avid_outdoorsman
Member
Elk
Beautiful animal for sure !!
Beautiful animal for sure !!
B&C Awards book MT elk
- Thread starter The Hedgehog
- Start date
SagebrushSlayer
Active member
Nice bull! I couldn't even imagine shooting something like that, especially in a general area. You have a wall hanger for sure. 
The Hedgehog
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more of the story.. my spelling and grammer is going to get worse the more I type (and drink)
It was the first Wednesday of season, just before dark, and I hadn’t made it to where I wanted to camp. I climbed to a place I could glass a good amount of country in the distance and set up my spotter. After combing all the open slides and semi-timbered places for tracks or signs of life, a bull finally fed out into a small opening. He looked gigantic with huge bladed royal tines polished white down nearly to the beam. He had that eye-catching, jaw dropping appeal that bulls with giant tops have, nearly two feet on both royals and his 5ths that were in the 16 inch range. I knew I couldn’t get to him before dark, so I just wanted to size him up carefully and make a plan for the morning. After a harder look, I realized he was missing a bottom tine on both sides, not broken - just not grown. He was a big 5X5, missing what would be a 2nd on one side, and a 3rd on the other. The 2nd and 3rd tines he did grow were also pretty weak. Even so, I guessed him to be a solid 320-330 bull and I know if he would have been in striking distance I would have tried for him. But after some careful thought, I decided to keep going and stick to my plan. It was still the first week of the season, and if I were to go for that bull, my chance of hunting the top basin on the perfect day would likely have to wait for some other year.
I got to the top of the mountain well after dark and set up my Akto in the snow. I built a fire, melted snow for water and cooked a meal. It wasn’t too cold - I was actually pretty cozy. It was the first calm and clear night in 3 days and on the top, there was about a foot of snow on the level much deeper where the wind was able to push it. I slept good but woke up anxious, built another fire and had a good breakfast. It was an hour before daylight and I was on my way by headlamp.
It was the first Wednesday of season, just before dark, and I hadn’t made it to where I wanted to camp. I climbed to a place I could glass a good amount of country in the distance and set up my spotter. After combing all the open slides and semi-timbered places for tracks or signs of life, a bull finally fed out into a small opening. He looked gigantic with huge bladed royal tines polished white down nearly to the beam. He had that eye-catching, jaw dropping appeal that bulls with giant tops have, nearly two feet on both royals and his 5ths that were in the 16 inch range. I knew I couldn’t get to him before dark, so I just wanted to size him up carefully and make a plan for the morning. After a harder look, I realized he was missing a bottom tine on both sides, not broken - just not grown. He was a big 5X5, missing what would be a 2nd on one side, and a 3rd on the other. The 2nd and 3rd tines he did grow were also pretty weak. Even so, I guessed him to be a solid 320-330 bull and I know if he would have been in striking distance I would have tried for him. But after some careful thought, I decided to keep going and stick to my plan. It was still the first week of the season, and if I were to go for that bull, my chance of hunting the top basin on the perfect day would likely have to wait for some other year.
I got to the top of the mountain well after dark and set up my Akto in the snow. I built a fire, melted snow for water and cooked a meal. It wasn’t too cold - I was actually pretty cozy. It was the first calm and clear night in 3 days and on the top, there was about a foot of snow on the level much deeper where the wind was able to push it. I slept good but woke up anxious, built another fire and had a good breakfast. It was an hour before daylight and I was on my way by headlamp.
thecrittergitter
Well-known member
Did you run out of beer?????????????
Or did the GF talk you into a little quickie in the middle of your story........
Although i've already heard the story, its always good to hear again
Or did the GF talk you into a little quickie in the middle of your story........
Although i've already heard the story, its always good to hear again
The Hedgehog
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- 11,664
Gosh.. this is longwinded.. no strippers or beer yet.
My goal was to glass what I could for an hour or two, and try to get a clear view of the few steep exposures that I expected elk to be feeding on. I knew a good hillside that I’ve glassed from before and have seen elk from - though not many. If they were there, they’d be within striking distance. If no luck glassing, I would immerse myself in the timber all day - looking for tracks. On my walk in the dark I tried to remain on the opposite crest of the top of the ridge to stay out of the wind as I didn’t want to spook anything in the basin I wanted to glass. It wasn’t easy walking, but probably made a big difference in the outcome of my day. As I pushed along through knee deep powder I started to realize the conditions were absolutely perfect to be hunting here. I didn’t think the elk would have left in just 3 days, but I definitely knew they’d be hungry by now and would be on the ridges with the most grass, wind, and the right exposure. They would still have to be digging to eat. As I worked my way along in the snow I cut a fresh set of elk tracks. Since they were heading my way, I decided to follow, until they dropped off into a different basin that would take me away from where I really wanted to be looking. I knew that my best odds were to just stick to the plan. As I side-hilled through the timber along the far side of the upper basin I stopped and gasped for some air, put my glasses up and spotted a familiar tan outline right where I’d hoped to find elk. I quickly removed my pack and unsnapped my spotter. After a little swearing at my new tripod, I settled in on the bull, a tiny raghorn and his two young pals. I watched the bulls for about 5 minutes and just about decided to pick up and move on when I noticed another bull in the timber very near the original bulls. Once again, the bull was a dinker. I needed to get a better vantage point and continue to watch this ridge as I suspected a mob of bulls could be over there. Unfortunately, when I see a group of raghorns, usually, there are no older ones around.
I made it to a large rock I’ve sat on several times, and finally had a decent view of the basin. Again, I sat up my spotter and began to comb the ridge, both in and out of the timber for elk and tracks. I noticed more bulls on the opposite ridge, but as suspected - nothing large. It was difficult to keep track of which bulls were where and exactly how many there were as they weren’t in a tight group and there was a lot of timber. At one point, I saw a solid 6X6 walk through an opening, but after looking for another 15 minutes, I started to think I might have just really wanted to see that, but didn’t. Suddenly, I noticed two bulls lightly sparring - just touching tips. It was weird because the one bull was certainly the 6X6 I’d seen briefly, but the other a very small raghorn 5 point. It was an unusual mismatch. After a few minutes I decided the 6 point was a worthy bull, nice dark antlers, unbroken, with no real noticeable weaknesses. I knew this place could require spending 3 more very tough days on my own packing meat out, but the bull did appear to be too good to walk away from. Being that it’s going to take me 30 minutes to get to him, I’m thinking it’s time to move. But I calmed myself down to judge him one last time.
He started moving down the ridge toward a good sized opening and I noticed the rest of the bulls appeared to be following slowly and feeding along the way. I was able to watch him for another minute as he bobbed and weaved his head to navigate through lodgepoles. At that point I noticed that his browtines, though not overly lengthy, appeared to have some serious beef to them. I started to think I might be under-judging him if anything, but then what did it matter? My mind was made up. I loaded up my gear, snapped on my pack and bailed off into some waist deep snow to make a bee line for these elk. It looked as if they were finishing up with their morning feeding and heading off, but toward me.
My goal was to glass what I could for an hour or two, and try to get a clear view of the few steep exposures that I expected elk to be feeding on. I knew a good hillside that I’ve glassed from before and have seen elk from - though not many. If they were there, they’d be within striking distance. If no luck glassing, I would immerse myself in the timber all day - looking for tracks. On my walk in the dark I tried to remain on the opposite crest of the top of the ridge to stay out of the wind as I didn’t want to spook anything in the basin I wanted to glass. It wasn’t easy walking, but probably made a big difference in the outcome of my day. As I pushed along through knee deep powder I started to realize the conditions were absolutely perfect to be hunting here. I didn’t think the elk would have left in just 3 days, but I definitely knew they’d be hungry by now and would be on the ridges with the most grass, wind, and the right exposure. They would still have to be digging to eat. As I worked my way along in the snow I cut a fresh set of elk tracks. Since they were heading my way, I decided to follow, until they dropped off into a different basin that would take me away from where I really wanted to be looking. I knew that my best odds were to just stick to the plan. As I side-hilled through the timber along the far side of the upper basin I stopped and gasped for some air, put my glasses up and spotted a familiar tan outline right where I’d hoped to find elk. I quickly removed my pack and unsnapped my spotter. After a little swearing at my new tripod, I settled in on the bull, a tiny raghorn and his two young pals. I watched the bulls for about 5 minutes and just about decided to pick up and move on when I noticed another bull in the timber very near the original bulls. Once again, the bull was a dinker. I needed to get a better vantage point and continue to watch this ridge as I suspected a mob of bulls could be over there. Unfortunately, when I see a group of raghorns, usually, there are no older ones around.
I made it to a large rock I’ve sat on several times, and finally had a decent view of the basin. Again, I sat up my spotter and began to comb the ridge, both in and out of the timber for elk and tracks. I noticed more bulls on the opposite ridge, but as suspected - nothing large. It was difficult to keep track of which bulls were where and exactly how many there were as they weren’t in a tight group and there was a lot of timber. At one point, I saw a solid 6X6 walk through an opening, but after looking for another 15 minutes, I started to think I might have just really wanted to see that, but didn’t. Suddenly, I noticed two bulls lightly sparring - just touching tips. It was weird because the one bull was certainly the 6X6 I’d seen briefly, but the other a very small raghorn 5 point. It was an unusual mismatch. After a few minutes I decided the 6 point was a worthy bull, nice dark antlers, unbroken, with no real noticeable weaknesses. I knew this place could require spending 3 more very tough days on my own packing meat out, but the bull did appear to be too good to walk away from. Being that it’s going to take me 30 minutes to get to him, I’m thinking it’s time to move. But I calmed myself down to judge him one last time.
He started moving down the ridge toward a good sized opening and I noticed the rest of the bulls appeared to be following slowly and feeding along the way. I was able to watch him for another minute as he bobbed and weaved his head to navigate through lodgepoles. At that point I noticed that his browtines, though not overly lengthy, appeared to have some serious beef to them. I started to think I might be under-judging him if anything, but then what did it matter? My mind was made up. I loaded up my gear, snapped on my pack and bailed off into some waist deep snow to make a bee line for these elk. It looked as if they were finishing up with their morning feeding and heading off, but toward me.
The Hedgehog
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This is probably confusing to read, but I'm getting all lathered up typing it out..
It took me about a half hour to close the gap that put me directly across the ridge these bulls were on. I dropped my pack to lighten up and stared into the timber across from me, but there was no sign of the bulls. I hadn’t crossed any tracks and stayed high out of the wind so I knew they were directly below me or in the bottom of the draw. At that point I saw one of the small guys walking across the bottom, he must have been the last one. I backpedalled uphill and crossed the draw, putting myself about 100 yards from where the bulls had been earlier, on that same side of the ridge looking back across. I sat there thinking they were gone and I might have to wait until dark. Then I noticed bulls walking in the trees directly across from me and one had me pegged. They were under 100 yards - first four, then three more of them. I noticed a large bull, a heavy 5 point that I’d have a hard time calling a raghorn anywhere, and realized this was the bull that had been sparing with the much larger 6x6. The nervous bulls walked up and over the spur, out of sight, and the others followed closely behind. I thought it was all over, as the big bull was originally in the lead. Damn! Just then I heard something in the bottom and saw the last bull walk uphill, following the path of the younger bulls. He stopped broadside and looked back. It’s surprising how quiet a 300 RUM sounds on a cold day in deep fresh deep powder. It wasn’t the typical “boom”, but more of a “crack”. He stood still and I fired again. On the third shot, he jumped and disappeared downhill and out of sight into the timber. I didn’t see or hear anything after that but was confident he was lying over there dead.
It took me about a half hour to close the gap that put me directly across the ridge these bulls were on. I dropped my pack to lighten up and stared into the timber across from me, but there was no sign of the bulls. I hadn’t crossed any tracks and stayed high out of the wind so I knew they were directly below me or in the bottom of the draw. At that point I saw one of the small guys walking across the bottom, he must have been the last one. I backpedalled uphill and crossed the draw, putting myself about 100 yards from where the bulls had been earlier, on that same side of the ridge looking back across. I sat there thinking they were gone and I might have to wait until dark. Then I noticed bulls walking in the trees directly across from me and one had me pegged. They were under 100 yards - first four, then three more of them. I noticed a large bull, a heavy 5 point that I’d have a hard time calling a raghorn anywhere, and realized this was the bull that had been sparing with the much larger 6x6. The nervous bulls walked up and over the spur, out of sight, and the others followed closely behind. I thought it was all over, as the big bull was originally in the lead. Damn! Just then I heard something in the bottom and saw the last bull walk uphill, following the path of the younger bulls. He stopped broadside and looked back. It’s surprising how quiet a 300 RUM sounds on a cold day in deep fresh deep powder. It wasn’t the typical “boom”, but more of a “crack”. He stood still and I fired again. On the third shot, he jumped and disappeared downhill and out of sight into the timber. I didn’t see or hear anything after that but was confident he was lying over there dead.
The Hedgehog
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I crossed the draw and walked up through the deadfall and snow. I found the tracks heading over and looked down, and saw an antler. As I walked up to him I was thinking how I’d just filled my 2010 elk license and was curious as to what exactly I had. It would have been cool to have a candid camera on me when I grabbed onto his antler and lifted his head up, as I was pretty surprised at the size of him. I was happy and excited, even knowing I had some pain in front of me. I took some photos then started working on him. It was just before 10AM when I killed him and past 10PM when I got the antlers and loin/neck meat out. He had a beautiful cape, so I decided on a shoulder mount. I inquired with my most trusted hunting companions for help. My friend Mike, worked his way up to my campsite that next weekend, stayed in my tent, ate the food, slept in the bag, and hunted. He didn’t score, but was able to retrieve my camp. Friends Kevin and Peter hiked in with me and helped retrieve the remainder of the meat and gear I left at the kill. All in all, it was an easy elk, considering all the great help I had and good timing and lack of days required. It was a perfect hunt that never would have happened had I been a selfish prick and gunned down that first one instead of handing Kevin my rifle. So that’s the story of the Karma bull..
noharleyyet
Well-known member
That truly is a great story, thanks. Like a book you can't put down.
The Hedgehog
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- Joined
- Dec 19, 2000
- Messages
- 11,664
Here's photos, that have been posted before.
Though I'd like to say they are the biggest bulls I saw last year, I saw a couple possibly bigger in eastern MT while bowhunting and saw a couple gunned down off the Jardine road in November that were pretty big also. I'll probably get a bigger one someday.. I've got max points in MT and WY for special draws and over a dozen points in UT and AZ.. but I'm doubting I'll yank this bull from my trophy room anytime soon.
Though I'd like to say they are the biggest bulls I saw last year, I saw a couple possibly bigger in eastern MT while bowhunting and saw a couple gunned down off the Jardine road in November that were pretty big also. I'll probably get a bigger one someday.. I've got max points in MT and WY for special draws and over a dozen points in UT and AZ.. but I'm doubting I'll yank this bull from my trophy room anytime soon.
T Bone
Well-known member
Great write up and a couple of great bulls.
So do you and Mike share sleeping bags frequently?
So do you and Mike share sleeping bags frequently?
avid_outdoorsman
Member
Elk
Greenhorn,
Great story. Thanks for taking the time to write it up.
LOL at T-Bone !!
Greenhorn,
Great story. Thanks for taking the time to write it up.
LOL at T-Bone !!
IdahoBugler
Well-known member
That is a great story and an awesome bull. Thanks for sharing greenhorn. There is no doubt in my mind that anyone hunts harder then you do.
BRI
Well-known member
Great Story Kurt, thanks for sharing! What is the total of the mass measurements for that guy?
Khunter
Well-known member
Great story. Thanks for posting it.
Drake4
Well-known member
Very cool story!
Bwana
Well-known member
Great bulls and a great story, thanks for sharing.
