Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Backpack Hunting This Years Elk Hunt...

Hard to believe the season is almost over and it's been a month since I finished my elk hunt.

I backpacked-in the Friday afternoon before the Saturday, October 22nd MT opener to a spot high up in the Nat'l Forest.

After setting up camp and eating dinner I spotted a 6pt bull in a meadow above my camp at dark. Looking him over with the binoculars I found that his right beam was broken off near the base. Regardless of that, he wasn't quite the mature bull I was hunting for. I hoped he might be in the meadow the following morning with a possibly older bull, but it was not to be. The next morning, slowly hunting my way up the mountain in the early light, I couldn't find any elk at all. So, I continued the climb up to over 8,000' while glassing other likely areas.

Around 8:00 I located a single bull in a meadow 1.5 miles distant and, having found no other elk anywhere else, decided to try for him. I hiked back to my camp, ate lunch, formulated a plan and packed for the move across the valley to where I'd spotted the elk. The hike to this spot is pretty tough, the last 3/4 mile gaining 1,000' of vertical gain through a spruce deadfall/blowdown hell.

I got to the meadow around 2:00 in the afternoon, being careful of the wind as I approached. I figured the bull had fed into the timber to lay down for the day, and hoped he would feed back out at dark. I stayed well off the meadow, reading a book, and only coming to the meadow every hour to check for the elk. My third trip to check at 4:45 PM yielded what I hoped for... the bull was out and feeding! I shot him at 120 yards with my 308, ending the hunt and starting the real work.

I put up my camp well away from the kill, took a few photos, and began taking him apart until after dark. Having that much blood around camp on one's clothes, etc., is always a bit of a concern in grizzly country, so I made sure to bag all my bloody clothes in plastic and put them well away from my tent. I finished the evening with a late dinner and fell soundly asleep.

The following morning I finished all the butchering and hiked out (with more trips to follow for more meat!).

Brad, uber hunting and bull!
(sweet pic)

More pics needed!

Very nice Brad!

Very nice bull, you made it sound easy!

Brad,
To quote the "A-team" "I love it when a plan comes together".

You sir know how to get it done, CONGRATS !! Very Nice Bull.

I safely assume you used a Montana 308, so my question is which bullet (weight)? BT,AB or PT 165gr?

Congrats on a successful hunt.

Nice!

Great bull, Brad! Congrats!

Yes that is a real accomplishment to be up there taking on that challenge with only your shadow as a partner. Its got to be a great feeling to be successful annually testing your skills as a temporary visitor. Well done!

Great job Brad.

Congratulations!

Dangit, Brad - you're a machine!

Congrats on another great bull.

Nice bull (again this year!).

Just curious, did you see any bears or wolves this year?

Awesome Brad, congrats on a great bull.

Nice one.......

Well done, as always! Thanks for sharing!

Enjoyed your story and pictures, Brad. Congratulations on a fine bull elk.

L.W.

Well done!

Another great bull - thanks for sharing the pics and story! I gotta get to planning my next trip...

Thanks guys for the kind words.

Clay, 165 Hdy BTSP. They shoot itty, bitty groups in my rifle.