Well it was fun, but its to bad were not gonna get an elk........

[code]

elk, Elk, ELK, ELK My cousin says banging on the truck door.

Rewind to June 2013, My uncle drew a special cow elk permit for an area about 30 miles west of the famed Mount St. Helens. The permit date ran from January 1-15.

New Years eve My dad, brother, uncle, cousin and I left early in the morning to scout the day before the season opened. We saw four cows within the first 15 minutes. Wow this is gonna be easy!!!! By the end of the day we had seen two more groups of cows and we had capitalized on the last day of grouse season with a nice ruffed.

Opening day was a huge let down. Clear sky's and 40 degree weather had the elk holed up in the old-growth timber instead of the thousands of acres of clear-cut. We did get pictures of a gorgeous sunset and sunrise and that mad the photographer (me) happy.  

On the last day of the trip we finally spotted a herd across the valley from us. I sat in a tree for 1 1/2 hours (the things I do for elk ) and guided my uncle within 50 yards of four cows but he couldn't see or hear them. GHOST ELK!!! The cows all busted and were never seen by us again. That brings us to the title, last five minutes of shooting light, driving random roads, not a hope in the world. elk, Elk, ELK, ELK My cousin said banging on the truck door. My uncle jumps out of the truck all I saw is elk rumps moving through the timber. He pulled his rifle up, then he lowers it, safety off, guns up, BOOOOOOM. All I remember is a big fireball. COW DOWN!!!

God is great, elk meats good, and people who elk hunt are crazy. Pictures will be up pretty soon hopefully.

Thank you for reading, Cody

[Hawks Feather]

Looking forward to the pictures.  I have only had Elk a few times but I have to agree that it was very good.

Jerry

[FinsnFur]

Elk burgers for everyone

[Okanagan]

Code is having trouble and asked for help posting photos.  Elk hunt scenes below.



Along on the hunt to camp, climb trees and give hand signals and help pack meat were Code, his brother Jonathan who got a bull with a bow in Sept., their Dad, my other son who had the cow permit, and his son





That area is wet rolling country, most of it well below timberline, laced with logging roads and big clearcuts.







Mt. St. Helens is in the photo above, with its top blown off. 

[Okanagan]

Elk in that area often have hoof rot.  This one has a mild case of it.  Several friends of mine have killed elk with pretty bad hoof rot and it does not seem to effect meat quality nor even the general health and fatness of the animal.   They have a generous cow season in there and it may be to kill enough elk to cut down the hoof rot, not sure.



They got the elk the last few minutes of legal hunting time.

[code]

The mountain picture is actually of Rainier. Below is a picture of Helens.



Thanks for posting pictures Grandpa.

[KySongDog]

Last few minutes just goes to prove.... Never give up, never quit!    Congrats on the elk!! 

[FinsnFur]

I was so caught up in the pics, I forgot what we were hunting. I love your camera!!

[FOsteology]

Sounds like a good time, and quit tenacious through the last minute!

I've killed a few elk here in Texas (grocery shopping), but have yet to hunt them. When I hunted bears up in Western Washington (Olympic National Forest) we would see them quite often. Amazing how much ground they can cover in a short period of time. And the ground covered was some serious steep terrain!

[code]

I was so caught up in the pics, I forgot what we were hunting. I love your camera!!

I was shooting with 2 cameras, and one of them I have 2 lenses for. I have a Kodak with 24x zoom but I don't use it very much.

1. GoPro Hero 3 Black

2. Canon Rebel XS
       a. 50mm f1.8
       b. 18-55mm f3.5-5.6

If you pick out a picture I can tell you what camera/lens took it.

[Dave]

Great story and pics, Code.  I'm sure it was a blast to be hanging and hunting with your family.  Thanks for posting.
That hoof rot looks like some nasty stuff.

[bambam]

Congrats ! Sounds like a great time. Awesome pics !!