Vanish and FireTiger's 2019 Journal
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dirtclod Az.
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I cannot wearing Crocks ever!
Did the "packing fairy" fail to do the complete checklist?
I too find that crocs and pine straw are incompatible.
dirtclod Az.
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Crocks and Cactus are also uncompatible.
I cannot wearing Crocks ever!
I disagree with you there. They are a great camp shoe, and extremely light for backpacking. FireTiger got me a pair several years ago and they've held up better than any other shoes I own.
I had everything already packed in the garage from the last trip. Except ice and my footwear ...
Saturday was overall not very exciting. We did a 6 mile loop in the same starting location as last time, but did not come across any hot sign. At lunch time, we dropped down to a different area with the intention of "whitetailing" it for the evening. There was a couple guys packing out a small bull when we showed up, but our luck was not as good. I took the last hour to glass with double intention: finding elk to hunt for the morning and scouting for my deer hunt later in the year. Both proved fruitless, but the evening ended with 3 different bulls bugling right at dark, so hopes were high for the morning hunt.
Oh, and I should mention, my Dad had an extra pair of shoes I was able to wear for Saturday and Sunday morning hunts. I chose the crocs for Saturday evening due to the terrain and plan for the hunt combined with soaked shoes from the morning, but it still wasn't a good choice.
Oh, and I should mention, my Dad had an extra pair of shoes I was able to wear for Saturday and Sunday morning hunts. I chose the crocs for Saturday evening due to the terrain and plan for the hunt combined with soaked shoes from the morning, but it still wasn't a good choice.
dirtclod Az.
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Ha!,Ha! Are they broke in yet? Visit Az...Crocks don't even work in camp
with all the Scorpions and Rattlesnakes.
with all the Scorpions and Rattlesnakes.
Meanwhile, 6 hours the opposite direction, FireTiger was out hunting a new area with her vegetarian friend. They had a good time and roosted some turkeys the first evening. First thing in the morning, FireTiger took a hen (lots of them here, no need to worry about the population!). They came home and called in the troops, barely leaving any for me!
TheBenHoyle
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Yay! Turkeys.
Pucky Freak
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Hens are good eatin. Had mine last year for Christmas dinner
dirtclod Az.
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Congratulations FireTiger!Way to get it done,Beautiful area. 
Crossbowguy
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A little early for thanksgiving but keep putting turkey dinner on the table!!!!!
I've been pretty busy recently, so keeping the journal up to date has been difficult...
Sunday, I decided to set up and glass the same area I had the night before, hoping that one of the bulls we'd heard at dark would sound off, with the backup plan of hopefully finding some exposed elk to chase. The bugling didn't happen, but about sunrise I spotted a half dozen elk feeding on a slope what I thought was about 1 1/4 miles away. Woohoo!
I quickly assessed my approach and determined I should get around behind and above them, reassessing from there. I figured the thermals would switch (happens VERY early here, like 7:30am, not 10am I always read about) by the time I got in position and I didn't want to be below them when that happened, as the last time I found feeding elk in this area that's exactly how I screwed it up. Well, I should have taken more time to nail down their position because I completely underestimated how far away they were. As I got on top of my vantage point, I was still a mile away, and to make matters worse there was a private corner between me and the elk, meaning I would have to drop all the way back down to get around it.
While moving back down, I was in a position where it seemed elky. I decided to do a little calling to see if I got any bugles. Nope, nothing. I took two steps and my heart jumped, as I caught antler tips less than 50 yards away. They were heading steadily in my direction when the day winds stopped and the thermals dropped, taking my scent right to him. He gone!
That encounter was over fast. Back to hoofing my way down, around and up after those other elk!...
Sunday, I decided to set up and glass the same area I had the night before, hoping that one of the bulls we'd heard at dark would sound off, with the backup plan of hopefully finding some exposed elk to chase. The bugling didn't happen, but about sunrise I spotted a half dozen elk feeding on a slope what I thought was about 1 1/4 miles away. Woohoo!
I quickly assessed my approach and determined I should get around behind and above them, reassessing from there. I figured the thermals would switch (happens VERY early here, like 7:30am, not 10am I always read about) by the time I got in position and I didn't want to be below them when that happened, as the last time I found feeding elk in this area that's exactly how I screwed it up. Well, I should have taken more time to nail down their position because I completely underestimated how far away they were. As I got on top of my vantage point, I was still a mile away, and to make matters worse there was a private corner between me and the elk, meaning I would have to drop all the way back down to get around it.
While moving back down, I was in a position where it seemed elky. I decided to do a little calling to see if I got any bugles. Nope, nothing. I took two steps and my heart jumped, as I caught antler tips less than 50 yards away. They were heading steadily in my direction when the day winds stopped and the thermals dropped, taking my scent right to him. He gone!
That encounter was over fast. Back to hoofing my way down, around and up after those other elk!...
Things got a bit confusing as I closed the distance. I was having a bit of difficulty determining exactly where the elk had been, and it had taken me awhile to get in position. So long, in fact, that I doubted the elk were still exposed. It had been around 3 hours since I had first seen them. I decided to hit the dark timber behind the face and try some calling. Before entering the abyss, I tried a sequence and got a response such that I was unsure if it even was an elk. It sounded more like an old cow, and there are cattle around, but something told me it was an elk.
After half an hour or so, I moved down into the nasty deadfall timber and immediately started hearing snapping branches. It was pretty steep and nasty, so I was moving very slowly. The wind was not great, but it was enough that I was ok as long as the elk didn't move to my left. The bull was not visible, but I could hear him thrashing trees and once, he gave his sick cattle bugle.
As I was closing the distance, I started hearing more branches snapping. Suddenly, a cow appeared within 20 yards. I was in a bad position, but she hadn't seen me. She moved behind a tree and I decided, stupidly, to readjust, and she pegged me. She gave me a full minute before taking the train out with her.
After half an hour or so, I moved down into the nasty deadfall timber and immediately started hearing snapping branches. It was pretty steep and nasty, so I was moving very slowly. The wind was not great, but it was enough that I was ok as long as the elk didn't move to my left. The bull was not visible, but I could hear him thrashing trees and once, he gave his sick cattle bugle.
As I was closing the distance, I started hearing more branches snapping. Suddenly, a cow appeared within 20 yards. I was in a bad position, but she hadn't seen me. She moved behind a tree and I decided, stupidly, to readjust, and she pegged me. She gave me a full minute before taking the train out with her.
Due to work conflicts, I had a bit of an odd schedule for this weekend. I'd be able to hunt Friday night and a solid day Saturday, but Sunday would have to be short and close to the vehicle. Also, I couldn't take any chances on Saturday being too far in the evening.
Friday evening I decided my time was best spent glassing and hoping to turn up elk for the morning. The location I set up gave me a view for about two miles to the north and east. Things were very uninteresting until 6:30, when I spotted a doe, and then it was like the deer came out of the woodwork. I turned up seven bucks in two bachelor groups, which was a lot better than the zero I had glassed the weekend before. They were deeper back than they had been last year. However, none of them were all that big. There was one young 4x4 in the whole lot. I'm hoping the heat and full moon were keeping the mature bucks bedded longer. I didn't find any elk.
As I was walking back through the sage right near end of legal light, I started hearing a swooshing noise right in front of me. There was a small valley ahead with a bunch of willows in the very bottom. I knew there was an animal, but I couldn't spot it. It passed by before I could figure it out. There were 3 elk, including a very nice bull. They were not in the willows, but rather just out of visual due to the dip in the terrain and had literally passed within 50 yards of me. If I had been 10 seconds earlier I would have seen them to my right and been able to get down valley from them in position for a shot. DANG!
We had a plan to go in deep Saturday to get between where we expected the muzzleloader pressure to take place. It seemed every other archer had the same plan, as we encountered 5 others back there. To top it off, there was no muzzleloader action. Midday we made the decision to bail out of there and try some place new. The are held some sign but we only saw a doe.
Sunday morning was short and we continued to explore the new area. I think we bumped a cow elk at one point, but we had no sightings. Sigh.
Friday evening I decided my time was best spent glassing and hoping to turn up elk for the morning. The location I set up gave me a view for about two miles to the north and east. Things were very uninteresting until 6:30, when I spotted a doe, and then it was like the deer came out of the woodwork. I turned up seven bucks in two bachelor groups, which was a lot better than the zero I had glassed the weekend before. They were deeper back than they had been last year. However, none of them were all that big. There was one young 4x4 in the whole lot. I'm hoping the heat and full moon were keeping the mature bucks bedded longer. I didn't find any elk.
As I was walking back through the sage right near end of legal light, I started hearing a swooshing noise right in front of me. There was a small valley ahead with a bunch of willows in the very bottom. I knew there was an animal, but I couldn't spot it. It passed by before I could figure it out. There were 3 elk, including a very nice bull. They were not in the willows, but rather just out of visual due to the dip in the terrain and had literally passed within 50 yards of me. If I had been 10 seconds earlier I would have seen them to my right and been able to get down valley from them in position for a shot. DANG!
We had a plan to go in deep Saturday to get between where we expected the muzzleloader pressure to take place. It seemed every other archer had the same plan, as we encountered 5 others back there. To top it off, there was no muzzleloader action. Midday we made the decision to bail out of there and try some place new. The are held some sign but we only saw a doe.
Sunday morning was short and we continued to explore the new area. I think we bumped a cow elk at one point, but we had no sightings. Sigh.
This upcoming weekend is Muzzleloader pronghorn for FireTiger and I. This is the one hunt we try to do together. I really like this hunt as generally the bucks are aggressive and we can pull them in close. We're going to be hunting the same area we have always hunted. I'll be curious to see if there is water in the pond this year, as last year it was central to our strategy and bone dry, and the pronghorn were only found on the edges of the property.
dirtclod Az.
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She's not going to flash Something Else white is ...she? Ha!,Ha!
