Hunting Washington Forum
Big Game Hunting => Elk Hunting => Topic started by: ASienkiewich on September 22, 2021, 11:17:35 PM
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My hunt begins Saturday! I have done my scouting and have some spots nailed down. Any word from anyone who has been out in the area hunting? I will be in Clearwater and Goodman mostly. Just wondering if I still have a chance at some rut activity? Also my dad (70) has tested positive for covid this week so he will not be able to join me… very disappointing as he was so excited to help me out in his old stomping grounds
Hopefully I can do him proud.
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Sorry to hear your dad can't join you.
I hope he recovers quickly.
Good luck on your hunt.
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I scouted 621 all last weekend and didn’t hear any bugles. My hunt starts Saturday as well also hoping for some rut activity. Good luck on your hunt!
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I scouted 621 all last weekend and didn’t hear any bugles. My hunt starts Saturday as well also hoping for some rut activity. Good luck on your hunt!
Either a good sign, or a bad sign
Thank you, you too!
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Good luck on your hunt and with your dad's health. :tup:
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Sent you a PM. Sorry to hear about your pops.
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(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210926/71dae6d32be5f02af9553d87f52382c6.jpg)
My current view. Slow day today, hoping weather change will help tomorrow!
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Good luck with your hunt.
Just curious, did you buy the Rayonier permit for the Goodman or are you hunting part outside the Rayonier property?
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I did not but the Goodman permit. Only because I didn’t want everyone who wanted to come to have to buy one also.
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(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210926/71dae6d32be5f02af9553d87f52382c6.jpg)
My current view. Slow day today, hoping weather change will help tomorrow!
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That is the same bugle I use! How does it work for you!
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(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210926/71dae6d32be5f02af9553d87f52382c6.jpg)
My current view. Slow day today, hoping weather change will help tomorrow!
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That is the same bugle I use! How does it work for you!
It’s actually really easy to use and doesn’t sound too bad! I actually started using mouth reeds so I don’t have the blue primos reed on it, I just use it as my tube now Lol
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Good luck up there, bud!! Rooting for you!
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Good luck up there, bud!! Rooting for you!
Got on a herd of about 15 today. One big spike and one small spike. Nothing legal. Wet wet wet today Lol
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Good luck out there. Its a great tag but its so short of a season it makes it pretty tough and this weather today and tomorrow wont be fun. Hit the timber and don't expect much for bugles after two weeks of archery they can be pretty call shy..
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Good luck up there, bud!! Rooting for you!
Got on a herd of about 15 today. One big spike and one small spike. Nothing legal. Wet wet wet today Lol
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Oh I believe it, man. Hope you have some gaiters and some mink wax!
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I was out there in the Goodman scouting last weekend. There was some bowhunters around. Most of them seemed to be just driving around. Occasionally they'd pull over and rip off a bugle or 2. The elk were definitely quiet and holed up in the thick stuff.
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Another group of cows today. Where are the dang bulls
tomorrow isn’t supposed to be as wet so that’s good news. 30+ miles on my boots already and having a blast!
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I've seen elk including an ivory white masher bull on the east side of Wynochee Reservoir.
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Well progress has been made. Finally got a response back to my bugle today… and then all hell broke loose. He was in a panic trying to round up his cows while I closed the distance in the thick timber. There was so many cows I was trying to sneak past them to get to him. Every time I bugled or cow called he would scream back. Big nasty sounding growls and bugles. I bumped a satellite bull on the side at 30 yards and he wouldn’t give me a shot it was so thick. The rest got too far out in front of me so I backed out and left them for tomorrow! Last day heroics anyone? Gonna be hard to sleep tonight!
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I've seen elk including an ivory white masher bull on the east side of Wynochee Reservoir.
They’re definitely out there
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Give it everything you have!!! Bugle right back at him!! Go straight at him…… he’ll eventually not be able to stand it anymore…..
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Go getem! Good luck!!
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Go getem! Good luck!!
:yeah:
Hope to hear some good news soon!
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Just got home and got everything squared away… Full story to come and pictures to come! I guess someone had some last day heroics in them.(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210930/40776f9600c8f5a6d0bbf0045558f823.jpg)
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I was following this. Right on. excited to hear story and see more pics. Congratulations.
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:yike: nice
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Right on congrats! Looking forward to story :tup:
The last day is never a day to take lightly!
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Awesome. Way to keep at it.
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Can't wait looks like a good one for sure.
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Nice can't wait for more pics and stories
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Awesome congrats
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That's fantastic, congratulations! Can't wait to hear about it.
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Awesome, can't wait to hear the story
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Good job
Great tag
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Well let’s start where I last left off.
After running around the big herd that had the herd bull I never got eyes on, and another decent satellite bull. I decided to pull out and not to push them anymore that evening, as I didn’t want to push them onto private property or across the river. My buddy was going to come up for the final day of my hunt to help me out, so I figured we could try to hit the herd again. So back to my hotel for dinner an a couple beers while I look back at my encounter thinking what I could have done differently… Hindsight always 20/20 right? Made for a tough night sleep with my mind racing, also knowing I only had one day left to seal the deal.
The next morning I am up way before sunrise, watching a clear cut near the area I had last encountered the elk. My buddy was on his way but wouldn’t make it until about mid day, so I decided I would wait for him to go in after the herd from the previous day. So after a couple hours of watching the clear cut and scouting onX maps some more, I decided I would go farther back in and try a spot my dad had told me used to hold elk back in the day (80s & 90s). I get to the end of the drivable roads and see an old overgrown road to walk, why not, I have a couple hours to kill. Only a couple hundred yards down the road I run across two cows, just feeding and they didn’t seem to mind me. So I kept moving slowly down the road watching for more elk, I hear a faint bugle off in the timber to my left… Game on! I wasn’t going to give this bull the chance to round up his cows and move on like the ones the day prior.
I bust through some thick brush to get about 50 yards into the massive old growth timber, Stop and let out a couple excited cow calls. After about a minute I began raking a nearby tree and stomping some downed branches, followed by the meanest sounding bugle I could make.. followed by a frenzy of cow calls. I will tell you what, he did not take kindly to that one bit! He screamed right back at me during my cow calls. Knowing how the herd bull had responded to me the day before, I didn’t want this bull to have any time to do anything other than to turn and come defend his cows. So following his bugle I ran straight towards him…moving fairly quickly and quietly on the mossy floor of the rainforest. After about 75 yards I stop behind a tree and rip off another bugle followed by my frenzy of cow calls. He bugled back immediately and is noticeably closer (Me still thinking he is about 100-150 yards away). My brain knows that in the dense forest he was probably closer than that, but my adrenaline was letting my ears play tricks on me. I run straight at him towards him again.. bugle in one hand, rifle in the other. I get about 50 yards into my charge and boy do I get a surprise! 35 yards in front of me, here he comes busting his way through some alders! I froze.. I didn’t even focus on his antlers plowing through the brush, I just knew he was a shooter. I throw my bugle into the ferns (Had to retrieve that later which took me awhile to find LOL) and pulled up my rifle. Again, thinking back to the day prior and how the satellite bull gave me the slip at 30 yards… I was going to take the first shot I got. He stopped for what seemed like an eternity behind a tree, in reality it was maybe 10 seconds.. He then begins to take one step to the side which I am already anticipating and BOOM.
Dropped him in his tracks with my trusty 30.06 with 178 Grain Hornady Precision Trophy Hunter rounds. Cows take off from every direction, and the woods suddenly turn quiet… except for me yelling THANK YOU LORD and THAT ONE WAS FOR YOU DAD!
For anyone who has been following, my dad has mostly recovered from his spell of covid and is doing well. He turns 70 next year and has taught me everything I know. He is a hell of a dad and wouldn’t trade the times we’ve had for anything. I think he may have been more excited for me than I was when I called to tell him I got one down!
All in all my encounter with that bull lasted-only about 10 minutes total, I really enjoyed being the aggressor and feel it could not have worked out better. As he expires and I walk up to him.. I am in shock. The antlers were impressive no doubt, but the head and neck and body of this thing were unreal. This will be my 5th bull elk but I had yet to see anything of this magnitude.. I had my work cut out for me. I punch my tag, take a couple teaser photos and get him gutted so he can start to cool off. I knew my buddy was getting close so I went back to my rig and drove to get phone service. I’ll spare the details of the rest, but let’s just say I shot him at around 10am and we were headed home about 6pm.. fully quartered and caped out. Got home around 1030pm…What a day!!
I cannot thank my family enough for the support and knowledge they have given me. My dad gave me a lifetime of knowledge even though he couldn’t be there in person, My brother gave me two full days of help hunting even with his busy schedule, and my buddy gave me the one day he could to help me pack out this trophy. I am surrounded by good people and for that I am blessed. Also the knowledge and support I have gained from this forum I am so thankful for, I have only been using this app for a couple years off and on but it is a big part of my hunting life now. Shout out to [mention]CascadeCruiser [/mention] for all the moral support through text and sending me some Pins on onX maps to help me gain even more knowledge of the areas I was hunting, that man is a class act. Alright, I am tired of typing and tired in general. Elk meat is processed by myself my dad and my brother, and the elk head is at the taxidermy. Until deer season! Cheers!
Thanks for staying tuned everyone.
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20211001/acfd6654c6c5a4052c6e5fb34375c494.jpg)
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20211001/087d1117ccfa256eeae6da2973e245ed.jpg)
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20211001/184012bb2c171080936f7100a8e2c8d8.jpg)
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20211001/989477ad4c2603a96533655b9b4d90be.jpg)
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20211001/b9f7110046014ff68efb7687693ca147.jpg)
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That is a dandy! Thanks for the story and congrats!
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Right on!
That is a TERRIFIC bull.....
LOVE the mass and the color.
Thanks for sharing the ups and downs of an epic hunt with all of us.
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Great bull congrats! :tup:
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Congrats on an awesome bull!
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Great bull
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Great bull and hunt! Thanks for sharing! :tup:
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Way to stick with it! Congrats on a great bull! :tup:
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Nicely done, that bull has incredible mass :yike:, great write up.👍
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Congrats great story and awesome bull
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Those big peninsula bulls are always beautiful. Congrats and what an awesome animal.
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sweet bull man, congrats and thanks for sharing
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Nice bull, and nice write up. Congrats!
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congrats man
great bull
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Congrats on a nice bull.
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Congrats on an awesome bull!!! Not sure I could handle the stress of a 4 day season, but I need a nice Rosie like that
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Hell yeah, my man! Great story! Those pictures are nuts. What a masher. So pumped for you!
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Congrats! Sounds like it was a great hunt.
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Nice bull. Congratulations!
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Beautiful rosie. Way to stay after it :tup:
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Heck yeah that’s fantastic. Congrats and thanks for taking us along. Glad to hear your dad is doing good also.
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Wholly smokes!!!! Awesome Bull.. Congrats….
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Awesome!!
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First off glad to hear your dad is doing better!
Congrats on an awesome bull! Great mass and color! He will look amazing on the wall for many many years! Great effort in getting it done and last day too!
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That’s one of the prettiest bulls I’ve ever seen and an even better ending. Enjoy the memories of every moment that happened to get to that point.
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Love them big Rosie's :tup:
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Awesome Bulll. Way to keep at it and hunt til the end.
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Beautiful Rosie!
Love your setup inside the tree line in the first pic!
:hello:
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(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20211224/4600a036a961feaabb44cb9b5d3b8b67.jpg)
Gonna be awhile before the taxidermist can do the shoulder mount. So I got the horns back for a bit so I can show them off! Glad to have my hands around this beast again!
Also I might be “long arming it” a bit, but I’m 6ft2 and he is a biiiiig 5 pt
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Cool pic.
He's a tank.
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Stud Bull!
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Nicely done! Bull of a lifetime!
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Great Great Great coastal bull elk!!!!! :tup:
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Unless your arms are about twelve feet long that's a big set of Rosie antlers. Congrats again on a fantastic bull.
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The mass on those is incredible. What a beast.
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Congrats, what a cool bull!
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Amazing animal. :tup:
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Holy freaking 5 point.
The mass is insane.
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Awesome bull. Congratulations!
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Nice Rosie!
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Great bull congrats