Taneum cow tag

[7mmfan]

I'm not saying he isn't a hard hunter, and that he isn't willing or able to go deep/steep for his animals, I honestly know nothing about that him as a person or a hunter. Every time I read that statement though it makes me scratch my head. 

[de0827]

I hunted the last 4 days of the season with no success.  I hunted the west side of the unit, and focused most of my efforts hiking in to canyons away from roads.  Although there was plenty of sign (some fresh, but most not real fresh) I didn't see a single elk while hunting.  The only elk I saw were on the road in the dark while driving to my starting spot for the day.  To say I was disappointed is an understatement.  I had clear expectations that this would not be a gimme by any means, and I would have to work for it.  But to hike some steep dark canyons with zero animals seen was not what I was expecting.  I didn't see a single other hunter while I was in these canyons.  I thought hiking in away from the roads would put me in an area where the elk would be trying to escape from people.  Maybe I just picked the wrong canyons to focus on. 

I saw some beautiful country and got some great exercise nonetheless.  And if I ever decide to hunt the Taneum for archery, I have a great idea on some places to go.

[dscubame]

Elk will be where the elk are.  Unlike deer elk are not scattered all about.  That Taneum / Manastash area can be challenging without a lot of local knowledge and/or very devoted scouting getting to understand the area and habits, especially when it seems like the majority of the state moves in during the hunting season.

[scrapperdude]

I like packing cow elk, they taste good and my freezer is full of elk. 

[Jimmy33]

0-3...elk we're high. We were on elk every day, just no shots. We could have killed a few big bulls but no cows. Two of the tags were a 10 and 12 year old. They hunted their buts off.


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i wish I would have remembered you guys had those cow tags. We were in them sat and Sunday.

No biggee...we were into them all week, just no shots. We were hunting high and they weren't out in the open long before bedding in the am. At night, you just had to get lucky and get on the right opening because they were coming out right as shooting light was ending. Passed on shots because I didn't want to haul a cow out that far.


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No offense, but then why were you there? You could shoot a spike or a cow, similar sized animals most of the time. You clearly weren't hunting for horns, so if you weren't willing to pack a cow out that far, why were you there?

I've heard people say this before many times and I always wonder why you put the time and effort to get somewhere that you had no intention of packing an animal out of. Invest that time in an area you are willing to pack one out of and maybe you'll have better luck?

I saw them in my spotting scope. I have a nice spotting scope and can see quite a distance with them. Just chose not to pursue them.

[Timberstalker]

I think the definition "being on elk" is slightly blurred.

[Jimmy33]

No biggee...we were into them all week, just no shots. We were hunting high and they weren't out in the open long before bedding in the am. At night, you just had to get lucky and get on the right opening because they were coming out right as shooting light was ending. Passed on shots because I didn't want to haul a cow out that far.


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This is the most backwards thing i have ever heard? Why would you hunt in a spot that you arent even going to shoot an elk?
[/quote]

When you have a 10 year old and a 12 year old as your hunting partners you tend to think about the pack out that might happen if you decide to pursue and pull the trigger. I hunt plenty hard when I am by myself but choose not to beat my kids up on their first elk hunt. Additionally, as I mentioned earlier, I use a spotting scope that covers long distances. We see a lot of elk and pattern them throughout the week. Not once did I put my boots in the dirt in an area I wouldn't pull an elk out of. Sound backwards?

[bobcat]

It sounds totally normal to me. I don't think it's unusual at all for hunters to see animals in places where they don't want to go or don't want to pack an animal out of. Happens all the time.

[Jimmy33]

It sounds totally normal to me. I don't think it's unusual at all for hunters to see animals in places where they don't want to go or don't want to pack an animal out of. Happens all the time.

Thanks Bobcat. I felt like I was on trial.

[dscubame]

It sounds totally normal to me. I don't think it's unusual at all for hunters to see animals in places where they don't want to go or don't want to pack an animal out of. Happens all the time.

Yep.  Could not have said it better.

[7mmfan]

So that's a totally different scenario than I was envisioning. When I have heard people make that statement before it was usually they had the shot opportunity, and passed. Your situation of not pursuing animals a long ways away is perfectly normal. Good decision to not go to far in, especially with kiddos.