How did your archery elk opener go?

[Little Fish]

I'm brand spankin' new to archery hunting and pretty new to calling so I may be mistaken, but it sure seemed like those cows were coming into my bugle. Earlier in the morning I had a cow mew once then let out 5 or 6 estrus whines after I bugled. At first I thought it must be another hunter, but based on the location of the response plus realistic sound of the response I'm 90% certain it was a cow saying...."I'm here...come and get me."

During modern firearm season last year I called some cows into a buddy who set up in the middle of a small clearcut. They came running into what I would consider a lost cow/calf call. These animals came in so fast I thought they were going to run my buddy over.

Edit:  Bobcat....good luck on your Toutle cow hunt. There are lots of animals in there. I imagine you will have very little trouble filling your tag. It sure will be difficult passing on the bulls and taking a cow however.

[spin05]

Just got back from the uptanuam/manashtash hunt. Saw 4 elk in 5 days and they were in the closed Naches unit.Too hot and dry.We did see a ton of grouse thou.We heard no bugleing at all.

[bobcat]

Are trip went pretty good! We didn't harvest an elk but we got on them every day. Are crew traveled 78 miles on foot and bikes. We had 8 bulls come in on us with in 50 yards. We set up on a nice 5x6 and he he was coming in quick and the wind was perfect. I think we found his house because he raked almost every tree raw. He came in to 50 yards and let out a chuckle so I answered back and he screamed at me. I had my dad set up about 85 yards behind me and he let out a chuckle then the elk got pissed. He started taking out his aggression out a a bush. Then the wind changed and he took off just as fast as he came in,this went on for about an hour and a half. We had about 8 good set up like this were some little thing just went wrong and we got them all on film. On the last day of the hunt, a deer walked in on me at 17 yards so I took it to get some meat in the freezer. The body is alittle sore but we are heading back down tomorrow to try to fill my dad's toulte any bull tag.

Funkster, did your dad ever get the map/access info in the mail from the WDFW for his Toutle hunt? My Toutle permit season starts October 6. I called the WDFW contact person they had listed on the post card they sent out, and he said they would  be sending my info out at the end of September. It sure would be nice to know which gates will be open, if any. The archery permit holders should have received their info by now, since the season starts tomorrow.

[finnman]

My brother just dumped elk number 10 this morning. A heavy 5x6 with a non-typical spike about 8 inches long next to the main beam for an official 5x7. 30 yards, slipped an arrow at a slight quartering in angle, right behind the front leg bone, pierced the lungs, liver, stomach and exited the opposite paunch. Bull went 200 yards at a sprint.  bull was leaving the clearcut in a hurry, he let out a raspy bugle and my brother imitated it, that was all it took! He was in their laps in a flash.

More pics coming!

Finnman

[jackelope]

holy crap...my mouth is watering just looking at those backstraps.
that is a great looking bull, love the color of his horns...and thanks for the story.

[Little Fish]

Wow. Nice animal and pics. Thanks for sharing.

[Muleyslyr]

Sweet!!  Great bull(s)!!  Gotta love it!!

[huntingnut]

Nice bull!! great color

[Michelle_Nelson]

Sweat nice looking bull.  Also love the antler color.

[funkster]

Bobcat,sorry it took so long to respond,just got home from the 2nd hunt. Yes,my dad did get his map info. We received it 2 days before the season opener. Just as I thought it would in pure WDFW fashion.

 We had a great hunt so far and have seen some big bulls. The last day we spent in the winston we got on a big 5x6 screamin' mad, he came in to 40yrds but stopped in some brush and we didn't get a shot off. We bugled back and forth for a good 20 Min's but he just wouldn't commit. I passed on a cow which now I'm thinking I should have taken but that's hunting.

We are heading back down to the toutle in the middle of the week. The elk action is just now starting to really get good down in the SW as the weather cooled off alot I wish the general season was just alittle longer . The day after the rain stopped and some sun came out the elk started running around again and singing there songs. Elk hunting is a tough sport,good luck to all and congrats to everyone that has tagged one!

[bobcat]

Thanks Funkster. Yeah I figured you were busy hunting. That's a good enough excuse for me. 

I'm curious about access to Weyerhaeuser land. Of course I haven't received my access info from the WDFW yet and my hunt is only 2 weeks away. But, the guy did tell me it wouldn't be sent out until the end of Sept, so I wasn't really expecting it yet anyway. Last I heard motorized vehicle access on Weyerhaeuser was still closed due to fire danger. So I'm guessing you guys were either walking in behind gates or were hunting state land?

[funkster]

Bobcat,Yeah,the tree farm was still closed due to fire. We hunted both the state land and some of the tree farm across the 4100 bridge on bikes. The WDFW did give 3 maps of the area with the damage areas highlighted and potential access areas shown as well. They did say if the weather was on are side they would open up the gates during the week only. I checked the hotline every day, sometimes twice a day as it rained 3 days straight. They did not open the gates at all.

You should have a good hunt with a muzzle loader we could have taken 8 respectable bulls if we had a muzzle loader and they should still be bugling. I think the hot weather stalled the rut action for about a week or so. Alot of the bulls we got on were just not ready to commit yet. Good luck with your hunt and keep us posted.

BTW,get a bear tag! We saw two bears and my dad almost got a shot at one at 17 yards away. The bear spooked when my dad took the arrow out of his quiver.

[boneaddict]

Great looking bull finman.  Tell your brother congrats....better yet, get him to sign up and we'll congratulate him in person.

[LongTatLaw]

There are some great elk on here...nice to see people are doing well!!!

Here is a pic of my very first elk ever!
He is a 2007 WA archery 5x5 taken from a tree stand at 1 yard!

[dreamingbig]

It went great.  I was blessed with the opportunity to take this spike on opening morning at 7:30am.  He isn't the biggest, but I also couldn't be picky since I didn't have a branch antlered permit.

He came running into my cow calls and stopped broadside at 30 yards.  One shot from my Hoyt Trykon XL was all it took.  He went only 25 yards after the shot before expiring.  A larger spike came into my calls while I was sitting there waiting to track the one I shot.  It was an exciting couple hours of bowhunting.

DB