Post by: Skinner on October 11, 2009, 02:29:27 PM
Lots of time was spent scouting both units all summer. We found lots of good bulls in both but I consentrated more on amandas because weyerhauser was locked up for fire danger most of the summer, but in the back of my mind I had a few spots in mind already. With snow in the forcast for the opener I opted to take my uncles camp trailer and generator and left the wall tent at home.
Wednesday before the opener found us on a high vantage pt. where we could get a good look at the canyon we wanted to focus on. I had scouted a couple bulls in the 320 range and was more than happy to let amanda whack one of those. Scouting that day was tough due to the blizzard we were in. Eventually the snow and clouds rolled out and we were seeing elk. They were bugling and chasing cows all over the place. We saw two shooter bulls and a couple satellites that night so decided to go back there in the morning.
Opening Day:
We were at our pt of entry into the canyon we wanted to go into 1.5 hrs before light. No one was around and the wind had died down so we could hear perfectly. No Bugles?? We walked around the corner and it was like we walked into an elk calling contest. 8 bulls going INSANE within 100 yds of us. We still had an hour and twenty minutes before daylight. I was shaking standing there listening so I can't imagine what was going through amanda's head. Her dad was there also and I could tell he was all jacked up too. I heard something behind me and turned around to see 4 wheeler headlights coming down the road. Luckily he turned up the hill and kept driving by the bulls in the dark never hearing them. Pheww!! Then a guy walks in shining his headlamp around. I shine my light at him and he turns around. Pheww!! 15 minutes before light the bulls are even tighter wind in our face and a toyota comes around the corner with a 65 year old woman standing in the back with her loaded rifle in front of her. I flash my light and they just keep coming. I ran up there and told them what was going on and they agreed to turn around and go up the road the other people had. Good thing the elk over there don't mind rigs. Daylight comes and we walk around the corner to the bulls. They are chasing each other around in a meadow with sparse trees. First bull pops out at 80 yds. Nice 6x6 short tines, super long main beams and prolly a 48 inch spread. Super WIDE!! Amanda asks if she can shoot it and I said yes thinking he would probably be 305-310. She pulls the trigger twice before realizing she didn't pull the bolt back on the knight bighorn. Bull walks off unspooked. 2nd bull: We turn a 180 as soon as the other bull leaves because another 6 is coming in. We sit down behind a stump and I coax a 290 6x6 to 40 yds broadside for 1 minute. I tell her no and about that time the 4 wheelers start pouring in. The herd bulls dive into the canyon and the satellites follow and so do we. We were in them all day but passed on a couple smaller ones. That afternoon we drove to another spot and I thought we were gonna be one of those lucky people that shoots one off the side of the road. A LEGIT 350, every tine went out hooked up and in, super long main beams, and hooked way in in the back. An ass scratcher to say the least jumped into the road then went right back up the hill. I don't think I could have capped my gun any faster than her as we got out. I stopped him at 40 yds going up the hill. Too bad 3 deadfall covered his whole body except for his antlers and from his knees down. Then he was gone never to be seen again. We worked a couple bulls that night but nothing exciting and no visuals.
That was OPENING DAY!!
Post by: Skinner on October 11, 2009, 02:30:14 PM
Post by: Skinner on October 11, 2009, 02:30:33 PM
Uneventfull! It was a blizzard with about 40 mph winds and no elk wanted to play except 2 spikes I called into 40 yards. Saw a few cows along the road too. It didn't take long to figure out to just drive by the elk and walk back to them. They don't mind the rigs unless you stop. Amanda was getting depressed. She stunk, lol, and was regretting not pulling back the bolt the first day. JoeVon told her that night on the phone to "Keep The Faith" which became the theme to out whole season! I knew we would get into them again but we just had to stay after it and we would get into one of those herd bulls we were after.
Post by: Skinner on October 11, 2009, 02:31:02 PM
Post by: Skinner on October 11, 2009, 02:31:29 PM
Found us in the same canyon as opening morning but we hunted into the next drainage. We had seen elk in the dark moving across the hill, opposite the way they went the first day so I figured they were getting pushed. I looked at the map and found the steepest crap with no roads and we stopped there with 1 hr to daylight. No one came before light so we were stoked since we had just listened to 4 bulls bugling next to the truck for that whole hour. We got right in them but none would close the distance. I tried every trick in my little book, but it wasn't hard to figure out they all had cows and were moving off. We followed the bugles across some rock slides and thick timber. Let me remind you Amanda is deathly afraid of heights but I guess you forget some of those things when you are trying to get a bugling bull!
Anyways we get on one of the bulls and he leads us into a dark canyon. I bugle and he answers from the top of the other side. We decided there was no way in hell we were gonna catch him so we turned around. We were 2/3 the way to the truck and I decieded to cow call. The bull we were after bugled right back from the bottom of the dark canyon.?????? What??? We had heard the wrong bugle. Back down in the canyon we went. It was thick nasty blowdown. We got to a good pt and I cow called. Immediately he bugled 60 yds away. We had gotten right on top of him without knowing. He screamed and came in running. Amanda told me she was shooting anything decent the night before because we were leaving after day 4. Needless to say she was still a little picky cause she passed the decent 5x5 at 45 yds. Out of there we climbed to go eat lunch.
We decided to go back there that afternoon cause we knew where the other three had bedded down but they had stopped bugling at noon. We got back by 3pm and waited for the action to start. The next thing I remember I woke from my nap in a cold shiver and wet face. It was a complete white-out blizzard. We packed up out stuff and hiked out of there.
We drove to another "Honey Hole" and I pulled over before a canyon. I walked around the corner and was getting ready to call when a cow walked just below me. She started to move down the hill spooking so I cow called. She stopped and a deep raspy bugle came from 100yds below her. Oh *censored*! I ran back to the truck and I guess they could tell by my expressions that I had one coming cause they were out of the truck in no time.
We set up over the hill down wind of the elk. It wasn't ideal but it was all we had due to the shooting lanes. I had the montana decoy and amanda set up below me. I started calling and got an instant bugle. Then his cows came running up the hill and filed under us at 20 yds. I figured this was it. He had to be behind those cows. NOPE! He circled UPWIND? and came head on and stopped 45 yds to amanda. I had told her she could take that shot before, knowing she is a deadeye, but she forgot and wanted to wait for the broadside shot. I was proud of her for not making a shot she wasn't comfortable with but I couldn't stand seeing the 325 6x6 walk away unscathed! I kept calling and more cows came in but they had 4 spikes and a 3 pt with them. The other herd bull 200yds down the hill was bugling but I'm pretty sure he had a hot cow.
That was DAY 3 one more day to go.
Post by: Skinner on October 11, 2009, 02:32:12 PM
Found me doing the same routine as every other morning, catering to my clients!!! I would get up 30 minutes earlier and start the generator, turn on the heater, and start the coffee. Warm Amanda's clothes, and get everything in the truck.
We headed up the spur road from the night before. Hopes were high but Manders was pissed she hadn't gotten the two bulls I said pull the trigger on. We rolled up to the same spot as the last night and got out to bugle. As soon as I opened the door bulls were going balistic around the corner. It was just getting daylight so we set up on the corner before the bulls. Amanda and her dad sat on a high cut bank probably 40 yards looking straight down on the road. I stood on the road on the corner to call so I had a few options to move depending on where the first bull showed. I called one series and all I could see coming down the road was 4 ft of antlers and pts coming towards me. All of this was seen over 7ft jackfirs by the way. He as a hog. A huge maneframe 6 with crowned 7ths that stuck nearly straight out from the forks at least 12 inches long. This was him. The big herd bull we wanted. I ran around the corner cause he was closing on me. Amanda was faced to take a nearly straight down shot off the cut bank. In all the 30 seconds this took to happen she shot over him. He ran down the road and I cow called. He stopped at 100 yds and just as she drew on him again he bugled and stepped into the brush. The first shot was a clean miss hitting the dirtroad just over his back. She was sick, but she didn't have long to be cause I coaxed a bull and a cow into charging right for us. At 30 yds the cow turned broadside in front of her and guess who was on her tail, a dandy 5x5. She smoked him in the chest and flipped him over. He rolled 20 yds down the hill and it was all over. She was pumped and I was excited for her also.
It was very difficult and trying, taking a new hunter into the wilderness and wanting them to have the instincts of a seasoned hunter. This was her second bull in 5 yrs and we both learned a lot. She conquered some of her fears, for the time being, and we all had a great time. Thanks to everyone that helped.
Post by: Skinner on October 11, 2009, 02:33:24 PM
Post by: carpsniperg2 on October 11, 2009, 02:35:05 PM
Post by: rackattack on October 11, 2009, 02:36:32 PM
Post by: yelp on October 11, 2009, 02:38:31 PM
Post by: Skinner on October 11, 2009, 02:39:14 PM
Post by: yelp on October 11, 2009, 02:42:43 PM
Post by: huntnphool on October 11, 2009, 03:21:07 PM
Post by: grousetracker on October 11, 2009, 03:54:29 PM
Post by: JoeVon on October 11, 2009, 03:59:56 PM
why are you wearing hunters orange during muzzle?
There are also Rifle Rut hunts going on at the same time.
Post by: twisp_river_slayer on October 11, 2009, 04:04:15 PM
Post by: Skinner on October 11, 2009, 04:33:10 PM
Post by: Skinner on October 11, 2009, 05:38:25 PM
Brought me home to the base of Mt. St. Helens. It felt great to be home and to have my smokepole shouldered. It was my turn, or Beau's, or Cody's. We had 3 Toutle tags. Beau was looking for his first bull, Cody his third, and I was holding out till the end for a good one. The boys hadn't had much luck the first two days with Longear and JoeVon. Socked in one day and elk bumped by hunters the next. Longear was back to work so the three of us along with JoeVon and another buddy hit the road with high hopes of laying the smack on a nice Rosie!!
The morning started off great. It was in the 30's and we were hunting the high nobles. We spotted a cow feeding over a ridge so we made our way to the otherside to see the rest of the herd. We found the cow along with a few others. The winthrop boys and our buddy skirted the ridgetop while I sat on a landing and spotted for them. JoeVon was at the truck with the spotting scope trying to locate more bulls. Just before they crested the ridge above the cow a small bull ran 80 yds below them. I starting motioning to them but they couldn't see him. I looked back to check on the cows, 60 yds below them, and a LARGE bull fed into the open. I don't know how the elk couldn't see me jumping up and down getting the guys' attention. I motioned them to the bull but they weren't able to see him. (40 yds. away) I was freaking out. He was a huge 6. A Rosie that most will never see around here. And as it usually goes the wind finally swirled, 10 minutes later, and the elk were gone. There were 4 bulls bugling there so the guys made an attempt on them with no luck.
Throughout the day we were into bulls. They were really talking and we had some close calls at 30-60 yds. But no dice. We were making our way through the timber to check out another spot when a herd crossed right in front of us and sure as $#!+ a big bull was following. Cody had the only shot and took it at 25 yds. The bull ran 30 and piled up on the ground. It happened so quick and they came out of the middle of know where. He is a monster 5x5 for around here. I would have been stoked to wack him and I know Cody was. Two bulls in two days and I was on both. It was awesome!!
Post by: Skinner on October 11, 2009, 05:44:00 PM
Post by: yelp on October 11, 2009, 06:16:30 PM
Post by: WAPITIHUNTER on October 11, 2009, 07:28:45 PM
Post by: vfilbert on October 11, 2009, 07:44:50 PM
Post by: Wea300mag on October 11, 2009, 07:47:28 PM
Post by: Skinner on October 11, 2009, 08:02:25 PM
Post by: actionshooter on October 11, 2009, 08:15:17 PM
Congrats!!
Post by: BLKBEARKLR on October 11, 2009, 08:21:24 PM
Post by: bowsandhose on October 11, 2009, 09:21:49 PM
Post by: zackmioli on October 12, 2009, 01:15:19 AM
Post by: Skinner on October 14, 2009, 07:42:09 PM
Dawned with us heading back to the high country. It was me and the two winthrop boys and Beau, the younger, was first up. He was trying to get his first elk. Of course we had to follow the slowest rig up there! It was daylight and we still weren't to the spot we wanted to be. 2 roads from the end of the line the rig pulled down a spur road and we decided to stop and glass. ELK!! Cow, cow, cow, BULL!! Beau already had a good rest and was waiting for him to step out. Well he ran! I was on the cow call as long and as fast as I could. He stopped at 110 yds and Beau layed the hammer down. He dropped in his tracks and never got back up. This was Beau's first bull and he was stoked. He was probably only a 2.5-3.5 year old bull and dressed 390 lbs. We packed him out and Beau had to be back to college so he took off and Cody and I took off for an evening hunt.
That night found us overlooking a major drainage full of nobles and blue huckleberry bushes. I decided to let out a bugle to locate some for the morning hunt. 20 yards below us a bull answered back. It scared the $#!* out of me. We worked that bull until we couldn't see anymore but he had too many cows he didn't want to leave and it was just TOO THICK. That would be the thorn in my side for the next 3 days.
Post by: BENCHLEG on October 14, 2009, 07:52:17 PM
Post by: eastsidebugle on October 14, 2009, 07:52:42 PM
Post by: Skinner on October 14, 2009, 07:56:00 PM
Post by: Skinner on October 14, 2009, 08:23:32 PM
Was COLD! The windows were iced over and the puddles were too. We parked the corner before the big canyon from the night before and snuck to the same spot I called from. It was just getting daylight so I let out a locator bugle. Bull bugles from the same spot as last night. Second bull bugles across canyon, third bugles in the bottom, oh ya and fourth down in the bottom not too far from the third. I look down towards the third and fourth bugle and see an elk in a meadow. BULL, HUGE BULL! I can see horns with the naked eye, pull up the binos and he is a dandy 6x6. Bull bugles in front of us again so we decide to work him. It is extremely thick. Like 15 yard shots are gonna be the farthest. I cow call him and try to circle downwind. He comes in then goes back to his cows. I close the distance to 30 yds but he just wont come any closer and it is so noisy he's got me pinned. We end up playing cat and mouse until a cow busts us. Game over.
It is 11 am so we head back to the truck to get some water. It is 70 degrees by this time and we sit in the air conditioning until we are freezing then go try and make a run at the big guy. By the way the first bull becomes known as Leery. The big guy is lunker so we give him a try. He is content with his cows and only lets out a bugle from his bed only a couple times an hour. The wind is wrong so we leave him in hopes other bulls are talking. It was crazy the rest of the day. Bulls were tearing it up everywhere. It was like I never left amanda's hunt on the eastside. We were within 30-40 yds of screaming bulls all day but we needed to be 15-20. Frustrating!!
Post by: Skinner on October 14, 2009, 08:32:27 PM
Cody was supposed to head back to winthrop today to round up cows before deer season but he squeezed one more day out of his dad. Guess he didn't want to miss out on all the action like the day before. Bet he was glad he stayed because it was just as eventful as the day before.
I bugled at daylight again and had one answer down towards Lunker. We beat feet down there and call again. He answers again but further up the draw than I remember. We look into a clear cut and he pops out heading up hill. A road cuts above him so we start running for it. He hits the road before us and starts walking away. I cow called and he turned right around and starts walking right towards us but still a 1/4 mile away around the corner. We hurry up to the corner and are going to set up when a bus full of bough pickers comes flying up the road behind us and around the corner. We hurry around the corner to see the dandy 5x5 making his way back down the clearcut just out of muzzleloader range. $#!&!!!! That's Leroy. He was the satellite to Lunker come to find out.
That afternoon I found a jackfir patch that was loaded with elk. We decided to walk out a grassy road 1.5 hrs before dark. We had seen a lot of elk moving through there just before sundown so we thought we might catch them moving up the hill to feed. Guess we should have left an hour earlier cause we got on 4 bugling bulls that had already crossed the road and wouldn't come back because their cows were moving away. I planned on being there at daylight to try and catch them moving back down.
Post by: JoeVon on October 14, 2009, 08:33:13 PM
That night found us overlooking a major drainage full of nobles and blue huckleberry bushes. I decided to let out a bugle to locate some for the morning hunt. 20 yards below us a bull answered back. It scared the $#!* out of me. We worked that bull until we couldn't see anymore but he had too many cows he didn't want to leave and it was just TOO THICK. That would be the thorn in my side for the next 3 days.
How did you find such an area? :rolleyes:
Post by: Skinner on October 14, 2009, 08:48:50 PM
My hunting partner not going to be with me today so I wrangled up JoeVon and cousin Ben to skip hunting the Ryderwood and go with me. Don't think it took much convincing after I told them my stories. I woke up and made everyone sandwiches and coffee like all the other mornings. I was exhausted. 11 days of getting up at 4am and going to bed at 11pm were wearing on me to say the least. I got a phone call first from JoeVon. He asked if another buddy of ours could go. I said I didn't care, besides Ron is an excellent elk caller and I was hoping he could get one of those bulls to make a mistake. The second call was from Longear saying "Today is the day. I can just feel it."
We made it to the jackfir patch before daylight and called our way out to where I had heard the first bugle. NOTHING! Were we too late? We walked further and still nothing. Then we heard a faint bugle. Went around the corner and there it was again but closer so we stopped and listened. Closer and closer. $#!% we hurried and set up and I made a move on the bull while they called behind me. The bull was pushing his cows about 60 yds above the grassy rd parallel to it. I finally got to where I couldn't go any farther without busting them, but it wasn't close enough. I scrambled back to the road and started walking back towards the truck trying to cut them off. At one time he was 10 yds from me and the rd but I still had no shot. I didn't even know how big he was. I finally got to an 80 yd shooting lane. He was dead to rights all he had to do was walk into the opening. NOPE, he walked straight up the hill never to be seen again. We tracked them a while and found why they like it so much. In the jackfirs were meadows and wallows galore. Guess I know where I'll hunt next time.
No more bulls answered so we worked our way back to the trucks and moved back to the big canyon to Leery, Lunker, and Leroy. I told Ron where they were and he bugled. It was getting to be close to 11 so I thought he might not get an answer. Man was I wrong. Two bulls from the bottom bugled. Had to be Leroy and Lunker so we made a move quick cause they would prolly bed down soon. We closed the distance and Ron let out a bugle. Nothing so we went around the corner. I hear something so we stop. ELK!! RUNNING THROUGH THE NOBLES AND STOPS QUARTERING AWAY AT 80 YDS. RON YELLS BULL BUT I DON'T KNOW HOW BIG ALL I CAN SEE IS HORNS. This was the actual first opportunity and only the third bull I had actually physically seen these last three days. ITS THAT THICK. I pulled the trigger on him and he ran away like noting happened! WHAT!!
Post by: Skinner on October 14, 2009, 09:02:21 PM
Post by: JoeVon on October 14, 2009, 09:04:04 PM
Post by: BoomWhop on October 14, 2009, 09:07:52 PM
Post by: fishm@n on October 15, 2009, 11:03:50 AM
Post by: SilkWWU on October 15, 2009, 11:11:36 AM
Post by: Skinner on October 15, 2009, 12:06:29 PM
Post by: Crunchy on October 15, 2009, 12:55:32 PM
Post by: MichaelJ on October 16, 2009, 05:53:19 PM
Michael
Post by: funkster on October 18, 2009, 12:13:46 PM
Post by: cascademountainhunter on October 18, 2009, 12:18:31 PM
Post by: MichaelJ on October 19, 2009, 04:06:31 PM
story to be continued:
And?????????
Michael
Post by: Skinner on October 20, 2009, 09:02:29 PM
Matt
Post by: MichaelJ on October 20, 2009, 10:10:46 PM
Michael
Post by: buckhorn2 on October 20, 2009, 10:52:29 PM
Post by: JoeVon on October 23, 2009, 10:55:53 PM
Post by: Hornseeker on October 24, 2009, 07:47:20 PM
Congrats to you guys!
Post by: PacificNWhunter on October 24, 2009, 10:21:52 PM
Post by: RPM on October 31, 2009, 02:09:06 PM
Post by: Skinner on November 01, 2009, 06:28:55 AM
Matt