Well here goes nothing. I guess this is where the disclosure comes in: This is my take on the versions of what I remember, and may not have actually happened in the sequence as the story is written. This is for entertainment purposes only!
Elk Hunt 2024: 2nd year elk hunting.
Preparation was turning into a bit of a scramble. I just purchased a new to us sxs in July, and was scrambling to add some accessories to it so I could enjoy the cooler weather, and still carry everything I needed, and rifles. Happened to burn the motor of our previous one last fall out moose hunting, so needed to find something to replace it. Add the fact that I wanted to get a few hours of experience with the new machine, so I could be better prepared for any terrain I was going to run into. We had hunted this area the previous 2 years, so not like I didn’t know it, but wanted to be prepared.
Add to the fact that my usual hunting buddy, my younger brother, was not going to make it out this fall, as they were expecting a new addition to the family the 2nd week of September, my normal plans had a huge wrench thrown at them. He usually brought along his 18 yr old son as well. I wasn’t a stranger to solo hunting, and feel comfortable doing this, so planned accordingly.
Then I realized all the mouth reed calls that I had the previous year were misplaced, so I was scrambling to purchase new ones, and get them all “stretched” and ready for the fall. I was also trying to learn the how to, and why of the different types of bugles the bulls make, and why they make them. Year one, the previous year, I had a few calls I was okay with, but had no idea when and why to use them.
Finally, the final preparations were made, and I planned to head out Sunday am. My plan was to get in there before Monday, as the previous year they were logging in the valley, and I didn’t want to deal with the logging traffic going in. I know the opener was Tuesday morning, but this would give me Sunday to set up camp, and Monday to do a bit of scouting to see how things changed. I was not able to get in there any earlier this year to pre scout conditions.
Camp went up uneventfully, and I was able to drop a tree close to camp and cut and prep some firewood for the 6 days I planned on being there. I was in no rush to scout on Sunday, and just enjoyed a relaxing afternoon, evening.
Monday morning, scout day. Again, no hurry to be anywhere at first light, I got up early, had breakfast and planned out the day on where I would explore first. Covered a few good spots that we found the previous years and did not find any good promising signs of recent elk activity. Ran into some hunters that we had met the previous years and stopped for a bit to chat with them as well. Got to find out that they had 4 leh moose tags in their camp this year, so that was hopefully a relief knowing that they might be concentrating on moose more than elk. Also noted that interestingly enough I was not running into any grouse. I guess it was a wet spring and bad on the hatch/ young uns. Was kinda banking on a good grouse season and looking forward to bagging a bunch of grouse while out there. Previous years were bountiful.
Had an interesting experience with a jack rabbit while stopped at a bit of a look out. This was now mid-morning, and happened to catch movement down the road, only to see a lowly rabbit come bouncing up the road towards me, sitting in the sxs. I was able to get the phone out and take a video. The little guy ran right up to, and passed me and carried on down the road, then circled back part way towards me and then scurried off into the grass. I did have a thought of breaking out the 10/22, and had plenty of time to do so, but just sat there and enjoyed the sight.
Covered some new ground, as the previous year there was a forest fire that blew through the area, and they had now logged out most of the burned trees that were still salvageable. This opened quite a bit of new clearings, and country that you could not access previously. The large, deactivated roads just off the main road kept all the pickup traffic off these new areas, and access was only walking, or off road sxs, quads. Was able to bump a fork horn mulie hanging out with a pair of does. The fork horn and one doe did their usual bounding off, and one stayed still, not a twitch, as if trying to tell me, “You do not see me”, “I am one with my surroundings.” I backed out and let her win that one!
The rest of the day scouting was uneventful, and I headed back to camp to prep for opening morning.
The plan was to get up at 4:30 am, breakfast, and then head out to “the” favorite spot. This area has a huge number of clearings that are all connected, and some of them run about 3kms long, so quite large. The plan was to drive in the dark 1/3 of such a clearing, park and await daybreak, and then walk into the far part quietly. I miscalculated daybreak and was on the back 1/3 by the time daybreak hit. I guess I was just gung-ho that morning to get out there and get hunting, and was just walking too quickly, or was it daybreak was just too slow that morning. I was getting warm, so I stopped to shed some layers of clothing, dropped the small pack, grunt tube, walking/shooting stick, rifle, bino buddy, and my outer jacket. My mistake was doing this right on the road heading in, and then stepping off into the ditch to let out a few bugles, and glass the area ahead. I figured I would be less of a skyline figure if I was in the ditch next to some bushes, then standing on the road with nowhere to hide.
Well, to my surprise I saw movement about 150m down the road. I could tell with the naked eye that it was the color or an elk, even though it was just getting to seeable light. Reaching for my bino’s, yep that is elk. All my gear on the road, and I’m in the ditch. I thought to myself, great move, rookie! I scrambled to retrieve my gear, and more importantly the rifle, just in case there was a few of them. Turns out it was a lone cow. She continued weaving in an out of the brush along the road until she was about 50m from me. Then she winded me. The wind was not in my favor that morning, and not much I could do about it. As she scurried off into the clearing over a ridge, I heard what sounded like a pack of yotes at the far end of the clearing. The end I was planning on heading to. I have heard lots of yotes before, but these were different. Almost like they were fighting. Sounded like a group of them, and this went on for what sounded like minutes. I thought to myself, great, no elk is going to be vocal after all that yelping! I sat around for ½ hour or so, letting out the odd bugle, to just quietness. The forest yelling back at me, quietly. Yes, the typical bird sounds, but the forest was quiet of the bugle sounds I was after, and the only bugles I was hearing, were those I was making. That evening hunt was even more uneventful, with again a quiet forest.
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