So I posted a little about this and said that I would write up the story of my hunt. I really enjoy reading other's write ups and so I figured I would share to others that do as well.
I will post up a few pictures from the hunt as well as I can. My friends and family make fun of me for painting the whole wall, not just the picture. So, sorry if this write up does the same, haha.
Before I drew my quality deer tag last year I had warned my wife that it might be possible that over the next few years I may draw some special tags. This is due to the fact that I put in for easier to draw tags and that all my point levels in those categories are quite high. Most are tags that I have 14-15 points in, average 5-7 points per draw, and have a couple hundred applicants tops. That’s my own way of looking at it. I would rather go on some good tags and feel like I have a good chance to draw, than wait my whole life putting in for one of the amazing tags I may never draw. So I was not completely surprised when I found out this year I drew the late season muzzleloader bull elk tag I have wanted for a while. This was so different than the deer tag I drew last year. The deer tag was across state, in a place I have hunted during general a couple times, but never had been there during the special tag time or anything. The elk tag was my own regular stomping grounds, close to home in an area that I have hunted for many years. I have seen the area before during the late season helping with cow tag holders. I had high hopes, I knew the potential of a really good bull. I absolutely love all the hunting I do, but deer is the one I am most crazy about. Elk, I never had crazy lusty dreams of huge bulls. I just wanted to get some over the years. I got a nice 5x5 during general season hunting with my dad in 2019, and I can honestly say that if I don’t kill a bigger bull the rest of my life, I will be perfectly happy. I put in for special tags for the chance to have some cool experiences in places or during times I otherwise may not be able to hunt. I, shockingly, was able to get the entire season off of work on top of everything else. As this is a long tag to hunt, November 26th to December 15th, and everything else is my normal, I knew I wouldn’t have to do a whole lot to prepare. No reservations to make, no extra expenses for travel. I did brush up on my shooting, and a couple weeks prior to the hunt I practiced with my muzzleloader out to 250 yards. I was pleasantly surprised at how well it was shooting. I still wanted to limit my shots to 200 yards and in, but was happy to see the results out to 250. This would be the second season with this muzzleloader and the Leupold RDS sight I was hunting with. I had done a little scouting the morning before season began. I visited one place that always holds elk outside of season, especially the fall and winter months. In all the years of hunting the area I have never been there at first light without seeing elk any time after mid October. That is of course until now. There was not only zero elk there, there was absolutely no sign either. I also checked on a small public piece that always holds elk post season. It is a small chunk and surrounded by homes and roads so they restrict it to archery equipment only. I saw a group there of about 20 elk and 1 legal bull. He was a hoof rot bull with one funky antler. One side was a nice smaller 4 point and the other side was a wonky 2 point. As the season came close, as per usual, I got sick. I went for opening day even though I should not have. I did push myself harder than I should have as well. I saw a group of 20 or so elk first thing in the morning but the only bulls were spikes. Then I went to an area that is a lot of smaller plots of land, a mix of public and private, some I had permission to hunt, a lot I did not. I had been contacted by a friend of a friend that had a tag as well. Also, he was helping an older gentleman, a disabled veteran that had a tag. I had worked with him exchanging information and giving him a rundown of the area and pointers. He got on a herd that evening and took a shot at a bull. He never saw where the bull went and was never able to find blood. He is convinced that there is no way he missed. The bull was looked for the next several days with no luck. The next 2 days were Thanksgiving and the day after. I spent both those days laid up in bed resting and trying to get better from being sick. It helped a lot, but I did go back into hunting not feeling the greatest. I just pushed through it, and to be honest, the congestion and everything seemed to subside when I was out and active. When I got home at night though it would hit me hard and I would get to bed as early as I could. Day 2 of hunting I started out hunting where the other guy shot at the bull. At this point I had not learned of him shooting at a bull or anything. I saw a group in a private clearcut about 800 yards away. I watched them for a while but saw no bulls besides spikes. Turns out, this was the group that had been with that bull that the other guy shot at. That evening they showed up in another private property and hung out there the rest of the seson. There was 2 spikes and 27 cows. The bull was not there, but I knew this time of year it is common for the bigger bulls to pull away from the herds, especially if pressured. Day 3 of hunting I pulled off the side of the road, a paved dead end county road, to watch a clearing it as it got daylight. A truck came by and flashed his lights at me before going down the long driveway I was parked near to. I saw faint outlines of elk in the dim increasing light and moved to park at a different spot. But when I got there I saw that I could not see the elk due to the roll of the hill, so I turned around to go back to where I had been parked initially. As I turned to head back up the road the truck came rolling up again and we rolled windows down. I had initially thought it might be the guy I had been helping with the tag. That was until he started chewing me out for being parked “in the middle” of the road looking over his property. He went on about it a bit, not really letting me get a word in. He did calm a little but left very abruptly and I resolved not to give him a reason to have any more complaints about me. As I said, this is my normal hunting grounds, I like to be on good terms with folks that live around there. I know he has property that he lets others hunt but I never had met him face to face until then. I hoped to run into him again to apologize and put it to bed but never did see him again. I know where his house is but it is a long gravel driveway that is posted and I didn’t think he would like me rolling up to his front door anymore than me being parked on the road along another property of his. I then met up with the guy that I had been helping. We went down to the area he shot at the bull and I helped him look in some draws and such that he had overlooked and gave him some advice on where to look and what pressured elk have tended to do in that area in the past. He was such a nice dude, and so completely confident that he could not have missed the shot. He swore he was not firing at any other elk unless he confirmed that the bull was alive and healthy. After doing that I hunted through a couple spots that I saw sign and then went to sit for the evening where I saw the group the opening morning. Only saw deer. I had been seeing loads of deer everywhere I go. Not much for bucks, but piles of deer. Day 4 of hunting I went out to the small chunk of land that is archery equipment only. The same herd was there with the 4x2 but this time there was a decent 4x5 with them as well. I watched them for a while but they gave no sign of going anywhere I could shoot. I checked around the next closest bigger chunk of public with a little sign seen but no elk. I went back to the public land I saw the elk on opening morning. I passed a couple of joggers with a dog and shortly thereafter found where they had spooked the herd and I began following their trail up into a nasty thick old clearcut full of blackberries. The elk then turned onto private property. It took me several more hours to work my way out of that clearcut due to some steep terrain and the thick nasty brush. Then I went to visit some public land that normally gets hit pretty hard during general season. I covered a bunch of ground there. The only area there I didn’t check was the highest portion of it that was chock solid with thick reprod. The kind where its tough to get in from the edge but inside its just dark and hardly even a fern grows because of the dense canopy of the trees. I ended the day checking on one small private property I have permission on, some older sign, but nothing else. Day 5 of hunting I started at first light in the same area I checked the morning I scouted, I was still surprised that I did not find any elk or sign there, just more deer. Then I went back to where the joggers had spooked the elk. I saw the same group of elk in there as before, just cows and spikes. A lot of the areas I was finding elk were not far from the truck at all so I did a lot of checking back on those spots throughout the season as it did not take much time just to check to see. Then I dusted off my bow and spent some time practicing. I was pleasantly surprised to see that everything was shooting well especially me doing my part. I have upkept the gear, but have not spent much time shooting my bow in a long time. Still, I set a limit of 40 yards on myself and went to check on the herd on the archery only spot. I almost had a shot at a coyote as I worked into the area. I watched the herd for a while. The big bull was the closest one and that was 120 yards from me and any good cover. There was no way I was going to be able to sneak out close enough to get a shot with that many sets of eyes and no good cover. So I hunkered down to wait. After a couple of hours they got spooked by someone in their back yard down the property line a ways. They started coming my way but before they could get within range they caught wind of me a little. I spent another hour watching the elk run or walk back and forth. They would come my way then spook back from the smell. Then go the other way and spook from the people in their yard. I had one 65 yard chance at the small hoof rot bull but that was too far for me and I was not ready to shoot that small bull yet. Eventually something from the back yard spooked them hard enough that they left the property completely, onto private property in the other direction. I thought they might head over to other huntable land, which would be good for me as it does not have private around it and I am free to use the muzzy. I never saw any sign of them crossing the road that divided the areas though so I backed out. I went back up to the area where I said gets heavy pressure during general season. This time I did go all the way up top through all the thick reprod. No elk or sign, but I did walk up on a bear at the end of an overgrown logging road. That made my day, even though I broke my shooting sticks on the walk up. That night I got tipped off to some elk being seen around an area that was a mix of public and private. No bulls seen but was worth checking. I decided to go check that spot and then spend the rest of the day covering ground up high on some public land that is a lot of steep hiking and is pretty much a whole day in one spot type of hunt. Day 6 would prove to be my best opportunity at a really nice bull. I went up to where I got tipped off to and I saw 8 cows or so and a spike. I could hear other elk moving around though and was just going to wait it out. The closest cow was 20 yards or so. I could only see 50 yards through the fog but I knew there was more elk around. As I prepared to have my gun ready just in case, I dropped my binoculars with a loud thump on the ground. The close cow spooked off and they began grouping up and moving off. I planned on moving in as they still did not know what was up. But I was waiting for the last cow to step over the hill so I wouldn’t be seen. But the last 2 cows were slow moving from bad hoof rot and it took forever. By the time I could look over the hill the elk were all in some big timber 100 yards off. I could hear them like crazy but not see anything through the fog. I could tell they were not super spooked so I left then to let them mellow down. Then while checking on a couple other spots I ran into some locals that are old family friends. One told me that they saw those same elk last night. The ones I had just spooked. He said there was a big bull. These folks see elk plenty but aren’t hunters and don’t normally pay them any mind, so I was not sure how big was big to them but it got me excited. I headed back to the area, now the elk have had over an hour to settle down. None of the elk I was coming across during this hunt seemed to spook really hard or far as long as they weren’t chased. They all would just rush to some close by safe place and settle down. I worked my way down to the boarder with the state land and saw a lone cow in some foggy reprod. I then moved out to the road that went through a clearcut on public land. After debating which way to go for a while I decided I would move down and see if I could cut tracks from where the elk may have left the patch of big timber. I found more and more sign the further I went. Then I said aloud that “I just want to get eyes on them.” Then I rounded a corner and saw 2 elk bedded on the edges of the road about 150 yards away. The clearcut was the age that the trees were not quite Christmas tree size, but getting close, and the logging road was a gated one with more grass than gravel on it. I took my time watching the wind and my movements to get into position to be able to see and identify the elk. The 2 I saw were a spike and a young cow. I could see 2 others through the small firs bedded beyond the first two and one cow that stood up in the clearcut before bedding down again. They were bedded across that area of the clearcut and almost all of them completely out of sight due to the clearcut being just the right age to hide them. I moved and shuffled to a better position and got sight of the 2 elk bedded further down the road. One was a very young cow and the other was a bull. I finally got a good enough view through my binoculars to know that this bull was definitely big enough for me. He was facing straight away from me and through the young firs I could not tell which tan was him and which was the young cow because of how close they were bedded. I moved up to a tall stump along the side of the road and got prepared to shoot when the bull stood up. At that point I was 150 yards from the bull. In my shuffle around the stump the spike and young cow that were closer saw something and stood. They were not real spooked, just getting alert. I figured that would transfer to the bull soon. I was right. After another moment the bull stood. The real young cow stood up between the two of us and I had to wait for her to move to shoot. When she moved I shot and felt really good with the shot. The bull didn’t move a muscle at first. I have seen this a couple different times when I have shot elk with my muzzleloader. Both times it was a solid heart shot and the bulls hit the ground very quickly. The herd grouped up about 50 yards further down in the clearcut. The bull moved slowly and was 30 yards or so above them when I saw him go down. I finished reloading and the herd moved downhill into some timber. I took my time and worked down the road to where the bull had been bedded. After about a half an hour from the shot I began following the trail I saw the bull take. No dead bull. I also was not finding blood. I searched the area over and over. I found that right where I thought the bull went down was a sudden drop in the terrain and I found his tracks going down it. He didn’t drop, he walked down out of sight. I searched the area for blood and followed his tracks until they rejoined the herd’s tracks. I found a few smears of blood on the ground but nothing else. The blood did not look like fresh bright blood though. I started wondering if the blood I was seeing was from the feet of the hoof rot elk. At several points along the way the elk went through tall brush that would have easily touched the sides of the elk and there was no blood anywhere besides a couple small smears directly in the tracks of the elk. Later that day I found the same types of blood smears in tracks from the elk before I had found them. I decided to just slowly keep working my way in the wake of the elk tracks in hopes of at least getting eyes on the bull to know if it was hit or not. At one point I saw them 200 yards ahead of me in some big timber. I could not pick out details but was pretty sure I saw him. They were staying on the lower edge of the clearcut paralleling the road above. I cut back up to the road and started moving faster that way in hopes of cutting them off. I reached a draw that the road curved around and on the opposite side of the draw I could see the tail end of the herd moving over it crossing the clearcut. I clearly saw the bull tagging along near the end and he was healthy as could be. He held up right at the 200 yard mark and I found a solid rest and prepared for a shot. I remembered the correct hold over for that range from when I was shooting and took my time very slowly to make a good shot. I squeezed the trigger and nothing happened but a thunk. Crap, I reloaded but never put a fresh primer in. I put in another primer and he was still standing there. I took my time again and squeezed off a shot. He jolted as if someone had just put a branding iron to him. Then he went 20 feet or so and stopped and looked around like he didn’t know what happened. Then he just casually followed the cows out of sight. I pushed up the road faster and got to a point where I saw glimpses of them through the end of some big timber. No shot opportunity though. I followed them until we were in another situation on opposite sides of a small draw. The cows were just milling around everywhere. Some where in sight, some had moved into some tall reprod. The bull was standing there at 175 yards just staring across the draw at me. He was about 30 yards onto private property. Not just anyone’s property, it was property belonging to the guy who chewed me out. He stood there and looked at me forever. Then he turned one way, then the other, as if to show me that he was un-hit. Then he just casually wandered back into the reprod behind him. That last time I got a great look at him. He was a heavy, dark brown antlered 5x6. An absolute gorgeous big bull. The exact type of bull I had in mind with this tag. I pulled out and went to fire a couple test shots. I couldn’t get a good distance to check accuracy and did not have a target. Just a soggy chunk of carboard about 18”x18.” But after that I knew I was good out to 75 yards but that was all I could test at the moment. I made a note to bring a target with me tomorrow to verify my gun was on target just in case the misses were not my shooting alone.
