First Elk sighting

[Tripitaka]

Saw these while out and about at weekend. First elk I have seen. No bears about yet and what surprised me more was that I didn't see a single deer in 6 hours of looking. :confused:

There were 17 cows and 1 bull - magnificent fella, he was.

http://i592.photobucket.com/albums/tt5/Tripitaka/HBC/Elk_20110327.jpg

[835]

Nice Pic!
Are these the first you have seen ever?

[Tripitaka]

Nice Pic!
Are these the first you have seen ever?

"face-to-face", yes - the very first ones. But then, I've only been in Canada 2 months so I guess I'm not doing too bad. :-D

The pic leaves a lot to be desired - all spare cash is getting diverted to the firearms fund so there is nothing left in the pot for a decent lens to get really good shots at distance. I bought a cheap zoom lens and it shows in the detail on the original.

[835]

I remember you not being here long, Thats why i asked!
good to see some wildlife eh! Start getting your fly gear togeather because the season is comming fast!

[Ron.C]

I remember you not being here long, Thats why i asked!
good to see some wildlife eh! Start getting your fly gear togeather because the season is comming fast!

I speant then last two weekends camping up a at Kissenger Lake. Did alot of walking on the surrounding gated roads. Saw three nice bull elk on Sunday and my first bear of the season, a small skinny bear last weekend.

[knighthunter]

Nice, I havn't seen any since I left Manitoba. Their thick as rabbits over there. I know it's not but : almost kinda looks like a bear sneaking up beyond them along the far tree line. If you stare at that brown spot long enough, it'll look like something. How far away from them were you? Thanks for sharing with us.

[Tripitaka]

Nice, I havn't seen any since I left Manitoba. Their thick as rabbits over there. I know it's not but : almost kinda looks like a bear sneaking up beyond them along the far tree line. If you stare at that brown spot long enough, it'll look like something. How far away from them were you? Thanks for sharing with us.

It was definitely a stump; wife REALLY wanted to see a bear but she'll have to wait a week or two longer. I know what you mean though. I was about 250m away at a guess. They spooked and started running when I got to about 150m in the truck.

[Tripitaka]

Gets me thinking a bit. Fast forward to 2012 and I'm on my first hunt and I come across these during the hunting season. Temptation would be to slot the bull but with 17 cows, surely it is better to drop one of them? Forgive the noob question; I guess this is why I could do with a mentor.

Then, how the devil do you get the carcass out of there? If I'm alone, no way I'm going to be lifting it. If I have a quad then I guess I could drag it but isn't that going to knacker up the carcass over that clearcut? Even then, when I've dragged it to the truck, how do I get it in? Quarter it in the field? I know that I'd field dress it there and then but do you butcher it there and then too? So much I've yet to learn...

[Shooter]

On the Island those elk are only open via Limited Entry. And some guys have been trying for 20+ years for the magical ticket with never having been drawn.

[Shooter]

But................ during hunting season I have MANY times found deer feeding very close to the elk. So if you come across these guys during hunting season look long and hard all around. Also these deer here can be amazingly hard to spot. Go slow and use binoculars LOTS. Its so easy to drive or walk right past them and they are famous for letting you do it.

A deer bedded down near the top of the picture that you posted, up by the tree line.... would be virtually invisible unless you were looking very hard.

[Tripitaka]

On the Island those elk are only open via Limited Entry. And some guys have been trying for 20+ years for the magical ticket with never having been drawn.

LOL! So that answers all my questions at once, I guess! I'm sure I would have discovered that sooner rather than later as I do understand the tag system and properly identifying the target - just to set the record straight. I just hadn't realized the the elk were LEH.

Same questions then for the guy who draws the lucky LEH then as I'm still curious.

[Shooter]

If I was alone in the field I would definitely be quartering out an Elk. As a kid we used to use a Power saw winch to drag moose out whole. We would double block it and drag them right up into the truck with that setup also. But honestly probably easier to just quarter it out.

[Pioneerman]

You have to cut it up. The one big one I got was 670 lbs on the butchers hook so unless you are the hulk you won't be picking it up.

[Moosehunter64]

If you saw those Elk around Nanoose unfortunately there are no LEH`s around that area.If they were in Nanaimo lakes there are only a few draws there and the odds are adout 180 to 1.

[835]

There is quite a bit to getting thoes things out of the bush!
If you do get so lucky as to pull a LEH for a Rosie your best bet is to find a friend who has delt with large animals.

[Spy]

Nice Picture!:-D One thing that seems to be missing are a couple youngsters,The only one I see is in the foreground of the picture! Possibly the wolves Have been hammering them & the deer Pretty hard over the winter!:(

[91Jason91]

nice scouting so far man

[Tripitaka]

There are definitely calves amongst them. I caught up with some of the same herd yesterday and grabbed this shot. No bears though.

http://i592.photobucket.com/albums/tt5/Tripitaka/HBC/Elk_20110410.jpg

[Johnnybear]

Fantastic pics Mark. Thanks for sharing them. When you do get your hunter number make sure you put in for the Elk draw.

[Tripitaka]

Glad you like 'em. I'm overly critical of my photography and using a cheap lens for the telephoto shots never renders the best image but the funds are getting diverted to more urgent items like fishing gear and guns, so don't weep to much for me! ;-D

I think the highlight of yesterday was seeing a Red-Tailed Hawk; it was perched above me for a while and I couldn't quite work out whether it was a juvenile bald eagle or something else. Then it swooped off it's perch and soared down the valley below me showing off it's beautiful bronze-red tail feathers. Simply stunning - first one of those I've seen and recognised.

[Wood butcher]

If you manage an LEH your lucky. That's the hard part.

Scout your area and find elk.
Shoot elk.
Tag elk.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_oA7HKr_tLEc/SPdU2edelFI/AAAAAAAAAas/jg4oroh4cig/s640/DSCN2489.JPG

Quarter elk and Skin(optional at this time)

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_oA7HKr_tLEc/SPwJGfBNqEI/AAAAAAAAAdU/tKix6Ie1DW4/s640/DSCN2502.JPG

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_oA7HKr_tLEc/TaRZBPwJ6KI/AAAAAAAACi4/h-oCDFOWq6E/s640/DSCN2508.JPG
load packboards, and start hoofing.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_oA7HKr_tLEc/SPwI3iM01WI/AAAAAAAAAdE/JVukL1jQCwQ/s640/DSCN2495.JPG

If your nice to your buddies you don't shoot them to far from the truck:-D

Get the meat somewhere to cool and your golden.

[sparkes3]

glad your having a good time on the island.
wait till you start exploring the options in the rest of the province

[Tripitaka]

Thanks for the pics Woodbutcher - they help a lot for a noob like me. Nice buck, too!

[Shooter]

Thanks for the pics Woodbutcher - they help a lot for a noob like me. Nice buck, too!


Hehehehe... "bull"






Just messin with ya bro :)

[Tripitaka]

Hehehehe... "bull"

Just messin with ya bro :)

You know, despite all the references to an elk with the pics, I somehow still mistook it for a buck! D'oh!! Not going to claim that I didn't know - first post references the bull in the herd! Not hard to spot the noob here; it's the one looking at the nice pictures and not reading the captions! :-D :-D