rocksteady
09-03-2008, 09:57 AM
6 degrees and overcast . No wind. Went to the saddle this morning, sitting on my arse by 5:45 (6:15 is twilight) around 6:00 or so I start to hear cow calls and the occassional bull yelp coming up the hill for the saddle (Yippee)
This goes on and on and on, for about 25 minutes or so...I can hear them talking and rocks rolling as they come up the trail to the saddle....EVERY nerve in my body is in turbo mode.....The herd comes up on the far trail in the saddle (75 yards away from me) DAMN !!!!! About 8 cows and calves, did not see the bull, he must have used a lower down trail to go around the big knoll, I heard him yelp over there....
So I am sitting there glassing the herd (They have all gone through right ???? WRONG !!) Out of the corner of my eye I spot movement, here is a cow, 30 yards to my left at 45 degree angle. So I slowly lower the binos, grasp the crossbow, raise it and small tree in the way...If she takes 1 step she is in the clear...Stands there for a minute looking to see where everyone else went, turns, goes down the trail a few feet and gets on the other trail and comes up on the far side of the saddle.....
It ain't over yet......So I am sitting there trying to come up with a game plan of how I am gonna sneek after them, I know they are going to head up onto the knoll to bed..Crack !!!! I look behind me to the right, about 100 yards over in the cutblock, here comes a bunch more...I belly crawl down into a little draw, crawl up onto a small ridge and lay down....The elk are coming down a trail and in a few moments they should be in the open at 40 yards.....They mill around abit and for some reason (not wind, there was none, if any it was blowing from them to me), they just casually wander up the hillside heading away from me....6 cows and calves....
Still ain't over....So I figure maybe I will do the sneek on the herd on the hill, just as I move...You guessed it GRONK !!! The last cow going up the big knoll came back and was watching me, gave the big old alarm bark (Gonna get her !!!) and then there were elk moving in all directions.....
Dejected I wander back to the truck (1 km or so), drive down the road about 600 metres and here is a herd of about 25 elk crossing the road in front of me, not scared, but not sticking around for a pickup to take their pictures....Binos showed 2 velvet bulls, 1 was a spike and the other was a weird 2, had his spikes and then his eye guards were just about the same length, looked like he had a giant "L" on his head....
Even though I have not flung carbon yet, I am still pretty stoked that I am getting that close and more elk are now invading the area..
The rut must be just around the bend, the bull was yelping today, no full blown bugles made....
Guess where I will be tomorrow morning at 5:45 ????? You guessed it, in the saddle, will have to decide which trail tomorrow morning based on wind....
This goes on and on and on, for about 25 minutes or so...I can hear them talking and rocks rolling as they come up the trail to the saddle....EVERY nerve in my body is in turbo mode.....The herd comes up on the far trail in the saddle (75 yards away from me) DAMN !!!!! About 8 cows and calves, did not see the bull, he must have used a lower down trail to go around the big knoll, I heard him yelp over there....
So I am sitting there glassing the herd (They have all gone through right ???? WRONG !!) Out of the corner of my eye I spot movement, here is a cow, 30 yards to my left at 45 degree angle. So I slowly lower the binos, grasp the crossbow, raise it and small tree in the way...If she takes 1 step she is in the clear...Stands there for a minute looking to see where everyone else went, turns, goes down the trail a few feet and gets on the other trail and comes up on the far side of the saddle.....
It ain't over yet......So I am sitting there trying to come up with a game plan of how I am gonna sneek after them, I know they are going to head up onto the knoll to bed..Crack !!!! I look behind me to the right, about 100 yards over in the cutblock, here comes a bunch more...I belly crawl down into a little draw, crawl up onto a small ridge and lay down....The elk are coming down a trail and in a few moments they should be in the open at 40 yards.....They mill around abit and for some reason (not wind, there was none, if any it was blowing from them to me), they just casually wander up the hillside heading away from me....6 cows and calves....
Still ain't over....So I figure maybe I will do the sneek on the herd on the hill, just as I move...You guessed it GRONK !!! The last cow going up the big knoll came back and was watching me, gave the big old alarm bark (Gonna get her !!!) and then there were elk moving in all directions.....
Dejected I wander back to the truck (1 km or so), drive down the road about 600 metres and here is a herd of about 25 elk crossing the road in front of me, not scared, but not sticking around for a pickup to take their pictures....Binos showed 2 velvet bulls, 1 was a spike and the other was a weird 2, had his spikes and then his eye guards were just about the same length, looked like he had a giant "L" on his head....
Even though I have not flung carbon yet, I am still pretty stoked that I am getting that close and more elk are now invading the area..
The rut must be just around the bend, the bull was yelping today, no full blown bugles made....
Guess where I will be tomorrow morning at 5:45 ????? You guessed it, in the saddle, will have to decide which trail tomorrow morning based on wind....