Post by: backwoods_boy on November 03, 2008, 09:06:49 AM
i dont even know where to start.....so i will just start typing. Back when we found out we were drawn for this tag i put some pretty high expectations on the three of us. To get drawn for this tag was an honor in itself, but to be able to hunt very hard for two weeks with my brother and dad was even more rewarding than i could have asked for.
The memories we made in two weeks will last forever in my mind.
The melted boots by the fire, my bro not pulling the trigger on a 5x5 the second day of the hunt (hes kickin himself now), my dad having cell phone calls while sitting at camp, the snow blizzard opening morning, the timber tiger obstacle course, the broken lantern glass, getting lost a few times, the gigantic camp fires, stealing coals for my dutch oven, the countless times being scared out of our minds by grouse...i could go on for days.....
3 weekend scouting trips from august-october
a million hours on hunt-washington website
a million emails to people seeking information about rimrock
10 different maps
who knows how much we spent at joes and cabelas
time off from work
__________________________
all of this cant compare to the special time I had sharing the woods with my dad brother.
Now down to the good stuff:
I will bet that from Oct 18th thru Nov 2nd there was not many hunters that hunted harder and longer than my dad brother and I.
we hunted nearly every hour of daylight, rain, shine or snow. At times we hiked 10+ miles a day.
we covered a hundred miles on foot and i dont think we missed any road in the whole unit. :)
We saw a "ton" of elk in two weeks. About 40 cows and maybe about 5-7 bulls, but my brother was the only one to have a "legit" shot at a 5x5 and a spike that he decided on his best judgment not to take the shot. he has his reasons and i stand behind him that he didnt take a bad shot near dark and at around 275-300 yards.
So yeah we came home empty handed :'( and even so we still all had smiles on our faces :) when we drove home.
so i will say this: i learned a very hard lesson this hunting season.....
Elk hunting is 95% luck (right place right time) and 5% skill.
I dont regret anything we did over the last three months in preparing for this hunt.
I hope that this hunt has jump-started my dads intrest back into hunting.
And no doubt my brother is hooked for sure.
So the way i see it is that even though we didnt get to hang anything this year it was a very sucessful trip and i hope that getting drawn for this tag has re-started a family tradition for many years to come.
I wont sit here and tell you that i wouldnt have loved to knock down a 6x6 or even a spike at this point, but it just wasnt in the cards for us but as we drove out of camp we told all of the new friends we met...."see ya next year". :hello:
Thanks to everyone on this site for all your help.
i wouldnt have made this trip how it was with out you guys.
thanks again!
What's that i hear????............. QUACK QUACK QUACK.......Bang!!!!!
time to slay some ducks!
:)
Post by: Craig on November 03, 2008, 09:11:07 AM
Did you see many bulls hanging in other camps?
Post by: huntnphool on November 03, 2008, 09:19:05 AM
Post by: jadeball1 on November 03, 2008, 09:20:09 AM
Post by: backwoods_boy on November 03, 2008, 09:20:34 AM
Guys were pretty frustrated all around. Many guys didnt come back for the second weekend of general.
Weather played a big role as always.
If i had to guess, in the two weeks the numbers we saw and heard about looked like this:
Cows: about 10
Spikes: about 4-6
Branch Bulls: about 5
a 5x5, 2 6x6's, the rest rag horns.
Again these are estimates:
Post by: HawkenBob on November 03, 2008, 09:28:57 AM
You guys did those tags proud. Even if you didnt fill em. Thanks for the stories.
I feel Rifle season is harder anyway, The bulls arnt responsive as they are earlier. And there is sooooo much pressure over there for spikes, that the big Bulls hide really good.
Post by: backwoods_boy on November 03, 2008, 09:35:32 AM
What a ride its been huh? I think we all kinda felt like we were there. I know I thought about ya guys more than once. It was allot of pressure to have (3) tags. One is hard enough. Lolthank you so much....we really did our best to do those tags proud. :)
You guys did those tags proud. Even if you didnt fill em. Thanks for the stories.
I feel Rifle season is harder anyway, The bulls arnt responsive as they are earlier. And there is sooooo much pressure over there for spikes, that the big Bulls hide really good.
Post by: Curly on November 03, 2008, 09:46:17 AM
Tell your brother not to be too hard on himself for not taking the shot at the 5 point. If he didn't feel good about the shot, then its good he didn't shoot. It's best to feel confindent that the shot can be made before shooting. 300 yards isn't a very long shot.........but it isn't exactly easy either. If a guy isn't used to shooting at that kind of range, it makes it much more difficult. I'm glad we didn't end up hearing another story about a wounded bull getting away.
Post by: Gobble on November 03, 2008, 09:58:48 AM
Post by: bowsandhose on November 03, 2008, 11:21:49 AM
Post by: backwoods_boy on November 03, 2008, 12:27:30 PM
but after seeing T-roys pics i want to punch myself in the face multiple times.
i just had such high hopes for big bulls this year and those guys taged 2 in 2 days.
i guess thats hunting for ya but what did they do that i didnt.....right???
:dunno:
oh well next year its spikes and ghost points i guess.....
Post by: 270Shooter on November 03, 2008, 03:35:23 PM
Post by: backwoods_boy on November 03, 2008, 04:16:26 PM
its a little sad seeing the mashers that T-roy nailed. 2 in 2 days.
but hey thats hunting.
we had a wonderful time and even though no meat hanging the trip was a sucess....
Post by: DeKuma on November 03, 2008, 04:20:06 PM
Post by: backwoods_boy on November 03, 2008, 04:27:33 PM
:)
Post by: Geno on November 03, 2008, 06:04:59 PM
Geno
Post by: bullcanyon on November 03, 2008, 08:36:39 PM
I feel for ya man
Kris
Post by: backwoods_boy on November 03, 2008, 08:55:07 PM
Even though we had empty hanging poles in camp as i said before this trip was a success....
i just hope that my bro and dad are as hooked as i am for the years to come. i really think they are.
my bro and i had some really close encounters and i think he felt the thrill of the hunt at its best.
and I will be back every year no matter what until the day i cant walk.
Post by: jake on November 03, 2008, 09:31:14 PM
Post by: Red Dawg on November 03, 2008, 09:41:46 PM
Post by: flashover52 on November 03, 2008, 09:57:02 PM
Post by: backwoods_boy on November 04, 2008, 07:50:37 AM
its the one we used the most it has all the roads on it and lots of names of places.
it was only 10 bucks
Post by: ArtistNhunter2 on November 04, 2008, 09:45:15 PM
Thanks for your story. Sounded pretty successful to me, especially getting togehter with your dad and brother. "See you next year" kinda says it all!
Hope the info I gave you helped. Maybe I'll see you up there next year too.
Post by: backwoods_boy on November 05, 2008, 07:48:20 AM
the way i see it this tag was a learning-tag.
i learned a ton more about elk habbits, about tracking them, about the weather movment patterns and most of all i learned that patience is more important than any skill a hunter can have.
I also understand that i did the best i could possibly do considering that we didnt live in naches or selah... ;).
i mean its not like we could scout every day since august and then bag two mashers the first two opening days of the hunt. But good for those guys who could do that. :IBCOOL: :chuckle:
I am a few years short of 30 and the way i see it is that getting the basic hunting know-how when i was young and then having an experience like this year under my belt, that i am on a good track to become a better hunter every year.
Hunting is something that i am very pasionate about and something i can look forward to every year and i have many many years of walking the mountains ahead of me.
Thanks Dad for dragging me to elk camp back in the day. :hello: