HuntingNet.com Forums - 2006 Canadian Whitetails

Well I wish I was as happy to beback, man I hate leaving them wonderful creatures![:o] It was a great trip, good times, lots of laughs, animals, mudand few pops make a week go by very quickly. As far as details my hunt: lots of rain prior and then good conditions while hunting(except for some high winds). It all started saturday evening before she even opened, I set up with the bow for bears in our small pocket of oats (even though wasn't much left from the deer, elk, bear and even the odd moose track). Nope never saw a bearI'd shoot but did call in 3 elk. I did snapsome pics but they were really blurred (i'll post a couple of the better ones).Sunday we started out withbull moose, then a cow and calf moose,some deer, 2 bear, yotes, tons of geese andfinished in style thatevening with our crew allseeing some elk moving about in our spots.Monday morning by 7:00 am we had 2 spikes on the ground via my cow calling both still in velvet and prime pickings to opening day cow calling. The one spike I sucked across from the east side of the river and was shot at less than 50 yards. Neither huge on horns but high on the table scale! Good start none the less. I'll spare some of the details but I got picked off tuesday and wed amby young bulls while working a herd bull and a vocal satelitte in the dense brush of the valley.Weds PM we planned for the event and took a raghorn out as he tried to sneak on me, I believe it was one I called out on staurday evening in the treestand as it was just down from our north field in the valley bush.Thursday was the best day I have ever had, I was within 100 yards of the herd bull and he was a howling, at one point I had 4 seperate bulls going off around to the N, E and W. All I saw were few glimpses of very substantial tines and lots of steam when he roared, but the thick cover never gave me a shot, thena flippin' cow busted me and the big boy movedhis herd offbugling his arse off for quite sometime. Serve me on toast I was done andyet tofire a shot at an elk, while I could have shot thespike on opening morn I didn't even shoulder allowing the other fellas to get their chance. Went back in afternoon and be damned if I didn't get it to them again, the herd bulls was well off but he was responding to my bugles as were a couple of satelitte's. Things didn't happen quick enough and I deceided to retreat instead of chance spooking something. I moved back hoping to possibly catch something and listened to the show that was being played by the real bulls but nothing happened. Friday morning with only 3 elk tags we deceided lets all head their and maybe we'll get a bull and call her done. We got their early and the bulls were not talking, we sent one down thefield andmyself & other headed into the valley where I had got so close the previous morning. Just before legal the herd bull started roaring and we figured him to be on or near the field. I made the decision to send the other guy to a meadow where the raghorn was shotand I would head into the bottom to call. On my first bugle I gota bull to respond to the N, then the herd bull started to the E and we were off. Within minutes the valley was on fire, I actually found myselfstumped on where to focus my attention....then I heard a chuckler moving in fast from the NW, I focused on hopefully either drawing this bull through the meadow for the other shooter or to me where I had a small opening directly below me near the river bottom. It worked less than 15 minutes later the 6x5 entered my view and I made a cow mew to stop him, as he let out a chuckle I sent a bullet through his heart. I then began callingin hopes tohold him up some and then the partner in field dropped the pin on spike who broke offto see if the grass was greener on the other side of the river. The herd bull was directly below my partner but again the veteran didn't show himself, he was equally toast ready.Simply an awesome hunt and experience...so much for the peak of rut being the only time to get into bulls. Although I am sure had it been peak we wouldn't have had to go as deep as we did, then again would of it been the same?[8D]

Now all I have to do is wait year to do it again....booooo! Hopefully this is asign to come for deer.

Here is my chuckler, certainly not the biggest elk butreallywas icing on the cake.