Hummer
Well-known member
I hunted second season on public land in the Flat Tops region east of Meeker. It was my 29th year hunting the same area where I typically cover about 15 square miles, so I know the country well. The weather was very warm and it seems there were few hunters this year, I guess because many are OTC bull hunters who wait for snow to buy a license. I drew a cow tag and also carried bull and bear licenses.
For six days I hunted the area widely but only flushed a single cow in the timber as she ran straight away from me. There was elk sign everywhere but most all of it was old. I knew there were 50+ head of elk on private ranch land in a valley over the mountain and sometimes hunting near the fence line can be productive. But, it requires a 10-12 mile round trip climb up a mountain, an 1800 ft. vertical descent, and then back out at night. I've done it many times before, hunting until end of legal shooting light, then hiking out in the dark. It's spooky as hell, even with a GPS and flashlights. In pitch dark it's easy to miss the trails and end up in a dangerous tangle of down timber.
One of the truisms of elk hunting is that if you want to kill an elk you have to hunt where the elk are, not where it's convenient. Without big snow to spur migration I knew there was little chance of getting an elk without making the marathon hike. On Saturday I climbed over the mountain and got into a group of elk in the timber. A spike bull zeroed in on me at 30 feet and I couldn't move for 20 minutes. There was a cow or calf to it's right but I couldn't tell which because it was obscured by deadfalls. I didn't want to shoot a calf. Eventually they caught my scent and booked out of there. I worked my way up the slope and busted a bull from his bed. He shot by me only 35 feet away running down the hill like a race horse so fast I couldn't count points, but he was massive.
As I climbed the hill a short while later another bull stood from his bed to look in my direction. I took a few seconds with binoculars to check antler points and made the shot at 69 yards just as he began to move away. The bull disappeared and pretty soon several cows and calves emerged to move away and down slope. In a stroke of bad judgement, I picked out the biggest cow and shot her too. I watched as she slowly moved in a different direction from the other elk which headed to safety on the private ranch land. I hit the bull neatly on the left shoulder and he dropped and died 40 feet from where he was shot. The cow took a double lung hit just behind the left shoulder and dropped 230 yards from the bull. It was 4:34 p.m. and I knew I had to work fast before dark.
I got the cow eviscerated, skinned and parts laid out on a log to cool, then went to work on the bull. It was now pitch dark, no moon, working by headlamp and I struggled with my knife which just wasn't cutting well. Got the job done so the meat would get cold overnight, and started the climb back out at 7:45. I found and trudged a muddy horse trail and made it back to camp at 11:45 p.m. It was a grueling hike. The next day I rode in by horse with an outfitter and pack animals. Didn't have time to take grip and grin shots but here's the evidence:
These were my 26th and 27th elk in 29 years of hunting the area, and the first time I've taken two elk in a single year. Now the butchering and packaging begins. Should yield about 320 lbs. of deboned and defatted venison steaks and sausage.
Although I didn't draw a deer tag this year I did come upon 17 deer, mostly singles and two pair. Also found 26 Dusky Grouse, mostly single individuals this year.
One of the highlights was following up on some mobbing birds to find, not a Pygmy Owl, but a Pine Marten caching parts of a freshly killed snowshoe hare about 35 feet up in a fir tree. After I put the camera away, he returned for the hind quarters.
For six days I hunted the area widely but only flushed a single cow in the timber as she ran straight away from me. There was elk sign everywhere but most all of it was old. I knew there were 50+ head of elk on private ranch land in a valley over the mountain and sometimes hunting near the fence line can be productive. But, it requires a 10-12 mile round trip climb up a mountain, an 1800 ft. vertical descent, and then back out at night. I've done it many times before, hunting until end of legal shooting light, then hiking out in the dark. It's spooky as hell, even with a GPS and flashlights. In pitch dark it's easy to miss the trails and end up in a dangerous tangle of down timber.
One of the truisms of elk hunting is that if you want to kill an elk you have to hunt where the elk are, not where it's convenient. Without big snow to spur migration I knew there was little chance of getting an elk without making the marathon hike. On Saturday I climbed over the mountain and got into a group of elk in the timber. A spike bull zeroed in on me at 30 feet and I couldn't move for 20 minutes. There was a cow or calf to it's right but I couldn't tell which because it was obscured by deadfalls. I didn't want to shoot a calf. Eventually they caught my scent and booked out of there. I worked my way up the slope and busted a bull from his bed. He shot by me only 35 feet away running down the hill like a race horse so fast I couldn't count points, but he was massive.
As I climbed the hill a short while later another bull stood from his bed to look in my direction. I took a few seconds with binoculars to check antler points and made the shot at 69 yards just as he began to move away. The bull disappeared and pretty soon several cows and calves emerged to move away and down slope. In a stroke of bad judgement, I picked out the biggest cow and shot her too. I watched as she slowly moved in a different direction from the other elk which headed to safety on the private ranch land. I hit the bull neatly on the left shoulder and he dropped and died 40 feet from where he was shot. The cow took a double lung hit just behind the left shoulder and dropped 230 yards from the bull. It was 4:34 p.m. and I knew I had to work fast before dark.
I got the cow eviscerated, skinned and parts laid out on a log to cool, then went to work on the bull. It was now pitch dark, no moon, working by headlamp and I struggled with my knife which just wasn't cutting well. Got the job done so the meat would get cold overnight, and started the climb back out at 7:45. I found and trudged a muddy horse trail and made it back to camp at 11:45 p.m. It was a grueling hike. The next day I rode in by horse with an outfitter and pack animals. Didn't have time to take grip and grin shots but here's the evidence:
These were my 26th and 27th elk in 29 years of hunting the area, and the first time I've taken two elk in a single year. Now the butchering and packaging begins. Should yield about 320 lbs. of deboned and defatted venison steaks and sausage.
Although I didn't draw a deer tag this year I did come upon 17 deer, mostly singles and two pair. Also found 26 Dusky Grouse, mostly single individuals this year.
One of the highlights was following up on some mobbing birds to find, not a Pygmy Owl, but a Pine Marten caching parts of a freshly killed snowshoe hare about 35 feet up in a fir tree. After I put the camera away, he returned for the hind quarters.
