These guys leave the 10th for Idaho Elk!!! Lucky !##$$@'s. Good Luck and I want to see pics of grins and antlers!!! :smileystooges:
Good luck guys :wavey: Shoot strait and stay safe :archer:
Looking forward to the stories and pics.
Tracy
Best of luck and lots of pics!
Hunt hard, shoot straight :thumbsup:
:campfire:
Go get em guys! Good luck!!
P.S. I'm not in the mood for excuses when you get back either. :smileystooges: Ha Ha Ha :biglaugh:
Thanks guys! We have been practicing together all summer. This has been the best archery year for me so far and you guys in the KCTN are the reason for that. Hunting season is about to start so I know it is only going to get better! As of this moment we have 123,421...420...419... seconds until takeoff. We will try to not let you fellows down. I'll be snapping pictures and Chris has inspired me to keep a journal so pictures and stories will be coming.
Good luck to you guys on opening day!
Good luck fellas. Have a great trip and bring back some good stories. :campfire:
Have a great time guys. See You at Snow's in a couple of weeks Tom. bretto
Well........What happened? :campfire:
Thats exactly what I've been trying to find out. E-mailed Tom last night. No answer yet. Hopefully they were able to find their way back to Missouri.
I bet thier busy processing meat!!
Talked to Tom Saturday but, he couldn't talk long said he was fleshing a cape. He asked me if it was hard to put a rack back together, said he had to cut his in half to get it thru the door at the airport! Ben
Ben and Brian and the rest of the gang. Tom and I are still getting our legs underneath us and letting all the bruises heal. I'm going to start the story tonight and let Tom finish it up for me.
Thanks for all the well wishes.
Chris
Last February Tom Porter "Gatekeeper" and I met at Cabela's with a bunch of fellow Trad Gang members. Tom and I had communicated with each other several times via personal messages about formulating a causal group of guys who could get together to shoot our traditional equipment. Thanks in large part to Tom's efforts, the Kansas City Traditional Network was born.
About that same time my brother, father-in-law, and I were planning on another elk trip out to Kamiah, ID with Cayuse Outfitters. My brother had to back out of the trip unexpectedly due to some changes with his job and farm. I had to find another partner and decided to take the advice of Terry Green and many others here on Trad Gang. The KC Traditional Network meeting gave me a chance to ask a fellow traditional shooter and Trad Gang'er to join us. Tom didn't hesitate when I asked him if he was interested in the trip.
At that point my summer got a lot more interesting. Tom got busy formulating the best 3D course that I've ever seen. We spent at least one night a week at Tom's range or Platte Falls. We were joined by several of the other KC traditional members at Platte Falls. Brian Moeller shared several evenings with us during our preparation for the Elk Hunt.
Tom and I did a lot of planning for this trip. We broke more than our share of arrows which required several trips to see Mike Horton at the Knocking Point. I discovered the finer points of sharpening the Grizzly El Grande over the course of several weeks and at least two files. Tom enjoy some leisure time pulling an old tire through the pastures with a rope around his waist. All in all it was a great summer filled with the anticipation and day dreams of the possibilities of elk.
I'm going to let Tom give you the day by day accounts of our trip as he did a great job chronicling our journey. I wish we could finish this story with a couple of hero pictures but alas it wasn't in the cards. Unseasonably hot weather and an overall late year lead to a very subdued rut. I've hunted elk three different times now in my life and have come back empty handed every time. On the last day of our hunt we sidepassed across 6 different drainages in an area they call the bull hole. A small raghorn 4x4 came busting down through the head high brush into a small opening to which I had a window. As fate would have it he came in quartering to me and stop with his front leg back. I had drawn just before entered my shooting window but he never gave me a shot and eventually wheeled and exited as quickly as he came. I wish I could have manufactured a shot somehow. Goodness knows I've mulled over that opportunity a hundred times already but he never offered me a shot. Tom had a beautiful 5x5 bull majestically rise up out of the timber only to stand head on at 35 years. We worked several other bulls but they only half heartedly responded and the only bulls we saw were from aggressive hunting techniques where we had to get right into their kitchen before they would respond to our cow calls. We hunted our legs off and did everything within our power to put ourselves in front of elk.
I tip my hat to a fine hunting partner Tom Porter. His enthusiasm was contagious, the jerky and sticks were awesome, and his video clips kept us laughing during the whole trip. Here's to you Mr. Porter! Lets keep flinging from 50 yards and finding more bull holes to climb out of until our legs won't go any further. Thanks for the memories.
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This last picture is my father-in-law Gary Norris. Some of you may remember a couple of bear hunting stories Gary and Charlie Lamb have shared from the past.
Gary is really the reason why I started shooting traditional. He took me on my first elk hunt and like a crack addict I was hooked. He spent the last morning hunting with Tom and I and it was good to be back with my first elk hunting partner.
Gary has kept on hunting despite two total knees and now a total shoulder replacement. The dude is a walking bionic man. Gary's dad passed away about three weeks ago after fighting with multiple medical conditions for several years.
Here's to Gary for putting together a great hunting group and continuing to push on despite his recent loss. A lot of guys would have hung it up a long time ago. Gary was still diving off into the brush with his Sunbear bow in hand.
I'm looking forward to sitting in a double bull blind this fall with Gary and my son Charlie.
Thanks for getting me started with trad, Gary. Its been a great journey and has allowed me to meet a lot of great people.
Chris
Great pics, thanks for sharing.
bhfp
Thanks buddy!
I'll add stories and pictures tomorrow. Dial up is a little slow for picture transfers. It will be fun sharing our trip with the gang.
:) :)
great story and pics... Trips are all about memories.
JDSIII
Looking forward to more!! Great stuff so far Chris.
:clapper:
More More More boys!! Hey didn't I say I wasn't in the mood for any excuses!!
We're waaaaaaiiiiiittttttiiiiiinnnnnngggggggg!!!!!!
This is my story of the 2008 elk hunt that I shared with Chris Kinslow, Gary Norris, Tim Taylor, Bill Ford and David Johnson.
How we met
I met Chris through Trad Gang when a group of Kansas City guys decided to meet in February of this year to talk about forming a club in our area. Other then that meeting Chris and I had not spent any time together. Then one day out of the blue I got a call from Chris which I missed so I contacted him through email. He asked me if I would be interested in joining him, his father in-law and a few other guys, whom I had never met, for an elk hunt in Idaho. Of course this didn't require too much thought on my part. What an opportunity and what a huge chance these guys were taking to invite me into their camp. They didn't really know me or my personality. The last thing anybody wants to do is spend a week in camp with a person that gets on everyone's nerves but this guys were willing to roll the dice and take that chance.
Preparing for the Hunt
I was already trying to keep my archery skills sharp my shooting at local 3D shoots with Trad Gang members Ben Saye, Brian Moller, Robert Goodwin, Bret Eisman, Kevin Symes and a few other KC guys. All of them I met through the February meeting. Once I committed myself to the Idaho elk hunt Chris and Gary invited me over to shoot with them at Gary's house. I refer to this first time of shooting together as my audition. They had a few targets setup in the backyard where we began our shooting. Then they said lets go inside and shoot at our indoor redneck shooting range. Okay was my answer of course but I was not sure what they had in mind. What they showed me in the basement was really very clever. They have a large backstop setup with a white sheet covering it and in front of the backstop is a projector. Chris inserted a disc, Gary dimmed the lights and they begin to tell me that they shoot at the elk that had been filmed in the elk hunting videos that they own. Ha ha ha... pretty cool and great fun!
Our summer was also spent shooting 3D targets in my wife's indoor riding arena during bad weather and 3D targets in our back yard. Then one day I invited Chris over (Gary was also invited but we can't seem to get him to stop working) to shoot the walk through range that I had setup in our timber. This quickly became our training center and we would gather on Thursdays and occasionally Sundays to practice our shooting and get to know each other better. Along with Chris came his 3 year old son who wants to shoot his bow and be one of the guys. This went on most of the summer and was something I looked forward to throughout the week.
Along with practicing our shooting came the gathering of gear. Which required a few trips to Cabela's and the Nocking Point and these proved to be dangerous missions!
Here are a few pictures from the range that we shoot at.
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The Trip to Missoula
Our trip began on 9/10/08 at 5:20 PM. I had sent the guys an Excel file that counted down the time that was left until our trip. This file broke the time that we had left until takeoff into days, hours, minutes and seconds. When we began the countdown I think we had 8 million seconds to go. :smileystooges: We were so worried about our gear getting to it's destination but we almost didn't make it. Yeah we're on top of things. Chris and I agreed that we would be okay with not hearing our names over the intercom anymore during this trip. :biglaugh: We would of felt like a couple of heals standing at the window with our mouths hanging open watching our plane take off. Then trying to figure out how we were going to explain to our wives the reason we missed our plane. :rolleyes:
Day 1
Chris and I meet the rest of the group in the cafeteria the next morning at 6:00. There are four traditional shooters and two shooters that use the "C" word.
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The ride to the Kelly Creek trail head is three hours from Missoula.
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At the trail head we are assigned our horses. The horse that I am assigned is named Cammy.
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I climb on her with bow in hand and notice that she has a hard time standing still. She is prancing around everywhere. I dismount and wait until everyone else is ready before I mount her again. When it is time to ride I get on my horse again and she immediately tries to get to the head of the train. Jake the guide asked me to hold her back. Ha ha... as if I didn't notice my horses head next to his leg. As we ride the road to the entrance of the suspension bridge I continue to try to figure out how to control my over eager horse. At the ramp of the bridge I dismount the mare and walk her across the swaying bridge.
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As we begin our 3.5 hour accent on the trail to our spike camp, Jake looks back at me a couple of times with an uneasy look on his face. At the first switchback Jake asked me if I would like to switch horses with him and I graciously except his offer. My new ride is named Skits. Skits has his own set of problems, he is a nibbler and I had to fight to keep his head up but at least I didn't feel as if he was going to take me unexpectedly down the trail-less mountain side.
The biggest challenge we encountered while headed to camp was bees. Along the trail were holes in the dirt where the bees lived. Jake was equipped with wasp and hornet spray and he was on the lookout for the buggards but sometimes they would not get rieled up until the third or fourth horse went by. For me, there were no bee incidence, thank goodness.
We arrived in camp around 6:30 and are greeted by Denny one of the ranglers and Trail one of the camp dogs.
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The mule train that carried, our gear and food was about 3 hours behind us. Chris, Gary and I use this time to stump shoot in the meadow while there was light then we build a fire and waited for the mule train. The mule train arrived around 10:00 we ate and then we were off to bed.
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Great start guys! Keep it coming. :campfire:
Day 2
This is our first day to hunt. My hunting partner is Chris and our guide is Jake. Jake is an 18 year old young man from Wisconsin. Jake put the hunting party that was in the week prior on a 5 x 5 bull that they worked for 5 hours. Jake has grown up hunting elk with his father in Colorado and has spent his whole life on the elk ranch that his family owns in Wisconsin. Chris and I thought that we might be taking a chance on someone so young but we felt he had a very good understanding of elk and how they would behave and we thought his youth and energy level would be best suited for us. I am pleased to say we were right!
Our first trip out was to Switchback Mountain. We rode the Junction trail with Gary, Tim and their guide Rich.
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At the Switchback Mountain trail we parted from the other three.
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Our horses plodded along and Jake began to cow call. He used the combination of a handheld mew call and mouth lost cow call. Within minutes of departing from the others Jake stops and lets out a musical bugle that echoed through the mountains and with in seconds there is a response! The response was faint but it sounded great!
We continue on the trail Jake continues with repetitive cow calls. Within a few yards there is movement. Chris saw a few cows ahead of us. Cows are off limits but this looked very promising! Jake bugles again and this time the response is closer. We tied up our horse and positioned ourselves for the hunt. I could hear movement ahead and to my right but I didn't have a visual. Chris later told me he saw a 4 x 4 rise up from the foliage but he didn't have a shot at him. This is Chris's third hunt for elk and his motto is "if it's brown it's down." So had the bull offered him a shot I am sure Chris would have made good on the opportunity.
We continue our hunt on foot with Jake calling to the bull lower on the mountain. His tolerance of the unknown bull (us) in his territory is short lived. After a few calls we hear the bull crashing through the timber headed our way! We scrabble down the mountain to get into position. Chris is lower on the mountain and in the point position. I am higher incase the bull tries to circle us and come in from above. The bull is matching Jakes bugles and is beginning to chuckle. Ha ha... he is not happy!
We can hear him moving in the timber and we expect to get a visual on him at anytime but, as quick as it all started the action stopped. This sounded like a mature bull with deep base like bugles. Needless to say we were all grinning from ear to ear and excited with the morning's action.
No more action occurred this morning and we spent the afternoon on the peak of Switchback Hill getting to know our guide, glassing the meadows below, eating lunch and enjoying the peace of the mountains.
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The temperature for our trip was not good for elk hunting. The days were 70 to 80 degrees. This was great temperature for outdoor activities but way too hot for elk movement.
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In the late afternoon we returned to our horses and find two where there use to be three. Ha ha. Chris's horse knocked off work early and headed back to camp. I laughed and gave Chris a high five for a job well done.
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On our return journey to camp Jake continues his series on cow calls and bull bugles. At around 7:00 we get two responses. One is ahead of us in an area known as Barnard Creek (more on this hell hole later) the other sounded closer and came from behind us. So we tie the horses up and ran back up the trail we had ridden down on. We ran a few hundred yards and Jake bugles again and we got another response so we continue running back up the trail trying to close the gap on this bull. We stop, Jake bugles and just like this morning as fast as the action started...it was over. Silence was the reply that we got.
We return to camp after dark where we find Jazz, Chris's horse. We meet up with the others in camp exchange stories, eat and call it a day at 11:00. Wake call is to be 5:00.
Day 3
Our plan for this day is to hunt the same area that we hunted yesterday with hopes of stirring up the bull that we heard yesterday. Within minutes of arriving in the area that we heard the bull form day 2 we had a response from Jake's bugle. The response we get is a great sounding bugle followed by a series of chuckles! He is not happy! We dismount, tie up and scurry down the mountain. The wind is not in our favor so we try to get far enough down the mountain to get the wind on our side. Once in position Jake bugles but there is not call back. After a few minutes of working this area we head back up the mountain. We mount up and ride the horse up the trail with Jake continuing to call. Within a few minutes the bull bugles again and this time he is close! We dismount in a rush, scrabble down the mountain and setup in haste! We can hear him crashing through the timber over all the noise we were making to get in position.
I'm on point and Chris is to my right about 30 yards away. The spot I really want to be in is another 15 yards down the mountain in a cluster of four trees but there wasn't time to get there. Within seconds of getting setup the bull appears. I see him emerge form the brush 75 yards away where he stops and surveys the area ahead of him. Jake continues to cow call and the bull moves towards us. Wow... he's coming right to me! I stand ready with my split fingered grip putting tension on the string of my 56" 55# Centaur longbow. My mind is way ahead of the moment at hand. I have already decided where I will let my 660 grain (total weight), 31.5", white fletch and crested, Carbon Express Heritage 250 arrow, setup with a 130 grain STOS broadhead, fly when the bull enters the area. The bull continues to cautiously close the gap between us. He stops again at 50 yards. I am excited and in ah! He is huge! I can see that he is a dark racked 5 x 5. From this point on I block out the rack and shift my attention to his body to pick a spot. He begins to move again coming straight for me. "Come on" I say to myself. I need him to turn to his right and move another 15 to 20 yards to offer me a broadside shot. The Bull advances to with 35 yards of me and stops again. At this point he is facing me head on and a tree is blocking his eyes from mine. If I would have been able to make it to the small clusters of trees below me I would be setup perfectly to make take a shot. The bull stands 35 yards from me for what seemed like and eternity and then as if he has a 6th sense he turned and within seconds disappeared in to the forest. Jake tries to calm him down and get him to return but to no avail. He is gone and the only sound on the mountain side now is the noise that we make when we move.
I look back to Chris and Jake with a big smile only to be out done by the grins on their faces. We were all riding on an adrenaline high at the moment. After some discussion of the event that just unfolded we laugh and head back up to the horses to continue our hunt.
One of the greatest advantages to the horses, besides not walking everywhere, are the sounds of their hooves plodding along the trail. They have proven to be a great asset for this purpose.
We ride up to the meadow that lies at the top of Switchback Hill where we tie up our horses and continue on foot. The areas that we like to hunt are not horse and rider friendly so it is to our advantage to leave the horse behind while we bush-wack through the forest.
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At the steep edge of Switchback Hill Jake sounds off with a few bugles and naturally from the distant valley floor we hear a faint return bugle. The decision, of course, is to head downhill and try to intercept the bull on his way up. After a 20 minute +- decent Jake lets out another bugle and holy macral the bull is almost on top of us. Here we go again running around like three chickens with our heads cut off. The bull is down wind (not good) Jake scrabbles up the mountain past Chris and I rush down and diagonally from Chris. The setup is poor. I have a spider's web beside me and I can see the slight breeze is coming from behind but there is no time the change. I hear the bull below me and to my right. Chris is above me and to my left. I feel bad because I know no matter what Chris will not have an opportunity at this bull and it is because of my position and the direction of the wind.
I watch the web and then scan the forest below me looking for the bull's movement. Then the hand of fate was dealt to us... The wind shifted and the fat lady was about to sing. The web angled away straight to the area that the bull was in. Seconds later the forest exploded with the thudding noise of hooves leaving the area! I turn and look down the mountain and see what looked to be a herd of 6 elk showing us their backsides. We remain in position and Jake continues to call hoping the bull will calm down and return but deep inside I know he is gone for good.
A short time later we decided to side-hill our way into some big dark timber that looked to be very promising elk bedding ground.
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We made our way across the mountain's terrain trying to keep three points of contact on the mountain at all times. This adventure proved to be fruitless. What looked to be prime elk habitat was void of all elk signs. Dark timber and a ridge that was constantly shaded but the elk were not using the area. Frustrating! Now the challenge was to get out of this hole! Jake and Chris bound up the mountain as if gravity had no effect on them while I am huffing and puffing hoping to make it to my next waypoint. Our ascent was straight up the mountain no diagonally but straight up. I was placing my hands in the very spot that my boots would soon be occupying in the next couple of steps and I wasn't bending over very much to reach these locations. I think I am getting old. Later I find out they were racing. Ha ha.
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The afternoon is spent eating lunch, napping and stump shooting until 3:00 when we begin our decent.
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For our decent we side-hill our way down the mountain calling, listening and looking for elk signs until we reach the horses.
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We ride the horses on the trail to an area called Barnard Creek. This is where we heard a bull bulge in the distance last night. From the ridge where we tie up the horses Jake sends out a bugle and we get no return bugles. It's around five o'clock and we decide to descend into the drainage and look for signs.
This is an area that Chris has hunted in the past with his brother Andrew and he seemed very anxious to return to this area. Because the last time he was here it proved to be a hot spot. He warned us that the brush was thick in this area and it was difficult to maneuver through. This was the understatement of the year! Descending into the drainage was challenging but very doable. We stumbled a few time and slipped more then once but we made it to the upper waters of Barnard Creek. After crossing we thought it wise to ascend a few yards to get away from the noise of the creek so we could hear any return bugles. This is where hell began! Climbing up the mountain and through the vegetation took every bit of balance, strength and energy that we could muster. The brush that gave us the most trouble is known as False Huckleberry (FH). The FH grows to about 6' or 7' tall and can best be described as looking like a large azalea bush. The problem is the plant grows out from the mountain horizontally which make descending much easier then ascending. The only way to get up the mountain is to thread our way through all of this vegetation.
We pulled, clawed, crawled, pushed, fell and slid fighting for each inch of ground that we gained. Once we made our way through the worst of the FH Jake sounded off with a bugle. To our surprise a bull bugled right above us. Here we go again running to get into position! I am running on adrenalin! I am breathing hard, heart pounding as if my chest will explode while I try to overcome gravity, slipping and tearing at the mountain side trying to get myself to the front line in a good shooting position. We all reach the same area at once Jake says wait! Chris is to my right and Jake is behind Chris. Jake says to me "cover what's in front of you and to the left side." I whisper back "I don't have shooting lane." I have a wall of brush in front of me and to my left and I can't see squat! Chris is about 3 to 5 yards to my right. Then I hear Jake Whisper intensely "wait!" "He is right there looking at us" Jake whispers. I repeat to my hunting party that no matter what happens I will not have a shot. I am unsure of Chris's position because of the vegetation the separates us. I want to be next to the tree that stands 20 yards above me to my left. Had I made it to that spot I would have felt confident about my position. Then something happens and the bull turns and bolts up the mountain. I later find out that the bull stood 50 yards up the mountain looking down on us. Both Chris and Jake had visual on the 5 x 5.
We regroup and continue up the mountain. We hear movement and know that the 5 x 5 is still in the area along with what sounds like three other bulls. Oh yeah baby we're in the thick of it here! The wind is on our side this time and the sun is to our backs. We start to form a new shooting line, Chris is to my right Jake is behind me. The plan is for me to boogie up the mountain about 20 yards to my left and get into the shadows of a few larger trees. Just as I am about to begin my sprint up the hill Jake intensely whispers "get down!" I drop to the ground like a limp marionette doll only moving my eyes to scan the area ahead of me looking for movement. I am too low all I see is brush. Jake whispers "don't move he is looking right at us." Again with the looking right at us stuff! Ha ha. This elk also scenes trouble and retreats. We wait a few minutes letting Jake call. The action in this area is intense! All of the bulls are still in the area. The 5 x 5 can still be heard along with two or three other bulls.
We advance again into a darker patch of timber. Again we hear a bull ahead and we cautiously advance up the mountain. I have point Chris is to my right about 20 yards away and Jake is down hill calling between us. We hear the bull but no sightings. We hold this position for a while working the bulls ahead of us. I catch movement out of the corner of my left eye! I slowly turn my head and silently laugh at the small ground squirrel that has climbed up the seed head stalk that grew out of a Bear Grass clump. Ha ha both legs and one arm are rapped around the stalk and the other arm is free. As he sways back and forth it looks as if he is waving at me. Funny.
We are down to working two bulls now and we advance towards them cautiously. Chris takes point in the timber and I setup to his right at a meadows edge. Jake positions himself below us and works the gap that separates Chris and me. We hear a few calls and like an actor behind the stage curtain I catch a glimpse of an elk moving in the timber behind the meadow. The tan body flashes in the sunlight and then all is quiet. Jake continues to call but the replies have stopped.
We regroup smile and laugh about the exciting hunt that we had experienced. As the light begins to fade we explore the mountain side and find beds, rubs and lots of scat in the area. Interesting we thought. These bulls remained silent until we got in their face.
The challenging climb out of the Barnard drainage was compounded due to the lack of light. Once again we find ourselves grappling with the forces of the False Huckleberry bush and the steepness of the terrain. In the cloak of darkness after some wandering around, we found our way back to our horses and made our way back to camp. At camp we find out that we were the only group to encounter elk all day! The camp was anxious to hear our day's tales and we were happy to share our day and anxious to plan for the next.
:clapper: :clapper: :clapper:
Day 4
Our plan is to go in on foot today and begin by dropping down into the Barnard Creek Like we did last night. Oh yeah... have I mentioned that we're nuts?!
Our destination is the saddle above Barnard Creek where we will find a salt lick. The decent and ascent into out of Barnard Creek is much the same as yesterday except we don't encounter any elk. We arrive at the saddle faster then we expected and we explore the area as we wait for the thermals on the back of the mountain to start moving upwards.
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As the thermals begin to move up we begin our descent down. We hunt the mountain's side at a shallow downward angle. Mostly side-hilling the mountain face. The elk signs are slim pickens. We see signs from deer but very few elk signs. We continue down the mountain zig zagging the face. As we work our way down we cross a small spring and head to the backside of Switchback Hill. Here we find ourselves in another tangled jungle of False Huckleberries. And we begin the familiar struggle up the mountain. Still there are no signs of elk. Once we distance ourselves from the low moist areas of the mountain side the false huckleberries thin out and the climb up becomes easier.
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Within two or three hours of our descent from the saddle above Barnard we reach a high meadow on Switchback Hill. Here we take a break, eat drink and sun ourselves. Then Jake says "there are grouse in the middle of the meadow and they are moving to the tree line." No one had to repeat that to Chris! He sprung to his feet and slinked into the tree's shadows and began his stock on the grouse. It was great fun to stand back and watch as he worked to get into position for his shot. Both Jake and I keep our eyes focused on the large bird in the meadow waiting for an arrow to streak from the trees and drop the grouse. A few seconds later Chris's arrow punches through the shadows of the trees and sails towards the grounded grouse. The El Grande, Grizzly broadhead slams into the rocky meadow stirring up a cloud of dust and sending the wary grouse into the treetops. That was fun!
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Jake bugles from the high meadow and we think we hear a faint bugle but are unsure of the location. He try's to stimulate the phantom bull again but the only reply is the wind through the pine needles.
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Bear Track
It is time to get back to putting boot tread to the mountain. We descend Switchback Hill and point ourselves towards the saddle above Barnard Creek. We reach the saddle in the early afternoon. We have been walking the ridge top scouting and grazing on huckleberries as we moved. We crossed the saddle and climbed the ridge to the west where we knocked off for the afternoon, ate lunch, kicked off our boots and napped in the shade until around 4:00.
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In the late afternoon we started our descent down into Barnard Creek meadow. We hunt this side of the mountain face the same as we hunted the backside that morning. Then Chris hears movement! Chris takes point and I stay up high. Chris and I are separated by a distance of about 25 yards and Jake is 20 yards behind Chris. Cow calls and bugles are coming from Jake but the calls do not invoke a response from mystery guest in the bush. We all wait with anticipation but nothing emerges from the brush. We slowly advance forward and the area comes alive with the sound of beating hooves. We gather contemplating whether the creature was an elk. Then Jake catches sight of a four point Mule Deer bounding up the mountain away from us.
We make our way into the wet meadow of Barnard Creek. The ground is soft like peat moss and we walk past an unused wallow.
No bugles, no elk signs, no elk action for this day. We decide to knock off early this night get back to camp cleanup prepare for the next day. The climb out of Barnard Creek...well...you've read this part enough to know we went through hell. Ha ha.
Day 5
On this day we switched guides. Our guide's name is Phil. Phil will be taking Chris and me to a ridge that has been unofficially named after him. Our plan is to bivy out on the ridge and hunt the surrounding area in the morning then hunt our way back to camp. I find Phil to be interesting but a lot less intense then our eager 18 year old guide. Phil is 59 and proves to be very fit. His style of hunting is very laid back and I find myself fighting the urge to say "come on man lets hunt I don't want to go for a nature walk!"
We spend the morning hunting a drainage named Windy Bill. This area was within short easy walking distance from camp so getting up early and humping it to get to our starting point was not needed.
The three of us casually (in comparison to the past few days) walked the drainage. Phil would bugle once and then wait.
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Then we would move a few hundred yards and repeat.
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We did this through the whole Windy Bill drainage.
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We did hear a bugle at one point but my gut told me we were hearing one of the other hunting groups on a different ridge. We made our way up to a high meadow where we glassed for awhile, admired the views and Chris and I quizzed Phil about different landmarks, plants and animals in the area. The morning was not a waste as far as time well spent in a beautiful place but I sure didn't feel like I was hunting.
While we were in the high meadow I broke away from Phil and played the wind, sleeked through the shadows of the trees lining the meadow and explored the saddle that lay a few hundred yards away. In the saddle was a huge salt lick that was over 30 years old.
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After my short romp I returned to Phil and we walked our way back to camp. At one point Chris and I took a shot at a grouse sitting on a branch only 3 to 4 yards away and we both missed! Sad...sad...sad. Minutes later we were in camp and its not even 11:00 yet.
Feeling like we were given a basket of lemons, Chris and I decided to turn it into lemon-aid. Chris and I spent the day in camp stump shooting. We made up a game were we shot at targets 30 to 50 yards away but to add to the difficulty we had to run from our shooting position to our arrows and shoot while we were out of breath. This is one thing we didn't practice back home and something that we continue to encounter throughout this trip. During this game I had a mishap to put it nicely. One of the wooded small game arrows that I brought on the trip, somehow slipped of the bow string right as I let go of the string. What an ugly sound!!! I looked down to see a broken bowstring! In panic mode I go over my bow looking for damage. Thankfully my bow came out of it without harm. I hurried back to my pack and grabbed one of the three backup strings that I brought along and within minutes I was back to shooting minus the wood arrows! It is really scary to pull back to full draw after something like that happens but I needed to get back on that horse as fast as possible to insure by bow was setup right and to get my confidence back.
At 4:00 we were on horseback and headed to Phil's Ridge for our overnight adventure.
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We were excited to say the least! Phil had built this place up to be the utopia of elk activity. I had vision of wading through elk tiring to pick out the one I wanted. Ha ha only kidding.
We arrive on Phil's ridge around 6:30 and Phil calls into the drainage to our right and low an behold we get an answer! We tell Phil "there's a bull down there!" "How far down?" he replies. "He's a ways down there but we should try to get him to move" was my answer. Phil appeared not to be eager to plunge into the drainage to chase this bull. Reluctantly we follow the lead of our guide and abandon the distant bull. Hine sight says we should have nosed dived into the drainage.
We hike our way down the ridge in the twilight hours of dusk. The trip down is beautiful.
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The place has all the potential that Phil described and Chris and I are pumped up for tomorrow's hunt. We setup camp and lay in the meadow talking under the bright full moon watching shooting stars and spotting satellites streaking by in the night sky. It's hard to have a bad time in the mountains as long as you're not struggling for your life. We ate our dinner cold and lay in the grass enjoying our surroundings.
During the night we had a visitor. An elk ventured to the edge of the meadow and barked for a while at our presents. I took this as a good omen for tomorrow's hunt.
Day 6
We are to awake at 5:00 and get things started. At 5:00 I am out of my tent and Chris is emerging from his. I tell Phil "its 5:00." He replies "okay 5 more minutes.... Maybe 10." Hmmm.
We eat strap on our packs and begin to move at the beginning of shooting light. Call, wait, move a few hundred feet, repeat. All the way up to the top of the ridge. The path we follow up the ridge is an well worn elk trail and we see evidence that elk cows had used it very recently. I keep waiting for us to hunt the fingers that lead up to the ridge but all we do is walk the high points. At the highest point overlooking the meadow where we camped we stopped to admire the view. It was an absolutely spectacular view!
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Before we know it we're back to the horses. On our way to out camp the night before and that morning we passed by a gigantic salt lick! Chris and I stop to pose for pictures and then saddle our horses.
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By 8:30 we are off of Phil's Ridge and looking down into Bugle Basin which is another made up name for an area in the forest. Kind of catchy I thought. Phil makes a few bugles we sit and over look the drainage then and we move on. Next thing we know we are on the trail back to camp.
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By 10:30 we are in camp! This was not what we signed up for! So Chris and I took matters into our own hands! We spent the afternoon formulating a plan for our evening hunt. We gathered the supplies we would need and prepared and checked our gear and waited for late afternoon to arrive. Then with map and compass on hand we head off to guide ourselves on a hunt.
What fun! We borrowed a cow call and a bugle tub and away we went. Guess where we're going... Have I ever told you about Barnard Creek? Yep we are head to the other end of the area. Chris knows of an old abandoned trail so our goal is to find the trail and hunt down the ridge.
On our journey we encounter a coyote. Chris spotted it first but the dog hasn't seen us yet. He is a good 40 to 45 yards away. The wind is crossing between the dog and us and the sun is to our backs. I begin to do mouse squeaks on the back of my hand and toy with the yote for about 3 minutes. He starts to work his way down wind of us, naturally, so we abandon him for bigger game but it was fun to watch him try and figure us out.
We eventually find the old trail and start working our way down the mountain. The further we went the steeper the trail became. I'm cow calling (following Jakes example) and Chris.... Well Chris is bugling. I figured if we don't attract any elk surely we will get the attention of a predator looking for a sick bull. Ha ha. I know I couldn't do any better.
Along the way came across the remnants of the lost hunter!
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We never heard a elk call and we didn't see any fresh signs of elk in the area but I would not trade that hunt for anything! We had a fun time!
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We returned to camp in the dark packing back the ripped up bibs to show the guys and we begin talking to Jake about going to the BULL HOLE the next day!
This is awesome. Too bad you had to switch up guides, sounds like he was a bummer. YOU guys missed at three to four yards on a grouse??? Come on!!!
Great pictures!!!
QuoteOriginally posted by BMOELLER:
YOU guys missed at three to four yards on a grouse??? Come on!!!
:biglaugh: :biglaugh: :biglaugh: I know...I know :biglaugh:
Come on Tom tell us about the Bull Hole
Day 7
There were two things that Chris and Gary talked the most about one was how thick the brush is in this area and the other topic was the Bull Hole. It is the land of no return. Nobody goes into the Bull Hole. There are no trails and you can't get to the bottom. The terrain is impossible to negotiate. Don't even think about venturing into that unforgiving wilderness! Hmmmm...okay...sign me up!
As far as we knew nobody had dropped in to the Bull Hole all season so it is virgin territory! We start out on horseback way before sunup and we are back to having Jake as our guide. We praised him up and down. "Thanks for coming out here Jake we are sooo glad to have you back" is what we told him.
I forget how long the ride was but we arrive on a saddle overlooking the Bull Hole just before dawn. We tie up our horses and begin our journey into the land of no return.
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We are excited to say the lease! We begin by side-hilling our way into the area.
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Jake is cow calling and bugling as we go. Every time he bugles we become as quite a church mice listening for a reply. Almost right out of the gate we hear a distant bugle! Hot dog!
We crossed drainage after drainage making our way around the Bull Hole. Up the mountain down the mountain, climbing over and under dead fall scaling rocks of all shapes and sizes trying to get deep into the Bull Hole.
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Then about two hours in we hear noise in the brush! I scrabble up the mountain completely out of breath moving on pure adrenalin. Chris drops down the mountain and Jake drops back away from us. I Think I am in a good spot. There is some brush 15 yards down to my left and then the foliage opens up. The wind is perfect. Here he comes I can hear him moving through the brush slowly. I hear him move to the edge of the thick brush and I wait for him to appear on my side. I wait and wait and wait but he never appears. Then I hear him turn trot back up the mountain but he stays close by. I find out later the Chris was at full draw waiting for him to move his front leg so he could shoot. A big pat on the back should go out to Chris for not having a total brain meltdown and chancing a bad shot. His decision made us all look good!
We continued to work the bulls (two that we are sure of and possibly a third) in the area for almost two hours. We repositioned ourselves a couple of times but we were unable to get to the right spot at the right time. On one of the setups I watched a spike walk broadside to me at 40 to 45 yards. He stopped directly in front of me with his head behind a tree but there was 40 yards of brush between us. The cool part is the spike was fitted with a radio tracking collar. That would have been a neat trophy to get. These bulls never did spook when they left and at times when we thought they were long gone but then they would bark at us from a new location. I found it fascinating that such a large animal could move silently through such thick brush. After we were sure the bulls were gone, we continued our trek along the mountain side.
Eventually we wound up in bull bed central! There was a heavily used cow trail below this area and elk bed after elk bed above it. This was a really cool site! I took a picture of Chris from one of the beds, where he is pointing to the location where we started that morning.
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The view from this bull's bed was awesome! He probably laid up there watching us make our way in to his sanctuary. Ha ha.
Around 12:00 we decided to take a half hour break or so we thought. Jake, Chris and I climbed up on a towering rock overlooking the giant valley.
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Jake bugled from the rock and seconds later we are shimming down the rock and into the timber. A bull bugled to the right and we head for him. I have point, Chris is up high and to my right, Jake is behind us working the middle ground. To my left is a drop off as I look down the mountain with the wind in my face I think this is the perfect setup! If he is coming up he will either skirt the edge of the drop off to my left or come right between Chris and me. Jake continues calling breaking sticks and stomp on the ground. This guy has been working his butt off for us! We get a few more bugles out of the bull and a couple of grunts but nothing ever comes from all of the excitement.
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After awhile we return to the rock bluff and spend a half hour eating lunch taking in the view and trying to figure out how to get to the other side of the Bull Hole.
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Our descent to the bottom was hair raising at times. There were no gradual routes that we could take it was almost straight down. At one point a rock 24" x 12" x 12" broke loose and started tumbling down the mountain brushing by Jakes pant leg. The thought "coming in here was a dumb idea" did cross my mind at that point. We follow Jake AKA "Bill the Kid" AKA "The Goat" as he bounds his way down the mountain. I on the other hand was trying to keep the three point contact rule in play the whole way down and it wasn't beneath me (sorta speak) to use my butt at times to assist in my descent. One mishap and an out of control violent cart wheeling tumble down the mountain was a real possibility.
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After an hour we made it to the bottom where a nice cool creek awaited us. Chris soaked his burning feet, Jake dipped his hat to cool his head and we all gulped up the cool fresh water.
Twenty minutes later we were ascending the other side.
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The path we chose was a soft soil, fern covered chute that went straight up the mountain. We stayed on the well worn elk trail that skirted the timbers edge. As we made our way up we continued to hunt the timber on both sides of the chute but at the same time we were keeping an eye on the suns position in the sky. Last thing we want is to climb our way out of here in the dark.
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We made our way to another rock face. Some of the surface is loose and some is solid. Jake doesn't give it a second thought as he zips across its surface. I with one hand free have second thoughts but I go ahead and play monkey see monkey do. Three quarters of the way across my phobia gets the better of me and I head straight up the mountain where I see ground that looks flat lander friendly
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We work our way off the rock face and onto a ridge. Ahhhh flat ground! What a relief! But not for long. We continue to side-hill our way around the bowl and at this point we are 3/4th the way around and we have two hours of light left. We continue to hunt the mountain side as we move. At one point we spy a black bear sow and her three cubs trailing behind her. They are several hundred yards up the mountain but it was still great to see them.
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A few minutes later we hear movement in the brush below us. We all snap to and get into our hunting positions. Chris and I are on the same level on the mountain separated by about 15 or 20 yards and Jake works the brush behind us. We hunt this spot for a few minutes but nothing pans out. The thermals were starting to fall leaving us with a poor setup. Down in the meadow at the bottom of the bowl Chris spots a young bull moose feeding. We take a few minutes to spy on him with binoculars and then head for the horses.
Forty five minutes later we make it to our horses. We are all worn slick! The sun has set behind the mountains and we begin our ride away from the Bull Hole in the faint light of the ending day and we lived to tell the tale of the Bull Hole!
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The ride back to camp was mix of emotions for me. I was and still am proud of how hard we hunted and amazed at the amount of ground we covered. My body was exhausted but my mind was still reliving all of the day's and the week's events. I sat slumped on my horse with my arms and legs hanging like wet noodles but I had a smile on my face thinking to myself what a great week I have had!
We get back to camp and tell the tale of our day. To be honest I can't remember much of the comments that were made to us but I do remember someone saying, "You went to the bottom of the Bull Hole?" We ate dinner and I could feel my eye's starting to shut while I was at the table. So I thought it would be best to call it a night.
As I was making my way to the tent's exit I was hearing talk of one last short hunt in the morning. My response was "Oh I don't know."
Awesome story. Great pictures. The hunting is hard but you never want to leave. :clapper: Is Gary gonna tell how his hunt went? Would love to hear it even if he didn't get one.
Tom, You never cease to amaze me with the quality of your photography. Great story and journal,You've out done yourself! Now finish it up! Ben
One of the interesting stories within our hunting experience was our guide Jake Arnold.
The most common horror story about guides that I've heard is that of a young guide that is completely ignorant about hunting and calling.
Jake might have been young and inexperienced with traditional equipment but he still did a fantastic job. He puts the rest of the guides I've been associated with to shame. Heck, the other guide we had on this trip (Phil) didn't even seem interested in hunting. If the elk didn't run in after a short simple bugle then it wasn't going to happen so he just stopped trying. He would have been a great sight seeing guide but he made for a terrible elk hunting guide.
Jake used about every call that I heard on the "Elk Nut" CD's. He always had a purpose. He handled himself with a maturity that was far beyond his eighteen years of age.
I think I'm done with guided hunts basically because of the cost involved but I definately learned a bunch about elk hunting from chasing Jake around the mountains for a week. He did a fine job and has a bright future ahead of him.
Certainly fits the example of "don't judge a book by its cover".
Chris
Chris, You and Tom did a great job taking all of our friends in Trad Gang on the hunt. The pictures were outstanding and really showed what we had to hunt in. This is my third trip to the mountains with Rich Armiger and everytime it is tougher than I remember.
From the Switchbacks amd Windy Bill to 4th of July Creek and the dreaded "Bull Hole", it has always given me the Time of My Life . If you don't feel alive in the mountains, I feel sorry for you. So many people say "You didn't even get one" I feel so sorry for them. They really don't get it.
We had six guys in camp that were there to live, hunt, and have a great experience and that is what we had. Rich and Patti made sure we were well taken care of. I can't say enough about the accomadations in the middle of Nowhere.
What a trip :clapper: I really enjoyed the pics and the play by play. Felt like I was in your back pocket.
bhfp
Back to the hunt. My good friend, Tim Taylor, and I had similar things happen to us . We were close several times and , as usual, the Elk won the battle. Isn't it amazing how they know what to do to gain the high ground, catch the thermals, look through the shadows, and just simply leave when it isn't quite right. Maybe that is why it's a hunt. Don't we all love the chase !! That's why we do this.
Tim, Rich and I bivvied out one night. Cut bear grass to make a bed and then slept under a tarp about 150 yards from a huge wallow in the middle of Elk Country. I woke up several times that night to look up at the most incredible sky I believe I have ever seen. It was worth the 5 hour ride.
I'm sure glad that Chris and Tom found that big salt lick. if you missed the picture, go back to look at it. It is simply amazing. You could put several trucks in it. Two years ago I was hunting with Pete and Rich and we rode through there going to 4th of July Creek. Rich pulled his horse to a slow stop in the dark and just sat there. I was wondering what we were doing but, You know the deal in the Elk woods --- Be Quiet ! I'm looking around and see a form in the dark. It is an Elk! No, No, several Elk. We simply rode away right through them. About 30 minutes later Rich stopped and got off of his horse. I said :That was cool" Rich said that he hadn't been there in 10 years. Those Elk didn't have a clue what we were. How Cool Is That ??
That gives you an idea of how wild this area is. Rich has 250 square miles leased and only hunts a few groups a year. Quality is all I can say.
I need to comment on Jake, the young guide. I went with Chris and Tom the last morning because I hadn't hunted Elk with Chris for several years. None of us know about tomorrow and I wanted to hunt with him. Anyway, Jake -- This kid is rare. He is very good. I just hung behind him and watched. He is very , very good.
I need to finish up. As Chris said, I lost my Dad a fews weeks ago. He didn't ever get to do this with me but he loved the stories. The mountains we hunt, the rabbits we try to find, the whitetails that wind us and , yes, the "Grouse that you missed at 3-4 yards" These are the memories that we must not take for granted - ever. This land that we have under our feet is the greatest land on earth. Walk on it, hunt it, teach your kids to enjoy it. In the end, you will have your family, a few dear friends, and your memories of hunting the land that you love. I have many, many memories.
Day 8
I Poke my head out of the sleeping bag and see the light is on and Chris is out of his bed. Hmmm... I have images of him up all night dressed in his hunting clothes clutching his bow and rocking on the edge of his cot waiting for the wake up call. Come to think of it I don't remember seeing him go to bed. Chris were you up all night?
After a couple of minutes lying there I say to myself "Oh what the hell get up!" I crawl out of bed, suit up and dump some coffee down my pipe and... Ahhh... I felt pretty good. Okay boys lets do it to it was my attitude.
Our guide, once again and it was only fitting, was Jake. What a great kid! Have I said that yet? Our destination was Switchback Hill. This was the place that we had our first and second hunt and seemed like a great place to have our last.
After breakfast we are on the trail before sunrise. Joining us on this hunt is Gary, Chris's father in-law. Gary was not interested in hunting on this last outing he was more interested in watching us work during our hunt. I thought that was really cool! This man has more experience traditional bow hunting then I have put into years of life on this planet and I hope to share more camps with him!
We arrive at the Switchback Hill trail around 7:00. Prefect timing... every time we have been on this hill in the morning we have worked a bull. Jake has already started his cow calling and a few bugles. We ride along while he cow calls and stop when he bugles so we can strain our ears listening for any bugling replies. Then down in the drainage we hear a bugle!
I haven't told anybody but my plan is to throw in all my cards and take this hunt straight to the bull! I am off my horse and have him tied up in seconds and Chris is hot on my trail! Without even talking about it he and I are on the same wavelength. Get off the ridge and on top of that bull as fast as we can. Jakes job was to keep up with us. Ha ha what a fun last hunt! As we start to drop into the drainage eagle eye Gary spots movement in the trees the left. Cows if I remember correctly. I need Chris and Gary to refresh me on this part.
The elk that Gary and Chris saw break away down the hill and we begin our advance. Jake is warning us to go slow the elk might be right below the shelf that we are about to crest. I listen to his warning and we proceed cautiously but not giving up our aggressive push.
Chris and I fan out and I have point. The wind is a crosswind angling slightly downward. The goal is to get in front of the bull and intercept him at the bottom or get him when he gets irritated with the new bull (us) in his territory and comes charging up the hill between the two of us. We worked this bull for an hour. We dropped further and further down the mountain and the bull kept getting farther and farther from us. After an hour we broke off the hunt and made our way back up to the horses. I high five my hunting buddy and we congratulate each other on a fantastic last hunt. Hearing that bull chuckle at us on the last day of our last hunt was fun way to end our hunt. Of course bagging him would have been the icing on the cake but we were happy to have one last adrenalin rush before we called it quits.
We continue our ride up to the high meadow on Switchback Hill to marvel at the views from her peak. It had been a while since Gary had seen the view from there. I could tell he was as happy as a guy could be looking around at the country that surrounded us. Gary made the comment, and I may not get it exactly correct, "being up hear sure makes you proud to be an American doesn't it?" It sure does Gary! I replied to him "that sometimes we forget but the land that we were looking at is a National Forest and that land belongs to all of us."
(http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc168/Gatekeeper100/91e44aaf.jpg)
We spend about and hour on the peak taking photographs and Chris shot an arrow off the peak and into the valley that lay far below us. The ride back to camp was quiet I was reflecting on all of the weeks events and thinking about the great time I had with a great bunch of guys.
(http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc168/Gatekeeper100/4b47eca1.jpg)
The ride back to the trucks was a 3.5 hour horseback ride. Tim Taylor lead us out. On our way down we encountered the dreaded bees twice. This time we didn't have a scout looking for them and we weren't armed to defend ourselves.
The first encounter gave Gary a ride that had a pucker factor of 10+ I'm sure. His horse started kicking and bucking while he was on a skinny strip on mountain trail with no place to go. Some how he rode out of it and kept his seat. Chris was on foot behind Gary's horse and thankfully missed being kicked or stomped by Gary's horse and his. Chris made the smart move and bailed off the down side of the trail and let the horses do whatever they needed to do to get out of there. I was up next... and I waited for the trail ahead to clear out and I ran my horse through the swarm. The second swarm that we came cross seemed to zero in on David. He got stuck in a massive swarm and his horse had a hard time finding its way out of them. Once they were clear from the bees we all took turns running our horse through the swarm. I sure wouldn't want to be guiding a mule train through them!
We made it to the trailhead safely packed up our gear in the trucks and head back to civilization in Missoula.
Thanks again guys for inviting me on such a fantastic trip. It was an experience I will never forget! I also need to take a moment and thank my wonderful wife. She has supported my passion for shooting traditional equipment and she has encouraged me to keep going to shoots and go hunting whenever I get a chance. Thank you Lindy you are the best and right woman for me!
Okay Chris lets go get that bobcat! I bet we can get Brian interested in that hunt.
Ben and Kevin lookout February will be here before we know it and Texas won't be the same after we leave!
The End
Outstanding story guys! A trip I'm sure you will remember for a long time. Thanks so much for taking us along. :clapper: :clapper: :clapper:
Awesome!!!!Thanks for the ride.
Mike
:thumbsup: :thumbsup:
:clapper: :clapper: Like I said great story guys. You bet I'll be interested in that bobcat. We just need to be on the lookout for some good places to call.
Glad you guys had a great time. Sounds awsome.
Great trip Tom, Thanks for sharing. bretto
hey guys this Is jake it was a great tall of what happened out there, i had a blast hunting with you guys!
Welcome to the "Gang" Jake,hope yo hear your adventures guiding and hunting!!!
Gil
QuoteOriginally posted by Jarvold:
hey guys this Is jake it was a great tall of what happened out there, i had a blast hunting with you guys!
Very cool Jake! I was going to email you and ask you to join TG and you beat me to the punch! :wavey:
Chris and I apparently piqued Jake's interests with our traditional archery gear. Jake is interested in stepping into the light and exploring the world on traditional bow hunting. I'm so glad to have you join us Jake! I'll put you in my buddy list.
There are a lot of great people on this site and a ton of information so don't be afraid to ask your questions no matter how simple or complex. This site has guys that have been using this type of equipment for years and they are always eager to help a person get started.
Can you tell I thrilled! :biglaugh:
Welcome to the fire Jake! Any friend of Chris and Tom's is a friend of mine. The rest of us are alittle closer to normal though! Lol Ben
Wow! I was off on my own little adventures last fall and missed this whole tale! What a great trip - marvelous story telling and fantastic pictures! That country looks about as rugged as anything I've ever seen and you guys took everything it gave you. I'm in awe!
Welcome to the Gang Jake!