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The "Elk buck" Lives another day.....

schmalts

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Aug 22, 2002
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Well, got back from my Colorado deer hunt last night. Had a great hunt, could have killled a lot of 150-170 class deer but it just wasn't worth it because of the pack out needed, and after seeing what i named the elk buck i set the bar higher.
First couple days were brutal in the high country with an average of less than 100 yards visibility, cold, wet, dreary. Third day was still socked in the morning but broke up in the afternoon with a nice hail storm in the evening.
The Hammock prooved itself. With nights in the upper 20's and lots of rain it worked out well. I was cold in the feet area on Sunday because my bag was damp from the pack in, and my socks and pants wicked water under my rain gear..
here is my camp
smallhammock.jpg

I messed up a stalk on a 30 incher the first day. I sat on my vantage point until 9AM and gave up waiting for any chance to glass. I took a walk and saw a doe 2 benches below me. I glassed around and saw what looked to be a wide buck with maybe a good top but the overcasts layer i was in made it difficult to tell what his tops were like. Besides... i would never get down one bench to get a shot because it was all noisey rock:rolleyes: so i really didnt take much effort in the stalk. I get down one bench with a whole lot of rocks and gravel rolling and half assed walked into the tree line to peer down where the buck was bedded knowing he wouldnt be there. :eek: DOH!! he was still in his bed at 75 yards and looked a heck of a lot better now i could see him without as much fog between us! back came the hammer and the Muzz was going up just as he got up and hopped off. If i would have crawled in i would have been done on the first day.
Second day was much like the first, socked in the overcast layer. I got a few short bursts of 1/4 mile visibility and glasses up a buck of a lifetime feeding with a 170-175 class deer. the big buck was huge, I first thought i was seeing a raghorn bulll in the fog, the tallest horns i have seen of any live deer, 6 points on a side. I named him the Elk buck. I named the other buck "Gay Buddy" because i actually saw him try to mount the big guy! I figured i would use the bursts of really bad 50 yard visibility to move above and across him and then drop down a pine ridge and come in at him from the back side with the wind in my face. They bedded down and i was on my way staying about 200+ yards above him. When i got a little past him i hear rock rolling below me and 2 doe bust out and run right past the bucks. the bucks stand there looking for a while and then follow as i sat there heart broken. I managed to keep tabs of him for a little while but lost them in the mist. i continued on my planned stalk anyway to see what was past the pine ridge and jumped a huge 3 point that i think i may have shot if i had the chance. I sat there for 5 minutes and then i hear a lot of rocks and deer running and here comes 2 bucks off a bench above me hauling ass like 2 scared WT deer right at me! I put up the binos to check them out as the pass 100 yards below on thier way down to the bottom and the one had blood all over its neck and the fur or meat messed up a bit. WTF:confused: Then i thought, hey there was no shots, no one else around from best i can tell, and whatever scared them was close because they were hauling ass. I came to the assumption that a lion had almost got a meal.
2 days later i spotted the Elk buck and gay buddy again about a mile away. I watched them for about an hour and i saw the elk buck bed down in a little opening in the scrub above timberline. SWEEEEET! gay buddy moved in that same area and i lost him in the scrubby pine above timberline. I planned my stalk for 30 minutes studying the terrain well. I made my move and noticed half way into the stalk with my binos the Elk buck was up. I tried to get the spotter out again to see where he goes but in that 30 seconds he is gone. I figure he just moves a little to get into the shade and didnt worry a whole lot. To fast forward i get up in that area and overshoot my back slide to get the wind. So as i am cutting back another 50 yards before i drop down to get a look at the elk buck guess who i run into....:BLEEP: Gay buddy lying in a little low spot looking at me. It was tempting to shoot a 175 class deer in full velvet but couldnt do it knowing that somewhere very close was a 200+ deer. I looked around and around and didnt see the elk buck. Then gay buddy got up and ran so i bolted towards when i though the big guy would be and stood there waiting and listening for anything but there was nothing. he gave me the slip and i dont know how. I either walked right past him or he slipped away with gay buddy. Even gay buddy barely made a sound when he left. I was bummed. i knew i now pushed them even farther from my glassing spot. I never saw him again. I saw a few bulls, only one 6 point worth (320+) that was worth stalking but he vanished too. I saw him drop into a little low spot where a glacier run off pond was and not come out. I hiked up there and couldnt find him. He could have been in the chest high willow and scrub pine though. i tried to call him out with no luck. On the 6th morning i pulled out as my knees were starting to hurt. I figured i would do a day of easy terrain elk hunting on friday night and saterday morning. I saw a few cows friday and sater morning was a complete waste of time with steady 50 MPH winds in the pass i was in.
Oh well. here is a few pictures of one of many smaller bucks i saw, some really tatsty blue berries, and a do-no justice digiscope picture of the Elk buck from a mile away. And yes, those are his rear forks going all the way up to that white rock on his right side:eek: what a freak!
small4.jpg

blue.jpg

o%202006%20090.jpg

o%202006%20092.jpg

The bull i put the stalk on was a bit bigger than this one for sure. I had one like this and a little smaller hang around close to camp most days. One evening i was worried i pushed them into camp and they would destroy it in a stampeded..
5%20point.jpg
 
Sounds like you had a great time. too bad you didn't connect with the big boy!
Thanks for sharing the story.
 
well at least you were out there hunting and got to see a bruiser, but still to be so close and not get a shot off sucks----how'd you like the hammock overall???.....chris
 
The hammock is going to be my main shelter in anyplace other than where there is an established camp area that is level. I dont need luxery and for mild weather that thing rocks. Comfy, light, and fast to set up and take down.
Noharleyet, yes i was solo on this hunt.
 
schmalts. that thing looks like a real toad. Sorry you didn't get to seal the deal on him but sounds like a great trip was had anyways. The hammock looks like it would work well.
 
The top end on the buck is AWESOME!! thanks for the pics.. Any guess on the score of that tall buck schmalts??
 
Dang that buck is tall. I hate to even hazard a guess as to what he has for length on his G2's. Sorry you weren't able to bring him home with you other than in pictures. The hammock is a really cool idea for a camp setup.
 
Geezus Schmalts that one was a monster... bet you had some dreams about him in your sights....beautifull country...good luck next time.
 
Schmalts, Great storyline and good looking country. What a buck!!... I nearly fired a shot at one nearly as big in Nevada, but didn't because he was about a mile away -figured he beat me fair and square (actually he was running from someone else down in the valley and never knew I was up there on the mountain with him). In a couple of weeks I'll be pitching a camp up in the mountains and hope to have a hunt like yours.
I've seen smaller racked bucks attempt to show dominance (either kick at, swipe his antlers at, or mock-mount)towards a master big-racked buck before. I think all is forgiven and tolerated until territorial and mating issues start croping up. A a smaller-racked buck in prime top physical condition might have alot of fun tormenting a buddy like your Elk Buck for a while, but I think the big guy will show him who's boss when it really matters. It's true that the biggest racked buck isn't always the main breeder of the does; instead it's the buck in the best condition. I think your Elk Buck might be both.
 
Sounds like you had a good hunt. The weather wasn't the greatest during the ML season this year.
 
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