mountainman
10-01-2009, 07:14 AM
Well I got a tip from a friend of mine where a bull had been bugling, he actually had the bull come in to him cow calling on Sunday but was not able to close the deal on him. He is unable to get out hunting again till the weekend after this one, and looking more for moose he gave me directions to where I could find the bull.
So Wednesday morning found me well before sunrise up and out of bed with the truck loaded with the bugle and cow calls rolling down the road to the area where the bull was.
I slowly made my way up the line where the bull was last seen, the temperature was perfect with a slight dusting of snow in the higher elevations.
I cow called as I slowly made my way up the line, 3/4s the way to the end of the line I saw a very fresh scrap and decided to try the bugle. No answer from the bull.
So I decided to head out and check another line in the same area. With no luck in the area I went for a drive to check another area, seeing only a couple moose. Which I relayed to my friend later that morning (his brother inlaw took one that evening)
So I headed into town for some lunch and see if I could round up a second guy for the hunt. One of my friends decided to come along as he had an elk tag also. We split up and I went down the same line as I had in the morning slowly walking and cow calling with 3 different cow calls the hoochie momma, the cow girl and a screery cow call.
Once I got to where the scrape was I sat down for a while and cow called thinking I might get the attention of the bull hopefully coming around to check his line. After about 10 minutes I thought I would walk to the end of the line and see if anything was hanging around. As I started to walk I decided to let rip with a big bugle from the terminator bugle.
Being half deaf in one ear and can't hear out of the other I thought I heard the high end and growl of an elk. I let out another bugle and bam right away I have an answer and he is moving fast towards me. Being on the wrong side of the line and not having time to move off the line I crouched down in some tall grass and watch. i can hear him crashing in the bush accross from me. I let out another bugle and he screams back at me and is he mad now.
I can just make out the tan body as he works through the bush towards the line. I put up my .300 Weatherby and watch through the Zeiss scope as he works through the thick bush to the more open forest on the edge of the line. He stops just behind a small spruce with just enough of his head sticking out to count points 6 on one side 3 more then I need for a legal bull. He slowly looks in the line for his opponent unable to see him he walks ahead into an opening and the .300 WBY barks and he humps up and starts to run back into the bush.
I watch for a minute as he disappears into the bush, as I am watching he disappearsand a small tree starts to thrash about ELK DOWN! As I walked up to him I could see he was a nice 6x6. Perfect bullet placement right through the lungs.
I walked back to the truck got the quad and pulled him out to the truck and began field dressing him.
Elk back to the truck by 6:30pm, dressed out at 7:30 and loaded by 8:30 back in town by 9:30.
All in all one heck of a day.
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a197/mountainman1/JoesElk09.jpg
So Wednesday morning found me well before sunrise up and out of bed with the truck loaded with the bugle and cow calls rolling down the road to the area where the bull was.
I slowly made my way up the line where the bull was last seen, the temperature was perfect with a slight dusting of snow in the higher elevations.
I cow called as I slowly made my way up the line, 3/4s the way to the end of the line I saw a very fresh scrap and decided to try the bugle. No answer from the bull.
So I decided to head out and check another line in the same area. With no luck in the area I went for a drive to check another area, seeing only a couple moose. Which I relayed to my friend later that morning (his brother inlaw took one that evening)
So I headed into town for some lunch and see if I could round up a second guy for the hunt. One of my friends decided to come along as he had an elk tag also. We split up and I went down the same line as I had in the morning slowly walking and cow calling with 3 different cow calls the hoochie momma, the cow girl and a screery cow call.
Once I got to where the scrape was I sat down for a while and cow called thinking I might get the attention of the bull hopefully coming around to check his line. After about 10 minutes I thought I would walk to the end of the line and see if anything was hanging around. As I started to walk I decided to let rip with a big bugle from the terminator bugle.
Being half deaf in one ear and can't hear out of the other I thought I heard the high end and growl of an elk. I let out another bugle and bam right away I have an answer and he is moving fast towards me. Being on the wrong side of the line and not having time to move off the line I crouched down in some tall grass and watch. i can hear him crashing in the bush accross from me. I let out another bugle and he screams back at me and is he mad now.
I can just make out the tan body as he works through the bush towards the line. I put up my .300 Weatherby and watch through the Zeiss scope as he works through the thick bush to the more open forest on the edge of the line. He stops just behind a small spruce with just enough of his head sticking out to count points 6 on one side 3 more then I need for a legal bull. He slowly looks in the line for his opponent unable to see him he walks ahead into an opening and the .300 WBY barks and he humps up and starts to run back into the bush.
I watch for a minute as he disappears into the bush, as I am watching he disappearsand a small tree starts to thrash about ELK DOWN! As I walked up to him I could see he was a nice 6x6. Perfect bullet placement right through the lungs.
I walked back to the truck got the quad and pulled him out to the truck and began field dressing him.
Elk back to the truck by 6:30pm, dressed out at 7:30 and loaded by 8:30 back in town by 9:30.
All in all one heck of a day.
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a197/mountainman1/JoesElk09.jpg