frank church this fall

[WAcoyotehunter]

Four of us went into the Frank Church for an elk hunt this fall. We packed 8 horses/mules about 12 miles in.  It was tough hunting, but we managed to find two bulls and one nice buck.

The weather was a mix of rain/snow most days.  We didn't hear any elk bugling, and killed the only two bulls we saw in six days of hunting. 

[WAcoyotehunter]

That pic of the mule down was a scary deal.  We were giving 10cc of IV bute and went right through the jugular to the carotid artery and he crumpled immediately.  We had to strip the saddle and cut his lead- then give him ~10 minutes before he got up and was ready to work.  It was a scary deal for a minute or two.  He was pretty high.

[h2ofowlr]

Looks like a fun hunt!

[jackelope]

That pic of the mule down was a scary deal.  We were giving 10cc of IV bute and went right through the jugular to the carotid artery and he crumpled immediately.  We had to strip the saddle and cut his lead- then give him ~10 minutes before he got up and was ready to work.  It was a scary deal for a minute or two.  He was pretty high.

I saw this on FB. Was the IV the cause of the problem or the solution? That could have been bad.

[vandeman17]

Nice job. My old man and I were in the frank in September. He shot a rag horn bull and I shot a solid mulie. It was a fun trip

[WAcoyotehunter]

That pic of the mule down was a scary deal.  We were giving 10cc of IV bute and went right through the jugular to the carotid artery and he crumpled immediately.  We had to strip the saddle and cut his lead- then give him ~10 minutes before he got up and was ready to work.  It was a scary deal for a minute or two.  He was pretty high.

I saw this on FB. Was the IV the cause of the problem or the solution? That could have been bad.

The IV was the cause.  I like IM shots, because they are easy and safe.  IV is quick though.... The carotid lays under the jugular and is higher pressure.  If you get into it blood will push into the syringe. different than a jugular hit that you have to draw back to get blood.

Lesson learned... Old Virgil was higher than a kite for a few minutes and gave us a good scare, but I guess Bute rarely kills them. 

[Brushbuster]

Congrats!! That is some extremely rugged country. 

[elkinrutdrivemenuts]

Looks like an awesome time!  Great buck as well! 

What happened to the mule?  Was it getting sick?

[cbond3318]

Man that looks awesome!

[DaveMonti]

Yeah, why was someone giving the mule an IV?

[jennabug]

That pic of the mule down was a scary deal.  We were giving 10cc of IV bute and went right through the jugular to the carotid artery and he crumpled immediately.  We had to strip the saddle and cut his lead- then give him ~10 minutes before he got up and was ready to work.  It was a scary deal for a minute or two.  He was pretty high.

I saw this on FB. Was the IV the cause of the problem or the solution? That could have been bad.

The IV was the cause.  I like IM shots, because they are easy and safe.  IV is quick though.... The carotid lays under the jugular and is higher pressure.  If you get into it blood will push into the syringe. different than a jugular hit that you have to draw back to get blood.

Lesson learned... Old Virgil was higher than a kite for a few minutes and gave us a good scare, but I guess Bute rarely kills them.

Wow!  The only way I've given bute is as a food additive.  That would have given me a good scare too.  Looks like a fantastic trip though.

For those that don't know, bute is like ibuprofen for horses; treats inflammation and pain; can cause internal problems with overuse.

[DaveMonti]

Thanks for the explanation Jenna!

[X-Force]

Very Cool. Looks like an epic week.

[WAcoyotehunter]

Yeah, why was someone giving the mule an IV?

Not giving an IV, jut an intravenous shot.   He's an oldule and gets stored up pretty bad.   Bute is a really common drug for horses and mules

[ian_padron]

Definite bucket list trip to hunt the Frank on stock someday. Thanks for sharing your story. Wish this Backcountry Sub-Forum got more love...but I guess that's why we end up with these places all to ourselves eh?

[bowhunterforever]

Looks like a blast

[WAcoyotehunter]

Definite bucket list trip to hunt the Frank on stock someday. Thanks for sharing your story. Wish this Backcountry Sub-Forum got more love...but I guess that's why we end up with these places all to ourselves eh?

LOL- no kidding.

The Frank Church is an amazing piece of backcountry.  We hunted in ~12-15 miles on a cleared trail and never saw another hunter, horse track or boot print.  We literally had hundreds of square miles to ourselves. 

[boneaddict]

That would be a neat hunt, especially with the mules

[theleo]

Were you guys putting the quarters on top of loaded panniers for the trip out? It's interesting to look at packed animals to see how other guys skin the same cat.

We always have bute around for "just in case" but we use syringes and keep the injection site higher on the neck closer to the shoulder to avoid those major blood vessels. Any horse owner that does back country hunts with their animals should have bute in one form or another for their animals. 

[benhuntin]

Next time maybe you can let Brian get a shot at something. Sounded like a fun trip.


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[WAcoyotehunter]

Next time maybe you can let Brian get a shot at something. Sounded like a fun trip.


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LOL- he got a bull in the Church in 2014, on opening day.  You should have seen the look on his face when the three of us took off to bivy camp and left him in camp to care for the stock for three days!  It looked like we took away his birthday, he was so mad.

[Chesapeake]

Looks like a fun trip. Only ever used Bute paste in the big oral syringe myself. That buck looks real nice.

[WAcoyotehunter]

Looks like a fun trip. Only ever used Bute paste in the big oral syringe myself. That buck looks real nice.

The paste is nice and easy.

The buck was a whopper.  We rarely see many deer in there, but found a few decent ones and this big one. 

[elkinrutdrivemenuts]

Looks like a fun trip. Only ever used Bute paste in the big oral syringe myself. That buck looks real nice.

The paste is nice and easy.

The buck was a whopper.  We rarely see many deer in there, but found a few decent ones and this big one.

Thats unfortunate to hear, I thought it might be a good place for a mulie hunt from a drop camp.  We are running into to much competition in our spot and I thought the Church would offer some much needed space between hunters.

[WAcoyotehunter]

I suspect there are spots that are better than where we were.  The season also goes into November, but we were pretty high and getting stock in would be tough.  I think a raft based hunt through there, with some hiking up the tribs would produce awesome bucks. 

[vandeman17]

Looks like a fun trip. Only ever used Bute paste in the big oral syringe myself. That buck looks real nice.

The paste is nice and easy.

The buck was a whopper.  We rarely see many deer in there, but found a few decent ones and this big one.

Thats unfortunate to hear, I thought it might be a good place for a mulie hunt from a drop camp.  We are running into to much competition in our spot and I thought the Church would offer some much needed space between hunters.

I shot a nice mulie buck in the church in September. He was with 4 other good sized bucks as well. There are pockets that hold good deer numbers

[Mr Mykiss]

That would.be a very *censored* rafting trip, especially in November.

[Twang]

Raft in November is very risky. I have pictures of it froze in November on a couple trips   Elk areas, deer areas and some sizable areas that mix. It is all there.  I might have taken some of that mule medicine a few times if I had it for myself

[deerhuntr4885]

I would like to see more pics of the Bucks.

[vandeman17]

I would like to see more pics of the Bucks.

This is mine