one special hunt (bens elk hunt)

[PAPA BEAR]

glad you had a safe trip home ben

[leatherneck]

Welcome back to good old Ohio Ben. Talk to ya soon. Sounds like an awesome hunt.

Mike

[celticknot]

Welcome back ben. Can't wait to hear the story's.

[BlacktailBowhunter]

Ben, I'm glad you made it back safely. I was beginning to get a little worried.

Paul

[BEN]

OK now............

Pretty much all the stories are told.....
I had a great time.

A big thank you  to Larry for having me out there and not leaving me to the cougars!!

A big thanks to Carl who upgraded our little basic camp to:
 

However, a warning to all-----here's how food gets distributed:
 
A huge hunk of steak to Larry, a sliver to his "BEST friend" Carl, and PB & J to the newbie (me)!!!!    

Larry and Carl remembering the "good old days"!
 

Some fine shooting in prep for the elk:
 

[BEN]

Some of our hunting areas.

the way in:
 

Saw alot of these in the mornings:
 

The thickets:
 
 

The open meadows:
 
 

The vistas:
 

[BEN]

More of the Oregon mountain:
 

 


This little pine must have done something to a bull. 6'2" Larry has to use his bow to reach the top of the scrape:
 
 

Some of the "other critters" on the mountain:
 

[BEN]

Also, a BIG thank you goes out to Paul aka Blacktailbowhunter" for dragging me around the mountains for 2 days when Larry's leg was causing him some major problems. Larry gave it all he had and really had the bulls talking. No joke, we were in bugling bulls EVERY hunt, 2x @day except 1 hunt---pretty good average I'd say.  We also saw elk (bull, cows, yearlings) over 50% of the hunts.  Not bad I'd say. My hunts with
Paul are in this too: 2 hunts = 2 sightings and bulls bugling each time + a whole lot of sight seeing .......

Paul admiring the scenery:
 
Paul is hamming it up----as usual    
 

A good place to hunt deer here:
 

[BEN]

The "TRAD Gang":

T.W.  aka  Wannabe1
 

Paul  aka Blacktailbowhunter,
Myself  aka BEN
Larry  aka Elkherder:
 

T.W. and myself pretending to need a break for Larry's sake    :
 

+

Carl, doing the late night cooking, AGAIN:
 

[BEN]

I have a whole lot more pics----roughly 54 of them from the mountain. Roughly 130 just pics from the car while on the way out and back---so, celticknot, I didn't quite make 1000, but got a good start!

Here's a short video of an area of the mountain that burned in 1990 that has since been reclaimed:
 

[BEN]

T.W., Paul, and Larry:  It was great meeting you all and sharing camp and hunting stories! i hope we can do this again some time.  It's always great meeting Trad-gangers---so far, all have been good people, willing to share everything they have, be it knowledge, grub, gear, or just good old B.S.      Thanks  longbowben!!! Just couldn't bring myself to take that beautiful bow out though and risk putting a mark on it!! Then you'd have to sell it to me and break up your matching pair!!  

[PAPA BEAR]

bet bens coming to the 2010 tradganger hunt    :D        :D

[Wannabe1]

Ben, you are welcome at my campfire any day. My offer still stands if you want to come out some day and do a little deer and elk combo hunting on the western side of the Cascades. Glad you made it home safe and that you had  a great time my friend. Stay safe and shoot straight.  

[BlacktailBowhunter]

Great pics Ben. You were a great hunting partner for those 2 days, and I look forward to your return.

Paul

[4runr]

Wow, Ben! Looks like a good time was had in a beautiful part of the country! Welcome home.

[longbowben]

Looks like you had a great time.Ben and paul see you in november.Paul is this what your looking for?

[BEN]

Hey-----is that deer tied up??  :D    :D  

Honestly, look at the y-branch near it's neck----ALMOST looks like a leash!    

I thought I had it figured out how Ben and Mike keep getting these big bucks!!