Time for a Tall Tale

[Butts2]

These are some magnificent looking son-of-a guns in MHO

 

[Butts2]

Late afternoon 13 Turkey pay a visit to the pond. They are some noisy buggers. How come when I hunt them in the spring they are not so vocal. They jump on each other numerous times, mainly on each others head or backside and they slowly wander off. 15 minutes later in the direction the Turkeys first came I hear a branch break 2 times. 10 minutes later out steps a 2x2 Bull Elk. He continually looks behind himself as he approaches the pond. When I get an opportunity I get my Bow in position to draw in case another Bull happens to be following. The youngster gets to the ponds edge and paws his hoof into the ponds edge half a dozen times and stops. Lifts his head and stares right at me positioned 20 yards away. He backs out and proceeds to circle me anywhere from 30 yards to as close as 5 yards while browsing never giving me another thought and he ambles northward and disappears.

The next morning Steve, Preston and I plan to meet at 1 pm on a high saddle’s large bench to get a bite to eat together and chat about the mornings activities. Walking, stalking hunting to the saddle I feel slight tenderness in my right big toe. Upon arrival I am the only one there with mid 50F temperatures I remove boots and smart wool socks to investigate my feet. My right big toe is pretty swollen. They both show up and start discussing how slow the day has been with animal movement. Preston pulls his Gerber and asks if I want him to operate on my foot. Course not, let me borrow your knife. I put the smaller blade under the toe nail and a white liquid appears and the pain subsides immediately.

Preston states “Forgot to cut your toe nails a week ago like you told me to do, huh?” Steve then adds “ We don’t plan on having you cut up any food to share for lunch are we?

[Butts2]

[Butts2]

90 minutes later I am sitting in the tree stand and from the same location as yesterdays small Bull Elk out steps another small Bull. At the top of this ones right antler a tine juts out 5 inches horizontally. He also keeps looking back the direction he came. He circles the pond and enters it facing away from me. He jumps, splashes, hops and is having a grand old time in the water. He then wades to the edge closest to me and lays in the mud half in and half out of the water. He would put his neck on the mud/water for a few seconds and jerk his head up to look again from where he originally came. He did this ritual 4 times, stood up and shook like a dog and trotted to the west.
Darkness comes and with it Preston. He saw a small 4x4 Bull accompanied by a cow and neither came closer than 50 yards. I said even though we are not hearing any bugling you want to have some fun time tomorrow morning to attempt to get some calling started. I get thumbs up so quickly in my headlamp I almost get hit. He then states that he is totally out of water. Oh, Oh! I pull my Camelback out and I have a fifth of my 100 ounce bladder full of water. Four or five years ago when we first came into this area we came via a road that has been closed since. We had to cross a small creek  only ½ mile away, the opposite direction of our camp through some pretty nasty downed timber and up a couple of steep grades. We could go the 2 miles back to the pickup where we know the creek there is flowing well, but decide to do the short hike and take our chances. 45 minutes later we arrive sweating heavily to a dry creek bed.
Plan number 2 is that we go back to camp, split the water immediately to quench our thirst and get up even earlier and hike out to our pickup. 3:30 a.m arrives early and we are off heading to a known water source near our pickup. My Katadyn has one hose in the water and the other in Preston’s mouth and I pump furiously and he just glug, glugs it down at the creeks edge. We fill our water bladders and drink water until we can’t drink any more. We luckily still had one 2.5 gallon water container still in its package in the pickup so we fill it up as well and put it into my backpack for the hike back into camp. This water container goes into the tent for safe keeping from gnawing teeth. Back at camp, a little gorp and 2 energy bars for both of us and we venture farther into the high country in search of some Elk.

[Butts2]

[Butts2]

90 minutes later and 2 drainages further than we had previously been this year we get a bugling response from our cow calls far off in the distance. We proceed about another 200 yards and call again. We get a response from across the forested canyon that is in front of us and moments later another response really close. Preston gets in front of 2 small 6 foot Pine trees and I trot back about 50 yards behind him. We get responses for 30 minutes from the other side of the canyon though the close one never sounds off again. I walk up to Preston and we see 3 branch antlered bull Elk “together” that are crossing a clearing ½ a mile away and across the canyon. Too far and too late to get there.
I pull out my GPS and small topo that I printed out at home to mark the location where we saw these Elk. It is good to know where the Elk are but its also good to know where we are. Part of staying found while in the forest, having a good idea of where you are at all times.
We start to head back to the saddle about 1 mile away to hopefully meet up with Steve. I have a cow call in my mouth and call constantly as we walk, especially if we misstep and break a small stick. Due to the steep grade we are climbing we only go 15 steps give or take at a time and rest 45-90 seconds to keep the heart rate down and not sweat (so much).  The third time we stop, we are standing there only 10 seconds. Preston looking south me looking north only 3 feet from each other. Preston whispers” Don’t move there is an Elk only 20 yards away”. It was a young Bull with both antlers 3 foot high and 3, 3 inch tines coming off each antler. It hung around us for 5 minutes with me cow calling every 5 seconds the entire time. When the Elk left Preston said “I tried my best to make him grow another tine, darn it”.
That evening I tell Preston when he comes by the tree stand that I am going to leave my heavy backpack up here in the tree stand. I will just wear a heavy wool shirt over me on the way out and back. I have enough water in my Camelback so I will be set for the next day and not be as warm coming in. He agree’s and decides to do the same. I already had my pack in the stand harnessed so I climb back up, hoist his up and attach his to the tree as well. The next morning in we see with our headlamps wet Bear tracks coming out of the pond heading in the direction of the tree stand. In the mornings darkness we see Preston’s pack hanging down, but still harnessed in. There are claw marks on the tree and 5 minor puncture marks in his pack. We apparently just missed this recent visitor.

[Butts2]

[Butts2]

The next two days were totally uneventful except for the Turkey always making an appearance somewhere on the mountainside. The following morning we packed up camp as Preston had to go back to work. After dropping him off at his home I paid a visit to Railsbacks archery shop to purchase a bow tip protector, some Muskrat fibers for a string silencer and of course tell and hear some hunting tales. While chatting with him another customer comes in and after some time the guy asks Rails back “When you going out again?”. “Don’t know. Business is not real overwhelming now with everybody out hunting”.  I asked “Want to come with me to hunt Oner Creek tomorrow?” True hunter that he is, he does not take a breath. “What time you going to pick me up?”
3:50 a.m. I round the corner to Railsback’s place and he is standing in the middle of the road drinking coffee. My dogs will wake my wife, so this is better for loading my gear. He had hunted this creek drainage previously last week and saw a really nice Bear and some Mule Deer. We were at the trailhead by 5:15 a.m. and we see only one campsite and there is a light on. Moments later a fellow from Minnesotta comes over to ask us of our plans as its only him and his brother and he is tagged out already. Railsback tells him we are heading west and they had planned on going north so this works out great we won’t be stepping on each others toes. They state they have heard considerable early morning bugles and seen 3 Bear in 4 days.
We slowly trudge uphill into the forest as the darkness continues to linger. We hit a good sized park (clearing) ½ mile in and wait for shooting light before we make our presence known with an Elk cow call. It makes sense to utilize the cow call first rather than a bugle to locate. Why put out a challenge when a Bull could be close by with cows and then just herd them up and vacate the area. Better to say here we are, we want to meet you, not fight you.
I hit the hand held reed call and we get an immediate response about 200 yards north of our location. Railsback goes forward 25 yards and I retreat about the same distance to start calling. The Elk and I “talk” back and fourth for 40 minutes before he goes silent for one of the many reasons they detect us. We observe a cattle trail and decide to just follow this all the while cow calling until another opportunity arises or we decide to venture off trail.
I seldom hunt with anyone besides Preston so its unusual to see someone go slower than me. I would be going about 50 yards in 10 minutes and Railsback would be 25 yards behind me. About the 4th time this happened I mentioned this to him and he states “ I am in no hurry, I enjoy the journey and this country each time out even more”.
We go off trail through some Aspens and over 2 knolls and enter a park about twice the size of a football field. The Aspens are 20 feet apart in this park so visibility is pretty good. We are almost all the way through the park and I see movement up ahead. A large Bull Moose coming right at us. I turn to whisper to Railsback and he is 20 yards back behind me. The Moose angles uphill away from us very slowly and before I know it Railsback is at my side. The Moose stops 50 yards away and apparently never gives us a thought. I state “I am going to have some fun and do something I have seen on a hunting tape”. I put my Bow with attached quiver over my head and walk towards him maybe 10 yards while rocking the bow back and forth. I stop …close enough for me and mouth out braaah, braaah to which the Moose makes the same noise back at me! Holy cow, this works.

[Butts2]

[Butts2]

[Butts2]

The Moose starts swaying in my direction perhaps the 10 yards I came forward and stops. I walk backwards to Railsbacks and put my hands to my nose while vibrating my “Moose” cow noise. This makes the Moose very happy as he beats the living daylights out of 2 small Aspen tree’s. I tell Railsback I better quit while I am ahead. As he pushes me towards the Moose he says “Yeah, I think so too”. We move behind a very protective (yeah, right!) 7 foot tall Pine tree and the Moose goes by at 20 yards allowing us to take a few photos. Within minutes later we hear an Elk bugle very close out to the southwest. We set up like we did in the morning except I meekly hit the bugle a couple times as well and get no other response over the next 30 minutes.
I approach Railsback and state I did not hear a thing. He said “ He answered your bugle almost every time but he is going the opposite way, must have some cows with him”. We head in his direction and up over the knoll there is a nasty bench thick with Oak brush but it has some cattle trails through it that are manageable. Its time to try something else so I hit the bugle hard as I assume a dominate Bull may and we get 2 responses immediately. Railsback states “I’ll go after the one to the southwest you go after the one to the northwest”. Fine by me and I am gone.
I head back the direction we came from and head up hill100 yards and try to cross back. I hit a wall of thick Oak brush and back out repeating this process 4 times before I finally have an accessable trail in the Elks general direction. Looking at my watch its taken me over 30 minutes to navigate through this brush and I was not able to do it quietly. My bow keeps getting caught, my pack grabs every bit of brush I go by and even my ears reach out to hang onto this nasty stuff.
The Oak brush is only 30 yards wide at the most and I come out in a small boxed in area. I hit the cow call and wait 5 minutes with no response. Meekly hit the bugle and instant response from the other side of the hill and to the north. Climb the hill and slowly peek over from around a small Pine tree. Another bowl this one though very large, with Aspen and Pine clusters everywhere. At the top of the bowl 150 yards away is a wall of dense Pine trees. I hit the bugle again and get 2 responses. One directly across from me but some distance away and the other from the Pines.

[Butts2]

I put the hand held reed call in mouth and cow call constantly as I stalk uphill for about 70 yards. I take a knee, control my breathing, slow down and listen for 10 minutes. I attempt to really work the estrus into this setup and out of the Pines runs an extremely high spike bull and 5 seconds later and 20 yards further away trots a 5x5 bull. The spike is heading right for me, stops at 20 yards and the Bull stops at 40 yards. The spike is slobbering all over himself and looking around for the cow elk he just heard. The wind is minimal at best and heading west. The spike starts walking south, he hits my scent and barks twice extremely loud running into the timbered Pines with the Bull right beside him.

I cow call though I know they have no intention of coming back to me, so I head west about 100 yards and start downhill on one of the many forest trails you come across. I am not on this trail 50 yards when I see on the trail ahead of me at 70 yards a cow Elk. I am caught standing there so we stare at each other for mere seconds and she trots off to the west without making a sound. I nock a Cedar arrow and continue down the trail in her direction and barely can get over a large downed tree in the trail. I am actually sitting on the tree about to lift my leg over and further down the trail out steps a branched antlered Bull feeding. I have to sit about 5 minutes until he goes off the trail to the west in the direction of the cow. I start to move and see 2 brown shapes to the east at only 30 yards…yikes, stay put.

The 2 Elk close to me move east down the hill out of site after only 2 minutes. For no reason I do not go towards the Bull I saw, but I head back up the trail 50 yards and then head east towards the 2 Elk, which I never did make out to be male or female. I go off the trail maybe 20 yards and see a great looking bench with a large downed pine on the edge that overlooks the forest. Good place to set up and cow call to locate the Elk that went off into the shadows. Stupidly, I go to the edge to look over and I believe we all gasped at the same time. At 15 yards looking right at me is a 6x6 Bull, frozen in his tracks with his 6 cows. At some time after leaving the log I was sitting on I had put my arrow back into the quiver. The Bull and cows gave me time to pull an arrow from the quiver, nock it and angle myself slightly sideways for a shot before they all took racing off up towards the dark timber.

[Butts2]

[Butts2]

I saw the cows seconds later heading up towards the timber 30 yards away and the Bull never did show himself cross the small opening. Possibly he did not see me and make me out to be an extreme danger and was just standing below. I stepped behind a small 7-10 foot Pine and with my mouth call, I cow called for almost 10 minutes. Nothing showed from down below so I turned around and there standing behind me at 20 yards are 5 cow Elk looking at me. Amazing, the size of these animals and how quietly they move, I had called back the majority of them. Though they of course are not my intended target I am busted and they make a ruckus busting branches as they run off.

I pull my watch out of my pocket and read 11:35 am.. Man, time sure can fly. At the pickup 1hr 55 minutes later I meet Railsback, where he tells me he saw and heard nothing after we split up. We have hit the mother load of an area, so we plan to get another friend Todd Hill tomorrow and his 10 year old son to come along as well. This day turns out to be uneventful for the most part with some far off bugles heard and nothing coming in.

I get home at 3pm wash my hunting cloths put away 90% of my gear and have to come to terms that tomorrow is Saturday and Monday is back to work after 10 days of hunting. I will hunt tomorrow afternoon get a good nights sleep and call the season, a heap of fun. I turn on the television to one of the sportsman channels to hear some noise while going to and fro getting things done. One of the shows a guy states in the background voice that the most consistent hunters are the ones that keep after it day in day out no matter the consequences, that’s me.
3:30 a.m. comes and I decide I am not going to go easily away I am going out again. I get to the trailhead at 4:45 a.m. and Steve’s camper has a light on inside. I am parked 100 yards away and at the back of the pickup putting on my backpack when I hear him shout out. Moments later he is by my side and we discuss some of what has happened and his plans are for the day. While talking we hear a bugle off in the distance across the road, near the dreaded Oak brush. He states I am going that way again this morning, but I will be up there later as I stashed my backpack real high up in a tree. I plan on going up to the top bench past Bear Pond towards Preston’s pond but will hunt Bear pond in the afternoon.

I get to the high saddle 15 minutes before even good daylight. I stand for 10 minutes with my headlamp off and I hear down off in the valley that I was heading towards a bugle followed by 3 more bugles. Jackpot! Nobody in their right mind is this far off the road and in front of me, especially coming in from another direction. I crest over and head west towards Prestons water hole where one of the call appeared to be coming from when suddenly the 4 Elk bugle again. One appears to be from ahead of me but another is northeast. I decide to head west when the Bull from the northeast bugles and follows it up with a couple grunts. Okay, your choice here I come as I turn and head east from the direction I just came.

[Butts2]

100 yards later I cow call and get an immediate response about 200 yards northeast of me. I cautiously head north 50 yards and east about 75 yards. As close as I should get without determining where he may be before continuing. I cow call softly and again instant response to my right and there he stands at 40 yards a small rag horn 5x5. I can do nothing, he is looking 20 feet to my left for any sign of cows. He proceeds for over 2 minutes to beat the daylights out of a 4 foot tall bush. After he stops he looks off in the same direction he was looking previously, I am sure its to see if he has impressed any females. He turns and walks away from me. I quickly head in his direction about 10 yards and there is no place that looks good to set up. I cow call so he does not get too far off and  he instantly appears again. He is facing right at me but he is still looking to my left. I have an arrow nocked but he is still too far off and is not giving me a broadside opportunity. He then starts to lick or chew on a 15 inch diameter tree for almost 5 minutes. I do not recall ever seeing or hearing of this happening though you always see apparent teeth marks on many of the Aspen tree’s. He suddenly stops turns and is gone. I hear one or two bugles but nothing pans out.

I head off to Prestons pond where I sit until noon then head to the saddle to meet Steve for some lunch. I put two sticks in the trail in an X formation leaned against a log as a stop sign. I get off the trail by 20’ where the high altitude sun is shining and close my eyes momentarily, enjoying the fall warmth. I fly buzzes me and I look at my watch 1:30. Cripes I was out for an hour. I sit barefoot to air out my Smartwool socks as well as my hunting boots, look at my topo maps, investigate my GPS marked points, sharpen a Broadhead or two and its now 3:30 p.m. and no Steve. I need to get going to my tree stand as its pitch dark by 7:30 and I have a ½ hour walk to get there.

I hit the trail and the X is gone! Either he came by when I was sleeping or someone else did, though doubtful and neither one saw me. I have to get going time is wasting away fast. I take off on the trail about 100 yards towards Bear Pond and drop 50 feet in elevation and stop. If that was Steve he climbed up all that way in elevation 900 foot, I need to let him know I am here and am glad he is here (hopefully). Back up the hill and ½ mile along the mountain side, I am not hunting I am cruising along quickly. I get close and continually cow call as I approach and there he sits in a timbered blind overlooking Preston’s water source.

[Butts2]

[Butts2]

We talk of my morning and my nap, advising him that 3 of those Bulls had no contact whatsoever with me and they know this is a major water source. Steve said he was going to sit until 7:15 or zero visibility, then head my way. With that said I am off after 25 minutes of whispered conversation to the tree stand. When I hit the saddle, instead of continuing along the trail I decide to go in to the stand a more difficult way, but also a way to conceal my scent and my approach. I cut across the mountainside and then go down a steep hill and through some small Aspens groves.

I get all harnessed in with enough cloths to endure the approaching cool mountain air and an hour later I hear noise behind me about 70 yards. I see 5 turkey heading off the main cattle trail eastward. All is quiet for the next hour when I hear a noise again from behind me from the same area as before. I turn and see 2 Turkey running out of the area that they originally went into.

Numerous times during “this evening” I spoke to the heavens’ to a friend named Rona that had died of cancer 3 months prior to hunting season as if she were with me. She knew how a Bear was the animal that I really wanted. She was at my home the 2 previous times when I came home from hunting and had blown opportunities on Bear. This night I would repeat to her “Go ask God to send a Bear my way“. 10 minutes later I would say “Go ask God again Rona”.

At 7:14 p.m. I looked at my watch and with visbility almost gone, I knew Steve was probably on his way. I looked to my left at the pond and instantly from the small Aspens on the north side of the pond out stepped a Bear walking quickly towards the water. I immediately thought good bear. He went around the pond and walked around a impenetrable log-jam that Preston and I had made at the far corner of the pond to make any Bear show his left side and to make the Bear go past the mark I had put in the tree with my knife at 31” for size referencing. During this time, consistency and familiarity with my bow had kicked in and I was on auto. My fingers were on the string in the shooting gloves grooves, my bow arm was up and I was focused on the Bear’s side with the fletching touching my nose. The Bear was at the waters edge for 2 seconds and my arrow was gone. I heard a loud roar and he ran into the saplings in the direction he had come with my arrows fletching protruding from his side. I looked at my watch it was still showing 7:14 p.m., this had not taken 60 seconds.

[Over&Under]

Oh ya!!!!!

I had a feeling this was coming........

[Tater]

Rick,
    Great story...!
  Made my snowy Saturday morning.!!

[steadman]

Great story! Great to hear then this time of year for sure