Trad Gang
Main Boards => PowWow => Topic started by: Missouri Sherpa on August 02, 2009, 11:44:00 PM
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We have been planning on another backcountry horseback elk hunt. I invited Al Kidner to come and chase elk with me. He did not hesitate and said he would be here. I am going to try to put him on some elk and mule deer during a two week excursion on the Continental divide in Colorado. I have never met Al but I think we will get along fine. We have been messaging back and forth and have the details mostly set. I need to keep up the preparation though because there are a bunch of things that have to get done before we can disappear from our civilized lives and slip into the wilderness.
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I had Ron Laclair make up a couple of bows for me. I have never bought a new bow before, only second hand sticks I found through the classifieds. These two bows may be the only new bows I ever buy. Curly burch, elk antler tips, bow bolts, carbon and foam limbs. The grey one has a phenolic riser to handle the 69 pound draw weight. The brown one is only 60 pounds. They both like my heavier arrows.
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These are the components for my heavy arrows. Cabela's carbon extreme shafts, brass insert, steel weight, 7 inch oak dowel internal footing, 160 gr STOS broadhead, and gold reflective tape for an arrow wrap. The gold tape is the same color as the brass insert but the camera flash made it glow in the pictures. I use a 4 inch yellow barred 4 fletch with fletch tape. Compenents add up to 730 gr on my reloading scale.
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JDB,
Always love to follow your adventures. Good luck!
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looking forward to reading about the hunt, hopefully I can do something like that someday
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Good Hunting Doc. You and Al get after em.
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John,
I wish you and Al a great elk hunt. I enjoyed discussing bows and arrows with you by telephone before I went to Africa. I have corresponded with Al on a number of occasions too and expect he will be a joy to hunt with.
Those Shrews of yours are incredible and look fantastic. I sure love mine and will have two more on the way within a month. Shoot straight and bring home the meat.
Take care,
Allan
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Here is my practice area in woodside hollow deep in the Ironwood forest. I live in the Des Moines metropolitan area but am lucky to have a few acres of woods to insulate me from the city so I can keep a few horses and shoot anytime I feel the need. My son and I have been practicing. I am shooting pretty good, and my son is going to pack my old redline super shrew takedowns this year. He has gotten good enough to take a longbow this year and leave the wheelbow at home.
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This torture device is a necessary part of elk hunt preparation. The elliptical crosstrainer gives your legs a real good workout and is low impact on your joints. I hate to say I recommend it but it will help you get ready for the mountains. I abhor every minute spent on this thing but I have found that if I plug in Jermiah Johnson or Monte Walsh it is tolerable. I will have to listen to the Elknut DVD's once more before we leave.
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This dude caught me by surprise the other day. His wingspan is nearly as wide as the 2x6 board he is resting on, approximately 5 and 1/2 inches. I didn't know what it was so I looked it up on the internet. This is the Imperial moth. They do not have any apparatus to allow them to eat. They emerge after midnight, breed the next day and then die within a few days. Mundane trivia that keeps my life interesting I guess. This is a large wild silkmoth that lays their eggs in the trees that are abundant in my woods. As large as it is I cannot imagine I have never seen on before.
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I hang my tents from a pulley in the loft of this 120 year old barn. This keeps them dry, free of mildew. A couple of days ago I took them down, rolled them up and stuffed them into a duffle bag in preparation for this elk hunt.
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Word of warning. I mess with horses every day of my life. I know horses. I cannot recommend what I am doing to anyone as a safe activity. Packing with horses deep into the mountains is not something you should try without some experience. I grew up around horses and have many years of experience doing this. I know what to expect from my animals and they know what to expect from me. They recognize me as the supreme ruler of their universe and look to me for comfort and guidance. I can't imagine taking someones rental horse on such a trip, would be asking for trouble in my book. Horseback backcountry elk hunting is about the most fun you can have with your clothes on, so if you must, you have been given fair warning.
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I keep 12-15 horses at any given time. I have my old standby horses, ones I am training and others I am trying out. I have been upgrading for many years to get the good quality dependable animals I have now. I raise my own hay which eats into my time every summer, but its cheaper than buying hay. I put up 80-90 tons a year, about half of which is in this pile. Two more cuttings to go.
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I have a couple of trailers. I was going to sell my old white trailer but it was getting kind of rusty here and there and needed some work. I wire brushed it with the angle grinder, and sprayed it with some primer and a couple of coats of light Ford Grey tractor paint. I also rewired the lights this week and it is still a pretty decent serviceable trailer. We will be taking 9 or 10 head of horses this trip and will need both of these trailers. The Hillsborough trailer can haul up to 8 horses and the older trailer can haul 4 head. We will not be crowded for trailer space.
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I haul a fair amount of feed up into the mountians. I take two horses just to haul horse feed. Here I have a pallet of 30 bags of 12% sweet feed and 5 bales of pine shavings that I have already loaded into the trailer.
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While I am using horses now I am open to other equines. I had mules 10 years ago and we did not get on real well. Partly my fault, partly the mules fault. Anyway I am a much better horse trainer these days and am ready to give mules another chance. This is Fred. He is the future of my packing string. He is not quite two and still has some growing to do. He is only about 14 hands and that will be big enough even if he doesn't get a lot bigger. He is out of a Peppy San Badger high quality cow horse mare. I think he is a handsome young mule, Rose dun with racing strips. He is an in your pocket mule that really likes people. He pushes all of the horses out of the way to come and be with me. I understand that the people friendly mules make the best saddle mules, so he has that going for him. I intend to have him ready to pack for me next year and we will see how he does. I intend to add a mule every year and transition over to mostly mules. They seem to be able to go farther on less feed than horses. It takes a pretty good horse to go where I hunt, country that should be a piece of cake to a good mule.
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Al, This is going to be your mount for two weeks. Mac is a 15-3 hands quarter horse that is gentle as a dead pig. I hope you have good luck with him. I have bigger, better, more spirited horses but I use my very best animals as pack horses. You may want to ride one of those after we get to base camp but this is the one I would recommend for you.
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This is my favorite mount. He is a half thoroughbred/quarter horse. He has a great handle, is pretty spirited and has enough stamina to haul my big carcass around without giving out. If you haven't noticed I am partial to the grulla color. Life is too short to ride a plain jane horse if you can find a good one of color.
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These are also saddle horses. The chocolate palomino is my son's ride, and Charbineau will ride either the copper palomino on the left of the buckskin on the right.
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I have a couple different kinds of pack saddles. I purchase the adjustable arches and plastic bars from an outfitter supply in British Columbia. I buy tooling leather and buckles and make my own rigging. These adjustable arches fit the horse much better than the old wooden crossbuck saddles. I have less problems with loads slipping and no problems with hot sores on my horses with this new style of saddle. I still have an old crossbuck saddle that I rigged up just for this trip. I am taking an extra packhorse and rider this year and needed the extra capacity. I am needing to stop here. More tomorrow.
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MS,
I have a friend in CO who has 4 mules. He LOVES those mules for pack trips. I don't think he would trade them for a dozen horses. You should bring up last years thread; as I remember, it was primo entertainment, especially the commentary from that flatlander you took along :D .
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The prep for a hunt is one of the most enjoyable parts...GOOD LUCK!!
You picked a great hunting partner in Al K. :thumbsup:
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Al opened up his home to me when I was in Australia and I spent a week with him and his family. You will not find a better person or family and I am sure you guys will have a good time and a wonderful hunt :thumbsup:
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This is one of my favorite hunts to read about each year. Good luck guys and have a safe trip.
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Great thread already and it's just getting started.
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WOW...
First off, thanks Jo-jo for the kind words mate. As you already know ... you and yours are always welcome.
Secondly, John thanks for the pics, I am so looking forward to this trip and have done all year. In my minds eye I send a footed shaft through a fine and dandy Bull everyday thinking of this hunt, also a handsome Mule deer.
The pics are cool and I look forward to getting my hands dirty helping out both before and after the hunt. The Mount you have chosen will do fine, as you know I too spent my life around horses but this will be something special.
Keep it coming mate.
ak.
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As always I am looking forward to following this thread through the whole process! You always do a fantastic job bringing the whole hunt to life in cyberspace with your awesome pictures and writing!!! Good luck to both you and Al! :thumbsup:
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Sweet looking bows Doc! Looking real forward to reading your adventure stories. While Al is on his way to hunt with you Mel, Andy and I will be headed to the Land Down Under. Have a great hunt and I`m sure Al will have a fantastic time with you.
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:archer: :coffee:
David
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I'm enjoying this one and you guys haven't even left yet! :jumper:
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I am having internet satellite connectivity problems resulting in extremely slow image data transmissions. Not much more for pictures at this time. Here below are my best pack horses. They are big, stout horses, broke to ride but able to handle a big load on the pack saddle. The first picture shows them just ready to go to work. Middle picture I have them running in line in the round pen. All they have to do is stay in line and follow the guy in front. I run them at a gallop for 15-20 laps and this puts them in their right mind. They know there is nothing but a world of work inside the round pen and they had better conserve their energy and not act up or they get a session with me to work out some of their problems. Last picture shows some spent horses after a good workout. There is nothing better than wet saddle pads for the development of a better working horse.
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Al and I are planning to hunt the first two weeks of Colorado archery season. We have elk and deer tags. My son is only able to hunt the first week and Eric, one of my old longtime hunting partners will be out for the second week. Charbineau another old hunting partner will be with us for both weeks. I see dead elk in our immediate future. I wish everyone could have the experience of hunting elk in September, there is nothing like it. Unfortunately I can only take 2-3 people at a time with me. I am pretty sure this will be the only time I make this large of an expedition. I like to work my horses but one trailer load at a time is likely enough for my future hunts. I have trouble finding enough time for keeping 10 head worked and in some kind of conditon ready to go. We will savor every moment of this trip and do our best to put some meat on the pole again this year.
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I too am enjoying this post, thank you for taking the time to post and I look forward to the future posts.
Hope you all have a great time.
Cheers
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Do horses coming from 800-900' elevation of Iowa have the same acclimatization issues that humans have for the first few days when hitting the high country?
I spend months organizing my stuff to just fit in a backpack. I can't imagine the planning it takes to bring a herd of horses and all of their gear too.
Great post and photo work.
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Do horses coming from 800-900' elevation of Iowa have the same acclimatization issues that humans have for the first few days when hitting the high country?
I spend months organizing my stuff to just fit in a backpack. I can't imagine the planning it takes to bring a herd of horses and all of their gear too.
Great post and photo work.
Took the words from me....
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A horse has a unique perspective that we humans can only speculate about. Remember the horse has to stand up in the trailer fighting to maintain his balance for a 14 hour road trip from my house to the trailhead. This trip usually occurs at the end of the workday beginning on a Friday evening and we drive all night. Then after they have probably been awake and on guard for over 24 hours we ask them to haul ourselves or a 200 pound load 8 miles up the mountain. I am usually exhausted by the time we get camp set up and I can tell they are pretty beat as well. The horse has incredible lung capacity compared to us and I doubt they get as short of breath as we do but I do believe they may be a little lightheaded or feel goofy until they have had a day or two to get used to being at base camp 10000 ft elev. They do seem to enjoy being up in that valley, grazing in belly deep mountain grass and getting a good ration of sweet feed every day. My horses do not usually get any sweet feed, just hay, so this is a real treat for them. We have to go back to town after the first week and the horses can make the return trip back up to camp in about 3 hours compared to the 5-6 hours it takes to get there the first day. They seem to know where they are going and we really haul going back up for the second week of the hunt.
Organizational skills are important I guess. I prepare all year long with pack trips in mind. I start repairing gear as soon as I get home from a trip. After doing this for the better part of 15 years I kind of know what I need to do and where every thing is but it does take time to have everything prepared. The trailers need to have lights that work, good brakes, bearings replaced every 10,000 miles and I keep a set of old grease packed bearings just in case I need a replacement on the trip. Multiple spare tires, serpentine belts for the trucks, spare hoses, oil, fluids, fuses, light bulbs, electric wire and tape, fix a flat in a can, hydraulic and handyman jacks, wood blocks, air bubble, spare leather for repairs, hoof boots, spare rope, halters, buckles, rivets, horseshoe nails, iodine, vet wrap, blood stop, needles and suture etc.... the list is extensive but as the saying goes, I would rather have something and not need it than need it and not have it.
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I've hunted a few times out west and this thread always fills me with pleasant memories and hope for the future to "do it again". This is a hunt to fill all our dreams! Please sir, go ahead on....!
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Your dedication to this is incredible. Best of luck to you and your crew. :notworthy:
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Ya know, this puts a whole new perspective on the topic that was up a while back about people using GPS to mark their guides "honey holes" during an elk hunt on public land....
It was mentioned by several that they wouldn't care because most people wouldn't have the means (i.e. horses, trailers, gear etc.) to get back into those spots. Until now, I didn't really have much of an idea what that effort entailed and I can now better understand the point.
You guys are gonna have a great time. I'd love to do that some day.
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Impressive..... :thumbsup:
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This will be good.............as usual.
:campfire:
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Once again this is going to be one of the best threads of the fall. You'rea an amazing man Dr. John! Not many people have the drive to hunt as you do. Horse back elk hunting in the Rockies is in my mind the absolute ultimate hunting adventure, and you do it right!
And Al, you are a lucky man - you couldn't have found a better way to live out your dream!
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Joe,
Just think of all the gear and goodies you could fit in THOSE trailers :biglaugh:
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http://tradgang.com/noncgi/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=90;t=000383;p=1
This should be the url for last year's installment. Nice story treatment by Shaun Webb that will give you some idea of where we are going this year. Return visit to the same valley. We have been lucky to pull a couple of nice bulls out of this unit the last two times we have been here and are really looking forward to going back.
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I think I've read and reread that link Dr John a hundred times!
Cheers Whip, with some pre planned luck 'ol mate we'll meet up for a chat over dinner or something?
ak.
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I always look forward to this thread. I agree, it's one of the best of the year.
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Sherpa, love it man.
Looking forward to every post, I love all of the details of getting your stock read and getting there minds right.
keep it coming.
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my kinda huntin trip bro...i love packin in on horse...god willing i'll be able to make it back into the caps in 2011.nice thread
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Good luck on the hunt and hope you all have a great time.
Cheers
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wow, threads like this make me angry on my ancestors for not migrating to less populated countries...
THX for sharing
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Yep... going to have a blast!
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Great post sherpa! Thanks!!
Also... Al, I really enjoyed your TBM article and have always enjoyed your posts (I've "lurked" in the background for a long time).
Best of luck on your elk hunt.
P.S. Loved your arrows too! :thumbsup:
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Fall is back!!!! Good luck guys, and thanks for sharing a very special hunt with us. :thumbsup: It sure helps us understand the works of a hunt like this.
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John,
Looks like you need a vet to accompany you on these trips :bigsmyl: Best of luck and great start...Doc
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Jeff,
I needed a vet the past few days. One of my good pack horses has pneumonia. My vet was here a couple of days ago to do health inspections and make out travel papers for this trip and things looked good. The horse had some mildly increased breath sounds bilaterally but was afebrile. I told the vet I noticed this horse had a cough the day before. Yesterday the horse is major sick, rapid breathing with contractions, coughing up green phlegm, did not take his temp. I have been giving him 3 million units of IM PCN the past two days and he is better but I don't want to rely on him to get me up the mountain. I have another horse that has developed arthritis in his shoulders. I have been giving him IV Legend and he is better but not going to be fit for the trip. I am going to be a horse short for this trip. I can load em up a bit heavier and we will get to camp but I hate to have too bulky of top loads, just asking for trouble.
I did the main part of my grocery run today and did a little cooking.
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Some of my favorite camp fare, Shrimp, chicken and cajun sausage gumbo with rice. Easy fixins that will warm you up on a cold night in elk camp.
I have help too. Thor is a 98 pound boxer. He is my constant companion, especially when I cook because he knows good things fall his way from time to time when I am in the kitchen.
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I have been busy with horses putting loaded packs on them and getting some miles on them. I think we are about ready horsewise. I need to repair some broken straps and lead ropes from my training practices but pretty much ready to go equipmentwise too. I still have to pack my clothes, camp boxes, arrow and bow boxes and get a couple dozen broadheads ready for me, my son and Eric. I will wait to load the trailers until Al gets here. I have meetings to attend after work on Monday and Tuesday so there isn't much time in the schedule between now and when we leave Friday afternoon. It will go by fast.
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Doc, you could have used a vet on your hand last year too. I bet that knife cut on the finger left a mark and I know Tippit carries a stapler in his kit.
I have some of the last of Eric's elk thawing for a final home meal on Tuesday night when Jim gets here. A supper of elk roast to remind us to pick a spot. We are heading out Wednesday morning to break trail down I-80.
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Shaun,
I am down to a couple of packs of ground elk. I probably would not have that if I didn't hide it from Jacob.
Good luck, I know you guys will have a great trip.
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Love it! Something I'd love to do sometime too. I've only packed in on foot and out by foot (five toed foot). Always wanted to do this way back in somewhere. I get "in" about six miles by foot, that is a haul.
Good luck and keep it coming!
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Good luck Guys, Can't wait to hear the stories and look at all the pics. Ya'll have a save trip!!!!!
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Great start to a thread I can't wait to see the updates. That grey Shrew really looks nice. Fred the mule is from Peppy San Badger?! WOW!!! That must be some mule. Can he cut cows too? They have some really nice cow horses down on the King Ranch.
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Jcar,
Thank you on the Shrew, I enjoy having it. Fred has not even had a saddle on him yet as I have been too busy getting my horses in shape for this trip. He is only two and I will have time to get him started under saddle this winter. Jury is out on what he may be capable of. I don't have any cows to work so Fred will be getting trained to be a packmule and trail riding mount unless he proves to have some fault I am intolerant of.
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Good Luck to you Sherpa, and please take care of Al, he might be afraid of the dark ...yeah right! :scared: ;)
Go get'um guys!! :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
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JDB,
Best wishes on the elk hunt. I got the opportunity to spend a week on a mule last August in Utah and cherish all of those memories. The mules were fabulous in the mountains and the guide claims, as you do, that they work harder on less fuel than do the horses. I can't wait 'til I get another opportunity to tackle the mountains on a mule.
Best wishes.
homebru
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Flying out in the am people!
And yest Guru.... I am afraid of the dark!
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Sherpa- I've read your September stories now for a few years and can't wait for yet another. This is the first year in 15 years that I will be unable to hunt elk with my bow...like many others, I'm going to be living through your hunt and through the elk hunts of others who appreciate the importance of posting their hunts for others. Best of luck to you and the boys and can't wait to read all of the stories that you accumulate in your 2 weeks in the hills. Take care and follow through!
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;) Good luck buddy.....we'll get together some day :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
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Man I love these threads! Good luck to you all.
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Bring it on! I am ready for an update from the wrangler hisself - MO Sherpa!
Have a great hunt in CO!
Shoot straight, Shinken
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And so it begins....
I picked up Al at the Airport at 23:30 last night. He has the day to rest up from his journey. We have a huge new Bass Pro Shop that opened up yesterday and he can kill a couple of hours there while I go to work. We will begin to load the trailer tonight in preparation for our westward departure tomorrow afternoon. The days have been long leading up to this day, getting everything squared away for the trip. If I don't have it in the truck and if I don't haul it up the mountain we will not have it, so I hope I haven't forgotten anything important.
We will have some good conversation, maybe a wee bit of Makers Mark and a thick Steak at my favorite steakhouse this evening. I anticipate elk season like a kid at Christmas and this year was just as bad as any. I am ready for my vacation to begin. More later as things develop.
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Looking forward to your posts.
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:campfire: :coffee:
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Have fun!
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Waiting for the updates!!! Have fun boys!!! I know MO Sherpa will take lots of pictures and I like everyone else here am really looking forward to the stories and the pic's. :thumbsup:
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Yahoo! Get 'er goin' and the best of luck to you. I can't wait until you get back with......
the rest of the story!
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good luck fellas All the best!
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Al and I rolled into my Iowa compound late last night. We have some housekeeping and laundry to do today and then he flies back to Australia tomorrow afternoon. More pictures and story to come as time allows.
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Can't wait for the stories and pics!!!!
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Have been checking here every day to see when you blokes are back. Looking forward to the story and pictures.
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This is one I've been waiting on. Glad Your back safely.
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Think I am awaiting the stories as if I was waiting to go out there myself!! :knothead: :knothead: :clapper:
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Been, waiting for this one, spare no details guys.
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I am finally getting caught up a bit, still at work, but will start posting up a few pictures. Mr. Kidner is going to be in transit to Australia for the next day or so and will be pretty consumed with catching up himself before he has to go off to work again. He will be hard pressed to have much time for posting pictures for awhile. Al took many pictures, more than I did and with his fine camera the quality of his photos are better than most of mine. I have his photos on a big SD chip and he has given me his permission to post whatever pictures I want. I will begin the process and Al can add to it whenever he has the opportunity.
First off I am quite pleased to have had the opportunity to share this hunt with Al Kidner. You could not ask for a finer person. You never know what you are going to get when 2 complete strangers get together from the far corners of the world but we seem to share similar ideas and values, personality traits such as not suffering fools, holding reputation and integrity in high regard etc., and I entirely enjoyed our two week hunt. Furthermore, Al bears an uncanny resemblence to my younger brother and every last member of my family (children, sister, wife) all remarked that he looked like my brother when he was that age. An amazing case of twin sons of different mothers I guess.
I picked up Al at the Des Moines Airport, showed him how to get around so he could find the new Bass Pro Shop that just opened, and gave him the keys to one of my vehicles so he could explore some on Thursday and Friday while I was at work. He spent a good four hours soaking in the three acre Bass Pro shop with its stunning displays of over the top taxidermy and retail goods. We took in a steak dinner and went buffet busting at my favorite chinese lunch place. He and my son washed and prepped the horses and we were ready to depart Friday night. I have classmates from high school that have children older than Al. He is closer to my son's age than mine but that is of little consequence. He is a willing worker and participant in the process.
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I had them put the travel boots on the horses legs before we loaded up. I don't like to show up at the trailhead with a horse having a big gash in his leg from the horse next to him. These boots might help and I like to take the precaution.
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Loading up one of the trucks. This truck only has 75000 miles on it. I have nothing but trouble with it, as it has left me stranded 4 times since I purchased it 30 months ago. We would have some complications with our journey. We pulled out about 6:00 p.m. and headed westward down Interstate 80.
About halfway across Nebraska around midnight we were stopped for fuel and as I always do, I place my bare hand on each tire to see if it is getting hot. Yowsers! The right rear tire on my old trailer was burning hot and had thrown most of its tread. I have had 4-5 trailer tires go flat on this trailer and it is always the same one. The clearance between the tire and the fender was very tight and was going to be a problem. I try to prepare for lots of contingencies but I neglected to throw a cutting torch into the tool box for this trip. Walmart was still open. Plan A. They did not carry an acetylene torch. Plan B.They do carry an angle grinder with a metal cutting wheel but they were sold out. Dang! Plan C. Skill saw was in stock and so was a metal cutting blade. I had a 100ft extension cord so we had to find an electrical outlet. The girl at the counter of the one of the Convenience stores was closing up and she did not care if we used the store outlet. We were in business. We cut off the fender and replaced the tire. I would purchase a couple of new tires the next day. I have sometimes had difficulty finding good trailer tires in the middle of the night so I always like to have at least two spares for my trailers.
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Cutting off the fender at the 7-11 in the middle of the night.
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We continued on westward. I was having intermitent problems with my trailer lights on the Ford Truck/Trailer unit. I had used a skidloader to move the trailer and had compacted dirt into the ball hitch reciever on the trailer. I figured we had a bad ground. We pulled over at the rest stop in Pine Bluffs Wyoming and I stripped a big wad of copper wire and stuffed it up into the ball reciever. Presto, problem solved after on quick drive around the rest stop.
Problems seem to come in threes and we were not done. About an two hours later the alternator fails on the Ford truck. This alternator only has about 5000 miles on it since last December when it was replaced. We spent 8 hours at the Laramie Ford dealership getting it fixed. Fortunately this was the last thing to go wrong with our equipment for the trip but I was suddenly short a kilobuck for the Alternator, a new battery and a pair of 14ply trailer tires.
(http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c324/nucduke/IMG_0110.jpg)
When you have hours to kill hanging around a car dealership you might look at some cars. I caught Al lusting after this mustang and he asked to have his picture taken with it.
(http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c324/nucduke/IMG_0016.jpg)
We spent the night at a local hotel after we fed and watered horses at the city park. Next morning after a good breakfast we unloaded at the trailhead and fed and watered the horses again. I make feed bunks out of old air tanks. This is preferrable to using nose bags or rubber feed pans. They cannot tip these over and they are deep enough to keep the horses from nosing out too much of their feed.
(http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c324/nucduke/IMG_0031.jpg)
I insist on weighing everything and getting evenly divided loads. Here is Al showing his form at weighing coolers.
(http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c324/nucduke/IMG_0132.jpg)
It takes a couple of hours to feed, water, weigh packs, saddle and load all of the horses. We were off, finally. The trailhead was full of weekend hikers and fishermen, parking lot was full and people everywhere. We would pass them all up by the time we made our way to camp 8 miles up the mountain.
(http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c324/nucduke/IMG_0144-1.jpg)
We crossed a bunch of creeks and some of them had bridges across them. I am always leery of dragging a string of horses across a long hollow sounding wooden bridge but we did not have any rodeos the entire trip.
(http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c324/nucduke/IMG_0145.jpg)
We stopped about half way for a short rest and to tighten up a few straps. We made great time and got to camp in about three hours. I had a horse turn up lame and my most experienced packhorse had pneumonia. I shot him up with antibiotics for three days before we left and he was fine when we returned from this trip but we were one horse short for the pack trip. We had to divide the extra load between the other four pack horses. We were loaded kind of heavy, around 200 pounds per horse and kind of bulky too with the extra top loads. We did not have any trouble and made great time. I am proud of the performance of my horses, they did a great job.
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:thumbsup: :thumbsup:
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(http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c324/nucduke/IMG_0689.jpg)
I rode the same horse I have for several years, Sylvester. I tried to get a couple other horses conditioned to be lead horses but none of them are as good as this one. There are some things I don't care for with this horse but handles the best with one hand, doesn't ever spook and he can flat out walk a hole in the wind. He is a handsome devil and really sets a fast pace for the rest of the group to keep up with.
(http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c324/nucduke/IMG_0691.jpg)
I had Al on a very dependable horse and he pulled a single pack horse along for me. The number of problems you have with a pack string increase as an exponent of the number of horses you have in one string. Better to divide them up a bit if you can.
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This is *AWESOME* stuff MO Sherpa!
Keep it comin' man!
I am on the edge of my chair....
Shoot straight, Shinken
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(http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c324/nucduke/IMG_0042.jpg)
This is headquarters. My old friend, the Montana Canvas Alaknak tent. I stayed in this tent along with my son the first week and Eric Nielsen the second week. I cooked meals and we eat in there. I have been using this tent for 12 years and it probably has another 12 years in it if I keep on taking good care of it.
(http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c324/nucduke/IMG_0887.jpg)
This is the guest quarters behind the main tent.
(http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c324/nucduke/IMG_0883.jpg)
Both tents have a small woodstove and cots which are major comfort items on a two week hunt in the mountains. Al and Charbineau stayed in this tent for two weeks.
(http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c324/nucduke/IMG_0859.jpg)
I have a very light weigh but heavy duty bag rated to 40 below. I didn't really need such a good bag but with a name like Sherpa gear and getting a huge discount on the purchase price I couldn't pass it up.
Laying on the bag is a fenix tactical light with a light diffuser. Turn this baby on and hang it in the top of your tent and its like turning on a 60 watt lightbulb. We had plenty of good light to take our morning and evening meals.
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(http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c324/nucduke/IMG_0858.jpg)
Here is my kitchen. I have a griddle, 3 teflon skillets with folding handles and a coffee pot. There is a story to the pot, which will come later.
We had grilled pork loin, chicken breast, sirloin steaks, pancakes, omelettes, sausage links and patties, ham, bacon, scrambled eggs, egg mcmuffins, breakfast bagles, stirfried oriental vegetables... you name it, we can do it in this camp. We have a bit of makers mark, glenlevitt, or JD after supper. Real enjoyable company.
(http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c324/nucduke/IMG_0185.jpg)
What a great crew. I did not have to chop any wood all week, and we had plenty of firewood to run the stoves every night. I have a gravity filter water purification system that takes most of the work out of keeping good water handy and they kept up with the water duty too. I only had to cook the meals and do the dishes which isn't too difficult with disposable chinet plates and paper towels that get burned at the end of the week.
(http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c324/nucduke/IMG_0053.jpg)
We had a good place behind the tents to target practice, just about every day.
(http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c324/nucduke/IMG_0144.jpg)
Here is a picture of Al and one of his fine arrows captured in flight. His camera had a fast shutter speed and it was no big trick to take this picture.
(http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c324/nucduke/IMG_0702.jpg)
Here is Al showing his shooting technique for Chital deer in the tall grass.
(http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c324/nucduke/IMG_0130.jpg)
We highline the horses about 100 ft from the main tent. I can look outside and see them if they are making any noise. Horses need to graze 5-6 hours a day to get all the forage they need. I would get up at 4:00 in the morning and turn them loose to graze. I catch them a couple hours later on my way to the morning hunt and turn them loose again in the evening while we are having supper. Highlined for the night.
(http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c324/nucduke/IMG_0114.jpg)
Dump 50 pounds of sweet feed on the ground and they come running. Easy to catch. If they have been out long enough the will go stand under the highline and wait to be tied up.
(http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c324/nucduke/IMG_0721.jpg)
I let these horses run loose in the meadow. They have every opportunity to eat all they want and drink all they need without me having to mess with them. I have yet to have one try to run away. I think they really like it up here.
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Any bear sign in this country MO Sherpa!
Did you spot any wildlife on the ride in?
It is beautiful in there!
Shoot straight, Shinken
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No hurry my friend we been waiting for 2 weeks to hear your story's, take your time.
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Yes, we did see Moose, mule deer and assorted small animals coming and going from camp to the trailhead. We saw a total of 4 bears and have good footage of 2 of them. I guess this is as good of time as any to post the bear pics.
(http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c324/nucduke/IMG_0076-2.jpg)
(http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c324/nucduke/bear2.jpg)
(http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c324/nucduke/bear.jpg)
Al and I came across this toad on the first day we hunted. I have a pair of Leuopold wind river binoculars. Not the finest glass in the world but they have a built-in range finder. This bear was 193 meters from us. The wind was blowing from his butt to his nose and he was feeding uphill. We could have circled this animal and kept out of his wind. He was feeding toward a patch of timber and we think this bear could have been taken with a longbow by a man with enough courage to get in his path. This bear has a belly that nearly drags the ground and is sway backed with huge shoulders and a big head. He leaves piles of scat about 12 inches across and 6 inches high. He is a big old bear with a frosty tipped cape over his neck and shoulders. I have killed a number of bears and have been in camps with bears taken that weigh over 500 pounds on the camp scale. I would estimate this bear to be in that class, 500 pounds or better. I applied for a bear tag but did not get my order placed in timely fashion. I called in about 20 minutes after the limited tags went on sale and the DOW was sold out. Next year I will have my computer ready to place an order the second the sale opens.
Bear sign was plentiful and present everywhere you turned. Big boulders turned over, logs ripped apart and lots of scat. There was a tremendous berry crop(raspberry, service berry, wintergreen etc.) and the bears were feasting on it.
(http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c324/nucduke/bluebear2.jpg)
(http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c324/nucduke/bluebear3.jpg)
(http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c324/nucduke/bluebear.jpg)
Al and I stumbled upon this bear about sunup on Sunday morning our second week. I was taking my pack off to relieve myself after climbing up to a relatively flat bench and this guy woofed at us, several times. We were within 30 yards of this bear for 10-15 minutes. I have never seen a blue phase black bear before and have never even heard of one outside of the glacier bear in Alaska/BC This bear was not as big as the first one but I estimate it to be about the same size as the full body mount bear I have in my basement, around 300-350 pounds. Still a fair sized bear and with a beautiful long silky coat. I had my bow ready to plug this bear if it jumped on Al while he was taking pictures. The bear was acutely aware of the shutter sounds and was circling closer for a time before he finally fed off and went up the mountain away from us. If we had tags we would have had a slam dunk shot on this one and probably on the first bear we saw. There are plenty of bears in Colorado. Steve and Eric saw a sow with a cub this same day. The cub was black and the sow very large, black with a white patch over her shoulders. They took some pictures but turned out to be quite blurry depiction of black smudges at 100 yards. If I can get them cleaned up, cropped and sharpen the image I will try to post it.
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I have to get back to the pile of work that is staring me down. I have a few more wildlife pictures to post as well as some more great scenery habitat pictures before we get to the hunting and shooting parts that I figure you are all waiting for. It is not my nature to drag out a story but I need more time to do it right so bear with me, pun intended.
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This is awesome! :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
That has got to be the coolest looking black bear I've ever seen :eek:
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You really know how to do it up right!! I really enjoy reading this thread and the pictures bring it to life. Thanks Mo Sherpa
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This is great Sherpa. Please keep it comin.
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Thanks for sharing a great story and all the pics..Will be waiting to hear more of this adventure.
Terry
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Been waitin on this since you guys left. Looks good so far and thanks for sharing.
Rob
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(http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c324/nucduke/IMG_0096.jpg)
Several mulie does were hanging around camp but less than usual. The spaven bag of bones matriarch kept running all of the younger animals out of the park. From time to time a pair of spotted fawns would briefly appear, but never stay too long.
(http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c324/nucduke/IMG_0330.jpg)
(http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c324/nucduke/IMG_0352.jpg)
There were countless squirrels, pocket gophers and chipmunks of all sizes. We also had a very small brown weasle slipping around camp but he was quick and difficult to capture on film.
Al tried for a long time to get a good photo of this bird with the sun on his back. He was spectacular irridesent blue but would not cooperate.
(http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c324/nucduke/IMG_0221.jpg)
(http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c324/nucduke/IMG_0180.jpg)
Al used his rapid sequence shutter to capture the use of a fly rod in motion. I only caught one fish this trip. I like to fish but don't have the keen interest in it that I used to. Catch and release cutthroat.
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Loving every minute of this, Thank you very much John for taking the time to share it with all of us.
Looking forward to the rest!
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You're doing a great job, John! No need to hurry through your story I'm enjoying every bit. Thanks for sharing. Keep the pictures and details of the trip coming. :thumbsup:
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John this is GREAT :clapper: can't wait for the rest of the story!!!
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(http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c324/nucduke/IMG_0174.jpg)
(http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c324/nucduke/IMG_0176.jpg)
Tools of the trade for this game. I prefer the sound of the Carlton fighting cow call. I also use an old Woods Wise Hyper Hot cow call when I want to make a long range estrus call. I discourage the use of the sceery type duck calls and hoochie mamma calls especially by tone deaf novice users. I would rather hang back and do all of the calling myself than hear what comes out of some of these devices. I figure if I can tell what it is from 500 yards off it won't take too long before an elk figures it out too. I use a Primos bugle with the terminator tube which gives a very good range of bugles for me.
Al has some fine glass in these Swaro 8x30 binos. They are lightweight and crystal clear. I am just about ready to spring for a pair, maybe after I trade trucks...
The first day we were able to hunt Al and I went out before daylight and slipped up the end of the meadow into some cool wet timber. We encountered elk less than 200 yards from camp. I made two mistakes that morning. First I ignored some cow calls about 80 yards upwind of us. I swore it was birds... but it wasn't. Turned out to be a bull and 4-5 cows. The cows filed by me at about 25 yards and the bull hung up about 40 yards ahead of us. No clear shooting lanes. We were stuck between the bull and his cows. I indicated to Al that we needed to get in a little neck of woods between the creek and the meadow because the elk would be using that as a travel corridor/funnel as they tried to get back together. I took two steps with the bow in one hand and an arrow in the other which was mistake number two. I should have had that arrow nocked. I locked eyes onto a cow elk in that patch of timber, 20 yards in front of me. I could have shot her if I had an arrow nocked. As it is she just walked off before I could get nocked up and draw my bow. Fact is I didn't want to shoot her anyway. I don't like to shoot cows if I think I can get a bull, and I know there are big bulls around in this valley. We called to the bull for awhile but never got a shot at him. Things were looking good. We had hunted less than 2 hours and had some exiting action close to camp. I need to elevate my game some, you can't afford to make any little mistakes around a savvy bull.
After going back to camp for breakfast and taking care of the horses we saddled up and rode about 4 miles above camp. This was a nasty rocky trail and the horses had sore feet by the time we complete our ascent(extremely sore feet by the time we got back home) We saw some fantastic habitat up there but very little sign. We figure there was one old bull up there, with no cows. He bugled to us several times, we found his beds and a few big rubs but no evidence to suggest there were any cows. We were looking for him when we ran into the big old bear. There were several mule deer there and lots of mule deer beds. We had muley tags but were mostly interested in elk. We returned to the horses for the ride back to camp. Crossing the creek I slipped on a boulder and landed with all of my weight on my shin just below the knee. I thought I had broken my leg. I took some xrays today and there is no obvious fracture. My calf swelled up larger than my thigh for the next two weeks and limited my excursions a bit. I am durable but not superman. I slipped down a waterfall tracking a wounded elk a few days later and skinned the same leg. I thought I would pass out but didnt.
I must give some advice here. Wear good boots with plenty of traction. I brought two pairs of boots for this hunt including a relatively new pair of Russel sheep hunters that are stiff as wearing a board on your soles and a 4-5 year old pair of Rocky Silent stalkers that feel like old tennis shoes. I use those boots for most of my hunting because they are extremely quiet and have a lot of feel when you are stalking. I have worn the soles slick, no traction, which caused my foot to slip out from under me, several times on this hunt. I am going to retire those boots from any future elk hunts.
(http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c324/nucduke/IMG_0860.jpg)
inside (medial) left calf
(http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c324/nucduke/IMG_0861.jpg)outside (lateral) left calf
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Ouch!! Glad it ain't broke but it looks sore. Great hunt so far. THANKS :clapper:
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Keep up the good work you make me feel as if I was right there with you guys. You're living my dream. Skippy
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(http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c324/nucduke/IMG_0149.jpg)
Al took this picture of my son Jacob on top of the mountain above our camp.
(http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c324/nucduke/IMG_0164.jpg)
(http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c324/nucduke/IMG_0156.jpg)
(http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c324/nucduke/IMG_0723.jpg)
(http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c324/nucduke/IMG_0118.jpg)
I tried to hunt with everyone for a couple of days so My son, Eric and Charbineau all took turns hunting with me and Al and each other on different days. I lost track of who hunted with who and when but I do know that bull elk were seen almost everyday, sometimes several times a day and a man with 100 yard shooting range(as in a muzzleloader) could have killed elk on a daily basis. We saw wet wallows, dry wallows, more wallows than you can remember and countless rubs.
Al and I did hunt together a couple of times. On the day we say the blue phase bear I took him up to overlook the next basin from above. We stopped so I could have some berries along the way. If they are good enough for the bears they are good enough for me, and baby they were dead ripe, perfection.
(http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c324/nucduke/IMG_0311.jpg)
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We arrived at the edge of the basin and I let out a friendly locater bugle which was immediately answered by a bugle from far below. We looked at each other and before a word could be spoken there was a bugle from high above us across the basin. Quick inspection of the far rim revealed a nice bull skylined on the horizon
(http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c324/nucduke/IMG_0759.jpg).
Ridge where the bulls skylined and hillside with hyper elk activity
Before the morning was out the opposite hillside was covered in cow elk, spikes and a weary 6x6 bull that was chasing satellite bulls, trying to keep his cows and fighting a loosing battle. He screamed and bugled and grunted and chuckled. He paraded across that hillside with his tongue hanging out. He disappeared into the timber below us and did battle with another bull.
We could hear the other bulls calling getting fainter as he was pushed down the valley. The tired bull returned to the wallow and laid up with some cows. While all this was going on I was also calling. I was able to draw some cows up to our side of the canyon. There they were, about 25-30 yards from me, staring right at me. They were standing broadside, about 5 yards from Al, who had positioned himself just off the trail they were using. They were oblivious to his presence, as they were fixated on me and my calling. Al declined the opportunity to shoot a cow at point blank range. I also declined to shoot from 25 yards. I guess we were not going to let those bulls go unhunted. The cows bugged out and went back down to the wallow. Another bull appeared on the skyline. This is probably the same bull my son Jacob had at short range last year. He came into a wallow and caught him by surprise unable to get off a shot from 9 yards. That bull left him as a trembling lump of jello, unable to move. This was a huge bull, extremely wide, likely 12 inch whale tails, 18 inch dagger points and long sweeping brow tines. I would guess this bull to be 380 minimum, likely larger based on the extreme mass. He looked a lot like this bull Al photographed at Ole's Big Game Lounge later in the week:
(http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c324/nucduke/IMG_0564.jpg)
We also stopped at Cabelas in Sidney Ne. on the way home and agreed that this bull was as big or bigger than most of their mounts. Truly a tremendous bull. We had to decide what to do with the rest of our morning. The big monster bull called to us for half an hour before disappearing over the opposite mountaintop. The big 6x6 was still calling to us from a fixed location. I guessed he was bedding down for the day and we had a good chance at him. Al agreed and we elected to pursue the big bull another time. Al would have an encounter with him later in the week.
(http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c324/nucduke/bull-1.jpg)
This is the bull we were after. I had several minutes to inspect him from inside 20 yards and I think he is a 300 class 6x6 with moderate mass, a decent trophy in my book. Picture was taken as he was parading on the hillside opposite our hiding spot. We descended into the canyon and held up until the wind was right. There were many boulders, large ones as big as dump trucks, that were left by the last glacier to recede into this valley. I took a position on top of one of these big rocks to watch and cow call and sent Al in to stalk this bull. Things don't always work out as planned. I had been sitting on the rock for about 5 minutes after Al left and I spotted antlers to my left. That sneaky old bull was trying to get upwind of me and was trying to find the source of my cow calling. I slipped off the rock and positioned myself for a shot. The bull would have to pass between a big boulder and a tree. Probably an 18 inch wide shooting window and 18 yards away from me by my leuopold range finder. I directed a soft cow call away from me over my shoulder. The bull came around the boulder as if on a string. I had about 2 seconds to pick a spot and release an arrow. The winds are extremely shifty and fickle in these high mountain basins and it is just a matter of when the elk will smell you, not if they will smell you. If you dawdle for an instant your target can disappear quickly. I shoot around 70 pounds of shrew classic hunter with a 730 gr carbon shaft and STOS broadheads. I released the arrow and it disappeared into the base of the bulls neck right at midline. I had a full 30 inches of penetration right down the middle. The bull crashed off down the mountain rushing past Al below me. We had to search for the blood trail and when we found it we sat and waited for 30 minutes. We tracked the bull for nearly 3 hours. Halfway down the mountain we found half of the arrow and large amounts of arterial blood. The bull had obviously stopped here for a while and then went crashing off through the nastiest spruce thickets that were nearly verticle falling off the mountain. The spruce trees looked like they had been painted with arterial blood wherever the bull had brushed against them. We trailed him to the creek. He did a peter pan, disappearing into the waterfall. We had blood at the edge of the creek but could not find where he went. I spent the next two days searching for him, looking for crows and magpies but never did recover him. I have killed an elk, an antelope and a whitetail with this shot and it has always been lethal. I am certain this bull is dead because he could not survive with that broadhead ripping him apart internally through all of his visceral organs. The mistake here is you must let frontal shot animals or any animal with a marginal hit lay up for at least an hour or two before you pursue them. This bull laid up until we pushed him too soon. I am disappointed in losing this elk but I would take the shot again in an instant, maybe aim a couple inches lower, but wait before trying to track him down.
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Anybody who has hunted for a decent period of time has experienced that feeling you have about that bull. You believe you put a kill shot on an animal and then second guess yourself when you don't recover the animal.
Sounds like you did all you could to try and find it!
looking forward to the rest of the story!
We leave Wednesday for our elk hunt. Hope we have half the action you had in what you have posted so far! Cept, I could do without the bears and the cracked shin, LOL!
Chip
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Sounds like another great hunt Doc. Well told so far. My leg hurts just seeing the pics of that bruise! Hope you are healing up now.
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Sherpa, as you already know Elk are tough and can take a lot of punishment before going down.
We learn more about the animals and our self's every time we go afield.
I wish I never made a mistake when hunting, I have and do and probably will aging, we just hope to learn from them and try and not make them again.
Some times things happen that are out of our control, even with a deadly shot into the vitals.
We made a conscious decision to limit our equipment to Longbows and Recurves to get up close and personal with the animals we hunt, there are so many variables that can happen in the blink of an eye that change everything it's amazing.
It may sound cliché, but you did all you can do, the hard part is second guessing your self.
I know how hard you worked to get-r done.
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(http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c324/nucduke/IMG_0459.jpg)
This area we are hunting has many small unnamed lakes. I thought Al's picture of this one, with the skyline reflection was especially good. There are wallows around the far edge of this pool.
(http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c324/nucduke/IMG_0470.jpg)
Al took an excursion or two by himself. Last day of our hunt he set off for the snow fields and took this pic.
(http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c324/nucduke/IMG_0499.jpg)
(http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c324/nucduke/IMG_0509.jpg)
He climbed one of the nearby 12000 ft peaks and added his name to the jar.
(http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c324/nucduke/IMG_0510.jpg)
Al took this picture on the last day. Obviously by now we had established that we were not hunting for cow elk.
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I sat a wallow one afternoon by myself. This is my self portrait kill face. You might think this is a Bill Grave's impersonation but its not. I was cold and my leg was killing me.
(http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c324/nucduke/IMG_0851.jpg)
We had some rain for 10-20 minutes most afternoons and on this day we were treated to a rainbow. Our camp is at the end of the rainbow.
(http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c324/nucduke/IMG_0740.jpg)
(http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c324/nucduke/IMG_0781.jpg)
I only got to hunt with Eric once this week and we did not have any action that evening. He returned to this waterfall area at the end of the valley the next morning and got into a bull with some cows but could not get into a shooting position. I loaned him this Checkmate Crusader takedown and he has learned how to shoot it. The bow is on permanent loan until further notice. He is pleased with the simplicity and trouble free use a longbow provides. The light weight is a bonus too. I think we have a traditional convert here. Eric will be back with me again next year.
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(http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c324/nucduke/IMG_0871.jpg)
(http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c324/nucduke/IMG_0872.jpg)
(http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c324/nucduke/IMG_0878.jpg)
We took four saddle horses and 2 pack horses on an all day hunt to pumpkin lake, about a 4 mile ride each way, only a mile as the crow flies and 1500 ft straight up. I wanted to take the pack horses so we would not have to waste a day going back to camp if we ended up having meat to pack. Unfortunately we did not kill an elk up there that night. Al got to ride Tank. Tank has a great handle and is big enough to carry a big person like Al al the way to pumpkin lake without giving out. I took Jacob up there earlier in the week. He was riding Pepe, my little silver dapple Palomino, and Pepe had a real hard time making the climb without having to stop for a blow or two.
Al and Eric had a good hunt and saw a bull to work. Steve and I had three bulls bugling at us and we got to work two of them into close range but no shots were taken. Steve had a 40 yard shot at a decent 5x5 still in velvet that I called in but did not realize it until it was too late, as is often the case.
The top photos were taken of the area across the canyon where I wounded and lost that nice bull a few days earlier. It is very steep country. While Al and I were looking for that wounded bull we found a coffee pot near the wallow where the elk were bedding. He put it in his pack and cleaned it up. He likes to have tea everyday and used that pot to boil his tea water. I will keep the pot in my campbox as long as I hunt and we named the place we found the pot, the coffeepot wallow. I have a feeling we will hunt the coffeepot again and again in years to come.
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(http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c324/nucduke/basin-1.jpg)
Steve (Charbineau) accompanied me one day on my search for a dead elk. The yellow line is the path we took. We covered some dreadfull steep country.
(http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c324/nucduke/IMG_0800.jpg)
We had to stop and take a breather rather frequently. This picture shows the lack of tread on my Rocky Stalker boots. I will never go to the mountains again without plenty of tread on my footwear.
(http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c324/nucduke/IMG_0806.jpg)
In the bottom of the high basin we found the worlds smallest glacier. Actually it is just some old leftover snow that is melting into a little puddle. There were many elk tracks leading to this small puddle of snow melt, likely a drinking water source for the neighborhood elk.
(http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c324/nucduke/IMG_0813.jpg)
We crossed this loose pile of rocks as a shortcut on our way to the next mountaintop. You can make out a sheep trail if you turn your head just right. This part of the hike wasn't too bad.
(http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c324/nucduke/IMG_0817.jpg)
The trail got steeper and nastier as we made our ascent out of the canyon. We needed to grab hold of the mountainside with all four limbs to make this climb. The footing was loose and we sent a lot of rock tumbling down the mountain.
(http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c324/nucduke/IMG_0827.jpg)
As we neared the top of the chute our route became steeper than ever. These pictures do not do any justice to the steepness of the canon wall. Next time I think I will give up some of my altitude for a more gradual trail up to the top of the mountain. At times I was beginning to think "this is stupid, what am I doing here, clinging to this rock, about to slide off the mountain." No harm done I guess.
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Thanks for sharin' MO Sherpa!
It was certainly beautiful country with some highs and lows.
Hope your leg heals soon. The 2009 season was my shortest elk season *ever* - 1 day - on my way back to camp after an AWESOME day of elk encounters (no shots) I was climbing out of a steep canyon - less than 300 yards as the crow flies from camp - and I tore a muscle in my left calf...man down...quite literally....
It required 3 hours of mainly crawling to return to camp that night. I managed to get packed up and out of the mountains in my vehicle, but yesterday was the first time in more than 6 days that I was somewhat more mobile. Turned out that my ankle was affected more than the torn muscle....
The real disappointment was that my daughter - bless her heart - did not get to go big game hunting in 2009....
2010 will bring new opportunities and new adventures!
Man makes his plans, but God has the last word....
Shoot straight, Shinken
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Thank you for taking the time to document your hunting trip, I really enjoyed reading about it!
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Great read, watch that bruise, you could develop a veracious vein problem in that leg. It happened to me. Sorry can't spell. I have to wear ace raps on both my lower legs to keep the bad veins from breaking and bleeding all over. It all started with a deep bruise that I disregarded.
But I still made 12050 ft on our hunt this year, the top of Charles Peak. We didn't make a kill and just barely found some elk but have the luck of being able to go out again later in the season.
Looking forward to the rest of your story
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Wow! What a trip and thanks for taking us along. I look forward to this every year. It is almost as good as being there with you. Hope the leg does well and soon.
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(http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c324/nucduke/IMG_0218.jpg)
I enjoy having a good fire to consume all of the combustible garbage that we generate in a week of camping. I would rather not have anything like that to pack out. We do not have any campfires during the week. I don't care to have the smoke on me.
(http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c324/nucduke/IMG_0566.jpg)
As I mentioned earlier, we stopped at Ole's Big Game Lounge and Steakhouse in Paxton Nebraska. I have been stopping at this place since 1975 and still like to drop in for a great burger on my way to or from the mountains. We had a nice lunch here on our way home.
(http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c324/nucduke/IMG_0918.jpg)
We had an uneventful drive home and spent a day convalescing at my place prior to Al having to board the plane for Australia. My family enjoyed having Al in our home and hearing about how things are in the land down under. We are not yet speaking Australian but we do understand it a bit better since having Al here.
I will leave it up to Al to tell you about his hunting experience, I will not be the one to steal his thunder. When he gets the time he may be able to post more of his fine pictures.
While elk hunting in the mountains with horses is always a grand adventure, this trip was a bit sobering to me. I wounded more game this past month than I ever have in a year of hunting. I shot a 4x4 mule deer in velvet the first week, quartering away at 20 yards hit in the shoulder. The arrow blew completely through and stuck in the ground and left bright red frothy blood at impact. The blood quickly dried up and after tracking the buck across the creek twice and starting up the mountain the sign all vanished. In my experience this is probably a single lung hit and not likely fatal to the deer. I blew 2 slam dunk range opportunites between Thursday and Sunday last week. I have plenty of time to practice before I return next year.
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Great story and pictures as per usual! Thanks for the tale and the honesty of what transpired.
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Fantastic story! :thumbsup: I haven't read this much since High School. :notworthy:
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Thankyou MO Sherpa for the documenting of your hunt. It is great to read about your hunts!
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Great hunt. Cannot wait until next year! Also, looking forward to Al's account.
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Just landed home... I'll sort a few things on my end and get my details up here asap.
Cheers all,
Oh and well done John so far.
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Sherpa,
Excellent story. I always look forward to your hunt each year. You get to do this the way most of us only dream of doing. Thanks for sharing.
Marvin
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Al, it will be interesting to hear how the excitement of a high country elk hunt compares to the adrenaline rush of hunting brumbies and buffalo. Both are off-the-charts good stuff.
John, didn't you also bang up a leg last year? Tough luck on the bull, but with the number of big boars you saw, do you think a bear might have covered the elk with a brushpile? It wouldn't completely account for the loss of the blood trail, but might help explain the abscence of magpies and ravens...
Many, many thanks for letting us hunt along with you. Unless somebody posts a story about their hunt for Marco Polos and high Altai argalis, this will remain my favorite thread of the year. :readit: :notworthy:
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Many thank yous for the kind remarks. I know I am the lucky one that gets to do this stuff and I like to share the experience. As I have told Al, everyone likes an audience sometime.
Woody, I have banged up my body more times than I can remember on these hunts. Its part of the deal for me I guess. I don't recall any injury last year but two years ago I did have a horse roll over me that gave me a similar bruise from my beltline to my toes. I need to start being a wee bit more careful. I am sure the bears have been eating good since I have been in the woods. Four of us spent a day looking and two of us a second day. I would like to have gotten my broadhead back, done an autopsy and salvaged the rack if at all possible.
Good to see you made it back home safely Al. You might tell of how I nearly bagged an Australian at the wallow one day. I nearly soiled myself that day.
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Hahahah.. John, mate I thought we were not going to tell that one...lol. But Ok... seeing as I'm waiting for my pics to download.
Now.... this day John's son Jacob and I hunted together. Jacob is a quite lad and he and I got along well and John has a fine yong man to be proud of as a son.
Anyhow, Jacob and I new there was a wallow above us on a bench so we slipped our way quietly up to the edge of it and pulled up for a mid morning snack of jerkey, fruit and Snickers bars. Note to self.... NEVER, ever eat another snickers bar again! One a day for 2 weeks was and is enough for this aussie Sherpa!
We sat down an chatted quietly enough and looked about the views below us. All of a sudden a bugle rings out not far from us in the direction of the wallow we were just sitting off. With a mad scramble after bows, face nets, shooting gloves and arrows as quietly as we could be, we spit up and stalked this "Bull" heading into our wallow... but it was no bull. The MO sherpa beat us up to the wallow and let out a call that had us both thinking of 6x6 Bulls!
Talk about "Greenhorn" Elk hunters...lol. I guess the "OLd Bull" beat the younger, fitter and better looking bulls to the wallow that day....lol. It sure was funny.
I'll post more soon frinds. I've a "To-do" list as long as one's arm and I'm heading back to work on Sunday. Oh the joys of internation work....
ak.
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Welcome home Al.....I'm so looking forward to hearing about the hunt thru your eyes :notworthy:
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Take care of the important family things first, Al. We can wait. Not very patiently, mind you, but we can wait. ;)
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Doc thanks for sharing your stories and pics, I really enjoyed them very much. Glad your accident wasn't any worst than it was, hope your leg heals fast. Al we'll be waiting patiently for your pics and stories, well, we'll be waiting.
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Yeah Sherpa, that slice to the finger last year hardly counts as an injury... good thing there was a Dr along.
Al, you are not the first hunter to stalk another hunter in elk country. Glad you made it home safe. Tell us more when you can.
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Sounds like you had a good time, congrats :thumbsup: thanks for sharing!
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Spectacular!
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Sherpa, I was wondering if you noticed any beetle-killed pines while you were hunting. The north slope of the Uintas here in Utah is about 80 to 90 percent dead. I also learned about the need for aggressive tread in elk country. I ofter wondered about how experienced people were who were telling everyone to wear soft quiet shoes for stalking. I will take off my boots and wear thick socks if I want to be real quiet. Nice pictures and story, Thanks, Gary
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Gary,
Most of the pines are already dead in the area where I hunt. They have been dying off for the past 4-5years and now there is a lot of standing dead timber that we pass on our way into camp. My hunting area is over 10,000 ft and at these higher elevations the trees are green but those trees are mostly spruce with an occaisional fir or pine.
The Rocky stalkers I have are worn slick because they are soft rubber, quiet and comfortable. I only wear them to hunt and have worn the tread off of them because I like them so much. For this hunt I also brought a pair of Russell Moccassin Sheep Hunters with a stiff Vibram cleated sole. They feel like walking on a piece of board. I called the Russell factory yesterday to see if I can get my boots resoled and they do have a quiet soft rubber sole option they can resole with for $52. I am going to send them in as soon as I can find a box. I have stalked deer in my bare feet, really cold mud in Alberta during October. Effective but not comfortable. I don't think I need to worry much about stalking elk in my bare feet but for when I do need a quiet stalk I am going to try getting a pair of neoprene diving shoes that Al Kidner recommended to me. We saw some at Bass Pro Shop the day we go back home.
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G'day all,
Well I've some time up my sleeve this morning here, so I thought I'd keep this thread at the top for all to see my adventure.
Well after landing in LAX, then a conecting flight onto a place where it starts with M, has a lot of apples in the word and end with s, I landed in Des Moines at 1130 pm in the evening, a tad jet lagged but still fresh and it was good to finally meet John in person.
John picked me up at the baggage claim and we hit it off stright away. I've a lot of time for John (and his family) as what they done to open there house to a total stranger from 1/2 way around the world and "down under" was something you just dont see all that often these days. Typical Tradgang I guess...
John had to work the next day so he left me the keys to his truck so I may see a bit of the country side and also the new Bass Pro that has opened up near Des Moines.
I just had to remember you yanks drive on the wrong side of the road!
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v504/Longbow_lad/Colorado1007.jpg)
I've never seen anything like a Bass Pro and we have nothing like that here in Aussie, so I took my time and spent 4+ odd hours there...lol.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v504/Longbow_lad/Colorado1012.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v504/Longbow_lad/Colorado1028.jpg)
Looking at all the fine animals about the shop and looking over items that I alreay had was fun in itself. Not much in the shop for the Traditional hunter but in all, it was a good experience for an aussie to be a part of.
The sales people in the shop got a kick out of an aussie being in their store asking for a photo or two. The customer service was 2nd to none, and I flet none of it was a put on or fake.
Looking at all these critters kept my mouth watering and my minds eye keen to see one on the ground...
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v504/Longbow_lad/Colorado1056.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v504/Longbow_lad/Colorado1043.jpg)
I did not buy much, only small things for my family and t-shirt or two.
More to follow....
ak.
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Naturally John and I, over the next two weeks talked hunting. From animals, places to hunt and gear selection, all was covered in detail.... as only hunters do. More then once I told John of my eagerness to hunt bear, be it Black of Grizzly. And after seeing this fella mounted it only high lighted the fact...
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v504/Longbow_lad/Colorado1059.jpg)
I'm 6'2" so this, I guess is a tall Bear, but I would have thought he'd be bigger... you know ....like the scene out of the movie 'Breaveheart'..... "I thought William Wallace was ten feet tall...."...lol.
That'd change some when, and if I get closer to the real thing -that being a grizzly- with stick and string.... as we did twice over the hunt with Black bears, but more on that later.
Oh, and after seeing my old mate Fred Bear here I just had to get a pic also. I've always loved reading about Fred and his adventures about the world, from his humble beginings to his hunts on the little delta, I've always been a fan and he is someone to admire in my book.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v504/Longbow_lad/Colorado1063.jpg)
ak.
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The next morning was Friday and John's son Jacob turned up to help with getting the horses ready. We did some light packing of the trailers and sorting of gear to keep us busy until John finished work around 5 pm.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v504/Longbow_lad/Colorado1074.jpg)
Now I must add in here that John is a father of 4. I only meet three of his kids over my stay and what a credit they are to Mr and Mrs Berger. Jocab was a fine young man and a all round good young lad. We got on well and Jacob is welcome around my camp fire anytime.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v504/Longbow_lad/Colorado1077.jpg)
ak.
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Always my favorite tread of the year. This year's no dissappointment! :clapper:
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:campfire:
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What a great thread! :thumbsup: It took me about 45 minutes to catch up! :coffee:
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Ok I just finished the whole thread. Pheeww.
What a read! Thanks for sharing that. Sounds like a ton of fun and a lot of work!! But isnt Elk hunting always that way.
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We loaded up the horses that afternoon and made out way outa Iowa. And as John said, we had a few troubles along the way but in all, it was a steady trip to the trail head the next day after missing a day due to problems with the truck.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v504/Longbow_lad/Colorado1080.jpg)
We had loads of Kit to take up and as it was, we were down one horse due to illness. John needed a fare amount of Mountain Dew to keep his addiction under control!
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v504/Longbow_lad/Colorado1104.jpg)
After loading up all morning we finally made our way along the mountain trail to our hunting area...
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v504/Longbow_lad/Colorado1117.jpg)
We had a light shower of very cold Colorado rain on our way up and we had to don the rain gear. Not long after, we stopped and did some fine tuning of the gear and pack saddles as well as give the horses a rest of the up hill climb.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v504/Longbow_lad/Colorado1122.jpg)
After a long up hill climb we finally arrived at our hunting basin... man.... what a view!
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v504/Longbow_lad/Colorado1131.jpg)
And here is the next morning... it's going to be hard to take this High country Elk hunting with views like this!
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v504/Longbow_lad/Colorado2043.jpg)
More to come people... I gotta fly now back to the sand pit for work but I'll be online asap to fill in the rest of the story. Should be about Monday ish...
ak.
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Watch your topnot Pilgrim.
Be careful in the sandbox my friend.
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Great stuff, Al, great stuff!
:thumbsup:
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Very COOL!
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G'day again fine Trad Ganger people.
Well currently I'm awaiting on my connecting flight back into the fine a wonderful city of Kabul, and at present I'm enjoying a latte as the sun come up here in the Middle East.
My bat for my laptop may not have enough heart to last as long as I'd like but I'll keep at the story as much as I can.
With camp set up after our arrival in the hunting area we had a few shots and talked about the days hunting ahead. The first morning as John said, we hunted together just behind camp and spooked some cows and a bull. Tough luck and I was still pinching myself that I was actually hunting in the CO rockies.
This was my sleeping quaters for the next two weeks and found it rather strange to have a stove pipe comming outa the roof....
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v504/Longbow_lad/Colorado2050.jpg)
It does not get cold where I live ( North Queensland) & as John knows, I've only seen snow once, that was whilst working in Kabul last Christmas. So hunting in cool cilmates is something all very new to me, but I think I handled it all ok as I tend to sleep warm anyhow.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v504/Longbow_lad/Colorado2049.jpg)
I'll also add that I've never hunter Elk before and felt all very "Greenhornish" to the whole affair. I flet as if I had to re-learn to hunt again as Elk are much like our Red Deer but still it was a whole new animal I was planning to put on the ground and meat in John's coolers.
Before the hunt I asked myself and anyone abouve listening that I wanted only one good chance.... I'll do the rest... just one good chance at a bull and that would do me. As it turned out.... I was given that one chance... but I'll get to that soon enough.
Have to run as my bat is on the dead side. More to follow....
ak.
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Al, ya rascal! Where's the power lead?
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:coffee:
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Mate you blokes are dragging this one out, the anticipation is killing me.
Enjoying every word, thanks for taking the time to post so we can all share in your hunt.
Cheers Mate
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:pray:
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hope Al gets a break soon....
:banghead: :campfire: :rolleyes:
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The billy's on again, Al...
TTT
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Great stuff Al. I got a fresh batch of popcorn and am eagerly awaiting the next instalment.
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good stuff boys !!! this is the stuff dreams are made of !!!
eagerly awaiting more ...
Ben
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G'day again all,
Well I'm finally settled back in here at work and sorted out a few things after having 6 weeks off.
So I thought I'd better finish this up as I did not mean to drag it out this long what-so-ever.
Now... back to the hunt of a lifetime...
John and I hunted together a few times -as well as the other lads- but he also wanted to hunt with his son Jacob, as he only was in camp for a week. I also wanted to do some hunting by myself as that is just how I like to hunt, at my own pace and doing my own thing.
I was having (and still having I might add) problems with my shoulder (drawing arm) due to an injury I did in the gym. It was causing me a lot of problems drawing my 66# longbow, but not when at anchor. I may have did some damage to the rotor cuff from all accounts and it put a dint into my love of stump shooting when hunting in the wilds.
Regardless, I had to keep my eye in and I shot a few nasty stumps daily to keep in tune with my style of shooting.
This one stump was a downhill shot 1/4 away and I drilled him!
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v504/Longbow_lad/Colorado2322.jpg)
On this same day I climbed a high mountain peak just short of 12000 ft and I had a ball. I really enjoyed myself that day and on my walk down hill I bumped into two bulls, a 5x5 and a 6x6. I nearly got me a shot off at the 6x6 but the wind swirled just as I was at 1/2 draw. A few more seconds and he was history at 10 odd yards through the timber.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v504/Longbow_lad/Colorado2425.jpg)
When I climbed that mountain I finally found a jar with a pencil in it and some paper so I had to write the date, my name and where I was from.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v504/Longbow_lad/Colorado2430.jpg)
More to follow...
ak.
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Al?
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Wow! That is so cool! Ten yards from a bull elk!
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Yes Ben and he did not know I was there.... I spent 2+ hours stalking all to be undone buy the afternoon wind changes from uphill to down hill.
Seconds.... is what it came down to, seconds.
John and I spotted a massive bull one day skylinen himself on a ridge 500 odd meters away. From that range even I could tell he was a cracker of a bull, John guessed him a 380 ish and thinks he seen him last year also. So there is some history already for this King of the Mountain.
It all came down to the last day of the hunt really. We'd seen Elk just about everyday and due to the country side, thick timber and the range these animals cover, makes 'em hard for the novice Elk hunter to put together a plan of attack.
As John said in camp on day one, Elk are Elk 365 days a year, we are Elk hunters for 12 of those days.
I had a fair idea where the King lived, so I put a plan together to be up close and personal on his home turf, very early on in the morning. My plan worked and I had three bulls 'talking' to me at nine in the morning on one hell of a steep slope/basin after a hell of a steep climb.
I cow called and moved, done that again to keep these lads guessing and settled into a stable shooting position to do a final call trying to throw the sound away down hill from me.
It worked and before I knew it the King himself bolted over a small rise to my front and came to with 25 yards and stopped behind a small pine, leaven me no shot at all. Typical!
I held off, knowing he'd move back the other way due to a drop off to my right. He waited and tried to sniff out this 'cow' for some 5 to 7 minutes, I held firm and picked a shooting lane out as I knew this was going to be a fast shot through a 3 foot window between the trees and at an uphill angle of 35-40 degrees.
As he turned, I anchored and look at his chest and released. The arrow blew through him, high but right on for line and the Bull looked the other way as the arrow smashed into rocks on the other side of him.
He walked off, un spooked and I cow called again and he pulled up, I was unaware of how my shot affected him. He then walked of as another 6x6 bull walked in and I got mixed up on which bull was which!
I found my arrow and moving to where he stood after my cow call I found some good blood...
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v504/Longbow_lad/Colorado2443.jpg)
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Awesome stuff Al!
I would have to say this is without a doubt the best thread I have read in a long time.
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Oh the suspense. That is some beautiful country and as said before, this is the stuff dreams are made of.
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So I sat, had my 12th Snickers bar for the trip, followed up buy some jerky and a swig of water. I wanted to give this Bull a good hour plus for him to bed up and bleed out. The last thing I wanted was to push him some and loose him on this mountain side from hell.
After the time spent waiting I started blood traling and looking for spoor. One of these bulls moved up hill and the other moved down. So I made my mind up to track up hill on a 'Natural line of drift' as it is call in the Infantry. I found no more blood and cover a lot of steep country and a few wallows, but no blood what-so-ever.
Maybe the bull I hit went down hill? Was my thoughts. So with that I went back to the last place I found blood and moved in a patteren down hill covering all angles of approched that an animal walk walk.
Nothing.
I walked game trails, moved back and forth along the face for hours cover just about most of the mountain face but I did not see one speck of blood or smear. A dread set in... it was now 1 pm after I hit him just after 9 in the morning.
Replaying the shot in my mind a guessed the shot not to have hit high lungs like I hoped but went through the meaty area about the spine. It was just the Blood that threw me off. It was not a lot of blood... just good blood if your hearing what I'm saying.
Nothing fills my heart with dread then loosing an animal... more so then one like the Bull I got a shot at. But I know in my heart of hearts that I put in a 100% effort looking for him and consider myself no slouch when it comes to rough terrain or tracking.
So in all I made the hard point of view to make my way back to camp, head hung low.
This is what the face of someone looks like who looses a fine bull...
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v504/Longbow_lad/Colorado2445.jpg)
I have to thank John again for this trip of a lifetime. He mentioned that many a hunter never have the 2 weeks hunting we've had on elk. And looking back on it I 'd have to agree.
Thanks for all the kind words to the thread fellas.
ak.
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Al,
We were starting to wonder about you, whether something bad had happened to keep you from your keyboard, just busy or maybe you have been taking storytellin' lessons from Charlie Lamb.
I am sorry we didn't get to send that big rack home with you or put any meat on the pole but I had a grand time hosting you this year and would do it again in a minute. As it is I know where that big brute lives. You and Jacob have both been within spitting distance of him the past two years, so he does let his guard down once in a while and has been leading a charmed life. This bull doesn't know it but if he makes it through the winter, he and I have an appoinment together next fall. I will have to hold off shooting at a lesser bull, but I think I can do that for another chance at a once in a lifetime bull.
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Al , John
I think we have all been in your shoes in one way or another in the past and can feel a sense of your pain on loosing an animal. To have a chance at such mighty creatures and the skill and savoy to get in close for a shot are a testimate to you both. Elk hunting is truly a grand adventure not able to be had by all, glad you both were able to experience the joys, triumphs and dissapointments that come with it yet again.
If it makes you feel any better, my elk season is bust so far with very little action...Take the good with the bad I suppose...
Great story and again thanks for taking the time to share it with us all.
Jake
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Sounds like a great trip. If we got one every time we probably wouldn't do it.
Are you scheduling a rematch Al?
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Not anytime soon Doug. I've got take a few family trips now as I really owe 'em all for letting me do what I do, that being work away and hunt away.
But one day I'll get back into the rockies again. Might just walk in myself...
ak.
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Sorry to hear it, Al. As Guru said on another thread, that may well be muscle blood. Hopefully that fellow's tough enough to survive it (afterall, they give each other hell's own time fighting, I s'pose). All the best, Ben
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Sounds like you had a really good hunt and then some! I wouldn't worry about that elk either, they are really tough, I have seen several that others have killed with some really good wounds from fighting with other bulls that didn't even slow them down.
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Dang Al......With the hit you described, the look of that blood(I know it's a little dried aready, but it's dark)and the uphill angle, I'd bet there was no lungs involved at all. I'm thinking he'll be just fine...
Of course that doesn't help that with the fact that you didn't get to bring him home....most of us have been there brother. You did everything right....
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Awsome trip. That bull will most likely be bigger next year. It still hurts to lose an animal. Anyone that hunts long enough will lose one. Come back and get him next time.
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Thanks again for a great post .
Al, that critter is hopefully chasing girls and wondering where abouts he can buy a lottery ticket...
And as for next time ... " just walkin' in myself " ...that sounds like the very plan to keep you going mate .
thanks again to the both of you for a great post . its getting me pumped for my trip chasing elk next year !
ben
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Mate great to see you put in the extra effort looking for the Critter. I to will spend as long as it takes to satisfy myself that the critter is ok or down.
Your one lucky man to have spent the time there.
Cheers Mate
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Cheers for all the kind words fellas again.
Thought I'd post up this pic on just how 'not' to look after your feet in Elk Mountains...
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v504/Longbow_lad/Colorado1134.jpg)
ak.
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Yowsa...Ingrown nail, pal. Soak it in Warm salt water to "tenderize" it. May need to get someone to dig that one out. Great pics and story!
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Mate that's nasty, I keep my nails longer to avoid such issues.
Cheers
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Bring this current for Hunt it.
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I am glued to this thread like a dirty shirt! Thanks for taking the time to chronicle it so thoughtfully!
Good luck with your toe Al, had a few like this back a few years ago while training for a couple of marathon, ouch.
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Thanks John,
And a fantastic read it was. I always look forward to your adventure each Sept. Missed all the action until now as I was in the Land Down Under hunting for past three weeks. Al, this must have been a heck of an climate change and altitude change from your normal haunts. Just coming back from the Cape myself, both the mountains and the outback deserve/demand great respect from those wander far from the trails. Glad to see you had a fantastic trip of a lifetime. Hard to find a man more passionate about horesback hunting in the mountains than Doc John. Real hunters measure sucess by the adventure and friendships gained. Great read and fantastic pictures as well. My hats off to you John for hosting a stranger from the land down under! Just like Al stated very Tradgangish of you! :notworthy: :notworthy:
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G'day Hunt It!
I'm happy that you enjoyed your time in my homeland... I don't get to spend much time on my own soil as it is.
The climate was ok to me, I did a litte fitness training before hand and took it easy at the start of the hunt to work slowly into things. Although I think I lost about 10 pounds in the two weeks. I liked to think each day as a work out day with super views!
And your right about real hunters and the measurement rule ... John is one heck of a man and I'm happy to call him a mate.
I can not thank him enough for the hunt of a life time.
ak.
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Great read guys. Shame about the bulls but a true memorable journey non the less.
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TTT
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Man... this thead brings back soooo many good memories.
ak.
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What a great read, even thought I devoured every word when the story was first told. This second time is just as good. One of the all time Trad Gang classics!