Last day, time to get it done, Justin and I hunted together again this morning and ran into a couple elk right away, one ran up to the east, one ran north, we split and followed them calling to keep track of each other and hopefully get one to come looking for it's buddy.Justin got to the top of hill and could see tips of tines going through the brush but nothing else. I had moved maybe 100 yds up the trail and see a cow standing on the hillside looking around. she was 60 yds away and not much cover between us, she headed up the hill and I let her go hoping she would get close to Justin. I waited a while and hunted my way up to a big meadow, 15 minutes later Justin shows up and we decide what we should do. He decides to hunt back down the other side of the timber we had seen the elk in, the wind was in his face and this is where he had seen the bull earlier in the week, I wished him luck and headed toward some black timber with a couple little water holes in it that some of my friends have killed bulls on before. Getting to the timber at the end of the meadow I start seeing sign, lots of sign, fresh tracks, fresh crap, then a big racket on top of the bench, I'd spooked a bunch off, Ok, got to slow down and pay more attention.It was 12:30 when I got to the water hole, it was muddy with a dozen aspens that a bull had stripped and broke the tops off, I sat down,had a candy bar and a drink of water and waited.Then I heard it, a bugle and another, and another, it was one right after another and then I thought there was another hunter coming the way the bugling sounded, so I just sat and listened for the next half hour. This bull, hunter what ever it was did not stop,it was at least every minute it would let loose again,then another bull bugles, this one I know is the real deal, so I'm off towards all the racket.I get close to where the all ruckus is and cow call, imedeatlly a bull answers back and this continues for 10 to 15 minutes, then the wind starts swirling and I bail off the bench and repeated this two more times. The last time I bailed off I see a cow below me and then 3 more walk over the edge and out of sight,I sit and wait right there for the wind to settle down.All of a sudden there' mewing coming to me, a calf walks by at 25 yds. and goes up to where the bulls are still screaming at each other.So back up there again,I call and the calf walks right to me 10 yds away and is looking right over the top of me, it stayed there for ever, nice to be that close but I didn't want it to bust me. finally it turns and walks away and then a patch of tan hide is coming below the calf and it gets behind some pines, the next thing there's a big horn sticking out from one side of them, it's walking 30 yds. below me and there's a wide open lane 15 feet in front of it. Then he stops sniffs the ground stands there a minute and turns around and walks right back the way he came. He was one of the biggest bulls I've ever seen out there and now he gone. That calf is still standing there and there's another elk walking to it, it's another bull, 5x2 a straight up beam on one side with a big club coming down almost under his jaw, I call and the calf comes and he's right behind it.
Topic: Back from elk hunt, pix. (Read 563 times)
