Caribou Gear

Elk and lope hunt (Long)

Delw

Member
Joined
Dec 10, 2000
Messages
5,784
Location
Peoria ,Az
I got drawn for both lope unit 9 and elk unit 8.
Seeings how I already had been drawn for lopes 2 times in unit 9 and been happy with both lopes I shot. I signed my lope tag over to my daughter(legal via AZG&F).

I was planning on scouting 1 week before the hunt but do to some major truck mishaps I ended up scouting sunday before mainly for lopes and to meet stan and say hi.

we saw plenty of nice lopes 3 that were perfect.

I left thursday 2 am and planned to meet stan and help them look for a elk that was shot with a bow at 6am

Thursday
After we looked for an elk I headed off in another direction so I wouldnt bother any last min archery hunters, saw alot of elk and some decent bulls around 290-300, one might have went 320.
Headed back to camp talked to one of the archery hunters and Brad and went to bed.

friday:
Friday AM I left late (around 8-8:30am) on purpose, I went to one spot and saw 5 elk biggest being maybe 320, I was told there were a few bigger bulls in this spot one being in the 370's(this is why I passed up the bulls). So I headed out quickly cause my trigger finger was getting itchy.

So I ran into town and picked up my daughter, My dad and mom drove her up that morning.

Dani and I headed to unit nine to see if we could find this one again.
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no luck
then at 2:30 pm we headed back for elk.
Stan was at the camp with his wife when we arived and He and I went after elk again.

Stan called in a nice 300+ bull but I passed 30-40 yard shot too.

Sat.
Stan and I head out for elk again. No luck
on the drive we did have a little 6x6 250-270 run up as we were driving down the road. I passed

dani and I headed out for lopes again
we spotted one sleeping in a feild and put a stalk on it. it was this one.
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he was just 4 miles away this time

she shoots and miss's
we went to another spot looking for the big one and dani spots a huge bull 380 then while trying to get pictures this monster comes into view with a cow and another 350+ bull. I am guessing 400+ easy we watched them for a good 45 mins way to far for pictures

head back to unit 8 looking for elk again
Stan and I headed out and had some nice bulls bugling but couldnt get close enough. head back to camp. Stan brings me and my daughter to the meadow where we get to watch several satilite bulls and one real nice bull(360).
they start fighting which was really cool and dani was just in aw.

Sunday:

Stan and I head to another spot and hunt a little bit before he had to head out, the place was really really thick and steep,
lots of elk sign and saw where something was turning over rocks and big logs looking for bugs. I believe it was bigfoot stand said a bear :rolleyes:
While we were up there something was pretty close behind us didnt see it.

went back to camp and again drove to unit nine for lopes.

first place we stop dani see's a bunch of lopes about 1 mile away we decided to put a stalk on them no luck they had us walking 3-5 miles looking for them. while walking I noticed something sitting under a tree about 20 yards it was a does but could see the bucks or other does, then it started raining and lighting she still wanted to go after them 3 hours later we still could get a shot.

so we went to the west side again.
found the herd that the first one was in but it was only doe's( later found out someone shot the big one 3 miles from where we saw it and it scored between 88-92 this is just what I was told), so we glassed a hole bunch of country and only saw does lots of does.

while driving down the road I spot 4 lopes way way out maybe 3/4 mile. we only had about 30 mins of shooting light left so we ran in for a shoot. closest shot was 200 yards ,the lope might have been 13" tall had good mass but she decided to try anyhow boom miss, Has to be her breathing hard after running 1/2 mile.
I told her I would follow the lopes and told her to get the truck and we will try to make it around the next valley and wait for them there.

well she kinda high centered the truck turning it around.

got the truck unstuck and headed back to camp, took a shower on the way and then cooked dinner.

monday:
I had at least 8 differnt elk with in 100 yards of me bugling and it was dark I could see shadows and horns uinder the moon light. then when it got light I saw a few small bulls and was following a decent one that bugled. I was thinking if I could see it I was going to shoot it, I was beat driving back and forth everyday.
never saw it so I went back to camp and took a long nap. I told Dani I wasnt going after lopes that day, she was dissapointed but understood.
woke up about 2pm and headed to another spot where stan And I heard a few nice bugles and knew there was a nice bull in there.
I parked the truck and headed down the hill and find a flashlight a bungecord and some kinda altimitor, I was waiting to find dead bicyclist that owned them.
Never heard one bugle, the elk changed in the last 20 hours I could tell by the way the elk were acting up next to camp.
we head back to camp and cook and sleep.

tuesday:
it started off at 4:30 am with the local bulls in camp or close to. They were extreamly close, I didnt relize how close until I opened the tent door. I caught a glimps of one about 20 feet away next to my truck, then another one comes into view on the other side of the fire pit the bugle back and forth at each other for a good 30 mins. I tried to wake dani but she was out cold. I couldnt understand how she could sleep through it.
I fell back asleep for about 20 mins when I started hearing antlers hitting one another. I look out tent door and towards the back of the tent and 2 small bulls are just going at it. AGian I try to wake up dani and she doesnt wake up.
This was where stans tent was over the weekend.
now its time to get up and head to the spot I want to hunt and get this good bull I saw on monday. or should I stay in camp and try like heck to find these local bulls. I decided to head out.

This time I park about 2 miles up the road and walk down to the spot I want to turn off. the bulls were not bugling at all. I walk up this hill and hit the cow call. about 20 mins later this big bull grunts(didnt bugle)back at me, he was pretty close but it was really thick. I could only see horns he was a decent bull (320+) him and I played cat and mouse and ring around the freaking unit for 3-4 hours, he circled the same spot 2 times over the course of 3-4 hours.
he bugled a few times just to keep me entertained.

All I would see was antlers or his body but never both. I knew he was alone but didnt want to just shoot at a body incase he wasnt.
That was the best hunt of the whole week.

Dani and I headed back to unit 9 for lopes, I told her this had to be the last time cause I really wanted that bull and the gas and driving was killing me.

we went to where she missed the one buck and we saw all the other lopes(same general area).

we didnt see the one herd so headed about 10 miles to see if the one buck was there, it had clouded up pretty good and gotten a bit cooler, we saw about 30 lopes with some decent bucks(knew that from previous sitings) in it we were looking at them in the spotting scope and they were at least 2 miles out. they where headed west so we took off in the truck about 3-4 miles and walked over the draw and sat and waiting, Dani was getting excited. we sat for about an hour and saw them heading right for us(they would have ended up with in 10 yards cause they were following the tree line).
Well something happened cause about 500 yards out they went the other way. I know they didnt see us. the wind was changing directions but they were not spooked at all.
so we started to cut them off.
we watched some of them bed down in the junipers and made a stalk. looking for the rest of them, Dani spotted one about 50 yards out and I spotted a doe about80 yards out.
the one she spotted got up and it was a fawn, the thing walked right towards us, the does got up and followed behind , we still coudltnt see the others anywhere.
the fawn walked up to within 30 yards and sat there and lokked stomped his feet etc.
mpm came along and head butted it and they walked about 100 yards off just looking, then anopther doe came by and kept mom ocupied and teh fawn ran towards us again, mom didnt like this and head butted the fawn to a safer distance.

with no site of the others we headed to another spot.

unit 9 is checker boarded with private and state land. we saw lots of lopes along the road, saw one 14" buck with some heavy prongs off about 1/2 mile from the road. not being sure whuch is private or public I decided I would ask these people that were selling land about 3 miles north.
SO I pull up and there was this lady vacumming the dust out of her shinny new SUV at the office.
I ask her where is it private and where is it public. I told her we saw some lopes along a 3-4 mile strech of the freeway and saw no signs.
she kinda went balistic on me.
stateing that I should have a map that shows public and private land and should ask her at all.
Staing taht most hunters know where they can and cannot hunt and I was extreamly ignorant for not knowing. Trying to keep my cool from nt knock the f-in shit out of her I explained that the map shows its public to where I wanted to hunt and I was asking where the private land boundries went , if there was markings gates or something so I didnt get on there property. she tells me to follow her into the offcie and throws a map at me and says 2 miles either way pushes me out the door and slams it.
I walk to the truck she opens the door starts bitch talking and slamms its again, then she comes back out( I am standing there confused) and walked up to me grabs the map from my hand pointing calling me ignorant and yelling saying she is going to call game and fish.
I leave and go to valle and talk to a guy that hunts, he laughed and said you should be ok just stay 2 miles from her.
so I am now 3.2 miles from her property and I cross a gate and this stupid bitch pulls along side of the road and starts yelling that I was on her property. she hauls ass back in her SUV and heads south. I am sitting ther at the gate reading the map and the one she gave me and thinking is it worth it. here she comes again. I am calling AZG&F your poaching and your on private property.
I told dani F-it its not worth the hassle. so we head out.
I pull onto forrest service land and this stupid bitch is still following me and yelling that I am poaching and on private land. she doesnt follow so I try to call AZG&F in case she did call them and want to talk to me.

we head into forrest servise about 6 miles and spot 4 lopes a small 12" buck, I tell dani to take it cause I am tired and pretty pissed about what happened.

well she shoots and miss's we followed them a good 1.5-2 miles and she shoots 2 more times.
They head into the pines,
I figured wehat the heck lets get her a lope tonight So I can elk hunt all the last day.
so we head back to the west side of the unit as we are driving Dani spots 7 lopes on the side of this little hill.(still forrest service) we pull out the spotting scope and there was a buck but small real small maybe 10" then she looks and says its bigger, I look again and it looked a tad bigger to.

We found a cattle guard south of the hill and headed into it parked and figured we would walk over the hill and cut them off.
I cant find them anywhere. we start walking the ridge line and spot them 600+ yards off headed are way.
I find a big juniper and set dani down in postion and we wait and wait and wait. then pops out the doe 100 yards then another doe then then another, then a small buck about 250 headed right towards us, then 4 other does, hmmm wheres that bigger buck?
so they are walking the treeline just like planned the buck gets to 150 yards and it gets bigger but when it turns its smaller . kinda weird looking( it all depended on which way the dun hit it)
at 120 I tell her to shoot she hits it and it drops out of site behind a tree, all the does start to come back after they scattered.
I know its down so we get up and walk towards the tree. it gets up and bolts but kinda funny(she busted it low in the shoulder). She says its to far and asks me to shoot it so it wouldnt suffer( I would have but with that lady calling game and fish and all I couldnt take that chance) the thing is running and I tell her to shoot she is kinda shaking and finally got settled when its 350-400 yards out, I tell her to aim at its head and pull the trigger. bamm she hits it and it goes down.

now its in eye distance from the freeway it went over the rise, and I am thinking crap just what we need some anti seeing a buck down and kicking trying to stand up . I tell her to shoot again 75 yards how she did it I have no idea but she hits his Jaw. then she calmed down and hit it good the fourth time and it dies,

most of her shots on all the lopes were my bad for telling her where to hold.
and she was excited as well.

the antelope was 2 miles from the truck and over to ridges 1 small and one large and I forgot the knifes and camera , so she sat there and I went back for the stuff.

we finally get the lope back to the truck at 8:30 and it was shot around 5:30.

we head back to unit 8 and drop the lope off take a shower get something to eat and make it to camp at midnight. we both were out cold.

Wednesday (last day for elk)
I finally woke up at 8:30 am the elk that bugled at camp every night for the last 20 days either didnt or I slpets through it.
I headed to one more spot that held some small elk.
no luck I headed back to camp. I had a few things to do in williams and some phone calls to make. I really wanted to stay the rest of the day but needed to get Dani home at a decent hour so she could get to school tomorrow. so I forgo the evening hunt. I am not an elk guy, I dont really like the taste that well. the main reason I wanted an elk was for the mount and it had to be big or nothing.
I could have shot a bull everyday except wednesday and two morning hunts with stan.
the smallest elk I saw was a 5x5 most where 6x6's and one was a 6x7 or 7x7 couldnt get a good look but he had 7 on one side.
the smallest 6x6's where in the 250-270 range the biggest I saw was around 330-340 that I could have shot.

I had a great time and Dani had a great time.
I met stans wife and she and dani seemed to get along pretty good(dani talked her ear off).

now back to the real world :(

Delw
 
pic of a horse dani really liked.
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pic of a deer 100 yards before camp
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sycmore canyon(sp)
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Some critters we kept on seeing while lope hunting.
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Hunting just isnt the same with out beef
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Then wouldnt you know it we found a skinny wanna be fat ass atv rider
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Delw
 
Del... Great story and great pics. Loks like a good time had by the both of you and a great time shared together. Man sound like it was a trip to test your patience level ;) . I think I would of handled that old B#!%& a little different.
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Good job man and great pics.
 
"he was just 4 miles away this time

she shoots and miss's "

DelW... Hell now, The greek would tell you 4 miles is to far to be shooting but I think you made the right choice ;) ;) (I'm hoping there was a Stalk in between the 4 mies and the shooting ?!?!?
)

DelW, I'm guessing that last picture will pop up several times over the next few years... any bets ;)
 
Ya 4 miles from where I normally saw him LOL bad sentence structure eh?


Oh yeah I bet that pic will be around for a long time.

The guy even has a free gunner hat on also

Delw
 
Great story, At least you were in and saw elk every day. It is awesome that you got to spend that much time with your daughter.
 
Great story Del. Sounds like you both had a great time. Congrats to you and Danni.

Ugly Spider!

:cool:
 
Good going Delw getting your daughter that lope.....how old is she?

Just tell us, don't post a pic or anything in case she is a hottie.........remember the scandal Ronnie started with the Yetti?!
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........hopefully Dani is hooked for life and will continue to join you in the outdoors.
 
You the man Del. Sounds like a great time and plenty of effort put to the cause. Congrats to Dani.
 
Ollin Magnetic Digiscoping Systems

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