Another Margaret 5-Pt (Early Rifle Tag)

[bradslam]

Although the bull I ended up getting during my Margaret early rifle hunt wasn't as big as I hoped, I had promised a few people that I would post it on here, so here is the story and photos.

After scouting both the Weyerhaueser and Mt. Margaret Backcountry areas, I had decided to hunt Weyerhaueser because I had some really nice bulls located there and the terrain was easier for me since I would be hunting solo.  Of course, that idea went by the wayside when it was shut down due to fire danger.   So all four permit holders, plus an incentive tag holder were on the Backcountry side.  Before the hunt began, it was obvious that the elk had been pressured by the several archery permit holders that had been forced off the Weyerhaueser lands.  Most of the elk appeared to have been pushed back into some of the more inaccessable areas.

The day before the season began, I helped a couple of bowhunters follow up on a shot they took at a bull down low.  It turns out they had missed, but I found out that for the last three days, they had been chasing a 6x6 and a 5x6 that they said were way bigger than anything they had glassed on the open hillsides.  Instead of going with my plan to backpack to Obscurity Lake, I decided to commit to spending a few days hunting the valley floor.  That night after dark, I heard two bulls bugling near camp with one of them having a particularly deep, nasty-sounding bugle.  Opening morning, I headed out just before daylight and heard Mr. Nasty, but no other bugles.  Because it was foggy and the breeze kept changing from going up valley to down valley, I tried to stay parallel with the bull until I could get a look at him.  However, at one point, he took a sharp turn and headed across a swamp.  I beelined toward him, but before I got to a position where I could see, he had crossed into the reprod on the other side.  I ran around and tried to cut him off, but that is some nasty stuff (they had thinned it at some point and left all of the cut trees lay) and I wasn't able to make very good time.  By the time I got close, he had crossed the 2612 into the Winston and would not come back down across the road.  That night, he was the only bull that I heard bugling around camp.

The next day, Mr. Nasty was once again the only bull bugling, but this time he was on the other side of the river, already in the reprod before daylight.  I tried like hell, but could not get ahead of the herd before they headed up a steep nasty hillside covered with alder brush.  I am always amazed at what elk can travel through.  The visiblity in that stuff was literally about three yards.  I kept climbing up the hill trying to get in front of them, but up and up they went.  Suddenly I came upon a rocky chute a few yards wide and I could hear the elk across it and just above me.  At this point, I decided to take a chance and make a cow call to see if he would show his face.  When I did that, two cows popped their heads up about ten yards above me.  The bull stayed just over a little ridge from them bugling like crazy.  I wanted to bugle, to see if that might make him show himself, but the cows were staring directly at me.  And then the wind swirled.  The cows busted straight up the hill with the bull following, screaming all the way.  They went all the way to the top and crossed over to the other side.  That night there were no bugles around camp.  The next morning was also depressingly silent.  After hunting around in the reprod and passing up a quick shot at a stubby 5x5, I decided to head up into the high stuff.

Climbing up the "hunter's trail" I heard a bugle far in the distance and thought about the possibility of packing an elk out of there by myself.  I had some friends lined up who were willing to help pack, but it all depended on their work schedules.  As warm as it was, I knew I was limited in how far back I could shoot one and still get the meat out in time.

There didn't seem to be anything around Panhandle Lake, so I headed west.  At around 4pm, I heard a bugle way down the steep north-facing slope.  I thought of going down after him, but the thought of cutting up an elk by myself on that steep of a slope didn't appeal to me, so I started trying to call him in.  After a while, I noticed that he was sounding more agitated and was definitely getting closer.  When he finally came into view, a couple of hundred yards down the slope, my first thought was that he was too small to shoot.  I watched him for several minutes wreaking havoc on some small trees and kept calling to try to get him on top of the ridge I was on.  Eventually, he appeared on the ridge and started working his way toward me.  My mind was racing.  He wasn't quite a small as I first thought.  I knew a good 5-pt that I had my eye on before the season below Bear Pass was killed on opening day.  I knew that the group of hunters from Morton had got a bull to the west of me and I assumed that they had shot the big one (later confirmed on another thread on this site).   I knew the elk were pressured and had been pushed into some nasty spots.  I knew that the action on the valley floor had died off.  I wondered if I would be able to find a bigger one in a spot where I could get it out solo if I needed to.  I didn't want to have to hunt in November if I didn't have to.  When he paused at fifty yards and lifted his head up, I decided what the heck.  My .257 Roberts cracked and down he went.

When I walked up to him, a wave of panic swept over me as I found him laying between two logs with his antlers wedged underneath one of them.  I wasn't sure if I could get him out by myself.  After an all out effort, I was finally able to roll him out from the logs to a spot where I could cut him up.  I took some pictures and verified that I had no cell phone service to call in any reinforcements.  I also noticed that it was clouding up and would not be as cold as it had been on previous nights.  It was just at dark when I finished bagging up the meat and spread it out on some logs.  I loaded one meat bag into my pack and headed down by headlamp.  At midnight, I got to Randle and called my wife to first tell her Happy Anniversary, and then to have her call the friends on my list later that day to give them a heads up that I needed some help.  The next morning I went back up the hill, boned out the legs and packed the remaining meat bags up the ridge to hang them in a shady spot.  After packing a load down with me, I headed for Randle again to make some phone calls and see who was able to help out.  Fortunately, two of my friends were able to come down on Friday.  A big shout out goes to Berndt and Tab.  It had clouded up the second night also and the meat was not near as cold as I would have liked.  Thanks to the additional help, I was able to get the meat to the butcher in time.  During the pack out,  we were lucky enough to see five mountain goats scurrying around on the north side of Mt. Whittier.  Very cool.  All in all it was a fun hunt.  Not as easy as it could have been if Weyerhaueser was open, and the bull I got wasn't near as big as some that I had seen,  but I feel fortunate to have gotten drawn for that tag.

[Huntbear]

Congratulations on a great hunt, and a nice bull.   That is some damn nice country back in there.  I can only hope to draw my Margaret tag soon. 

 

[PlateauNDN]

    looks like a trophy to me.

[bradslam]

Hey Huntbear, I do believe that I owe you a bottle of Pendleton, right?

[KopperBuck]

Nice job. Looks like gorgeous country. I'm not sure I want to admit it, but I have no clue where that's at, but it looks awesome.

[bradslam]

Nice job. Looks like gorgeous country. I'm not sure I want to admit it, but I have no clue where that's at, but it looks awesome.

Part of the Margaret Unit north of Mt. St. Helens.  Yes, it is beautiful.

[sirmissalot]

Very cool, good story Brad glad you were able to connect. Thats a good heavy five point, and the fact you did it solo adds to the cool factor in my book. That hunters trail is a killer with a heavy load going down!

I owe Huntbear a bottle as well...

[nailbender]

Nicely done! That is a nice bull there. Congrats to ya

[Huntbear]

Hey Huntbear, I do believe that I owe you a bottle of Pendleton, right?

Yes sir, I believe you do....  I do expect you to share a drink with me out of the bottle.

Very cool, good story Brad glad you were able to connect. Thats a good heavy five point, and the fact you did it solo adds to the cool factor in my book. That hunters trail is a killer with a heavy load going down!

I owe Huntbear a bottle as well...

I see some good times ahead.. 

Same goes for you... I expect you to have a drink with me ... 


You both took the info I gave you, and did your tags proud.   

[huntnphool]

Awesome

[KopperBuck]

Nice job. Looks like gorgeous country. I'm not sure I want to admit it, but I have no clue where that's at, but it looks awesome.

Part of the Margaret Unit north of Mt. St. Helens.  Yes, it is beautiful.

Sounds like I need to get over the bump sometime. Very cool.

[combs338]

Nice bull. Great pictures.

[Huntbear]

Just noticed in your story... you used the .257 bob...      you just upped the coolness factor for me..  Way to go!

[Blacklab]

Nice 

[bradslam]

Just noticed in your story... you used the .257 bob...      you just upped the coolness factor for me..  Way to go!

My grandpa killed plenty of elk, moose, deer, goats, and even a grizzly with his.  They work just fine if you put the bullet in the right spot.  By the way, he didn't go looking for the grizzly; it came at them while they were packing out a moose in B.C.