Had a great hunt.
Got into elk , had a screaming bull at 50 yards away, big 6x6, seen him 3 times total, got extremely close multiple times, just no good clean shots to take( on a spike or cow)
Only good clean shot that was offered was a yearling cow, mid trip, I didn't think the small one deserved to die, so I passed. Kicked myself a bit as that wound up being the only clean shot I had, all the rest were elk hauling ass through thick timber, brush, reprod.
They say it all the time , sounds cliche but I can definitely say muzzleloader elk will give you your highest highs and lowest lows. The whole experience, adrenaline dump, the fired up elk, the joy and the frustration, exhaustion mentally and physically, equipment failure, field fixes, the wonderful people who decide to target practice right after watching a herd bed down, the list goes on!
Extremely cool to hear bulls bugle, cows talk and to be able to interact with them. Big rush especially when solo.
Will definitely do another muzzleloader trip, even found a small spike shed antler.
they are going to be logging in there very very soon,
Back to work I go!