Califelkslayer
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LAST EDITED ON Oct-19-12 AT 05:08PM (MST)[p]LAST EDITED ON Oct-19-12 AT 05:06?PM (MST)
LAST EDITED ON Oct-19-12 AT 05:06?PM (MST)
This is the short version of my big game season, all in Wyoming:
Left Kali on 9/15 and arrived on the ranch on the 16th. Glassed that night and saw elk, probably 40 head including several herd bulls. I couldn't find my tag before we left so I spent the 17th in Laramie getting a replacement. My partner missed a good (300+) bull that day.
Next day we were into good (300-330) bulls. That continued but as the dark of the moon waned, it got tougher until the 24th-26th, when it rained. On the 24th, my partner and I got seperated after trying to ambush a good bull and I ended up being between 5 screaming bulls as I played hide and seek with one of them for 2-3 hours. I ended up hitting this bull in the lower leg because I either didn't take the time to range him, or didn't have the time to range him. On the way back to the truck I got in the middle of a herd of 3 satelite bulls with the best being a solid 290 6 point and a herd of a dozen cows with a 330+ herd bull. After being hunkered down for an hour and a half in a thunder storm, they got up and fed away from me. After some cow calling that was unsuccessful, I started back to the truck, hoping to get on "our" side of the mountain before dark. Instead, I ran into the cows and herd bull. That ended with the cows making me. I had to divert around 2 other bugling bulls on my out of the canyon that night.
Next morning I wanted to be in that canyon at daylight but on the way there, we had bugling activity. We saw a really good herd bull following his cows towards us 400+ yards away. We bailed to the bottom with cover and got up as close as possible. My partner got out in front and I backed into thick cover and started to call. After about 10 minutes a smallish 5 pointer snuck in between us. I'd decided the night before to take a smaller bull is given the opportunity because 1) I'd rather take a samller bull with my bow than a bigger one with the rifle, 2) That would free me up to help my 77 yr old Dad in rifle season. I hit him @ 45 yards and he died with 15 yards of my partner. After quartering him and getting him hung, we got to the canyon I'd seen all of the activity the day before. Even in 40 mph winds, we could hear bulls. We watched a 300+ bull with 29 cows that was 600 yards away, for several hours until I finally convinced my partner there were elk in the canyon below us also. The bull 600 yards away was bugling every 20-30 seconds but I could hear cow talk below us. As we snuck forward, I make 3 cows less than a 100 yards below us. We set up with me back tracking and calling. After about 10 minutes my partner signalled to me to back out. He told me there wasn't a bull in the bunch. As we got about 150 yards away, we heard a bugle a lot closer than the "600 yard" bull. We re-located and my partner finally saw this bull, a solid 330 bull. We snuck as close as possible and eventually got within 100 yards of this bull. For an hour and a half this bull was constantly checking his cows who were alternating between feeding and bedding. He was also pretty vocal and was thrashing trees. A couple of cows relocated within 60 yards of us. We hoped he'd come check them. By now it was almost 6:00 PM and my partner decided we needed to make something happen. I crawled about 50 yards away and began to cow call. The bull got more vocal but wasn't willing to leave his cows. The bull eventually fed through a saddle where we'd originally set up and my partner missed him, shooting low. A very fun day. Next day my partner left for home and I packed my bull off the mountain with my horses. The entire time my Dad had one opportunity but didn't have time to draw. We headed out the next day, him to North Carolina and me to Kali. I stabled my horses in Laramie with my trailer and flat flew back home.
On 10/7 I was back in Wyoming with my wife and son for antelope. We were just going to scout the unit that afternoon but saw 3 bucks feed over a hill. I thought one was a shooter so we made a stalk. Cody killed his first antelope, which gross scored 75 and change. The next day my wife to a 70 inch goat as weel. On Tuesday I killed one like hers. Wednesday they headed home and I went to Laramie, got the wall tent out of my horse trailer and set up camp in our elk unit. Friday I met Dad in Laramie and hauled the horses to camp. Saturday he had several chances at decent goats but we never connected. We had planned to rest and get out gear ready Sunday for elk season but he had the itch to kill a goat. He took his elk rifle and killed a nice goat the next day. Sunday afternoon my partner showed up.
Monday, October 15th! I got my Dad to where I thought he could kill a good bull 1/2 hour before light. We heard numerous bugles. As it got light I glassed a 320+ bull about 800 yards away. I then made a tactical mistake. I thought hard about going after this bull but had confidence where we were and was afraid that if i had him drop down through the canyon in front of us and back up the hill where he would be in range to shoot, he wouldn't have the energy to get back to where we were. I contemplated this for over an hour but stayed put. In the meantime I saw another herd bull I thought was just as good below us. Both herds then began to feed away from us. I then saw a huge herd come around a ridge about a mile away. Eventually all of the elk on the ranch joined with this herd and I saw the most elk I've ever seen together, at least 300. They headed kinda towards us, just below the rimrock on top, stretched out for over 1/4 of a mile. What a sight! I could see every herd bull trying to keep his cow in line and they were all screaming. They turned through a saddle about 600 yards from us and went out of sight. As they re-appeared they were over 500 yards away, and definately going over the top. I had ranged the saddle they were going through @ 544 yards. He had a solid rest with a coat on top of a rock. As the first 2 herds filtered through, I told him to wait on the fourth big bull as he had looked the biggest to me plus, if he missed, I figured we'd have elk on both sides of the saddle and there was a natural funnel back towards us.
As the second herd bull hit the saddle we heard a shot. The big bull ran back about 10 yards and stopped. We quickly discussed hold over and he was about to shoot whdn i saw the big bull stagger and said, "Wait." The bull went down. After that i watched another 100 elk disappear behind the rock mountain top towards the saddle but not come out the other side. We did hear bugling behind the rock mountain top but no elk. After about 10 minutes, a 290 type bull came out about 40 yards from the down big bull and bugled at him. My dad took his time and shot. His highth was perfect but he missed about 12 inches in front of him. We had a cross wind of about 20 mph. The bull turned around and walked away. My Dad shoots a single shot and was a little slow on getting a second shot after we had the wind drift figured. About 5 minutes later I saw my partner walk over to the dowed bull. It was a 7X7, very symetrical, probably scoring 330 gross even with broken 5th on both sides and a broken 6th on one side. By the time we got him broke down and hung, the wind was blowing about 40 mph.
The next morning I got my Dad to the same spot at daylight with plans to go over to the next canyon but I kept hearing bulls bugling below us. I eased over the ridge and dropped down a couple of hundred yards and finally found the bull. A solid 300 inch bull. I got behind cover and ran back to my Dad and partner. I was out of breathe but I think they immediately knew I needed them to follow me. As we went down the shoot I'd seen the bull from, he crossed at the bottom. They couldn't see him but this re-inforced this was shooter. I got Dad set up where i thought he'd come out again but then I heard him lower. We again relocated, downhill another 200 yards. My Dad was breathing hard, probably more from excitement then exersion. I got him set up leaning over a rock when the elk appeared on the opposite hillside. Initially I saw several cows trot up from the bottom so I told him to get on the bull quickly because he wasn't sticking around. I then saw several cows start feeding and told him to take his time, he had all day. I also told him "center of body" as I guessed the range as 200-220 yards and he's dead on @ 200. The shot came before i expected it. @ 77, a beanie cap and hood on, I'm not sure what he heard and didn't hear. He had a second chance but didn't get reloaded quick enough. Both my partner and I saw the bull was not injuried. The elk weren't sure where the danger was and ran below us, closer. As a couple of cows came out, I got him re-set. In the first opening the bull was partially shielded by a cow. In the second opening, he just wasn't quick enough.
Dad made a nice shot on a cow later that day saying he just wanted the meat. I hope I have enough heart to climb mountains like that when I'm 77, if I'm still alive. And If that happens I'll probably reflect back on how tough it was on him for this hunt. I know elk hunting isn't easy for anyone and when your inability to go where the elk are IMMEDIATELY severly hampers the chances of success.
I've reflected on whether i should have taken the archery bull instead of holding out for rifle season. What I didn't know at the time was that the elk would be acting the same during rifle season (rutting) as during archery season. Even with this knowledge, I have no regrets. I know opening day I would have moved on the bull I saw over 800 yards away and got it done BUT no archery kill and I would have taken my Dad's best chance for success away. PLUS I don't have a taxidermy bill this year.
I know everyone is going to ask for photos. I have photos of my bull on my camera. At some point after that I broke my camera, at least the screen is broken. I took photos of my wife and son's antelope and hope they come out plus my wife took some good photos. My partner's camera was a disposable so i'm not sure if I can get them somehow. I can take photos of his rack with my new camera when I get it.
Overall, my seasons worked out great.
LAST EDITED ON Oct-19-12 AT 05:06?PM (MST)
This is the short version of my big game season, all in Wyoming:
Left Kali on 9/15 and arrived on the ranch on the 16th. Glassed that night and saw elk, probably 40 head including several herd bulls. I couldn't find my tag before we left so I spent the 17th in Laramie getting a replacement. My partner missed a good (300+) bull that day.
Next day we were into good (300-330) bulls. That continued but as the dark of the moon waned, it got tougher until the 24th-26th, when it rained. On the 24th, my partner and I got seperated after trying to ambush a good bull and I ended up being between 5 screaming bulls as I played hide and seek with one of them for 2-3 hours. I ended up hitting this bull in the lower leg because I either didn't take the time to range him, or didn't have the time to range him. On the way back to the truck I got in the middle of a herd of 3 satelite bulls with the best being a solid 290 6 point and a herd of a dozen cows with a 330+ herd bull. After being hunkered down for an hour and a half in a thunder storm, they got up and fed away from me. After some cow calling that was unsuccessful, I started back to the truck, hoping to get on "our" side of the mountain before dark. Instead, I ran into the cows and herd bull. That ended with the cows making me. I had to divert around 2 other bugling bulls on my out of the canyon that night.
Next morning I wanted to be in that canyon at daylight but on the way there, we had bugling activity. We saw a really good herd bull following his cows towards us 400+ yards away. We bailed to the bottom with cover and got up as close as possible. My partner got out in front and I backed into thick cover and started to call. After about 10 minutes a smallish 5 pointer snuck in between us. I'd decided the night before to take a smaller bull is given the opportunity because 1) I'd rather take a samller bull with my bow than a bigger one with the rifle, 2) That would free me up to help my 77 yr old Dad in rifle season. I hit him @ 45 yards and he died with 15 yards of my partner. After quartering him and getting him hung, we got to the canyon I'd seen all of the activity the day before. Even in 40 mph winds, we could hear bulls. We watched a 300+ bull with 29 cows that was 600 yards away, for several hours until I finally convinced my partner there were elk in the canyon below us also. The bull 600 yards away was bugling every 20-30 seconds but I could hear cow talk below us. As we snuck forward, I make 3 cows less than a 100 yards below us. We set up with me back tracking and calling. After about 10 minutes my partner signalled to me to back out. He told me there wasn't a bull in the bunch. As we got about 150 yards away, we heard a bugle a lot closer than the "600 yard" bull. We re-located and my partner finally saw this bull, a solid 330 bull. We snuck as close as possible and eventually got within 100 yards of this bull. For an hour and a half this bull was constantly checking his cows who were alternating between feeding and bedding. He was also pretty vocal and was thrashing trees. A couple of cows relocated within 60 yards of us. We hoped he'd come check them. By now it was almost 6:00 PM and my partner decided we needed to make something happen. I crawled about 50 yards away and began to cow call. The bull got more vocal but wasn't willing to leave his cows. The bull eventually fed through a saddle where we'd originally set up and my partner missed him, shooting low. A very fun day. Next day my partner left for home and I packed my bull off the mountain with my horses. The entire time my Dad had one opportunity but didn't have time to draw. We headed out the next day, him to North Carolina and me to Kali. I stabled my horses in Laramie with my trailer and flat flew back home.
On 10/7 I was back in Wyoming with my wife and son for antelope. We were just going to scout the unit that afternoon but saw 3 bucks feed over a hill. I thought one was a shooter so we made a stalk. Cody killed his first antelope, which gross scored 75 and change. The next day my wife to a 70 inch goat as weel. On Tuesday I killed one like hers. Wednesday they headed home and I went to Laramie, got the wall tent out of my horse trailer and set up camp in our elk unit. Friday I met Dad in Laramie and hauled the horses to camp. Saturday he had several chances at decent goats but we never connected. We had planned to rest and get out gear ready Sunday for elk season but he had the itch to kill a goat. He took his elk rifle and killed a nice goat the next day. Sunday afternoon my partner showed up.
Monday, October 15th! I got my Dad to where I thought he could kill a good bull 1/2 hour before light. We heard numerous bugles. As it got light I glassed a 320+ bull about 800 yards away. I then made a tactical mistake. I thought hard about going after this bull but had confidence where we were and was afraid that if i had him drop down through the canyon in front of us and back up the hill where he would be in range to shoot, he wouldn't have the energy to get back to where we were. I contemplated this for over an hour but stayed put. In the meantime I saw another herd bull I thought was just as good below us. Both herds then began to feed away from us. I then saw a huge herd come around a ridge about a mile away. Eventually all of the elk on the ranch joined with this herd and I saw the most elk I've ever seen together, at least 300. They headed kinda towards us, just below the rimrock on top, stretched out for over 1/4 of a mile. What a sight! I could see every herd bull trying to keep his cow in line and they were all screaming. They turned through a saddle about 600 yards from us and went out of sight. As they re-appeared they were over 500 yards away, and definately going over the top. I had ranged the saddle they were going through @ 544 yards. He had a solid rest with a coat on top of a rock. As the first 2 herds filtered through, I told him to wait on the fourth big bull as he had looked the biggest to me plus, if he missed, I figured we'd have elk on both sides of the saddle and there was a natural funnel back towards us.
As the second herd bull hit the saddle we heard a shot. The big bull ran back about 10 yards and stopped. We quickly discussed hold over and he was about to shoot whdn i saw the big bull stagger and said, "Wait." The bull went down. After that i watched another 100 elk disappear behind the rock mountain top towards the saddle but not come out the other side. We did hear bugling behind the rock mountain top but no elk. After about 10 minutes, a 290 type bull came out about 40 yards from the down big bull and bugled at him. My dad took his time and shot. His highth was perfect but he missed about 12 inches in front of him. We had a cross wind of about 20 mph. The bull turned around and walked away. My Dad shoots a single shot and was a little slow on getting a second shot after we had the wind drift figured. About 5 minutes later I saw my partner walk over to the dowed bull. It was a 7X7, very symetrical, probably scoring 330 gross even with broken 5th on both sides and a broken 6th on one side. By the time we got him broke down and hung, the wind was blowing about 40 mph.
The next morning I got my Dad to the same spot at daylight with plans to go over to the next canyon but I kept hearing bulls bugling below us. I eased over the ridge and dropped down a couple of hundred yards and finally found the bull. A solid 300 inch bull. I got behind cover and ran back to my Dad and partner. I was out of breathe but I think they immediately knew I needed them to follow me. As we went down the shoot I'd seen the bull from, he crossed at the bottom. They couldn't see him but this re-inforced this was shooter. I got Dad set up where i thought he'd come out again but then I heard him lower. We again relocated, downhill another 200 yards. My Dad was breathing hard, probably more from excitement then exersion. I got him set up leaning over a rock when the elk appeared on the opposite hillside. Initially I saw several cows trot up from the bottom so I told him to get on the bull quickly because he wasn't sticking around. I then saw several cows start feeding and told him to take his time, he had all day. I also told him "center of body" as I guessed the range as 200-220 yards and he's dead on @ 200. The shot came before i expected it. @ 77, a beanie cap and hood on, I'm not sure what he heard and didn't hear. He had a second chance but didn't get reloaded quick enough. Both my partner and I saw the bull was not injuried. The elk weren't sure where the danger was and ran below us, closer. As a couple of cows came out, I got him re-set. In the first opening the bull was partially shielded by a cow. In the second opening, he just wasn't quick enough.
Dad made a nice shot on a cow later that day saying he just wanted the meat. I hope I have enough heart to climb mountains like that when I'm 77, if I'm still alive. And If that happens I'll probably reflect back on how tough it was on him for this hunt. I know elk hunting isn't easy for anyone and when your inability to go where the elk are IMMEDIATELY severly hampers the chances of success.
I've reflected on whether i should have taken the archery bull instead of holding out for rifle season. What I didn't know at the time was that the elk would be acting the same during rifle season (rutting) as during archery season. Even with this knowledge, I have no regrets. I know opening day I would have moved on the bull I saw over 800 yards away and got it done BUT no archery kill and I would have taken my Dad's best chance for success away. PLUS I don't have a taxidermy bill this year.
I know everyone is going to ask for photos. I have photos of my bull on my camera. At some point after that I broke my camera, at least the screen is broken. I took photos of my wife and son's antelope and hope they come out plus my wife took some good photos. My partner's camera was a disposable so i'm not sure if I can get them somehow. I can take photos of his rack with my new camera when I get it.
Overall, my seasons worked out great.
