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Author Topic: Opening morning decisions ! First year elk/archery  (Read 8788 times)

Offline Meattoeat

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Re: Opening morning decisions ! First year elk/archery
« Reply #15 on: September 10, 2021, 09:07:19 AM »
Also side note, any tips and tricks for field dressing an elk solo? I’ve killed two deer and helped my wife and my buddy get their firsts. So I’m still fairly new to the process. I’ve got para cord and am planning on just using the trees to help hold limbs up while I gut the elk and then hike out and call for some buddies to pack out. Or should I try and skin it and hang game bags?

Offline huntnfmly

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Re: Opening morning decisions ! First year elk/archery
« Reply #16 on: September 10, 2021, 09:43:05 AM »
Also side note, any tips and tricks for field dressing an elk solo? I’ve killed two deer and helped my wife and my buddy get their firsts. So I’m still fairly new to the process. I’ve got para cord and am planning on just using the trees to help hold limbs up while I gut the elk and then hike out and call for some buddies to pack out. Or should I try and skin it and hang game bags?
Look up the gutless method on you tube works great others prefer bone in but worth looking into
I'm your dam tour guide Arnie please don’t wonder off the dam tour.
Take as many dam pictures as you want ....
Are there any dam questions ..

Offline Meattoeat

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Re: Opening morning decisions ! First year elk/archery
« Reply #17 on: September 10, 2021, 11:45:44 AM »
Also side note, any tips and tricks for field dressing an elk solo? I’ve killed two deer and helped my wife and my buddy get their firsts. So I’m still fairly new to the process. I’ve got para cord and am planning on just using the trees to help hold limbs up while I gut the elk and then hike out and call for some buddies to pack out. Or should I try and skin it and hang game bags?
Look up the gutless method on you tube works great others prefer bone in but worth looking into

I’ve sort of done that way once. I’ll have to adjust it a little if I get a decent bull I’ll be trying to cape it.
« Last Edit: September 10, 2021, 12:30:23 PM by Meattoeat »

Offline huntnfmly

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Re: Opening morning decisions ! First year elk/archery
« Reply #18 on: September 10, 2021, 12:05:52 PM »
👍
Also side note, any tips and tricks for field dressing an elk solo? I’ve killed two deer and helped my wife and my buddy get their firsts. So I’m still fairly new to the process. I’ve got para cord and am planning on just using the trees to help hold limbs up while I gut the elk and then hike out and call for some buddies to pack out. Or should I try and skin it and hang game bags?
Look up the gutless method on you tube works great others prefer bone in but worth looking into

I’ve sort of done that way once. I’ll have to adjust it a little if I get a decent bull I’ll be trying to caps it.
I'm your dam tour guide Arnie please don’t wonder off the dam tour.
Take as many dam pictures as you want ....
Are there any dam questions ..

Offline predatorG

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Re: Opening morning decisions ! First year elk/archery
« Reply #19 on: September 11, 2021, 04:55:07 AM »
Also side note, any tips and tricks for field dressing an elk solo? I’ve killed two deer and helped my wife and my buddy get their firsts. So I’m still fairly new to the process. I’ve got para cord and am planning on just using the trees to help hold limbs up while I gut the elk and then hike out and call for some buddies to pack out. Or should I try and skin it and hang game bags?
Look up the gutless method on you tube works great others prefer bone in but worth looking into

I do gutless sometimes when I’m far away from home but always have trouble getting into the loins. Any tips for getting in there?
"All of my best elk hunts are the ones where I come home with a big buck!" -RadSav

Offline Meattoeat

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Re: Opening morning decisions ! First year elk/archery
« Reply #20 on: September 11, 2021, 01:27:37 PM »
Also side note, any tips and tricks for field dressing an elk solo? I’ve killed two deer and helped my wife and my buddy get their firsts. So I’m still fairly new to the process. I’ve got para cord and am planning on just using the trees to help hold limbs up while I gut the elk and then hike out and call for some buddies to pack out. Or should I try and skin it and hang game bags?
Look up the gutless method on you tube works great others prefer bone in but worth looking into

I do gutless sometimes when I’m far away from home but always have trouble getting into the loins. Any tips for getting in there?

Randy new berg has a video that shows it fairly well. It’s the last thing to come
Out I believe.

Offline Meattoeat

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Re: Opening morning decisions ! First year elk/archery
« Reply #21 on: September 11, 2021, 03:28:18 PM »
Well this looks a little more promising

Offline hunterednate

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Re: Opening morning decisions ! First year elk/archery
« Reply #22 on: September 11, 2021, 03:51:06 PM »
Looks elk-y! How'd your morning hunt go?

Offline Meattoeat

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Re: Opening morning decisions ! First year elk/archery
« Reply #23 on: September 11, 2021, 04:09:55 PM »
Looks elk-y! How'd your morning hunt go?

Struggled, elk aren’t talking yet. And seems like the masses are hunting the other side of the hill. So not really anyone pushing animals around. Lots of good sign, just no movement. Think I’ll head to the coast tomorrow

Offline Taco280AI

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Re: Opening morning decisions ! First year elk/archery
« Reply #24 on: September 11, 2021, 04:57:49 PM »
Better than my area outside of Morton  :tup:

I need a new spot, or they need to start logging it and clear some areas out. Didn't see an elk, hear an elk, smell an elk, no fresh tracks, no fresh anything.

Offline Meattoeat

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Re: Opening morning decisions ! First year elk/archery
« Reply #25 on: September 13, 2021, 01:50:09 PM »
Well I went out this morning. Bit of a late start, worked my way down and when I came to the edge of the big open meadow I spotted a tree go from verticals, to sideways and back up again. Needless to say it got my excited.

I sat back and sort of tried to put a plan together. I did a few cow calls and some bugles. Didn’t take much and he responded with some chuckling.

He was 150 yards away and just going to town destroying the trees and bushes but I couldn’t see him.

Ended up deciding to drop my pack and work my wat through the field after he was responding but not moving. So I moved into about 60 yards before calling again but I had made the decision to leave my tube at the pack afraid it would be loud and get in the way. He was still destroying the trees and chuckling.

I decided to give a cow call and a short bugle and he responded and gave it a bunch of base and just let it rip, still not a bugle, but his chuckles were getting a lot more aggressive.

I had to do a creek crossing and got wet up past my knees and when I got to the other side he was still there. 40 yards and in grass 6’ tall I felt like my only option was to slowly go in towards him. I never heard him bust out of there but he just slowly slipped up the hill.

Needless to say got my heart racing and my first encounter like that.

I’m pumped.

Offline huntnfmly

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Re: Opening morning decisions ! First year elk/archery
« Reply #26 on: September 13, 2021, 04:03:52 PM »
That’s awesome thank you for sharing that
I'm your dam tour guide Arnie please don’t wonder off the dam tour.
Take as many dam pictures as you want ....
Are there any dam questions ..

Offline Rutnbuxnbulls

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Re: Opening morning decisions ! First year elk/archery
« Reply #27 on: September 14, 2021, 11:15:16 AM »
That's a great write up and excellent attempt.  Exactly what you should've done.  Except maybe don't call when you're gettin in closer than 100 yards, just try to keep sneeking in if the bull is pre occupied with raking.  Good luck your on the right track!

Offline Meattoeat

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Re: Opening morning decisions ! First year elk/archery
« Reply #28 on: September 14, 2021, 12:03:10 PM »
That's a great write up and excellent attempt.  Exactly what you should've done.  Except maybe don't call when you're gettin in closer than 100 yards, just try to keep sneeking in if the bull is pre occupied with raking.  Good luck your on the right track!

It’s hard to not want to call when getting a response from him, it was an absolute rush.

I thought it all took place over a 30-40 min period, but looking back at the time stamp on the video I took of him raking and when I got in close it was almost 2 hours.

I learned a lot from that though, I think my biggest takeaway from it was that with the bull raking prior to me doing anything I probably could have called a bit but I should have advanced I think much faster. I think he just got done destroying the tree and left, I don’t think he winded me or got nervous. I think I just moved in to slow.

Hoping he might be down in that meadow again Saturday morning and fired up and willing to step out and make a mistake. He was the first elk to sound off I’ve heard in that unit so I think they’re just starting to get going.


Offline Matth

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Re: Opening morning decisions ! First year elk/archery
« Reply #29 on: September 14, 2021, 07:01:12 PM »
I think you are correct. The one thing I would have done in your shoes, was press the worst thing that could have happened would have been the same outcome. I have 30 plus kills with a bow, more in total, and all I can say is press

 


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