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Old 11-18-2018, 07:18 PM
wildwoods wildwoods is offline
 
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Thumbs up Missed the 3 But Settled for the Lay-up! Elk 2018

I'm no basketball fan. But when the opportunity presented itself on Monday to shoot a trifecta of legal bulls, my thoughts drifted off to my brother in law and close friend (goes by the handle "Conqueror" on here).
I have hunted hard for elk this year and had seen over 200 during rifle and archery season. And possibly more during my 4 hunts (2 archery and 2 rifle). I was in on the old herd bull during rut but had him slip away on the rifle opener. The land owners nephew showed up to claim the field. I didn't see that coming. However, he graciously and generously gave me opening morning. Frosty grass and too many ears foiled my stalk, 9 year old son in tow. After several good run ins with a few rag horns on top of that, I was encouraged with the interactions but discouraged by the results.
Fast forward to late October. Not much hunting pressure and some good fortune put me on three good bulls at 400 yards. As I approached them from a ravine up into an alfalfa/Timothy field, I spooked two does. Now, instead of doing normal deer things and vanishing in the bush, these girls ran out into the field, flagging warnings as the went. They stopped at 80 yards and watched me as I slowly approached the goal- the treeline of said field. The bulls were unconcerned and ceremoniously clashed out that sweet sounding music- dense antler clanking on antler. Oh boy, here we go. I decided, against everything I stand for, to get to the treeline, not 15 yards to my forefront, and "throw down"! Thinking those does would scoot away and leave me to my prize, the impossible (or so I thought) became an inevitability. Those girls ran flagging straight to my soon to be wall ornament and freezer full of venison and got those boys a trotting. Those does could have run away any direction and I would have been ok- except one. Why they ran straight at those forest horses with swords growing out of their heads (thanks Joe Rogan) I'll never know. Lesson learned for the umpteenth time- don't rush. Be patient. Everything will work out. Had they left without being scared, chances are they would be there the next day. Patience is a virtue- a must have tool for any prospecting elk hunter. Foiled again!
Last weekend was my last chance. Mid November bulls are tough to track down, much less shoot. But as long as I was in their stomping grounds, there was a faint glimmer of hope. I had worked tirelessly to pattern these guys and was not about to throw in the towel.
Day 1 of 4 had me in that same field with my Young Friend who always accompanies me during whitetail rut. We got in on a large herd of about 40 elk. After a painstaking stalk, we had a beautiful bull in the crosshairs, broadside at 450 yards. PATIENCE won the day and I declined the shot. Make a poor one and that field is blown out for perhaps a week or more. Elk are fickle (to say the least). We hunted for a whitetail that night and passed on a youngster who cam to our rattling in a different locale. My Young Friend, I was so proud of you. Passing on game for better quality is definitely the sign he's maturing as a hunter. Not to disrespect anyone who shoots for the freezer. If that is your trophy and you fill a tag- I am supremely happy for you. We hunt deer for personal bests as much as for the delicious meat that accompanies it. For that I won't apologize.
Day 2 of 4 brought with it my bro in law (referred to him henceforth as "Bro") in the wee hrs of the morning. He slinked in so silently into the travel trailer that we did not awake. Great job Bro! We woke early and hiked the long way around to our outpost where the elk have always exited. Always, that is, until that am. We had just finished rattling a half decent buck in to 100 yards when the spotting scope screamed, "ELK"! They decided for whatever reason to filter out 1000 yards to our west. Another unexpected move. We left Mr. buck and the herd to their own devices as not to spook them. PATIENCE wins again! That afternoon brought my huntress wife, who left our 4 kids at home with wonderful friends. A party of 4 in the 4 season fifth wheel, plugged into a generous ranchers shop. Life was good.
- side note: i have a TREMENDOUS amount of respect for landowners who open their gates for us to hunt. I cannot fathom how they invite that complete inconvenience upon themselves. I am happy to call these northern ranchers my friends. God bless anyone who is reading this that gives permission. I mean that.
Day 3 of 4 dawned with us 4 commencing the 1.5 mile hike +- into the bush. There were no elk during that sit. Nuts! We grabbed the ATV and popped into a spot where elk will cross mid am. We were sitting about half an hour when 3 elk crossed the skinny cutline at about 300 yards. I had a tough time telling if bull#2 was legal. I declined the shot, but we had a ton of fun watching them. Meanwhile, Bro Young Friend were witnessing 40 elk cross at another glorious mid morning spot, however with nothing legal to make a play on. No deer popped out for my wife that evening as our barometer told us a severe cold snap was rapidly moving in. Wife had to leave, empty handed. She doesn't mind. The goal is to spend quality time. Mission accomplished!
Bro was in conflict. He knew we were onto them. He felt it was only a matter of time, just as I did. However, he declined our 4th and final morning and opted to leave and spend the day with his wife and kids. "What are our chances of harvesting 3 legal elk tomorrow anyways?," he exclaimed before leaving. A very noble, however fatal "missed-steak" (groan!).
Day 4 of 4 Young man and I, now alone, headed back to our war of attrition with the forest horses. As we crept in before dawn, we managed to slowly bump about 6 head of elk out of the field. Our hearts sank. It was the end! No freezer full, no glorious story to tell the grandkids, no victory!

and then!

We saw a lone elk in the pre-dawn darkness on the opposite side of the field. It was now or never. We literally ran across the 400 yards of full sky-lining to see if we could get a lucky shot. No dice, Mr. Elk moved off. We sat on the edge of the treeline and gave it once last, frail gasp. I blew a short locator bugle! It was to signify our defeat and surrender to the greatest game species in North America. No sooner had I grieved that pitiful song, another answered us from our rear! Wait a minute, there was no elk there a minute ago! Young Friend then turned around to view what he thought was a truck driving into the field when we both witnessed something extraordinary- a herd of dozens and dozens of flat tops flying by us, 300 yards away at Mach Chicken! Enamored by the sight, I was frantically searching the herd for anything legal. As I will filter through many whitetails in a season, I do not apply that rule to elk. If it's legal, it's coming home with me. The table fare is far too good to pass. As I grow as an elk hunter, I undoubtedly will be more picky. Not so now.
Young Friend nudged me hard and said, "3 more to the left"! I pulled up my binos to behold 3 legal wapiti!!! I settled in and managed to drop one at 380 yards. Young Friend did not have that distance in his repertoire and rose sharply to his feet and RAN full tilt at the now curious duo of bulls who were openly trotting towards us. I stopped them with a bugle and Young Friend took care of business on Raghorn #2. Double Down!
You already know the rest of the story. The 3rd legal Bull stood and watched curiously at his 2 bedded friends and gave us another 10-15 second glance at 22o yards before making his way with the still fleeting herd. Bro missed his chance. While his desire to spend time with his loved ones was noble, it teaches us all a very important lesson- NEVER put family over hunting!!!

The ranchers got the good word and drove about 9 miles with their tractor to help us string these bulls up to break them down. On the way out of the field to retrieve coolers before that process, we loaded them up, ate breaky and excitedly went to clean our prizes. Young Friend looks and beholds to his left, a lone deer amongst the cattle herd and instantly has fire in his eyes. It's not his biggest deer to date, but definitely a unique one that he was very happy with. We waited until that nose-down Buck withdrew from those bovine for a clear shot. Young Friend claimed him at 40 yards with a perfectly placed 130 grain Hornady missile. What a morning!

In the end, those elk dropped 30 yards from each other. It was a feat we may never duplicate. Thanks to the confusion of the herd streaking behind us, it held those boys attention long enough to get our 2 young bulls down. Bro, I am truly sorry you weren't there to nail your first elk. There will be another fall! I admire your choice to spend time with those little turkeys. That will pay dividends!

Thanks for reading my long winded musings. I write this while sick in bed. My motive is to perhaps take some of you along who didn't get a chance to get out, or just enjoy a scatterbrained story. That is now a total of 4 elk down for us over the last 5 years. I would say we are slowly figuring them out.
Archery bull is the goal next year.

Cheers, WW

Last edited by wildwoods; 11-18-2018 at 07:30 PM.
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Old 11-18-2018, 07:22 PM
wildwoods wildwoods is offline
 
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Old 11-18-2018, 07:34 PM
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That's amazing. Great day, congrats on the fine animals.
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Old 11-18-2018, 07:40 PM
Howard Hutchinson Howard Hutchinson is offline
 
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Thank you for sharing your story. Holy crow, great animals!!

Shows that most times it takes a lot of work to score like you fellows did. Great job. Very happy for you.
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Old 11-18-2018, 07:43 PM
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Wow! A day for all time!!
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Old 11-18-2018, 07:50 PM
wildwoods wildwoods is offline
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Howard Hutchinson View Post
Thank you for sharing your story. Holy crow, great animals!!

Shows that most times it takes a lot of work to score like you fellows did. Great job. Very happy for you.
Thanks for the kind words folks.
It is a cumulative effort of scouting, local knowledge, trail cam info, some skill and just blind dumb luck
It's much more than asking for info on a forum. Now that can be one piece of the puzzle but it does take a lot of effort (usually)

BTW Young Friend is only 17. He has now shot 6-7 deer, one bear and now this elk. He's an up and comer for sure!
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Old 11-18-2018, 08:01 PM
Howard Hutchinson Howard Hutchinson is offline
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by wildwoods View Post
Thanks for the kind words folks.
It is a cumulative effort of scouting, local knowledge, trail cam info, some skill and just blind dumb luck
It's much more than asking for info on a forum. Now that can be one piece of the puzzle but it does take a lot of effort (usually)

BTW Young Friend is only 17. He has now shot 6-7 deer, one bear and now this elk. He's an up and comer for sure!
>>
With gumption, willingness to learn and a mentor like yourself, he'll do fantastic. Good on you sir.
>
My son and I used to hunt together from when he was only 4-5 years old. (he's 24 now) I miss these times dearly as with his illness can no longer hunt. I writes these comments remembering the times we shared (albeit to a lesser degree as deep in the fields where you folks venture) fondly.
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Old 11-18-2018, 08:02 PM
wildwoods wildwoods is offline
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Howard Hutchinson View Post
>>
With gumption, willingness to learn and a mentor like yourself, he'll do fantastic. Good on you sir.
>
My son and I used to hunt together from when he was only 4-5 years old. (he's 24 now) I miss these times dearly as with his illness can no longer hunt. I writes these comments remembering the times we shared (albeit to a lesser degree as deep in the fields where you folks venture) fondly.
That's really sad to hear. Cherish those memories.
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Old 11-18-2018, 08:04 PM
Howard Hutchinson Howard Hutchinson is offline
 
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That's really sad to hear. Cherish those memories.
>>
Indeed I do. Thank you again for sharing your story.
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Old 11-18-2018, 08:11 PM
roper1 roper1 is offline
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Congrats on great times spent afield!!

Howard, thinking of you!!
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Old 11-18-2018, 08:23 PM
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reddeerhunter reddeerhunter is offline
 
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Good guy with good luck and making it happen.
Bravo man.
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Old 11-18-2018, 08:34 PM
Howard Hutchinson Howard Hutchinson is offline
 
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Congrats on great times spent afield!!

Howard, thinking of you!!
Thank you Roper. I guess I had a silly sentimental moment there. Didn't mean to derail this wonderful thread.
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Old 11-18-2018, 08:34 PM
goldscud goldscud is offline
 
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Well done! What an exciting season you have had
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Old 11-18-2018, 08:36 PM
Gboe8 Gboe8 is offline
 
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Congrats to both of you!
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Old 11-18-2018, 08:51 PM
wildwoods wildwoods is offline
 
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Quote:
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Thank you Roper. I guess I had a silly sentimental moment there. Didn't mean to derail this wonderful thread.
No derail there man. It fit perfectly.
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Old 11-18-2018, 10:59 PM
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Congrats buddy, one heck of a day!!
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Old 11-18-2018, 11:05 PM
bitterrootfly bitterrootfly is offline
 
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Moments like this are what make the other 9 months of the year worth it!
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Old 11-19-2018, 07:25 AM
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Great story! Well done!
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Old 11-19-2018, 09:40 AM
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Great story thanks for sharing, now makes us me want to get out lol
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Old 11-19-2018, 10:27 AM
ganderblaster ganderblaster is offline
 
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Great story and pics. I shot a 5x5 bull with two other bulls,the shot echoed and the other two legal bulls just watched me walk up to within 125 yards. Never know what will happen out there.
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Old 11-19-2018, 11:18 AM
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what an awesome read, thoroughly enjoyed, big congrats to all and luv the sentiments in your story lol
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Old 11-19-2018, 12:24 PM
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Great read. Thanks for taking the time to post that.
Congratulations on a great hunt.
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Old 11-19-2018, 12:48 PM
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Great story! Goes to show how important perseverance and patience really are when you are out hunting! Never give up, and always stay positive. Sometimes it will happen so fast, that the hardest part is trying to remember exactly what just happened. Congrats on a fine bull, and congrats to your yong friend on his two-fer!!!
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Old 11-19-2018, 02:30 PM
wildwoods wildwoods is offline
 
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Quote:
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what an awesome read, thoroughly enjoyed, big congrats to all and luv the sentiments in your story lol
Haha, glad you enjoyed that. I struggled with writing an editorial story vs a more sterile one. I opted for the former. More fun and conversation that way....
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Old 11-19-2018, 05:55 PM
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Awesome!
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