Hunting Washington Forum

Big Game Hunting => Elk Hunting => Topic started by: Rufous on November 04, 2012, 08:26:09 AM

Title: Rufous 2012 elk hunt
Post by: Rufous on November 04, 2012, 08:26:09 AM: My brother and I went out yesterday elk hunting. We could only legally shoot a spike. We were hunting in the Dayton unit of the Blue Mtns in SE WA state. It is an area I have hunted for many years. My brother hunted with me in this area in 2001 and helped me pack out a spike I shot that year. Then in 2010 he had a cow tag and was able to kill one that our friend Ben helped him pack out. Last Saturday my buddy Ben and Mike and I were hunting in this same area and Ben got his first elk. He made 2 great chest shots at 450 yards with his Ruger Hawkeye 30-'06 using a handload I developed for him with the Nosler 165 Accubond.

We had hiked/hunted 5 miles already before getting to Ben's downed elk and then had to pack the meat another 2.5 miles to the truck. The 3 of us got it all except one hind leg which Ben packed out the next day.

So Ethan and I went out yesterday with high hopes. I spotted this elk pretty early in the morning from a long distance away and we got closer and determined that it was a legal spike. We set up and the steep slope and I attached my Kramer bipod, got a reading from my laser rangefinder of 415 yards and took a shot with my 300 Win Mag using the Barnes 200 LRX. The elk showed no reaction except to run uphill a bit and stopped behind a tree such that I could not shoot again. Then it trotted uphill more and I took another shot which most decisively dropped it and it tumbled downhill, lodging against the tree and log, breaking off one of its antlers. Our route this day was a total of only 3 miles with 1 of it packing meat. Today we have to go back and get the 2 hind legs which will be a 2 mile round trip in very steep country.
Title: Re: Rufous 2012 elk hunt
Post by: Birdguy on November 04, 2012, 08:37:56 AM: One antler...does that make it a "true" spike :dunno: :chuckle: :chuckle:
Great job, sounds like you got a nice spot you know pretty well, priceless in today's hunting world :tup:.
Title: Rufous 2012 elk hunt
Post by: stickbuck on November 04, 2012, 08:41:55 AM: Nice job! Way to get it done.
Title: Re: Rufous 2012 elk hunt
Post by: ShaneTyTrey on November 04, 2012, 09:07:59 AM: Well done, very nice
Title: Re: Rufous 2012 elk hunt
Post by: BOWHUNTER45 on November 04, 2012, 09:09:12 AM: Good job ... :brew: :cue:
Title: Re: Rufous 2012 elk hunt
Post by: hunting4sanity on November 04, 2012, 09:11:23 AM: Piled up against that tree in that position looks like it would hurt .............. if he wasn't already dead. Congrats to you guys!
Title: Re: Rufous 2012 elk hunt
Post by: Michelle_Nelson on November 04, 2012, 03:04:46 PM: Good Job guys!

Quote from: Birdguy on November 04, 2012, 08:37:56 AM
One antler...does that make it a "true" spike :dunno: :chuckle: :chuckle:

Pretty sure that makes it a Unicorn. :chuckle:
Title: Re: Rufous 2012 elk hunt
Post by: Biggerhammer on November 04, 2012, 04:52:01 PM: That's great! That's the type of Elk wreck! As they lay pics I like to see. :tup:
Title: Re: Rufous 2012 elk hunt
Post by: Rufous on November 04, 2012, 10:14:57 PM: Here are some more photos taken today when we went in to retrieve the 2 hind legs.

When we got to the parking spot some other hunters said that they thought there was a cougar in the area. I pretty much always pack my Ruger Bisley 45 Colt anyway for
hiking and meat recovery so I had it strapped on anyway.

My little big brother is a meat packing son of a gun. I outweigh him by about 40 pounds but I still cannot keep his pace. He is 3 years older and still leading the way! Thank God for faithful friends and brothers.

When we got back to the 2 hind legs I put my Leupold rangefinder to work. I was curious as to how steep the slope was that the elk died on. It turned out to be 39 degrees. It was insanely steep. Fortunately it was not very far up that slope to the long ridge that we had to climb to get back to the road.
Title: Re: Rufous 2012 elk hunt
Post by: Greenhorn on November 04, 2012, 10:38:19 PM: Congratulations on the nice spikes! :tup:
Title: Re: Rufous 2012 elk hunt
Post by: C-Money on November 04, 2012, 10:42:16 PM: Nice bulls guys! Congrats! :tup:
Title: Re: Rufous 2012 elk hunt
Post by: RifleRidge on November 04, 2012, 10:43:58 PM: Nice.. Congrats! :tup:
Title: Re: Rufous 2012 elk hunt
Post by: HawHee on November 05, 2012, 06:27:31 PM: It was a pleasure to hunt with you, Bro'. As always, I am in awe of your hunting, woodsman, and shooting skills. God gave me a good brother in you. Looking forward to a deer hunt with you too!
Title: Re: Rufous 2012 elk hunt
Post by: 270Flat on November 05, 2012, 06:34:56 PM: :tup:
Awesome country we live by!
Title: Re: Rufous 2012 elk hunt
Post by: gramps on November 05, 2012, 07:29:15 PM: Good Job guys.
HawHee.....welcome to the forum and was please to meet you.
Title: Re: Rufous 2012 elk hunt
Post by: Rufous on November 06, 2012, 11:45:51 AM: Just saw my brother's post. About time you joined in on the forum. Hoping we can fill your doe tag on Thursday.
Title: Re: Rufous 2012 elk hunt
Post by: elkoholic1 on November 06, 2012, 12:43:20 PM: :tup: