success in the high country

[saddlemaker]

hunted hard for four days and connected with this nice bou. Great trip .http://s1128.photobucket.com/user/saddlemaker/media/Mobile%20Uploads/DSC03664_zpsc9595d01.jpg.html?sort=3&o=0 Over all we got three. It was ten horse outfit.......

[monasheemountainman]

Sweet nice bou!

[Sofa King]

good job...

[moosecamp]

http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/m497/saddlemaker/Mobile%20Uploads/DSC03664_zpsc9595d01.jpg

Great picture, the smile says it all.

[HarryToolips]

Wicked nice one, how far of a shot??

[markomoose]

Beautiful animal Saddlemaker.Looks like thats going on my bucketlist!

[Johnny G1]

And it looks like he used an ultra modern ole Savage to get the job done????

[digger dogger]

Nice bou, do I see a 2nd shovel?

[xfactor]

Great photo! Thanks for sharing. Great caribou!!

[180grainer]

Looks like an Itcha Bull. Congrats.

[GOLDEN TOP SNIPER]

was it a guided hunt ? looks like a easy hunt . id love to get one ..

[bridger]

Very nice. Looks like great horse country. Love the old savage and blue jeans

[Blainer]

Thanks for the picture share.
Fantastic bull.
In depth story of your adventure would be greatly welcomed?
Looks like a blast.

[two-feet]

A very nice animal harvested without the use of a magnum or camo? How can this be?

Looks good!

[saddlemaker]

Ok.. I will admit it the old savage is a is a browning 325 wsm. The camo jacket is hanging on the saddle. but I ditched it when i went into sneak mode ...too many clothes..
Horse back hunt. Have my own horses and a friend has his own .. A horse back hunt is a lot of work. just caring for 10 horses on the mountain. Feeding watering etc. means chores every morning and evening.
third day started out from camp before day light ( that means up before 5am saddle ,feed water look after camp etc) with a partner and his son rode about hour and a half to get in the alpine. and tied up to scout on foot a bit. Jim and son went one way I went the other.. 15 minutes later saw some bou on the far side of a draw. lifted the old pair of Zeiss that a good friend had given me on the way to the mountains. There was a huge bull about a minute from the timber and 1000 yards across. He had about 20 cow calf and imature bulls behind him. Another big bull was hanging back in some patches of timber looking like he had taken a beating but not wanting to quit the herd. Great to see them but no way to cut them off or get in front of them. They are the most traveling animal I have ever hunted. Watched them disappear with great sadness :) thats hunting. Walked quietly for about 5 minutes and see a lone cow in the draw. Cool but we had seen lots of cows so wasn't too excited. took a couple more steps to see around some scrub alpine pine and could see a couple more. Stilll not in real stealth mode . but being careful moved to get a better veiw of the herd. About 25 caribou .Settled down to take the time try and see the entire herd .There is patches of scrub timber between the herd and where i was , so didn't have clear view of the all of them at one time. then I sa some white mane .... better take a more careful look through the old Zeiss....There is some horn..!!! heart start thumping... about 350 yards...is he legal??? I had seen too many not quite bulls in the last 2 days. Darn move so I can count points...... seem ed like for ever..is he legal...yes ..well maybe....cxan't see . quit moving .......yes. Still 350 yards away (approx).. no good place to rest.. If I got down could not see for a shot..... looking for options...can I get through 100 yards of open to get to another scrub pine patch , tCan't stay hidden from the whole herd .... but I did it.. down to 200 yards.. Back and forth from side to side of these bushes .. can't get a good visual for a shot.....I see a small dip in the rocky ground.....belly snuck about 15 feet into it. peeked over.. awsome ...line up for the perfect prone shot with mountainside as a rest...... A cow walks in front of the bull.... short enough I could shoot over her.... better not ...might screw up and kill the cow...... move ...finally the bull stepped ahead gave me a clear shot...
fired .. He dropped in his tracks... 180 grains of nosler e-tip with 65.5 grains of 4350 did the job. Go find the my partner and his boy.... . They heard the shot so saw them coming over the hill . went to get the horses.. take the meat and mantie it into tarps and load on the pack horse head for camp <a and let them continue to hunt.http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/m497/saddlemaker/DSC03672_zps547c3d6d.jpg All told 6 of us in camp.. helped the young lad get his first caribou fot his 19th birthday and my friends 15 year old daughter got hers later the same day day.

thats their story to tell. :)http://s1128.photobucket.com/user/saddlemaker/media/DSC03611_zpsd3c9c778.jpg.html
http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/m497/saddlemaker/DSC03629_zps666af34e.jpg

<a href="http://s1128.photobucket.com/user/saddlemaker/media/DSC03629_zps666af34e.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/m497/saddlemaker/DSC03629_zps666af34e.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo DSC03629_zps666af34e.jpg"/></a>
http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/m497/saddlemaker/DSC03672_zps547c3d6d.jpg (http://s1128.photobucket.com/user/saddlemaker/media/DSC03672_zps547c3d6d.jpg.html)http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/m497/saddlemaker/DSC03611_zpsd3c9c778.jpg (http://s1128.photobucket.com/user/saddlemaker/media/DSC03611_zpsd3c9c778.jpg.html)http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/m497/saddlemaker/DSC03629_zps666af34e.jpg (http://s1128.photobucket.com/user/saddlemaker/media/DSC03629_zps666af34e.jpg.html)

[ydouask]

Well done Saddlemaker... a lot of work looking after those ponies, but what a quality experience, eh?

[DMD]

Great Caribou, love the rack.

[IronNoggin]

Nice Work & a Very Fine Bull! Congratulations!

I hear you on the "lots of work" with the ponies! Did that for many years, and although my knees and butt thank me for not doing so any more, I still Fondly miss those hunts!!

Thanks for sharing!!

Cheers,
Nog

[kennyj]

Great caribou! Love those dagger back tines. The young fellows bull looks good too.Sounds like a great trip all around.
kenny

[d6dan]

Awesome caribou.. He's got a nice set of bez's and huge back scratchers.. Well done. :-D

[325 wsm]

hunting with horses can lead to some never ending days…like you said lots of work, congrats on the success of your hunt……great choice of gun and calibre

[Ltbullken]

Nice job!

Caribou is on my bucket list!

[ElliotMoose]

Great looking bull and quality pictures. Sounds like a fun hunt. Thanks for sharing

[saddlemaker]

couple more pics http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/m497/saddlemaker/DSC03633_zps2fb8d986.jpg (http://s1128.photobucket.com/user/saddlemaker/media/DSC03633_zps2fb8d986.jpg.html)

http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/m497/saddlemaker/DSC03689_zps5dc23e06.jpg (http://s1128.photobucket.com/user/saddlemaker/media/DSC03689_zps5dc23e06.jpg.html)

[saddlemaker]

couple more pics http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/m497/saddlemaker/DSC03633_zps2fb8d986.jpg (http://s1128.photobucket.com/user/saddlemaker/media/DSC03633_zps2fb8d986.jpg.html)

http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/m497/saddlemaker/DSC03689_zps5dc23e06.jpg (http://s1128.photobucket.com/user/saddlemaker/media/DSC03689_zps5dc23e06.jpg.html)

[Backwoodninjajunky]

Nice, he ll make a good mount!! And many meals, right on good job

[Rob Chipman]

Is that the Itchas? I want to go to there....


Maybe next year. Leaving tomorrow morning for Tatuk Lake area, then next week a hike into mountains moose hunt. Two groups, 3 LEHs, none mine - good to have friends :-)

Hopefully pics will follow, but not as cool as Saddlemaker's. Cool looking hunt!