GASoline71
Member
This is my favorite time of year. Making ready for elk camp. We leave in 8 days for eastern WA rifle season, and I get more excited as each day passes. Just as I have done for 30+ years of hunting elk. Even though, we have the odds greatly stacked against us for any kind of success on an animal as WA State has been "spike only" in the eastern half of the state since 1994. Some people even ask me, "Why do you still go?" My answer is simple, because it's elk hunting. We put in for cow tags every year and with WA's garbage points system, we've eeked out a cow here and there through the years. Been awhile since we have brough home a spike though. We've had opportunities... from spooking elk, to flat out missed shots. We still go. I now have my wife with me during the hunts, and my 26 year old stepson is along with us too. Next year my new son-in-law (daughter just got married on the 11th!) will be hitching along with us. Our little hunting party is growing. In another few years my grandson will be with us. He's almost 4 now. The west side of the state, has 3 points or better for Roosevelt Elk, but the hunter numbers are way higher in those areas as well. Plus a lot of private property, pay to hunt, and locked gates to contend with. So we stay where we are.
I'm 51 yeqars old this season. I'm just as excited as when I was 21. I don't move along as fast as when I was 21. I have some limited mobility in my legs, but still rise well before the sun, lace up my boots and make my way through the woods. I timber hunt now mostly and have a ball doing it. We have young'ns in camp that are hoofers, and I let them do all that long hiking stuff. But, I wouldn't trade the 5 to 10 days we spend in those mountains for anything.
I guess my point to this whole post, is that even though we are only out for the "little guys", we still hunt them like the 6 point bulls we wished they were. I've been saving up some points for a "branched antlered" bull tag in this weird state, but if and when that day comes... it won't be much different then what I'm doing right now. God I love elk hunting...
Hopefully we have something good to report when we return on Halloween.
Thanks for reading.
Gary
I'm 51 yeqars old this season. I'm just as excited as when I was 21. I don't move along as fast as when I was 21. I have some limited mobility in my legs, but still rise well before the sun, lace up my boots and make my way through the woods. I timber hunt now mostly and have a ball doing it. We have young'ns in camp that are hoofers, and I let them do all that long hiking stuff. But, I wouldn't trade the 5 to 10 days we spend in those mountains for anything.
I guess my point to this whole post, is that even though we are only out for the "little guys", we still hunt them like the 6 point bulls we wished they were. I've been saving up some points for a "branched antlered" bull tag in this weird state, but if and when that day comes... it won't be much different then what I'm doing right now. God I love elk hunting...
Hopefully we have something good to report when we return on Halloween.
Thanks for reading.Gary
