wanta be elk hunters!!!

[HORN-HUNTER]

This past week I had a good laugh at my co-workers...ok...they had 3 cow elk tags in this limited area ,only 30 tags were issued .Opening morning came they unloaded there " MAG rifles" @ a heard of 20-25 cow elk ,approx. 250yards...nothing dropped...off they ran...[8D]...The afternoon hunt they wanted to road hunt ...off they went ,I stayed in camp,,,heard some shots a hour later...went to gather up some wood.. enough to be hold 4 cows were feeding 100 yrds. away.It was getting dark ..I had the fire burning,they arrived at camp..wheres the elk I asked ...they all shook there heads.. had shots but..missed[:' (]...The next morning came ..I took one of them near a open meadow where the elk would feed at night and head in the timber in early morning..before day break we were glassing the meadow at 300 yards I saw some white spots moving ..yep there they are a dandy 6 X 7 w/ 8 cows ...we headed in the edge of timber ...this co-worker could not walk quiltey nore keep up with me a a good pace...we closed the gap to 150 yards...day break came ...he needed a branch to shoot from,he was so out winded...and dizzy he wanted me to shoot the elk...[]with his 300 ultra mag ,the bolt was rusted, & he frogot to put a bullet in the chamber,the bull busted he working the bolt metal to metal..you know what that means...spooked elk ,,the bull trotted off, single file the cows took pace..shoot ,shoot ,,waited & waited .I made a calf sound they stopped ...shoot---what the heck.. shoot ...his trigger was also rusted....they all went home " " crying" " " []The moral to this story :always be prepared,carry at least a good kinfe,a good rope ( not clothes line rope)..good hunter orange vest (not no halloween costume cape) and at least some water ,clean & oil the bolt. and all moving actions..and me in good shape... shoot from diff. positions.. and a man has to know his limits...a( CLINT EASTWOOD) saying...good day & hunt hard...

[txhunter58]

It is too bad those tags were wasted on those guys. And I doubt that they " missed" all the elk they shot at. I would never go hunting with guys like that more than once.

[ELKampMaster]

Every elk hunter was a " wanna be" elk hunter at one point, some get off to a good start and some don' t.

Once it is " show time" (that is Lady Luck, Mother Nature, guides/friends, and the elk have done their part) then it is all up to the hunter to perform (& I' ve seen few bench rests in the elk woods). Hopefully, out of the group one of them realized how " bad" it was, has resolved to better himself, and will return next year with the " problems" you mentioned remedied. Just because someone gets off to a real poor start don' t mean they won' t adjust for the better -- at least we can hope.

Like txhunter58 said though, I' m betting they didn' t all miss and that' s the real tragedy. Unlike deer which nearly always react to being hit, elk can even take a poor shot from practically any cartridge and turn and run without so much as a flinch or a limp yet be leaving a blood trail behind. Amazing, majestic, tough animals.

Never Go Undergunned, Always Check The Sight In, Perform At Showtime,
EKM

[Wolf killer]

I agree with txhunter58 & ELKampMaster. They just got too excited & shot when they saw hair in the scope. I hope that they will practice with there hunting rifles a couple of times every month before next season?
I also bet there is one guy in the bunch that will blame the rifle & buy another one before next year.