BuzzH
Well-known member
Just rolled into town last night from chasing elk with my friend Brian. Brian and I grew up together and have logged a few miles and years of hunting.
Opening morning started out with the standard hour and a half hike to get into the spot. We heard bulls bugling the entire way and one particular bull caught our attention as it had a real raspy bugle. Enroute, right at daylight, we saw a spike and about 12 cows which we let walk right by us at easy rifle range.
Within the first hour we were close to the bull we heard with the raspy bugle. He bugled a lot and we payed close attention to the wind and worked our way closer. Brian is second to none when it comes to calling elk and he had the bull worked up really good. Of course, the bull also had a bunch of cows with him and the place we were hunting is primarily a thick tangle of lodgepole, aspen, and subalpine fir. We finally got right up in the bulls wheel-house and heard a bugle below us. Brian cow called and out walks a good 5 point bull at 30 yards, bugles right in our face and stands broadside. Brian says if I want him, shoot, but with the bigger bull just uphill from us, its an easy decision to pass.
Finally, Brian sees the bull cross in front of us at maybe 60 yards, but the tree density doesnt allow Brian a shot. The bull bugles, then crosses back to the left again, bugles,, but still no shot opportunity. From there, the whole herd just sort of walks off in front of us. We stayed close for about 2-3 hours but never caught a break. Just as we topped the ridge, Brian calls in another small herd with a 4 point bull and 4 cows, we again pass them up at 40-50 yards. So, within the first half day of hunting we could have killed 3 bulls.
That was the best opening morning of elk hunting in a general unit I've had, bulls everywhere bugling but all of them were in the heavy timber. It was great being so close to a good bull for 2-3 hours, but never quite getting the break.
The second day was again bulls bugling and we saw a nice 6x6 and a bunch of cows, but no shot opportunity. That evening Brian and I decided to split up and cover a couple openings we thought would be good. As I made my way to a high spot I decided to walk about 100 yards into the treeline, through the North Side on the chance that a bull might be feeding his way to the south slopes. I dropped down into a saddle and was picking my way through the down-fall and there, 30 yards away is a bull feeding. I put my scope on him and saw he was a 5x5. I then glassed him with my binoculars for a while. The wind was perfect, so I watched him as he fed his way closer. Finally he stopped in a clear shooting lane at 25 yards and I decided to shoot. I placed the leupold dot right behind his shoulder and pressed the trigger. He stiffened up and just slumped over. I was kind of worried about shooting a big animal that close with the 160 grain accubonds out of my 7mm. But, after seeing the performance at an impact velocity of 2900 fps...I'm done with the worrying.
A few pictures:
Brian on opening day...
My bull:
Another look:
One with the "new" improved rifle:
Finally, a picture of the bullet performance:
Entrance side:
Exit:
We spent the next 3 and a half days trying our guts out to get Brian a bull. Brian passed several more bulls and in all we saw 31 legal bulls in just over 5 days of hunting. The guys that we shared camp with took 2 bulls, a real nice 5x5 and a 4x4. Brian went home with an unpunched tag, by choice, but we still had a great hunt. The conditions were tough, about as tough as it gets, but there is no doubt that Brian and I saw and passed more bulls than anyone else in the major drainage we were hunting.
Chomping to get to Montana for my second elk hunt of the year, will be there by Monday seeing what I can see...life is good!
Opening morning started out with the standard hour and a half hike to get into the spot. We heard bulls bugling the entire way and one particular bull caught our attention as it had a real raspy bugle. Enroute, right at daylight, we saw a spike and about 12 cows which we let walk right by us at easy rifle range.
Within the first hour we were close to the bull we heard with the raspy bugle. He bugled a lot and we payed close attention to the wind and worked our way closer. Brian is second to none when it comes to calling elk and he had the bull worked up really good. Of course, the bull also had a bunch of cows with him and the place we were hunting is primarily a thick tangle of lodgepole, aspen, and subalpine fir. We finally got right up in the bulls wheel-house and heard a bugle below us. Brian cow called and out walks a good 5 point bull at 30 yards, bugles right in our face and stands broadside. Brian says if I want him, shoot, but with the bigger bull just uphill from us, its an easy decision to pass.
Finally, Brian sees the bull cross in front of us at maybe 60 yards, but the tree density doesnt allow Brian a shot. The bull bugles, then crosses back to the left again, bugles,, but still no shot opportunity. From there, the whole herd just sort of walks off in front of us. We stayed close for about 2-3 hours but never caught a break. Just as we topped the ridge, Brian calls in another small herd with a 4 point bull and 4 cows, we again pass them up at 40-50 yards. So, within the first half day of hunting we could have killed 3 bulls.
That was the best opening morning of elk hunting in a general unit I've had, bulls everywhere bugling but all of them were in the heavy timber. It was great being so close to a good bull for 2-3 hours, but never quite getting the break.
The second day was again bulls bugling and we saw a nice 6x6 and a bunch of cows, but no shot opportunity. That evening Brian and I decided to split up and cover a couple openings we thought would be good. As I made my way to a high spot I decided to walk about 100 yards into the treeline, through the North Side on the chance that a bull might be feeding his way to the south slopes. I dropped down into a saddle and was picking my way through the down-fall and there, 30 yards away is a bull feeding. I put my scope on him and saw he was a 5x5. I then glassed him with my binoculars for a while. The wind was perfect, so I watched him as he fed his way closer. Finally he stopped in a clear shooting lane at 25 yards and I decided to shoot. I placed the leupold dot right behind his shoulder and pressed the trigger. He stiffened up and just slumped over. I was kind of worried about shooting a big animal that close with the 160 grain accubonds out of my 7mm. But, after seeing the performance at an impact velocity of 2900 fps...I'm done with the worrying.
A few pictures:
Brian on opening day...
My bull:
Another look:
One with the "new" improved rifle:
Finally, a picture of the bullet performance:
Entrance side:
Exit:
We spent the next 3 and a half days trying our guts out to get Brian a bull. Brian passed several more bulls and in all we saw 31 legal bulls in just over 5 days of hunting. The guys that we shared camp with took 2 bulls, a real nice 5x5 and a 4x4. Brian went home with an unpunched tag, by choice, but we still had a great hunt. The conditions were tough, about as tough as it gets, but there is no doubt that Brian and I saw and passed more bulls than anyone else in the major drainage we were hunting.
Chomping to get to Montana for my second elk hunt of the year, will be there by Monday seeing what I can see...life is good!
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Good job keeping the elk population in check.
