sbhooper
Well-known member
I have had a very good hunting season so far and was able to top it off a few days ago with a large cow elk. I went into this hunt with mediocre expectations and figured that if all else failed, I would have a great visit with the friends that I was staying with. I was also able to spend a day with Warren "Old Man" Lacour, which was a real treat.
I spent one day cruising around the area just trying to make up my mind where to hunt and gathering intel. Access to this area is very limited, due to being pretty much without roads. I had zeroed in on a specific area that I thought would for sure hold elk.
Friday morning I was greeted with low winds, bright sun and cold temps-perfect! I went to my predetermined spot, gritted my teeth and went into the rough stuff. After hiking a little over a mile and wondering why I keep doing this, I glassed up a herd of elk on a steep slope above me. Their location allowed them to see me for a lot of my stalk, but the sun was right and I crawled slowly up the ridge, through the sage brush. I was able to finally get to the crest of the hill that I was on. All of the elk on the slope were within sight, so I knew that I was at the end of the line.
I took off my pack and laid it across some high sage. It was not a very stable rest, but was my only choice. I ranged a huge cow at 288 yards. Before I could get settled, she walked out of the picture. I then changed my focus to another cow that was bedded. I ranged her at 320 yards and adjusted my Super Sniper scope accordingly. I sent a couple 160 Partitons into her and she rolled about 50 yards down the slope.
I went to her and started to work. I finished the butchering and headed to the truck with back straps and tenderloins, as the sun was starting down. I did not leave the truck until noon, so time was a bit limited.
Saturday, I rounded up a young, tough friend to help me haul her out on a sled. There was just enough snow to make this possible. We returned to the scene and found not only 200 more elk, but a large golden eagle on the cow carcass. It made it worth the trip just for that. We put the remaining elk meat on my cheapo sled and tied it down. The slope was extremely steep, so we just went to the edge and pushed the sled off the edge. It shot down the slope as if it had a jet pack. We thought it was pretty funny when it went airborne after jumping some sage. It came to rest approximately 250 yards down the slope. We had another shot like that, but for less distance. After the next one, it crashed pretty hard into some sage. We could not figure out why it was pulling so hard and then we realized that a big chunk had been broken out of the wimpy sled. It was no problem and we pulled it the rest of the way to the truck.
I timed this hunt perfectly, since it has been a very mild winter so far. Normally, the area that I was in is buried in snow by this time and the elk are totally inaccessible. I'll take luck any day!
I also saw hundreds of antelope and a couple of good mulie bucks on this trip. It is one of several great hunts that I have done, going into a unit completely cold. This is a no bs unit that is NOT for road hunters for sure. Will I do it again? Who knows. Every year I have to talk myself back into chasing elk. I do know, however, that there still is no feeling like a successful elk hunt/pack out in tough country.
There were no antlered animals, or national monuments harmed during this hunt!
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