Skinner's Elk Season!

[Skinner]

This year was a crazy year from the begining.  I had no intentions in drawing a tag due to my peaches ridge archery tag from last year.  Well guess what, I drew partnership toutle muzzleloader bull tags with my two buddies from winthrop.  Sweet huh well here's the kicker.  My girlfriend Amanda, who drew the multiseason elk, drew a muzzleloader bull tag.  The problem was that her hunt was oct. 1-11 and mine was the 3-11.  She had 6 days she could go and two would be eaten up by going early and scouting.  We would hunt the first 4 days, thursday-sunday, and then come home.  If I wasn't home by the 3rd then JoeVon and Longear were to take the winthrop boys, Cody and Beau, into the toutle.

Lots of time was spent scouting both units all summer.  We found lots of good bulls in both but I consentrated more on amandas because weyerhauser was locked up for fire danger most of the summer, but in the back of my mind I had a few spots in mind already.  With snow in the forcast for the opener I opted to take my uncles camp trailer and generator and left the wall tent at home.  

Wednesday before the opener found us on a high vantage pt. where we could get a good look at the canyon we wanted to focus on.  I had scouted a couple bulls in the 320 range and was more than happy to let amanda whack one of those.  Scouting that day was tough due to the blizzard we were in.  Eventually the snow and clouds rolled out and we were seeing elk.  They were bugling and chasing cows all over the place.  We saw two shooter bulls and a couple satellites that night so decided to go back there in the morning.  

Opening Day:
We were at our pt of entry into the canyon we wanted to go into 1.5 hrs before light.  No one was around and the wind had died down so we could hear perfectly.  No Bugles??  We walked around the corner and it was like we walked into an elk calling contest.  8 bulls going INSANE within 100 yds of us.  We still had an hour and twenty minutes before daylight.  I was shaking standing there listening so I can't imagine what was going through amanda's head.  Her dad was there also and I could tell he was all jacked up too.  I heard something behind me and turned around to see 4 wheeler headlights coming down the road.  Luckily he turned up the hill and kept driving by the bulls in the dark never hearing them.  Pheww!!  Then a guy walks in shining his headlamp around.  I shine my light at him and he turns around.  Pheww!!  15 minutes before light the bulls are even tighter wind in our face and a toyota comes around the corner with a 65 year old woman standing in the back with her loaded rifle in front of her.  I flash my light and they just keep coming.  I ran up there and told them what was going on and they agreed to turn around and go up the road the other people had.  Good thing the elk over there don't mind rigs.  Daylight comes and we walk around the corner to the bulls.  They are chasing each other around in a meadow with sparse trees.  First bull pops out at 80 yds.  Nice 6x6 short tines, super long main beams and prolly a 48 inch spread.  Super WIDE!!  Amanda asks if she can shoot it and I said yes thinking he would probably be 305-310.  She pulls the trigger twice before realizing she didn't pull the bolt back on the knight bighorn.  Bull walks off unspooked.  2nd bull:  We turn a 180 as soon as the other bull leaves because another 6 is coming in.  We sit down behind a stump and I coax a 290 6x6 to 40 yds broadside for 1 minute.  I tell her no and about that time the 4 wheelers start pouring in.  The herd bulls dive into the canyon and the satellites follow and so do we.  We were in them all day but passed on a couple smaller ones.  That afternoon we drove to another spot and I thought we were gonna be one of those lucky people that shoots one off the side of the road.  A LEGIT 350, every tine went out hooked up and in, super long main beams, and hooked way in in the back.  An ass scratcher to say the least jumped into the road then went right back up the hill.  I don't think I could have capped my gun any faster than her as we got out.  I stopped him at 40 yds going up the hill.  Too bad 3 deadfall covered his whole body except for his antlers and from his knees down.  Then he was gone never to be seen again.  We worked a couple bulls that night but nothing exciting and no visuals.

That was OPENING DAY!!  
 
 
 

[Skinner]

Opening Day

[Skinner]

DAY 2:

Uneventfull!  It was a blizzard with about 40 mph winds and no elk wanted to play except 2 spikes I called into 40 yards.  Saw a few cows along the road too.  It didn't take long to figure out to just drive by the elk and walk back to them.  They don't mind the rigs unless you stop.  Amanda was getting depressed.  She stunk, lol, and was regretting not pulling back the bolt the first day.  JoeVon told her that night on the phone to "Keep The Faith" which became the theme to out whole season!  I knew we would get into them again but we just had to stay after it and we would get into one of those herd bulls we were after.

[Skinner]

Amanda's Dad

[Skinner]

DAY 3:

Found us in the same canyon as opening morning but we hunted into the next drainage.  We had seen elk in the dark moving across the hill, opposite the way they went the first day so I figured they were getting pushed.  I looked at the map and found the steepest crap with no roads and we stopped there with 1 hr to daylight.  No one came before light so we were stoked since we had just listened to 4 bulls bugling next to the truck for that whole hour.  We got right in them but none would close the distance.  I tried every trick in my little book, but it wasn't hard to figure out they all had cows and were moving off.  We followed the bugles across some rock slides and thick timber.  Let me remind you Amanda is deathly afraid of heights but I guess you forget some of those things when you are trying to get a bugling bull!

Anyways we get on one of the bulls and he leads us into a dark canyon.  I bugle and he answers from the top of the other side.  We decided there was no way in hell we were gonna catch him so we turned around.  We were 2/3 the way to the truck and I decieded to cow call.  The bull we were after bugled right back from the bottom of the dark canyon.  What???  We had heard the wrong bugle.  Back down in the canyon we went.  It was thick nasty blowdown.  We got to a good pt and I cow called.  Immediately he bugled 60 yds away.  We had gotten right on top of him without knowing.  He screamed and came in running.  Amanda told me she was shooting anything decent the night before because we were leaving after day 4.  Needless to say she was still a little picky cause she passed the decent 5x5 at 45 yds.  Out of there we climbed to go eat lunch.

We decided to go back there that afternoon cause we knew where the other three had bedded down but they had stopped bugling at noon.  We got back by 3pm and waited for the action to start.  The next thing I remember I woke from my nap in a cold shiver and wet face.  It was a complete white-out blizzard.  We packed up out stuff and hiked out of there. 

We drove to another "Honey Hole"  and I pulled over before a canyon.  I walked around the corner and was getting ready to call when a cow walked just below me.  She started to move down the hill spooking so I cow called.  She stopped and a deep raspy bugle came from 100yds below her.  Oh *censored*!  I ran back to the truck and I guess they could tell by my expressions that I had one coming cause they were out of the truck in no time. 

We set up over the hill down wind of the elk.  It wasn't ideal but it was all we had due to the shooting lanes.  I had the montana decoy and amanda set up below me.  I started calling and got an instant bugle.  Then his cows came running up the hill and filed under us at 20 yds.  I figured this was it.  He had to be behind those cows.  NOPE!  He circled UPWIND? and came head on and stopped 45 yds to amanda.  I had told her she could take that shot before, knowing she is a deadeye, but she forgot and wanted to wait for the broadside shot.  I was proud of her for not making a shot she wasn't comfortable with but I couldn't stand seeing the 325 6x6 walk away unscathed!  I kept calling and more cows came in but they had 4 spikes and a 3 pt with them.  The other herd bull 200yds down the hill was bugling but I'm pretty sure he had a hot cow. 

That was DAY 3 one more day to go. 

[Skinner]

DAY 4:

Found me doing the same routine as every other morning, catering to my clients!!!  I would get up 30 minutes earlier and start the generator, turn on the heater, and start the coffee.  Warm Amanda's clothes, and get everything in the truck. 

We headed up the spur road from the night before.  Hopes were high but Manders was pissed she hadn't gotten the two bulls I said pull the trigger on.  We rolled up to the same spot as the last night and got out to bugle.  As soon as I opened the door bulls were going balistic around the corner.  It was just getting daylight so we set up on the corner before the bulls.  Amanda and her dad sat on a high cut bank probably 40 yards looking straight down on the road.  I stood on the road on the corner to call so I had a few options to move depending on where the first bull showed.  I called one series and all I could see coming down the road was 4 ft of antlers and pts coming towards me.  All of this was seen over 7ft jackfirs by the way.  He as a hog.  A huge maneframe 6 with crowned 7ths that stuck nearly straight out from the forks at least 12 inches long.  This was him.  The big herd bull we wanted.  I ran around the corner cause he was closing on me.  Amanda was faced to take a nearly straight down shot off the cut bank.  In all the 30 seconds this took to happen she shot over him.  He ran down the road and I cow called.  He stopped at 100 yds and just as she drew on him again he bugled and stepped into the brush.  The first shot was a clean miss hitting the dirtroad just over his back.  She was sick, but she didn't have long to be cause I coaxed a bull and a cow into charging right for us.  At 30 yds the cow turned broadside in front of her and guess who was on her tail, a dandy 5x5.  She smoked him in the chest and flipped him over.  He rolled 20 yds down the hill and it was all over.  She was pumped and I was excited for her also. 

It was very difficult and trying, taking a new hunter into the wilderness and wanting them to have the instincts of a seasoned hunter.  This was her second bull in 5 yrs and we both learned a lot.  She conquered some of her fears, for the time being, and we all had a great time.  Thanks to everyone that helped.

[Skinner]

Stay tuned for DAY 5, Toutle Season!

[carpsniperg2]

thats awsome can't wait to here the rest

[rackattack]

more stories

[yelp]

AWESOME HUNT.....

[Skinner]

Oh ya did I forget to mention we shot 4 bulls in 6 days!!

[yelp]

What took you guys so long?  Keep the stories coming Skinner..

[huntnphool]

I tried to bring Anthony's face out of the showdows but couldnt quite do it. Sounds like you have been very busy but also very successful.

[grousetracker]

why are you wearing hunters orange during muzzle?

[JoeVon]

why are you wearing hunters orange during muzzle?

There are also Rifle Rut hunts going on at the same time.