Brambles and Rattler Elk Smackdown

[Brambles]

After a very uneventful alpine mulie trip we decided to head out for Elk, In fact the weather the day was suppose to be miserable and I was gonna stay at home but when I woke up it was a clear and calm day. I called Rattler but he was feeling under the weather so I headed out solo. I arrived at the first spot that I wanted to check out and after 3 hours of working the calls and covering ground I had NO responsive bulls. I decided to check some other areas near by.

Shortly after arriving and positioning myself I had a response from the top of an UGLY regen block. He bugled twice at me and then I got another bull to respond a little closer and in a more reasonable location. I headed over to schmooze him but it seemed like he was moving away. Wind was terrible but I follow him down the valley, yet he always seemed to be one step ahead of me. We reach the end of the valley and now he's up on the slope in front of me so I go in after him and try to get within his zone. He shuts up and after some time I pull out and head back. As I get back to my original spot a bull bugles from the original location, then one a little futher down the valley and one that sounds like it's up on the slope. At this point I realize I was chasing multiple bulls. No bull ever moved I just kept getting others to bugle as I traveled down the valley. This whole ordeal took a couple hours and their calling was very cold and spotty. I decided to let them soak for an hour while I took a nap and let the middle of the day pass by. An hour later I had them calling again but still cold and unwilling to commit. All and all I had anywhere from 3 to 6 bulls bugling. I decided to pull out and regroup for the next day.

When I get back to civilization I call Rattler and tell him what had transpired that day and we make a plan to hit it at first light. Well first light brought a ton of rain but we threw on our raingear and headed out. When we arrive at the scene it was miserable, we let out some calls.........nothing........walked down the valley...........NOTHING.

I had a sneeking suspicion I knew where they went so we bushwacked up a doglegged valley to where I knew there was a hidden slide shute. As we approached we cound hear a bull bugling, sounded like he was in the middle of the slide so we stalked in like Ninja. As we arrived we glassed the area for a bedded bull but it seems he made it into the timber. Some cow calling and bugling confirmed he was in a patch of timber separating our slide from the next.

After about and hour of banter we conclude there are two bulls talking to us......then Rattler spots another bull coming in from the top. Confirm he's a 6x6 and his current range is 325 yards. He moves down the slide 40 yards or so and Rattler lets Fly. Being firm believers that you shoot till they drop Rattler gives him another one as he screams across the slide. He flops down the hillside but is still moving so I line up and drive one into his neck.

We were high fiving and celebrating when we realized there was a couple more bulls bugling so we let out some calls to see if they were scared off by the hail of gunfire.........................Nope they were still there and talking like nothing had happened.
We work the other chatty bull but by this time the rain and adrenaline, Rattler was starting to shake pretty good so I said I'll stay and play with this guy if you want to go back to the truck and grab the packs and flag a pack trail in.

I tried everything but this bull just wouldn't show himself, so I just went frikken nuts on the cow call, WAY more than I ever normally would.......I wasn't afraid of blowing him outta the country as we already had one bull down

Well Son of a biatch if I didn't get a look at him streaking across an opening into the bottom edge of a patch of tree's. I could tell he was a decent 6x7, Fearing he would bed down in the tree's I watched, I could see him walking and knew he was gonna come out.

I get ready for the shot as he entered the slide......he heads towards me quartering and yank on the trigger.......Goddam safety...............................Safety off and now he's looking straight at me...................I wait and he starts quartering to me again......BOOM.....he stumbles and starts running across the slide broadside.............BOOM......BOOM.............. ........Although he may or may not have died after the first shot I keep shooting until they are down or outta sight. Don't need him dying in some hellhole.

[Tikka270]

Patiently waiting for the rest.......

[Ferenc]

Mee Toooo !!!!

[Brambles]

For the next hour or so I deal with my bull pulling both hind quarters off and one front shoulder, backstraps, tenderloin and when Rattler gets back we roll him over and snap some pictures of the side still intact as my camera was back at the truck.

After we get my bull delt with we make the 200 meter climb to get to Rattlers bull.......................Weetardedly steep slope and we weren't looking forward to making trips with loaded packs down the hillside. After snapping some pictures we figured we'd try cutting off the head and giving him a kick and let gravity finish the job............................................In 20 minutes we had him down to the bottom.......................................A couple times I thought I'd be quartering an animal 3 feet off the ground suspended by massive alders but in the end the weight of a mature bull elk and 70 percent slope wins against alder.

Next couple hours we delt with Rattlers bull and started Packing. The whole time we were pondering who we could call to help pack out......................in the end we decided to keep our honey hole to ourselves and take the beating between the two of us. We worked our asses off and took no longer than 2-3 minute breaks...............in the end our last 150 yards of our last trip was by headlamp.
We make it to the road for the last time and let out a wicked holler.......What a long long heavy day, one for the memory banks...............................When we got the bulls home we still had a lot of cleanup and prep for hanging in the cooler..................................Done by midnight.

[Mtn Man]

Now I need to go hunting, congrats on the bulls, can't wait for some pics.

[Brambles]

stay tuned for pics I'm just downloading them to photobucket now!!

[Wrayzer]

Awesome. I always look forward to reading your guys' adventures and it never disappoints. Well done. Looking forward to pictures.

[stuffrider147]

Quick, there's no time!

[Brambles]

Rattler with his bull at the top of the slide............................................. .................................................. .................................................. .................................................. .................................................. ...............................................htt p://img.photobucket.com/albums/v437/Brambles77/P9180460_zps74944128.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/Brambles77/media/P9180460_zps74944128.jpg.html)

[Brambles]

Me with my bull.............................................. .................................................. .................................................. .................................................. .................................................. .................................................. ...........................http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v437/Brambles77/P9180451_zps29134929.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/Brambles77/media/P9180451_zps29134929.jpg.html)

[Fella]

Holy smokes those are both nice looking bulls! GOod job, good story and thanks for sharing!

[Whonnock Boy]

Right on! Two good bulls right there. Thanks for sharing.

[sheep.elk.moose fanatic]

Nice bulls! Congrats

[Ferenc]

Holy sh!t is that ever cool !!!

[Iron Sighted]

Good job!!! Those are some nice looking bulls, sure makes me look forward to this weekend when I can get out and look for one. In fact I am going to head out right now and see if I can locate some for the weekend hunt.

[Bigbullsh$tter]

You guys never disappoint.......great bulls! Lots of work right there.

[d6dan]

Very well done boys!. Nice bulls.:-D

[Brambles]

Quad was just for show that day, too bad as its help would have been wonderfulhttp://img.photobucket.com/albums/v437/Brambles77/photo_zps77b45c9c.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/Brambles77/media/photo_zps77b45c9c.jpg.html)

[Rattler]

It was a heck of a hunt Jeff. Listening to those bulls going crazy was awesome. When I was heading out to grab the packs and heard you shooting I thought 'wow, were in for a long day'. Good times though and memories to last forever.

[Brambles]

Hinds hanging in the cooler....................................http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v437/Brambles77/cooler1_zps47564388.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/Brambles77/media/cooler1_zps47564388.jpg.html)

[Bisonfirst]

Awesome job boys! Some serious jealousy right here.

[Brambles]

Two elk hanging in the cooler just as it was built, maybe room for a deer too!!............................................. .............................................http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v437/Brambles77/cooler2_zps62ef7766.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/Brambles77/media/cooler2_zps62ef7766.jpg.html)

[kayjayess]

Congrats gents. Two very awesome bulls

[rocksteady]

Awesome bulls guys....

[JDR]

That's awesome!! Congrats to you both on a great double header! Brambles, your bull looks like it has real good mass.

[behemoth]

Nice work boys! Awesome!
Heading out tomorrow. Thanks for stoking me up

[rides bike to work]

You guys make it sound to easy. Bulls always go down when you hit the bush together. Can't wait to get my first.heading out early oct

[nano]

Nice bulls, congrats!

[BCrams]

Ken / Jeff - you guys did awsome! Couldn't believe it with the news! Congratulations!

[buckguy]

Congrats boys! Beauty looking bulls. Seriously jealous.....in a good way....lol

[Stone Sheep Steve]

Yawn.......these elk stories are getting pretty routine. Can't you make up something better??:-D


Congrats gents!!! I don't expect anything less from you two

SSS

[180grainer]

That's a pig of an elk. Congrats

[Deeboe]

Thats what memories are made of... Beauty bulls and a job well done!

[325]

Those are a couple of beauty elk! You guys are elk hunting machines! Thanks for posting

[coach]

Wicked!!! Congrats boys. Thanks for posting.

[warnniklz]

deadly work boys!!

[doubled]

Well done boys, well done!!!!

[Ovis17]

Congrats! Hell of a hunt.

[sniper ren]

Right on. Nice bulls! Congrats!

[Sitkaspruce]

Nice job again boys!!!!

Two sweet bulls on one area and both go down!!!

Congrats to both of you, thanks for putting up the story and pictures!!

Cheers

SS

[kootenayelkslayer]

Great job Jeff and Ken, you guys are a deadly combo. Must've been a long day packing two of those buggers out.

Really wailing on those cows calls seems to work well eh, probably imitating a desperate cow in estrus. Over the last few years I've started to get pretty aggressive with the cow calling and it seems to work, especially when a bull is hung up. Sounds like it worked perfectly for you!

[Elk-Aholic]

Right on Jeff and Ken! Always love the stories and hearing your journeys and successes! Good on you guys for "pulling up your socks" and lugging it out just the two of you! Packing out an elk each sounds like a cake-walk..... Maybe you could try to challenge yourself next time: say shoot the elk in the bottom of a canyon, 15-20ft high alder jungle, intermixed with blowdown and devil's club, uphill hike in the snow and a couple hungry grizzly bears......Congrats you guys, job well done!

[MB_Boy]

Nice work boys!!!!

[Darksith]

way to go, 2 dandy elk, although I say that every year, just not in the same post! Simply amazing, would love to know what you know on "how to get it done". Keep it up

[paulgug]

Awesome story, thanks for sharing it with us. I am very envious! Sounds like things are heating up and lots of bulls are going down. But 2 in a row..... Come on

[ElectricDyck]

Sweet! Inspiring tale for sure!

[jaeger]

Well done, That will put some nice steaks on your plate. Congratulations!

[Marlin375]

Great bulls you guys, thanks for the great story Brambles.

[todbartell]

wicked good job gents

[5 spike]

Very nice guys great bulls congrats.

[Duck Buster]

Awsome job guys, those are two GREAT bulls..... Can't wait to see how you guys top that with the rest of the season......

[MacMtnHunter]

That is an awesome story! Congrats on hammering two bulls... on the same day in the same spot to boot! What a wicked experience...congrats to both of you!

[Phil]

A couple of great bulls! Nice job guys!

[Brambles]

It was a heck of a hunt Jeff. Listening to those bulls going crazy was awesome. When I was heading out to grab the packs and heard you shooting I thought 'wow, were in for a long day'. Good times though and memories to last forever.

I was thinking it was gonna be a lot of work but you can either be packing meat or hunting for it. And only one of those will guarantee a full freezer. If he was gonna cooperate I couldn't pass up the opportunity to take the pressure off the freezer. It was within our comfort zone for packing distance, weather was right for it, wind was right for it, slope was right, and it was still early in the day. It was the perfect situation to test our resolve. We prevailed in record time, I was thinking we were gonna be packing well into the night but to finish a tad after dark......WOW

And you my friend impressed me, you were still sick, have a little asthma, bad ankle and you still packed like a mule without a negative word. Always a pleasure..........I'm gonna go buy a boning knife for my pack cause my little Pendleton mini hunter backpacking knife is a little small for elk....lol. And your knife just felt weird. All and all and considering,,,,,it went smooth as silk.

[Manglinmike]

Nice bulls boys not very common to get the double header on elk esseically nice elk , I think you are wise to pack out yourself like that as well real good spots dont stay good if you let others know about them, once agian good work

[The Hermit]

Screw this bowhunting crap, I'm going to get my rifle sighted in! LOL Well done guys awesome trip!



Well maybe I'll take the rifle and if I don't connect after the bow season next year ...

[fester]

nice work!!!!!

[sapper]

Wow, both very nice bulls. Those will fill the freezers. I wish the Kootenays were closer and I could get there and back quickly from the LML.

[Ride]

Cheers on the double header boys. Good work.

[mark]

Wow, another double header for you guys, im out elk hunting right now with little action in this heat, driving me nuts guys! Congrads!

[16ga]

Nice Elk and good story, cut the head off and let it roll, I think I like that idea.

[Salty]

No matter how you slice it that's a whole lot of awesome right there! Dandy bulls

[Grumpa Joe]

Well done guys. I'm envious.

[pg83]

Hell yeah! Just the thread I needed to read before heading out myself. Congrats on your bulls, well deserved!

[Brez]

That's a truck-load of bull(s) you got there. A couple of dandies, Congrats.

[Stone Sheep Steve]

That's a truck-load of bull(s) you got there. A couple of dandies, Congrats.

That's not a truckload of elk...this is...........:-D
http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/showthread.php?72971-Brambles-amp-Rattler-Elk-Extravaganza
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v437/Brambles77/Gifthorse3.jpg


CRAZY STUFF!

[markt308]

unreal guys great job. both bulls are great. that 2nd one has got some of the biggest 3rds ever!

[Hammerhead]

He'll of a great day hunting and be a hard one to top. Congrats guys. Can only hope to be as fortunate on the Rosie hunt in a couple of weeks. Thanks for posting. Great story
HH

[Elkhound]

I hate you both. lol

Nice job guys. I am really jealous right now as well. 2 beauty bulls

[rudysteelhead]

What a day you fellas had!!! Incredible memories. CONGRATS

[35 Whelen]

Congratulations Jeff and Ken....one for the memory banks for sure. Isn't this the second time now you have completed a double header? Too cool

[yama49]

Awesome bulls, congrats to the both of you. Lots of work but when look back at the pics, in the years to come it will b all worth it.

[WKCotts]

Nice work boys. Good to see the local boys getting bulls

[Rackmastr]

Awesome bulls!!!! Congrats!