MTHunter1321
Well-known member
After an up and down fall my 2019 elk tag has been punched. I had set a goal this year to get one with my bow but between family obligations, work, and other circumstances that’ll have to wait another year. I spent the first weekend of rifle season trying to hunt mule deer but due to the wind and snow it was not a very productive weekend. The second weekend I went back to an area I had hunted a few years ago and had seen quite a bit of elk but was unable to seal the deal then. After 2 days of hiking 5+ miles each day I still had not turned up an elk sighting. I had already scheduled to have some days off of work starting mid week and as luck would have it, a winter storm rolled in late Tuesday night. My dad and I decided to try our luck in a completely new area for a few days and figured the snow would help. We met up on Tuesday night and had high hopes for what Wednesday would bring.
Wednesday morning brought us a fresh layer of 3-4 inches of light snow. Long story short, we started a hike through forest service right on the border of some private. After a couple miles of punch holing through the old crusty snow and not seeing any fresh sign, we decided to split up with me continuing further and my dad going back to the truck and then driving around to pick me up at another FS entry. After seven miles of hiking and temps in the low teens, I had still yet to cut an elk track. I got to the truck around 11am and after warming up a bit we decided to head to a nearby town for some lunch.
As we drove towards town we continued to take glances towards the mountains in hopes of seeing something. I finally noticed something that needed a closer look so we came to a stop and I tossed up my binoculars. ELK! About 200 of them were bedded just below a tree line a couple miles away from us. A quick check on my OnX confirmed that they were on public and were only about 3/4 of a mile further east than where my dad picked me up. We turned the truck around and headed back immediately. We parked the truck and got our stuff and started heading towards the elk. About 15 yards from the truck I looked up right as two cows came over the top of a ridge 800 yards away and started feeding down. We were in the open but figured if we could army crawl about 40 yards there was another hill about 400 yards away that would hide us from the cows. We dropped down and were able to close the distance to the hill in the middle and when we crawled to the top the cows were still feeding 400 yards away. My dad had said he would shoot the first legal elk he had a chance at. I told him a cow elk, 800 yards from the truck seemed pretty damn appealing as far as getting an elk out. He agreed and after a few minutes Ahmad one of the cows perfectly broadside. Two well placed shots later and she went down shortly after 12pm. We hiked up to her and my dad quickly tagged her and dropped his rifle as I still wanted to try to get on the large group that we initially saw. We got up the ridge that these cows had just come over and kept heading to where we thought we could be a position on the herd. After some time I happened to glance to the south and there they were, about 400 yards out onto private. We sat and watched them for a bit and determined that where we were would be a good spot to be in the morning as they might head back up and bed where they were. We went back to his elk and after gutting it, we decided to cut it in half. I made a trip back to the truck to grab some rope and then we each tied onto a half and started dragging with the rope around our waist. The downhill and the snow helped and we finally had her back to truck and loaded up by 2:45. Now on our way into town, we came across the same herd even further to the south in with a ranchers cattle and hay. That rancher had seen them too and was driving around their field trying to chase them away. They eventually took off...further south and deeper onto private. I wasn’t sure now what they’d do in the morning, if they’d eventually head back towards the mountains or just continue further south.
Wednesday morning brought us a fresh layer of 3-4 inches of light snow. Long story short, we started a hike through forest service right on the border of some private. After a couple miles of punch holing through the old crusty snow and not seeing any fresh sign, we decided to split up with me continuing further and my dad going back to the truck and then driving around to pick me up at another FS entry. After seven miles of hiking and temps in the low teens, I had still yet to cut an elk track. I got to the truck around 11am and after warming up a bit we decided to head to a nearby town for some lunch.
As we drove towards town we continued to take glances towards the mountains in hopes of seeing something. I finally noticed something that needed a closer look so we came to a stop and I tossed up my binoculars. ELK! About 200 of them were bedded just below a tree line a couple miles away from us. A quick check on my OnX confirmed that they were on public and were only about 3/4 of a mile further east than where my dad picked me up. We turned the truck around and headed back immediately. We parked the truck and got our stuff and started heading towards the elk. About 15 yards from the truck I looked up right as two cows came over the top of a ridge 800 yards away and started feeding down. We were in the open but figured if we could army crawl about 40 yards there was another hill about 400 yards away that would hide us from the cows. We dropped down and were able to close the distance to the hill in the middle and when we crawled to the top the cows were still feeding 400 yards away. My dad had said he would shoot the first legal elk he had a chance at. I told him a cow elk, 800 yards from the truck seemed pretty damn appealing as far as getting an elk out. He agreed and after a few minutes Ahmad one of the cows perfectly broadside. Two well placed shots later and she went down shortly after 12pm. We hiked up to her and my dad quickly tagged her and dropped his rifle as I still wanted to try to get on the large group that we initially saw. We got up the ridge that these cows had just come over and kept heading to where we thought we could be a position on the herd. After some time I happened to glance to the south and there they were, about 400 yards out onto private. We sat and watched them for a bit and determined that where we were would be a good spot to be in the morning as they might head back up and bed where they were. We went back to his elk and after gutting it, we decided to cut it in half. I made a trip back to the truck to grab some rope and then we each tied onto a half and started dragging with the rope around our waist. The downhill and the snow helped and we finally had her back to truck and loaded up by 2:45. Now on our way into town, we came across the same herd even further to the south in with a ranchers cattle and hay. That rancher had seen them too and was driving around their field trying to chase them away. They eventually took off...further south and deeper onto private. I wasn’t sure now what they’d do in the morning, if they’d eventually head back towards the mountains or just continue further south.