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Elk - Bang/flop is the term

Well we are at the tail end of our late season cow elk draw. It is a rifle hunt (centerfire) but I have stayed with a muzzleloader.

Odd day for me... I had made a doctor's appointment for the AM - gonna get my knee fixed - got out of his office at 11:00 and the day had cleared up beautiful after snowing during the night and on and off during the morning. So I ran home changed clothes and headed for the field. Got to the hunting spot about 1:00 and sat and watched a ridge top and a draw bottom til 2:00 - nothing but deer moving. So I decided to walk down the ridge top then dropped off to the north into "red ribbon" draw - crossed the draw ans started up the other side and ran into some really fresh elk track. Followed them back across "red ribbon" to the skid road on the south side of the draw and near the mouth of the draw. When I hit the skid road there were 4 very fresh beds. I was really ticked they must have seen me when I crossed "red ribbon" the first time probably 100 yards to the west. They were now headed to "larch snag" draw - had i stayed in place they might have walked right out in fron of me. PLAN! - I decided to go out the mouth of "red ribbon" hit the haul road and walk sout to the mouth of "larch snag" draw - maybe I could cut them off in "larch snag" by getting around them + plus down on the road I would not be pushing them + plus i would be below them in elevation. All the way around I expected them to come off the ridge onto the road and drop into Corral Creek Canyon. I got all the way around to the bottom of "larch snag" and they had not come out to the road. So I started up the skid road into "larch snag" - I got up the road about 100 yards and was just turning the corner where you could look into the clearcut - and there they were 4 cow elk. I went to the ground immediately - prone - ran the scope up to 9 power and looked. I could not get a good shot at any one animal and the next thought was the range... it was out there. I watched them mil around a bit and then two cows were standing broadside to me - I pick what I thought to be the smaller of the 2 and took the shot. Course when the smoke cleared I had no idea if I hit anything could not see a thing... And then I started worring about the range again. I am sure it was 200 or right there about - but the gun was sighted to 143 yards zero - so I really thought I had made a good shot. Reloaded and started up the skid road towards the larch snag.... Could not see or hear a thing glassed both sides of the draw nothing... kept working my way up cautiously - nothing.... then as I crested a small hill in the road there she lay - right where she was shot except her head and tail were reversed.

I will shoot the distance tomarrow morning with the range finder - I got out of the truck in a hurry and forgot it. But at what ever the range is the Nosler .458 did everything I could have asked. I really wish I could have recovered that bullet - but I am sure it expanded out to it limits and the "hydrostatic shock" it deleivered to the animal was assume. I was hunting by myself as I often do and I was really worried about how far I was going to have to track and the light was getting dim...

It was a great hunt - now what am I going to do until next hunting season. It has been a great one for me, filled the my buck and doe tag and completed the hunt with this elk. One of those years to remember...

Hopefully have some more details tomarrow after we get it out...