Toutle Antlerless Hunt 11-23-10

[Antlershed]

I was moderately excited to draw this tag since I have never actually shot an elk before. I made a few pre-season scouting trips in October and early November and saw decent numbers of elk, but they were all up high. With the snow that came after my last scouting trip, I wasn't too sure what to expect.

Sunday morning we headed down to Toutle to get our camp setup, and once camp was setup we headed out for an evening scout. We got into about 5-6" of snow and never saw an elk or a track. So, we headed back to camp to decide on an area to scout on Monday.

Monday, we ended up going up to a new area that took us into about 4-5" of snow and we saw a couple decent size groups of elk. That afternoon my dad and another one of his friends were coming down, so we headed back to meet them around noon. My dad called me on his way down and asked if he should pick up tire chains. I said, "It might not be a bad idea to have them along." Best $150 he ever spent.  Monday evening I led us down a road that the map said went through. Well, at the bottom of a nice hill in about 1" of ice and 5" of snow, there was a road block, and we couldn't back up the hill without the chains. We were a long ways in with no cell service, so luckily we had the chains. We saw 2-3 different groups of elk, so we decided that is where we would go Tuesday morning.

Today, we woke up in the wall tent and it was 18 degrees at camp.  Got loaded up and headed for the hills. Once we got to the snow, we figured we better just chain up before daylight so we didn't have to mess with them during hunting time. While on our way up to where we saw elk last night, we come around a corner and there is a branched bull standing in the middle of the road staring at us. He ended up being all by himself though. About half a mile further, we busted a nice size herd when we came around another corner. They filed up into the timber, and I tried to work around and get a shot, but the only one that would stand broadside long enough was a 4x4 bull.   The elk were headed up and not very fast though, so we found an old spur road that we could hike up and try to cut them off. When we started hiking there was about 12" of snow and it was 11 degrees.    About 1/4 mile in, I look up and there is another bull staring us in the face. We just stodd still and he made his way  up the road. We began to work the direction he went when I looked up and saw the whole herd up ahead in the timber. I flipped the bipod down and laid down in about 12-14" of snow. Once a cow got clear of the rest of the herd, I let her have it. She was right about 250 yards away, and dropped right in her tracks. The .300 RUM did its job and I had my first ever elk on the ground. After a few pictures, we got her gutted and with the help of the steep country and a foot of snow, we slid her all the way into the back of the truck whole.   A great time was had even though my season only lasted about 3 hours. I was glad to have my dad along with me as well.

[brew]

awsome pics...I love me some elk meat

[Wanttohuntmore]

Congrats!  I love hunting in fresh snow.  That 300 RUM loud with the brake on it?

[Antlershed]

It is loud, but I have a set of ear plugs that I wear around my neck that take 2 seconds to pop in. After I shot the rest of the elk just stood there looking confused. Even as we walked up to her, there were elk standing in the timber looking at us. I'm pretty sure they couldn't tell which direction the shot came from and didn't know which way to run.

[Fish4Fun]

Congrats on your first elk, that is a nice looking cow, should be some good meat.

[h20hunter]

Nice job all around. Way to stick with it. Nice animal and some good eating there.

[dscubame]

Great job, great story, and great hunt.

[krout81]

       I Can't wait until  I get to eat mine Good Job

[Elkpiss]

Nice Job Brent.. Elk is an Elk & Dead is Elk is a good deal.. & its always fun hunting them in the snow..

[400out]

good job bud! I love me some good cow meat it's the best eating  

[loper]

Great story and great pics!

[SkookumHntr]

-Good job brent, Im hoping to notch my tag on my meat hunt this weekend down in the Coweeman. Hopefully I get my first animal with my Muzzleloader! :

[Antlershed]

Chris- There should be plenty of Elk pushing into the Coweeman based on what I saw up there the last couple of days. Good luck on your hunt.

[carpsniperg2]

congrats! very nice pics as well!

[joseph.rupp001]

That sounds like you really had a great time. Even if you had not harvested an animal, having your dad there makes it a real memory to cherish.