humble hunter
10-19-2009, 09:07 PM
Well, I finally got around to posting this. Here is what happened on our annual east kooteney elk trip. this is year 10 hunting the same area and we are starting to really understand the elk movements.
We arrive on Wednesday Sept 17th at around 2pm and
start to set up our camp. This year it is my dad, elkmaster c (chris), wally (my dads 85 year old best friend) and myself. We got camp set up by around 5:30 and chris and I decide to have a beer and go for a drive to see what is happening. We are still in our flip flops and shorts. We get onto the main logging road, on our way to our area and not having alot of time I am going about 70k, out of the corner of my eye I see a familiar shape and jam on the brakes, back up and raise the bino's to see a big bull elk. Just as he turns and trots up the hill. I was pretty sure he was a 5x5 but elkmaster C is out of the truck and giving chase in his flip flops. Quite a sight! He returns to confirm my belief that is was indeed a 5 x5. We continue on quite excited about our quick start, a little later we spot a nice whitetail buck about 50 yards off of the road. We discuss the execution and decide we both don't want to get dirty on our first night and head back to camp. The old timers are not back yet and of course come in with a spike buck. We explain to them that it has been so long since we have skinned a deer that we need to relearn the trade from the wily veterans. That went over like a lead balloon. An hour later it was in the refer trailer.
Finally the first morning elk hut arrives and we are pumped, elkmaster c and I head into our favourite slough and start bugling. To our dismay, we hear nothing. A little dejected we hike back to the truck and decide that we will walk into a lower slough that contains a couple of wallows. We park the truck and start walking, not even being all that quiet as it was a low percentage play. We get near the slough and out of the corner of my eye I spot some movement, we hit the deck and see a cow and calf elk feeding on the hill. We watch them for awhile hoping a bull would be near. Nothing else shows and we crawl ahead to the slough. I hear a strange swishing sound and think to myself "it couldn't be, could it?" We crawl ahead through the marshy ground to get a look down the slough and we spot movement. I move ahead as it was my turn to shoot. (elkmaster C got a hog of a bull last year). I could not believe my eyes it was a nice 6 x 6 thrashing around in the mud wallow. This is the first time I have seen this, a big bull violently thrashing in the mud. I turn back to chris to tell him it is a shooter and he later jokes that I sounded like Katherine Hepburn. I have to wait for him to stand up out of the mud. After what seems to be an eternity he finally stands up and turns broadside. I squeeze the shot off and he staggers. I got a little over excited and put a couple of extra rounds into him and he is down. It is now 8 am on the first morning of our hunt and I am cutting my tag. Now the work begins. We walked back to the truck and unloaded the quad and were able to drive the quad right up to him. We decide not to gut him in the slough and drag him down the road. With a little rope rigging we got him whole into the back of the truck! http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc96/traviskubin/P9170821.jpg http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc96/traviskubin/P9170816.jpg
http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc96/traviskubin/P9170822.jpg
After getting him hung up, we are talking around camp about maybe setting up the trail cam over the wallow. We are thinking that I had already shot the bull out of the wallow and it would be unlikely anything else would show up but it was worth a try. We walked in the next day and set it up. 2 days later we are back hunting our favourite slough and still had no response. We are driving out heading back to camp and come around a corner and I spot a cow elk on my side and out from behind a tree emerges a bull but it took off before I could get the bino's on him. Elkmaster c is out of the truck and giving chase. With no tag in my pocket I decide to go down and check the trail cam. I walk in and the read out says 77 new photos. I am thinking that it must have been the wind or birds but you never know. I pick up chris and he could not catch up with his bull and head back to camp to check the photos. Well here they are. http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc96/traviskubin/DSC_0053.jpghttp://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc96/traviskubin/DSC_0039.jpg;http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc96/traviskubin/DSC_0042.jpg;http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc96/traviskubin/DSC_0048.jpg;http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc96/traviskubin/DSC_0051.jpg;http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc96/traviskubin/DSC_0053-1.jpg;http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc96/traviskubin/DSC_0057.jpg;http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc96/traviskubin/DSC_0058.jpg;http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc96/traviskubin/DSC_0058.jpg;http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc96/traviskubin/DSC_0059.jpg;http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc96/traviskubin/DSC_0066.jpg
There are alot more shots but these were the best. This was a great learning experience for us. I thought that bulls had their own wallows but apparently they are communal that was only 2 days later and at least one other bull had been using it. Elkmaster c spent the rest of the trip hunting that wllow but they would only show up in the dark. I called another bull in for my dad, three times he came down the hill from the ridge we were on but never gave a good shot. He finally was broadside on the ridge and my dad had to shoot through some bushes. He grazed him and the bull took off. Forever smartened up. My dads buddy got a cow elk and we had to head home early as we had enough meet. :biggrin:
We arrive on Wednesday Sept 17th at around 2pm and
start to set up our camp. This year it is my dad, elkmaster c (chris), wally (my dads 85 year old best friend) and myself. We got camp set up by around 5:30 and chris and I decide to have a beer and go for a drive to see what is happening. We are still in our flip flops and shorts. We get onto the main logging road, on our way to our area and not having alot of time I am going about 70k, out of the corner of my eye I see a familiar shape and jam on the brakes, back up and raise the bino's to see a big bull elk. Just as he turns and trots up the hill. I was pretty sure he was a 5x5 but elkmaster C is out of the truck and giving chase in his flip flops. Quite a sight! He returns to confirm my belief that is was indeed a 5 x5. We continue on quite excited about our quick start, a little later we spot a nice whitetail buck about 50 yards off of the road. We discuss the execution and decide we both don't want to get dirty on our first night and head back to camp. The old timers are not back yet and of course come in with a spike buck. We explain to them that it has been so long since we have skinned a deer that we need to relearn the trade from the wily veterans. That went over like a lead balloon. An hour later it was in the refer trailer.
Finally the first morning elk hut arrives and we are pumped, elkmaster c and I head into our favourite slough and start bugling. To our dismay, we hear nothing. A little dejected we hike back to the truck and decide that we will walk into a lower slough that contains a couple of wallows. We park the truck and start walking, not even being all that quiet as it was a low percentage play. We get near the slough and out of the corner of my eye I spot some movement, we hit the deck and see a cow and calf elk feeding on the hill. We watch them for awhile hoping a bull would be near. Nothing else shows and we crawl ahead to the slough. I hear a strange swishing sound and think to myself "it couldn't be, could it?" We crawl ahead through the marshy ground to get a look down the slough and we spot movement. I move ahead as it was my turn to shoot. (elkmaster C got a hog of a bull last year). I could not believe my eyes it was a nice 6 x 6 thrashing around in the mud wallow. This is the first time I have seen this, a big bull violently thrashing in the mud. I turn back to chris to tell him it is a shooter and he later jokes that I sounded like Katherine Hepburn. I have to wait for him to stand up out of the mud. After what seems to be an eternity he finally stands up and turns broadside. I squeeze the shot off and he staggers. I got a little over excited and put a couple of extra rounds into him and he is down. It is now 8 am on the first morning of our hunt and I am cutting my tag. Now the work begins. We walked back to the truck and unloaded the quad and were able to drive the quad right up to him. We decide not to gut him in the slough and drag him down the road. With a little rope rigging we got him whole into the back of the truck! http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc96/traviskubin/P9170821.jpg http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc96/traviskubin/P9170816.jpg
http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc96/traviskubin/P9170822.jpg
After getting him hung up, we are talking around camp about maybe setting up the trail cam over the wallow. We are thinking that I had already shot the bull out of the wallow and it would be unlikely anything else would show up but it was worth a try. We walked in the next day and set it up. 2 days later we are back hunting our favourite slough and still had no response. We are driving out heading back to camp and come around a corner and I spot a cow elk on my side and out from behind a tree emerges a bull but it took off before I could get the bino's on him. Elkmaster c is out of the truck and giving chase. With no tag in my pocket I decide to go down and check the trail cam. I walk in and the read out says 77 new photos. I am thinking that it must have been the wind or birds but you never know. I pick up chris and he could not catch up with his bull and head back to camp to check the photos. Well here they are. http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc96/traviskubin/DSC_0053.jpghttp://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc96/traviskubin/DSC_0039.jpg;http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc96/traviskubin/DSC_0042.jpg;http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc96/traviskubin/DSC_0048.jpg;http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc96/traviskubin/DSC_0051.jpg;http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc96/traviskubin/DSC_0053-1.jpg;http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc96/traviskubin/DSC_0057.jpg;http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc96/traviskubin/DSC_0058.jpg;http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc96/traviskubin/DSC_0058.jpg;http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc96/traviskubin/DSC_0059.jpg;http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc96/traviskubin/DSC_0066.jpg
There are alot more shots but these were the best. This was a great learning experience for us. I thought that bulls had their own wallows but apparently they are communal that was only 2 days later and at least one other bull had been using it. Elkmaster c spent the rest of the trip hunting that wllow but they would only show up in the dark. I called another bull in for my dad, three times he came down the hill from the ridge we were on but never gave a good shot. He finally was broadside on the ridge and my dad had to shoot through some bushes. He grazed him and the bull took off. Forever smartened up. My dads buddy got a cow elk and we had to head home early as we had enough meet. :biggrin: