Rimrock Spike Bull Hunt

[elkhuntindad]

Hi Everyone ~

I am a brand new member and have to say what a great site this is.  I am a 30yr old father of 4 (10-8-6-3) and just really starting to get into elk hunting and with being the only income times are a little tight,it's time to really put in some field time and put meat on the table.  I have never been big on getting the biggest deer or whatever just so long as i can provide for my family.  I have hunted south of Spokane all of my life hunting whitetails, with pretty decent success.  As with having a little herd of kids it's hard to get out hunting, but my boys Hunter 8 and Gunnar 6 are starting to tag along with dad on our whitetail hunts which is by far the most amazing and hilarious time especially when you say "we need to be quite" follow by a "WHAT" reply while clanking two sticks together like Tommy Lee    Anyway i have an opportunity to go hunting in the Rimrock area with my father and a couple of his friends during modern firearm for spike's.  Unfortunately the boys wont be with me, but we are going to be setting up camp near Rimrock Lake apparently and i was wondering if anyone may have any suggestions, im not looking for your hot spot or honey hole because i know i need to earn my keep and get out in the field, but a point in a good direction would be greatly appreciated.  I can only hunt Saturday and Part of Sunday because Dad duties call for Haloween    just kidding.  But i look forward to talking with many of you and hopefully returning the favor along the way!

Thank you very much!

[TikkaT3-270Shortmag]

Ive seen lots of elk by the river

[Glockster]

If you're camped by the lake you're central to everything in the unit.  Not knowing the unit, you might want to try stuff down low first day then high the next.

Go up Lost Lake Road or hunt around Clockman Rock or the Chimneys day 1 and take a drive up to the high country that afternoon....Pinegrass ridge, Jump Off Joe, or top of Bethel and get your bearings.  Hunting elk along the river might be good if you found a resident band that got pushed there after the opening volley.  Very rough terain that.

Good luck, hunted there oft and on for over 25yrs.  Guys that get their elk every year there are dialed in to the travel lanes once the first volley goes off.  Back in the 80's we had 2 week modern seasons in Nov and elk were hanging in almost every camp....ah the good old days.  Now not so much!

[bullcanyon]

Biggest problem is the elk numbed in the rimrock unit are way down. There still is enough elk to hunt, but seeing a pile of em everyday wont happen. Best bet will be to get off the road and still hunt. Hope for snow.

[Glockster]

Yes that is true.  Also most of the Rimrock herd will still be up high in the Goat Rocks or the thick stuff up on Pinegrass unless some serious snow happens in Mid Oct....not likely though. 

[elkhuntindad]

Thank you all very much for your input.  I am not a person who typically goes to an area and hunts it without checking it out first, so thank all of you very much.  I just haven't had time with being dad, getting wood for winter, and trying to read as much as possible on elk hunting.  I have heard it is very rough terrain and i have been doing my best with bike riding, walking miles a day, and strapin on my 50lb 2yr old to my back and walking about 1 1/2 miles a day.  I look forward to reporting my hunt when i get back and hopefully with pics. 

Again thank you all very much

[saylean]

Good luck Elkhuntindad, welcome to the site....it is very rough country, but very nice. I think you'll like it.

Best of luck!

[C-Money]

Good luck to you. I hear Yakima is a great place to hunt elk. I too will be cutting my elk hunt short so my wife and I can take the kids trick or treating. This is a good thing, I enjoy seeing the happiness on my little kids faces.

[Morse_FJ40]

I haven't been home for halloween since 1992. My wife understands and takes the kids out.

Good luck.

[Fish4Fun]

I haven't been home for halloween since 1992.

That is why our Elk Camp is called Pumpkin Camp, by the old timers where we hunt. It has been a tradition for 30 years to have Pumpkins on the stumps out from of camp.

[Glockster]

That is awesome!  I have seen a few camps put out pumpkins over the years up there, so i'm sure i've seen yours too.  Where is your camp?  I always thought it would make a cool book to do a story on the major hunting camps of this area.  Some traditions/camps go back generations in that country.  We laid my dad's ashes to rest on Bethel Ridge just up from one of our camps 10yrs ago now.  ~My wife and I were over there last month for rafting the Tieton and took a hike to his place of rest.  The blanket I covered him with is still there but the fork horn from my first deer was, of course, long gone.

Over the years we took deer, elk, grouse, rabbits, even ducks and one turkey from that country.  I hope you post your hunt pics and best of luck!


PS: Be sure to get some water from Goose Egg Spring (it is on the right just before the air strip. 

[Fish4Fun]

Glockster, we camp in the Bethel Ridge area on the Little Rattle Snake side. Our camp is pretty well known by the old timers, they used to judge how good the season was by how many bulls we hung on the meat pole each year.

[Glockster]

I have driven by your camp many, many times over the past 25 years.  ~Always a joy to see the pumpkins and the animals hang'n in the good years.    Last time I elk hunted that side of the ridge was near the Devil's Table several years back. 

Another tradition I remember back in the 80's.....when the rifle elk season was 2 weeks long and in mid November.  Back when there was an actual more than likely chance at snow every season....people would cut all four legs off their elk and plant them in the snow in front of their camps. LOL

You probably remember the big snow of 1985 when we got over 4ft of snow in 24hrs.  I remember the National Guard helicopters flying all day rescuing trapped hunters.  We were on the other side of the ridge from you and only a couple miles in from the HWY...we got out but many did not get their camps out until Spring.

[Fish4Fun]

I have plenty of pictures of the big snow in 85' we were the only camp up high that was able to make it down off the edge of Bethel. I used to have a silver and blue short box GMC with 427 tags, the plates were 4X427. With a built big block Chevy,lockers, chains on all 4's and a Warn winch we drug that truck and broke trail going out that day. 8 hours and 25 gallons of gas to go about 7 miles.
Everone knew my Dad back in the day, he was called Whiskey Bill by all the old times. We have killed a lot of elk back in that country. Between my brother and I we have killed 33 bulls and I think 6 or 8 cows over the years. The good old days when it was any bull, no watching 6 and 7 points walk past. The only walking was us walking up to them on the ground.

[Glockster]

That's awesome Fish 4.  I remember it snowed so hard that night there was an inch of snow accumulated on the logs IN the fire.  LOL    The next morning when it stopped snowing I remember seeing the biggest mule deer buck I've ever seen heading down through our camp to get to lower elevations.  ~We could only see his rack above the snow.  He would take one jump rest, one jump rest...took the poor guy almost an hour to cover 300yds.  I was 14 but remember it like yesterday.

Keep up the tradition of Pumpkin Camp.  My elk camp tradition kinda died over there when my ole man passed, but still make it over every once and a while.  Good luck and can't wait to see bull #34