Sorry for the delay. We shot the 2 cows on the last day with 2 hours of sunlight. Got back to camp late, then had to hang and skin the quarters, pack the truck, load the quads and drive 13+ hours the next morning.
The hunt was tough to say the least. Animals were hyper skittish, and they were all high on the mountains. We had several opportunities earlier in the week only to be spoiled by shifting wind on one setup as well as getting eyeballed on the final push of another setup. I put 162 miles on my quad and who knows how many miles in the boots. All of us worked hard. We stayed out from early morning until dark every day. Cold and tired was the general consensus daily.
The hunt had all of the weather you could imagine. Freezing cold to warm afternoons. Ice, snow and rain. We were in a whiteout on one stalk. Very cool. We did get busted on that particular hunt after a 1.5 hour push up to the animals. If the snow would have kept up a few more minutes, we would have had 4 animals on the ground on that setup.
It was incredible how hard the hunt was this year. We have 6 of us who know the mountain range well, are outfitted with the best of glass and understand elk hunting to it's core. Every year it seems to get tougher and the animals get smarter. At least that is how I see it.
The last hunt on the 5th day was an incredible experience that was full of challenge and physical effort. We shot the animals in an area we call "The Bowl". It is seldom hunted and for good reason. It is a tough hunt. And generally, it is only accessible when the wind is heavily blowing to the South. It has a lot of deer along the way and they have blown it for us on past stalks. Basically it is about 1.5 miles of broken ground that is either rocks or steep terrain with rocks (baby heads) and slippery shale. Typically longer shots but that is dependent on the setup.
We walked from the binos (about 2500 yards) to the hill where we shot cross canyon. The hill we shot from was not a long poke @ 312 yards so bonus there. But it took us 40 minutes to work our way from where we shot to where the animals lay awaiting us. Again, tough terrain to traverse. The last 50 yards up to the shooting spot took all four limbs to keep from tumbling back down the shale covered hill!
We setup next to a bush with a slight SW wind. There were 5 elk. We had to wait for two of them to graze into a shooting lane where @thatsjustmygame and I could squeeze of simultaneously. After a few minutes, we let the rigs roar and bang flop. Jeff was shooting a Win model 70 in 7 Rem Mag with Barnes 150 TTSX's and I shot a Fine Firearms 30 Nosler with 220 Berger Hybrids. Both shots were pass through. Pretty much a done deal at 312 yards. Bi-pods and jackets for the squeeze bag made rock solid shooting.
After we made it over to the animals, we quarter them and before we were done Wade and Mel were already half way up to the bowl with the three mules. What a sight that was! The ugly part was Jeff shot his animal in the most prickly cactus patch and mesquite thorn infested spot on the mountain. Not fun! But, it was still amazing nonetheless. Two animals down, and literally a couple hours left of our hunt. It was a satisfying rush many of you know too well. A feeling of accomplishment and adrenaline that was worth the wait.
A few pictures from the hunt...
The first pick (binos) is where we started hiking. Our ultimate destination was 3/4 up the mountain in the backdrop.
Oh - and Sparky's green chili cheese burgers are the best in the country. Worth the detour to Hatch.
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