# Lucky in Wyoming



## Huntmaster143

After having a rough run drawing a quality tag last year, I joined up with QDMAMAN for a trip to Idaho that turned out to be a great hunt in a OTC unit. Most of you likely followed our thread last year and know the outcome.

Entering the draw season this year, Tony and I had a few conversations about doing a sequel. Since I apply for so many special tags, I can't commit to a hunt until draw season is over in July. So I told Tony that I would do a return trip to Idaho as long as I didn't luck out and draw a great tag this year.

Two years ago I had finally built up enough points to draw a very good unit in Wyoming. A buddy of mine joined me on the trip and we had more action than you should expect on an elk hunt. We were within 100 yards of bugling bulls for 10 straight days. I ended up passing on a couple 5x's hoping to get a shot at the many 6x's that we were encountering. On the last day of the hunt, I ended up getting a shot at a solid 320" bull after covering more than two miles of terrain that morning. I shot straight over his back and never could get him to fully recommit. By far the most action in 10 days that I have ever had! A great hunt was in the books.

Now back to application season... Wyoming is always the first state to draw and I started out the year just expecting to apply for a point in July? With about a week to go in the application time frame, I decided to apply for the same unit I drew two years ago knowing full well that I had less than 5% chance to actually draw the random tag.

Several weeks had passed and I applied for Utah and Arizona in this time frame. Utah, I'm a long shot for elk, but in Arizona I have a reasonable chance of drawing a solid elk tag.

While cruising another website that I frequent, there is a thread that pops up discussing the "back door" is open for Wyoming. So knowing that I applied there, I decide to just check the "back door" fully expecting to see a full tag refund on my search. 

After typing in my info, all I see is a $50 refund for a preference point! So, unless I screwed up when I applied, that means I drew my first choice which is the same tag I had two years ago...

So after catching my breath and getting over the shock, I text Tony and visit a couple of my co-workers to talk about the tag I just drew.

The official results don't come out for another 36 hours, so I have to sweat it a bit to confirm I have hit the lotto and drew another great tag only two years after hunting the same unit!


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## Huntmaster143

The next day I had traveled out into the rocky mountains for work and it couldn't be more fitting looking up the results on my phone and seeing SUCCESSFUL and my unit right next to it.

I'm not sure it has totally set in, but I have already pulled out my maps of the area and read my journal from my last trip. 

I'm looking for revenge at the bull I left on the mountain two years ago, not to mention the bull I wounded last year. The only problem is, I still have over six months to go before I can get revenge...


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## Huntmaster143

Then tonight, I get something in the mail... At first, I thought it was actually my license, but after further review, it's just my preference point refund. But then again that is what started the excitement of the season.


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## dmrbigeshott

:woohoo1:


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## QDMAMAN

The only "sure thing" about hunting out west is...you better be in shape. I will be. 
What happens between now and then is anybody's guess, but that's all part of the journey.


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## Huntmaster143

Here's my workout program this year, I just started month two this morning. It is my made up combo of P90x3 and Insanity. Basically doing two days of core and muscle building and then two days of cardio. Going with more core building for a few months and then will probably change back to a heavy cardio and pack work out for the last two months leading up to the hunt.


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## QDMAMAN

Huntmaster143 said:


> Here's my workout program this year, I just started month two this morning. It is my made up combo of P90x3 and Insanity. Basically doing two days of core and muscle building and then two days of cardio. Going with more core building for a few months and then will probably change back to a heavy cardio and pack work out for the last two months leading up to the hunt.


 
Another spread sheet reminds me of why we get along so well in the field. :lol::lol::lol:


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## Hunting18

So did you ever find out if you drew the tag for sure?


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## Huntmaster143

Hunting18 said:


> So did you ever find out if you drew the tag for sure?


Yup, just waiting on tag to show up now.


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## QDMAMAN

Huntmaster143 said:


> Yup, just waiting on tag to show up now.


Looky there! You have the "option" of taking a preference point instead! :idea:


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## Huntmaster143

QDMAMAN said:


> Looky there! You have the "option" of taking a preference point instead! :idea:


When I applied, I chose the preference point "option", meaning that if I didn't draw, I would get a preference point added to my total. If I did draw, I would lose any preference points I currently had and I would then get a REFUND of the extra $50 I sent them to choose the preference point "option". That check I posted earlier is my lucky $50 REFUND for my preference point "option"!! 


Now there are a couple "options" for you, win this dang drawing and come show me how to kill a [email protected]&* elk or just draw a mule deer tag!! :rant: :rant:


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## QDMAMAN

Could be the longest 11 days of our lives! :yikes:


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## Huntmaster143

Here's another item that is more a general hunting/shooting issue for me than it is specifically for this trip, but a few years ago I started to develop a form of target panic. I'm going to post about my plan and progress to rectify the situation on here hoping it helps someone else that has also noticed a similar problem in their shooting. The only thing that made me realize I actually have "Target Panic" is from reading similar posts about it on websites over the last year and a recent post really pushed me over the top because his symptoms were almost identical to mine.

As I think back, I first noticed it when I was in Africa and screwed up on more shots in one week than I had in my entire career to date. Luckily, the end result was good with no lost animals. I was just punching the trigger before I settled my pin properly and was very sporadic in my hit locations even though the animals were standing at water holes or on a bait pile and all within 30 yards. At first, I just thought I was rushing my shot preparation and not taking the time required to settle my pin on the shoulder because I was in "Africa". I just wrote it off as "buck fever" and being caught up in the moment.

Fast forward to the next deer season where I shoulder/spine shot my buck standing broadside at 25 yards, add to it the shoulder/spine shot antelope in Wyoming a year later at 15 yards and then a week after that, I sailed an arrow directly over the back of a bull in WY. Anyone start to see a pattern yet?

After all of this, I spent a ton of time making sure my bow was tuned, arrows good and that I could kill a fly at 65 yards in my back yard. Every thing checked out, no problems all summer.

Then last year, I proceeded to miss three does all standing on a well used trail at 25 yards with two of them being in the same hour. I had convinced myself that I needed to "shoot thru it"...well after the third miss, I decided that I was going to sit on a food plot and just draw on deer several times with out any intent of shooting. I was hoping this would calm me down on the shot. 

Well the very next day, the first deer that came in was a buck that chased a doe under me at less than 5 yards. As he turned to chase her again, I went into auto pilot and made a perfect clean shot at less than 10 yards and watched him tip over at 50 yards or so. The next day, I shot a coyote in a very fast sequence and she didn't make it 15 yards. So was I cured??? I wish!! The sequences just happened to fast for my mind to get in the way!!

So on to the fix... I have a copy of _Idiot Proof Archery_ in the mail and I just received a new release yesterday that is a back tension release. I have shot trigger releases and also handle releases before, but they all had a trigger. When you have a trigger, your mind has to focus on aiming and triggering at the same time. With a true back tension release, you focus on aiming and with back tension you will have a "surprise release" which forces you to aim as you can't "punch" the release.

What is currently happening with me is my mind is "triggering" way before I am able to aim. My normal pin motion is from the top down and this is why I have continued to shoot high. Last year I did try to move from the side in and I just missed to the side...

So right now, I have a coupe weeks to practice with my new "bow" and release retraining my mind and body how to shoot properly. After that, I will start blind bale shooting for a few weeks and then finally start to look at my pins and shoot at a whopping 5 yards and progressively move back. I should have several thousand shots with my new method and release before I ever aim at a target from 20 yards.

I will post some updates as I go along. Below is a picture of my new "bow" and release.


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## dmrbigeshott

I'm very curious to hear how the new release works out for you because.....I....kind....of...have...the...same...issue? 

I haven't wounded any animals without recovering them, thankfully, but feel like I need to do something about it. As you say, I shoot great at home, but when I have time to think about the shot in the field, I tend to punch the trigger and it definitely has a negative effect on my accuracy.


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## QDMAMAN

Good stuff Scott and I commend you for approaching this issue seriously. I know that even after 35 seasons of archery hunting I still struggle with what I consider simple mechanics at times.
I've resisted trying a back tension release because I'm a bit of a control freak and I have it in my mind that using one takes the "decision" to trigger out of the equation. I'm sure I'm wrong, but have a hard time admitting it perhaps.
One thing that never changes though...I always hit where the bow is aimed.


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## Silver Addiction

You also have to remember while most guys are target shooting your at full rest. When your in a hunting situtaion your adrenaline is cranking and you can be out of breath from just sprinting several hunting yds to get in a shot postition. A good target shooter might not be nearly as good on live game. Before my shot I take a step back prior to the shot take 3 deep breaths to relax with slow drawn out exhails and then settle my pin as I had done thousands of times in pratice throughout the year. It helps A LOT and I smoke almost everything I shoot at. Also practicing in ways you will encounter in the field might help a lot too. Might try crawling, running, and then trying to make the shot in positions you will find yourself in the field. Actually one of my friedns runs around his house several times before each shot to try and get his heart rate up. I'm sure his neighbors think hes nutz but he pretty much puts a perfect heart or lung shot in everything so I don't question that it works. Remember you want your FIRST shot to hit that sweet spot I think guys practice too long sometimes. 10 arrows a day through a week is better than 70 one day a week. I also can't think of too many animals that allowed me to stand fully upright on level ground and take my sweet time. My last big buck I shot I was leaning like half way around the tree and still punched the heart at 42 yds on a quarter to shot. Also I feel shooting 3d life sized targest helps me a lot too. These I guess are just some things to consider.


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## Huntmaster143

Silver Addiction said:


> You also have to remember while most guys are target shooting your at full rest. When your in a hunting situtaion your adrenaline is cranking and you can be out of breath from just sprinting several hunting yds to get in a shot postition. A good target shooter might not be nearly as good on live game. Before my shot I take a step back prior to the shot take 3 deep breaths to relax with slow drawn out exhails and then settle my pin as I had done thousands of times in pratice throughout the year. It helps A LOT and I smoke almost everything I shoot at. Also practicing in ways you will encounter in the field might help a lot too. Might try crawling, running, and then trying to make the shot in positions you will find yourself in the field. Actually one of my friedns runs around his house several times before each shot to try and get his heart rate up. I'm sure his neighbors think hes nutz but he pretty much puts a perfect heart or lung shot in everything so I don't question that it works. Remember you want your FIRST shot to hit that sweet spot I think guys practice too long sometimes. 10 arrows a day through a week is better than 70 one day a week. I also can't think of too many animals that allowed me to stand fully upright on level ground and take my sweet time. My last big buck I shot I was leaning like half way around the tree and still punched the heart at 42 yds on a quarter to shot. Also I feel shooting 3d life sized targest helps me a lot too. These I guess are just some things to consider.


I've killed many critters with my bow in the last 24 years and pre-hunt preparation is definitely not one of my short comings. Running around the house and shooting is the easy part, done that many times, try shooting with a 65+ lb pack on your back after climbing hills for an hour and you're beat, try shooting from your barn roof to simulate uphill and down hill shots with uneven footing and I own a full size elk target for practice shots. I think you get the point. 

Target panic has nothing to do with any of that, it has everything to do with your mind. I can and do shoot in many different positions prior to the season but there is no way to simulate the mental aspect of target panic in the off season.

So...the only way I've read that target panic can be beat is by totally changing shot routines and that is the process I'm going thru. Will it work? Who knows, if it doesn't, I can certainly tell you I will keep working on the issue until I find a fix.


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## Huntmaster143

QDMAMAN said:


> I've resisted trying a back tension release because I'm a bit of a control freak and I have it in my mind that using one takes the "decision" to trigger out of the equation.


That's the exact reason I started shooting my Chocolate Addiction. (No, not the ice cream kind a thumb activated handle release) :corkysm55 I was going to go to full back tension probably 8 years ago because I heard so many good things about it helping with accuracy, but I couldn't grasp the concept in my head while hunting. Now that I've shot a hundred times or so with my string and release, I think the transition will be easier than I originally thought. There are several guys on Bowsite that hunt with back tension after going thru a spell of target panic.

Part of the reason I chose the release I did is because it has a safety and a wrist stop. Both of these come in handy while hiking through the mountain and drawing on moving animals in uneven terrain.


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## Silver Addiction

Don't think. lol seriously. I delt with it and thinking was my problem too. What worked for me was to relax myself through controlled breathing and let instinct take over. Its like when I used to play baseball I just went up and hit the ball. When I shoot on sporting clays courses I do much better when I just clear my mind and let my instict take over instead of thinking and trying to over ride my instinct. Not that this will work for you but I feel at least for myself the less I think and the more instinct through practiced mechanics takes over the better off I am. It sounds stupid I guess but controlled breathing helps me a lot I used to even shake at times before a shot even at a doe it didn't matter what it was. Now I feel the panic almost starting but with controlled breathing I become relaxed and I clear my mind. With my controlled breathing I do a 3 count on my exhail. Breath in then exhail 1..2..3 repeat 2 more times after 3rd time arrow is flying. This more or less relaxes me and takes my mental focus to a 3 count rhythm which now is in rhythm with my breathing while my eyes are burning a hole on my pin which is locked onto a small aiming point on the animal.


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## Silver Addiction

Not ot spin off topic too far but you might be able to lower your pack below 65#+ pack unless your hunting late seasons, playing sherpa for the group, or are going in for like 2+ weeks. I think early season with everything you can get close to half that. Even shedding 15 pounds is huge. With everything excluding food and water I can get under 35 pounds easily for solo trips with a 0 degree rated bag. 3 liters of water only adds 6.4 pounds to that and freeze dried food doesn't weight much. I basically only take what I need and try to make multi uses out of things. Seek outside has some excellent light weight tents.


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## Huntmaster143

The 65# pack was for training only. My day pack will be somewhere around 12-15lbs. I will also only be hunting from my base camp and the truck daily.


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## Huntmaster143

Look what showed up today!! Only 6 months to drool over the tag!!








A double surprise! Already two chapters in...


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## Huntmaster143

Well after spending three weeks or so comfortably shooting a string, I finally picked up my bow. WOW!! That's about all I can say after my first few shots. To say it was a little different with the bow in hand would be an understatement. 

My first 30 shots were really wild feeling. I tried punching the trigger which can't be done, I punched myself in the face once and I stuck an arrow into my WSG seed. All of this was done at a whopping 3 yards!! :lol::lol::lol:

After my first session, I settled down pretty quick and the shots are rolling off pretty good over the past couple days. I do notice that after about 20 shots, it gets hard to fire the release as my muscles tire some. I also think my draw is about a half inch to long which will make it slightly harder to fire the release, so I'm changing my mods and will see how it goes after that. 

Every session has been getting slightly better and more comfortable, so that is what the program is about. Don't aim, just relearn to shoot the bow. I have about 3 weeks of shooting into the bale at 3 yards before I actually start aiming, so I'll continue along this path and give an update when I start the next step.


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## NovemberWhitetailz

The best way I have found to "fix" target panic is to just close your eyes when you pull the trigger :lol:

But all kidding aside, I hope you work through it. It's nothing to joke about. I had a small bout with it for about a 3 year period when I was just out of college. At the time I really had no clue what my issue was for missing multiple bucks at short range. Over the years i've realized I had a bout with target panic but thankfully worked through it without really knowing I had it. I'll keep an eye on this thread, i've considered switching my release but haven't been able to make the leap just yet.


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## Huntmaster143

HUBBHUNTER2 said:


> The best way I have found to "fix" target panic is to just close your eyes when you pull the trigger :lol:


It probably wouldn't change the out come of some of my shots lately!


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## Huntmaster143

Shot about 4 dozen arrows outside tonight in a gentle breeze and I have to say that it felt pretty comfortable. Still have the itch to "punch" the trigger on a few shots, but shot some solid groups and the release is starting to feel a little better.


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## Huntmaster143

Shot out to 45 yards tonight with some solid results. Still have the occasional desire to punch the trigger, but most shots are going smoothly, so thats progress in the right direction. 

Last 45 yard group










35 yard group before I hung the bow up for the night.


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## Huntmaster143

During turkey season, I must've hit my limb on something as it chipped the limb and put a pretty good gouge in my top limb. It still shot pretty well, but you never know when the limb might just explode... If anyone has any 60lb Allegiance limbs I'd be interested.

So I did what any hunter would do, I went out and bought a new bow. Finally got it all setup last night, now I need to tune the rest in and get back to shooting. Who knows where that is going to be since my yard and range is under water right now...





Also got some of my new pants in the mail as well.


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## QDMAMAN

Huntmaster143 said:


> Also got some of my new pants in the mail as well.


 
Blah, blah, blah................


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## Huntmaster143

QDMAMAN said:


> Blah, blah, blah................


Jealous!


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## QDMAMAN

Huntmaster143 said:


> Jealous!


Kinda.


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## Huntmaster143

After posting my hunting pack list in another thread, I figured I'd add it over here so others could reference it in the future. Since we will be driving my truck right to camp and hunting out of a wall tent, I will bring quite a bit more than if I was packing in or something else. If anyone wants this list, I have it along with others in a single Excel spreadsheet that I can email over to you.


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## Huntmaster143

Three months into my Target Panic retraining and the process is working pretty well. I haven't shot as much as I probably should have, but I'm picking up the pace with only two months to go. I'm now shooting 4-8 perfect shots each am and then another 20 to 30 each night at 7 yards in my basement. These short sessions should keep me fully focused on shot execution and not worried about accuracy. Combining that with some broadhead tuning and final sighting in of my bow, I will get plenty of range work in the next two months.

My buddy that is going along with me was able to pick up a mule deer tag as well, so we should have a couple story lines to play out when the hunt goes down. 

62 days until departure and more sunrises like these...


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## Huntmaster143

Did my first weighted pack training hike this AM. 45 minutes with a 46 pound pack climbing and hiking my berm system as fast as I could go. Legs definitely were tired. I'll see how they feel today and tomorrow and then bump the weight up some on the next hike.


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## Huntmaster143

Did my third training hike this AM in my back yard with around 65lbs in my pack. 1.73 Miles in 43:53 minutes. I have a 5-6' berm around the property and I climb up and down going back and forth around the entire thing. Works the legs pretty good and I usually can keep my heart rate in the 80% range for the entire hike. I try to do one of these a week with a couple months to go. Walking on the uneven ground and through the tall grass helps work the ankles, knees and small muscles that don't get hit while doing other exercises. If I had bigger hills close by, I'd be all for doing those!


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## QDMAMAN

It's hammer time!


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## Huntmaster143

I'm 30 days out right now!!


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## QDMAMAN

Huntmaster143 said:


> I'm 30 days out right now!!


It'll be 5 weeks tomorrow for Barnaby and me.


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## slabstar

Keep at it! All that hard work helps on those mountains and thin air! 


Huntmaster143 said:


> Did my third training hike this AM in my back yard with around 65lbs in my pack. 1.73 Miles in 43:53 minutes. I have a 5-6' berm around the property and I climb up and down going back and forth around the entire thing. Works the legs pretty good and I usually can keep my heart rate in the 80% range for the entire hike. I try to do one of these a week with a couple months to go. Walking on the uneven ground and through the tall grass helps work the ankles, knees and small muscles that don't get hit while doing other exercises. If I had bigger hills close by, I'd be all for doing those!


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## twolaketown

Work your legs mussels as you descend as well May come in handy.


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## QDMAMAN

twolaketown said:


> Work your legs mussels as you descend as well May come in handy.


I didn't know mussels had legs.


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## TVCJohn

It maybe worthy to consider having some meds for leg cramps while out there. If you end up sweating alot the electrolytes maybe an issue. I was getting those bad since going thru chemo and last year in Ontario bear hunting. I had Gatorade but that didn't help. When I got back my daughter said to take potassium and magnesium supplements. I now take magnesium and potassium pills plus a centrix multivitamin and a 81mg baby aspirin. The magnesium and potassium pills worked in my case. The leg cramps have disappeared. You could start taking them now to get them in your system if you choose. Wallymartin has them in their med dept....they're pretty cheap.


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## Huntmaster143

Some good points TVC! 

So far, I've never had a problem with cramps on any of my trips to date, but I hydrate pretty well with Powerade Zero's before the trip, on the drive out and use the drops in my water bladder while hunting. Hydration helps with cramps, but it also helps with elevation adjustment. Cutting caffeine and alcohol helps with both as well, but not so sure I'm giving those up unless I'm chasing critters at 14K...


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## Huntmaster143

Another thing to add to my already to full gear room, but it should provide better results than just holding the phone over the lenses.


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## QDMAMAN

Huntmaster143 said:


> Another thing to add to my already to full gear room, but it should provide better results than just holding the phone over the lenses.



More "clutter".


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## Huntmaster143

QDMAMAN said:


> More "clutter".


Yeah, Yeah...I'll just store all of that clutter in my new cooler that's supposed to show up today or tomorrow! 

I thought I might have a gear problem until I saw another guys pics this morning on BS...I think he has more money tied up in packs and boots than I do in all of my gear. I have a lot of catching up to do!! 


24 more days! I need to get an hour or two of broadhead therapy in real soon. I'm still shooting a few arrows every AM and PM, just need to double check my tune with broadheads. I have been bouncing between my back tension release and my traditional trigger release the past couple days. I've still got some work to do on getting over Target Panic (Trigger Punching) when I'm shooting long distances, but 35 yards and in, I'm pretty comfortable.

Getting my meals prepped and packaged is about the only other thing that I need to get together at this point. With some pretty booked weekends between now and departure, I need to start getting things together at night.


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## QDMAMAN

Huntmaster143 said:


> Getting my meals prepped and packaged is about the only other thing that I need to get together at this point. With some pretty booked weekends between now and departure, I need to start getting things together at night.


I hear ya on the time issue. Barnaby and I were going to get together on Sunday and I flat out ran out of time!
This weekend will be camping with my wife in Indiana, the weekend after is QDM Co op weekend at the R.A.M., followed by Labor day weekend up nort with wife's family, and then work weekend at the lease with da boyz to finalize food plots and stand sets.
We did settle on a menu so shopping should go quick and relatively painless. Barnaby's wife is headed to the UP this weekend and she'll be bringing back frozen pasties for a couple of our dinners.


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## 83mulligan

Huntmaster143 said:


> Another thing to add to my already to full gear room, but it should provide better results than just holding the phone over the lenses.


I got one of those for my phone too. Pretty slick!


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## Huntmaster143

Well the bride spent a good share of the day yesterday making a variety of dinners for my partner and myself. Since I'm hunting from the truck similar to how Tony and I did last year, I'm trying frozen premade dinners for almost all of the meals. When we get back to the truck late, I don't really care to spend any time preparing dinner, so all that needs to be done with these will be to heat up a boiling pot of water, drop the bag in and away we go. I'd rather spend my time sleeping and resting as 4 am rolls around pretty quick. I am also taking a few dehydrated meals just in case the ice melts out on us towards the end of the trip. 

Lasagna, Chili, sloppy joes, burgers, meat loaf are all going to be frozen and seasoned burger (to be mixed with Mac & cheese) and the tuna melt are getting dehydrated. I still have to do a few meals of spaghetti yet, but this will give us all of the dinners we will need for the entire trip. Well with the exception of a steak that we will cook up the first night!


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## QDMAMAN

Good thing you bought a couple extra bows recently.


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## Huntmaster143

QDMAMAN said:


> Good thing you bought a couple extra bows recently.


Lol! I'm in Schupach's right now! New limb on the Prodigy and buying a set for my Allegiance that I damaged in turkey season.

I'll be all setup in an hour! I'll have a bit of shooting to get resighted, but I'll be good to go!


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## Huntmaster143




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## QDMAMAN

Huntmaster143 said:


> Lol! I'm in Schupach's right now! New limb on the Prodigy and buying a set for my Allegiance that I damaged in turkey season.
> 
> I'll be all setup in an hour! I'll have a bit of shooting to get resighted, but I'll be good to go!


Oh snap! (no pun intended) I didn't know your back up had issues too!


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## Huntmaster143

QDMAMAN said:


> Oh snap! (no pun intended) I didn't know your back up had issues too!



Yeah, that was part of the reason I bought a new bow, the other part was I wanted one... Lol!

Main bow is all setup now, just need to adjust the sights some, but otherwise I'm good to go. Gonna drop new limbs on the backup bow before I leave.


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## Huntmaster143

Well as Tony joked above, I had a slight bow problem over the weekend. While final broadhead tuning and sighting my bow in this weekend, I was standing at full draw settling my pin on target and my bow made this weird "click" or popping sound. Almost sounded like a metal screw broke off. Unsure as to what the sound was, I looked around as I was at full draw trying to find the problem but couldn't. So I gingerly let down on the draw with no apparent signs of a problem as it came down nice and smooth. My first thought was a screw came loose in my cams and popped out, but after a short inspection I found the problem.



This is the first time I've ever had an issue with any of my bows that weren't self inflicted. So with less than two weeks to go, I now have a bow with a broken limb that is likely going to take a couple days to get in. And this happened on a Saturday night, so I had to wait until Monday to even get started as I figured who ever I took it to was going to have to reach out to the factory.

Now, I have a couple other bows at home, but I chipped the limb of one while turkey hunting this spring and didn't really mess with getting it ready as I had bought this new bow and I raided all of the parts off my other bow when I built the one that just broke a limb. So now I'm down to really only a few free evenings to run around and mess with my bows before I leave, but it doesn't do me much good without a bow!

I worked out well that I had a Monday am meeting out near Jackson, so I left that meeting and headed straight to Schupach's planning on ordering a limb and buying a set of limbs for my Allegiance as I could set that bow up the fastest, just needed to change limbs, put my old strings on and should be good to go. Well, upon arriving at Schupach's, I figure out it is my lucky day as they had an extra set of limbs in the shop from another warranty job the just did recently. After a quick limb change and having them resetup the entire bow, I headed to their indoor range to shoot a few at 20 yards to see how things looked. Everything looked good, just needed some pin adjustment after the retune, but that's fairly simple. Thanks Schupach's!


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## Huntmaster143

So after a whirl wind Monday getting the bow fixed and breaking down my backup bow after work, this morning I am out in the yard shooting in gray light trying to get my pins readjusted. After a half dozen shots at 25 yards, I adjust my sight housing a bit as I was hitting about 2" high and shoot another half dozen. Those are hitting just about perfect other than feeling a little left, but I can change that when I shoot out to 65. Next I step back to 35 yards to see how the pin gap is working and here is my first group at 35 yards.



Slightly left, but elevation is looking pretty good! So that should mean my 45 and 55 pins shouldn't take much to adjust and I'll fix the left impact a little further out. That was about all I had time for before work, but I feel much better knowing that everything should fall together pretty quickly now.


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## barnaby43

Looks like you got it going now, darn nice to have a backup plan , I might bring my old bow just in case! Good luck on your hunt!!!


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## Huntmaster143

barnaby43 said:


> Looks like you got it going now, darn nice to have a backup plan , I might bring my old bow just in case! Good luck on your hunt!!!


I got the new limbs on my backup bow last night and was shooting well at 10 yards, so I have options now. 

I'm running a week behind where I wanted to but I'll finish broadhead tuning both bows this weekend. 

One week from departure!


----------



## QDMAMAN

God speed botha!


----------



## Huntmaster143

Thanks man! We are heading West now, should make camp tomorrow afternoon in time to pull a Tony on the first night...

I will have some Internet access while I'm there, so I may try doing some updates every couple days if it works out.


----------



## slabstar

Very nice! Good luck out there!


----------



## Jet08

Good Luck Scott.


----------



## QDMAMAN

Get one yet?


----------



## Huntmaster143

QDMAMAN said:


> Get one yet?


Can't answer that until the story is told...


----------



## slabstar

New screen name. ....cliffhanger143! Ha! J/k! 
The suspense is the best part of hearing the story! 


Huntmaster143 said:


> Can't answer that until the story is told...


----------



## QDMAMAN

Sitting mid day at the scene of your crime.


----------



## Huntmaster143

QDMAMAN said:


> Sitting mid day at the scene of your crime.


Took you that long to get up there?

Good Luck!


----------



## Huntmaster143

Shooter?


----------



## dmrbigeshott

Not even any updates?!?! 

Holding your cards tight this trip ay....?!


----------



## Huntmaster143

dmrbigeshott said:


> Not even any updates?!?!
> 
> Holding your cards tight this trip ay....?!



I had to go to a bar to get internet and it's really sloooow! I can do the story better justice when I have time to put it together with the pics.

Don't worry we had a blast and there were a ton of ups and downs. 

Elk bowhunting at its finest...


----------



## Huntmaster143

Packing up camp in the am and heading back to reality... Story will follow!

It will probably take me some time to put the story together and get it posted!


----------



## Huntmaster143

Day 1



After 26 hours of travel and over 1,600 miles, we finally made it to our camping spot and unlike last year, we didn't get a speeding ticket from smokey. We get camp setup by 5 pm, so we have time to make a run over to a spot that I hunted several times two years ago and do some glassing. Or maybe we will pull off a BigT!



Here’s camp:










We climbed to the top of the mountain that has a great view of several meadows and glass until dark. We didn’t actually spot any elk but we ran into three guys from Minnesota that were mule deer hunting and we also spotted two guys down in the valley that were mule deer hunting as well. 



This is a small part of the meadow, and we were glassing to the right of the picture.






Little did we know that this would turn out to be a common theme just about everywhere we would go. Two years ago, I never ran into a hunter on the side of the mountain and only bumped into a couple at the trail heads. As you will see in this story, we had several run ins this year.


----------



## Huntmaster143

Day 2



We started the day with a 5 am wake up and a chilly 30* morning. We planned to head over to the same mountain we were glassing at the night before because two years ago, we were into bulls non-stop there and it is actually a very easy mountain to hunt.



We are a little bit late leaving the trailhead, but this sunrise was worth it.







I headed out quickly with a goal of reaching a certain opening with a wallow and chase bugles from there. Wayne would catch up to me a little later. As I approached the opening, I spot two cows feeding about 80 yards away. So I drop my pack and ready for a bull in the area. About the time I settle in, I see antlers coming out from behind a wood pile right next to the cows. It’s a 7x5 bull (a definite shooter) and he walks out in the opening and bugles a couple times. The bull follows the cows that are starting to feed up the fire trail in the opposite direction. I’m just a little too far away for a shot, so I sneak over to the wood pile which cuts the distance to 60 yards. As the bull feeds behind some spruce, I move up to the next wood pile trying to cut the distance some more.



Here’s a pic of the opening and the two wood piles. The cows are feeding up to the opening on the left with the bull in tow.


----------



## goodworkstractors

Oh man.... Been waiting patiently for the recap!


----------



## aroflinger

Please continue!


----------



## slabstar

Awesome! ! But hurry up, jeez!


----------



## Huntmaster143

aroflinger said:


> Please continue!





slabstar said:


> Awesome! ! But hurry up, jeez!


Patience gentlemen...:coolgleam:coolgleam:coolgleam


----------



## Huntmaster143

As I settled in to chuckle at the bull knowing he was only 60 yards away, I catch him turn and bound up the hill. He must’ve caught me moving somehow as the wind was steady and perfect. I let out a bugle with chuckles to see if the bull may return for his cows, but no luck. So, I continue to watch his cows feed in the opening and water at the water hole in the back.



After all the action moves on, Wayne catches up to me and I relay how close I was to ending it within the first 15 minutes of the hunt. We decide to continue along the logging road for the next four miles bugling along the way and don’t get any responses. Pretty unusual for this ridge based on our history here.



We headed back to camp for lunch and decide to glass a canyon this afternoon that a buddy saw a few 6 point bulls using a few weeks earlier. We hike a mile in to two different observation points and set up to glass.

Here was my glassing point





All I spotted were two coyotes about a mile away and Wayne saw a couple mule deer heading into a water hole at the top of the mountain but no elk. We also saw several hundred head of sheep being rounded up about a mile away.



Well, I did see this…


----------



## Huntmaster143

Day 3



We wake up a little earlier this am and push it out of camp to get back over to the spot where we ran into the bull yesterday. I leave the truck at 6 am trying to get to the meadow before shooting light. I arrive right around shooting light and wait for about 45 minutes hoping the bull from the day before would show or some of the other elk that normally feed in a large meadow on the other side of the mountain.



We decide to repeat the process that we did yesterday AM with pretty much the same results. As we hit the end of the road with no bugles, I decide that we are going to drop down half way to the bottom of this North facing mountain and work our way back to the truck thru the cover and send out some bugles along the way. We should either hear elk or bump them if they are here as we make our way. We find some nice wallows, water holes and rubs along the way, but no elk were seen or heard as we covered the four mile face.













We hunted this same ridge pretty heavy last time and we never went a day without chasing bugles somewhere along the mountain. So is elk, you have to go where they are and they aren’t on this mountain right now.



In the afternoon, we head over to a different drainage right close to camp. Wayne decides to sit on a meadow this evening to give his legs a break and look for elk. I am going to hike to the top of the drainage to see if there are any elk in this basin.







On my way to the top, I hear a couple bugles begin to fire up way at the top of the mountain. As I make my way, I’m having a hard time figuring out which side of the canyon the bulls are bugling from as they echo through the canyon. After 15-20 minutes and hearing the bulls bugle some more, I finally figure out where they are and I give chase all the way to the top only to run out of day light with the bulls bugling 150 yards away.


----------



## aroflinger

And then..........?


----------



## Huntmaster143

Since just about every spot I have gone has had people, I look for a spot that isn’t as easy to access which is really hard in this unit. I look at a spot where I have wanted to go for the past couple years, but just never made it over. So, that is where we are headed and it is actually pretty darn close to camp which makes it even better.



Wayne and I depart the truck with a high meadow in mind. Wayne is going to sit on one leg of the meadow and I’m going to drop down in deeper and cover the other portion and hopefully chase some bugles.



Here’s a view of most of the meadow, Wayne is sitting around the corner to the right out of my sight.







I reach my viewing spot and within 30 minutes, I have a small rag horn walk out from behind me at 20 yards and proceeds to feed right out in front of me. Once again, I didn’t knock an arrow… My bow is laying on my lap, but no arrow is nocked and the bull is only at 20 yards feeding. Lucky for me and him, I’m not interested in shooting him.



A little while later a cow moose feeds her way to the top of the meadow.







And a closer look thru the binos









After a few minutes, this cow and calf feed into the meadow. They were followed by a rutting bull. I have some video of him destroying one of the spruce trees in the pic. Wayne had the bull within 8 yards and has some great video that I’ll try to get uploaded.













Around 6:50 pm, I start to hear bugles but it is really hard to get the direction from my current location. They could be coming from anywhere behind me or from in front of me. Just can’t tell. After about 25 minutes, I finally get a read and am able to glass a bull way up on top of this meadow and they are more than 350’ of elevation and a half mile away. With the wind direction and the time it is going to get there, there is no play on this herd. So I get settled into a good glassing spot and watch what turns out to be a rag horn, a 5x5 and big 6x6 running all around a small finger of the meadow way above my location.



With only two more hunting days left, I’m going to need a break somehow and seeing the undisturbed elk tonight was one heck of a confidence builder. As dark settles in, we make our way back to the truck and devise a plan for the morning.


----------



## Huntmaster143

Day 10



I head out of camp with a plan to head up and over the opposite side of the mountain that I watched the herd from the night before. I needed to gain the elevation no matter which way I went, but this would be a little shorter and then I should be able to have a strong wind blowing in my face as I approached the herd.



I make it to the top of the mountain with about 30 minutes until shooting light and I immediately hear a bull bugling only a couple hundred yards away in the pitch black. The elk are in the same spot they were the evening before. About 10 minutes before shooting light, I am able to make out a couple cows bedded in the meadow. I now can see the solid 6x6 herd bull bugling and patrolling the area with a rag horn in tow.



As it passes legal shooting time, I start making a move through the broken timber on the edge of the meadow trying to work ahead of the herd. Or at least where I think they are going to go. I’m now within 50 yards of a feeding calf and cow with a good wind still. The herd bull is bugling on the other side of the herd and out of sight. 



As I hear him bugle close by, I start to bugle trying to get him to come defend his herd. He responds and comes closer bugling, I cut him off as he is well within 100 yards. The cows are now watching in my direction as well, but no one is spooked. He bugles again and I cut him off again. And then it happens…


----------



## Luv2hunteup

Great story so far. Thanks you sharing your hunt.


----------



## slabstar

Fantastic recap and pics! 
But nooooo! Not more hunters! !!!!!


----------



## Huntmaster143

The herd begins working its way into the timber which is making it difficult for me to stay ahead of them. So I have to start trailing them thru the timber, but if you have ever elk hunted, it’s about impossible to keep up with a moving herd of elk. They are just walking and you have to run just to stay close and that’s even on flat ground. So they pull ahead of me a bit and start dropping down into the valley where I was set up the night before.



As I approach the bottom, I start to hear more bugles and spot a small bull following the path the cow moose took the night before and climb to the top of the mountain. I am now at the bottom standing on the edge of the meadow and there are no less than 5 bulls bugling around me and I can’t see a one of them.



I then spot some elk right on the timber circling the bottom about 150 yards ahead of me. I start to make a move across the meadow floor when a bull bugles and makes his way out into the meadow bugling about every other step it seems. He is a definite shooter and only 80 yards away!! As his path takes him behind a large spruce, I run right up next to it and wait for him to pass by a rock at 35 yards.


----------



## Huntmaster143

And I never see him again!! He must’ve bounced back into the timber just about as fast as he came out.



So now I’m chasing the bugles up the other side of the mountain and the entire valley is filled with sweet September music. I don’t know which way to turn… I climb up chasing some and then drop back down going after others. It is an absolute riot and I’m still not even close to the elk! I give off a couple bugles trying to keep the elk talking so I can move in on them and they all are talking.



It is only 9 am and I have covered 5 miles running around this valley and hillside chasing bugles and it is only two square miles… As 10 am rolls around all the bugles have quieted down and I haven’t found one that wants to fight or defend his herd yet. Every time I get close, they move their herd a little further and I haven’t been able to quite sneak in on one yet. Right now, I wish I had a caller that could just stand still and locate bugle so I could sneak in and get close to the herd, but not today.



After some more failed attempts to move in on a herd, I head back to the camp to start getting things organized as we only have one day left before we have to make the trip back home. Boy what a morning hunt and I didn’t even come close really!


----------



## Huntmaster143

For the afternoon, Wayne and I are both down in the bottom vantage point hoping the elk return to this area tonight. We aren’t there 5 minutes and a bull chuckles in the timber to the right across the valley but out of frame of the above pic and then the bull moves up the hill to his herd all the way back up where they were last night. We may have just missed him coming in for a drink, but I really didn’t think there was a herd bedded in that location based on this morning’s action all being on the other side of the valley.



About 6:20 PM a 5x5 bull walks out at the very top of the mountain on the other side. If you look at the meadow pic above, he was all the way to the top along the tree line. It has to be a half mile across and 4 or 5 hundred feet above us and it is wide open. At first, I just watch the bull slowly feed in the meadow as it crosses. Then I think a minute…



I am on day 57 of my elk hunting career spread over 5 separate trips and I have yet to let the air out of a bull yet. I’ve had two shots at solid 6 point bulls that didn’t go my way, I’ve had many opportunities on smaller bulls and still have had a blast, but I haven’t killed yet and here is a respectable first bull right across the valley…



So I grab my bugle and let one out. It grabs his attention and he bugles back. I have now decided if I can bring this bull all the way across the valley into bow range, I am going to take him. So we continue to trade bugles and at first he ignores me a bit, but then I cut him off as he bugles and hit him with a scream. His whole demeanor really changes after that. I can now see he is committed and starts trotting my way. When he gets half way, he stops to look around, so I move back into the timber to bugle and muffle the sound, trying to give him a different look. Works like a charm and he starts trotting my way again and this time comes all the way to the bottom of the creek. When he drops down, I give another bugle knowing he can’t see and run up to the edge of the timber figuring he will come right in the timber looking for the herd.



I now see him climbing my side of the timber and he is heading right for an opening not 10 yards in front of me. I come to full draw…


----------



## Huntmaster143

Time for lunch...


----------



## bounty hunter

What kind of elk hunter eats lunch at full draw? lol


----------



## Captain

He was hungry J they only ate once or twice in the last 10 days.....


----------



## bounty hunter

Good point


----------



## Huntmaster143

And he stops behind a small tree, 20 yards away right in my opening looking for the elk he had heard over here. After about a minute, he turns around and drops back down. I chuckle again hoping he might return and it doesn’t work. We watch him slowly work his way back up the other side of the mountain still trying to figure out what was over here. Every so often, he stops and looks our way wondering…



I make my way over to Wayne and I think he was going to choke me for not shooting this bull as he was able to sit 30 yards away and watch the entire show. Wayne never really knew where I was, so he had thought I called the bull all the way across the meadow just to pass him at 20 yards…



Being able to see how that bull reacted to my calling was priceless! Different bugles, different tones, going into the woods, all of it was really cool and a blast! In hind sight, I should’ve known that he wasn’t going to enter the woods to pick a fight until he had a visual confirmation. I should’ve called from the woods and then moved off to the side and snuck right to the edge and shot him out in the open. Live and learn, we still have to kill an elk yet!!

After that was over, the bulls began to bugle at the top of the mountain in the small meadow again, just like they did last night. Only difference tonight is I couldn’t see them and they ultimately fed over the top of the mountain and on to the other side.


----------



## Huntmaster143

Captain said:


> He was hungry J they only ate once or twice in the last 10 days.....


Didn't think I would take it down to that detail. If I did that, I'd be like cscott and telling you every time I had to use the bathroom... :Modified_:Modified_:Modified_


----------



## goodworkstractors

Huntmaster143 said:


> Didn't think I would take it down to that detail. If I did that, I'd be like cscott and telling you every time I had to use the bathroom... :Modified_:Modified_:Modified_


Just looking for a little reading material, geesh!


----------



## Huntmaster143

Day 11



With all of the action we have had in the past couple days, I wasn’t afraid of the last day one bit. Actually I embraced it, two years ago I had a shot at 9 am on the last day in this exact unit, I just blew the shot last time. I figured I’d basically make the same play this morning as I did yesterday and if I didn’t kill in the AM, I would search out why the bull left his herd the other day and bugled down by the water in the timber. I figured there must be water or a wallow buried in there and maybe I’d setup on it the entire afternoon waiting him out.



Back up on top in the saddle before daylight again waiting for the bugles to start. This time nothing happens. No worries, there were a ton of bugles down below yesterday, so I’ll work my way down to get a head start on them. On my way down, I work thru the timber looking for that water seep or wallow, etc, but can’t find one. Not really sure why that bull was so far away from his cows the other day.



It’s now well past 7 and I haven’t heard a bugle yet. I decide to climb into the areas where I heard bugles yesterday AM and take a look. Nothing, I work my way another mile around the face of the bedding area where I bumped the bull from his bed in the snow. Nothing!! Now doubt is starting to set in and I’m starting to believe the end of the trip is going to end as a dud. So I sit down on the side of the mountain and look my maps over. It is now 8:15 AM and I haven’t heard a thing all morning other than a horny cow moose.



After looking the maps and aerials over on my phone, I think about the handful of bulls that crossed the large meadow and went up and over the top. I think about the herd that fed over the saddle last night and didn’t return to this side. I already covered this side enough, there was really only one choice. And that was to climb the 500’ to the top of the meadow and cross over the top and hit the North faces on the back side.


----------



## Huntmaster143

So at 8:30, I take off for the top, 500’ and over one mile on a topo, who knows how far on the step counter. I hit the peak around 9 AM and begin to descend the other side. I pull out my phone again and mark two spots on my GPS APP that I need to hit and grab a quick snack. I’m not sitting there 5 minutes and there is a bugle slightly below me and within 150 yards.



Knowing it is getting late in the day, this herd is probably settled in pretty well. I check the wind and it is coming from the elk to me and slightly up hill. So I just ease along step by step, watching for elk in the trees or a bedded bull. I do this for 30-40 minutes and there are no more bugles and I haven’t seen an elk.



I get the urge to make something happen, so I just let off a series of high pitched chuckles… And Nothing!! A minute or two later, I give a bugle followed by chuckles… That gets a growly bugle back right on que. This bull is well within 100 yards, so I move closer, 20 yards or so and chuckle again. Another growly response as I’m moving downhill 10 yards or so and inching closer. I catch his tops coming thru the timber no more than 50 yards away. Back and left of the picture below. I stay silent and find a spot that offers a couple decent shooting lanes and drop to my knees.




I range the opening straight out and slightly to my left at 35 yards just before he readies to enter it. I clip my release on the string and start to draw just before he enters the lane. As I’m drawing, he moves quickly thru the first opening and doesn’t offer a shot at all. However, he continues to look for the intruder and comes closer. He is inside 20 yards now and passes behind the mess of trees right in front of me no further than 15 yards away. I draw my bow again…


----------



## chuckinduck

So you got on your knees and.........lol. Sorry. Continue.


----------



## Huntmaster143

Got on my knees and drew my bow... But...


This time he stops right behind the trees and is only 15 yards away looking again. I’m still holding at full draw. I’m beginning to wonder if I should let down? Has he spotted me? What is the wind doing right now? What do I do if he turns back?


----------



## Huntmaster143

Then he continues along his route passing behind the cluster of trees at a mere 12 yards. He turns slightly towards me as he takes a few steps. He is now aggressively quartered to me. I look for a shot location and I find my pin settling on the front side of his right shoulder about a 1/3 up the body. He stops and the arrow takes flight. It impacts exactly where my pin was aimed and the bull busts out.



As he immediately retreats in a half moon circle crossing thru the 35 yard shooting lane again, I am letting out a bugle hoping to slow him down. No sooner than he crosses the window in the front again, he crashes branches like a derailed freight train and makes a ton of noise. I grab my phone to mark the shot location on GPS and see it is 9:57 AM and that I’ve covered 6.5 miles this AM already.



I sit on my knees for a couple minutes not moving, just wondering if I have really accomplished what I know really has happened. I can’t see him from my location, but I saw him go down, right?


----------



## slabstar

I hope so!


----------



## Walleyed Ty

SOB!!!! I thought for sure this would all be posted by now! Same with Tony's thread....

:rant::rant::rant::rant::rant::rant::rant::rant:


----------



## Huntmaster143

After no more than 5 minutes, I decide to ease over to his tracks where I shot him. I see the broken back six inches of my arrow a couple steps in to his retreat.






Arrow looks good and that is a ton of penetration. I peak over to where he crashed away and I don’t see him. Could this possibly be a repeat of last year’s elk? It was a tough angle shot again? But I was solid in front of the shoulder and got good penetration? Did I get both lungs? Heart? Or did I hit the shoulder and skip it down the outside of his ribs like last year?


----------



## obeRON

Show us a pinpoint on a picture of where you think you hit him.


----------



## Huntmaster143

obeRON said:


> Show us a pinpoint on a picture of where you think you hit him.


I'll have to find a pic with that angle quick.


----------



## Huntmaster143

I'd say right about where the red dot is, but the bull may have been slightly more quartering and not as much full frontal...


----------



## bounty hunter

Huntmaster143 said:


> I'd say right about where the red dot is, but the bull may have been slightly more quartering and not as much full frontal...


----------



## bounty hunter

I usually wait an hour after a good hit . 5 minutes seems kind of fast unless they tip over like caribou?


----------



## FREEPOP

bounty hunter said:


> I usually wait an hour after a good hit . 5h minutes seems kind of fast unless they tip over like caribou?


He walked 12 yards to where he shot it.


----------



## Huntmaster143

bounty hunter said:


> I usually wait an hour after a good hit . 5 minutes seems kind of fast unless they tip over like caribou?


I agree, all I have done so far is walk silently to where my arrow hit the bull. 12 yards from my shot location at best.


----------



## bounty hunter

shot it at 12 yards and heard it go down ? sorry his story so..


----------



## Walleyed Ty

bounty hunter said:


> shot it at 12 yards and heard it go down ? sorry his story so..


----------



## bounty hunter




----------



## Walleyed Ty

bounty hunter said:


>


:lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol:

Just messin....

Dying to see the rest of this play out....


----------



## maddiedog

And???


----------



## bounty hunter

drama


----------



## Walleyed Ty

If he posts "time for dinner!" I'm going to be pissed.


----------



## Huntmaster143

But wait, I heard and saw him crash, didn’t I? Couple more steps and there he lays not 40 yards from the shot location. I walk over to him and marvel at how big a mature bull elk really is. I take a moment to take in the whole trip, my past four trips and all of the effort that has gone into my first successful DIY elk hunt.



After all of these trips, I’ve done just about everything you can elk hunting but one thing… 



So I take off my pack, grab my knife and do that one thing, punch my tag!!


----------



## Walleyed Ty

Huntmaster143 said:


> But wait, I heard and saw him crash, didn’t I? Couple more steps and there he lays not 40 yards from the shot location. I walk over to him and marvel at how big a mature bull elk really is. I take a moment to take in the whole trip, my past four trips and all of the effort that has gone into my first successful DIY elk hunt.
> 
> 
> 
> After all of these trips, I’ve done just about everything you can elk hunting but one thing…
> 
> 
> 
> So I take off my pack, grab my knife and do that one thing, punch my tag!!


That is about the coolest shot ever... wow. Congrats! Awesome pic man...


----------



## obeRON

Awesome!!


----------



## obeRON

Love that last picture with the cut outs!


----------



## dmrbigeshott

Great write up, Scott. 

18 miles on the last day; you earned that bull for sure!


----------



## Huntmaster143

obeRON said:


> I can't remember, did you indicate what unit you were in?


No, in an effort to keep additional pressure off the unit, I don't want to release exactly where I was. I got a little carried away in some pics, but I also left out many pics that someone could use to very easily figure it out. If someone draws the same unit, I'd be more than willing to share everything I have learned in it.

This was the first time I've hunted the same place twice. It was a huge advantage knowing I had so many different options each day. It worked out really well since I ran into so many people as well.

One other thing. I am working on getting the video off of Wayne's phone that has the bull crossing the valley on the next to last day. I just watched it again and it is pretty good!


----------



## beer and nuts

Congrats and great story!


----------



## Duwammer

Wonderful story. It brings back many good memories of my own at elk camp in Wyoming.

Heading out in a couple of weeks with a left over cow tag in my pocket and I can't wait to hit the road.

The pictures you took, were they from your phone.


----------



## Huntmaster143

Duwammer said:


> The pictures you took, were they from your phone.



Yeah, I took my nice camera, but it's so thick most of the time, the phone does just as good as long as it has good light.


----------



## QDMAMAN

Outstanding Buddy! Congrats again!
My turn!


----------



## barnaby43

Great job on telling your dream come true story, I love to see guys who bust their butt score on such a magnificent animal ! You deserve it!


----------



## sanderson

Congratulations! Well deserved!!


----------



## Jet08

Huntmaster143 said: ↑

_"During my reading, several guys have said that you should knock an arrow every time you call. I’d take that one step further and knock an arrow every time you stop in an “elky” area. There were a few times where I could’ve gotten close to killing if I would’ve just knocked an arrow sooner. I’ll point out the times as I continue the story."_

This was one of my first lessons learned on the mountain in Colorado earlier last month. The first night I thought I was in a decent area to do some glassing. My bow sat a couple feet to my right when I look up and here is a bull elk at less then fifteen steps. Lucky for me he wasn't a shooter, but what if he had been?? I would have been screwed.

Huntmaster143 said: ↑

_"I move around the corner 100 yards and I see two other hunters following and circling around the top a couple hundred feet above me. It now comes to light that these two guys were chasing the bugles we were making and bumped into the other herd which blew them right on top of me.


I stop and talk with the guys, one has an elk tag, the other a deer tag. Both were pretty nice guys and were kinda sorry that they busted up my opportunity."_

And this was the second lesson I learned on the mountain in Colorado, I do NOT like other hunters in my area. I went from a shooter being within 75 yards and closing to watching them climb the next valley thanks to unknowing hunters.


----------



## Huntmaster143

The knocking an arrow point got so deep in my head, I was darn near hiking full time with an arrow knocked, which isn't the smartest thing to do. So any time I stopped or it looked real elky, I knocked my arrow.


The people issue can be eliminated to some degree, but when hunting on public ground, you might as well plan on seeing people at some point.


----------



## johnhunter

Congratulations, Scott. Well done and well written.


----------



## Huntmaster143

I debated on starting a new thread to break this news, but figured this next story line would just add to the overall story of my 2015 Western hunting season.



If you go all the way back to page one of this thread, you will recall that I lucked out and drew a lotto tag for my Wyoming hunt. I found out about that news in March. In April the last few years, my brother’s family and mine have been taking a trip during our kid’s spring break to stay with my parent’s in their winter home in Florida for a week or so. Both of us have young families, oldest are 6, so we usually just relax alongside the pool enjoying a few adult beverages while the kids play their hearts out in the pool. 



Well, during a game of Bid Euchre where the boys were beating up on the ladies, the topic of drawing my elk tag came up. After talking about where the hunt was at and several of my other hunts, the topic of my Dad, my brother and myself going on an elk hunt came up. Since I’m the more experienced one, they both looked at me and said, “Can we make that happen this year?” I responded with something along the lines of “We can make anything happen if we really want to!”



If you remember from last year’s story, my Mom and Dad actually stopped by camp and visited with us for an afternoon. Well almost immediately my Dad said, “I could’ve hunted out of your camp last year”. I politely (well maybe not, there might have been some Bacardi involved) told him that he wouldn’t enjoy that type of hunt because it was too physical and that we needed to focus on more of a ranch style hunt. He has had several back surgeries and is fighting degenerating discs and pinched nerves in his back, so there is no way he is going to enjoy climbing miles upon miles in the mountains. It was obvious to me that we needed to find a truck based hunt where the majority of the miles could be covered without too much physical effort and then he can move in for the final approach on foot.



A few more conversations were carried out during the week trying to decide if we were going archery or rifle and when we were going to do it. Since I already had the WY tag in hand, we were going to have to work around my schedule some as well. So after deciding that my Dad and brother really only wanted to do this once or twice and didn’t care what type of weapon, I suggested that we book a rifle hunt on a ranch that has landowner tags available or something similar. 



In NM, you can rifle hunt on a landowner tag the first week of October. This means the bulls will still be bugling and in the rut. I really wanted to get them the experience of hunting rutting elk, as I don’t think there is anything comparable on the planet. Since all of my past research has revolved around DIY draw hunting, I wasn’t overly familiar with what was available out there. So I reached out to a couple booking agents that I’m friends with on FB and started putting some feelers out there for what we were interested in. We also had decided that if we were going to do this, we didn’t want to book a hunt that just gave us a chance for an average bull, we wanted a stud!


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## Huntmaster143

Finding a somewhat last minute elk hunt that is available for an average bull is not that difficult, finding a somewhat last minute elk hunt that is available for an above average bull is a little more difficult. A couple of the booking agents couldn’t get me hooked up with anything that was even close to what we were looking for. The key word always being “available”. So, I decided to check with an outfitter that runs hunts on the Turner ranches just for the hay of it and they are booked two to three years out. Dead end again.



Shortly after returning from Florida, I attended the P&Y convention and ran into an outfitter that I hunted with on my very first elk hunt in NM. I knew he was going to be there and figured I’d pick his brain for availability of a hunt that met our desires. After talking it over during the convention, he believed he had a ranch that fit our desires. He was partners with another outfitter on it and another group had a hold on the tags, but haven’t sent in a deposit as of yet. So we have an option, but maybe not. Worst case, we had something for next year…



Well after returning home, the outfitter calls me back and informs me that the slots are open and that we could have choice of the first week of October or the last week. I immediately told him that we wanted the first week to hunt in the rut. After a bit of conversation with him, he wanted to point out to me that the “bigger” bulls usually show up on this ranch later in the season as the adjoining public land gets hunting pressure. The elk have been conditioned to utilize this sanctuary through the years as there is no hunting pressure on the ranch during the middle two weeks when the public land muzzy and rifle hunts are occurring. This concept sounded reasonable and I was already spending two weeks chasing bugling bulls this year, so the decision was up to the other two.



After a quick discussion amongst the group, the other two really wanted to try for a stud and skip the rut. So with our dates all set, deposits sent in, it was back to my Wyoming hunt prep work for me.


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## QDMAMAN

Huntmaster143 said:


> If you remember from last year’s story, my Mom and Dad actually stopped by camp and visited with us for an afternoon. Well almost immediately my Dad said, “I could’ve hunted out of your camp last year”. I politely (well maybe not, there might have been some Bacardi involved) told him that he wouldn’t enjoy that type of hunt because it was too physical and that we needed to focus on more of a ranch style hunt. He has had several back surgeries and is fighting degenerating discs and pinched nerves in his back, so there is no way he is going to enjoy climbing miles upon miles in the mountains. It was obvious to me that we needed to find a truck based hunt where the majority of the miles could be covered without too much physical effort and then he can move in for the final approach on foot.


Remember? Heck yea I remember! 
The timing was perfect...for an ailing knee.


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## Huntmaster143

Now that the Wyoming hunt has concluded, I have had a chance to catch up on some needed family time, work and give my right achilles some time to heal up. The darn thing just doesn’t want to stop “creaking” as my wife put it. Doesn’t really hurt, but it just lets me know it’s there. Oh, I also finally got all of my clothes washed and repacked over the weekend thanks to a rainy Saturday.

So, now I have to double check the bow and rifle to make sure they are both still sighted in. I’ve only been home two weeks now and I leave in less than two weeks for my next adventure. This time it is with family and that is going to be a blast as both my brother and Dad have itchy trigger fingers, so I have a sneaky suspicion that something with antlers is going to come home regardless of how big they are.




I’m just hoping we get to bring something out a little bigger than this dude!!


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## QDMAMAN

You driving or flying?


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## Huntmaster143

QDMAMAN said:


> You driving or flying?


Driving, we are going to have three bulls to bring back!!

It's about the same drive. 24-26 hours, we are going to split it up, my Dad isn't to fond of driving straight thru...


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## Mr.jig

Can't wait for the story. Your recaps are awesome, and are really making me want to go.


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## Huntmaster143

Mr.jig said:


> Can't wait for the story. Your recaps are awesome, and are really making me want to go.


Thanks, I'm just hoping the lack of the rut doesn't hinder the ability to create encounters which is really what tells the story. If nothing else, I'll take a ton of pics!


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## WMU05

You're going back a month later!! You lucky SOB! 

j/k

Enjoy the trip with the family. We're all looking forward to another recap.


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## Huntmaster143

Back at the lodge, I hear from Tim that they saw 6 “Tweeker” bulls as he coined them and ~20 cows. They were climbing to a high mountain and glassing to start the morning, so he was able to get the 1st morning sunrise pic of the trip.







Howie was using his 15x56 Swaro’s mounted on a tri-pod and Tim was using his 8x40 binos. They spent all AM on the same mountain and glassed the adjacent hillsides, covering several square miles of territory from their lookout.



Here’s a pic from one of their glassing spots with the bino setup in the pic.


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## Huntmaster143

My Dad couldn’t move very far from the truck as his knee really started bothering him on the drive out, but he was able to see a few elk and two really nice mule deer bucks. The bucks peeked my Dad’s attention and while back at the lodge, Kerry brought up the fact that muzzleloader mule deer season opens on the next day and that he could chase those if he tags out for elk.



After discussing the mornings hunt with JJ and our plan for the afternoon, we decide that I will sit a high wallow while he goes and glasses hoping to kill two birds with one stone. If JJ spots a shooter bull, he will come grab me and we will try to make a play on it. 



As he walks me into the wallow around 4pm, it is apparent by the wet ground and numerous bubbles in the water that it was used recently which gets the blood flowing. This wallow is the highest water source in the area and the majority of the area is dry.



Here’s my view for the evening in a make shift ground blind made from a toppled tree watching the wallow at 25 yards.









I sit the wallow until dark and with no sightings and the sound of JJ’s truck pulling up the road, I make my way about 150 yards to the truck. After meeting up with JJ, I find out that he didn’t see anything at all tonight either. That is kind of a surprise to me knowing the area we are in.



Back at camp, I find out that Tim saw 12 bulls, 20+ cows and a couple mule deer bucks tonight. My Dad saw a few different bulls and passed on a 5x5 at 300 yards. This ranch should produce some solid bulls and it being our first day of five, there is no need to worry.


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## Huntmaster143

Day 2


We decide that I should sit the wallow early this morning and try to catch the bulls either as they return to their bed or after the cows lay down for the day. So, just like yesterday we head over just as it’s getting daylight. Heading out after daylight is sort of weird to me, I am so used to being on stand or in the elk areas before daylight. But as the old saying goes, “When in Rome”…


I get dropped off at the wallow at 7:15 and JJ is going to glass just like last night. I wasn’t sitting in my make shift ground blind 15 minutes and I hear a bugle up behind me. I listen for a second…and another bugle. It sounds like the bull is moving over the ridge above me, but I want to make sure he isn’t advertising his approach to the wallow I’m sitting. So after it is clear the bull isn’t coming in, I bail on the wallow and climb a couple hundred feet to the top of the mountain to see if I can locate where the bulls are at. Once I crest the top, I can now sort out four distinct bugles, but I still can’t see any. I work my way down the ridge trying to close the distance to no avail. Around 8:30, the bugles have stopped and I haven’t been able to get a good read on their exact location, so I decide to head back to the wallow to sit the rest of the AM.


Here’s the view from the top. It is hard to see where the elk are down in there unless they are talking, so I figure I’d be better off sitting water than bumping elk all around the mountain.





I’m back at the wallow by 8:50 and it doesn’t look like I missed anything here, so I sit until JJ pulls up around 10:30 and we head back to the lodge. When I reach the truck, I find out that JJ had seen a really big bull, a really cool old bull nick named helicopter because of his spread and a small raghorn. Only problem was all three bulls were off the ranch and on the adjacent public ground which we can’t hunt. How’s that for irony… Usually it’s always the other way around. Maybe those old bulls know the season is closed right now on the public?


Back at camp for lunch, Tim had seen 5 “tweeker” bulls and 20 cows while my Dad saw two bulls and a herd of cows. After talking with Tim some more about their hunting style, I give him my 15x56’s and tri-pod as he is having a hard time judging the elk with his deer glass. I’m in such thick country, I could probably get by without any glass at all.


Here’s some pics from Tim’s morning sit;


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## slabstar

Great read so far huntmaster! 
That cabin sure looks cozy!


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## Huntmaster143

slabstar said:


> Great read so far huntmaster!
> That cabin sure looks cozy!


Thanks! Cozy cabin and I don't think I have ever rode around in a truck so much...


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## Huntmaster143

As the evening hunt approached, we decided to sit a meadow that was in the valley where the bulls were sounding off this AM. By 3:30, I was in position on the high side of the broken meadow and JJ was going to head to the bottom by the water so he could glass up the valley and possibly see what was up there. About 4:30 a bull sounded off up the valley. A good sign considering we are in late October and the bull were still interested in talking. The only problem we had was getting a visual on the age and size of the bulls. It’s entirely possible that all the bulls in the valley are rag horns or small 6 points that have taken over “herd bull” status and the old bulls have moved high as the main rut is over.






Back to the bugling bull…about every 15-20 minutes he would sound off from the same position. As darkness was settling in, a cow came running full speed down the mountain on the opposite side of the meadow. Just about as fast as she ran down, she turned and ran right back up… Just as I started chuckling about the cow running, JJ came walking down the edge. I asked him if saw the cow and he didn’t, however, he was a long ways away and certainly didn’t spook her. So now that it looks like the herd is going to work their way down, we talk strategy and decide that it would be better to move out into the meadow closer to where we think the herd is going to come down. We work our way out into the middle of the meadow and find a good ambush spot. I drop to my knees and JJ actually lays down right next to me in a little trench.


After a few minutes and several more bugles, I spot an elk moving into the meadow from the ridge. It is a cow and she is heading straight towards us. The wind is good, blowing from the elk down the mountain past me. The cow is walking at a steady pace and has now closed the distance and beginning to angle past us. The way she is heading, I figure she is going to explode when she catches a whiff of our scent. I am frozen like a statue as she is passing only 10 yards away in the wide open. She continues along and heads out of sight and there is no adverse reaction to our scent cone. Amazing in my mind…


So now we have one cow down and we are sure the rest of the herd is going to follow and head to the water. We hear some more bugles and now it sounds like there are 3 or 4 bulls in the valley. We still have 30-45 minutes of shooting light left, so using the information I learned when the cow passed by, I decide to move slightly closer and gain a little different angle on the trail. We wait for the rest of the herd, but darkness settles in before any more elk show themselves.


Tim continued to see many bulls and cows, but still no shooters in the bunch. My Dad saw several bulls as well, but no real big ones yet.


Even without great bull sightings, you still get some great views.


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## Huntmaster143

Day Three


As morning breaks we have our coldest sunrise of the trip at 30*. We head back to the East side of the ranch in the thick timber to listen for bugles. As we locate bugle and drive from spot to spot, the morning wears on. And we work our way up to the top of a drainage that used to be a former gold mine and check out an old boiler system and the exposed mine shaft. Don’t want to fall in that hole…









After covering a good portion of that area with no responses, we head to a spot referred to as the view road to glass the side of the mountain, hoping to catch the big bulls that were topping out yesterday. We weren’t there more than 5 minutes glassing with our binos and JJ takes off and runs back to his truck to grab the scope. I continue to glass while I wait for his return and then I see why he took off. He had spotted the big bull from yesterday high on the mountain and wanted to get a closer look. It didn’t take long to realize that this was the caliber of bull that we came to NM for. 


Here’s an idea of what he looked like from 1,550 yards away thru the scope. He’s the higher bull, the lower one is a small rag horn.





A zoomed in pic;





And finally a cropped pic;






He was over 1,500 yards away and probably 800-1,000’ above us, but he was in the area and that meant he could be around in the coming days since they are starting to winter and move down to the ranch. So, two days in a row he has been on the side of the mountain in easy gun range and stalkable archery areas… Really wishing I had a public land tag right now…


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## Hunting18

I am really enjoying these play by play hunts- I wish they could continue year round! How do you guys get such good pictures looking through binoculars/spotting scopes? I am amazed at the quality of pictures you have at such distance.


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## Huntmaster143

Hunting18 said:


> How do you guys get such good pictures looking through binoculars/spotting scopes?


Well I had a Phone Skope adapter for the phone I broke and it doesn't fit my new one, so getting pics was a bit more difficult than it should've been. All I do is work on holding the camera lens over the eye piece and snap a bunch of pics. If you take enough, you are bound to get a decent one at some point...

There were a couple times that the wind was making it tough to get a good ID with the naked eye through the scope, so I just snapped a bunch of photos until I got one we could tell what it was.


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## Huntmaster143

We watch both bulls top out and climb to the back side of the mountain and then double check the rest of the side for any other bulls. With no additional sightings, we decide to move down the ridge to get a different perspective on the large mountain, so we pull 100 yards or so down the mountain and start to glass from the truck. Almost immediately JJ and I both hear cow calls. And they are really close. 



So we get out of the truck and grab my bow. We hear the cow calls again and they are on the side of the ridge we are topped out on. We move down the ridge some and JJ lets out some cow calls and gets an immediate response from the cows. What no bull in the herd? We move a little closer and give them some more cow calls trying to simulate that we have lost the herd. The cows’ respond immediately and finally we get a very quiet “grumble” from the bull. He is all the way at the bottom while the cows are within 100 yards.



We try circling around the top of the mountain only to bump into my Dad and Kerry parked at the gate to another section of the ranch. They had this herd walk within 30 yards of their truck while they were not ready and already knew the “herd bull” was a decent 6 point. My Dad was interested in the bull, so I held back and let them look for an opening, but this side of the ranch is just way too thick for that. You are lucky to get bow shots in here, none the less a 300 yard rifle shot.



So with that said and the outfitters desire to not ever bump elk mid-day, we head back to the lodge for lunch. Tim and his guide was actually successful in convincing Kerry to let them stay out all day. It really made sense for them as they were in open country and could see for miles and they walked quite a distance to get to their lookouts.


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## Huntmaster143

For the evening hunt, I went to the area where we saw the elk this AM and JJ headed to watch the bulls that were up top in case they came down to the ranch. I slowly worked my way around the ridge, moving quietly thru the thick timber looking for elk. I covered a mile of mountain this evening without seeing any elk until I hit a high meadow that I was circling to get the wind in my direction. Well actually I never did see them as all I heard was hoof steps running down the mountain. Not sure what really happened as the wind never felt like it swirled and was in a good direction for me. Oh well, this thick pines are tough to hunt, but they saw some really big bulls using this country within the last week, so I’m just continuing to grind it out.



Here’s a pic of the high meadow









As darkness settles in, I hear JJ’s truck coming around the mountain, so I work my way down to the valley to meet up with him and we head back to the lodge for the evening. We make it back to the lodge before everyone else and as Tim walks in the door, he has a pep in his step. I immediately ask if he killed and he says no, but we finally saw a shooter. A bull they estimated to be around 340 inches and was about 700 yards away, but moved into an area they couldn’t get a shot to. So they didn’t put a stalk on him and are going to go try for him in the AM. With the elk in winter mode, they haven’t been traveling very far from feeding to bedding, so they are hoping he will be right there in the AM.



After about an hour of waiting, we still haven’t heard from Kerry or my Dad, so we are all jumping to the conclusion that they killed, but we are surprised they didn’t come grab us for help. Well…finally well after dinner, they pull in the driveway and we find out the good news that my Dad was successful and has shot his first elk. They shot this bull after watching a herd of cows, spikes and two small bulls feed and water for the night. His bull was trailing the herd and he placed a nice 200 yard shot on the bull and he didn’t go far at all.














A nice 6x5 for Dad who made it further into the trip before killing than I ever figured. Lol!


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## hawgeye

Huntmaster143 said:


> For the evening hunt, I went to the area where we saw the elk this AM and JJ headed to watch the bulls that were up top in case they came down to the ranch. I slowly worked my way around the ridge, moving quietly thru the thick timber looking for elk. I covered a mile of mountain this evening without seeing any elk until I hit a high meadow that I was circling to get the wind in my direction. Well actually I never did see them as all I heard was hoof steps running down the mountain. Not sure what really happened as the wind never felt like it swirled and was in a good direction for me. Oh well, this thick pines are tough to hunt, but they saw some really big bulls using this country within the last week, so I’m just continuing to grind it out.
> 
> 
> 
> Here’s a pic of the high meadow
> 
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> 
> 
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> 
> 
> 
> As darkness settles in, I hear JJ’s truck coming around the mountain, so I work my way down to the valley to meet up with him and we head back to the lodge for the evening. We make it back to the lodge before everyone else and as Tim walks in the door, he has a pep in his step. I immediately ask if he killed and he says no, but we finally saw a shooter. A bull they estimated to be around 340 inches and was about 700 yards away, but moved into an area they couldn’t get a shot to. So they didn’t put a stalk on him and are going to go try for him in the AM. With the elk in winter mode, they haven’t been traveling very far from feeding to bedding, so they are hoping he will be right there in the AM.
> 
> 
> 
> After about an hour of waiting, we still haven’t heard from Kerry or my Dad, so we are all jumping to the conclusion that they killed, but we are surprised they didn’t come grab us for help. Well…finally well after dinner, they pull in the driveway and we find out the good news that my Dad was successful and has shot his first elk. They shot this bull after watching a herd of cows, spikes and two small bulls feed and water for the night. His bull was trailing the herd and he placed a nice 200 yard shot on the bull and he didn’t go far at all.
> 
> 
> 
> 
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> 
> 
> 
> 
> A nice 6x5 for Dad who made it further into the trip before killing than I ever figured. Lol!


Awesome!! The trip us well worth it now. Congrats.


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## Huntmaster143

Day 4



Well after fighting thru the thick stuff for the past three days, JJ decides that since my Dad killed, we would go hunt the center of the ranch and see if we can find a big bull up high where my Dad couldn’t climb. 



So this AM, we head over to a different gate and once again pull through and wait for the sun to rise. At least this time I could get some decent pics of it. Unfortunately, I broke the screen on my old phone and had to get a new one right before the trip. I am really disappointed in the sunrise pics that this phone takes. I could take much better low light pics on my old one. I have to check into some settings for this one to see if I can get more out of it.











After sunrise, we can start to make out the face of the mountain that we are going to glass to start the morning. A few minutes after this pic, we drove the truck closer and started glassing for elk from the truck.







It didn’t take us long to find elk this AM. First a 5x1 with a dozen cows & a couple spikes, then a solo scrub bull and then 3 unknowns high on the mountain. Nothing seems to be worth chasing, so we move to another high spot next to a water hole for a change of scenery. It doesn’t take long again and we spot a 5x5 & 2 cows. Still looking for a bigger bull, but it is good to at least see some elk out in this open country.



Here is another pic of the 5x1 that I posted as a teaser earlier in the thread:







Here is the view from on top with a water hole no further than 75 yards behind us. The 5x1 and his herd are settling down for the day, just below the tallest mountain in the pic on the dark side of the hill.







Since it appears that the majority of the elk are settling down for the day, we start to pack for the AM and then I spot 3 elk dots way up the mountain. I yell at JJ to bring the scope back over to take a closer look, but even with the scope, we can’t really tell what they are at the distance and it doesn’t help that the sun is right in our face at this time. We conclude that we will come back to this spot this afternoon and check on these three first and then go from there for the rest of the day.



Back at the lodge for lunch and I talk with my Dad about the mule deer tag since he took the AM off and took his elk to the taxidermist to get ready for the trip home to MI. He decides he is going to buy the mule deer tag and try for one of the good bucks he saw a couple days ago. The afternoon plan for me is to head back to the lookout next to the water hole for the afternoon and try to find the elk that were bedded up high.


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## Huntmaster143

Back on top of the rock, it doesn’t take 20 minutes to find the 3 spots high on the mountain. It turns out that there are actually four small bulls together. Here’s a pic showing where we were glassing from and where we spotted some of the elk.









Here are the four bulls together well over a mile away and up the mountain from us.







And two of them sparring…









We continue to keep an eye on the mountain and see some other elk moving around, but no shooters yet. JJ has decided that he was going to go around to the other side of the glassing point to look in the opposite direction and I’m going to stay here. As of 5:30, the best bull I had seen was a 5x5 and JJ hasn’t seen anything but 7 deer and only one small buck. About 30 minutes later I see some elk moving out of the bottom of the mountain and onto the open floor. A few cows at first. Then a couple small bulls. Then a decent looking bull comes out with 20+ cows. I text JJ quick to head this way since there are a ton of elk out here and possibly a good one. It’s not 30 seconds and he is running up the mountain to me huffing and puffing. I laugh and ask if he thought I saw a 400” bull or what…


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## Huntmaster143

He had actually started moving my way before I sent the text because there was a decent framed bull on the other side and he figured they were coming to the water behind us and we can get a good view from up here. So, we glass the valley floor to see what is down there and I count 40 cows and 6 bulls at the time. The best bull in that is a 5x5 still, so we switch around to the one JJ saw. The cows are the first to show, but a few minutes later the bull shows up high on the hill and it is another 5x5. Man where are the big bulls at???



So we just switch back to elk watching and glassing up high for something as both herds head to the water. The big herd below has formed one big group where I have the circle and dots and they begin to follow the red lines up the mountain to water.







Now I should’ve taken a pic of this water hole as it was no bigger than an average swimming pool, but all ~60 cows and 10 bulls pass by us at 54 yards and they go to the same spot to water. We continue to watch all of them thru the binos as darkness sets in and we get a pretty cool moonrise over the opposite mountain and get to watch wallowing bulls behind us.







After darkness has completely settled in, we walk the 50 yards back to the truck and hop in while elk are still watering 30 yards away… LOL! Back at camp, my Dad didn’t see any good mule deer bucks as they covered the ranch all evening and Tim didn’t see the shooter they saw the day before, but they still saw several bulls and cows again.


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## goodworkstractors

Very cool. Were temps average or above average? I don't have experience with elk, but have never seen deer or antelope come to watering holes or tanks during daylight out west. I obviously know it happens, but just have never seen it. It must've been pretty cool to watch them come into the water from so far away, sorta like cattle.


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## Huntmaster143

Temps were very average. 35ish at night and 55-65 during the day.

I killed my antelope on water and they watered all day where I was at. The guide and I were laughing the entire time the elk started piling over the hill to us. We couldn't believe that many elk could just keep walking by us, the empty tank in the pic, the truck that is just out of frame and then go to a small water hole not 80 yards from us. Pretty cool to watch it all unfold for sure!


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## Huntmaster143

Day 5



Would I expect anything different than to go down to the last day on an elk hunt? Nah! Why change a great tradition! I’m content knowing I have a freezer full of elk back in MI and have been holding out for a toad any ways, so I know my chances are slim. Tim on the other hand has said from the beginning he was on a sliding scale by day…360, 350, 330, 320, 300. Now prior to this trip, Tim hasn’t even seen a wild elk, so by seeing 20+ bulls a day, he has gotten broken in quite well on this trip, just hasn’t seen more than the one stud.



Well for my last AM, we were headed to watch the edge of the ranch where the big boy had been seen, hoping he would be down low during daylight. Unlikely, but that’s really the only known shooter that we have seen on the ranch for me. The sun certainly lit the side of the mountain up today!









We glassed for an hour or so, but never did see any elk on this side. So we moved high to glass for a different look. Nothing! Then finally we moved around to the North side and spotted one small raghorn. As we continued around the mountain face, we ended up bumping into my Dad and Kerry who were glassing for mule deer. They had seen 10+ bulls and several cows over by “blue tank”. So we looked in that area, but couldn’t find any elk now. Since we had pushed the day to 10:30 already and the elk didn’t seem to be showing themselves, we glassed our way back to the lodge. I was able to text Tim and they saw four bulls with the largest maybe only being 300, so they are still holding out at this point.


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## Huntmaster143

So now we are down to the last half day for Tim and I. We headed back over to “blue tank” to see if we could spot the elk from this AM. We pull up to the tank and park about 100 yards away with a view of the mountain. Here’s my initial view from the truck again. Lol!







I can only take so much looking thru the window, so I get out and take a pic and glass over the hood of the truck.










After glassing for a half hour or so, I text Tim to see if anything is moving his way, as they have a better vantage point and if elk are on their feet over there, they should be here pretty soon. Just a few minutes later I get a text back that the two bulls they bedded this AM just got up. I asked “Gonna shoot him?” He says he’s thinking about it. I immediately respond with a very simple message that can’t be misconstrued… Kill him! Well just for effect, here’s our text exchange…


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## Huntmaster143

So he has his bull down within 25 minutes of me texting him back… Not bad!! I congratulate him and tell him to send me pics when he makes it over to the bull. As I await pics, we go back to glassing the elk that have decided to stand and feed while we were texting Tim. 



If you look close, you can see elk in this shot…







A little easier in this shot…







A little easier…


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## slabstar

Step counter = 150! Lol! 
Last pic = shooter! Set that stick and string down, grab the gun and smoke him!lol!


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## Huntmaster143

Shortly thereafter, the cows decide they need a drink and literally run down the mountain to the water tank right next to us.


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## Huntmaster143

In the meantime, Tim has texted me some pics of his bull…


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## Huntmaster143

slabstar said:


> Step counter = 150! Lol!


I'd be surprised if it was even that high!! :coolgleam:coolgleam

Between the drive out, riding around in a truck hunting and then the drive home, I have really picked up my work out regimen this week... Never thought I would gain weight on an elk hunt, but somehow I manage to!


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## Huntmaster143

After about 30-45 minutes the 6 point finally decides to come down off the mountain to water.


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## Huntmaster143




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## Huntmaster143

And as darkness settles in, I get one final text from Tim as he gets to pack his first bull off the mountain!







Back at camp, we also find out that my Dad was successful on getting his mule deer tonight!! Man, now maybe I should’ve killed that bull, three critters on the last evening hunt! J


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## Huntmaster143

Extended packing day 6



Well no elk trip is really an elk trip if you don’t get to carry a quarter or more on your back… We hiked back to the kill location and deboned the hanging quarters in short order with three guys. Somehow Tim carried the least amount, but the pack out was pretty easy and all downhill for about a mile or so.


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## Huntmaster143

Any time a hunt has ended with an unfilled tag for me, I always wonder if I should’ve taken opportunities that were presented or should have I done something different on my missed opportunities, etc. This time I can’t say that was the case. The thought never crossed my mind to grab the gun at the last minute, it sort of did cross my mind to grab the bow and try a stalk on the last day 6x6, but I packed the bow at lunch time on the last day…so that was out from the start of the last evening really.



Over all, when we originally started talking about this trip, it was really more about getting my Dad and brother out West to experience a good elk hunt. Even though we didn’t see the top end bulls that we were after, we saw lots of elk and that can be a challenge at times. So, I believe our original goal of getting out, harvesting a couple bulls and having a great time together was accomplished!


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## slabstar

Good stuff! Thanks for sharing!


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## Hunting18

Great Trip, Even better story!


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## WILDCATWICK

I had a great time reading about your hunts. Congrats to you on your success earlier and on getting you Brother and Father into it! Your posts have been some of the best I've ever read on this site. Thank you very much!!!!!


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## Firefighter

Excellent recap and pictures! I love it!

On a side note, How do you like that badlands frame pack? I thought about getting one to haul out deer 1/2's, or haul in a complete mobile setup with all my clothing and whatnot. Badlands had them on clearance.


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## WMU05

Good stuff! Thanks for sharing another thorough recap.


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## Huntmaster143

Thanks everyone, glad the second story came off well, I had my doubts before we left. This trip was a totally different experience than my past elk hunts, but it was a good one overall. I wouldn't do this same trip solo, but I could see this unit and ranch being a blast in September. Riding around in a truck glassing, while very productive, was a bit weird for me...

So now that the weather has finally turned, I'm going to chase some whitetails and then my full attention will be directed towards next years hunt which should yield some awesome pics and is only 305 days away already.


Hoping to find a long haired billy to bring back as well!


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## Huntmaster143

Firefighter said:


> On a side note, How do you like that badlands frame pack? I thought about getting one to haul out deer 1/2's, or haul in a complete mobile setup with all my clothing and whatnot. Badlands had them on clearance.


I haven't used it, it was the outfitters and my brother used it to pack out his elk. I have used my Cabela's Alaskan several different times to carry quarters as well as using it for training and for a moderately priced frame, I'd say it is pretty good. The belt on mine is a little big for me (I have lost weight since buying it), so after long heavy hikes, it really digs into my hips, but when it fit well, I didn't have the problem.

If you get a frame, just make sure that it is setup to fit YOU. There are a ton of videos out there showing you how and it carries so much better when it fits right.


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## hooknhorn

Just love your journal of your trips. Thanks for the ride.....


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## The Doob

Thank you so much for sharing!!! I enjoyed the photography and details of your hunt immeasurably.


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## QDMAMAN

Train on brotha!


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## barnaby43

Nice work Scott, I've been busy, just got around to reading your story. Sounds like a great family experience!!!


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