Oh my… it has begun…
- Thread starter just_ducky_1
- Start date
Been processing elk all day after these tards interrupted… made me walk for them! I got a plan for tomorrow… TBC…
So yeah, after setting up camp, glad he didn’t take and leave the Seek outside tent up there for the bears to make a soup kitchen out of. We get set in and know weather is coming so we should finish on the opener and get out of dodge.
Not so, I rookied it and didn’t set alarm. We had to hike about three miles in the and to almost 11k to get to the spot.
So we get going and full moon has us seeing bulls as we walk by them. Day breaks and we’re in the middle of a herd, decent 6x6 and a 5x6 satellite bull at about 100yds. Satellite bull comes in for cuddles and I could have throat patched him at 40yds (Hatch would be so proud).
Pass on a dozen other bulls, mostly rag 5’s. Then weather rolls in. DAMN! I gotta close this out. Government didn’t shut down so I still have to work! I gotta be off the mountain in a couple days.
So yeah, after setting up camp, glad he didn’t take and leave the Seek outside tent up there for the bears to make a soup kitchen out of. We get set in and know weather is coming so we should finish on the opener and get out of dodge.
Not so, I rookied it and didn’t set alarm. We had to hike about three miles in the and to almost 11k to get to the spot.
So we get going and full moon has us seeing bulls as we walk by them. Day breaks and we’re in the middle of a herd, decent 6x6 and a 5x6 satellite bull at about 100yds. Satellite bull comes in for cuddles and I could have throat patched him at 40yds (Hatch would be so proud).
Pass on a dozen other bulls, mostly rag 5’s. Then weather rolls in. DAMN! I gotta close this out. Government didn’t shut down so I still have to work! I gotta be off the mountain in a couple days.
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Oh that was much easier. Than walking! Closest you can get to road hunting chuckar. Just need a dog. Lost one, got 6 today between us.
But this was supposed to be an elk post…
But this was supposed to be an elk post…
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We’ll the fun is over, back to Texas in the morning.
As Paul Harvey ends the suspense with “The rest of the story “, I’ll finish my elk tale.
So after passing up nearly 15 bulls, I’m running short on time and getting less picky by the minute. We’ve already lost one and a half days to weather. Finally weather breaks on Tuesday afternoon. We get up to the high ground, check in with the wife, tell her happy birthday and thanks for letting me go on this adventure. We hang up and start glassing up more bulls. One in this bowl, two on that ridge and another one across in another drainage.
We end up passing on all them and know Wednesday morning forecast was going to be clear and mild. We decide we’ll kill a bull in the morning regardless because I gotta get off the mountain. For spits and grins we go by the first bowl we saw a 5x6 lil guy in. My buddy froze, motioned for me to come up and get low. Then he says, “you need to shoot this bull right now”. I’m already dialed for 300. He’s below us about 400ft, ranged at 325, that calculated out to 300. I fire away and he’s hunching but still up. I hit him again, and again, and a third. He finally turns slowly. I’m thinking he’s gotta go down. Nope! Now he’s facing the timber, I send one more and buckle him breaking his shoulder. He stumbles and gets up, stumbles again and gets up. He’s heading away from me and don’t have a good angle on him as he ducks into the timber.
Buddy and I bail off the steep a$$ cliff and start trying to track him. No tracking needed. He fell right inside the timber. Not good considering the bear issues we’ve had.
I hit him at last light. We gutted him, later open his joints, pissed a circle around him and laid our base layers on him for the night. The climbed up that slope a sheep would love. And back to camp by 9pm.
Get the horses saddled and ready and head off around 8, get him quarters out and packed and we’re back in camp by 11.
Restless night as the horses let us know something wasn’t right. We drew our pistols and surveyed the area but the girls just seemed uneasy. The next morning (Thursday) as we packed up and headed out. No more than 75yds from our tent were fresh bear tracks. As we went further down we kept seeing fresh scat and tracks. We need to get outta there. Buddy’s horse was a PITA and kept blowing up on him. (Didn’t like the rack on her back) so I end up leading two horses down and he manages the PITA so we don’t have a horse wreck.
Lots of miles logged, lots of bulls passed but in the end shot the same 6x6 I had at under 200 yds 15 minutes into day one. He has a very symmetrical bull and just what I wanted, a good representative of the genetics in the area we were hunting. Not a huge bull (roughly 285) but I couldn’t be happier. And after three Afghan deployments together, there is no one I trust more than my buddy!
Ready for the next time!!!
As Paul Harvey ends the suspense with “The rest of the story “, I’ll finish my elk tale.
So after passing up nearly 15 bulls, I’m running short on time and getting less picky by the minute. We’ve already lost one and a half days to weather. Finally weather breaks on Tuesday afternoon. We get up to the high ground, check in with the wife, tell her happy birthday and thanks for letting me go on this adventure. We hang up and start glassing up more bulls. One in this bowl, two on that ridge and another one across in another drainage.
We end up passing on all them and know Wednesday morning forecast was going to be clear and mild. We decide we’ll kill a bull in the morning regardless because I gotta get off the mountain. For spits and grins we go by the first bowl we saw a 5x6 lil guy in. My buddy froze, motioned for me to come up and get low. Then he says, “you need to shoot this bull right now”. I’m already dialed for 300. He’s below us about 400ft, ranged at 325, that calculated out to 300. I fire away and he’s hunching but still up. I hit him again, and again, and a third. He finally turns slowly. I’m thinking he’s gotta go down. Nope! Now he’s facing the timber, I send one more and buckle him breaking his shoulder. He stumbles and gets up, stumbles again and gets up. He’s heading away from me and don’t have a good angle on him as he ducks into the timber.
Buddy and I bail off the steep a$$ cliff and start trying to track him. No tracking needed. He fell right inside the timber. Not good considering the bear issues we’ve had.
I hit him at last light. We gutted him, later open his joints, pissed a circle around him and laid our base layers on him for the night. The climbed up that slope a sheep would love. And back to camp by 9pm.
Get the horses saddled and ready and head off around 8, get him quarters out and packed and we’re back in camp by 11.
Restless night as the horses let us know something wasn’t right. We drew our pistols and surveyed the area but the girls just seemed uneasy. The next morning (Thursday) as we packed up and headed out. No more than 75yds from our tent were fresh bear tracks. As we went further down we kept seeing fresh scat and tracks. We need to get outta there. Buddy’s horse was a PITA and kept blowing up on him. (Didn’t like the rack on her back) so I end up leading two horses down and he manages the PITA so we don’t have a horse wreck.
Lots of miles logged, lots of bulls passed but in the end shot the same 6x6 I had at under 200 yds 15 minutes into day one. He has a very symmetrical bull and just what I wanted, a good representative of the genetics in the area we were hunting. Not a huge bull (roughly 285) but I couldn’t be happier. And after three Afghan deployments together, there is no one I trust more than my buddy!
Ready for the next time!!!
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Thank you all. I’ve had to live vicariously through you all for so many years only a couple more, and I can hang up the uniform, and do this in a more regular basis.
Man that was a hell of a trip!! Glad you guys made it out safely and congrats and sealing the deal on a great bull!
Thank you for your story and post, but more importantly, for your dedication and service to our great country! HooRah!
