I am off the mountain to let the elk rest for the weekend. The first week has been promising, but no arrows have been drawn, excepting a few hapless stumps. The area that I hunt has been plagued by moo cows the past few seasons, but this year they were moved out early, and the results are promising. A small stream is the basic watershed for the area, and it looks like this: (http://i886.photobucket.com/albums/ac67/peastes/IMG_0513_zps663c614a.jpg) (http://s886.photobucket.com/user/peastes/media/IMG_0513_zps663c614a.jpg.html)
I saw elk every day of the 5 days I hunted, which is a big improvement over years past. My closest call was on day 3, when I was hunting a relatively flat area that is lodgepole forest. A typical trail.. (http://i886.photobucket.com/albums/ac67/peastes/IMG_0508_zps033dd67e.jpg) (http://s886.photobucket.com/user/peastes/media/IMG_0508_zps033dd67e.jpg.html)
Sneaking along in predator mode, I got up on 6 feeding elk, and had a cow at under 20 yards, but needed those all important 'two more steps' when I felt a breeze on the back of my neck. Didn't take the elk long to leave. That same afternoon, I got up on 4 elk, and once again, the wind got me as it continued to swirl through the trees.
The rut has not yet hit its stride, but in the last day I did hear a couple of bugles, and the wallows are starting to be used. I took this photo yesterday; the day before, the wallow had not been touched. Now, it stinks of elk, and whoever used it threw mud on trees 15 feet away. I sat on it Friday afternoon, but nothing showed up.
(http://i886.photobucket.com/albums/ac67/peastes/IMG_0523_zpsf5455932.jpg) (http://s886.photobucket.com/user/peastes/media/IMG_0523_zpsf5455932.jpg.html)
I have been seeing only cows, calves, and spikes until yesterday evening, when on my way back to camp, I saw a very good bull in a park where I have never seen an elk before. If I had been more awake, I might have been able to play with him, but he had me dead to rights when I entered the park.
Friday morning, I arrived at a very elky spot right at first light, and found a still steaming pile of elk poop. (http://i886.photobucket.com/albums/ac67/peastes/IMG_0522_zps9ce2944a.jpg) (http://s886.photobucket.com/user/peastes/media/IMG_0522_zps9ce2944a.jpg.html)
This is in another lodgepole thicket, and the forest floor is noisy, and I managed to break a twig, which caused an elk exodus. Elk were everywhere, and they wanted no part of me, and made that plain. There were probably 20 or so elk in the herd that I stumbled into.
We are getting regular frosts now, and it is causing the wetter part of the forest floor to change color. The aspens are just starting to change, but in the marshy areas, there is already a look of fall. (http://i886.photobucket.com/albums/ac67/peastes/IMG_0517_zps633a088a.jpg) (http://s886.photobucket.com/user/peastes/media/IMG_0517_zps633a088a.jpg.html)
Lots of elk sightings, a couple of 'almost' moments, and the promise of a rut that is ramping up makes me ready to head back next week. It is shaping up to be a good elk season.
Beautiful pictures.... thanks for taking us along!
Good luck and God Bless
Rodd
Finding them is the hardest part - you're well on your way to a lot of fun!! Hope it all comes together for you Pat.
very nice pictures. a pleasure to read your account of the week,
Good luck, and it sure does look like a promising adventure is unfolding for us.
looking good. Good luck next week.
Nice pictures and recap. Good luck next week.
Similar thing here. Tons and tons. Literally of MOO cows. We got into a few elk on sat and sun but they have since disappeared. Not even glances. Hang in there, we still have a few weeks. :thumbsup:
Been waiting on your elk update,great pics as always.Good luck! I know your overdue on elk. :thumbsup:
Nice summary. I managed to get into elk as well all week but haven't figured out how to properly sneak up on them and the wind always seems to be wrong. Thermals go up while the wind is blowing down or a random breeze will go across the mountain from an entirely new direction at the wrong time. How do you combat this?
I wish I knew the answer about the wind. All you can do is your best to keep going into the wind. There are just times when you will get busted. Many is the time I thought I had everything right and it looked like it was about to happen only to feel the slightest breeze.......game over!
Man I love elk hunting! I should be headed west in a few days myself and I can't wait :goldtooth: :goldtooth: :goldtooth:
Good luck guys!
By the way, Great pictures Pat.
That's really starting the blood flowing , can't wait!
Pat, thanks for the tag-a-long. Take a break and have at it again.
Shick
Good luck, sounds like some good hunting.
Thanks for excellent update & pics Pat. You're off and running.
***Note*** your bow is strung backwards. :p
Gotta love a Morning Star!
Best of luck, hope you're in elk the rest of the season!
Kris
Beautiful pictures! The Bighorns are definitely a special place! Good luck with your next outing. You've already had a great experience getting that close to them! :thumbsup:
Bernie
Good luck Pat ... be safe love the pics
Great pictures, thanks for letting us tag along.
Best of luck for the rest of the season.
Thanks for the pictures. We "flat landers" here in the East are getting ready for the start of deer season, so this update is great for the blood flowing and pumping up some excitement. I look forward to the updates!
:campfire:
Good luck...
Great pictures of a beautiful place. Thanks for sharing it all with us.
Sounds like your in the "SPOT", get after them!!! Your Morningstar needs the rush of the shot.
I hunted the last three days, seeing elk each day. I came off the mountain today because we are in for a good winter storm, and where I am camped, it can be iffy to get out, but I plan on returning when the storm breaks. The forecast says we might get a foot of the white stuff, which is a bit much for tracking snow.
Anyhow, I hunted this morning in a pouring rain. I was soaked and so was my shooting glove, which brings me to this sad tale of woe. I got into a herd of about a dozen cows, feeding all around me. I had a cow feeding at 5 yards, but couldn't shoot because she was head on. She finally saw the boogie man and spooked, but the others kept on feeding :dunno: , and a few minutes later, a cow was feeding broadside to me at about 20 yards. I was in a very thick lodgepole forest, and as she fed, I saw a window of opportunity when she would pass behindtwo trees, spaced about 2 feet apart. When she hit that spot, I was already at half draw, and hit anchor and watched my arrow bury itself into the tree on her right. My wet glove had made my release bad, and after the rather loud 'whack' on broadhead on tree, the elk decided to leave the area. Very good penetration on the tree, the single bevel took about 15 minutes to free it from almost an inch deep into the bowels of the lodgepole . I'm pretty sure it was a fatal hit on the tree.
So, at least I got a shot, and have time to head back up. That's why we call it hunting and not killing, I guess.
Hope you do well Pat, thanks for the beautiful pictures. Good Luck!
I'm not sure, but I think the lodgepole may qualify for P and Y, if I can chop it down and get it out of the forest.
Love your take on the hunt buddy! Looking forward to more.
Hope your back in the mountains and the elk stand still for you like a Colorado moose. Good luck Pat.
You are so fortunate to be able to chase Elk.
I used to live in Oregon and love hunting elk even though the hunting was not good, your pictures brought back many fond memories. Thank you for taking us along. I miss it...
Thanks Pat, for the story, and the great photo's.
You are way further in the pursuit of elk than I got this year. But it is fun anyway.
I am wondering about the wet glove problem. I picked up a Bateman Tab while in Colorado. It SEEMS like it might be easier to maintain a good release with a tab under those conditions.
Here I go again, tab versus glove- round three or is it four? I want to like a tab, but so far I seem more consistent with a glove.
Thanks again,
Gary
MnFn:
The miss couldn't have been my fault, it had to be the glove :banghead: . I definitely got a bad release, and my glove was definitely wet, hence the glove reference. A 'chicken or the egg' scenario. Had everything been dry, and I still blew the shot, maybe it would have been a sudden earth shift that caused the miss.
Can we have a hero pic of that P&Y tree :archer2:
Sounds promising. Love it when it start out this way and things begin to happen. :goldtooth:
the glove for sure! keep it coming man, love your stories and pics.
Keep on them...beautiful area. :thumbsup:
I hunted the last 4 days, and the first two days had me seeing elk and being within 20 yards of a cow that I couldn't get a clear shot at; just too much brush/trees for a good shot. The last two days have been like the elk have quit the country; no sightings, no bugling, no fresh sign.
Returning to camp from this morning's hunt, I found myself wishing very hard for a moose license. I stalked this guy and took his picture for about 20 minutes. He knew I was there, but just didn't seem to care. He would have been oh so easy, if only I had a tag. Why is it that when you don't have a license, animals seem to know it, and when you have a license, they either don't show up at all, or hide behind brush, trees and the like.
(http://i886.photobucket.com/albums/ac67/peastes/P1030925_zps604bf8ab.jpg) (http://s886.photobucket.com/user/peastes/media/P1030925_zps604bf8ab.jpg.html)
(http://i886.photobucket.com/albums/ac67/peastes/P1030927_zps311054cf.jpg) (http://s886.photobucket.com/user/peastes/media/P1030927_zps311054cf.jpg.html) At least I am getting plenty of exercise, but I sure wouldn't mind a couple of days of packing out quarters. Oh well, I will be back at it tomorrow.
Hopefully next year I'll draw a moose tag in WY.
The moose is cool......and your right, they seem to know....lol!
Awesome stuff buddy.
Great Updates. Good luck this week.
I'm back, a little skinnier and dirtier but still elkless. The past week was full of elk encounters that just didn't add up to a good shot. Among those, I had a big bull chasing a cow through black timber, and her route took her directly to me, but she turned broadside at 15 yards due to deadfall between me and her. Otherwise, she might have stepped on me. She either saw or got a whiff of me and bolted before I could raise the bow, taking the bull with her. I have hunted 22 days ( I think, I am getting a bit froggy), and have seen over 100 elk in that time. Considering that I am hunting deep timber, that's a bunch of elk to not offer a good shot, but that is hunting.
I did manage to put a grouse from his tree perch into my hunting pack yesterday. That is the first grouse I have seen in this area in a long time, so I was pleased to get this wonderful table fare.
(http://i886.photobucket.com/albums/ac67/peastes/IMG_0182-Version2_zpsd116c300.jpg) (http://s886.photobucket.com/user/peastes/media/IMG_0182-Version2_zpsd116c300.jpg.html) I still have a couple of days to hunt elk, so I will be back at them.
Enjoy all the time afield Pat, it's a LONG winter!
I was in elk camp living in a wall tent for 25 days straight. Loved every minute of it, but the days start running together. Kept asking my hunting partners what day it was.
Congrats on the grouse!
Always enjoy your posts Pat ... good luck and keep those pics coming !!
Love your photos and hunting stories Pat... good luck, keep at em!
Thanks for letting us tag along... interesting read so far! All the best, please keep us posted as to your adventurees!
Thanks for letting us tag along... interesting read so far! All the best, please keep us posted as to your adventurees!
Beautiful country Pat! You are a gifted photographer and bow hunter. Congrats on the grouse! I'll be looking forward to the next update.
Well, folks, it's over for this year. I left the mountain this morning to a pretty good snowstorm, and the elk are still intact.
My last night, I saw several elk, including two very good bulls, but all were too far for a shot. This season showed me a bunch of elk (over 100), and these weren't far off on some park, but within 100 yards and often much closer, in black timber, so it was a good year, even if I didn't bring home any elk meat. I was figuring that if I had been rifle hunting, I probably could have had easy shots at well over 20 elk, and if I was hunting with wheels, I would have had numerous shots in the 40 yard range. We limit ourselves on purpose, however, and I drew on one elk, killing a lodgepole rather than the elk. In retrospect, I might have had one other shot at a cow, but she was highly alert and I didn't feel right about taking the shot.
So, I am happy with how my season went overall. I saw lots of elk, lots of great country, put in many hours and spent some 150 miles in boot leather.
Now, it is on to turkeys and whitetails. Life is still very good, and the sun rises in the east each morning, whether or not I have an elk on the ground.
Nice hunt pat and good luck on the white tails.
Sounds like a great season Pat.
Good luck on the whitetails!
you certainly did have a good season. always look forward to your pics and stories, so bring on turks and deer!!
Sounds like a hunt of a lifetime to me. I would wish you better luck next year on bringing home some meat but I have a feeling you're very content. God Bless. :archer:
Bummer man! But yes it's all about those experiences. As you know. Ours ended this weekend too. Could have shot a few if .... Yes we shot compound bows. But that's the choice we make. At least you have other critters you can keep chasing!
Best of luck looking forward!!
Sounds like a fine elk season to me, thanks for sharing Pat. Good luck with the remainder of your seasons and I will be looking forward to more stories and those good pictures.