Elk hunting in Montana can take you from the lowest of lows, to euphoria in the blink of an eye. After six fruitless years of chasing elk with my bow I was getting pretty discouraged. All my old spots which had promise are now overrun by wolves. Low elk numbers, and efficient predators turned a tough game into a nigh impossible one. Coming into this season I was more interested in chasing mule deer than elk, simply because I didn't have any good spots to hunt. But my buddy had a new theoretical spot for elk. He convinced me to give it a shot yesterday, and boy am I glad we did.
:campfire:
Daylight found us working our way up and around a north facing slope above a meadow. Bugling on occasion seemed appropriate, but by 9 am we had not heard any response. Usually, I don't hear elk bugle after 9 am, so we decided to stuff the bugle in the pack, and stick with the cow calls.
By this time we had reached a saddle, and stood between two bowls, both of which were full of aspens and pines. The terrain was open enough that we could see into gaps in the timber, with large open grass pockets in the floors of the bowls. Just about then, I let out a halfhearted cow call, as I was getting discouraged once again by the lack of elk. You can certainly imagine my surprise, when a cow call echoed back from the bowl, no more than 100 yards away.
gotta go to bed now, but... (http://i.imgur.com/cwLpG7Y.jpg)
not nice
i will be waiting patiently!!! :campfire:
:coffee: :coffee:
My cup is full :coffee: :D
:coffee:
:coffee: :dunno:
Anyone else up and waiting?
:campfire: :coffee:
Just poured a fresh cup of :coffee: and will be paying close attention
:coffee: :coffee:
:jumper:
I'm on my second cup myself, can't wait for the end.
Well guys I will be in and out of class all day today, but I will try to keep the story rolling along.
Where was I?
Oh yes, we had just heard a cow answer us from the bowl. We were on a ridge face of sorts, between two bowls, with the wind blowing directly downhill, and a saddle just a hundred yards below us.
The one thing I've learned with elk, is that they often circle a caller, to identify via smell. So I placed my buddy between the last spot we called, and the elk, and scurried 30-40 yards further downhill, to cut the animal off if she did just that. Both of us were still within 20 yards of the ridge, and the cow was still talking to us, as my buddy took over the main calling duties and I added some quieter herd talk.
Now as this was transpiring, it kept reoccurring to me that this elk sounded suspiciously like a Hoochie Mama cow call from the store. (Later, my buddy confessed to having the same misgivings).
Misgivings and doubts aside, we set up and waited. It's better to call hunters in, than bust an elk out cause it sounded fake, right? Well, I kept shifting further and further off the ridge, because I wanted cover behind me rather than in front.
I finally got in a good position, about 20 yards below the ridge, and 30 yards below my hunting partner. I started looking for the source of the crunching footsteps I was hearing and saw...
Woops, its time to finish off this last homework problem! Be back.
:coffee: :coffee:
:jumper:
Well he is a few hours behind us eastern timeline guys.
Is the class you are taking in the "Charlie Lamb School of Literature"? Maybe we will have the climax by when I head back up the mountain on Wednesday. :campfire:
QuoteOriginally posted by Dirtybird:
Well he is a few hours behind us eastern timeline guys.
That's no excuse! :)
centaur... "Is the class you are taking in the "Charlie Lamb School of Literature"?"
:campfire:
QuoteOriginally posted by Trumpkin the Dwarf:
I finally got in a good position, about 20 yards below the ridge, and 30 yards below my hunting partner. I started looking for the source of the crunching footsteps I was hearing and saw...
'Bigfoot! No...that can't be right. Is it a giant tan beach ball tucked into that clump of trees? Wait. Self, That's an ear! HOLY SMOKES THAT'S AN ELK!'
As you can see...I was a little excited at this point. The cow was some 50 yards from me and meandering directly towards my buddy. Unfortunately, I was pretty much in his shot line, given the current angle. So I waited until I was out of her line of sight, and backed up towards the ridge top again.
Somewhere in all this crazyness the cow ended up a mere 15 yards from my hunting partner. Now had he shot her, this story wouldn't be here, because he hunts with training wheels. But she heard something, or smelled something, and when he tried to draw, she busted back down the hill. I followed, and hit her with my best nervous grunt, something I learned from a guy who goes by elknut.
She hit the brakes at 70 yards and started yakking at me. I responded with another nervous grunt, which essentially asks an elk to identify themselves to the caller. Well it seemed to be working, and she had come back to 50-55 yards, when she saw Wheels emerge from his hidey hole, oblivious to the fact that I had stopped her. As you can guess, that jig was up. :saywhat:
Given that this event is by far the closest either of us has come to killing an elk, there was an obligatory period of great excitement. We went over our cumulative mistakes and drew four conclusions. Always have cover behind you, not in front (this buggered my buddies shot opportunity). Always communicate very thoroughly (if possible) before diving into an encounter. Once you set in a spot, trust it, and don't move while an elk is coming in.
We realized pretty quickly, that where there is one elk, there will usually be more. We figured they would be further up towards the top of the same bowl, so we devised a game plan. As we were planning our attack on the top of the bowl, the wind began to shift to a quarter that was decidedly not in our favor. But as a Montanan, who has hunted elk all my (admittedly short) life, I had a solution.
We built a smudge fire and thoroughly saturated ourselves in the smoke. This plays two roles for a hunter, the smoke acts as a cover scent, and the carbon eats away body odor. Now smelling strongly of fires, we ventured forth into the fray.
Come on man, we are waiting..... :coffee:
:campfire: :coffee:
:campfire: :coffee:
Well it appears that ya'll are an impatient lot, so I will get one more installment in before heading to class. :scared:
It is hard to explain the terrain to you guys, but I will give it a shot. Above the bowl, the terrain flattened into a bench, with water down in the bow, and aspen groves scattered around. There were thick clumps of gnarled pine trees, big ponderosa pines, and fir trees all over. visibility ranged from 30- 150 yards, and the whole place just screamed ELK.
I gotta run to class, just got done meeting a new friend. (Thanks JimB for the recommendation)
:coffee: :coffee: :coffee: :coffee: Dang I've got to visit the restroom!!!
I love/hate threads like this :readit: :banghead: :banghead:
:campfire: :coffee:
Is there an icon for stringalong hunt report threads that can flash green when it's done so I can start reading? It makes me never want to open a hunt report thread.
Maybe we start deducting points for strung out stories...lol
God bless,Mudd
This is good.I thought something was up when you asked for that recommendation.
Personally,I think classes are overrated.
Ironically, it's probably a writing class.
In the good old days, when I was in college, I'd have skipped the whole day :bigsmyl:
I guess that's why it took me 7 years to graduate :laughing:
He acts like there is more important things to do. Than tell us the rest of the hunt. People and there priorities I tell ya.
Kids these days, overstimulated to the point of being unable to focus. :(
O lost America!
Killdeer~ time to switch from coffee to beer.
Hey guys. If I keep my act together for two more semesters I will graduate without debt. Class is pretty important right now.
I realize I'm leaving you hanging, but it will get done today. Stick tight.
I completely understand man. I only have a semester and a half left myself and I'll have my Masters in wildlife. Keep ya head in the books ha
I have a few minutes while I wait for class to start. So here is a photo of the habitat we were in. It is quite special to kill an elk in this terrain. You can see them coming, but have enough cover to call them into bow range.
(http://i.imgur.com/ZfHsZG8.jpg)
Trumpkin they have a name for people like you, it's"Pot Stirer";-)
QuoteOriginally posted by old_goat2:
Trumpkin they have a name for people like you, it's"Pot Stirrer";-)
:scared:
You saw the picture with some of the cover, and let me tell you, it is nerve wracking to sneak through it, knowing that unless you see the elk first the gig is totally up. We split up by thirty yards, worked our way into the middle, and dove into a gnarly thicket where a 10 yard shot was about the best one could expect. I hadn't made it more than 15-20 yards into this thicket when I saw an elk. :eek:
Right about now is when the whole shebang started to get real western. The wind started swirling and shifting on a minute to minute basis. Elk were sounding off in all directions, and me and Wheels were into separate groups of bulls. I had six bulls in front of me, from 15-30 yards, but no shots. Four of them were spikes, which are safe in most of Montana. I was trying desperately to make a spike sprout brow tines, but to no avail. Meanwhile, I had dropped my pack to cut down on noise, and I was trying to get a shooting lane on one of the brow tine bulls. Both of us were hitting cow calls pretty frequently, trying to convince the elk that the strange flickers of movement stemmed from some cow elk wanting to join the party. As this was going down, one of the bulls from another corner of the triangle started moving in on us from behind. No matter which direction the wind was blowing elk were getting nostrils full of our scent.
However, not a single elk spooked out from smelling us. The bulls I was into, decided I was one cow they didn't want to hang out with so the moseyed over the edge and into the bowl. They didn't spook, just moseyed on over. Meanwhile, Wheels was having the same experience. We met back up and realized there was a bull crashing down on us from behind pretty fast. We scooted back out of the thicket to the edge of an aspen filled meadow, and emerged some fifteen to twenty yards apart. It was quickly apparent we had gotten back just in time. :readit:
The time we spent in the thicket with the bulls was somewhere between forty minutes and an hour. Time flies when you're having fun, and we were just getting started!
Now, before I get into the broken hearts part of the story, I need to mention that in Montana you can(almost always) shoot a cow or a bull on your general tag during the archery season. Additionally, we had an extra cow tag for the specific unit.
With that out of the way, lets get back to the action. When I hit the edge of the timber, it was just in time to freeze as a large cow came walking through the aspens, heading directly towards my buddy, which would bring her broadside just past me. I glanced to my left, and saw a shooting lane if I slid forward. Next I glanced back at her, waited till her head was behind a tree, and... slid forward, obviously. :biglaugh:
On she came, like a scene from the perfect dream hunt. She even went so far as to stop, broadside, right in my shooting lane. I canted the bow over, to avoid hitting the ground (I was kneeling at this point), and slowly drew the arrow back and snugged into my anchor point...
You're cruel!
This is the never ending story :banghead:
Hmmmm, must be Professor Lamb kept him after class today?! :readit: :rolleyes: :nono:
This is getting good fellas. :campfire: :coffee:
I am liking this Trumkin, Keep it up!
:campfire:
Every good story should have suspense, very nice. And Hey Malachi, what's the big idea using scent control to bag an Elk anyway? :campfire:
Hang in there folks. I have bloody hands right now.
:saywhat:
I'm dying here .... shoot me not the elk and put me out of the misery of waiting!
I am liking it, good stuff.....
Great writing! Now bring it home!
I'm getting old I have to go to bed
Ill bet your grilling elk tenderloins and washing it down with a moose drool :laughing:
:biglaugh:
This is fun, your makin me hungry too
I love the simplicity and of instinctive archery. If you asked me to guess the range to the big fat cow standing there, I'd have said 20 yards. My subconscious mind is a devilishly brilliant blighter though, and aimed for 30. The shot was perfect, and I watched the fletching fly right where I was looking; right where the elk had been before ducking the string. I could only watch in horror as the big snuffer slammed into her elbow with a resounding crack. The arrow was almost parallel to the body by the time of impact, and the broad head snapped off at the insert. I was halfway home to broken hearted by now.
:(
She wheeled around and trotted out to 60 or 70 yards, and just stood there looking back at me. I was praying to see a sign of sickness, wobbling, anything to indicate it was more than a busted off arrow in the ball joint. Sadly, she seemed to be perfectly all right as she stood there staring us down (I bet you forgot about Wheels, didn't you?). The next four or five minutes, I spent just watching her. Meanwhile, the bugling bull was getting closer and closer. I suspect she didn't leave because he was coming in.
I'm kinda tired...you think I should finish this over the weekend? :readit:
:laughing: :laughing: :laughing:
I think this thread should be locked for lack of progress :readit:
I am just kidding, it is your story, tell however you want.
Lack of progress? I loosed an arrow didn't I?
I digress. As I watched the cow stand there, more elk began materializing in the meadow. I suddenly saw ivory colored tips on what seemed to be a high, narrow 5x5. Another cow moved in to 40 yards, and I was waiting to see what would happen next. The 5x5 (I never got a great look, but I am assuming he was 5x5) was about 60 yards out and coming in cautiously when movement caught my eye.
The next few minutes will be forever etched in my memory. The movement which distracted me was a massive 6x6 bull walking in from my right at about 25 yards. He also looked like he was ten yards closer than he was, and now I had trouble. Instead of one pair of eyes to contend with I had 3 or 4. I decided (very hurriedly mind you) that the cow and bull at 60 yards were not an issue. So I focused on finding a moment when the cow at 40 yards (who was now at 25) and the bull at 25 would look away.
Divine intervention happened so rapidly I was left nearly immobilized. The cow decided to shy away from the big bull, and in the process removed herself from view. Meanwhile, the big bull stopped walking(perfectly broadside as well). He blinked once, licked his chops to free some grass from his teeth, and turned to look straight away from me. The second arrow was already on the string. I found myself at full draw once again, this time with a sapling blocking my shot at the heart and lungs.
Well a measly sapling wasn't gonna stop me. I leaned backwards, canting the bow past 90 degrees, and focused on the spot I needed to hit. I had a 6" wide window between the sapling and the ball joint in the shoulder. This shot needed to hit the crease, and perfectly to boot. Suddenly, the arrow was away, and I watched it arc towards the magnificent bull, and...
I need to order a coffee, I'm at Starbucks right now. BRB :coffee:
Time for another picture
Man, you are killing me. But I love it :thumbsup:
In that split second my heart broke. The arrow piled into the shoulder full tilt, right where the ball joint happens to be. In slow motion I watched the arrow fall out of the bull as he whirled to run. Then it dawned on me, his back legs were wobbling something fierce! The bull staggered 30 yards and stopped. Then, no more than 15 seconds after I dropped the string, he tipped over and crashed to the earth! My shot had not hit the ball joint, it was about an inch behind it, and the Simmons had flat out skewered the heart, before embedding in the bone of the offside shoulder.
Yes, it is picture time TxAg. I couldn't ever attempt to capture the whirlwind of emotions that came next. So now, the big unveil!
(http://i.imgur.com/xFq42xC.jpg)
Awesome!!!! Congrats!!!!
:campfire:
We gathered up my dad and brother to help pack the elk out, and the rest of the pictures are after the elk was quartered, and deboned. Thanks for sticking around for the ride!
(http://i.imgur.com/5dJhMlD.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/tRMmxMq.jpg)
My brother told me to look serious so I did. He is a phenomenal photographer and I always listen when he says to do something.
(http://i.imgur.com/T3pwc3G.jpg)
In case you were wondering, elk are REALLY heavy.
(http://i.imgur.com/D0gvKao.jpg)
Way to stick with it Malachi I'da been a pool of jello.
Pretty darn awesome! Congrats
WOW, what a bull :eek: :eek: :eek:
Congrats on a dream hunt and ending. Thanks for taking us along and for building the anticipation. I gave you a hard time, but I hope you know it was all in good fun. Thanks for a great post.
Awesome my friend, now that was worth waiting for. Great job, and beautiful Bull.
Tom
Awesome congrats!!!
Beautiful pictures, beautiful bull, and beautiful stories! Thanks for sharing! I love my whitetails, but that is this Missouri boy's dream! Congratulations. What an awesome hunt!
My favorite stories on Tradgang are the ones with lots of cliff hangers. This was my attempt to return the favor to all the great guys on this site! Thanks to everyone who makes this place so welcoming.
Alright! Great pics!
You "whipped" that elk
Fantastic Brother!
Awesome thread! I am still in my quest for an elk. Been 3 times and never had a close enough encounter to let an arrow loose.
Congrats to you on a fine elk!
Bisch
:thumbsup: :thumbsup: CONGRATS! Great shooting and beautiful Elk.
Great story telling buddy.
:thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
QuoteOriginally posted by Charlie Lamb:
Great story telling buddy.
:thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
That is a heck of a compliment from one of the masters right there!
Bisch
:archer:
Very cool story and congrats on a very nice bull!! :thumbsup:
Steve
I have to tell you guys, it means a lot to me to be able to share this story with everyone here. I consider ya'll to be some of the best friends I've never met. :notworthy:
Very cool. Been on that roller coaster ride before. Congrats.
Very nice. :clapper: :clapper:
Congratulations on a really nice bull. And the end of the story was well worth the wait. Thank you for letting us tag along.
Trumpkin that is awesome bull! Congrats! Your brother did a wonderful job on the photos as well :clapper:
:thumbsup:
Very cool, congrats
Wow.
Unreal experience and thanks for sharing.
Just flat AWESOME!
Congrats on a fine bull. What great memories and to be able to share it with family and friends.
Sweet !
Nice bull!
Congrats! And great story tellin!
Great bull...captivating story...excellent pics...congrats
Awesome story, and great shot! Congrats!
Oh, thank you for taking us along!
Awesome story, and great shot! Congrats!
Oh, thank you for taking us along!
Way to go!
:thumbsup: :thumbsup: :notworthy:
Wow, congratulations on a great animal. Nicely told and your correct on your brothers pictures. Great job all the way around.
Awesome, Congratulations it's nice to see some success of that caliber.
OMG, what a bull elk! Congrats on a fine elk and a great story.
Fantastic! A momentous event. I enjoyed every minute of the telling and what a fine animal.
Very nice! I was starting to think you were learning from our aussie friends and were going to finish it up next year. :)
What a fantastic bull! I know the high you were on - no drug on earth could produce a better one.
Congratulations!
WOW, what a hunt!! Congratulations.
Congrats on the bull, and thanks for sharing the experience!
Awesome! :thumbsup:
Awesome bull and a great way to tell the story! Sure keep my interest. :thumbsup:
Congrats! :clapper: :archer2:
Way to go, and a fantastic story with outstanding pictures....
:thumbsup:
Fantastic bull :thumbsup: and a great story. Thanks for taking us along. Well done! :clapper:
What a great bull and I enjoyed how you drug the story out :)
Great story and fine bull,congrats.
Awesome. I love the last pic with the bull on your back. To me it says "damn this thing is heavy....but the weight feels oh so good" Congrats on a fine animal!!
Wow,,, what a great story and animal. The pics are incredible.
oh that is a tremendous bull.
Great story, congrats on your hunt a a beautiful bull!
Congrats, Awesome story and pics. :clapper: :clapper:
WOW!!!!! :clapper: :clapper: :clapper:
That is really good stuff! Congratulations! That is one magnificent bull!
Congrats on a great bull!!
:clapper: :clapper: Great story telling-Congrats
What a story!You did well.No wonder you were looking for a taxidermist.Sounds like you found your honey hole as well.Congratulations.
Well Done. Thanks for taking us along. Congrates.... :thumbsup:
Congrats,nice bull.
What a great bull!! congratulations!!
Congratulations! Dream Hunt.
:thumbsup: :thumbsup:
Great Story and an excellent elk!
I was right there with you Malachi, very well done all the way around. I'm proud of you brother, and a heart felt big congrats. Your going to have a very bright hunting future with that mind set of yours! :thumbsup:
Congrats and thanks for the great story!
congrats
What a Great Hunt. Congrats! Liked the story too!
Congrats!! Great bull, Great pics thanks for taking me a long. TD.
Great story and a awesome bull. Well done!!
Great story telling!!!!!!
Congrats on a great bull!
Congrates on a great story and awesome bull! :thumbsup:
Yes... some one has downed a MT bull. I leave Fri for 10 days. I hope the elk gods are as kind. Congrats.
Beautiful animal and great story!
:thumbsup: :thumbsup: :archer:
Great Bull!!!!!
:thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
:campfire:
WOW...great story...congrats!
Great story, Thanks for sharing the trip!
Well I just saw this so I didn't have to endure all the suspense. Great story telling! I felt like I was there! Congrats on a beautiful bull!!
Tim... That's cheating!
I enjoyed every minute of that hunt! Excellent writing.
Killdeer :thumbsup:
Great story telling and a beautiful bull. Congrats and thanks for taking us along for the ride. :campfire:
Great bull with an even better story. Nice photos too.
Congratulations!
Congrats on a FINE bull!!
This thread should be in the "How to" section after it has run it's course. As in "How to tell of, and post pictures of, the hunt of a lifetime!!" Fabulous job all the way.
Nice bull TD - way to shatter the 6 year build-up of ice!
:clapper: :clapper: :clapper:
Enjoy the feast!
Shoot straight, Shinken
:archer2:
Wow! Great story and a great bull! Thanks for taking us along!
Bernie Bjorklund
NC Iowa/SW Wisconsin
Awesome Story thank you!!!!!
Great job on the story and the hunt, thanks!
Great bull and great story! I felt like I was right there with you.
:clapper: :clapper: FANTASTIC :clapper: :clapper:
Bringing this back up for the memories! Hunting season needs to hurry up and get here...
:help:
If you don't mind me asking, what bow did you use to kill this bull?
Quote from: HartHeart on July 22, 2018, 10:58:28 PM
If you don't mind me asking, what bow did you use to kill this bull?
Not at all! I was using my Toelke Whip. You can see the specs in my signature line.
Great story! Thanks for sharing - and congrats on an amazing animal. Awesome way to start the day off with this read.
That's some good stuff right there!! Congrats brother!! :notworthy: :clapper:
l missed this the first time, I guess. Really great story and very well told. I have hunted elk four times unsuccessfully and could appreciate all you went through.
Your lesson learned about "once you set up on a elk, trust it and don't move" really resonated with me. My best opportunity to shoot a nice bull was when I set up by a series of wallows.
I was about 15 yards from one with good wind. After a couple of hours I decided to move around as this was the first time I had been in this area, and there must be a better spot over that ridge...
As dark was approaching, I returned by the wallow to meet up with my son. It was raining and I put on my rain gear.
I was about 75 yards away from the wallow, on the ridge when I heard what sounded like a dog running through water splashing like crazy. Yup, no dog, it was a nice bull . As he hit the wallow where I had set up, he rolled onto his back with legs up into the air and thoroughly doused himself!
Then he stood up and trotted away. That picture is forever etched in my brain.
Anyway, I wish more guys would tell their stories like you did.
thanks,
Gary
A think o beauty, is a joy forever
Great Great Story!
Thanks for bringing it back up.
The "Malachi Crunch"! Anybody else old enough to remember Happy Days?!
Great shot and bull. I missed a chance at a similar bull last year and I can't wait for September!
Way to go!
This story was just as good today as it was in 2013. Enjoyed it then, loved it this time around. Great way to open a new hunting season. Hope the hunter still frequents this site.
Quote from: Bill Turner on July 26, 2018, 12:04:19 PM
This story was just as good today as it was in 2013. Enjoyed it then, loved it this time around. Great way to open a new hunting season. Hope the hunter still frequents this site.
Hey Bill! Glad to hear you liked the story. I not only frequent tradgang still, I resurrected my own post! Bad form maybe, but I wanted to read it again myself.
Not bad form at all, I enjoyed it again. Heck of a story and I'd listen to my brother too if he could take pics like that! Good stuff.
Glad your still with us my man. A lot have come and gone. Hope you have another great story to tell this year. From one Texan to another, "Keep'um sharp and shoot straight". :archer2:
Those are some fish tails! Well done sir!
Have you returned to the same bowl if not it is time to make a return visit. Good luck and thanks for a ride on your roller coaster.