Bugling bulls, broken hearts, and a short, short, blood trail(pics now on page 5)

[Trumpkin the Dwarf]

Originally posted by Trumpkin the Dwarf:

I finally got in a good position, about 20 yards below the ridge, and 30 yards below my hunting partner. I started looking for the source of the crunching footsteps I was hearing and saw...

'Bigfoot! No...that can't be right. Is it a giant tan beach ball tucked into that clump of trees? Wait. Self, That's an ear! HOLY SMOKES THAT'S AN ELK!'

As you can see...I was a little excited at this point. The cow was some 50 yards from me and meandering directly towards my buddy. Unfortunately, I was pretty much in his shot line, given the current angle. So I waited until I was out of her line of sight, and backed up towards the ridge top again.

Somewhere in all this crazyness the cow ended up a mere 15 yards from my hunting partner. Now had he shot her, this story wouldn't be here, because he hunts with training wheels. But she heard something, or smelled something, and when he tried to draw, she busted back down the hill. I followed, and hit her with my best nervous grunt, something I learned from a guy who goes by elknut.

She hit the brakes at 70 yards and started yakking at me. I responded with another nervous grunt, which essentially asks an elk to identify themselves to the caller. Well it seemed to be working, and she had come back to 50-55 yards, when she saw Wheels emerge from his hidey hole, oblivious to the fact that I had stopped her. As you can guess, that jig was up.    

[Trumpkin the Dwarf]

Given that this event is by far the closest either of us has come to killing an elk, there was an obligatory period of great excitement. We went over our cumulative mistakes and drew four conclusions. Always have cover behind you, not in front (this buggered my buddies shot opportunity). Always communicate very thoroughly (if possible) before diving into an encounter. Once you set in a spot, trust it, and don't move while an elk is coming in.

We realized pretty quickly, that where there is one elk, there will usually be more. We figured they would be further up towards the top of the same bowl, so we devised a game plan. As we were planning our attack on the top of the bowl, the wind began to shift to a quarter that was decidedly not in our favor. But as a Montanan, who has hunted elk all my (admittedly short) life, I had a solution.

We built a smudge fire and thoroughly saturated ourselves in the smoke. This plays two roles for a hunter, the smoke acts as a cover scent, and the carbon eats away body odor. Now smelling strongly of fires, we ventured forth into the fray.

[TJK68]

Come on man, we are waiting.....  

[Gen273]

   

[Jon Kaw]

   

[Trumpkin the Dwarf]

Well it appears that ya'll are an impatient lot, so I will get one more installment in before heading to class.  

It is hard to explain the terrain to you guys, but I will give it a shot. Above the bowl, the terrain flattened into a bench, with water down in the bow, and aspen groves scattered around. There were thick clumps of gnarled pine trees, big ponderosa pines, and fir trees all over. visibility ranged from 30- 150 yards, and the whole place just screamed ELK.

I gotta run to class, just got done meeting a new friend. (Thanks JimB for the recommendation)

[coaster500]

             Dang I've got to visit the restroom!!!

[Gen273]

I love/hate threads like this          


     

[John Scifres]

Is there an icon for stringalong hunt report threads that can flash green when it's done so I can start reading?  It makes me never want to open a hunt report thread.

[Mudd]

Maybe we start deducting points for strung out stories...lol

God bless,Mudd

[JimB]

This is good.I thought something was up when you asked for that recommendation.

Personally,I think classes are overrated.

[Mike Vines]

Ironically, it's probably a writing class.

[Gator1]

In the good old days, when I was in college, I'd have skipped the whole day    

I guess that's why it took me 7 years to graduate  

[USMC0311]

He acts like there is more important things to do. Than tell us the rest of the hunt. People and there priorities I tell ya.

[Killdeer]

Kids these days, overstimulated to the point of being unable to focus.    :(  
O lost America!

Killdeer~ time to switch from coffee to beer.

[Trumpkin the Dwarf]

Hey guys. If I keep my act together for two more semesters I will graduate without debt. Class is pretty important right now.

I realize I'm leaving you hanging, but it will get done today. Stick tight.

[Cmane07]

I completely understand man.  I only have a semester and a half left myself and I'll have my Masters in wildlife.  Keep ya head in the books ha

[Trumpkin the Dwarf]

I have a few minutes while I wait for class to start. So here is a photo of the habitat we were in. It is quite special to kill an elk in this terrain. You can see them coming, but have enough cover to call them into bow range.
 

[old_goat2]

Trumpkin  they have a name for people like you, it's"Pot Stirer";-)

[Trumpkin the Dwarf]

Originally posted by old_goat2:
Trumpkin  they have a name for people like you, it's"Pot Stirrer";-)

You saw the picture with some of the cover, and let me tell you, it is nerve wracking to sneak through it, knowing that unless you see the elk first the gig is totally up. We split up by thirty yards, worked our way into the middle, and dove into a gnarly thicket where a 10 yard shot was about the best one could expect. I hadn't made it more than 15-20 yards into this thicket when I saw an elk.    :eek: