So here is the story of our hunt. After arriving on Saturday before the hunt, we set up our camp right where 1901 starts and went off to find some bulls. A bull answered my first bugle at 3:30. We proceeded to locate 5 more bulls that night. Sunday we took off from raven roost 4 miles into the wilderness. Lots more bulls bugling in there but because everything was so far in and in the very bottom we decided not to go with a pure wilderness hunt.
Monday morning came and with it cold, nasty rain and fog. We sat on a clearcut that fed into a thick creekbottom. The previous night 4 bulls had been screaming up a storm in there. But the rainy weather shut them down and we didnt hear or see a elk all morning. That evening we returned. Several cows wandered out and 2 bulls were bugling off and on in the bottom until someone starting plinking down the canyon a ways. Ended up empty on day 1.
Tuesday we tried the same thing with similar results. Instead of rain we had snow to contend with this time. We took off into the creek bottom this time. Of course, it was loaded with sign and rubs but the elk didnt want to respond to my best attempts with my phelps game calls. The bottom was thick as a lot of the bottoms I hunt for roosevelts and it took us 2 hours to climb out of the canyon. So that evening we headed back to the spot we have hunted the modern rifle season for years. There is also tons of rubs in there but the elk seem to always have moved on come modern season. We took off up the trail and immediately started finding huge rubs and sign everywhere! They were in there all right!!
We decided to split up to cover more ground. I got to my favorite high spot just below the ridgeline of manastash and glassed and listened. Within an hour I had heard 5 different bulls go off. They were going absolutely crazy too!! I had to loop way around to get back to the truck cause they were right near the trail and I didnt want to blow them out of there. Meanwhile dad had jumped a cow with a raghorn and heard 4 other bugles. We called me on the radio and said he was going after them!! I eagerly waited for a shot to ring out but it never came. Later we we met back up we explained his near miss. He had got around to cut them off and had one in his scope but it slipped into the brush seconds before he could line up his crosshairs.
We got right back in there Wednesday morning!! With high hopes we set up on an vantage and listened to several bulls going off. We formed a game plan and took off after the nearest bull. Every bull on the mountain sounded like a big boy! We cut the distance as much as possible in the thick timber. Soon we had bulls bugling on 3 sides of us!! And all headed our way! But just as we thought we had one pegged everything went dead quiet. After patiently waiting and calling off and on we worked our way down the ridge and to the truck. Again that evening we returned but everything had gone mysteriously quiet. Only one bull about 1000 vertical feet below us was piping up every now and then.
Thursday morning we had came up with a sneaky plan. The previous two days a big bull had been bugling high on the ridge in the evenings, worked his way down, then came back up the ridge in the morning. Getting in way above him, we thought we him fooled this time but nooooo.... He decided to go down the mountain even furthur that day.
Guess you just cant pattern elk
Meanwhile with all the other bulls on the mountain face still clammed up we took off back to the truck and blitzed to a spot furthur down. There was another forest road that came below the bull that we had been working that morning. We drove half way down the road and decided to walk from there. Scarcely 2 minutes after hoping out of the truck a bull let loose a ear piercing scream just 150 yards away! The chase was on!! Dad moved in while me and my hunting buddy (who had just showed up the previous evening) held back 50 yards and called and filmed. Soon 2 other bulls joined the bugle fest and all 3 bulls sounded like they were heading our way. After 15 minutes we could hear a bull raking a tree about a hundred yard below dad. And he wasnt even one of the bulls bugling!
We watched as dad slowly brought up his gun and expected to hear the shot. Like tuesday, it never came. All the bulls slowly started fading off so we moved on the nearest one. We set up on him 4 more times. He just kept working down the hillside and we followed in hot pursuit trying to piss him off and turn around. Eventually we got to about 60-80 yards away. He bugled hard and I cut him off and starting raking a tree. He was so close we could hear his steps on the mostly quiet trail. Then he went dead silent.
We sat there in frustration for 45 minutes without a peep from any nearby bull. We decided to do a quick drive to check out a spot we were going to hunt that evening. I pulled the truck over, got out and took a look through a narrow gap in the trees at a clearcut a quarter mile away or so. Suddenly I heard a bugle directly in that clearcut over the noise of the still running truck. We piled back in like a chinese fire drill and hurried to the end of the road. From there it is a 200 yard hike through some timber to the edge of a vantage spot on the edge of the clearcut. We immediately saw a cow, then a spike, then another spike! Dad set up for a shot as we glassed in vain to spot him in the hopelessly overgrown clearcut. Suddenly a lost calf in the bottom of the clearcut begin mewing frantically. He was lost and scared and I started cow calling back at him with some mixed bugles. A cow showed up and hurried towards the lost calf. Meanwhile the bull, who had actually already gone into the timber came charging back out, probably fully expecting to have to fight off a bull trying to steal his harem!! Dad put him down in his tracks with a front on neck shot at 330 yards. The bull went straight down and was expired within 30 seconds. Dad kept a eye on the bull while we hurried back for packframes and gear. The pack out was a pleasant suprise as it was quite easy. We were back in camp by 2:30. Were not sure of the score, hes a dandy bull but probably not an absolute beast. Were guessing anywhere from 290-320. you guys can speculate and see what you think. He has huge bases and tremendous mass throughout the antler. I captured the whole hunt on film so I will get that posted soon also. Thanks for following our hunt guys it was a absolute blast!
