Rocksteady's 2011 Hunting Adventures...

[rocksteady]

Well, got the holidays approved. Start them at end of shift tomorrow...Got to do some final prep work tomorrow night and then go to bed early....

SAlt blocks are out, trail cam is up, game plan in place..

Gear is all tested/cleaned/packed etc etc and ready for Thursday morning to go out and try toput an arrow into a bull elk....Will be hunting high for achery this season....

May hunt low elevation and try to stick a cow if no luck up high...Depending on how things roll out, maybe the 6 point and spike bull season, maybe the cow/calf low season, or the rest of the 6 point season....

Will be extremely hard to not shoot the first whitetail buck I see...Always whack the first with bones and then am downgraded to the doe only seaosn in mid season.........Hoping the finger will listen to the brain....

Also have a goat tag, looking at end of October/early November for that adventure.....

Keep watching I will try to keep everyone i the loop as the season goes along.....

[Glassman]

I'm looking forward to the story.

[Ddog]

me too:) ;)
was in the spot tonight watching,, all is good we have got a chance for sure. and you better not shoot that little whitey buck,, we have plans the end of November!

[quadrakid]

Alwas look forward to your hunting adventures,good luck.

[Elkaholic]

Can't wait to read the stories. Good luck guys

[bozzdrywall]

If your not too busy join Joe and I at the marysville pub Thursday night for a good luck/ birthday beer

[rocksteady]

Thanks for the invite Bozz, but I got too much still to get done before the opener....

Plus I will be in bed by 7:00 cause I will be getting up at 3:30 :)

Have a cold one for me and happy Birthday...

[Stone Sheep Steve]

Mike-If you're hunting high in early archery season you won't be able to keep us updated daily...one of my yearly hightlights on HBC. I think you should hunt low...the entire time!:-D

Good luck!

SSS

[rocksteady]

Oh, I sure will keep you updated....I will be hunting higher elevation...but be at home every night...

[Stone Sheep Steve]

Oh, I sure will keep you updated....I will be hunting higher elevation...but be at home every night...

You must have a big budget for fuel:-D.

SSS

[rocksteady]

Nope...Just live in country that is straight up and down !!!! Don't have to drive far to gain the elevation :)



Off to bed...Only 10.5 hours til legal shooting light.......Not that I will be able to sleep...Just like a friggin kid at X-mas....I LOVE IT !!!!

[rocksteady]

Just a quick update....

September 1...Up at 3:30, went out with Ddog....Saw 4 or 5 whiteys in the block we were sneaking in to do some elk hunting..No elk...we think there was 2 or 3 bucks in those whiteys...

Went to check out some other country, saw some elk bedded in the block by the road...No bulls, no shots...

Same spot that night...nothing...

September 2.... Got dropped off by the elk block, snuck in perfectly quiet, sat there til first light, lots of crashing/banging in the timber....Must be elk, must be elk...NOPE...stupid black bear....Saw a few whiteys here and there but nothing big or within range...

Drove some other roads, scouting, had 4 cows and calves cross the powerlines in front of us but no bulls ...Saw a bunch of whiteys...

Septembr 3rd..went to another high elevation area, not much activity.Ddog did get one bull bugling but it would not come closer or do too much calling....

Went to one of my favorite spots last night, couple whiteys no elk...

September 4th...Up to meet with a couple of D's friends. Did the divide and conquer...I took one guy, we drove, glassed etc and saw 2 mulies, 2 whiteys, about 15 grouse (no .22 in the truck :( ) and some rabbits...D and his partner went to another area, bumped some whiteys...

I have to take tonight off, its only day 4 and I am tired...

So overall, from what I have seen the elk are not bunchd together yet (most were cow/calf pairs), bulls not bugling.....Was right around freezing this morning, but is 27 at 5:00 pm....I suspect the elk are moving in the dark due to the heat....Little frustraing but gonna giver again tomorrow...Just need a good nights sleep...

[Rhyno]

Hey, at least you are lucky enough to live in the right country! I have got my 1 week elk hunt planned in the Peace for next week. Little worried about the heat, mid to high 20's right now. Desperately trying to get transferred to the Cranbrook office for next season! Good Luck.

[Mountain Hunter]

Not to worry, it frosted near Chetwynd the other night and some rain cells came through today with 10C at 7 pm driving around the hills.


Hey, at least you are lucky enough to live in the right country! I have got my 1 week elk hunt planned in the Peace for next week. Little worried about the heat, mid to high 20's right now. Desperately trying to get transferred to the Cranbrook office for next season! Good Luck.

[rocksteady]

SO, yesterday, we saw about 15 cows and 2 bulls, couple of whitey bucks and Dog got himself a small feast of ditch chickens...

Today Dog had a bull making a bunch of noise at him but would not come in...

Myself, not such a great day...After talking to D on the phone, I am trying to put my phone back in my pocket as I walk down this road beside a range fence with regen all along it and suddenly a skunks ass jumps out of the bush at about 15 feet and farts on me...Not a full blown spray, just a medium sized cloud of stench...It drifted onto me....Eyes watering, started gagging, had it in my mouth...YUCK!!! Even my Copenhagen tasted like skunks butt!....Little bugger....Took some video of him and let him walk....Should have bear sprayed him :twisted::twisted:

Then I am still walking along and just as I come around a small bend...Here are 2 4 points whiteys and 1 doe walking down the road towards me...We see each other at the same moment and they bail into the thicker bush....I had a clear shot at the doe at about 40 yards but the 2 bucks stayed in the x-mas trees, one coming to about 30 yards but no good shot picture presented...They were both in full velvet still....This I find very strange....

Walked another km or so down the road, I hear a noise behind me and I stop and look and another big whitetail buck goes across the road like his tail is on fire....He came off the hillside, I heard him running for probably 5 seconds before he crossed the road....Maybe a cougar up on the hillside???:confused:

Still too hot for evening hunts for this old fart...Mornings are good but evenings, when it is this hot I find not very productive....Plus I need my beauty sleep:mrgreen: and another shower so I don't smell like Pepe Le Pe-Yoo in the morning still.....

[rocksteady]

Geez time flies when you are hunting...

Lets see if I can bring you up to date....

Spent the last 3 days of archery trying to find the elk...Too hot...tehy are coming from water into their beeding areas first thing in the mornings, and not moving til after dark....Was in on them several days but no shots afforded...

Yesterday, first day of rifle, hoping to poke a nice little spiker bull but was not meant to be...The rifle shots started at 06:45 and I heard 15 or more by 9:30.....Lots of hunters out there...

Today was a much better day...snuck in during the dark, replaced my SD card on my trial cam (it had gone kaputz), the 25 lbs of sweet feed was gone from the feeder and not a single picture....So I replaced the SD card today, as well as the othe 25 lbs of feed....

Snuck onto a big viewpoint and overlooked a big tract of private land (no hunting allowed...PERIOD...)

There was bugling starting at first light and it kept up til 9:30.....I saw 7 bulls in total (1 six, 2 fives, 2 fours and a couple spikes)....Watched a 4 and a 5 go at it for about 15 minutes in a big clearing...What afight..WOW....Close to 100 cows and calves in the herd....

So things are coming into alignment..Usually the big herd will split and each bull will take 15 cows or so and move to different spots on crown land, so I just have to keep a close eye on this piece of property til the splinter cells form...Hoping the 6 comes onto crown, with his ladies, as I have taken 3 bulls out of that area in the past 5 years.....I know where they go and how to hunt them there, just gotta wait for the right timing....May even poke a spike if he comes onto crown with his mommy...

Much more positive sign. Hoping the herd does as it usually does....

[moose2]

Sounds like you will connect shortly in that area , looking forward to the pictures and stories.
Mike

[rocksteady]

The herd has split.....:mrgreen::mrgreen:

I was on the viewpoint before 6:00 this morning, listening to a bull to my left (Private) bugling, as well as a bull to my right (Crown)...After 10 minutes of listen to the bugling I hear crash/bang/crash...:confused: Two bulls fighting on the Crown Portion.....

Now the mental debate is on...Do I sit here in the moonlight and wait for first light to see where they go, or do I make my move and try to close the 1500 metre distance???? AFter 5 minutes of weighing the pros and cons, I went for it.....Grabbed my gear, down the bank, through the flats, closing to within 400 yards of where they were fighting....Daylight comes, I see a cow head from the Crown portion towards the Private...If the bulls follow I may just make the shot....400 yards , open grassy field....Maybe....5 minutes later the cow comes trotting back and dissappears over the bank into a steep gully...

Now here is where my second dilemna of the day arose....Look in the field and here is a nice 4 point whitey (probably would have gone 125 ish), at about 300 yards, walking ever so lazily towards the thick stuff....I had the scope on him, cranked up on 9, broadside and just could not do it...I knew the elk were in that thick stuff tha tht deer was heading for.......I figured the one bulll was the big 6 from yesterday, as he had the same deep, growly raspy voice as yesterdays bull.......Unfortunately, the bulls (and thier cows) went North out of the thickstuff and went way up along a road to another secure thick spot.....I found all of their tracks)......

Hike my ass all the way back, almost to the viewpoint and here is 2 cows in the wide open crossing fom private to crown....With a bull...Spotting scope.......Damn....5 point......

So know I think there are 4 decent bulls in there...3 on crown, 1 on private....

So I think there are 3 seperate herds...

Have to see what tomorrow bings....

[pescado]

Enjoying the write up. You keep sniffing around and they'll make there mistake. Nice to have that many Elk talking to let you know where they are. Good luck.
1 more week of work than I hope to be in the same situation.

[Salty]

all ears here. ..

[Caveman]

Keep it coming! Just started packing to head out on my Elk 2011 Adventure. Sounds like things are just getting good. Hopefully we hit it right.

[rocksteady]

Wnt out yesterday A.M. In on the viewpoint by 06:00, unfortunately only the bull on the privte land was bugling...and he only let out 2 between 06:00 and 07:00....No other elk seen or herd.....Not sure where they have split and divided up to....The 6 yesterday only had about 30 cows wiht him, so theres 70 cows somewhere around the area...Just got to cover the ground til I find them....

Went to a different spot today...No elk seen, no bugles head, saw 5 or 6 mulies does and thats it...

[d6dan]

Wnt out yesterday A.M. In on the viewpoint by 06:00, unfortunately only the bull on the privte land was bugling...and he only let out 2 between 06:00 and 07:00....No other elk seen or herd.....Not sure where they have split and divided up to....The 6 yesterday only had about 30 cows wiht him, so theres 70 cows somewhere around the area...Just got to cover the ground til I find them....

Went to a different spot today...No elk seen, no bugles head, saw 5 or 6 mulies does and thats it...

To warm?. RS, enjoying your thread..Looking forward to you and Ddogs success.

[rocksteady]

I think it is too warm, its changing the way the normal rut occurs.....

So yesterday Ddog and I went to a place near his trail cam...Hiked a few mountains, did some bugling...NADA.....Checked his camera...280 pics since the 11th...I will let him post them if he wishes....

Today I went back to the private/crown area that I hunt...Bull on private started bugling at 6:05 and bugled every 5 minutes....Glassing away on crown, I see a few cows about 2 kms away.....Spotting scope comes out...Nice bull....They were in the same spot as the 2 bulls that were fighting the other day....So I decided to go fo it....

I come off the hillside onto the flats, hustle up the ravine, for a km and ever so slowly poke my head over the ridge...Cow and calf standing just inside the brush line (no trees, just willows and crap)....a couple minutes later a calf comes bolting out of the edge to come visit the other 2 with the bull right behind......He came in to less than 70 yards and was...............................a clean 5 point.....I glassd him to the point my eyes were gonna bleed.....I was trying so hard to find a double brow or a little kicker but no such luck.....The elk scared a little 2 point forkhorn whitey towards me...He was only 30 yards away, but too little meat for the length of pack it would be.....I circled around the big willow pit, as I thought they may be going out the back door on me like they did the other day...no luck, so I walked all the way back around and the bulll was still feeding in the brush line at about 150 yards...Better light, but still only a 5....I was not sure if they maybe had a spike with them so I started some call calling...They were responding back really well but not leaving the willow pit, so I grabbed a reed and did an immature teenager type bugle, and a few more cow calls....They busted out of there and ran across the field....6 cow/calves and the 5 point....At least I now know.....

Hiked back up the mountain to where I could view the private, big bull still bugling...See him with his 30 cows and there is a 6 (barely, but stilllegal) all by himself walking across a field......Still on private and he goes for about 300 metres and beds down by a huge willow bush...I think he was just pwned by the big bull.....

So I decide to head to check my trail cam, its only about 1.9km according to the GPS, so I hike there and there is 101 pictures since 4 days ago.....Scroll through the pictures and there are no elk, only a couple of whitey does and fawns and a nice 4 point whitey...He has basically eaten 25 pounds of sweet feed in 4 days....Keep that up and he will be joining Jenny Craig.....

So I had about 60 pictures of the buck, 15 of coyotes (They like sweet feed too) and a couple of the does....

I will post some video that I took of the 5 point, as well as some trail cam photos later....I also have some footage of the skunk who farted on me to post as well....

Gotta do a bunch of laundry and clean the house a bit, as the wife was away for a week or so.........And gotta go have a nap too....

[835]

Ya your fingers look tired!
Great following this thread, as all of the other Rock season threads!

[rocksteady]

Sorry for all the spelling mistakes 835, I figure I covered about 9 or 10 km this morning and was pretty tired when I posted....

It makes it more challenging to read when you have to try to decipher what the word is :)

[835]

Thats quite ok i was just razzing you, I enjoy the read anyway

[rocksteady]

I will try to spell this all correctly on the first try so the grammar and spell check police don't come a knockin :)

Went to a differenet area this morning, hike off the highway up a steep embankment about 200 yards onto some benches, whre there tends to be elk hanging out during the heat of the day on the thick douglas fir ridges.....Stated hiking at 5:50 so I oculd be up top in plenty of time to get seated and await daylight.....

Just as I get to the top of the hill whre it turns to grasslands......Crash, bang, snap...followed by th dreaded "GRONK" The elk alarm bark :(

No idea how many there were or if was cows/cals/bull........I suspect cow, as I have never had a bull do an alarm bak but I could definitely smell bull.....

Cruised around on the ridges, no elk seen or heard, did see 2 nice 4 point whiteys out of velvet that I easily could have shot, but it was too long of a pack for a measily whitey.....

Getting frustrated, gotta find me a couple of bulls, either a nice 6 or a spiker....Maybe a cow as of Tuesday, but I am back to work on Monday :(

Finally editing and spell check to be done by 835....

[Ddog]

pfff, your spelling is the pits,,,LOL....
no worries,,we will put down our elk for sure,, just a matter of time it seems, but with the amount of walking and talking and hiking its just gonna make it that much nicer to eat...

[sawmill]

Wait for the cow season Rock,tender and tasty.You can`t eat horns anyway.That`s my plan.

[pg83]

Keep the adventure coming, very cool to hear how things are playing out as the days go by. Eagerly awaiting your 6 point pictures :D

[rocksteady]

Sawmill - Oh I plan to Joe, but chasing bulls is just too much fun :)

[rocksteady]

pfff, your spelling is the pits,,,LOL....
no worries,,we will put down our elk for sure,, just a matter of time it seems, but with the amount of walking and talking and hiking its just gonna make it that much nicer to eat...

My spelling is great, just my typing sucks :) ...I know how to spell the word but the fingers keep hitting the wrong keys:0

[rocksteady]

Well, things finally came together yesterday morning....

I went to a favorite spot that I have sen a lot of elk in, years past....

So to set the scene, the cutblock is about 400 yards wide and 700 yards long, on about a 25% slope. 15 year old pine regen....Ther is a creek quite a ways downhill from the block and open timber above it that transitions into a bunch of rocky doug fir benches that the elk usually come from water, make their way up the block into the open timber and then into the thick dark shat.....

So I wnt in yesterday in the dark, up onto a rocky knoll at the one end of the block, a great viewpoint.....Sat there from 7:00 to 8:00 which provided no movement...The place I sit has reallly overgrown so I knew it needed some work....Broke out the Fiskers hand saw and started trimming a few limbs, which led to some more limbs which led to a few small trees that would provide me with visibility for watching the area, as well as a good solid support if I had to take a long shot....

So after doing cutting for about 15, I am sitting there and I hear a noise uphill. I can't see nothing cause the regen is so thick right beside me....Couple minutes later more crunching, snapping....Few minutes late more crunching and a lot louder, so I stand up with my rifle and here comes a cow/calf elk just booking it down the hill towards me....They cross the little gulley in the draw and cross an old landing and are gonna be passing by me at about 80 yards, but steep angle below.....

I get the rifle rested on a dead, snow pressed tree and try to get the scope on them....Moving too fast for a good shot, so I wait, try to move a few feet over for a better shooting lane...Step on a big dry limb and ker-snap!!!!!! All of the a sdden the elk stop like they just pulled the ebrake...So in a advanced cutblock full of regen, with about a 40 degree slope for the shot, I find the elk in the scope....Not sure if its the cow or the calf, but it does not matter as both are legal....Got about 1 second to make the shot, safety off x-hairs about where I want them...boom !!!!! Elk disappears staight down, making a hell of a crash bang as it does its last actions on the planet....

Wander down through the thicket...Nice big cow !!!!!!

Now the issue, no roads for at least 250 meters but there is an old skid trail, so use my cell to call a buddy, who picks up Ddogs game cart....Gutted her, split in half, each half on a cart, down the rocky, log filled reclaimed skid trail to the truck in a matter of no time.

Got home, skinned it out, at the butcher shop by 2:00, she weighed in at 295 lbs......
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c372/rocksteadyrifle/100_1554.jpg

[rocksteady]

Cleaned up my spelling arrors....

So forgot to add that when I was skinning her at home that because I rushed the shot, plus it was a steep shot with a very small window of theading the bullet, I hit her right on the top rear point of the shoulder blade (you know the flat part with no meat on it...) and the bullet broke a rib and then exited out about 3/4 of the way down the rib cage (same ribs that it had entered on, just the opposite side of rib cage).

Very little meat damage from the bullet, which is always a bonus....

The game carts worked well with the exception that the weight of the elk, pushing sideways on the side rails, kept making the pins pop out.....Luckily I had lots of parachute cord to lash them all together. BUT thos pins will be replaced with bolts, washers and some nuts prior to its next us......

I can see where the carts would be an absolute dream to use for extraction on good, old road closure roads or even the open grasslands of the East Koots/Kamloops/Merritt/Cariboo country......

Now I guess I am moving on to the Whitey hunting...Can be picky and hold out for a good buck, as doe season will be coming in October (not too hard to get that one) and gotta start making some plans for our goat tags too.....

[Poguebilt]

Great Job!!! Your Honey Hole sure is a nice spot to hunt!

[d6dan]

Good going RS!. She'll be delicious!. Your time in the field finally paid off,Congrats..

[325]

Looks very tasty!

[nano]

Well done, congrats!

[Salty]

Nice. Chuck-er in the larder :cool:

[greybark]

Well, things finally came together yesterday morning....

I went to a favorite spot that I have sen a lot of elk in, years past....

So to set the scene, the cutblock is about 400 yards wide and 700 yards long, on about a 25% slope. 15 year old pine regen....Ther is a creek quite a ways downhill from the block and open timber above it that transitions into a bunch of rocky doug fir benches that the elk usually come from water, make their way up the block into the open timber and then into the thick dark shat.....

So I wnt in yesterday in the dark, up onto a rocky knoll at the one end of the block, a great viewpoint.....Sat there from 7:00 to 8:00 which provided no movement...The place I sit has reallly overgrown so I knew it needed some work....Broke out the Fiskers hand saw and started trimming a few limbs, which led to some more limbs which led to a few small trees that would provide me with visibility for watching the area, as well as a good solid support if I had to take a long shot....

So after doing cutting for about 15, I am sitting there and I hear a noise uphill. I can't see nothing cause the regen is so thick right beside me....Couple minutes later more crunching, snapping....Few minutes late more crunching and a lot louder, so I stand up with my rifle and here comes a cow/calf elk just booking it down the hill towards me....They cross the little gulley in the draw and cross an old landing and are gonna be passing by me at about 80 yards, but steep angle below.....

I get the rifle rested on a dead, snow pressed tree and try to get the scope on them....Moving too fast for a good shot, so I wait, try to move a few feet over for a better shooting lane...Step on a big dry limb and ker-snap!!!!!! All of the a sdden the elk stop like they just pulled the ebrake...So in a advanced cutblock full of regen, with about a 40 degree slope for the shot, I find the elk in the scope....Not sure if its the cow or the calf, but it does not matter as both are legal....Got about 1 second to make the shot, safety off x-hairs about where I want them...boom !!!!! Elk disappears staight down, making a hell of a crash bang as it does its last actions on the planet....

Wander down through the thicket...Nice big cow !!!!!!

Now the issue, no roads for at least 250 meters but there is an old skid trail, so use my cell to call a buddy, who picks up Ddogs game cart....Gutted her, split in half, each half on a cart, down the rocky, log filled reclaimed skid trail to the truck in a matter of no time.

Got home, skinned it out, at the butcher shop by 2:00, she weighed in at 295 lbs......
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c372/rocksteadyrifle/100_1554.jpg
Hey Rocksteady , That looks like Nester my Mule !!!!!
Well done !!!!! I enjoyed your posts .
Cheers

[The Hermit]

Well done! Nice when a plan comes together!

[rocksteady]

Couple videos that I took in the past few weeks.....

The skunk that sprayed me while bow hunting...Ballsy little bugger isn't he??...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8I7qWGP1KqU

The 5 point bull that I did the superstalk on form about 2 km away to find he was one point shy of legal....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8Wlk4AqyoM

[Ruger4]

congrats Rock , that'll be some good eaten , and a good sized cow for sure !!

[rocksteady]

Well, been back at work and taking a break from hunting after I put the cow in the freezer (pressure to fill the larder was lifted)....

Went out yesterday to check my trail cam and refill the feeder and on the way in I ran across a bunch of elk...My buddy was hunting just down the road, but did not have his cell turned on, so I just backed out and sent him in there today (unfortunately, no elk sighted)....

Anyways, back to the story....Went out with Ddog today to an area that we know has elk (his trail cam proves it) but could not find them...Hiked ridges, smelled them, but could not locate....

On the way out, around 11:30 Daryll said take a little drive down this last road, before pavement, (we have seen elk there before)......I told Ddog that if we see a whitey buck I was gonna blow its head off (I have held back on over 40 bucks so far this year and was fed up with passing them up:mrgreen:).....

We go down this road about 500 metres or so and these 2 bucks come busting across the road going like the devil is on their asses and then come to a screeching halt and start eating:confused:...I got out, loaded the rifle, Ddog said that the one was a decent buck, so take him if I wanted....I did !!!!

He was facing straight away from me at about 75 yards, I waited til he finally turned and went broadside, then I tickled the trigger on the .338.....DRT!!!! Never took a single step....ran the winch line down the hill from the truck, pulled him up whole, gutted him out...Back to town....
http://s35.photobucket.com/albums/d167/DDOGGY/?action=view&current=DSCF2018.jpg

His stupid brother/cousin (whatever) buck friend stood around near the carcass for almost 5 minutes and then did not go more than 100 metres from us for the 30 minutes it took us to get the deer dressed and in the truck....He was a 3 by2, but too small for Ddogs standards, as well he likes to stick them with arrows rather than lead....

Now all I got left is a whitey doe tag (Tomorrow is opening day :mrgreen:) and then my mountain goat....

Going to be trying to get the whitey doe harvest on video, similar to last year...

[Ddog]

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d167/DDOGGY/DSCF2021.jpg

then the other buck that was there,,thing isn't going to last long
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d167/DDOGGY/DSCF2015.jpg

[rocksteady]

My secret to success, find a spot, once you find a spot with critters hunt it hard.....No not by truck, by boot leather,,,,

Eventually you get a freebie of the road..... Smack him down and cut the tag.......The easier ones are so easy, but the hard ones are so much harder.....

Wish I had the ability to dump 2 whitey bucks yesterday, would have been tagged out...The 3 by 2 stuck around for almost 30 minutes and was NOT that smart.....


I am having a biological/sexist debate with my wife, whether she will allow me to slam a whitey doe...I think she is softneing, once I told her it could go to her son and his girldfirend, or my brother in law and his young family or worst case scenario, the food bank - (AND I will pay all costs $$$$)

Women...Can't live with them.............................................. ................PASS THE BEER NUTS>>>>>>

[rocksteady]

Well, been on a little bit of a in hunting season break, trying tonget all of the pre-fall chores fun done before we get blasted with snows...You know the usual, new snow tires on the truck, replaced a stabilizing bar drag link, etc etc.....

Anyways, decided to get out in the bush withDdog and set up his tree stand and hopefully harvest a doe with my shotgun.

We went out about 2:00 pm to some areas and saw a bunch of does, but failed attempts to get a good shot and /or have the doe on the video screen so that Dog could give me the thumbs up to drop the hammer....

Finally at 5 o'clock we were driving through an area of extremely thick douglas fir thickets on a hillside above a local alfalfa ranch....

I spotted the doe, backed up, till Darryl saw her, and then it was game on....I got out of the Jimmy, loaded in 2 of my buddies home built round ball slugshells (powered by black powder) into my Mossberg Model 88 with the 28 inch barrel.....

Doe continued to stand there as I struggled to get a round into the chamber
the reloads were not factory specs so stuck a wee bit....So I am jamming the action forward back, flipping shells onto the ground, picking them up, refeeding them and slamming them home until one seated fianally.....

Finally I told Ddog I was all set, he gave the go ahead signal, meaning he had the doe in the screen for the shot.

It as an almost looking straight on shot, about 30 yards or so....I put the dual beads on it, settled the beads on the middle of upper neck and let fly.

The doe went staight to the gound and flopped around, for a second and after the big blue cloud dissappears, I finally walked to the doe, who unfortanately was not expired and tries to crawl away, I shot her again with another blackpowder round, just below the base of her skull and the round just kept rolling.....

I have several video clips and pictures that I will post tomrrow.....can't seem to locate my card reader right now???

The black Powder rounds create a massive amount of smoke and smells like rotten-egg-dog-fart ass!!! I never expected that....

The bulllet entered in the front of the neck and went between the shoulders and took out the spine at about the sixth vertebrate back....


In all my years of huning (+/- 40 years, this is the first time I have ever harvested a deer wth a shotgun........It was a challenge and it was fun...

Doe was a mature doe, not lactating, and I am guessing 85 pounds on the hook.... :)

Pics and video tomorrow...

Here they are:
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c372/rocksteadyrifle/100_1589.jpg

[ianwuzhere]

rite on- sounds like some good meat in the freezer!!
ive always had bad luck with neck shots- dont do em anymore...
Congrats!!

[rocksteady]

Here are the videos:

CAUTION GRAPHIC CONTENT>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GqGz8eM1lKA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7k8nQMLuIU

[rocksteady]

NOw that I have filled 3 tags and most of 2 freezers, I have to start getting my head wrapped around planning the trip way up the BUll River to attempt to connect on a nice big Mountain Goat....

Will not be using the Mossberg 12 on the goat......Maybe the Mossberg 30-06, but not the 12 guage :)

Will keep you posted on how that progresses....

[Ddog]

hmmm,,, my hunting partner tagged out and i have yet to shoot an animal, whats wrong with this picture?

[rocksteady]

Hmmmm....You proabably don't want me to post anything on here D...It would probably just be a smart assed slanderous comment that would be posted just to bug you :)

BTW, when I go and buy my goat tag I will not be tagged out........yet again.....

[rocksteady]

Saturday is the day...Bought my Goat tag and gonna be heading up the Bull to look for a big billy....Hopefully there will not be too much snow...as always should be an adventure....

Will be taking the digi cam and video camera, so I am hoping to get some good footage for you guys...as well as a billy that may be worth getting a head mount done of....

Got to start eating like a horse now, to store up enough energy for Saturdays "walk"...

[835]

goat hunters are crazy!
good luck on your Adventure. :)

[rocksteady]

[QUOTE=835;1014995]goat hunters are crazy!
QUOTE]

No different than any other type of hunting, just tip it onto 110% slope :)

[835]

Yer forgetting the snow!!

[Ruger4]

good luck Rock !! look forward to the pics

[rocksteady]

Yer forgetting the snow!!
and ice, and rock bluffs and cliffs, and grizzlies looking for a last meal before winter......But other than that its pretty easy:wink::wink:

It's not that bad, as long as you think every decision through.." WTF happens if we go here/there...WTF, if we..."

[Ddog]

I hate this.

[rocksteady]

I hate this.

Sorry :( :(

[rocksteady]

Well, here is the update from Saturday....

Picked up my hunting partner at 05:00 from his house and drove way up the BUll River to the zone that I drew...It was snowing lightly when we left town, one we got part way up the bUll, the snow really started to pile up..By the time we got to the start of the Zone, there was close to a foot of snow on the road...Going 40 km/h, the tires were pushing the snow out in front of us and it was coming over top of the hood onto the windshield....

We get to our spot at about 6:45 we gearup and start walking up into the back valley...The former "road" is now just an intermittent trail. The creek has washed out most o fthe road, so we are hiking through a foot of snow, changing up between a trail, creek bed with massive snow covered boulders, a huge log jam from the previous multiple years of avalanche debris.....

Finally we get back into the bowl...Took us about 3 hours of hiking, its only 3.2 km from truck, as the crow flies, but we are not crows and did not fly :)

When we are sitting there glassing the massive ridges, cornices and krags that goats call home, the sun is shining and its a beauty day...This is about 11:00 ish....

Right around noon, it starts to cloud over and gets a little breezy.....At about noon or a bit later, we hear it coming :shock::shock:

The wind is coming up the backside of the adjacent valley, over top of the ridge and then dropping straight down to the valley bottom that we are sitting in...The wind came off the ridge, about 3000 feet straight up from us and came down hard....Not a word of a lie, it sounded like a freight train coming, we could see the wind puching the snow out of all the trees coming at us like a wave.....We saw it coming, pulled up our hoods and turned our backs to it....It had to have been blowing well over 70 km/h.....

We squirreled our way into some thick stuff at the base of the gulley, started a small campfire and waited in out in our little spot of protection....

We stayed there for the next 3 or 4 hours, just glassing every spot we could....Unforunately, the storm did not pass very quick...It just stayed and pounded us hard....Finally after many hours of both of us glassing the country over and over again, it was evident that the goats were not out foraging..They must be in the thick stuff at the base of the bluffs or in the isolated pockets of heavy timber that dotted the valley.....

No animals or their tracks were seen, so we decided to poke our way back to the truck, glassing every small opening, bluff, knoll etc that we could find...

No goats spotted...Back to the truck about dark...Then drove out...

The critters must have known the storm was coming, we did not even see a deer or elk on our drive in or out, which is unusual. No fresh tracks during the day had crossed the road, that we could see...No big migrational trails happening yet....

OH well, that is hunting....Nothing like a nice 10 hour hike in knee deep snow in crappy footing and coming home empty handed to make you realize how tough it must have been for our forefathers...You know, before gore-tex, binos, modern rifles, etc etc....

The season is not over yet, still some time, so will have to decide when we want to make another go at it...

Body held up fairly good, knee and achilles were a little sore yesterday, but nothing that will stop me from going again...

Will keep you all updated...

Tried to take video footage to post, but with the storm, it just turned out to just be a friggin whiteout :(

PS...found a second video that shows what we were up against.....not great due to wind and snow, but gives you an idea of the scenery...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4zOsMM62_w

[rocksteady]

Well today is the last day for Mountain goat...Unfortunately, another attempt can't be made :icon_frow My wife was out of town last weekend at a funeral and my goat hunting partner was out of town...The area that I drew is not solo hunt friendly whatsoever....Oh well, maybe next year...

Anyways on the brighter side, a co-worker and her Mom wanted to go kill a meat buck a piece yesterday....We had been out once before, saw a nice buck at about 60 yards, in a bend in the road, just as my co-worker was about to drop the hammer, a rfile shot went off and the deer fell down...DAMN....Around the corner of the road was a grandpa, Dad and a kid (about 10 or so)...It was hte kids first ever buck, so we were pretty happy for him...WOuld have felt pretty crappy to shoot jr.s first deer out from under him...BUt I guees it works out....

So we left town about 07:30 yesterday morning heading to the wintering grounds....Drive up the one little road and there are does and fawns wandering everywhere but not a buck in sight...Trucks driving around everywhere, so we said lets go to a different spot...AS we are driving out, I glass a rock knob about 400 yards away and see a deer... 3 does and at least 2 bucks, 1 is a good one, at least a big 3, maybe a 4....

I don't have my range finder with me or my bipod on my rifle, so we are not gonna risk my co-worker taking a shot at that distance....We grab our stuff, leave Mom in the truck (shes in her mid 60's and don't hike so good)...And off we go...

We do teh super stalk up a fence line, unfortunaetly from this fenceline, we can't get a clear view of the deer on top of the knob...Too much brush, but the wind is in our faces, so we keep stalking....Get almost to where we should be able to see them and BUSTED....Whitey doe standing there at 40 yards staring us down, infortunately when she left 5 minutes later she exited right, into thick stuff taking the bucks with her...No shot presented...We tried to follow and get a shot, but the deer hopped a fence onto posted private property:icon_frow

Oh well, that is hunting....We circle across and up slope, stalking through the open timber til we get back to the truck. All we saw in the timber were a few does and fawns....

Get back to the truck, come up with plan B...Gonna go down another side road about 5 kms away...We toodle along in teh truck and are almost at the turnoff, when Mom says "deer"...I stop, sure enough a doe and a stupid buck, standing there, 50 yards off the road...Co-worker gets out, loads a round into my 6.5, takes a bead on the deer...Bang! Flop! Perfect neck shot...High fives all around...We drop the guts out of it, drag it up the hill and put it in the truck...Not a big rack but a very good sized body on it...

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c372/rocksteadyrifle/100_1612.jpg

[rocksteady]

We are pretty pleased with our success, its about 11:00 ish and we figure one is better than none, so we are gonna hunt our way back to town...

We go about 5 or 6 kms back towards town and there is this deer crossing the road at about 80 yards, binos up..Nope looks like a doe....We idle along to where the deer crossed the road, sure enough its standing there in the bush about 40 yards off the road...We stop, I put the binos back up...It's a little buck....

Being the second last day of the season, and the last day that Mom is able to hunt (work on Wed), I asked her if she wanted it...Damn straight....

Mom gets out, loads up the 6.5 (god I love that gun) and BANG! FLOP! another perfect neck shot....

Drop the guts out of this one, skid it to the truck and we are off to town with 2 good eaters....

All in all, a good day, able to help 2 friends get there deer for the winter...


DON'T BE DISSING OR LAUGHING!!!!! It is a legal buck... (The SMALLEST 2 point whitey buck I have ever seen)....

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c372/rocksteadyrifle/100_1613.jpg

[rocksteady]

So now its time to come up with alternate plans....

I am tagged out, so are my hunting buddies, so are my co-workers, season ends today......

Guess I will have to blow the dust off the .243 and FoxPro and go looking for dogs, and wait patiently for my cougar buddy to return from Saskatchewan....

Been a great season this year, hope to do it again next year, as successfully!!

Stay tuned for the Dog and Kitty show..... and maybe some ice fishing pics...

[ROEBUCK]

congrats on a great season !
how do you hunt your cougars, with dogs or calling ?

[rocksteady]

congrats on a great season !
how do you hunt your cougars, with dogs or calling ?

Dogs.......

[835]

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c372/rocksteadyrifle/100_1613.jpg


This needs to go in the "Dink buck" thread!!!!!!!!
HAHAHA !!!!
VEAL!

Deer like that i like to keep the hinds whole. Cut the shin off at the knee and leave all the bone in. Stuff it on a rotisserie next summer.....
That is the whole reason i like Spikes!,,,,,,, of in your case forks!

[hunter1947]

Mike good on you that you helped a couple friends get there deer meat you are a stand up man and I am very happy to have met you in the last year ,to me as well thats what life is all about helping others out when you can ,congrats to your two friends getting there deer.

[moose2]

Good job on these last two bucks. I have to agree with you on that being the smallest fork I have never seen one that small either. Congratulations on a great season it looks like you will be eating well.
Mike

[rocksteady]

Sort of a cross thread here...

My 2 hunter friends got the meat, but I was given the hearts and livers, as a treat for my 2 Rotties and 2 cats (yes, F-D, I do LOVE my 2 cats and treat them well :) )

Anyways, the liver from the spike/fork was "prickly" on the outside, not smooth like a babies bum or a womans bosom, but felt more like when you run your hand over a feather pillow.....Thought this was strange, so I sliced it in half and the liver was absolutely jet black, as compared to a normal liver thats , well, liver colored....Rather than giving my dogs something that could potetnially give them some sort of parasite and resulting vet bill, I tossed it...The other liver was normal and the dogs will be enjoying it this weekend, once I fry it up...

[Downwind]

Sort of a cross thread here...

My 2 hunter friends got the meat, but I was given the hearts and livers, as a treat for my 2 Rotties and 2 cats (yes, F-D, I do LOVE my 2 cats and treat them well :) )

Anyways, the liver from the spike/fork was "prickly" on the outside, not smooth like a babies bum or a womans bosom, but felt more like when you run your hand over a feather pillow.....Thought this was strange, so I sliced it in half and the liver was absolutely jet black, as compared to a normal liver thats , well, liver colored....Rather than giving my dogs something that could potetnially give them some sort of parasite and resulting vet bill, I tossed it...The other liver was normal and the dogs will be enjoying it this weekend, once I fry it up...

The liver from that little crab claw I shot over the weekend was like that. I thought maybe I had hit a bit of the liver, since it was quartering to me, so I tried cutting it away but it just didn't look 'right'. Not sure what was going on with it but it stayed in the bush with the gut pile. I can only guess my own liver looks something along the same lines after all the abuse I've put it through over the years! lol

[MB_Boy]

Hey guys.....that is likely "liver fluke" that does in fact occur in deer in BC; deer are a normal host for it but when it gets in moose it can destroy the liver.

[rocksteady]

Hey guys.....that is likely "liver fluke" that does in fact occur in deer in BC; deer are a normal host for it but when it gets in moose it can destroy the liver.

I honestly don't think so... I have seen liver flukes in some Island deer, as well as some moose that I have taken and they were round smooth cysts. This liver, had minute bumps on it that were very prickly, sort of like a 5 o'clock shadow, and I saw no flukes when I cut it in half...It could be, as it was a young deer and maybe the flukes were just developing, but I don't really think so, that's why I posted it...

[MB_Boy]

I honestly don't think so... I have seen liver flukes in some Island deer, as well as some moose that I have taken and they were round smooth cysts. This liver, had minute bumps on it that were very prickly, sort of like a 5 o'clock shadow, and I saw no flukes when I cut it in half...It could be, as it was a young deer and maybe the flukes were just developing, but I don't really think so, that's why I posted it...

They can be at various stages and can be the size of a toonie...but also can be quite small. The jet black fluid is a tell tale sign of liver fluke.

Don't shoot the messenger.....haha.......I just asked a "source" who is pretty darn good with his wildlife parasites. :wink: (he has pointed this out in the past with a deer he had shot)

[rocksteady]

Don't shoot the messenger.....haha.......I just asked a "source" who is pretty darn good with his wildlife parasites. :wink: (he has pointed this out in the past with a deer he had shot)

Not trying to shoot the messenger, I have just googled a tonne of info on flukes and they all seem to talk about the mature stage, which I do not believe they were...

[grizzlydueck]

cool thread rocksteady ! maybe we'll get out fishing again this winter+ happy to hear about d dog - what do ya have for a 6.5 what an amazing cal.

[rocksteady]

cool thread rocksteady ! maybe we'll get out fishing again this winter+ happy to hear about d dog - what do ya have for a 6.5 what an amazing cal.

It is one of the old Carl Gustaf 1912 6.5 by 55 Swedish Mausers.

I had the bolt bent, added a Ramline stock, bipod, and a nice 3-9 by 40 Bushnell....

Its pretty heavy, especially with the 31" barrel, complete with grenade launcher threads, but that thing is so amazingly accurate.....

If I had to only keep 1 of my guns (like that is ever gonna happen) it would be a touch choice between the 6.5 and my Mossberg 30-06.....The 06 has the punch but the 6.5 is such a sweet shooter...

I handload for it, no matter what I create (160, 139 or 100 grain hollow points (yote round)) it drives tacks....

[kennyj]

Thanks for sharing your hunting season Rocksteady. Very enjoyable read.
kenny

[6616]

It is one of the old Carl Gustaf 1912 6.5 by 55 Swedish Mausers.

I had the bolt bent, added a Ramline stock, bipod, and a nice 3-9 by 40 Bushnell....

Its pretty heavy, especially with the 31" barrel, complete with grenade launcher threads, but that thing is so amazingly accurate.....

If I had to only keep 1 of my guns (like that is ever gonna happen) it would be a touch choice between the 6.5 and my Mossberg 30-06.....The 06 has the punch but the 6.5 is such a sweet shooter...

I handload for it, no matter what I create (160, 139 or 100 grain hollow points (yote round)) it drives tacks....

Those old Swedish military stepped barrels were surprizing. I extensivelly reworked a M-38 carbine, re-shaped and checkered the bolt handle, streamlined the trigger guard, and converted the floor plate to a lever opener like the old Mannlickers, built a fancy walnut stock for it from a blank, and changed to a barrel profiled after the pre-64 Model 70 featherweight.

Changing the barrel was more for cosmetics because the old military barrel shot just as good as the new replacement, which is well under 1 MOA. I gave the rifle to my daughter a decade ago and I wish I had it back. I just love those Swedish Mausers and the 6.5x55 caliber.
http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/medium/6_5x55_Swedish_Mauser_001.jpg (javascript:;)

[rocksteady]

Well, still awaiting a decent snow fall for chasing cougars and other cats, so went out ice fishing the day before yesterday...

Caught my limit of 15 Kokanee in about 4 hours...All between about 9 and 14 inches....Not too bad...Seem to be a bit larger than last year....

Baked them with variety of spices ( lemon pepper on 5, cajun on 5 and mixed blend of various flavours on the other 5)

Was a nice blend.....Have not eaten Kokanee in quite a while...

My cats and dogs sure enjoyed the leftovers too :)

[Ddog]

thanks for the invite

[rocksteady]

thanks for the invite

I did not think you liked the cold :)

[Ddog]

LMAO,,good 1...
sometime sunday? i might be able to bare the cold 8 degree temperature