2010 Elk Hunt

I'm new at this blog business, and I can't seem to get the pictures to upload in the right order and right places. Anyway, read it all and look at all the pictures and you will get the idea.

I promised Brian that I would post some pictures of my elk hunt last year. I drew a bull tag for the area we like to hunt. It opened October 15th. The weather was wonderful. The rut was pretty much over by then, but the bulls were still with their groups of cows. We went up a week before and set up our tent in the camp we wanted. Then we went up a day before the hunt opened with the horses and the rest of our camp. We borrowed four horses from some family friends so that each of us had a mount. My dad, brother, and brother-in-law went with me. It was the first time in ten years that we had all been able to go hunting together because of school and new jobs. So, needless to say, we were excited. I think I was packed up for the month before the hunt in anticipation. Here are some pictures of the camp.

This is my brother-in-law Clint.

This is the tent with a wood-burning stove. It gets really warm.

Opening day all of the bulls seemed to give us the slip in the trees. It was pretty warm for October, and we decided that the first hour or two of daylight was going to be our best chance, because once they were in the thick timber there was little chance of getting a shot. We hunted really hard the first day, and the horses were too tired for the second day. Two of them were well into their twenties. So we decided to give them a rest and hunt on foot. My brother Jeremy was the only one I could convince to get up at 5:00 with me and walk in there. We hikes the 3-4 miles back in there in the dark. We were at the top of the mountain by first light. Just as we were getting there, a bull bugled not far off. We got upwind, and found a good shooting lane through the trees. After a few minutes a cow and calf appeared, and just grazed through the opening. A minute later, I saw the white tips of the antlers of a bull flashing through the trees. Just as he stepped into the opening, I let him have it with my .300 Win Mag. He wen about 15 yards and fell over. We called my dad on the radio and told him to get the horses saddled and come pack out the bull. By the time he showed up we had the bull cleaned and quartered and hauled up the hill where the horses could get to it. It isn't a monster, but I think it would probably score around 270 or 280. I was really pleased as it was my first bull. The meat was very good, as we got it hung, skinned, and cooled our quickly.

We were a bit tired and discouraged after several bulls had given us the slip on opening morning.