My pics from over the years

[Kingofthemountain83]

2025 Modern deer in Chewuch... Found a bull... As close as I was willing to get...  We got here Monday missing opening weekend because of staying till the end of muzzy elk in Cowichie after going back home to Puyallup to shower and resupply...

We've only hunted here for 5 years now... So I kinda feel like a tourist... Still having to check out everything...

Seen a bunch a mule deer does down here with a spike one evening in the low lands... I was hoping for a whitetail for dad...

Found this memorial a few miles up... Quite the view from there... Great spot...

[Kingofthemountain83]

We're sitting on a open sage finger ridge in a saddle that splits uphill and downhill with timber on the west and north... We're on the uphill side... We're watched this grouse feed up the ridge to 15 feet in front of us... Right after I took this pic a nice buck pop's out of our blind spot from our left on the downhill side trying to stomp the grouse to smithereens! The grouse is between the bucks front legs fluttering around before flying out towards us then veering down ridge... It was a surprise to say the least and made both of us react a little... We both kinda flinched back some and I may have made an audible noise... Our next reaction was to shoulder the rifles... It all happened so fast the buck's reaction was way faster than ours and he was gone well before we could get a bead on him into the timber to the west... Never seen that before, we couldn't believe it... All we could do was laugh... I don't blame him either... They had scared me a few times on this trip before this... Not to mention any other times... I couldn't imagine what he goes through on a daily basis with those things to want to stomp it out!  It was a solid 4x about 20" wide kinda heavy not very deep... My dad would've loved to tag it...

 The weather could make up it's mind... I was hoping it would dump like 2020... We'd get 4" then it would warm up... Then another couple inches... Saw lot of deer moving around... But wrong place wrong time, too far, or just couldn't get a shot... If I'm hunting next to my dad I always give him first shot opportunity... Started doing that in my 20's after he taught me how to hunt and I became more selective in certain situations...

Amazes me how much of this area is burnt compared to where I hunt in south central WA... They don't let fires burn so much area as they do up here...

Another area of the regrowth years after a burn...

[Kingofthemountain83]

On a day it warmed back up we decided to go into the Pasayten and check out and area we wanted to during high buck... It's all burnt too... Not a live tree as far as the eye can see... Didn't see a single squirrel... Saw a lot of chipmunks... But there were deer... A lot of deer... Tracks all over on the way in... Came in a mile with headlamps before daylight... Then saw a few doe and fawn and a spike mule and forky muley... I didn't pack the spotter and when we got into the wilderness boundary regretted it instantly... I spotted deer way off after awhile and could tell they were bucks, way bigger bucks... We checked out onX and made our way closer on one of the the main trails... We got to within 400 yards of where we pinned them but couldn't glass them up... I tried hunting up ridge while my dad found a good place to stay so I could bird dog for him to no avail... Found a set of good sized tracks going off the other direction... It's way harder to hunt through those burns then you think! Not an easy task... We saw some more does on the way out and a nice little buck that was a chip shot and my dad was ready but I couldn't put a third point on him... Just a big 2x...

[Kingofthemountain83]

2025 late muzzy in Elbe Hills...I had 6 cams in these areas for a 11 day soak and didn't get 1 pic so I pulled them and went to the Skook...

[Kingofthemountain83]

Found decent sign in the Skook but still couldn't seal the deal... Spent a lot of time hunting with my dad and time in the woods... With some great experiences... Learned a lot and will apply it to next year... Anybody else see this Dodge is the Skook?

[Kingofthemountain83]

Here's a Mason gmu blackie I got when I was 22 years old... Hunted our usual Cowichie till it closed then came back home for the longer blacktail season... I lived in Kitasap at the time... And my job site was in Bremerton... So I could hunt after work if I got off earlier enough... I spotted this guy one evening and lost my breath... Couldn't get a shot off... Swore not to shoot another deer only him... Hunted every evening after work I could and on the last Sunday of October I stepped up off the road to look in the reprod and there he was walking quartering towards me... Threw the 243 to my shoulder, thumbed the safety off so fast as I settles the crosshairs on his bouncing chest... The shot cracked immediately breaking the silence dropping him at 44 yards... I remember I could hear all the birds chirping walking up to him and I don't recall hearing them before that...   

[Dan-o]

Nice Blackie!

Fun bunch of pics.

[Kingofthemountain83]

Nice Blackie!

Fun bunch of pics.

Thanks! Going through stuff and found a bunch of old pictures... Took pictures of them and got them on my computer... Then had to rotate and crop them and it been a hassle... Quality has suffered but still cool to show some off... 

[Kingofthemountain83]

2008 I drew a Cowichie muzzy bull tag... There were 7 other tag holders... One passed away in a quad accident scouting that week... I spoke with his dad... He asked I do the tag justice... I promised to do my best and set a 350" min for the first 3 days...  The 4th day general season opened and we all know everything changes after that... Hoping I'd fill it the first day...

3 days before my opener dad and spotted a huge bull well worthy of the tag... Over 400" Perfect 6 we called him... I kept tabs on him for the next 3 days from sun up till dark... He never got within 1 1/2 miles of a green dot road...

1st day... Made a play on the opener and blew the stalk at 230 yards when the wind swirled... Scared him and his harem to the rez... We knew there wasn't another bull worth chasing in this drainage and decide to make the 2 1/2 hour drive back to camp and regroup on the way... That was our main spot anyways was hunting out of camp... Didn't expect to see a monster and play on him but was worth a shot... Always is!

Evening of day 1... I head up to this place I call the Honey Hole that has produced for me... Discovered it when I was 13 or so... About a mile up ridge from camp... I let out a bugle... Immediate response... I get few hundred yards up ridge and tuck into a huge pine with a little sage in front and start cow calling... He bugles again, and again, and again... He finally pops out on the sage ridge 400 yards up... I softly cow call as he works closer weaving through the sage... He stops at 66 yards facing me 360 class... I'm dead solid slip the safety off and squeeze the trigger... SNAP! Popped a cap... Bull turns and steps up hill I dig the capper out of my pocket and put another one on and blow another cow call... He stops and looks back broadside at 136 yards... SNAP! Bull turns and heads uphill while I recap and cow call... Now he's 179 so I pop one more on him for good measure and watch him walk up over the ridge then I beat feet back to camp to figure that out... Clogged #11 nipple... She was clean after the range the week before we left... I drowned my sorrows with the boys a little heavy that night around the fire...

  Day 2 My dad and I are in where we want to be before day light chasing bugles... We get close... Pass satellite bulls all over... One of the hardest parts was trying to get around all the other bull we didn't want to get close enough to the shooter... And get a look at this herd bull... A huge 5x6 that would go 370 all day... Couldn't tell if he was busted off on his left 5th or it just didn't grow but we needed to get closer... Then we figured out if you bugled when you within 300-400 yards he'd just run his harem off instead of come towards you to fight or show dominance so that was a learning curve... Chased off 3 350+ bugling within 400 yards of them this day... Passed up several bulls under 350 that we could've gotten... Some just running right in to 25 yards bugling... I remember while we were in the middle of chasing some trophy elk off with the bugle for the 3rd time my dad turned and says to me "this is the best day of elk hunting I've ever had!" I said, me too! We covered over 20 miles this day... Couldn't do anything right to seal the deal on a 350 class bull but could get out of the elk if we tried... Finished the evening by having to shew off a rag 3 point after sweet talking him into spitting distance... Man we were beat...

Day 3 last day before general season opener
 We got back into the area and of course there was less action considering the hundreds upon hundreds of elk we spooked... Passed up some smaller bulls early morning... Mid morning got into a herd in a thicket with a bugler we could see and he wouldn't come out of the shade or leave his cows for our calls and ended up spooking them... Jumped a 340 5x6 with a harem that we didn't know were there I would've taken but they boogied... We're making a way up ridge now with camp almost 6 miles uphill and it's 2pm all broken country, no road... My dad decides to head to camp so he can get his gear ready for the opener and take a break he's beat... I see this runway across ridge and just stand there looking at how traveled it is... Then a cow elk appears on the ridge across from me... Then a calf... Then a cow... Then a calf... They go down that trail I noticed... I sit down when they go out of sit in the bottom... They come up my side and walk a trail that leads 10 feet in front of me... They all stop right in front of me and look back at the same time... It's a nice 6x... I guess 320 real quick and figure this may be my last chance after general opens and all the spike and cow taggers are out... All these thoughts going through my mind what are my chances of getting on another good bull... Seems like he stood there forever across the ridge with sunlight glinting off his antlers... I decided this was it... It had been a great hunt... Wished my dad could be with me but I knew he wasn't far away... I square up on the lower trail opening at 52 yards... The cows catch my movement and turn there heads then walk out of my sight... I can wait till the bull is at ten feet and double lung him... As soon as the cows took off he came booking down ridge and instinct took over... I snap shot him quartering towards me downhill on a big bull elk shoulder... But it went BANG! Not ideal shot placement... The smoke screen with no wind and he came trotting up towards me through it at ten feet like nothing was wrong! He past me not missing a step... I got up and said some choice words of no fin way I missed! He went about 35 yards got the wobbles and slid into the pines... I couldn't believe it! Got my dad on the radio and he came back down... We quartered caped and sectioned him up for pack out the next day... We figured it was easier to go the 7 1/2 miles all downhill to the gate  with 5 miles on a road then uphill 6 to camp... I packed the caped head out that night the 7 1/2 miles in the pouring rain... I had to put it down twice and talk down a 260 5 point from fighting me and a rag 4 followed us for a long time till we threw rocks and sticks at him... The head and cape weighed 110# after we got home... It took us 3 trips to pack out the meat... He scores 330s... Trip of a lifetime... Glad I got to do it with my dad!

[Kingofthemountain83]

2014 I won the lottery again and drew a muzzy Rimrock quality bull... I had never hunted elk there, only deer quite a few years earlier and my dad hunted it before my time... So we had a lot of homework to do if we wanted to be successful... I made every trip I could over the weekends of the summer to learn the road system in the areas I wanted to focus on and eventually choosing where our camp would be compared to main hunting area and some back ups... Of course hoping to tag out the first day... Rimrock is very unique area to hunt elk as it's full of hybrids roosevelts/rocky mountain elk and there's some monsters in there with huge bodies... The terrain is hard core, the brush and tight forest make spotting elk difficult and getting a shot even harder...  I took another trip a couple weeks before my opener and the archery guys were in full force in the #1 spot I had decided on... Of course... We hadn't seen a lot of elk... Probably a few dozen... A handful of bulls biggest a nice 6x that would go 280... I talked to the bio, been to the feeding station before... Realistically I wanted a solid mature bull with good mass a big 5x or nice 6x...

Day 1 of the hunt we went to #1 spot  and got in place before daylight... We were in the elk... Bugling, chirping, cow calling from around us as the sun came up... They we feeding, chasing, bulls sparring... Just elk being elk in the rut... What every hunter hopes for during this time of year... There were several smaller satellite bulls on the outskirts moving around that were closer trying to push cows off the herd... I could've shot some... The bigger herd bulls were busy keeping their cows separated from each others herd's and the satellites at bay... Not each other at all... There were 3 herd bulls... The closest one had at least a dozen or so cows about a 270 6x... Another herd bull had very light colored antlers compared to the rest stood out like crazy... A 280 6x... The dark antlered 7x6 scored about 260 but had a crown type on the 7x side and was the baddest guy on the block... Also 300+ yards away past all the other elk... That's the one I wanted though... We had no play and didn't want to spook them so we sat tight... I knew the area a little bit from scouting and we backed off knowing they were going to head to bed soon... We got into position 30 yards off their main trail hoping one of the herd bulls would take it... Specifically Dark Crown... There were other elk that came in the trail ahead of us and were being very vocal... Then you could hear all the elk getting closer... Hooves stomping the ground... Bugles, mews... The elk ahead of are making a ruckus... These elk just stop and come to a hault on the trail before I can see them... No clue why... But I'm ready and solid for when the bull I want steps in the opening at 30 yards... I look at my dad and he looks at me... Then I hear a faint bugle from behind us... The elk explode in a stampede and over 100 of them disperse past my shot opportunity into the thick timber... Met another guy that had a bull tag a few minutes later... We found him...    We continued to chase those elk all day over miles and miles and they don't play fair... They don't respond well to when people call... And seem to be able to tell the difference between their real bugles and the other hunters and mine, and our cow calls...  Did call in a couple small bulls in the black timber but nothing I wanted to hang a tag on day one... These elk were well educated and heavily hunted during archery... Learned a lot about elk this day... Was a great hunt!

Day 2 find new elk... We had some places in mind to check and if I could find elk that respond to the bugle on the way it's always worth a shot... So we busted out the map and drove around hitting the bugle every 1/4 mile or so just depending out of desperation... I get a reply at 8am and we sweet talk this little rag horn into 45 yards... At 1030am we're at a spot I circled on the map and let a bugle rip... We get multiple responses from all different directions... Here we hunt... We pick a direction to head and get as close as we dare and let out another bugle to locate... It's a hot, blue bird day and they aren't actively bugling anymore without a reaction bugle and sometimes I don't even get that... I don't want to play these elk out like the other elk... So we sit idle, hardest part for me elk hunting... Until the shadows are long and the temps start dropping I don't hear a single bugle... Mewed in a 4x5 in the 240s... A spike, and a 3x making our way back to the rig before dark along with some cows and calves getting in the mix... A really solid day finding a great area without pressure...         

Day 3 Circled it on the map... Went back to the spot I circled on the map and hit the morning in another direction... This area is chocked with pine and grande fir... Just so thick... But the elk love it... It's actually really hard to get off the roads in this area other than using the elk trails... Which is ok just limits your shot opportunities... Snuck in on a bull just worked up bugling thrashing some trees in a cluster so thick we had to crawl... He just looked like a smaller 5x so we watched him till he made his way off... Got in on some other bulls that had cow and we busted them out... But there were always more bugles to chase until the mid morning lull... We caught a glimpse of a bull that was a shooter for sure looked like he was pushing a harem through... Big boy in the 340s probably... The afternoon lull came later today with overcast and much lower temps... Lunch was much deserved along with a substantial nap... Sat around making an evening plan that went out the window as soon as we heard the first bugle light up... We had a couple more encounters with small bulls that I could've shot and had some run ins with cows that blew others unknown... As we made our way to the rig a before dark a cow steps out feeding... Then another... And another... Another... Another... And a bugle lights off in the pines... We're walking down the road to the rig just before dark so we step off to the side of the road to try and blend in a bit better and I get my gun off my shoulder... This bulls steps out of the pines and bugles runs up to a cow mounts her... Does his thing and starts making a circle towards us bugling... My dad and I look at each other and I shake my head yes... I think hes a 290 6x... All I got is an off hand 73 yard broadside shot so I role coal... There's no wind and the smoke is staying in the air... He has no reaction and cuts down towards the road towards us and stops... I reload and my dad says 54... He still same side broadside just standing there... I role coal again and the cows all take off this time but he just runs into the road broadside and stops... My dad says 51... I reload again while he's standing there watching us... I center the sights on his lungs and role coal one more time... This time I ran forwards to get out of the smoke to see... My dad followed... I said there's no way... He just stood there looking at us... No reaction... Then what seemed like forever in slow motion he started to get wobbly... Fought it hard but his legs finally gave out and he landed in the middle of the road... My dad and I couldn't believe it we were on another planet... Couldn't have had a better hunt with a better man and a better outcome! Glad I got to do it with my dad! All three 50 cals double lungs bullets on off side of hide... Turned out to be a huge bodied 6x7 with good mass 300"... When we got up to him we could see our rig down the road a few 100 yards... Wish I had better pictures of the hunt but this is all I could recover... I ended up trading the cape for a european mount at the taxi... 

[Boss .300 winmag]

Nice bulls, like your stories.👍

[Kingofthemountain83]

Nice bulls, live your stories.👍

Thank you! Appreciate that...