Opening weekend madness
09-09-2005, 02:09 PM
#1
Typical Buck
Thread Starter
Join Date: Dec 2003
Posts: 590
Opening weekend madness
Just wanted to share a hunting story or two from the weekend. MT season opened Saturday, and I had four days off, hunted through Labor Day.
The first two days were really quiet, no calling, no elk movement worth a darn. But I did have a big black bear stalking me, I think. See, I had done some cow calling and caught motion over my shoulder. Looked back to see a bear 15-20 yards behind me, in my wind funnel. About that time it smelled me and took off. I really can't prove he didn't just blunder up on me, but I wonder.
On Labor Day morn, I got into them big time. Heard my first bugle of the season and closed in. I just basically crashed into them, it was too noisy to have a chance to sneak anyway. I moved unhurriedly, skirting two spike bulls to get to the bugler. As I neared the wallow I expected the bugler to be near, a cow mew-mew-mew-mewed at me from about 40 yards, inquisitively. (I've heard this call described as an estrous call, but she used it as a who-are-you call.) I hit my Hoochie call, muffling it between my legs - it's just too loud for close range calling. That settled her down, and here she came.
I wound up laying flat on my stomach with my bow laying on the ground beside me as she approached within 30 feet. She was unconcerned, just feeding along. Luckily at 30 feet, she turned 90 degrees and headed off toward a big meadow on my right. About this time I saw the bugler, trailing her.
I had expected a raghorn from tracks pounded into the wallow the day before, but this were a genuine 6-pointer! I rose slowly, nocked an arrow, and set up for him to follow the cow into the open.
He broke cover at 15 yards on a fast walk. I waited for him to stop. He stopped at 20 yards. I settled the pin into his ribs, but had to hold off. See, he'd angled to a really extreme quartered away position. My arrow would have to punch through guts to get into vitals, so I couldn't take the shot. It wasn't over yet.
This case was one of those rare times when you're in the middle of an elk herd and they have so bought your cow call that you are granted a sort of invisibility. I was actually walking along with this bull as he approached the meadow. I was basically holding the range at 25-30 yards, waiting for him to turn a few degrees. I was really confident he would do just that, because the cow he was trailing had headed off to the right. Then fate struck.
A spike bull squirted out of cover to the bull's left, so bully spun left to shake his horns at the little guy. This move put him butt-first to me. I followed him as far as I dared, but gave up on the meadows edge.
So now I retraced my course of approach, and resettled at the bottom of the meadow, where I began the morning. I had the wind right again, and tossed a couple cow calls at the elk, who had settled into a small island of timber out in the middle of the meadow. I picked up my bull again, 110 yards out into the meadow. For the first time, I really put the mental calipers on him, and deduced he wasn't quite as big as I had thought in the heat of the moment. He'd net maybe 275. I had thought he was at least 20 points bigger than that. Since I have a sort of soft cap set at 300 for the first half of the season, I concluded not to keep after him. However, the cow he was with wasn't finished with me yet.
She decided to come over and check out the cowcaller/me, and brought the bull with her. They passed by at 40 yards, ten yards past my self-imposed range limit, and I let them go.
What a great start to the season! Another gem for my memory bank. I've got seventeen days off starting 16 Sep, and hope to make something happen before it's all over.
Good luck to all, and keep it clean.
The first two days were really quiet, no calling, no elk movement worth a darn. But I did have a big black bear stalking me, I think. See, I had done some cow calling and caught motion over my shoulder. Looked back to see a bear 15-20 yards behind me, in my wind funnel. About that time it smelled me and took off. I really can't prove he didn't just blunder up on me, but I wonder.
On Labor Day morn, I got into them big time. Heard my first bugle of the season and closed in. I just basically crashed into them, it was too noisy to have a chance to sneak anyway. I moved unhurriedly, skirting two spike bulls to get to the bugler. As I neared the wallow I expected the bugler to be near, a cow mew-mew-mew-mewed at me from about 40 yards, inquisitively. (I've heard this call described as an estrous call, but she used it as a who-are-you call.) I hit my Hoochie call, muffling it between my legs - it's just too loud for close range calling. That settled her down, and here she came.
I wound up laying flat on my stomach with my bow laying on the ground beside me as she approached within 30 feet. She was unconcerned, just feeding along. Luckily at 30 feet, she turned 90 degrees and headed off toward a big meadow on my right. About this time I saw the bugler, trailing her.
I had expected a raghorn from tracks pounded into the wallow the day before, but this were a genuine 6-pointer! I rose slowly, nocked an arrow, and set up for him to follow the cow into the open.
He broke cover at 15 yards on a fast walk. I waited for him to stop. He stopped at 20 yards. I settled the pin into his ribs, but had to hold off. See, he'd angled to a really extreme quartered away position. My arrow would have to punch through guts to get into vitals, so I couldn't take the shot. It wasn't over yet.
This case was one of those rare times when you're in the middle of an elk herd and they have so bought your cow call that you are granted a sort of invisibility. I was actually walking along with this bull as he approached the meadow. I was basically holding the range at 25-30 yards, waiting for him to turn a few degrees. I was really confident he would do just that, because the cow he was trailing had headed off to the right. Then fate struck.
A spike bull squirted out of cover to the bull's left, so bully spun left to shake his horns at the little guy. This move put him butt-first to me. I followed him as far as I dared, but gave up on the meadows edge.
So now I retraced my course of approach, and resettled at the bottom of the meadow, where I began the morning. I had the wind right again, and tossed a couple cow calls at the elk, who had settled into a small island of timber out in the middle of the meadow. I picked up my bull again, 110 yards out into the meadow. For the first time, I really put the mental calipers on him, and deduced he wasn't quite as big as I had thought in the heat of the moment. He'd net maybe 275. I had thought he was at least 20 points bigger than that. Since I have a sort of soft cap set at 300 for the first half of the season, I concluded not to keep after him. However, the cow he was with wasn't finished with me yet.
She decided to come over and check out the cowcaller/me, and brought the bull with her. They passed by at 40 yards, ten yards past my self-imposed range limit, and I let them go.
What a great start to the season! Another gem for my memory bank. I've got seventeen days off starting 16 Sep, and hope to make something happen before it's all over.
Good luck to all, and keep it clean.
09-10-2005, 08:38 AM
#3
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location:
Posts: 2,555
RE: Opening weekend madness
Dirt, sounds like you had a great time. I toohave passed on a few elk but not a 6x6. On my last day of out of the 4 dayswe hunted so far. I had a spike and a small raghorn come into me when I was trying to call in a 6x6 up the hill about 150 yards away. They were milling aroundlooking forthe otherelk(me) 35 to 40 yards away. I know I could have brought them closer withcalling and the decoybut I didn't want to shoot them and they were in my way of moving closer so I just stoped calling and waited them out. It took them 20 minutes to leave and by that time the bigger bull had moved off into the timber. It was close to 11:00 and was getting hot fast. I didn't want to ruin it and bust the bull out of his bedroom so I decided to wait, and go after them in the afteernoon. But aftertalkingwith my hunting partneroverlunch I found out he was sick and needed to head home. We were planning on hunting until dark but oh well thats life.
That was last monday and I haven't been out since. I want to be out this weekend but I have to tend to a bow shop for a friend who owns it here localy in Idaho Falls so he can go hunting. Oh well I still have from the 17 to the 25 plus evenings to go and kill a big bull! From the 20th on I think I will be willing to take almost any elk, but then again I still have elk meat left over from last year. Plus a good eating home raised 4-H pig will be in the freezer this next week so meat is not a need. Also I know thatI would ratherkeep huntingfor a bigger bull up until the last full day, then fill my tag early. My last archey killed 6x6 bull was in 1998 and its time for another, I know that will never happen ifIpunch my tagon something less.Lets just say I can wait to have some more fun and find out what happens!. Jason
That was last monday and I haven't been out since. I want to be out this weekend but I have to tend to a bow shop for a friend who owns it here localy in Idaho Falls so he can go hunting. Oh well I still have from the 17 to the 25 plus evenings to go and kill a big bull! From the 20th on I think I will be willing to take almost any elk, but then again I still have elk meat left over from last year. Plus a good eating home raised 4-H pig will be in the freezer this next week so meat is not a need. Also I know thatI would ratherkeep huntingfor a bigger bull up until the last full day, then fill my tag early. My last archey killed 6x6 bull was in 1998 and its time for another, I know that will never happen ifIpunch my tagon something less.Lets just say I can wait to have some more fun and find out what happens!. Jason
