RockyMtnMT
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Last week my buddy Zac and I headed out for a week of hunting here in MT. We got to our hunting area Saturday afternoon and got the camper all set up. Went out and took a drive around to show Zac the area. He had never been there before. As usual there was a ton of hunters in the area driving up and down every road they could find. Hunting pressure in this area is more than I like and I had pretty much quit going there, but it is how it worked out this year. I combined a visit with my grandmother and the hunting trip. Yep, I'm 56 years old and still have a grandma! She is 97 and just survived covid in the nursing home she is in. Needed to spend some time with her. Back to the story. First full day we did a death march that I swore that I wouldn't do ever again. Couldn't help it and we didn't see anything. Next day we were pretty crippled up, at least I was, so we didn't get too far from the truck. Looked at a bunch of country and couldn't glass up anything. Elk seem to be really high, other than the roughly 1000 head that are on a private ranch that doesn't allow hunting. Happens every year. That evening we talked with the fellow that was next to us in the campground. He used to be a guide and told us to check up a particular drainage that I had never hunted before. Planned to do it the next day. That night the first of several storms came in and dumped several inches of snow. Got a good start this morning and started the hike into the drainage. Right off the bat we glassed what we thought were some elk on a ridge a couple of miles away. Could make out antlers on one in the binos at that range. Closed the distance about half and figured out they were muleys. Pretty tremendous buck to see antlers at that distance. Worked our way into the head end of the drainage where it opened up into a high basin. Snow now is pushing knee deep as we climbed our way up in elevation. As we were glassing the basin looking at all the muleys Zac spotted a bachelor herd of elk, 7 of them, up high on the rim of the basin. We looked at them and both commented that there was no way we would be able to make it up to them. Some lunch and more glassing and the bulls started to get up and feed, working their way down toward us. At this point they are about 1700 yards out. We thought maybe we would get lucky and they would feed their way to us. Nope, they turned and started feeding back up. That was enough, so we decided to work our way up and around the rim of the basin to get into range. It was a great plan, and all went perfect, right up to when we got into where they were feeding and they were gone! Trailed out. Now we are about 7 miles in and 3000 ft higher than we started at nearly 9000 ft elev. Getting late we started the decent and get the 7 miles back to the truck. On the way down we got back into the muleys and saw one of the best bucks I have ever seen. Permit only, or he would have been dead. About 29" wide, heavy, with deep forks front and back. Man, he was worth the hike just to see him at 242y. Watched him for a bit and counted 50 deer as we stood in the same spot scattered in the bowl. Was really cool. Got back to the truck as it got dark and the snow started again. The next couple of days were tough weather with poor visibility due to wind and snow and we picked up about a foot of snow. Managed to get out and get tired hiking in the deep snow but saw pretty much nothing. We did see thousands of pronghorn migrating, always neat to see. Saw a couple of wolves way up on a ridge during one of the few clear moments. Couple of moose, but seeing very few elk. Thursday eve we drove to an area that I had never been and spotted some elk up on a high ridge. There was a piece of private land between us and them that was not open for hunting. That night we spent some time on the map and figured out what looked like a way to drive around and possibly get close enough to get a hike into the elk. Headed out Friday morning, our last day of hunting, to see if we could get up the mountain and around the private land to the herd of elk. On the way up we pulled up into a high basin and saw 6 elk in the middle. 5 cows and a bull. Backed the rig out of sight and snuck out to the edge of the bowl to get a good look. They were at 1046y but disappearing into a small fold that you couldn't make out in the bino's. Watched the bull slip in last and disappear. Could just make out a cows head, so there was not going straight at them. Backed out of sight and made a move to gain elevation and hike across the top of the basin in hopes of looking down into the spot they disappeared into. I was pretty sure I had the landmarks down and knew where they were. No timber, just sagebrush and rock outcroppings. Zac was pretty sure they were higher up than I thought and farther into the back of the bowl. We worked our way close to where I thought they were. I ranged back to the truck at 940y. I told Zac we had to be within about 100y of them. We snuck across the hillside looking hard down into where I thought they were, but never spotted them. I told Zac he must be right, and they were further back. Got to the back of the bowl and looked into a deep fold. No sign of them in the fresh snow. Hmmm...This is weird. I told Zac again that they had to be down below us where I thought they were. We started working our way down through the rocks. I stopped to look through the bino's and there were two cow heads hidden in the sagebrush. They were close! I ducked out of sight and motioned to Zac to crawl down to me and get set up on some big rocks. He slid down to the rocks and I stayed put to minimize the sound and sight so we wouldn't get caught. Zac got to the rock and motioned that he could see the bull, but only his head. No shot unless he tried to punch through brush. Not a good idea. I slid down to him and got a good look. No shot until he stands. It's a blue bird day, but only about 15* and we are a bit sweaty from the hike. I told Zac I would get them to stand up when he was ready. He says "Ready." I let out a big Whooop Whoop! Nothing! I would never have believed it had I not seen it. Did it again, louder. Nothing. Yelled "Hey elk", a couple of times and barely an ear twitch. I stood up and waved my arms and whooped and yelled and still nothing. Until I started whooping and walking across the hill. Bull stood and boom! Dropped straight back down into his bed. Tried to gain his feet and fell about 5 feet down the hill from his bed, dead. Zac had his first bull elk. Only thing I can figure is those elk knew they were hidden and had no intention of moving.
Shot was at 239y with the 199g Hammer Hunter leaving the Browning Hells Canyon at 3390fps. Scope set for max point blank range zero put the bullet impact about 4" above the aim point centering the shoulders below the spine. Caliber hole in. Under the onside shoulder a 3" dia hole into the ribs. Exit on the off shoulder was about 3/4" in the hide. Very little meat damage. Perfect! Couldn't ask for more.
Got the bull out in two trips about 3/4 of a mile with very little elevation change. Pretty nice pack out give how rough the country is. Oh, and by the way, I passed my physical again this year. LOL!! Here is Zac's bull.
Shot was at 239y with the 199g Hammer Hunter leaving the Browning Hells Canyon at 3390fps. Scope set for max point blank range zero put the bullet impact about 4" above the aim point centering the shoulders below the spine. Caliber hole in. Under the onside shoulder a 3" dia hole into the ribs. Exit on the off shoulder was about 3/4" in the hide. Very little meat damage. Perfect! Couldn't ask for more.
Got the bull out in two trips about 3/4 of a mile with very little elevation change. Pretty nice pack out give how rough the country is. Oh, and by the way, I passed my physical again this year. LOL!! Here is Zac's bull.
