Hunting Washington Forum
Big Game Hunting => Elk Hunting => Topic started by: demontang on October 31, 2010, 05:46:25 PM
-
So I got my spike opening morning right at first light :IBCOOL: I post the story and a pic tonight after are halloween trip with the boys.
-
Congrats!
-
GRATS
-
Congrats!
-
We are waiting..................
Congrats :brew:
-
congrats
-
Excellent!! Look forward to pics.
-
trick or treat :chuckle: i am done
-
congrats man. now you got lots of time for those yotes :drool: look forward to pics
-
Ya congrats to ya, cant wait for pics. :brew:
-
Sweet, lets see the pics :)
-
Congrats! Glad you connected!
-
Congrats!! Over on 342?
-
Well my day started at 6:00, I got up my girl made me caffee and I loaded my truck and fired the generator for lights and heat. I left camp at 6:30 and it was a very heavy fog in the morning and I had a hard time seeing the road. I made it to my spot at 6:40 jumped out and went to drink put of my coffee which ended with me spilling coffee down the front of me. I cleaned off the coffee the best I could but now I smelled like coffee:( well ten min later I figured I should just head in. I hurried down the hill and made it up the other side of the draw as fast as my legs would go. I got to a area that the elk trail ran by and slowed down and started to glass but with the fog I could only see 75yds. It was around 7:20 and I started to here something below me so I slowly kept move along the trail. The bottom came alive and there where stick popping and rocks rolling. I then started glassing hard though the heavy fog. I got down to sit but notices I couldn't see so I got back up and caught movement below me. There's a elk!! I started glassing hard and then there was 10 more. The lead cow came up the trail below me at 50 yds stopped and looked at me for what seemed like a life time. Then she put here head down and kept grazing up the hill. There was a good twent elk going by an not a horn to be found. Then I heard more elk coming and the cows stopped and looked back down the hill. I was think bull so I got on one knee and got my weatherby on the sticks and the waiting started. I glassed and seen more cows then not even 50yds down here came a bull!! I glassed and it was a spike. I get on him with the weatherby and see no branch in the horns again but see probly 10rlk right online with him so no shot.. I waited for what seemed like forever again and he walked 15yds and had a thicket of trees and no cows so on the shoulder and BANG. He took off and with out a hitch, I left thinking I missed. Then here comes three more spikes and atleast 20 other elk and a bunch I can't see because of the fog. I sit and wait for the woods to go still. I get up and hear something to the direction they ran so I take a few steps and see my spike trying to get up! I got move so I could finish him and he saw ne and started down the hill pretty slowly so I put one my round in him which sent him rolling down and in to a tree. And then the work started. He was down and I was at him at 7:40am I gutted him which was a pain on the side hill, I hurried to my truck and got back to my camp to tell my girl I had one down and to run and call my friend to help. Well she figured she could help so we tried and it ended with her heading to get help at 9:00. I headed down with a pack and hatchet to start the pack out. I quarted it and had one quarter out at 10:30, and another out at 12:00 which to my relief was right as my girl and friends showed. I took a quick break and ate a quick snack then was off with help. We got down in and I took the head/neck out while my friends figured they could carry the front quarters out still together. Well it was around 4pm now and as I came out I hear my uncle up at my truck. More help!!! I get up there and my uncle brought more help too, so off they go as I try to eat some more and drink water then I take back off down in to find them all maybe 100yds from where I shot it. So I get everyone going and we made some good lead way until the last steep climb which is about as straight up as you could think of besides a cliff. my uncle takes off to the truck to grab more rope as I and the other three guys work inch by inch up this hill. My uncle gets back and we get the rope hooked up on a tree when bang a rock hits my knee and breaks and goes down missing two friends. So I'm left on this hill hurt and with the others fighting for ever inch they gain. We I buck up and start helping and we get the front half out at 6:20 an back at camp and done at 7:00pm. I can tell you a hot shower never felt so good. At the butcher the to rear quarters weigh in at 160lbs and the front half minus a leg shoulder and some othere meat was 107. And the head/neck was another 60lbs. Elf meat in the freezer and the rest at the butcher for jerky and sausage and a few steaks!!
(https://hunting-washington.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi175.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fw131%2Fdemontang%2F14872a2f.jpg&hash=bf5f59c102e06910f671a4c23fa7c630f6ed4e73)
-
good deal bud! thanks for sharin the pics and story with us.
-
Thats awesome, good work, hopefully the knee feels better.
-
Way to go congrats!
-
I have more pics but I can't load them tell my printer gets fixed and I can take them off my camera. My knee is the only thing that really hurts. I was in the rim rock unit and I'm excited for the yote hunting now
-
Good job, glad to see someone take one. Congrats
-
Congrats!!
-
Nice job
-
Congrats! Glad you nailed one!
-
Nice work.
Gotta inquire on the hatchet part though, you one of the folks that truly quarter an animal by splitting the spine? If so (and after you've now dealt with hauling the animal out) what is the rationale in doing that verse taking off the 4 legs whole and then boning out the loins/backstraps/ribs/neck and leaving the spin & rib cage bones?
-
Very NIce :drool: . Congrats and sorry about the knee hope it gets better soon.
-
Nice looking bull, I'm headed out tomorrow!
-
I used the hatchet to get the legs off and to split the pelvis. I for got my saw so I had to use what I had with me. The other guys took the whole front half out in one piece minus the head/neck.
-
I used the hatchet to get the legs off and to split the pelvis. I for got my saw so I had to use what I had with me. The other guys took the whole front half out in one piece minus the head/neck.
If you had to do it again though would you remove the front legs and debone the rest so you didn't have to try and lug the ribs & spine though? Sounds like it wasn't too fun.
Again, congrats. Just trying to learn from experience on differing methods.
-
Yea I wanted to cut up the front but they where determined to get it out the way it was.
-
Good Job all I can say is debone, debone, debone, right there right now. piss on carring bones, not me never again. A old sheet makes a great butcher board and a pillow case for the scraps. :brew:
-
Yeah first elk Im sure Ill refine it more as I get more animals over the years :chuckle: I got deer down pretty good but I elk are another story.
-
congrats! sounds like one hell of a pack out!
-
congrats way to go
