Being a deer hunter my entire life, taking on elk hunting is a whole different experience!
Not having the pressure of being an "any bull" tag holder in the Observatory unit, left me to just enjoy the hunt. We arrived a week before the opener and scouted pretty thoroughly. We saw big bulls every day! I had not seen a big bull in the wild before. Hearing them scream was absolutely the tops!
With a good game plan in place my brother and I climbed onto our perch with the spotting scope. Right before shooting light I spot a big bull with my binoculars. With not enough light for me to find a moving bull in the spotting scope, all I could tell my nephew was BIG BULL! The bull hung in the timber, and no sighting by the hunter. The next morning, we were back into position with the same plan in place. On this morning, the bull was spotted moving down the timber line into an old clear cut. We felt sure another opportunity was missed. The next thing I know, my nephew is seen through the spotting scope setting up on a bull! He is facing the hill I am set up on, I have no view of the animal. Unfortunately, this turned out to be a missed shot. two hours later, after much searching, we are all confident, clean miss.
Morning three finds us with the same plan again. Mother Nature had different ideas however. On this day, the wind blew, it rained, snowed, and really thick fog, all at the same time. My brother and I made it to the top, just on the wrong side. In the fog, we could not see 20 feet, and had no idea exactly where we were. After sitting in the lee of the wind until daylight. We climbed down from our "perch". No finding bulls in the fog on this day.
Back at camp, milling around, a plan was devised to go to a protected look out and try to spot something for the evening hunt. We all piled into the truck and away we went.
On the way, I hear "ELK"! The vehicle comes to a sudden stop! "Can you see them?" No, I say, I'm on the uphill side, if I open the door the bell will send animals scurrying away. A new plan was put into place. The two young men would quietly slide out of the truck, and attempt a stalk. Us two "old farts", would take the truck and let the boys know if the herd crossed the road below.
On the bottom road, we see elk have indeed crossed the road. Things looked bleak. Suddenly, I hear a shot! My hopes soared! Finally, a radio transmission, "SEASON IS A SUCCESS!"
The young man did his old uncle proud! He tagged his very first elk, and it is a very respectable bull.
Congratulations!
Pictures are the honor of the tag holder to post. He has posted one under 2016 elk.