Trad Gang
Trad Gang Highlights => HIGHLIGHTS 2015 => Topic started by: Sheepshooter on October 13, 2015, 10:45:00 PM
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This was originally posted in the Alberta forum.
So I'm finally gonna get to tell a bit of the story of Yves' elk. Still gonna be a bit of a teaser because he is working on the story for the "Quiver".
We started planning this trip sometime before the HCJ. It would be Yves' first elk hunt and first hunt out of a wall tent, plus our first hunt together. He seemed really excited and I was too. We originally were going for 11 days but had to cut the trip short due to a wedding I was attending.
Day one was spent travelling up to our hunting area and setting up camp. We were planning on hunting that evening but our trip was slowed by bad service at restaurants and witnessing a bad accident on the way up. We settled in and Yves met the other guys in camp.
Day two Yves and I headed into an area I had scouted the year before. I was disappointed to see a lack of sign in the area. We later learned that 2 of the fellows in camp had seen six wolves in the same area earlier that week. It was raining off and on all morning and we were getting soaked but we were also having a blast shooting at the plentiful Ruffies all day. We ended up getting three that day and that was it for the week. They seemed a lot spookier the rest of the week.
We put on some miles that morning and ended up near a couple of wallows I had found last year. There were some very fresh rubs there and so we set up to call. I let out a couple of cow calls and had a bull bugle immediately. He was only about 200 yards straight upwind. He came quickly but circled way downwind. I did get a look at him before he barked and blew outta there. He was a big 6x6 and, unfortunately, Yves didn't see him.
That evening we tried to come into the same area from a different road. We didn't find a good way in or much sign but on the way back to the truck we found ourselves face to face with a big bull. He was about 90 yards from us when I first spotted him but was already onto us. He stuck around just long enough for me to get my binos up and get a good look. High, wide, long points, and huge tops. Definitely the biggest bull I've seen while hunting.
On day three we put on a bunch of miles again but didn't see any elk until we were in the truck heading back to camp after dark. We spotted a young bull and a cow on a lease. When we got back to camp we pulled out a map to try and figure out where those elk might go during the day.
We now had a starting point for day four and while we were grabbing our gear out of the truck after parking we heard our first bugle. We didn't know the area and so quickly set up and called. He was only responding to bugles so that's what I gave him. He circled about 500-600 yards downwind and then turned around and headed up the big ridge above us, bugling the whole way. We circled around and got ahead of him but it was getting late in the morning and he eventually shut up and I figure he bedded up for the day. Yves and I went for a walk and found a really cool trappers cabin.
That evening we knew where there was a bedded bull so that's where we headed. We heard him bugling again from the truck. The wind was perfect and we headed straight for him. We had walked quite a way and didn't seem to be getting any closer to him. I made the decision to try and call him from there. We got set up and I was just about to call when another bull bugled much closer to us.
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So, a bull bugled a lot closed to us and I gave him a few cow calls. He immediately shut up and no amount of cow calls interested him. I tried bugling and he called right back. He was stubborn though, and it took over an hour of calling to get him to finally commit. He was coming in mad and he came in exactly how I thought he would and Yves was I the right spot. I couldn't see the action from my hiding spot but I could certainly hear it! I heard the bull go to Yves' position and then I could hear him bust out. I called right away and the bull didn't go very far. I could hear him moving around but I wasn't sure if he had seen Yves or if Yves had got a shot. I moved slightly to where I could see Yves to try and get an idea of what had transpired. I saw Yves look at his watch and, to me, that could only mean one thing. Yves had gotten a shot! The fact that the bull didn't travel very far was a good sign. What I didn't like was that I could hear movement over there twenty minutes later. I finally couldn't stand it anymore and started moving towards Yves. I heard movement again in the direction the bull had gone and I thought I had blown it. Then I heard some noises that would indicate a death had occurred. Yves started moving towards me and was still vibrating when he got to me. I've never seen him so excited! We decide to play it safe and headed out to the truck. I called one the guys in camp who is a very experienced elk bowhunter and he and his partners happened to still be on their way back to camp and past our truck. They stopped and we had a discussion. I was sure of what I had heard and so we decided to go back to camp, have some supper, grab some lights and the 5 of us would come back in to look.
When we got back to the area 2 guys got on the blood trail and three of us hung back. The trail was sparse but it didn't take long for us to sort it out. The bull travelled less than a hundred yards and we all breathed a sigh of relief! The celebration started and so did the camera flashes! Yves' first elk and it was a good one! Yves' asked me if I always hunted with this group of paparazzi. We took care of the meat and finally headed back to camp at 4:30 am. A coupe of the guys in camp were heading home that morning but the rest of us went to retrieve the elk. We found a relatively easy way in and had him out in no time. It's nice to have lots of help. That day Yves and I took it easy and that evening made a celebration dinner of elk tenderloin with all the fixings for all the guys. We had one more day to hunt and on day six I went back into where we had seen the big bull earlier in the week but things were pretty quiet.
Day seven we packed up and travelled home. We had stopped at the first little town we came to for snacks and when I went to pull out some one had parked right behind me. It turned out to be fish and wildlife. They checked tags and admired the elk. They said it was the biggest they had seen so far. Rifle season was open and they assumed that's what Yves had used. They could hardly believe it when I told them it was taken with a recurve bow. I don't think they'd ever seen anyone hunting with one. Here are some pics.
(http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s533/randyhermann1/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsx0km1sxg.jpg) (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/randyhermann1/media/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsx0km1sxg.jpg.html)
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Here Yves and I are pictured with our Harold Dootson knives. When Yves won his at the HCJ this summer I told him that one of us would shoot an elk and together we would process it with our Harold Dootson knives. Yves told Harold what I had said and he laughed and replied " You do that! ". Well,my prediction came true. As many of you heard, Harold passed away last Saturday. I didn't know him well but he was a great guy and also one of the first trad guys I'd ever met. We took this photo to show Harold and I'm not sure if he got to see it or not. I'm hoping he did. That knife will be even more special to me now that Harold is gone. A lot of us trad guys are a sentimental bunch.
(http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s533/randyhermann1/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsveech03y.jpg) (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/randyhermann1/media/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsveech03y.jpg.html)
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(http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s533/randyhermann1/Mobile%20Uploads/F8A7E416-11EE-46E5-8A23-EB4BC8EC517D_zpspejkrbs8.png) (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/randyhermann1/media/Mobile%20Uploads/F8A7E416-11EE-46E5-8A23-EB4BC8EC517D_zpspejkrbs8.png.html)
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(http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s533/randyhermann1/Mobile%20Uploads/29E1A42B-2FE4-4C9E-9932-D843F8C0BF5A_zps04iaavnh.png) (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/randyhermann1/media/Mobile%20Uploads/29E1A42B-2FE4-4C9E-9932-D843F8C0BF5A_zps04iaavnh.png.html)
(http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s533/randyhermann1/Mobile%20Uploads/C9BEE4F7-2679-4DDD-B992-1FCF9903A3C8_zpsw5d9tdok.png) (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/randyhermann1/media/Mobile%20Uploads/C9BEE4F7-2679-4DDD-B992-1FCF9903A3C8_zpsw5d9tdok.png.html)
(http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s533/randyhermann1/Mobile%20Uploads/A42D98D6-80C8-4F46-95BA-C083D4FA0992_zpsqqpwbaie.png) (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/randyhermann1/media/Mobile%20Uploads/A42D98D6-80C8-4F46-95BA-C083D4FA0992_zpsqqpwbaie.png.html)
The trappers cabin.
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Ok, one more! Look at that smile!
(http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s533/randyhermann1/Mobile%20Uploads/6DD2F6D9-7F85-4B98-B520-974323295649_zps2akqgley.jpg) (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/randyhermann1/media/Mobile%20Uploads/6DD2F6D9-7F85-4B98-B520-974323295649_zps2akqgley.jpg.html)
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Awesome bull , big Congrats....
,,,Sam,,,
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great bull.
Lucky boy...
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What a great bull.. congrats..
Joe
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Awesome!!!!!
Congrats!
Bisch
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Fantastic! :thumbsup:
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Beautiful bull...CONGRATS!!
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Beautiful animal..congrats!
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Awesome bull! Congrats!
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Congrats on a real whopper!
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Great Bull, Congrats on the Alberta Elk.
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good hunting, good story, mighty nice bull!
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Great Bull! Congrats!
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Very Nice! Congrats. Ahh I love Alberta!
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Great bull!! Congrats!!!
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Nice ! how much meat did u pack out ?
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Cool cabin and great bull!!!
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Beautiful bull and pictures! Thanks for sharing. Congrats