MontanaElkFanatic
Member
As slow as my archery season went, the rifle spoke fast........
Long intro short, I couldn’t go elk hunting Saturday (rifle opener for Montana) and everybody I could think of already had plans or was doing something else on Sunday. I was exhausted from the previous work week and waking up early to hunt deer the day prior so I decided to be a baby and just sleep in and stay home. Then the motivation sat in around 6:00am when I got a text from a buddy showing off his bull that he got on Saturday. Still I laid in bed till around 8:30 before I got up and decided that I was going to try an afternoon elk hunt, we have done it in the past and had success in the area I was going to try. It was 11:00 before I put the truck in park and got ready to enter the cold Montana forest. As I was coming up the dirt road I past a ton of campers and as luck would have it a truck was already at the trailhead to where I wanted to hunt. As I was getting my gear together two fellas came down the hill dragging a small fork horn mulie, I congratulated them on the deer and went on my way up the hill where they just came from. I could hear them talking very loud as if they just shot matching 200" monster and slamming the tailgate to their truck, I thought to myself well what do I expect sleeping in till 8:30 during rifle season.
Fast forward three hours....2:00.....I saw a bunch of deer and even chased a few small bucks around on the ridge just for fun. Still hunting that area and playing hide and seek with the deer was a great way to spend the afternoon.
All of a sudden that smell hit me; you know that musky smell that just takes you to the next level. A few more steps and I found the sign that the elk was just there maybe a few hours ago, but not far from my current location. It doesn’t matter how slow you take it or how quiet you slip through the trees for some reason the elk already know your there. This case was no different, we saw each other at the same time and I kept my rifle down because the trees were thick and the elk was already running for safety. A few seconds I heard a shot, then a minute later another shot. I thought I blew my chance at a quick rifle season so I sat down to eat some lunch and relax a bit.
After I got all packed up and back on the ridge it didn’t take but a few steps for me to smell that musky elk again. The wind was blowing right in my face and there was no hiding the fact that just below me was elk. The top is much more open than the sides of this mountain so I should have a chance if one presents itself. A few more steps into the wind and I stop to look around, to my surprise a huge elk booty is just 40 yards to my left eating some grasses. I couldn’t tell if it was a bull or cow until he raised his head and showed me the bone, I took off the safety of the 300 Weatherby accumark and tried to wait for a shot, he was offering the old faithful Texas heart shot. Finally he quartered to the right a bit and I was aiming for the last rib so the 180 grain Barnes TTSX bullet would hit the goodies and come out the opposite shoulder. I shot and as the dust settled this was my prize! As a side note, Once I pealed back the hide I was able to find my bullet and there was a 125 grain Muzzy three blade broadhead in his front shoulder.
Long intro short, I couldn’t go elk hunting Saturday (rifle opener for Montana) and everybody I could think of already had plans or was doing something else on Sunday. I was exhausted from the previous work week and waking up early to hunt deer the day prior so I decided to be a baby and just sleep in and stay home. Then the motivation sat in around 6:00am when I got a text from a buddy showing off his bull that he got on Saturday. Still I laid in bed till around 8:30 before I got up and decided that I was going to try an afternoon elk hunt, we have done it in the past and had success in the area I was going to try. It was 11:00 before I put the truck in park and got ready to enter the cold Montana forest. As I was coming up the dirt road I past a ton of campers and as luck would have it a truck was already at the trailhead to where I wanted to hunt. As I was getting my gear together two fellas came down the hill dragging a small fork horn mulie, I congratulated them on the deer and went on my way up the hill where they just came from. I could hear them talking very loud as if they just shot matching 200" monster and slamming the tailgate to their truck, I thought to myself well what do I expect sleeping in till 8:30 during rifle season.
Fast forward three hours....2:00.....I saw a bunch of deer and even chased a few small bucks around on the ridge just for fun. Still hunting that area and playing hide and seek with the deer was a great way to spend the afternoon.
All of a sudden that smell hit me; you know that musky smell that just takes you to the next level. A few more steps and I found the sign that the elk was just there maybe a few hours ago, but not far from my current location. It doesn’t matter how slow you take it or how quiet you slip through the trees for some reason the elk already know your there. This case was no different, we saw each other at the same time and I kept my rifle down because the trees were thick and the elk was already running for safety. A few seconds I heard a shot, then a minute later another shot. I thought I blew my chance at a quick rifle season so I sat down to eat some lunch and relax a bit.
After I got all packed up and back on the ridge it didn’t take but a few steps for me to smell that musky elk again. The wind was blowing right in my face and there was no hiding the fact that just below me was elk. The top is much more open than the sides of this mountain so I should have a chance if one presents itself. A few more steps into the wind and I stop to look around, to my surprise a huge elk booty is just 40 yards to my left eating some grasses. I couldn’t tell if it was a bull or cow until he raised his head and showed me the bone, I took off the safety of the 300 Weatherby accumark and tried to wait for a shot, he was offering the old faithful Texas heart shot. Finally he quartered to the right a bit and I was aiming for the last rib so the 180 grain Barnes TTSX bullet would hit the goodies and come out the opposite shoulder. I shot and as the dust settled this was my prize! As a side note, Once I pealed back the hide I was able to find my bullet and there was a 125 grain Muzzy three blade broadhead in his front shoulder.
