I just need one more day!

[twitchstick]

I say this about every time I go hunting I swear. I think I may have a addiction problem. This year started off opening morning of the elk hunt by going into my favorite elk spots. I started off checking for tracks and hitting traditional wallows. It started off alittle crazy with a young cougar that about ran me over and never even seen me. When I frist seen it coming it was only 20 yards away running strait at me but luckly made a sharp hook in front of me and went up a elk trail I was watching. This took place about 40 yards next to my frist wallow I checked.

[twitchstick]

Not much action on the wallows yet but they always get my blood boiling. After that excitement I made my way off down though some lava fields that work as great funnels to hunt.  

[twitchstick]

My wonderful wife had droped me off at the top of a big drainage and left my truck at the bottom. I had planed to still hunt my way down until I found the mother load of sign and hunt it all day,I had my bivy set up just in cast too. When I got to the bottom of the frist funnel there was elk sigh all over the place. The funnel opens up in to high hidden meadow I see elk in alot.  

[twitchstick]

Knowing I could not follow the herd were they were headed I drop off into another finger and started looking for more sign. Around 3 I started seeing some more sign at the bottom of a different canyon. I ate a quick bite to eat and headed for some wallows I knew about to set up on for the evening. Once agian before I could get set up I ran into elk. They were slowly feeding about 30 yards in front of me. There was two cows and a mid sized 6 piont but it was just to thick to get close for a shoot. I tried but ended up bumping them. I didn't realy spook them to bad but they did feed off faster. At that piont I backed out and went up another finger but was unable to find anymore sign. For the second day I let my elk spot rest and went and chased spikes and cows on the high dersert where my day drawn a good rifle elk tag. It was a great day even came close on a big spike and seen lots of elk but my heart was back at my elk spot. Some places just seem to draw you back like it's calling you even if other areas may hold more game.

[twitchstick]

Monday I headed back to my elk spot with a big game plan. I had sleeped in knowing the wind would be wrong in the morning and would head in around 10 when the thermals would change. I took the back way into where I had seen the 6 piont And set up on a trail above the wallows I was head to when I bumped the elk on saturday. The plan worked great but the bull and cows never got closser than 60 yards to me. It was real cool to have them close by for a good hour or so but they feed down the canyon on me. Right after they feed off I started to hear some cows chriping in the hidden meadow at the bottom of the funnel. After seeing a rag bull chasing some poor cow round I knew for sure enough I had heard a bull hitting his antlers in the deadfall on saturday. It was great to watch the other herd from were I was but I knew I would never reach them before dark and if I did it would have taken me two days to get it out of there. As i took the long hike out all I could think about was that "if I only had one more day" I would get a bull for sure. You see that the story of my life I rarely get more than one or two days together to hunt. Don't get me wrong I do try to hunt everyday of the hunt I can. I work from 7 to 7 most days and some weeks it's 6 days a week so I have hunt pretty close to the roads on weekdays. It's just to hard to make into my elk spot with that short of a time frame.

[twitchstick]

Well today I got that "one more day". You see I got selected for jury duty Hurray! I know that sounds odd but I knew I would be done with that by 4 or 5 and not 7 o'clock! That ment that if I hike real fast I could make up to where the 6 piont was hanging out. I packed my stuff in the truck so I could leave strait from the court house to the mountain. I made a fast pace to the top with out stoping once to rest. It about killed me but was rewarded by seeing lots of sign when I arrived to my destonation. There were lots of beds and some fresh urine stains that were still wet.  

[twitchstick]

I could see were the elk had been coming through but was afraid that if I went any higher I might jump the elk. So I set up on a good pinch piont and was hoping for the best. Well to say the leased I never did see the 6 piont or any of his cows but around 8 tonight the rag bull strated bugling(which is rare on this unit)in some wallows that are below the hidden meadow. Those wallows I could have easly made it to tonight if I would have known that he would have been there. Now agian "I just need one more day" and that will not be until sunday now. I'm sure if I would have chosen to go into those other wallows I would have filled my tag tonight but would I have been saying "I just need one more tag"!

[slivrslingr]

Keep at it, your persistence will pay off!        

[Mudd]

We're rooting for you!

God bless,Mudd

[turkey522]

Good luck,keep us posted.Thanks for sharing pics and story.

[steadman]

Good job Jimmy! At least your getting into elk! Keep at it you'll be in the right place at the right time. Let me know if you need some help  

[snakebit40]

Good luck! Great story too! I do have a question for you. When you say 6 point are you talking a 6x6 or a 3x3? I never have understood calling a 12 point buck/bull a 6 point. Could somebody fill me in?

[twitchstick]

Yea Ryan all you have to do is show up I always need help. Snakebit I still use the old western count 6 pionts on one antler.

[snag]

Snakebit it's how we do it out west. 6pt= 6X6 or 6pts on each side. That way if you have a bull that is a 6X8 it describes what this bull looks like...rather than just saying a 14pt. Never understood how you would just add up the tines when you could actually describe how many were on each side. Guess it's just how you're brought up.

[snakebit40]

Originally posted by snag:
Snakebit it's how we do it out west. 6pt= 6X6 or 6pts on each side. That way if you have a bull that is a 6X8 it describes what this bull looks like...rather than just saying a 14pt. Never understood how you would just add up the tines when you could actually describe how many were on each side. Guess it's just how you're brought up.

Thanks Snag. Never have heard the reasoning for it. Your right I guess it's just how you're brought up.  

[Shedrock]

Keep after 'em, good luck!

[twitchstick]

Well I have been at it hard still . Saturday after work I made a quick run back into my spot where I had heard the bull bugling last time in. I found a big wallow they had been hitting to set up on. It look like a great spot but I could hear him and his cows at the upper meadow and not where I was, of course. Sunday I came in from the top with the whole day to work my way into that upper meadow. The morning started off slow only seeing one nice mule deer. There had been some bad thunder and lighting the night before so not much was moving so far. Most of the day was spent huttled under pine trees dogging lighting and heavy rain,hail and sleat. I sat at this wallow I found below the upper meadow for most of the afternoon with no luck.

[Coonbait]

Go get them!
Glenn

[twitchstick]

After a break in the waves of storms coming in I slowly made my way to the upper meadow. I found a nice wallow at the edge of the meadow where several trails crossed. It look like great ambush spot so I set up there. I sat there hours before I heard the herd coming down the trail towards the wallow. I could make out a few cows coming my way when the lead cow got my wind and it was over as quick as it started. The wind seemed good to me but it must have been swirling around to them. Here is the wallow,it's much bigger than it looks it the pic.  

[twitchstick]

Once again I came out with a empty pack still needing another day.