which cow was the biggest in the group. I cranked my rifle scope to 12x. I sat down and looked through the scope. The rifle was just about as steady rested as it was on the bench at the shooting range. The elks thought I was no threat and they began feeding. I had the whole herd in the scope waiting for a big cow to clear. About 5 minutes later the cow I shot moved up to lead the rest of the herd. I squeezed off a round and all the elk ran about 50 yards. Now I could not figure which cow was the one I shot. A minute later the herd bull starts to circle and move the herd away from me, one cow just stood still behind and was not taking any step. The bull came back and rubbed my cow to move, but she did not take another step. I threw the bino up and I could see blood pumping out the other shoulder, the bullet exit hole, like a water hose. The bull rubbed the wounded cow again where the blood was pumping. The bull finally gave up as the cow's blood sprayed all over the bull's lower side. The cow stood there not wanting to fallover for about 5 minutes. The herd had moved on about 200 yards away from the cow I shot. My dad and brother yelling from the truck saying shoot again to put her down or she may run. So I loaded another round and sent it. She still stood there not wanting to fall over. I yelled back to my dad and brother that the cow was standing dead on her feet. I walked over to about 5 feet from the dead standing cow elk. Then she collapse to the ground. It was only 7:20 am so I tagged it, got some pics taken, and went back inside the truck to lay down because I was coughing and feeling nausea. 10 minutes later I heard a gunshot and raised my head to see that the elk herd had wandered off to the edge of the green field and the hunter that I spotted earlier had shot his cow also. I laid back down and before I knew it my brother and dad have already finished skinning and quartered the cow into the truck and we were on the next 7 hour drive home.
L2H
Sorry for the late report and long story. I tried to post the report as soon as I can but with cancer to battle and trying to get the pictures from my brother who works the graveyard shift, I just now finally get to share the hunt with y'all.
This was the Tinemaha and West Tinemaha second period antlerless hunt Oct. 3rd-11th. Lymphoma cancer continuously gave me extreme high fever, coughing, and vomitting 24x7 two days before the opening day. I thought I was going to just waste my elk tag, I managed to forced my brother to do the driving and we were off to Bishop the day before the opener. I was determine to not waste the tag as I have burned my max 7 points on it, so regardless whether I'm sick or not sick I'm gonna shoot a cow elk. Well my brother was driving and dad came along to help do the skinning. We arrived in Bishop at 11pm Friday night. We thought all the small hotels in Big Pine may already be full so we decided to find a hotel in Bishop which was only 15 miles away from Big Pine. The next thing I knew the alarm was beeping at 5am. Stopped by Dennys for breakfast and were on the road bound to Big Pine by 6:45am. Dawn was cracked over the horizon so dad and I thought we were late. The 15 miles to Big Pine seemed like forever although I thought my brother was pushing the gas pedal at to 80 mph. When we made that left turn into Steward Lane about a mile south of Big Pine, it was 7am and we started glassing the green alfalfa fields to the north of the valley. There were already two trucks parked on Steward Lane and we though if there were any elk in the alfalfa field those hunters would have seen and shot them. We decide to take a dirt road towards the north and check out some of the alfalfa field that were not visible from Steward Lane. We drove all the way to the end of the all the green fields and only spot two mule deer doe. We drove back to Steward lane and wanted to glass towards the south of the valley until the sun come up. The plan was that if we don't see any elk by about 9am, we would go down to Fish Spring Road and wait to shoot one when the rancher flush the herd in the no-hunting alfalfa field up to the lava rocks hills. On the way back, my brother kept stopping to glass east towards the sage brush and I kept telling him the elk are usually not in the sage brush this time of the morning. So only glass the green alfalfa fields. He didn't believe me. So minutes later we were back on Steward lane and glassing south. Again my brother was working his bino in the sage brush near the river. I threw up my bino over at the green alfalfa field and spotted the herd of elk all bedded down near the tree line. I swung my bino to look for a way to get to the elks. I spotted a guy crouched at the edge of the green field in the sage brush. He was about 800 yards away and just watching the elks with his bino. We waited to see if he would make a move at the elks, but it seemed he was setup waiting for the elk to move first. Then I remember two years ago when my dad had a tag, we drove over to the tree line on a road closer by hwy 395. We headed over and yeap there's the road. So we turned heading down the road towards the elk. As we got within 300 yards, all the elks got up stared at our moving truck. I told my brother to stop the truck and I got out. There were about 15 heads in the herd and they were all starring at me in the open field. I had no bush to hide to get any closer. I was comfortable with my Browning A-Bolt 7mm. Mag up to 200 yards, but at 300 yards I just didn't feel like taking the shot. So I played the next 100 yards stalk like I was minding my own business and not looking at the elk while I kinda walk towards them at an angle. The trick worked, the elk didn't spook or move more than a few steps and I was able to close the distance another 150 yards. Now I have a 150 yards shot. Still acting like I was minding my own business and not paying any attention to the elk, I deployed the bipod on the A-Bolt 7mm Mag., threw up my bino to see which cow was the biggest in the group. I cranked my rifle scope to 12x. I sat down and looked through the scope. The rifle was just about as steady rested as it was on the bench at the shooting range. The elks thought I was no threat and they began feeding. I had the whole herd in the scope waiting for a big cow to clear. About 5 minutes later the cow I shot moved up to lead the rest of the herd. I squeezed off a round and all the elk ran about 50 yards. Now I could not figure which cow was the one I shot. A minute later the herd bull starts to circle and move the herd away from me, one cow just stood still behind and was not taking any step. The bull came back and rubbed my cow to move, but she did not take another step. I threw the bino up and I could see blood pumping out the other shoulder, the bullet exit hole, like a water hose. The bull rubbed the wounded cow again where the blood was pumping. The bull finally gave up as the cow's blood sprayed all over the bull's lower side. The cow stood there not wanting to fallover for about 5 minutes. The herd had moved on about 200 yards away from the cow I shot. My dad and brother yelling from the truck saying shoot again to put her down or she may run. So I loaded another round and sent it. She still stood there not wanting to fall over. I yelled back to my dad and brother that the cow was standing dead on her feet. I walked over to about 5 feet from the dead standing cow elk. Then she collapse to the ground. It was only 7:20 am so I tagged it, got some pics taken, and went back inside the truck to lay down because I was coughing and feeling nausea. 10 minutes later I heard a gunshot and raised my head to see that the elk herd had wandered off to the edge of the green field and the hunter that I spotted earlier had shot his cow also. I laid back down and before I knew it my brother and dad have already finished skinning and quartered the cow into the truck and we were on the next 7 hour drive home.
L2H
rayin :
