Thatguy
10-01-2014, 01:27 PM
Two good friends and I headed up to our favourite spot for a few nights with high hopes of sure fire encounters of the elk variety. A month prior we had saw a lot of sign and without any other sources of hunting pressure, things looked good for finding a bull or two to fill the freezer. It is an alpine, sub-alpine area with plenty of good glassing and relatively open timber ideal for tip-toeing game trails and cow calling.
Spirits were high quadding in and homemaking even though the rain was steady and the cloud cover didnt show any sign of breaking. The plan remained the same, walk game trails to various glassing points above treeline and catch a big boy being careless. We stuck to this gameplan for the first few days but visibility was extrememly low and heavy rain seemed to have the wildlife in the timber and quiet. There also appeared to be a drastic reduction of fresh sign, even in the timber, than on previous trips. Before going out on the third evening, we decided to pack up camp after the morning hunt, head down the hill, and try to find an easy one.
While walking on that third evening, I came to a natural clearing that was absolutely covered in moose sign as it usually is. Its a wintering spot that seems to hold a resident number of cows and young bulls throughout the fall. I noticed several large trees rubbed to death. It was quite evident the culprit was a mature bullwinkle and the rubs weren't more than a day or two old. Deciding to switch focus then and there for the evening, I began a moose calling sequence. After an hour and a half or so, I still had no response and decided to follow the trail through the clearing to a creek bottom on the far side. Here I almost instantly had a distance response, and then a few minutes later another response, this one closer from the opposite direction. Neither bull seemed particularily aggressive and both silenced instantaneously when wolves began their nightly howling ritual.
Planning to return to the spot in the morning I decided to back out quietly, avoiding spooking anything, and resume before first light. Upon reaching the clearing and original calling location I decided to give another short sequence and wait for shooting light to expire. Instantly a bull responded and this time the aggression could not be mistaken. With only a half hour until darkness I knew he'd have to hurry as he was up a hill on the other side of the valley. I couldn't believe the amount of distance he covered so quickly, breaking trees and raking branches the entire way. I found a tree to hide behind before his arrival and he stepped out in prime rut swaying head fashion, grunting the entire time. He walked to the exact spot I had been calling from and gave me an excellent point counting opportunity with shaking hands. Exciting as it was, I managed to hold steady and shoot true. He ran about 20 yards and collapsed and I followed up for a quick kill.
Spirits were high quadding in and homemaking even though the rain was steady and the cloud cover didnt show any sign of breaking. The plan remained the same, walk game trails to various glassing points above treeline and catch a big boy being careless. We stuck to this gameplan for the first few days but visibility was extrememly low and heavy rain seemed to have the wildlife in the timber and quiet. There also appeared to be a drastic reduction of fresh sign, even in the timber, than on previous trips. Before going out on the third evening, we decided to pack up camp after the morning hunt, head down the hill, and try to find an easy one.
While walking on that third evening, I came to a natural clearing that was absolutely covered in moose sign as it usually is. Its a wintering spot that seems to hold a resident number of cows and young bulls throughout the fall. I noticed several large trees rubbed to death. It was quite evident the culprit was a mature bullwinkle and the rubs weren't more than a day or two old. Deciding to switch focus then and there for the evening, I began a moose calling sequence. After an hour and a half or so, I still had no response and decided to follow the trail through the clearing to a creek bottom on the far side. Here I almost instantly had a distance response, and then a few minutes later another response, this one closer from the opposite direction. Neither bull seemed particularily aggressive and both silenced instantaneously when wolves began their nightly howling ritual.
Planning to return to the spot in the morning I decided to back out quietly, avoiding spooking anything, and resume before first light. Upon reaching the clearing and original calling location I decided to give another short sequence and wait for shooting light to expire. Instantly a bull responded and this time the aggression could not be mistaken. With only a half hour until darkness I knew he'd have to hurry as he was up a hill on the other side of the valley. I couldn't believe the amount of distance he covered so quickly, breaking trees and raking branches the entire way. I found a tree to hide behind before his arrival and he stepped out in prime rut swaying head fashion, grunting the entire time. He walked to the exact spot I had been calling from and gave me an excellent point counting opportunity with shaking hands. Exciting as it was, I managed to hold steady and shoot true. He ran about 20 yards and collapsed and I followed up for a quick kill.