i went on a one day hunt/scouting trip to the oregon coast yesterday.had my girl and her daughter emma with me.i wanted to try out a nice timbered area i used to see a lot of critters in.i followed the logging road up the mountain and was having fond memories of the area.as i turned up road 115 i saw three does run across the road and down into the draw.good sign.the road was blocked about a hundred yds further.i grabbed my bow sprayed down and headed up the now grassy road.i was seeing tracks and bull elk dung on a regular basis in the dirt.this area was thinned along the road but not completely logged.i stopped at a fairly large thinned area and was glassing below me when a squirrel started scolding me i was looking at him sitting on a limb wondering if i could hit him with my blunt from that far when i saw something move in the background behind him.it was a nice three point blacktail bedded in the ferns in front of a stump.i suddenly was actually hunting.i backed up and started my stalk.i needed to get closer.i was circling around him and then planned on moving in until i could see him again to try and get a shot.he was bedded less than twenty yds from the road.as i moved closer i could see his rack then his head.i crept closer and closer and was down to only a few small steps left.i took my eyes off the ground and took another step and 'snap' i stepped on a small stick.he jumped up and ran about fifty yds and stopped to see what was going on.game over.i watched him bounce away down the draw.i continued up the road and was seeing elk and deer sign everywhere as i went.it was getting later in the afternoon and i decided to sit and wait for the animals to start moving.i sat silently for what seemed forever when i heard elk moving through the timber.i started cow calling softly to them and was answered by several cows.i could see a nice spike bull moving up the draw towards me so i intensified the calls trying to draw him in closer.he needed to be at least a hundred yds closer.he stopped at around fifty yds and was not coming any closer.he gave the area one last look and not seeing a cow he turned and ran back to the herd.i was hearing more elk and saw a nice 5x5 bull moving around in the bottom that showed some interest in my calling but would not come to my calling no matter what.i could not follow them for fear of them seeing me.it was getting darker and i decided to bugle once to see if i could get a response.i bugled a single locater bugle,nothing aggresive.i was answered by what sounded to be a nice bull back up the draw from where the other elk came from.i walked up the road another couple hundred feet and saw a huge bull track in the dirt.this area is game rich and while not successful it was a pretty rewarding experience.i think this will be where tw (wannabe1)and i will do our three day hunt.no people around and lots of critters means fun....sorry about no pics but i left my pack in the rig as i wasnt really doing a full on hunt.had a blast though driving around in the hills looking for sign and just getting away for a day.now i'm home wishing i was back there again.
Topic: one day hunt (Read 374 times)
