EKMEAT
09-14-2011, 11:03 PM
I have been cruising this site for a few years, taking tips and admiring pics. I got me my first elk this year and a 6x6 to boot! I am so stoked and love reading the other posts on here so I thought I would share.
Second day of GOS for elk in the east koots. Left the house @ 5am on the 11th and was in our spot within the hour. Gave a couple locator calls on the way up and had 1 bull chuckle and grunt back. Good sign!
At 6:30 we were out of the truck and walking into the block we knew had potential. My partner and I split...him going high to the left and following the treeline along the top of the cut. I was staying on the right hand low side of the cut. The wind was coming into our faces, ideal situation. I would walk 20 or so yards, glass, listen...walk. Continued this until a faint twig snap way out in front of me and to my right. Brought up the bins and sure enough, 2 faint images resembling elk at approx. 250 yards. NICE! I hunkered down right there!
Soon I counted 5 cows, 1 spiker and a bigger guy with bigger antlers. NICE!
No matter how much I squinted, I couldn't get a count! Watched for approx. 10mins; in this time he sniffed each cow, charged the spiker and even gave charge to something inside the tree line that I couldn't see (later found this to be a bigger bull). Since I had spotted the herd I hadn't moved a muscle. I didn't have a rest and certainly wasn't going to risk giving up my position just to get one.
Finally I could see the sixth point thanks to the sun creeping up. I went from kneeling to sitting and rested my elbow on my knee. This was the best I would be able to do...ok but not ideal. I was rested and ready to shoot; the bull was feeding broadside facing downhill and slightly quartered away from me. He was on the edge of the cut, maybe 15 yards from the treeline. The treeline marks the steep downhill slope heading down the mountain. I squeezed off a shot aiming to hit him back in the rib cage and angle the bullet across the vitals towards the front shoulder. BOOM! He bolted to the treeline and disappeared over the edge.
I waited for my partner to come down from the top of the cut...he had been watching the bull through his spotting scope but was leaving the shooting to me (nice guy). We approached the scene where the bull had been and absolutely no blood! Nuthin! Did I miss my first shot at a 6 point? We started walking into the trees and down the mountain. We could here some awful crashing going on and then my partner spotted a BIG bull at about 60 yards heading straight down the mountain. I was sure that was my bull...gone.
I circled back around to look for more blood/sign around where the bull had been feeding and there we was. Piled up in a tree not 10 yards into the trees! Somehow missed him on our first look, he was no more than 30 yards from where he was when I shot. Turns out my bullet didn't exit and thus no blood (.270win) but it did manage to pierce both lungs which ended him nicely. Good argument for a bigger caliber to sail on through and leave a trail.
My partner had to run back to town to get the atv while I dressed him up and cut a path to haul him out. Full use of 4lo and winch on the atv got him up the slope until we could load him in the back. He was at the butchers by 2pm and I was home by 3. Tuckered and grinning!
This bull will be a tasty one...not stinkin and looks young! Happy hunting out there and keep the stories/pics comin!
I'm having a heck of a time getting these pics up...any ideas?
Second day of GOS for elk in the east koots. Left the house @ 5am on the 11th and was in our spot within the hour. Gave a couple locator calls on the way up and had 1 bull chuckle and grunt back. Good sign!
At 6:30 we were out of the truck and walking into the block we knew had potential. My partner and I split...him going high to the left and following the treeline along the top of the cut. I was staying on the right hand low side of the cut. The wind was coming into our faces, ideal situation. I would walk 20 or so yards, glass, listen...walk. Continued this until a faint twig snap way out in front of me and to my right. Brought up the bins and sure enough, 2 faint images resembling elk at approx. 250 yards. NICE! I hunkered down right there!
Soon I counted 5 cows, 1 spiker and a bigger guy with bigger antlers. NICE!
No matter how much I squinted, I couldn't get a count! Watched for approx. 10mins; in this time he sniffed each cow, charged the spiker and even gave charge to something inside the tree line that I couldn't see (later found this to be a bigger bull). Since I had spotted the herd I hadn't moved a muscle. I didn't have a rest and certainly wasn't going to risk giving up my position just to get one.
Finally I could see the sixth point thanks to the sun creeping up. I went from kneeling to sitting and rested my elbow on my knee. This was the best I would be able to do...ok but not ideal. I was rested and ready to shoot; the bull was feeding broadside facing downhill and slightly quartered away from me. He was on the edge of the cut, maybe 15 yards from the treeline. The treeline marks the steep downhill slope heading down the mountain. I squeezed off a shot aiming to hit him back in the rib cage and angle the bullet across the vitals towards the front shoulder. BOOM! He bolted to the treeline and disappeared over the edge.
I waited for my partner to come down from the top of the cut...he had been watching the bull through his spotting scope but was leaving the shooting to me (nice guy). We approached the scene where the bull had been and absolutely no blood! Nuthin! Did I miss my first shot at a 6 point? We started walking into the trees and down the mountain. We could here some awful crashing going on and then my partner spotted a BIG bull at about 60 yards heading straight down the mountain. I was sure that was my bull...gone.
I circled back around to look for more blood/sign around where the bull had been feeding and there we was. Piled up in a tree not 10 yards into the trees! Somehow missed him on our first look, he was no more than 30 yards from where he was when I shot. Turns out my bullet didn't exit and thus no blood (.270win) but it did manage to pierce both lungs which ended him nicely. Good argument for a bigger caliber to sail on through and leave a trail.
My partner had to run back to town to get the atv while I dressed him up and cut a path to haul him out. Full use of 4lo and winch on the atv got him up the slope until we could load him in the back. He was at the butchers by 2pm and I was home by 3. Tuckered and grinning!
This bull will be a tasty one...not stinkin and looks young! Happy hunting out there and keep the stories/pics comin!
I'm having a heck of a time getting these pics up...any ideas?