I put Dante in for a muzzleloader tag in Colorado and just found out he was successful in drawing a tag! I'll be his guide as I used to do this quite a bit 20 years ago (hunt them, not guide for them). Hot damn I'm psyched!
That's great news! Dante is lucky he's got an experienced guide.
I've been in the lottery every year in Kentucky since it began for its elk hunt and have yet to be drawn. :sad:
Congratulations & Best of Luck Dave & Dante!!!!!! :yoyo: :yoyo:
I'm hoping you get drawn too Johnny!!!!!! :yoyo: :yoyo:
Thats awesome. I bet he's just as pumped as Dad :eyebrownod:
When is the hunt?
We head out Sept 11th and pack in on the 13th. Muzzleloader starts on the 14th. Unfortunately we have to be out by the following Thursday because of a family wedding on the 21st. :madd: By then they are rutting pretty good and we should be able to have some opportunities to go after a few. I'm looking forward to showing Dante his first look at the Rockies, and being able to hike/camp/hunt out there! :yoyo:
Semp, do you get points for your lottery to increase your odds in the following years? PA has a lottery also, but I think it's $25 to apply. I should start trying but feel the odds aren't worth the cost. I've been trying for a Maine or NH moose tag, though. Up there you get points to increase the odds in subsequent years.
That should be a fabulous hunt! Dante is just the right age for this one. The mountains are gorgeous that time of year. Keep us up to speed on this one as you prep and as to how it turns out.
September is the prime time out here and they will be bugling all night.
Sounds like a great time and great eating if you get one.
Jerry
I do believe come September we'll be looking at some pictures of a fine bull with Dante's smiling face right in the center. I suspect the guide on the other hand, will be looking a might tired. But smiling like a very proud father. Regardless, Dante's going to be stringing up some fine memories with his father. :congrats:
Dave
That's very exciting Dave. What a great opportunity for you and Dante. Congratulations to both of you. :congrats: :congrats:
Pat
Good Luck on your hunt Dante.
Dave, Ky doesn't give points on our drawings. Since they just started the elk hunts a few years ago, there would be 40,000 hunters with the same points. And with them only drawing about 1000 a year, most hunters would be old and grey before they ever got a chance at a hunt. They do need to do something about people being drawn multipule times though. Even members of the same family being drawn multipule times year after year.. The drawings look a lil fishy every year. :wo:
I bet he's excited! Looking forward to hearing how his hunt goes for elk.
Quote from: Dave on May 29, 2013, 05:23:56 PM
Semp, do you get points for your lottery to increase your odds in the following years?
No points given in Kentucky's elk lottery. There is a big controversy about starting a point system. Some for it, some against it.
Quote from: weedwalker on May 30, 2013, 08:38:25 AM
Dave, Ky doesn't give points on our drawings. Since they just started the elk hunts a few years ago,..............
They started the drawings 13 years ago come this October. Time is flying by, Ed. :laf:
We are on a point system out here, but years ago if drawn you had to sit out two years. Liked it better that way than the points.
A few more weeks, by God! and we'll be in the high country chasing bulls!!! :jump:
We decided to pack ourselves in (approx 6 miles into Eagles Nest Wilderness Area) instead of spending $450 (each way) to have an outfitter haul our gear.
I'm thinking we'll be fine. A friend is coming out and archery hunting, so there will be three of us in camp. I've been hiking every few days in preparation and just got back from a 5 mile hike with a 55 lb backpack, and feeling pretty good. My only concern is the altitude as we are starting at 9200 ft and probably hunting around 10,500. You can't really prep for that living a few hundred ft above sea level. :sad3:
You practiced hiking with a 55lb pack on your back? Holy cow I dont know what altitude I could even do THAT at. I come home at the end of the day and flop on the floor under the ceiling fan and pass out for an hour. :sleep:
Packing in will be the easy part. Wait till you have to pack out an elk! :hahaha:
Pat
Going from sea level to 9200 ft, hiking and packing weight? Good luck, Dave. You are right to worry about that altitude. It takes a while to get acclimated. The air is thin and your lungs will burn.
Quote from: Dave on August 29, 2013, 06:19:48 PM
A few more weeks, by God! and we'll be in the high country chasing bulls!!! :jump:
We decided to pack ourselves in (approx 6 miles into Eagles Nest Wilderness Area) instead of spending $450 (each way) to have an outfitter haul our gear.
I'm thinking we'll be fine. A friend is coming out and archery hunting, so there will be three of us in camp. I've bee n hiking every few days in preparation and just got back from a 5 mile hike with a 55 lb backpack, and feeling pretty good. My only concern is the altitude as we are starting at 9200 ft and probably hunting around 10,500. You can't really prep for that living a few hundred ft above sea level. :sad3:
You lucky devils! Spend a day at 7000 preppin' before you head up and you'll be fine. Can't wait for the story!
Quote from: FinsnFur on August 29, 2013, 06:44:20 PM
You practiced hiking with a 55lb pack on your back? Holy cow I dont know what altitude I could even do THAT at. I come home at the end of the day and flop on the floor under the ceiling fan and pass out for an hour. :sleep:
I have to admit to the same exercise routine. :shrug:power naps rule!
Quote from: Semp on August 29, 2013, 07:50:06 PM
Going from sea level to 9200 ft, hiking and packing weight? Good luck, Dave. You are right to worry about that altitude. It takes a while to get acclimated. The air is thin and your lungs will burn.
Semp, that is the main thing I'm concerned about - the altitude. I had overexerted (and I believe dehydrated) myself once out there 15 years ago and suffered because of it.
We'll be taking our time with the hike out (Thursday) and the Muzzleloading season doesn't start tip Saturday, so there is no rush.
I'm hiking now with 50 to 55 and will probably pack 55 to 60. We are going to spend about 15 hrs in Vail (one night), which I believe is about 8,000 ft. I'm hoping that will help just a little.
Pat, i hear you with "wait till you have to pack out an elk." I'm just hoping that's a problem I get to deal with! (And you know they never die running back towards camp).
Good luck on your hunt! I think you and Dante are taking off day after tomorrow. Hope the bulls are bugling themselves into insanity for Dante. Have a great trip in every way.
Yep. Have a great time, Dave! It's going to be an adventure for sure. Wish I was tagging along. Bring back lots of pics too!
Thanks! Picking up Dante today from school at 3 and it's on!!! (Well, almost on as we have a short little drive first).
I also need to jettison a little weight out of my pack - and may just have to make a run out after a few days to grab whatever I leave back.
Have a safe trip guys. Hope you have a wonderful "Successful" trip. :highclap:
Dave
Quote from: HuntnCarve on September 10, 2013, 06:34:06 AM
Have a safe trip guys. Hope you have a wonderful "Successful" trip. :highclap:
Dave
That pretty much sums it up.
Pat
Enjoy the hunt and we will all be waiting for an update when you get back.
Jerry
Well we got back last night.
No time to post much more than my nephew shot a cow (archery) and Dante and I did get into several rutting bulls, but weren't able to get put one on the ground.
Just some REALLY memorable hunts and moments! Will try and post some over the weekend, with some pics.
Glad ya's make it back safely Dave. The time together out weighs all. I cant wait to hear some of the stories.
Sounds like you had a great time. Yes, we want to hear the stories. My grandsons and I had lots of fun camping and cooking and trying for elk even though we didn't get anything but grouse the first foray of the season. This forum has folks who enjoy that part of life. I learn as much or more from the animals that evade us as I do from the ones we get, so throw in what you saw and heard, how you tried to exploit that and how each plan for a stalk, call, etc. turned out.
Sounds like you had some quality time with the youngsters. That's the main thing. The cow elk with the bow is a trophy any way you figure it. Glad all are back safe and in good spirits.
Day 1
We hiked in. Much more weight than we had thought. I was over 60 lbs, Dante over 30, Daniel (my nephew) around 50, and Jeff over 70.
We were finally trudging up the last hill (Added over a gallon H2O to my pack for the final ascent as water is scarce around the area I wanted to camp), and Jeff wanted to drop roughly 30 lbs 1/2 way up the hill and go back down once camp was set up. We took out what we thought we didn't immediately need (food and some clothing for me and Dante - Jeff and Dan both left their bows along with some food - a very BIG mistake!!!).
We trekked the final 1/2 mile and found a place to set up camp (around noon to 1). Had the tents up and I went towards the trail back to our gear to see a nice 6x6 feeding 35-40 yards away. I told the guys to grab their bows, "a real nice bull is right there!!!" "We left them down the hill." Lucky for them I wasn't holding a bat. Dante's muzzleloader season was still two days away, so I grabbed the camcorder and got this video.
(http://i738.photobucket.com/albums/xx27/daveandbarb2/th_Campbull_zpsdc163c76.jpg) (http://i738.photobucket.com/albums/xx27/daveandbarb2/Campbull_zpsdc163c76.mp4)
The show was over, so we hoofed it back down the hill and hauled up the rest of the gear just before a good soaking rainfall.
Dante, Dan and I did manage to get out that evening, but didn't hear or see anything (Dan hunted and Dante and I tagged along).
End Day 1 exhausted.
Wow! How cool is that! :yoyo: Keep the story and pictures coming. :thumb2:
Pat
Here's a video of the last leg of our hike in to see the size of our packs.
I'll try to post smaller clips going forward.
(http://i738.photobucket.com/albums/xx27/daveandbarb2/th_Hikingin_zpsd84b7263.jpg) (http://i738.photobucket.com/albums/xx27/daveandbarb2/Hikingin_zpsd84b7263.mp4)
Boy you guys were loading down like the infantry going in, weren't ya? :laf: Cool videos. I've never seen so many Birch trees in my life...wow.
Interesting read and what a beautiful bull you had in camp. Love the shape of his rack.
FWIW I can't imagine getting more than arm's length from my bow or firearm during an open season until after my tag was notched. Astounding! We've had big mule deer bucks and a black bear walk through camp while we were eating lunch or cooking breakfast. No criticism intended, just different policies probably from different experiences. We had two bull moose stroll through within 40 feet of our campfire ring and since we didn't notice them, one of them grunted to get our attention. My partner had a moose tag and shot it.
Keep the story going!
That was a nice bull! I had to smile a little at the story about leaving the bow behind. I learned the hard way a very long time ago to never go anywhere without my gun or bow. You just never know when you are going to be presented an opportunity.
At deer camp many years ago, I was sitting in the outhouse (which was strategically placed downwind in the woods) with the door open to get a little fresh air when a huge buck walked no more than 30 yards away. Unfortunately, a roll of toilet paper does not make a very effective weapon.
I remember one time when my brother in law was sitting in a lawn chair around the camp fire with his rifle in his lap when a seven pointer walked too close to camp. He dropped it without getting out of the chair. You just never know.
Quote from: Okanagan on September 23, 2013, 11:13:28 PM
FWIW I can't imagine getting more than arm's length from my bow or firearm during an open season until after my tag was notched.
Haha! I hear ya now.
After shedding their extra weight, Dan caught up to Dante and I - I kind of told him the same that he shouldn't have left his bow back there. And then just to drive the point home, the bull appeared out of thin air (very, very thin air as you will find out in day 2!)! Oh well. We all learned a lesson there.
Great video, Dave. Sharing that kind of thing with the boys is good stuff. Thanks for sharing.
Ok I have a few minutes hours to write up Day 2 (Friday).
Got up around 4:30 after rolling around ALL night without much sleep. Dante wanted to tag along with Dan and I headed out with Jeff. Our camp was at roughly 9,900 ft and we made our way to an open meadow above 10,000 by 8 am (you know where I'm going with this, don't you - Jeff's never hunted above 2,000 ft and had made a few comments like "Out of all of us here, I'm the last guy that will be getting lost" and how he can put his body through anything, etc., blah blah blah).
400/500 yards across this meadow I see a bull sort of moving downhill, going right to left. We were only visible from our chest to our head as we were tucked behind a small hillock on our end of the meadow. He stopped and somehow seemed to be staring at us. I put my hands above my head to simulate ears and backed away 70 yards towards some dark timber lining the edge of the meadow, cow chirping as I moved. He liked it! Jeff was stuck in the meadow, behind the hillock and I could see the bull moving towards him pretty quickly, and swinging below, to his left to try and grab a little scent.
Jeff couldn't see the bull, so I was pointing below him and Jeff followed my signals and was aligned perfectly. The bull closed the distance to 150 yards. He kept coming - 70 yards, then 60, 50, 40. I continued mewing. 30 yards and the tips of his antlers were now visible to Jeff!
Here's a clip on our setup
(http://i738.photobucket.com/albums/xx27/daveandbarb2/th_medium_zps5346e8f6.jpg) (http://i738.photobucket.com/albums/xx27/daveandbarb2/medium_zps5346e8f6.mp4)
WAIT!
Remember that 10,200 feet above sea level?
The air is thin.
Vertigo!
Oh noo, it's ME! - not Jeff!
I had to drop to one knee.
My head was spinning as I dropped to both knees and put both hands on the ground as I was trying to stay up.
Jeff was looking back at me now and I raised my right hand to say I'm ok and tried to control my breathing.
But I wasn't ok. I couldn't even hold myself up on all fours and flopped to the ground, almost unconscious.
5 seconds later I heard the chafing sound of gore-tex rubbing together as I couldn't even lift my head, but knew it was not elk coming in, but Jeff running towards me.
He rolled me over on my back and had my knees bent up (he wasn't exactly sure what he was doing, but thought that was the thing to do). I was able to get my hands over my eyes and try and release all thoughts and just focused on breathing. Five more seconds past, and I was able to get out, "Did you get him?"
"F*** no, I thought you were having a heart attack!"
"Ahhhhhhh" was all I could get out.
I laid there for what seemed like an hour with the world spinning. I was finally able to then get back on all fours, got sick several times, let another 1/2 hour go by and then felt pretty good. We headed back to camp fro some healing time that we both needed (Jeff had a nasty blister and what he called turf toe that impaired him the entire time out there)
Spent most of the afternoon around camp. Around 2 pm four hunters rode by on horses toward an area I was staying out of in hopes of hunting it with Dante for the muzzleloader opening Saturday morning. 3:30 rolled around and it was time for us to get rolling also. Dante, Jeff and I went downhill where there's air to breathe, and tried to get Jeff set up in our honey hole. Heard a few distant bugles - possibly one of the horseback hunters, but maybe not - either way, nothing close enough to go after. The only thing we did call in was a hunter.
End day 2.
I didn't like all the pressure, and scent, that we were all putting on the area. Besides the four of us, there were the four horsemen, and then another camp with two hunters in it. That was the only encounter I had with another hunter the entire trip, but I know they were out there.
Our water situation improved a hundred fold. During Dan's hunt, they (Dan and Dante) found a wallow in the middle of a meadow above our camp. Dan followed the small seep uphill to an area where it appeared to be coming out a few rocks. I had read in an elk magazine about water "situations" and passed this on to Dan and Dante. Well Dante grabbed a wide, thin rock and gouged out a small hole, and dammed up the backside of it, creating a 2 gallon sized reservoir. We hit this daily to refill our water bladders and saved us about a 2 hour round trip venture we would've needed to make every day for water.
Here's a clip on the water hole.
(http://i738.photobucket.com/albums/xx27/daveandbarb2/th_medium_zps80c8f8da.jpg) (http://i738.photobucket.com/albums/xx27/daveandbarb2/medium_zps80c8f8da.mp4)
That altitude can be dangerous if you don't acclimate yourself properly. We live at about 5,500' and even so have to adjust when we go hunting up north. We hunt everything from squirrels to coyote to elk at about 9,500 to 10,000 without any consequence. If this was your first elk hunt I sure you have the "fever" bad by now, once is never enough! If you want to try it again, come to AZ. Not as young and not nearly as mobile as I once was but I'll be willing to show you some of the best elk areas out west. Plus it will not be near the work you put in. We have a nice little trailer we hunt out of with all the luxuries of home.
Have enjoyed your hunt stories and pictures.
Really enjoying your posts. That call-in was so exciting it got me pumped just sitting here. I'll bet the excitement contributed to the timing of your altitude sickness.
Quote from: JohnP on September 26, 2013, 10:49:40 AM
That altitude can be dangerous if you don't acclimate yourself properly. We live at about 5,500' and even so have to adjust when we go hunting up north. We hunt everything from squirrels to coyote to elk at about 9,500 to 10,000 without any consequence. If this was your first elk hunt I sure you have the "fever" bad by now, once is never enough! If you want to try it again, come to AZ. Not as young and not nearly as mobile as I once was but I'll be willing to show you some of the best elk areas out west. Plus it will not be near the work you put in. We have a nice little trailer we hunt out of with all the luxuries of home.
Have enjoyed your hunt stories and pictures.
Thanks John
It's nice to relive it all again (I was starting to get light headed during my last post), and helps me get all the pics/videos organized. I caught that fever you're talking about back in the early '80's. Never could shake it, but am just trying to pass it along (successfully, too, to my son).
Quote from: Okanagan on September 26, 2013, 11:31:03 AM
Really enjoying your posts. That call-in was so exciting it got me pumped just sitting here. I'll bet the excitement contributed to the timing of your altitude sickness.
You're probably right with that last statement (and if so, I should be embarrassed as it was only a small 4x4). Sounds like I'm breathing heavy there, but it seems that way in every clip!
Opening Day of Muzzleloader - Finally!
The nights are still loooong with both the thin air and thin pad I brought. 5 am finally rolled around, had some oatmeal and on our way back down to my 'honey hole' with every sense locked on to every sound. Jeff tagged along with Dante and I.
We were 4 to 500 out of camp and still 400 yards or so away from where I wanted to be. My wind checker indicated the usual downward wind, and Dante and I picked up the pace to try and at least stay even with our scent getting pushed down the mountain (at this point Jeff fell off our pace and we didn't see him the rest of the day).
We stopped and gave out a few cow calls with no response. After a few minutes I bugled with the hopes of a return challenge. Everything was dead still as we listened as hard a we could. I remember thinking, "come on, come on. Let's hear ya."
Then it came back! Sounded way down to the right. Probably 3 to 400 yards away and probably on the opposite side of a drainage we were heading down. Perfect!
I turned to Dant and said to stay with me as we need to get below him and try calling him down. We took off running down to the left! About 200 yards later we were able to get a glimpse of several elk up on a sage hillside on the opposite side of us, but still a ways off.
We continued aggressively down the left side of the drainage a few hundred more yards losing sight of them quickly. We then turned to our right and started toward the V of the drainage. I would've liked to get right at the bottom of it, but thought we were getting too close for about 7 sets of eyes to see. We let out a few more cow calls and got a pretty fast answer. Right where we thought. Dante was a little ahead of me now. I flipped on the camera, gave out a few more chirps and he spotted the bull headed our way. Here it is, about 3+ minutes of it. I had to cut it down b/c of downloading problems, but did the best I could.
(http://i738.photobucket.com/albums/xx27/daveandbarb2/th_Openingday2_zps24bd4f3d.jpg) (http://i738.photobucket.com/albums/xx27/daveandbarb2/Openingday2_zps24bd4f3d.mp4)
I'm not sure how he wasn't able to get a good look, or shot, at him, but that's the way it played out. Looking back I wish I wasn't so wrapped up in trying to get it all on video and was able to be next to Dante and coach him to the shot. Oh well.
There will be more to come, it just takes me awhile to get it all together, so bear with me and I'll keep posting when time allows.
Now that's exciting! :yoyo: What a trip you guys had. Keep 'em coming. :biggrin:
Pat
About 3 hours later that same morning, we caught up to the same group (at least that's what I think) hanging in some dark timber about a mile further along, just above a cliff face.
(http://i738.photobucket.com/albums/xx27/daveandbarb2/th_Satafternoon1_zps264766f0.jpg) (http://i738.photobucket.com/albums/xx27/daveandbarb2/Satafternoon1_zps264766f0.mp4)
We toyed with him for 15 minutes but he wouldn't come out of the heavier cover, so we went right to the edge of it. I don't get him on video, but you can hear him right there. Dante does see him briefly.
(http://i738.photobucket.com/albums/xx27/daveandbarb2/th_Satafternoonpt2_zps736409ff.jpg) (http://i738.photobucket.com/albums/xx27/daveandbarb2/Satafternoonpt2_zps736409ff.mp4)
At some point just after all this he said he had about a 1 second opening at his chest, but the bull walked through it and stopped with his hind quarters in his little shooting gap. I'm glad he passed on that shot.
Just after this, he ran his cows through the timber, up over a ridge and dove them all into the Hell Hole. It was a few hours later (about 1 pm) that about 4 bulls started bugling down in that hole.
We tried calling them to the ridge top but they wanted nothing of it. They'd answer, but liked it way down there (way, way, way down there).
We ended up leaving them around 5- ish completely exhausted and worked our way back to camp, filling our water bladders on the way back.
Great video, Dave! I kept thinking "Choot 'em! Choot 'em!, Dante! " It is hard to see what angle he had on the bull compared to the camera. But in any event, he got the experience that he can draw on for future hunts. That's how one develops their skill. The most important thing is the time you and him spent together chasing the bull. Those memories will last a life time. :congrats:
Quote from: Semp on September 28, 2013, 04:58:26 AM
I kept thinking "Choot 'em! Choot 'em!, Dante! " It is hard to see what angle he had on the bull compared to the camera. But in any event, he got the experience that he can draw on for future hunts. That's how one develops their skill. The most important thing is the time you and him spent together chasing the bull. Those memories will last a life time. :congrats:
Semp, that's EXACTLY what I've been thinking. I
am glad we didn't just go down and pop one right off the bat. Everything is too easy these days for kids. and I wanted this to be a tough hunt where he had to earn his opportunities and the memories would be burned in both our minds and muscles.
We had a few more hunts (down in the hell hole) like the ones I recorded, but by this time the battery was dead and I didn't get any action. I'll write them up over the weekend.
Sunday morning was pretty much a repeat of Saturday morning's route, but without hearing any bugling (in the pre-dawn darkness we did jump some on the way down that were on our side of the drainage and must've winded us).
Come 11:00 we found ourselves staring back down into the hell hole that we knew held elk. We sat up on the ridge and ate lunch and started to hear bugling far down to the right, at the base of the other ridge that formed the far side of the hole. It was 12:30. We looked at each other both thinking there they are again, but way to far. It sounded like there were two bulls that weren't far apart from each other.
I was being encouraged by my hunting partner to bugle to them about every 30 seconds. I would about every 10 to 15 minutes, and usually got a response. However, they weren't budging from where we had them marked.
An hour or so of this went on before the bugles were starting to move from far right to far below us. It seemed they were intent on each other, and I thought it best to remain quiet. The bugling picked up - maybe three bulls now, and they were starting to really move fast. We were up and ready to go trying to mark their progress and figure out what was going on. Then it sounded like they were running about 300 or so yards below us, still going right to left. We turned to our left and started running as fast as we could down our side of the ridge thinking they were headed for a crossing area 500 yards below us. As fast as were could go, the bugles were sounding further and further away, down deeper and deeper into hell. We continued down the ridge until the ground flattened out a little to our right. Even though they had passed us, we continued down listening, and now cow calling.
All of the sudden the bugling started coming closer, and fast. Still at least two. It sounded like one was chasing the other. Closer! Now we could hear the hooves chrashing and three cows motored by about 70 yards below us. 20 yards behind them came the bull, chasing the cows. He was about as close as he was going to get and I gave a few louder chirps. He stopped broadside! Dante was 10 yards in front of me and slightly off to my left. I watched the front end of his barrel gyrating ever so slightly up and down to the rhythm of either his beating heart or his breathing. I whispered to get against a tree as he was caught between a few that weren't quite close enough.
The bull was staring right at us! …. BOOM! I heard no return thud. He wheeled and disappeared down to our left. We immediately went down to where he was standing and could see his kick-ups leading to the direction he ran. I told Dante to try and find any blood/hair or sign of a hit where his hooves kicked up the ground. I would look for hair where he was standing. I was doubtful of a hit as I had a good view of the bull as he shot (I wasn't directly behind him and the smoke cloud from the muzzleloader). No thud, no hunch up, and now no hair or blood. A while went by with us finding no signs of anything. We scoured and marked about 150 yards of his obvious trail after the shot. I now looked in the direction of where he ran and cow called out of frustration (and because the diaphragm is always right there in my mouth). A bugle came right back. Dante quickly (about a minute that seemed like an hour) reloaded and followed in the direction of the call. I stayed put and called with both a push button and diaphragm call. Dante was about 70- yards out in front of me and signaled that he could see the bull.
He said he was slowly creeping towards the bugle and saw him walking towards us. He got up against a tree and signaled to me he saw him. The bull was coming closer until it was quartered towards him at 45/50 yards, stopped and was beginning to whiff for scent. He had his sights (open sights only for Colorado) locked in on the bulls shoulder, felt a slight breeze against the back of his neck and thought the bull was a second away from smelling us. At the shot, the bull ran downhill and to our right. That's where I had a quick glimpse of him.
More kick-ups and searching. This time we did find blood. Not much, and not a good bright color. We found a little muscle-ly type-half-a-pea-sized piece along the trail, and then a few drops every three or four hoof marks. We figured we would give a little time and then follow.
Off in the distance we could hear thunder. Everyday out there it would rain in the evening at some point. Today would be no exception, it would just come a little earlier. And heavier. And I failed to pack our packable rain gear this morning.
I felt like we needed to get on this as the sky was darkening up. Within 200 yards the blood trail was no longer trackable, and we tried to follow his kick-ups through a maze of fresh elk sign. Unfortunately he was headed downhill into what I remember reading about in a book, "Dante's Inferno," where the author describes the seven levels of hell. The guy must've hunted this area! There were several levels to this hole that were separated by 200 to 300 foot drop-offs.
As the rains started, we spread about 100 yards apart and started to radially search in the direction that he was last headed. After the first level, we met up and were ready to hit the next drop off. Dante spotted a bull moving about 50 yards below us. I gave a few chips and he stopped broadside. We looked hard, but couldn't see any sign of that being the bull he hit. There was no blood and Dante said he looked like a smaller, darker colored bull that had just rolled in a wallow. He stayed there a minute or so, and we got a good look at both sides and watched him wander off.
After three more sweeps down the steep terrain I looked over at Dante and my whole mindset changed. I saw a thirteen year old kid shivering cold and wet, and about 3-1/2 miles from camp with the sun going down and the temps dropping. I starting thinking hypothermia and decided to start our climb back over the ridge and then back to camp. About half way back we had to pump water at the water hole so we'd be good for tomorrow. Between there and camp we got hit with some real nasty rains.
It was nice to finally be back in the tent and change into some damp clothes!
Heck of a story! Lots of action too. I hated the hit on the bull that was lost. Hopefully he wasn't hurt too bad. That sort of thing happens from time to time if one hunts long enough. Hope Dante isn't too discouraged and gets back out there after them.
I hated the hit on the bull, also. I think it may have glanced off the shoulder blade as with that shot angle Dante should've been holding just inside the shoulder and not on it. We ended up looking most of the next afternoon also, with no luck.
Later in the eve we were hiking back out of there and had some more bulls going. We set up on the ridge and tried calling from there with no intention of going back down as we were both completely physically wasted. We had one come to within 50 yards, but stayed just out of sight. Eventually the swirling winds revealed us and the game was over.
Earlier that morning, though, Dante was good with giving up the morning's hunt. Jeff was exhausted also and decided to stay back. I offered to go out with Dan to do some calling for him. We were about 15 minutes out of camp looking over a big meadow where he had been seeing some elk during his previous hunts. We waited for dawn and then gave some calls from the edge with no takers.
Part of the meadow was hidden due to the rolling landscape, so we worked our way out to a small rise at our end. There was nothing in the hidden draw, so I gave a few more calls.
Dan spotted one cow coming from the far, top end of the meadow, maybe 300 yards away. I backed down the small rise we were on and gave a few cow calls. She liked it and started heading right towards us. Dan backed down a little to hide his body, and waited for her to come in. I saw it was a small sized cow, probably a yearling, but didn't say anything. Dan drew his bow when she was about 30 yards out and slowly stood up when she was 20 to get clearance over the weeds. She saw this and started away from him. I saw this and started chirping. She stopped and came back in to about 25 yards. Dan drilled her and she only went about 30 yards.
Here's a brief synopsis of it on camera:
(http://i738.photobucket.com/albums/xx27/daveandbarb2/th_Danselk_zps5ad0422a.jpg) (http://i738.photobucket.com/albums/xx27/daveandbarb2/Danselk_zps5ad0422a.mp4)
Dan and I went to work on it and had it reduced to two game bags with no bones, ready to be packed back to the truck. Jeff and Dan did this, while Dante and I continued out to the hell hole to look some more for the bull he hit the day before (see above).
Man Dave, if I ever go elk hunting I want you doing the calling. :congrats:
Pat
Enjoyed reading about your trip, and watching the vids.
Just watching you guys hike up the hill loaded down made me tired! Had to grin about the elk outside camp, and no bow. Always seems to be the case.... have no bow or rifle handy, and THAT's when you bump into game.
Quote from: Semp on September 28, 2013, 04:58:26 AM
Great video, Dave! I kept thinking "Choot 'em! Choot 'em!, Dante! " It is hard to see what angle he had on the bull compared to the camera. But in any event, he got the experience that he can draw on for future hunts. That's how one develops their skill. The most important thing is the time you and him spent together chasing the bull. Those memories will last a life time. :congrats:
+2
You guys had a fantastic hunt, into zillions of elk. Great write ups and videos.
Looks like you guys had an awesome time Dave. Dante's a lucky kid.
Thanks for taking us along by sharing those clips :wink:
Finishing this thing up I will mention that I talked Dante into doing some trout fishing and we packed out a day early to where we had parked the truck. It wasn't too hard to talk him into that one as he had fished about 1/2 an hour before the hunt and was Jonesing to get back at it. It felt REALLY good not to have to hike back out to the hell hole. I could not imagine packing one out of there and believe we'd still be out there if he got one.
He was able to get about 3 to 4 hours of fishing time in before a storm came rolling in. We had hiked about a mile below where we parked to get away from the few guys that might also have brought a fishing rod along. I'll post a few pics in the fishing section soon.
Here are a few shots that Dante took with his camera (the one he bought with Pat's (coyote101) turkey prize and earmarked for Dante's elk trip - thank you again).
(http://i738.photobucket.com/albums/xx27/daveandbarb2/DSCF0640_zps1d1d7d57.jpg) (http://s738.photobucket.com/user/daveandbarb2/media/DSCF0640_zps1d1d7d57.jpg.html)
Our camp bull
(http://i738.photobucket.com/albums/xx27/daveandbarb2/DSCF0662_zps15cf951d.jpg) (http://s738.photobucket.com/user/daveandbarb2/media/DSCF0662_zps15cf951d.jpg.html)
Hiking in
(http://i738.photobucket.com/albums/xx27/daveandbarb2/DSCF0638_zpscdd6eeff.jpg) (http://s738.photobucket.com/user/daveandbarb2/media/DSCF0638_zpscdd6eeff.jpg.html)
Finally some camp meat - Dan shot a few grouse
(http://i738.photobucket.com/albums/xx27/daveandbarb2/DSCF0741_zps7ce89af2.jpg) (http://s738.photobucket.com/user/daveandbarb2/media/DSCF0741_zps7ce89af2.jpg.html)
De-boning
(http://i738.photobucket.com/albums/xx27/daveandbarb2/DSCF0751_zpscc368392.jpg) (http://s738.photobucket.com/user/daveandbarb2/media/DSCF0751_zpscc368392.jpg.html)
Jeff and Dan had hiked out - Dante and I ate well that night! Hanging tenders!
(http://i738.photobucket.com/albums/xx27/daveandbarb2/DSCF0786_zps22709120.jpg) (http://s738.photobucket.com/user/daveandbarb2/media/DSCF0786_zps22709120.jpg.html)
Dan packing out his elk (and the rack he found)
(http://i738.photobucket.com/albums/xx27/daveandbarb2/DSCF0760_zps5adf738b.jpg) (http://s738.photobucket.com/user/daveandbarb2/media/DSCF0760_zps5adf738b.jpg.html)
Dante couldn't resist
(http://i738.photobucket.com/albums/xx27/daveandbarb2/DSCF0738_zpsf2c212f8.jpg) (http://s738.photobucket.com/user/daveandbarb2/media/DSCF0738_zpsf2c212f8.jpg.html)
(http://i738.photobucket.com/albums/xx27/daveandbarb2/DSCF0713_zps3a943eb7.jpg) (http://s738.photobucket.com/user/daveandbarb2/media/DSCF0713_zps3a943eb7.jpg.html)
Bear and elk sign on the same tree. Elk eat the aspen bark (low on the tree)
(http://i738.photobucket.com/albums/xx27/daveandbarb2/DSCF0683_zpsc1a64f4f.jpg) (http://s738.photobucket.com/user/daveandbarb2/media/DSCF0683_zpsc1a64f4f.jpg.html)
(http://i738.photobucket.com/albums/xx27/daveandbarb2/DSCF0720_zps2620aff5.jpg) (http://s738.photobucket.com/user/daveandbarb2/media/DSCF0720_zps2620aff5.jpg.html)
And thanks for coming along!!!!!!!
Thanks for takin us!
Those trees Dante found to lay in are kind of bizarre. It's almost like there was some kind of invisible force between them and they were forced to grow around it. :sad3:
Great pictures of beautiful country. :highclap: What wonderful memories you guys made. :congrats: You're very welcome, I'm glad he's enjoying the camera, and we all get to enjoy the pictures. :biggrin:
Pat
Awesome write up and adventure Dave! I know it took a lot of your time to write it all up for us. And I once again thank you for it. Felt like I was right there with you guys.
Dante got the opportunity to see, and experience, country that some of us will never set foot upon. It makes me happy to see that the beauty that was right there before him was not lost. He will always remember it I'm sure.
Dave
Great stories and pictures. Thank you.
Question: were there several of those bent trees like Dante is lying on fairly close together, and were they on a bench on a mountain side? Curious to know if they correspond to something similar to places in BC and in Idaho.
THere were quite a bit of those types of trees. You can actually see a few in the background of that one pic with Dante.
This seemed to occur along the ridge running from the crest down toward a shoulder (if that makes any sense). My imagination came up with trees getting blown down across saplings, and then those saplings continuing to grow into those contorted figures continually reaching for sunlight. :shrug:
Figured I'd go with that as the invisible force hypothesis is already out there. :biggrin:
What do you think is going on in BC and Idaho?
Don't know why but I missed your reply post with the question about such trees in BC and Idaho. Just noticed it.
An Okanagan Indian friend of mine told me that the place I first saw like that in BC was an ancient traditional hunting camp. It was on a flat bench not far from a big saddle, below a main ridge top and above a big canyon that was one of the best places to hunt mule deer. He told me how and why the old people bent those trees over but I can't remember. Direct questions are impolite, but I hope to remember to ask him in some way next time I see him.
While hunting elk way back in an Idaho wilderness area, I came on a small bench in timber in an almost identical terrain setting, with a scattered cluster of the same bent over living trees. Due to the age of the trees these camps must have been in use about 100-75 years ago. That one was on a bench below a ridge top, just around the corner a few hundred yards from a saddle or pass, and above a big canyon.
Sounds like the trees you saw may have been a natural event, partial blowdowns, scattered on ridge lines etc. But the line of them running down onto a shoulder makes me wonder if what you are calling a shoulder is similar to what I called a bench, and if clustered there, I'd guess it has something to do with an old Indian hunting camp. The men would camp there each year to hunt.
Sorry to make it such a slow conversation!
Clyde, what you are explaining makes more sense than what I was thinking. Your description sounds almost exact to where this occurred. There are three of those type of trees right there in the pic I took, and I remember a few more further along in the same few hundred yards. The best hunting out in the entire area is a very big bowl that begins just to the left of where Dante is napping. Any pressure at all, and they all pour into this hole.
(http://i738.photobucket.com/albums/xx27/daveandbarb2/DSCF0738_zps11512e07.jpg) (http://s738.photobucket.com/user/daveandbarb2/media/DSCF0738_zps11512e07.jpg.html)
And this is to the right of this area (only a few hundred yards)\\, so I couldn't find a nicer spot to mark as a campsite. If you ever find out the 'how and why' I'd love to know.
(http://i738.photobucket.com/albums/xx27/daveandbarb2/DSCF0723_zpsfce75f15.jpg) (http://s738.photobucket.com/user/daveandbarb2/media/DSCF0723_zpsfce75f15.jpg.html)