D.Camilleri
Well-Known Member
Well my November elk hunt finally got here. I left home Thursday afternoon with hope of getting some time scouting. Well that didn't happen! One hundred yards from where I wanted to camp and the frozen ground had thawed and the mud was tenacious. I was towing my 30' fifth wheel with my horse trailer loaded with two horses behind it when I went down the road headed to my preferred camp site. Part way up the slight hill with mud flying everywhere, forward progress halted. I went down and unloaded the horses and then unhooked the horse trailer. I then unleashed 500 horsepower from the mighty duramax and got the whole setup within 100 feet of where I wanted to camp. Unfortunately I couldn't get the back tires of the truck up over the ditch on the side of the road. Good time to try out the new milemarker hydraulic winch. Tree number 1 was at the wrong angle and the truck just keep going sideways the wrong way. I picked a new dead tree that was in a better spot, and the winch promptly pulled the tree out of the ground. Third time was a charm and found another stump that held tight. Finally after over an hour, I have a camp. No time to scout.
Opening morning my friend and I headed to a spot I had seen some bulls the last time I had this tag. We parked our atv's, looked to the east and saw about 300 head of elk skylined two ridges over. Most cows and small bulls. We walked in about 3/4 of a mile on a closed logging road that had 18 inches of snow on it. Oh yeah, forgot the snow shoes. We got to a vantage point and my buddy spotted a bull skylined on a far ridge. Too small. Then I spotted two 6 point bulls the next drainage over covering ground, one was a very big bodied bull, but I couldn't judge how big due to the distance, probably over 1500 yards. We made our way down the logging road into some dark timber and spotted another 6 point bull. I looked him over and my buddy said you should take him. I ranged him right at 700 yards and went to dial my scope and he decided to leave, no shot. I was hoping for the next size up as this bull was probably about a 310 bull, but oh well. We continued to hunt and glass and saw one bull that we think we watched bed up move through the dark timber, no shot. On our way back to the atv's we busted a big bull from his bed in the dark timber. I was too tired to follow after him in the deep snow.
We decide there were lots of bulls in here and I would come back on Saturday. My friend went home and took my atv with him, so I had to make the three mile drive in my truck. The road was much better in the morning due to the mud being mostly frozen and the snow covered areas weren't too bad for someone to lazy to use chains, so I just used good tires and horsepower.
I made it to a nob and started glassing the open hillsides. In the first few seconds I spotted a bull feeding. I cranked the scope up to 32 power and focused it. 6 point bull. Then I glassed some more, another 6 point bull one hundred yards to the left of the first one. A bigger 6 point bull. Out came the rangefinder and it told me 750 yards. I have been practicing for this shot all summer, so why not. I set up my shooting sticks (no way to get prone) and after adjusting them several times due to the deep snow, I finally had a sight picture. I felt good and after dialing my scope I let a 300 gr Berger go sailing from my 338 RUM. I heard a distinctive WHAAP through my game ear and watched the bull hump up. Ut oh, maybe a gut shot. I chambered a second shell and let fly and this time I heard a very loud impact. Both bulls ran towards the bottom of the ravine. I started my walk towards where I last saw the bull and looked up at the top of the ridge just in time to see another big 6 point bull crest the ridge and go out of sight.
I finally made it over to where I first shot at the bull, after crossing several sets of Wolf tracks in the snow. I looked around for blood and didn't see any. I was on a slope that was clear from snow. Then I looked below me about 20 yards and sure enough, blood and lots of it. I moved down and next to the blood I found some pieces of bone and a ball joint from a lower shoulder laying on the ground. My bull was right below piled up twenty five yards from where I first shot him.
I quartered him out and drug the quarters away from the carcass to a spot that would be easier to load my horse and also to make sure a griz wasn't on top of it when I came back. One shot broke the bulls lower shoulder and leg with the bullet taking out a chunk of the lower sternum, but not entering the boiler room. The other shot I finally found, exited a bit farther back than I would have liked, but the bullet was right under the hide and it passed though the stomach. I am not sure where it entered, because I didn't peel back the hide that far on the opposite side. I found a 3/4 inch diameter piece of bullet with another 1/4 x 5/8's long piece of jacket right next to it.
I went back to camp, got my horses and packed out my meat (this part would make another good story, but lets just say that my big gelding's maiden trip of packing elk didn't go off without a hitch. Oh well, I made it back to camp before dark (barely) and I made my longest shot of my life on a nice trophy.
Opening morning my friend and I headed to a spot I had seen some bulls the last time I had this tag. We parked our atv's, looked to the east and saw about 300 head of elk skylined two ridges over. Most cows and small bulls. We walked in about 3/4 of a mile on a closed logging road that had 18 inches of snow on it. Oh yeah, forgot the snow shoes. We got to a vantage point and my buddy spotted a bull skylined on a far ridge. Too small. Then I spotted two 6 point bulls the next drainage over covering ground, one was a very big bodied bull, but I couldn't judge how big due to the distance, probably over 1500 yards. We made our way down the logging road into some dark timber and spotted another 6 point bull. I looked him over and my buddy said you should take him. I ranged him right at 700 yards and went to dial my scope and he decided to leave, no shot. I was hoping for the next size up as this bull was probably about a 310 bull, but oh well. We continued to hunt and glass and saw one bull that we think we watched bed up move through the dark timber, no shot. On our way back to the atv's we busted a big bull from his bed in the dark timber. I was too tired to follow after him in the deep snow.
We decide there were lots of bulls in here and I would come back on Saturday. My friend went home and took my atv with him, so I had to make the three mile drive in my truck. The road was much better in the morning due to the mud being mostly frozen and the snow covered areas weren't too bad for someone to lazy to use chains, so I just used good tires and horsepower.
I made it to a nob and started glassing the open hillsides. In the first few seconds I spotted a bull feeding. I cranked the scope up to 32 power and focused it. 6 point bull. Then I glassed some more, another 6 point bull one hundred yards to the left of the first one. A bigger 6 point bull. Out came the rangefinder and it told me 750 yards. I have been practicing for this shot all summer, so why not. I set up my shooting sticks (no way to get prone) and after adjusting them several times due to the deep snow, I finally had a sight picture. I felt good and after dialing my scope I let a 300 gr Berger go sailing from my 338 RUM. I heard a distinctive WHAAP through my game ear and watched the bull hump up. Ut oh, maybe a gut shot. I chambered a second shell and let fly and this time I heard a very loud impact. Both bulls ran towards the bottom of the ravine. I started my walk towards where I last saw the bull and looked up at the top of the ridge just in time to see another big 6 point bull crest the ridge and go out of sight.
I finally made it over to where I first shot at the bull, after crossing several sets of Wolf tracks in the snow. I looked around for blood and didn't see any. I was on a slope that was clear from snow. Then I looked below me about 20 yards and sure enough, blood and lots of it. I moved down and next to the blood I found some pieces of bone and a ball joint from a lower shoulder laying on the ground. My bull was right below piled up twenty five yards from where I first shot him.
I quartered him out and drug the quarters away from the carcass to a spot that would be easier to load my horse and also to make sure a griz wasn't on top of it when I came back. One shot broke the bulls lower shoulder and leg with the bullet taking out a chunk of the lower sternum, but not entering the boiler room. The other shot I finally found, exited a bit farther back than I would have liked, but the bullet was right under the hide and it passed though the stomach. I am not sure where it entered, because I didn't peel back the hide that far on the opposite side. I found a 3/4 inch diameter piece of bullet with another 1/4 x 5/8's long piece of jacket right next to it.
I went back to camp, got my horses and packed out my meat (this part would make another good story, but lets just say that my big gelding's maiden trip of packing elk didn't go off without a hitch. Oh well, I made it back to camp before dark (barely) and I made my longest shot of my life on a nice trophy.
Congrats.
