How is your season going? - Page 3

fishnguy · #61 10-05-2017, 01:04 AM

^ Great stuff guys!

Often times it is just great to be out there, in spite of the hunt going wrong

I went for another walk yesterday. I tried calling for moose, but had no response. I did see a moose though, but he was just across the river and seemed to be completely not interested in my calls. Since moose was not responding, I tried calling for elk, but only had a coyote howl back at me. He was closing in and then just got quite. I also saw a bear suntanning right in the middle of the field. I spotted him with binoculars quite a distance away and kept checking as I was closing in. The guy/gal was just lying there picking at wheat. It was quite enjoyable to watch him. When I got close though, it was gone. It was still fun to see and this was the first time I have seen a bear doing that. It was there for at least half an hour, just lying there. Cool stuff.

A few photos with some background:

Can you see the moon in the last photo?

It is the best time of the year be out there, IMO.

Hopefully, I will get to do some hunting in the next couple of weeks.

Hope your season is going great as well!

fishnguy · #62 10-13-2017, 03:07 AM

Well, today was the day I got my first elk!

It is an average cow, so it's gotta be good eating

I am pretty sure I mentioned earlier, I had helped on a few elk hunts and posted a few pics from one of them earlier this year. However, I have never put an elk down myself before. I had plenty of opportunities in the past month or so, but I have never taken a shot due to the reason I explained somewhere above in this thread. Today worked out pretty well. Good wind, quite a few cows to choose from and a great shot: front of the chest and straight to the heart. She dropped right where she was standing and I actually missed this part. She was at about 250 yards and when I pulled the trigger, I heard the shot and then this smacking sound like when a bullet hits the flesh. That moment at recoil when you do not always see everything what happened and a moment later I see the elks taking off; not even running, jut half running/walking away casually. I did not realize she went down at that "recoil moment" and thought I had missed. My only thought, as they went down to the valley, was "I really hope I actually missed". The "down to the valley" part is where you do not want to put down an animal of this size: a very steep slope with lots of bush. Once the field was clear, I went to check for blood to only find the cow lying dead right where she was standing. Man, was I happy!

It was a frontal shot with the bullet going through the chest and top of the heart.

Long story short, my props go out to my friend Danny, who came out to helped me with the quartering. I put her down a few minutes after the sunset, so there was not much light left to work on her. But low and behold

Thanks Danny! I am eternally grateful!

Hope you all are having a good season!

A couple of pictures from the days before walking the bush at/past sunset:

Bub · #63 10-23-2017, 11:45 PM

I guess a good thread for this post.

My parents are visiting for a couple of weeks (leaving the coming Sunday) and I wanted to take my dad out for an easy hunt. So I figured we will go out, I will take him walking the hills and some bush for a little bit and then we will shoot a mule doe at the end of it. Now note that all this walking and whatnot is only to make it appear as a "real" hunt. It usually takes me about 10 minutes to shoot a doe at that spot. And that's every single time I have a tag, no exceptions (well, unless I hunt elsewhere). So it's just a meat place, really, so to speak.

Now don't get me wrong, my plan was not to walk for the sake of walking. We are actually hunting the area and I was absolutely confident that we would be packing meet within an hour tops. If nothing turned up in the bush, the back up plan was to shoot a doe about an hour before sunset on the first evening (which was Friday). About an hour before sunset is when does usually come out at that particular spot: there are lots of them and they never miss a day.

I guess I should have mentioned that my dad used to hunt plenty when he was younger than I am now, but hasn't done it in decades. I was thinking to take him out for a whitetail, but his knees would not take that hunt. Even worse, he would be saying he is all good and dandy, while suffering later on. Thus, the plan I described above.

So we went out on Friday, walked for about an hour and a half, saw a decent buck, not a single doe. Did I mention that there are tons of does and there has never been a time when I haven't seen one when walking/hunting there? So yes, we came back home with nothing. Went out on Saturday morning, walked for a little bit (an hour or so), saw a buck or two, no does. We had dinner at my cousin's place, so we could not get out on Saturday evening. Comes Sunday morning, we move out, walk the hills - nothing! Sunday evening we go out again, walk the hills for a couple of hours, saw 5 good bucks and a couple of young ones (among the 5 good ones was one very very good one I would put down right there if I had a tag). Not a single female! Did I mention about the does at that spot? We did not go out today because it was just too warm for my liking to deal with meat, as well as a warm night and a very warm day tomorrow. Tomorrow evening the weather is going to be perfect and so it will be for the next few days, so we are going to go out and shoot one, for sure

I don't know if I mentioned, but...

Seriously though, I have no idea wtf is going on. They were there for years, every single day, including last Wednesday (I have not been in the area on Thursday, but I am sure they were there as well).

I am not complaining, it actually turned to be an actual hunt and more quality time with my dad. Hope his knees hold up!

Yeah, just wanted to share this weird experience.

P.S. The cow in the post above mine looks great! I do not think one can shoot a better one for the meat.

alpineguy · #64 10-24-2017, 06:41 AM

My season started out pretty good. Went on a 13 day moose hunt in the mountains and ended up with this guy. It was a real adventure as we didn't see anyone else for 10 days.
http://www.outdoorsmenforum.ca/showthread.php?t=330944

fishnguy · #65 10-27-2017, 01:10 AM

^ That was one of the best hunts I read about on this site so far. Thank you for sharing the story!

We had some snow on the hills overnight yesterday so I moved out for a walk in the evening. I grabbed the gun and the mulie tag with me just in case something came up. Well, I got up to the snow level on the hills and scared quite a few deer from then on

The stuff was just too crunchy and loud. On the way down, I spotted a few does (around 5) out in the open about 300 yards from my vehicle, which can't really get much better than that. I figured I might as well close my tag. The wind was blowing south, they were south east of me, enough to the south that I was simply moving straight down the hill (i.e. straight east) to get close. All was going great, until I got to the last tree line to cross (I was about about 200 yards away from them on diagonal). That is when a dude showed up walking his dogs. Of course he was driving his 350 and the dogs were running behind it. And of course he drives close enough to scare the deer (at this point I cannot see them but know exactly where they were). Next thing I know, a few moments later there is a doe staring straight at me at about 70 yards straight south of me and right in the wind. By the time I got the gun to my shoulder, she was running to the bush and so were the other ones. That was it for that hunt

Yeah, well... The walk was quite nice though.

fishnguy · #66 11-07-2017, 11:45 PM

I went out for a walk today, hoping to find a nice whitetail. I headed to my favorite area for bush hiking, but decided to check a new spot out - just a spot I always wanted to check out, but never really bothered to go to for whatever reason. The hike was great! I did not have much time though and covered just over half the area I was hoping to. I also didn't get to my camera I have taking pictures (hopefully) since late August - early September in my usual spot. Hopefully next week. It has been pretty difficult to find the time for outdoor activities with new baby and the three-year old. But the baby is doing good and the three-year is being three-year old, lol. So it's all good. I actually cannot complain at all, since I have been able to put my first (cow) elk down, shoot a mulie (doe) and just go out a few times, not nearly as much as I would like to, but you all should feel lucky because I would be uploading many more ****ty pics similar to the ones I in my previous posts (if anyone is reading at all)

So yes, the walk was great! I spooked a deer within the first five minutes of the hike. It did not run, just walked away. About 45 minutes later, I heard another one walking away. It was a great spot (I will definitely be coming back) and it was definitely a buck according to the size of the hooves. I waited a few minutes, made a few grunts and he seemed to be moving towards me and then all quite. A few minutes later and still nothing, I went moved to him to check things out, but I could not find anything, he disappeared and I did not pursue. I moved on.

I found quite a few of these rubs, in similar surroundings, similar or the same bush. Can anyone tell me with any certainty if these were left by elk or deer?

Then I stumbled upon this, which I have no idea what to make of. If someone can clue me in, I would appreciate it.

And I am assuming this was done by a moose chewing bark?

Later on, I spooked another deer. This one took off running and I was pretty sure I saw the tail. Sounded like a heavy bugger, so I decided to invest some time into it. I managed to spook it again about five minutes later, but kept pursuing. About 15 minutes later, after trying to come around it, I found a mulie not far from the spot I left the runner. So I let it go and started moving out. Had to walk in the dark a bit, but found my way alright. While packing the gear, a truck stopped by asking if I am hunting and if I saw a moose in the bush, lol. No, I did not.

If you look very closely, you might find the mulie mentioned just above:

(it is very unlikely that you see it; it is there, but I only know because I know where it was)

Cheers, and good hunting!

35 whelen · #67 11-08-2017, 07:07 AM

Those first rubs I would say are done by Moose

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fishnguy · #68 11-08-2017, 07:02 PM

^ interesting. I was leaning towards elk myself, but I am not a pro by any stretch (hardly an amateur).

Maybe I will create a new thread and try to get more response since I have no clue if many people are even reading any of it

BackPackHunter · #69 11-08-2017, 08:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LJalberta

Going great for me so far. Had 11 days in the Willmore and was able to get my first ram in 9

. Unfortunately I probably won't be out again until November for elk/whitetail.

Nice ram .
I did an opener trip for sheep, had a good time , came home empty
Figure I’d hit the last two weeks of the season.
Left again Oct 21, on the hike in I decided to fill my ewe tag.
Back out on the 25th, Ram down 28th.

The nose tag is supposed to stay with the cape ... for the next one ...

catnthehat · #70 11-08-2017, 09:38 PM

Things are going well fir me considering my limited amount of time I hunted this year.

Got some birds and venison and Moose in the freezer so far.
Turns out an old acquaintance gave me the number of another old acquaintance
That gave me access to his quarters so I can try and fold a tag on a cow elk draw .
The really good news is he said he had more than a few elk in his property!

Cat

DRhunter · #71 11-09-2017, 06:02 PM

IMG_0380.jpg
Able to get into a couple pheasants before rifle season started.

IMG_0395.jpg
And a bull elk opening day. Freezer is in good shape!

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elkhunter11 · #72 11-09-2017, 06:07 PM

So far so good, the dog has had many pheasants and some sharptails killed over him, we have had some very good goose hunts, I have killed a nice pronghorn, and helped a hunting partner fill his moose tag. We will get out a few ,more times for pheasant, chase some Huns, and then it's antlered moose and deer at Camp Wainwright.

fishnguy · #73 11-09-2017, 09:07 PM

Great stuff, everyone!

Elkhunter11, those were quite some bird hunts I read about, especially the last one! And it appears like a great group of people.

elkhunter11 · #74 11-09-2017, 09:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fishnguy

Great stuff, everyone!

Elkhunter11, those were quite some bird hunts I read about, especially the last one! And it appears like a great group of people.

It was the first year that our group has been hunting together, but it has worked out very well. I look forward to starting earlier next year.

TomP · #75 11-10-2017, 12:58 PM

Well I didn't think it would happen for me this year as I moved to prince rupert in may and didn't have my license until November 3rd...scouted hard in the summer and came up with almost no plan for deer but lots of bear sign. Helped my buddy shoot a black bear in September so was good to be a part of that..last Sunday I went out to an island off the coast in search of some deer and shot my first buck! Little 2 point Sitka blacktail. Pretty happy with the season so far..might go inland for some grouse this weekend

CMichaud · #76 11-10-2017, 06:12 PM

Harvested my whitetail buck on Saturday with the old scope chief IV

Have seen a alot of deer overall.

Had these three young bulls walk by while I was lounging at the truck. I reckon they were about 150 out. They took no real notice of me. Sorry bout the crap pic!

whitetail Junkie · #77 11-10-2017, 06:18 PM

Day 1...7x6 bull elk.
Day 2...5x5 whitetail buck,158.5"

Dad the elk and my uncle the buck.

I was beside them both days when they took the shots....could care less if I get my whitetail buck this year,I got the memories and the meat....

fishnguy · #78 11-10-2017, 08:33 PM

^ Good stuff, guys!

I was a helper on an antlered moose hunt today. We put one down and I earned myself a rear quarter.

It was a first moose hunt for the both of us. I haven't taken any photos since I did not have my phone with me and found out that the camera has a dead battery only after the fact. But it was a young bull, with hardly any antlers (no paddles yet). Had tough times distinguishing it from a calf actually.

(The calf thing is a joke, which I thought is funny in reference to a thread about it not long ago)

Slicktricker · #79 11-10-2017, 09:06 PM

Spring bear with rifle
First black bear spot and stalk with archery gear
132" mule arrowed last day of general season
5x5 bull elk with rifle
Now after hockey puck for 2 weeks starting Wednesday only deer I'm interested in passed up lots this year

schurchill39 · #80 11-11-2017, 07:08 PM

No luck for me yet this year. At this pace I'm up for my third year of not filling a white tail tag. I don't know what it is about those buggers but I cannot hunt them to save my life. If I see them its when they are running across a road or jumping into private land.

I'm a new hunter with no family or friends that hunt so I've just been learning off of this forum, you tube and spending time in the bush. I have a colleague who is always sending me pictures of the deer him and his wife harvest in 328 and 330 so he took me out for a few days last year but we didn't see anything. The day after, he sent me a picture of a buck he got 30 minutes of being in the same spot we were the day before.

Its getting frustrating (and expensive!) but I suppose that's all a part of the process. I'm sure one of these days it will pay off and I'll finally be able to post my own White tail picture (and hopefully I'm not left hanging my tag on the Christmas tree for the the third year in a row).

Slicktricker · #81 11-11-2017, 07:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by schurchill39

No luck for me yet this year. At this pace I'm up for my third year of not filling a white tail tag. I don't know what it is about those buggers but I cannot hunt them to save my life. If I see them its when they are running across a road or jumping into private land.

I'm a new hunter with no family or friends that hunt so I've just been learning off of this forum, you tube and spending time in the bush. I have a colleague who is always sending me pictures of the deer him and his wife harvest in 328 and 330 so he took me out for a few days last year but we didn't see anything. The day after, he sent me a picture of a buck he got 30 minutes of being in the same spot we were the day before.

Its getting frustrating (and expensive!) but I suppose that's all a part of the process. I'm sure one of these days it will pay off and I'll finally be able to post my own White tail picture (and hopefully I'm not left hanging my tag on the Christmas tree for the the third year in a row).

328 and 330 can be a very rewarding wmus to hunt in took me 2 years of walking every line and trail I could find you will get one there but roads are busy I can give you few pointers if you wish

Lefty-Canuck · #82 11-11-2017, 07:50 PM

Great season so far. Had a ton of great experiences with elk...got mine with the bow, helped a buddy get his with a bow, and my Dad shot his with the rifle this morning.

LC

sns2 · #83 11-11-2017, 08:57 PM

Got a new dog this summer, so have been going hard every weekend since the bird opener. Have had the pleasure of hunting pheasant/waterfowl/moose with forum members: Kennedy, Elk 11, densa44, Catnthehat, Pixelshooter, and my boy. The success has only been bested by the great company. It truly has been outstanding in every way, shape, and form. I definitely have been bitten by the goose bug. I knew none of these people before becoming a member of AO. Some like to complain, but I tell you that this forum at its best is second to none. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

I will help my boy tag a deer and then it is on to ice fishing.

north american hunter · #84 11-11-2017, 09:00 PM

Pretty good so far, whitetail hunting is promising , saw 2 160 plus bucks today and about 40 deer

LJalberta · #85 11-11-2017, 10:05 PM

Great thread. Love seeing all the success!

Quote:

Originally Posted by BackPackHunter

Nice ram .
I did an opener trip for sheep, had a good time , came home empty
Figure I’d hit the last two weeks of the season.
Left again Oct 21, on the hike in I decided to fill my ewe tag.
Back out on the 25th, Ram down 28th.

The nose tag is supposed to stay with the cape ... for the next one ...

Congrats on your success as well! And thanks for the heads up, realized that after as well! I certainly have a bunch more to learn, but looking forward to the journey to the next one.

harv3589 · #86 11-12-2017, 07:57 AM

Struck out on one bull moose tag which closed on Oct 31 but another bull moose tag to work on now that opened Nov 1. Been out a couple times no luck and sick this entire last days off with the flu so won’t be back out until the 17. I have 10 days then to get it all done so it will be busy.

SamSteele · #87 11-12-2017, 08:27 AM

Cow moose and whitetail doe in the freezer now.

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35 whelen · #88 11-12-2017, 11:27 AM

Well I started off Hunting moose at my cabin for 8 days got one finally did a 3-day hunt for Elk only seen spikers and cows now I'm getting ready for the last 10 days in November whitetail hunt so it's been a great season so far.

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tbrown · #89 11-12-2017, 12:20 PM

I am having my best season yet, even with my limited hunting time this year. I shot my best mule deer to date in Sept with archery gear and pulled the trigger on my best whitetail to date on Nov 6th. I've covered a lot of country this year and have seen lots of great animals. I'm counting the days to get off of work! Maybe I still have time to fill my elk tag and help some friends and family get their animals as well! Cheers!

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omega50 · #90 11-12-2017, 05:39 PM

Best season ever.

Moose, Elk,Whitetail, Mule deer and Antelope all in the freezer.

All provided by hunting friends that want dinner invites or want me to cure, smoke and air dry their eye of rounds.

Thanks gents. I will make sure you go home full and happy

I just wish I had more squirrel hunting buddies