Post by: huntndad on February 03, 2012, 05:01:27 PM
Post by: Fowlweather25 on February 03, 2012, 05:03:32 PM
Post by: Bob33 on February 03, 2012, 05:07:22 PM
Are you reading the same report?
This report shows 31 spikes killed in 162, 19 in 166, and 5 in 169 in the general seasons.
Are you looking at the special permit reports?
Post by: johnnyaustin44 on February 03, 2012, 05:13:58 PM
Some of the best elk hunting in the state is in the blues!That's what I've always heard. comparable to c post as far as the amount of game running around. thousands of animals in easy to access areas
Post by: Fowlweather25 on February 03, 2012, 05:15:30 PM
Post by: huntndad on February 03, 2012, 05:30:24 PM
Post by: nwwanderer on February 03, 2012, 05:32:04 PM
Post by: huntndad on February 03, 2012, 05:36:03 PM
Post by: 400out on February 03, 2012, 05:53:46 PM
Since I archery hunt, I was primarily looking at those numbers. However, when you look at the total harvest for spikes and compare it to the quality hunts for bulls, the number harvested are about the same. I would think a general season for spikes would have a larger harvest than a limited draw hunt where 90% of the elk taken are 6 points or bigger.the reason for that is the limit draw makes people hunt harder that they will for a spike! If you go look at the lay of the land in those areas it's not the easiest hunting there is in the state and most hunters get a few hundred yards off the road, if they even get off the road and expect to kill an elk! You can't drag a elk like you do a deer so people dont want to get out of their comfort zone! I know of a guy on here that get a one almost every year and I would imagine the majority came to camp in pieces! They are there in the bottom of the 3 mile canyon where you ain't ;)
Post by: steen on February 03, 2012, 06:07:29 PM
Post by: 400out on February 03, 2012, 06:11:32 PM
I took my Dayton elk out in pieces a half mile from the road. I guess we know how to piece them out better than drag them with a cable. We tried that this year 250 yds down hill and it didn't work so we, again, pieced it up and hauled it out on our backs. Love doing it, very rewarding!:yeah: :yeah: that's coming from a guy that know the area ;)
Post by: Fowlweather25 on February 03, 2012, 06:14:42 PM
Post by: huntndad on February 03, 2012, 07:43:35 PM
Post by: jackelope on February 03, 2012, 08:40:56 PM
:dunno:
Post by: rosscrazyelk on February 08, 2012, 06:48:42 PM
Since I archery hunt, I was primarily looking at those numbers. However, when you look at the total harvest for spikes and compare it to the quality hunts for bulls, the number harvested are about the same. I would think a general season for spikes would have a larger harvest than a limited draw hunt where 90% of the elk taken are 6 points or bigger.the reason for that is the limit draw makes people hunt harder that they will for a spike! If you go look at the lay of the land in those areas it's not the easiest hunting there is in the state and most hunters get a few hundred yards off the road, if they even get off the road and expect to kill an elk! You can't drag a elk like you do a deer so people dont want to get out of their comfort zone! I know of a guy on here that get a one almost every year and I would imagine the majority came to camp in pieces! They are there in the bottom of the 3 mile canyon where you ain't ;)
:yeah: Spikes dont come easy..I think the overall success rate is like 3%.. and if anyone tells you the blues are not hard on you, obviously has never been to the blues..
Post by: highlander on February 11, 2012, 09:37:20 AM
Post by: Wacenturion on February 11, 2012, 03:08:43 PM
I would spend the entire morning hunting down to the bottom and the rest of the day hiking back up. I always laugh at myself for the years after that. I distinctly remember saying to myself when I got to the the bottom and looked back up..."WTF am I doing down here again". Geez you think I would have learned my lesson last year. What a dumb A**".
Course I was young then and hills didn't mean as much ...lol. :chuckle:
Post by: elkinrutdrivemenuts on February 12, 2012, 12:01:09 AM
Post by: Mr Mykiss on February 12, 2012, 06:00:34 AM
No spike bulls in the blues, only humungous branch antlered bulls.That's not true...there's plenty of small branch antlered bulls... :chuckle:
:dunno:
Post by: toyman2 on May 03, 2012, 10:31:18 PM
So, if somesone was willing and able to hike in a few miles and put forth as much effort as they would for a 300+ bull, they would have a good chance to kill a spike?
this is the way I hunt, I have killed 1 spike ever. I'm not a big fan to see a bunch of people when I hunt elk, spikes are just hard to come by.
Post by: PlateauNDN on May 04, 2012, 08:42:55 AM
So, if somesone was willing and able to hike in a few miles and put forth as much effort as they would for a 300+ bull, they would have a good chance to kill a spike?
this is the way I hunt, I have killed 1 spike ever. I'm not a big fan to see a bunch of people when I hunt elk, spikes are just hard to come by.
Getting off the road and away from the crowds is my preference. When I hear people trying to tell me how I only got that or that's it or...I tell them well I don't road hunt nor slaughter in the winter, I go where you have to work to get in and work twice as hard to get out. That itself is the reward and makes every animal in my books a trophy. :tup:
Post by: Woodchuck on May 04, 2012, 08:52:32 AM
In all seriousness it takes a combination of all things. Hard work sure helps but being in the right place at the right time does to. We have gone 0 for the season more than once but have also had 4 spikes hangin at once with two of those dropped right next to each other seconds apart.
Ross likes to shoot spikes miles from camp but shoot the big bulls where you can nearly drive the truck to em. :tup: :chuckle:
Post by: TG509hunter on May 04, 2012, 10:12:32 AM
The theory of luck and hard work is the definition of hunting, in my opinion. I shot my spike last year in a field I have hunted for years. Every year I walk (2 to 3 miles from road) across this CRP field to the breaks, with about 20 other hunters. Always knowing I'm probably not going to kill an elk, I just observe the country and reflect on how thankful I am to be in the outdoors.
Although, last year was a different story on the second morning of elk season. I must admit though, last year was the first time, in a long time that I hunted modern firearm. My great uncle at the age of 84 asked me to come hunt with him one last year, before he retired from hunting, so I put the bow down and bought a modern tag. I switched to archery years ago, do to the amount of hunters in the area.
So, on the second morning (2011 season) I parked in the parking lot by the trail head, and to my surprise there was not one other vehicle in the parking lot. I WAS SHOCKED!!!!! So, I put my pack on and headed down the trail. My uncle couldn't get around very well so he covered his "crossing" about 200 yards from the truck. About 2 miles from the truck there stood a heard of elk, I looked around and didn't see one other hunter, still SHOCKED!!!! I glasses the herd and there stood a spike all alone, about 30 feet seperated from the herd of 30 to 40 elk. Still waiting to wake up from a dream ......... I laid down, got a good rest, put the spike in the crosshairs and pulled the trigger. Down went the spike!!!! Still waiting to wake up, my buddy slapped me on the back and said, hell of a shot!!!
Anyways, I know this was a pretty boring story, but it's a good example of luck and hard work. This was more luck than anything for me.
Oh yeah ...... there are spikes in the Blues. I saw 6 spikes opening morning :chuckle:
Still too many hunters though, other than that morning ... for some strang reason. I figured I'd stop while I'm ahead with rifle hunting, so I'm putting the rifle down again next year and going back to archery. Although, if I don't draw a quality bull hunt in the Blues, I'm going to IDAHO instead this year :)
Good luck out there everyone!!! :yeah:
Post by: elkinrutdrivemenuts on May 04, 2012, 10:58:51 AM
Hard work and luck is how you find spikes there.
Post by: igotbigbulls on May 04, 2012, 11:01:35 AM
Post by: Woodchuck on May 04, 2012, 11:02:49 AM
Post by: huntnphool on May 04, 2012, 11:13:17 AM
That being said, if you are looking a challenging hunt that would be a good one. :twocents:
Post by: PlateauNDN on May 04, 2012, 11:15:23 AM
Post by: Pathfinder101 on May 04, 2012, 12:59:10 PM
its not worth it. too many bigfoot in that part of the country. :chuckle:
:yeah: There's someone who knows what they're talking about. :tup:
It's not worth the risk gentlemen. Put in for the Colockum... :twocents:
Post by: PlateauNDN on May 04, 2012, 02:49:53 PM
its not worth it. too many bigfoot in that part of the country. :chuckle:
:yeah: There's someone who knows what they're talking about. :tup:
It's not worth the risk gentlemen. Put in for the Colockum... :twocents:
Here's the proof.
Post by: Pathfinder101 on May 04, 2012, 02:58:51 PM
Post by: Woodchuck on May 04, 2012, 03:15:39 PM
Post by: trophyhunt on May 04, 2012, 03:25:12 PM
From a camp just up the road from the that one.:yike:Oh no, where's the internet police???? No orange and the tags need to be on the biggest portion of the meat not the antlers......!!!!! :chuckle: Just thought I'd beat some one to it, just kidding around. Nice job on getting two down.
Post by: Pathfinder101 on May 04, 2012, 03:46:23 PM
Post by: huntnphool on May 04, 2012, 03:53:23 PM
yupper...LOTS of spikes in that Colockum... :tup:
:yeah: Lets hope anyone checking out this thread actually reads the posts rather than reads the thread title, scans through it only looking at pics, and thinks the pics are actually from the Blues. :chuckle:
These are Colockum bulls!!!
Post by: Woodchuck on May 04, 2012, 04:03:04 PM
Post by: Woodchuck on May 04, 2012, 04:06:47 PM
Wasn't me, those are just some guys that were camped up the road from the camp in the Colockum on the previous page. :tup:From a camp just up the road from the that one.:yike:Oh no, where's the internet police???? No orange and the tags need to be on the biggest portion of the meat not the antlers......!!!!! :chuckle: Just thought I'd beat some one to it, just kidding around. Nice job on getting two down.
Post by: gaddy on May 04, 2012, 04:47:14 PM
he mentioned that the heard #s were down, now picture the # of spikes born from a herd at what %, now enter the % of younguns taken by preditors & other factors & if they make it to antler growing age.
now you can enter the BF factor & if you have followed other threads you will know not to bother with the blues.
a newbe we brought up to camp last year thought he saw an elk but was unsure as whatever he saw was traveling mach- something & headed west.
now, in this age we can enter the wolf.
wolves, bf --
no elk in the blues
Post by: Kowsrule30 on May 06, 2012, 01:21:38 PM
Post by: Pathfinder101 on May 07, 2012, 05:32:22 PM
I don't hunt the Blues much.... Too many BF I'm told.... I usually get a spike every year.... I don't know why but two trails I sit on just attract them..... Sat there almost all damn day one openiner a few years ago.... Even dosed off probably a couple times.... I woke up to a very distant ml blast to find 7 spikes walking single file down the trail.... Have killed 5 spikes on that trail so far....
...Sounds like the Colockum. Most of the trails in there are like that... :tup:
Post by: elkinrutdrivemenuts on May 09, 2012, 09:22:29 AM
I don't hunt the Blues much.... Too many BF I'm told.... I usually get a spike every year.... I don't know why but two trails I sit on just attract them..... Sat there almost all damn day one openiner a few years ago.... Even dosed off probably a couple times.... I woke up to a very distant ml blast to find 7 spikes walking single file down the trail.... Have killed 5 spikes on that trail so far....
You need a mag extender so you can get more than 5 rounds in your gun ; )
Post by: PlateauNDN on May 09, 2012, 09:45:02 AM
Post by: Pathfinder101 on May 10, 2012, 09:28:40 AM
Or the CCC can let others in there and assist with the harvest of these spikes in the Colockum instead of selfishly keeping them to themselves. :bdid: :bdid: :bdid:
Damn Plat. Are you trying to get yourself into the wintess protection program? I am telling you, if you start informing on the CCC like that you are going to wind up like me...WDFW had to create a whole new identity for me. Hell, everyone now thinks I live in Walla Walla... :o