Earlier in the summer myself and a friend did some scouting for a new elk area here around the area that we live in. We found a real promising area in what I call a hole in the ground behind a local land mark.

We have had cameras in the area all summer and one of the places that we located a camera was a small spring running a very small amount of water. This year as dry as we have been these natural springs are a big thing for the wildlife. Well at this particular site we decided to dig a catch basin for the collection of clean moving water. The basin was not very large at all maybe able to hold about 5 gallons of running water. Sometime - late in the summer Cam had switched the camera to capture video instead of pics. When he checked the camera there recently we found the camera had collected 4 videos that made us feel our efforts had been validated.

This first video shows a smaller bull using the basin exactly what it was created for.

Drinking water: Just click on the pic to start the video



But from there the guy changed the basin to something we had not really intended:

Cooling bath:



Think he was pretty proud of himself and his cooling bath...

From there our water basin became a muddy wallo





It appears that the next time we do this we should probably increase the size of our catch basin?

Cool video clips.

I wish we had a larger elk herd here in PA. I've been applying for a tag ever since they started hunting them but have yet to get a one.
There is just something about elk hunting that brings out the primal "mountain man" spirit in me whether it's with rifle or bow.

It looks as though he enjoyed himself immensely Sabotloader. I think that catch basin is going to grow on its own. You've created a honey hole.

Cool! Did you guys get some weather out of the storm that passed? We got pounded on this end of the state.

very interesting videos. I like watching wildlife doing just what they like to do.

Ron we got rained on hard and the temps have dropped - it is almost like it is really hunting season around here... Then today it even got better....

Thursday mid morning...





then mid-afternoon



Things are really looking up!!!

When you get one on the ground in the back country you truly realize the size that they are and wonder how they get around in the timber and bush as well as they do.

Dave I totally agree with you... I resisted the urge to get a game camera for several years, but now that I have them I really enjoy just watching the animals be animals...

Look at this sequence off another cam



He hears something on the road behind him



He knows where it is



He has it pegged



He is leaving



He is gone

Bronko u could head over to Co for some elk hunting, or Az, we got big bulls