A hard tough hunt ending with lots of excitement !

[twitchstick]

This year my hunt has been one of the toughest years I have ever had. The hard winter we encountered had the deer numbers down and with water everywere it had the animals were scattered. The elk faired better through the winter but the unit I hunt success is very low. It dose offer the oppertunity to harvest a branch antlerd bull thats not on a limited entry unit,not that I wouldn't shoot the frist cow that came by. This last year was tough for me finacially so my hunting was limited to hunting close to home,thank goodness my best elk spot was only 10 min drive and the deer hunting is always good.
    This year wasn't tough because of the animal counts were down or the liberal amounts of water I just was struck with bad luck,poor woodmanship skills,and over comfidence. It was to the point of almost pure comedy. I screwed up more time than I would like to admit.
    My scouting starded heavy in early july with plans of creating good quality shoot oppertunitys. I had four tags(2 elk,2 deer) to fill so I wanted start early. I was seeing more elk in more spots than I ever had before. The deer count was down but I had found a couple of bacholer herds that had one or two decent bucks in them. Nothing too big but some sold 22" to 25" 4x4's and some good 2 and 3 pionts to be had. I was planning on shooting the frist legal buck this year and pushing hard on the elk after that. I had two herds of bucks "tie up to a fence" so this was going to be easy.    
     Opening weekend I had a couple of my nephews down to hunt and a event to run with my wife on the mountain. I made a great camp and big dutch over diner for the kids the night before the hunt open. I had to give them the big camping experiance even though I would only be there that night. Opening day I had to start an event around noon at our local ski resort with my wife so my hunting would be cut short. Sorry I lost a memory card hiking around that had alot of pics of the frist week or so but there will be some pics later.

[twitchstick]

The frist morning I had a ground blind set up in a funnel area were I had one of the bachelor herds had been going through daily around 9:00 am and sometimes as late as 11:00 am. Well I started this hunt on a good note by spooking the herd going in in the dark,only hearing thier heavy crashing going off in the distance    I had never seen them in there that early they must have been pushed in early but that's public land hunting. The next time in the blind I went in around noon on sunday after my wifes even was done. I had a doe feeding around my blind for hours. I was starting to get sleepy and my legs were getting numb from not moving because the doe being so close(5 to 10 yrds). My head bobbed form being sleepy that set the doe into high alert snorting and stomping along with a nice 3x4 that I had not notice about 50 yards away! I never did see another deer in that blind after that through out the rest of the season. Went I finally made it back to camp one of my nephews had blindly found his way into one of my elk spots and had seen a big bull at 30 yrds away but had no elk tag. It must have been a good bull becuse he was still shaking when I got there. Now when I went in there the next day and of course I didn't see him but there was enough sign to keep me coming back. There were rubs and tracks everwhere.

[twitchstick]

I have to get off to work so sit tight and all be right back.

[imhntn]

I am looking forward to the pics and story.

[steadman]

Come on Jimmy. At least you saw some animals!!

[twitchstick]

After not seeing the any elk I headed to lower elevation to hunt the other bachelor herd. I brought a friend this time and we set up on ambush spots were they were coming off hay fields to bed. I took the high trail he took the lower trail. Well to say the leased I seen zip and he saw 20 and havested a buck. This is when things started getting tough. The next time in I found posted signs in my area,an area I have hunted for years and always thought to be BLM land. I hunted other blinds in the area over the next few weeks but only seen a few does. I Looked for that bull several times and try some new areas but I was always a day behind them. I was seeing sign of elk everyday but just could'nt find them. Now the deer I just could not put a handle on them. I seen a few does,expcept were my doe tag was. My secert elk spot didn't seem secert because everytime I went to hunt it there would be someone was in it. It was a big area and most that do hunt it don't hunt it right so I wasn't to worried. When I made in there the frist time I came with a tree saddle to sit on a wallow. I had left some pegs in some trees over wallows a couple years ago. Which made it easy to get set up quick. When I arrive to the frist wallow my pegs were gone infacted the wallow was gone,completely! Here some pics.

[Benny Nganabbarru]

You've had some frustrating adventures, for sure. I'm looking forward to the rest of this.

[twitchstick]

It had slid out since I had checked it in july. This summer the monsoons had hit us hard and with lost of water from last winter it did us a number.  I made it up to the next wallow and it had almost slid out too. In this pic you can see the mud slide coming up to the wallow.

[twitchstick]

I sat there all night waiting but no elk wanted to play in this wallow. I did here a bull do a greating call that night lower in the canyon but I couldn't have made it to him before dark. That was the only time during the hunt I heard a bull make any sound. They get hunted hard on this unit and there are very few elk so they are not talkative. I have only heard a few bugle in many years on the unit. Other units I have had better success calling and dogging them than this one. I was still finding sign when I was going out but they always seem to be one day a head of me. I tried still hunting, sitting wallows/funnels and even some aggressive calling but no luck. It was getting down to that last week then while I was diving into hunt elk one morning I seen a massive buck(28" wide and very tall/ 190"+ buck) cross the road into odd location right accoss a parking lot through some dumpsters to an island of quakies in a lava bed. A friend had seen a smaller 5x5 go in there this year and last year I had watch some smaller bucks do the same. Here is pic of his home.

[twitchstick]

It made a perfect treestand location because the only way in was through a narrow funnel maybe 40 yards wide with lava on all sides of it.

[twitchstick]

I set the stand and went to hunt a water hole down in the low country. I had build ground blind there but had never hunted it,ether because of high winds or only being able to hunt mornings. I got settled in around 11:00 am and was going to sit until dark. It was a interesting spot to sit because it was close to a highway. That night I watched a percession of carnival vehicals and rides parade by,there must have been 50 or 60 go by but thats all I seen. I waited until after dark to leave the stand. When I took off my head net and hung my bow so I could pack up I spooked a deer no more than 15 yards away! I still can't figure out how I didn't hear him coming. My heart sank when I seen his head gear silhouetted in the ligh colored soil. I couldn't count the pionts but he was wider than the ears by sevral inches and really tall and heavy. I wouldn't have minded spooking him walking out but he had pegged in my blind. Sorry the pics from this area were lost on that memory card. I had some cool ones of the carnies. Sit tight it get better but I better do some of my honey do's. You know how it is after a mounth of hunting. My wife says it's 2 mounths but you don't cout scouting right!

[twitchstick]

Man I should proof read my stuff frist I just suck at spelling "month" not mounth just to name one. I went back to the lava buck twice but I only heard deer and seen shadows in the dark. They stayed nocturnal on me. This was about all my bow did in this stand.

[twitchstick]

On wednesday evening(hunt closes on friday) I hunted the frist elk area my newphew had seen that nice bull. I still hunted my way into a wallow to sit. On the way in I came on a bedded 2x2 buck. I stalk my way into 15 yds and just had to wait for him to get up from his bed before I could shoot. I waited 30 min before he rose but he offerd not shoot just walk strait away. I sat on a wallow the rest of the day until I though nothing was coming in. I decided to still hunt through a small saddle behind this wallow. It was real crunchy in the pines so I would do a cow call here and there to cover my noise. Then I heard movement after I chirped. I cow called agian and was answered by a bull slowly rubbing his rack. My heart started to pump up a beat as he started walking right for me. He was 50 yds and coming in slowly. I started to draw as he was headed for a window I could get a shoot. I hit my achor right as he got my wind and he crashed away down the ridge!  

[twitchstick]

Thursday would be my last full day of hunting and I was going to hunt all day. I still hunted in the morning and look for fesh sign but didn't even see a deer. By evening I had work my way into a nasty thick area that was a funnel between two lava fields. I wasnt't seeing any fresh sign at all then I steped on a grouse that scared the @#$% out of me. I grabbed a judo out and was going to get dinner when I heard elk moving just over a small hump. I nock a broadhead then peaked over the hump to see three cows and a nice 6x6 bull. The bull was to far for me but the cows were under 20 yrds. I came to anchor agian but the movement busted them out of there. After that I was a little bumed out and sat down to have a bite to eat,lick my wounds and look for that @#$$ grouse. I laughed a little as I set there about the grouse spooking me and the elk,boy I bet I would have got them if they had been clam. I wanted to see were these elk had been so after about 20 in I started working my way down when I could hear the elk in the timber maybe 80 ydrs to the right. Game on! I didn't think I could sneak though the timber for a shoot but there was a big lava field I could scamble down and maybe cut them off.

[Blood Trail]

More.....More....

[twitchstick]

As I scramble down the lava field as quite as I could I noticed a great big mule deer rack to my left. He was a 3x3 about 30" wide and super tall! He was still on his bed about 30 yrds to my right side. At this piont I forgot all about the elk on my right and was reaching for my quiver. I slowly nock an arrow and made like a rock. I didn't dare move anymore and was hoping he would rise and give me a shoot. It took about 2 seconds and the wind blew his direction and he was gone. He had as prettiest of a box rack as I have ever seen when he went bouncing down the ridge. There wasn't much dirt were his bed was only a small oneway trail leading to his bed at the edge of the lava. It was worn and deep from many of seasons. I think he liked the bed just for the veiw.

[twitchstick]

I heard the elk to my right in the timber snapping me back into elk mode. I scamble down the lava a entered the timber in hopes of cutting them off. I worked my way as quite as I could still hearing them above me now. They didn't read my script and move up the ridge instead of were I was. Then there was a bunch of crashing below me,I must have had some elk wind me. Wait! now I started to hear some splashing and crashing of tree. It was a bull in a wallow below me! I made good time while he was preoccupied doing his thing,it was good because I sounded like a heard of elephants. I made it to just above the wallow to were I could see him,a very nice 6x6 over 300" and was bigger than the one I spooked just earlier. It was real steep around the wallow making it tough to close the final 30 yrds for the shoot.  Sorry My taxidemist just called about my bear skull I have to go. I been tring to catch hime for months.

[Benny Nganabbarru]

Rascal!

[beemann]

Rascal is a kind way of saying what I was thinking.  Please finish  the story its excellent.

[twitchstick]

As you can tell by my typing skills I had to go quick. Anyway I was planning a route in when he just decided to drift off. He didn't act spooked when he headed up the canyon and just disappeared quitely away. It just got to dark before I could find him agian. I could only hunt the morning of the last day and was going into the same area . I headed up the canyon to the were I had left off the night before. The wind was good and the cool air felt good but the elk were no were to be found. I decided to still hunt my way back to the truck for as long as I could before work. This was my last chance this season so I was going to savor it. I was thinking how lucky I was to have hunted nearly everyday of the season. Most were just morning hunts before work but I did get alot of time enjoying the moutain. Even though the deer numbers were down I did see some amazing bucks at close range. I found more elk sign in more spots on the mountain than any other year. I seen and had oppertunitys on some real good bulls. I had some epiphany's putting 2 and 2 togther on many differant spots I hunted. I know I am going to scout the lava beds more next year. I was just feeling real go about the hunt when I seen a buck and a doe feeding just ahead of me. Game on agian! I made my way down to try to intersect them as their trail crossed mine just ahead. As they crossed the intersecton of the two trails I wrap my fingers around the string and started to draw back on the small buck. Well I never did reach my anchor because he was just out of my range so I let the string down. I just sat there smiling and watching them for a few minutes as they feed off and they never knew I was there. I walk to the truck feeling good about the season and planing my next hunt.