The Elk Thread

[Killer]

Wow looks cold up there good luck in the morning

[wytex]

Lots of folks wait for snow to go hunt up there. Elk will be crossing onto the Wick down low too- where you drove in.
Main roads should be good, smaller roads might be deep mud holes by tomorrow, be careful on those.

Saw a post online that they got about 16 inches in White Rock, if you needed any help drive in there and find a cabin with someone home.
No more snow for a several days it sounds like.

Headed up to hunt today with no cell service or internet.
Hope you all have good luck, the elk will be heading down with general season opening Sunday if you don't have one down by then.

[justletmein]

Wife and I hiked to the top of the world today, glasses up a herd of 30+ with a couple good bulls and mature cows around 1200 yards but have to drop a whole lotta feet down then hoof a whole lotta feet back up to get to them. We went after them, took about two hours as we also circled downwind which took a big curve route. Got up there and relocated them, crawled on my belly to the top of the ridge and ranged two fat cows bedded at 92 yards. Took my gloves off and settled in, trying to decide whether to wait til they stand up or take a head shot. All of a sudden gunshots ring out, somebody had also seen them and come up from the road the opposite direction from us. Shots were pretty long but all three hit a spike, guy must not have been able to see the two real nice bulls further up near the treeline. Spike walked around for a while and looked back then kind of meandered over the ridge into the trees out of sight. I walked quickly up to the ridge to see if I could find a straggling cow but no such luck. I had two shot opportunities at the cows while they were trotting away but both times they were bunched up in a wad with the others and just too risky for collateral damage so I didn't pull the trigger. Twas a darn good day though, and we learned a lot.

Cell phone pic of one of the bulls. Wife was running the camera so not sure which one this is, there were about 7 or 8 bulls in this heard ranging from spike to good sized. Whole herd was within 150 yards of us without having any idea we were there.

Also stopped and talked to this real nice guy hunting with his daughter, he scored a nice muley this morning. I asked if it's ok to take a pic to share.

[justletmein]

Momma got her's last night. Snow is all but gone now and Tuesday was the first day we didn't see Elk so I was getting worried, it's HOT out too. We spent Wednesday morning on foot drudging through all sorts of elky areas and found a spot we couldn't get into cleanly but had a good feeling about it so backed out. Later that evening I dropped the wife off and she made the 400 foot seemingly straight up climb by herself and I went off to put another 8 miles in along a steep drainage dropoff. My phone came alive as I was making my way back to the truck and got within cell signal so I figured something good was going on.

We've had some great hikes, 4 different sets of bear tracks, one set of lion tracks, and one area is really thick with coyotes. I had a pack up on the ridge howling at my lost calf calls, couldn't tell which side of me they were on with the echo.

Now I need to go get myself another opportunity or I'll have to wash dishes all next month.

Found another survey marker and a giant fire pit next to a creek.

[justletmein]

Little 5 point thought he was a Ninja with his face covered.

[justletmein]

I'm really starting to loathe this whole cow tag thing. Last one was at 15 yards ripping grass out, we could hear him chewing.

[Killer]

Wow y’all are in them up there. Surely some old crippled cow will amble by once all those 6x6 bulls feed by!

[justletmein]

Well that's a wrap, headed back tomorrow. Chased a big herd all over the mountain this evening. Caught up with a bull and a spike, could've shot them both several times over the course of an hour. Who would've thought you could actually chase and catch up to Elk going uphill. The cows gave me the slip, we had to choose which sets of tracks to go after once they split up, without any snow it was difficult to tell which was which. Now the wife gets to make fun of me til I can get redemption, hopefully next year.

[Bill]

Y'all from Texas are doing better than me, and I'm a Montana local!

This story was in the local news feed. Hunters are learning to shoot first, and ask for forgiveness later. Best part, the hunter was not injured. While the story starts 'Ennis', it happened in the Gravellies Range in SW Montana. BTW, I live about 30 miles from there and will not hunt the area- no elk is worth it to me. I hate the thought of having the GW and/or folks I know on the local SAR team find me ripped up and ask "Bill, we thought you know better. What the deuce were you thinking?"

Be safe. Carry a big pistola and bear spray. When a bear pops up at 20 yards, a scoped bolt action hunting rifle is not the right tool for the job.

https://www.newsbreak.com/news/3204206824885-hunter-kills-grizzly-in-self-defense-near-den-in-southwestern-montana?_f=app_share&s=i4&pd=0D8l05ZJ&lang=en_US&send_time=1698182510&trans_data=%7B%22platform%22%3A0%2C%22cv%22%3A%2223.8.0.41%22%2C%22languages%22%3A%22en%22%7D

[Killer]

That would get the old heart to pumping fast!

[Bill]

I received an email from OnX Hunt and the Hunting' Fool for an upcoming online seminar about elk draws for non-residents.

Join onX Hunt and the team from Huntin’ Fool for an in-depth masterclass breaking down the various elk draws across the western states so that you can apply with confidence.

It may he informative.

https://onxmaps.zoom.us/webinar/register/4717050828125/WN_XSArR3PVQoaWbBT5Ka_glg#/registration

[Texans42]

Its probably a bunch of Residents from CO, NM yelling at how they hate NR’s

[jaker_cc]

Swinging for the fences in Arizona, New Mexico, and Idaho for elk deer and antelope. Points in Wyoming and Colorado. Hoping to get my wife an elk tag in New Mexico for her first elk hunt. Have some feelers out for landowner tags in a unit I’ve spent some time in that we can get into a bunch of action.

[jaker_cc]

I got lucky on this tank of a bull in early September. My wife wanted to go elk hunting for our honeymoon. She says it’s the best honeymoon anyone has ever been on. I got pretty lucky all around I think

[justletmein]

That's freaking awesome jaker, you're winning at life my friend.

I received an email from OnX Hunt and the Hunting' Fool for an upcoming online seminar about elk draws for non-residents.

Join onX Hunt and the team from Huntin’ Fool for an in-depth masterclass breaking down the various elk draws across the western states so that you can apply with confidence.

It may he informative.

https://onxmaps.zoom.us/webinar/regi...#/registration

I need a master class on Montana, every time I sit down to figure it out I get distracted and decide I'd rather be doing something else. LOL... NM just need to figure out where I want to apply, keep telling myself next year... next year. Hoping for Wyoming cow tags again this year, wife applied for SG though and though there's some chaos around the new regional breakups I think she's got a good chance. I applied for a high end area hoping for the random. We'll add another point in CO which will bring us up to 5/4 there so thinking next year might try a LE archery tag for one of us, tired of hunting leftover units in CO think I'm done doing that.