well, things being what they are, planned on a solo hunt this year. Headed out last Saturday to the East Koots. Had my camp set up in the box of the truck so I could stay as mobile as possible.
Anyhow, get up on Sunday morning bright and early and hike up into some bush Im familiar with that contain some seeps.
I get in there and give a bugle and immediately get a bugle in response albeit a ways down in the draw . And thats where the morning excitement ended. Never heard, seen or smelled him again. In hindsight, it was morning 1 so I wasn't too agressive.
So at about 3pm, I head off up in a different spot a bit higher up. I do some cow calling and check out some water sources and only see a bit of rubbing, and found one wallow. The wind was a bit all over so I head down into the bush a ways more" this spot benches down from a deactivated road". At about 7ish, I let out a cow call, and immediately a bull chuckles. Hard to tell how far because of the terrain features in this spot, but I figured within a few hundred yards. I let out another cow call followed by an estrous cow call and he chuckles again. I boot it down about 100 yards find a spot and sit.
About 5 minutes later I see him coming up. Not a big bull but lots of points to try and count. He crosses to my right at about 60 yards. Im trying to count points but he wont stop and the bush was quite thick.. He keeps going and circles behind me at about 40 yards, stops and bugles. I stay quiet but can only count 5 a side. He carries on and circles to my left ( downwind side) and is tasting the air. At this point he's facing me at about 50 yards and I see a sticker on his left side .
Just about then, he turns and trots downhill off to my left. SHIT, so close.
A couple minutes later he bugles again, I grab my bugle off my pack and rip a bugle right back at him. I wait for about 3 minutes or so and here he comes straight at me from below. He stops at 18 yards quartering. I can clearly see the sticker on the left side making 6. Clicked off the safety, put the crosshairs just behind his right shoulder and fired. He turned and walked about 25 yards, stopped and down he went.
I was pretty fired up to say the least. Snapped a couple pics with my cell and got to work.
Usually a few grizzlies in this area so I put up my pack alarm so I could focus on the job at hand. Not a pile of light left and was very warm.
By about 1030 I had the dirty work done and had humped the quarters up out of the bush to a road I could get my truck part way into. Still had to walk out about 3k to get the truck. The saquatch game cart sure helped ferry quarters down the road. Could only get the truck to about 1.5 k. to the quarters.
Anyhow, by midnight I had eveything back to my camp spot, and boned out so I could get it on ice( made 10 x 10L iceblocks) Was able to get it all on ice in my marine coolers. Glad I brought the ice as it was still nearly 20 degrees at midnight.
So, I get the meat into a local butchers cooler the next morning and spend the rest of the week chasing deer and grouse. Bagged a little whitey buck mid week. Family is going to be eating well this winter!!!
Would I have liked to have more days of elk hunting? Sure but not going to pass up a legal bull hoping for a bigger one. As it turns out, I was pretty much hobbled for a coupe days as it were. Hard work, but worth every bit.
P.s. sidenote . Caribou game bags are awesome. Had 4 elk bags in my pack, weighed less than 1 of my old yukon bags. And the caribou bags are tough as nails!!
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