Has anyone else had Murphy show up for a hunting trip this year?

[PJ0311]

I've been hunting the breaks this year and had been enjoying myself up until the last trip. Started out by zoning out a little coming into a speed zone and missing the sign. $65 dollars later and the hunt was still on. Get to the hunting area and the roads were snow on top of still wet gumbo, awesome. Came in at night to find I'm one drainage over from where I need to be, no biggie. Everything freezes that night but the steep hills I need to climb to get to original hunting area are too slick for the rig, no big deal that's what chains are for - wait, can't find chains - of course. Hunt new area, see no bulls (first trip this year that has happened). Wake up to fresh snow and below zero temps. Start driving to get to jump off point and hear strange hissing sound. Stop vehicle to see tire losing air at rapid rate. Change tire, notice spare is also very low on air. Somehow manage to poke hole in roof of wall tent when loading into vehicle. 2 1/2 hour trip becomes almost 4 hours on icy roads. Arrive home to find chains sitting in location I had placed them earlier so I wouldn't forget them. Fall asleep to be awakened by irritated wife after apparently sitting up in bed and discussing which side of drainage the elk are moving down. I have one last trip this season so hopefully I can find a nice bull, otherwise I'll get a mullet award for managing to draw a bull tag in the breaks and somehow not shoot one. Curious to see if anyone else has had a similar trip this season.

 

[Big Fin]

Oouch. Don't mean to curse your next trip, but really, Can it get any more messed up than that? Look at it this way, you probably have all the bad luck behind you and a big bull is waiting for you to let the air out of him on Friday morning.

Good luck.

 

[Sytes]

Might be a good time to buy a lottery ticket... hitting rock bottom seems to lead only one way. Now if you find yourself playing knock knock jokes with the devil himself - well, you found a new low for bottom... haha!

Best of success - Hopefully the tide will turn soon. Just gotta eliminate the crap from your next run to the breaks or that shnit will haunt you and make it a part II...

Good luck - look forward to some good pics and a great story!

 

[WT_in_MT]

Could be worse. You could be the guy who had to have his pickup towed from up there to Automatic Transmission Co. because he burned up his tranny on those gumbo hills. Tow bill alone was $800. I heard this from a guy I know who had his pickup in there because his t-case started going out up there but he was able to drive it back to Billings. Repair for the t-case was only $2100...

 

[twodot]

I"ll give you a hot tip. There is a herd of about 200 about 1/2 mile north of 79 Trail in the Drag creek drainage right now. Saw them at sundown yesterday. Park at the corrals at the dogtown, and walk north. Also on the way in you will see several on the Swinging H, sign in, the place has sprouted elk like crazy since this snow hit. And bring the chains this time.

 

[elk_hunter]

Man, I hear you...seems like Murph was always one step in front of me...all the places I hunted this year, the elk/deer showed up anywhere from 1 to 3 days later and, I of course, wasn't in those places. :|

 

[kmf]

You better be in the truck on your way out there and send twodot one heck of a Christmas gift if you get one. Good luck, hunt hard and stay motivated. Next Monday you will be dreaming for another year or years without that tag. Keep us posted. Hunt hard and have fun!

 

[PJ0311]

WT, you're right - that would hurt a lot more. I found the whole situation funny (after I got home, of course) and thought I would share my misadventures. Twodot, thank you for the tip. Unfortunately I'm in 621, had no problems finding elk until this last trip. I'm not complaining, just thinking I may end up kicking myself for passing on bulls earlier in the season. Such is life. I wanted a 350 or better and have only seen one on the islands. Last couple of days I will lower the standards considerably. Tent is patched, tire fixed (mud in the bead), chains have been loaded and verified 20 plus times. Rifle checked (after nasty fall on ice) and I'm heading out again to freeze my but off. Does anyone know if these elk move to a specific place to winter, or do they normally stay down in the breaks?

 

[wingman1]

Ul bend wilderness. Grain fields above forchette.

 

[drahthaar]

. Fall asleep to be awakened by irritated wife after apparently sitting up in bed and discussing which side of drainage the elk are moving down.

That has me laughing. Been there done that.