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.

Way to go, Brad!!!! Dang nice critter!!!!

And a great story!!!

Very nice!

What pack did you use this year to get him out and how did it perform?

A successful solo backpack hunt for elk--well done.


Okie John

Congrat's Brad!

That's a dandy bull, plus you did it the right way! conglads Bob

No kidding, gotta' respect Brad's hunting style and successes.

Like clockwork! Congrats.

A different year but the same result, you always get it done that's a beauty!

Nice critter! Congrats!

Dang, Brad! Much Respect! You always get it done.

Very nice!

Yes and all with a lowly .308Win. too!

Great job Brad! I always look forward to your posts.

Beautiful bull!

Seems every year you hang a nice bull. Good for you!

Nice work. Congrats.

That's a nice bull to hang your tag on, well done Brad!

Brad
Tell us what the load was and how did the Hornady 165 perform where did you hit him at.

Awesome stuff Brad!! Who knew that little .308 could kill stuff that big

++Really look forward to your posting a great bull each year, congrats on this years!!!

Be interested in a rundown of gear you used, if you the time and notion.

Pack, bag, tent, glass, food, etc.....

Nice.

I second the gear request. You're the real deal Brad.

More detail man! Us easterners have to live vicariously through your tales!
Congratulations on a great bull and a great hunt!

Hi Brad,

Well done!!!

I like your sentence
"I shot him at 120 yards with my 308, ending the hunt and starting the real work."
So true in a back pack hunt for these great Wapiti and its close relative, a big Red Deer. More so in a solo hunt!

Congrats!!!

PH

Hello Brad, Yes that's another nice bull you got. It's always nice to read your stories about you and your elk hunting adventures.

Blessings to you.
Take care.

Thanks gents.

My hunting-backpack gear is quite different than my general backpack gear, which is all lighter. The basics below only get used hunting:

Pack: an older Canadian Made Arcteryx Bora 80. It's a good hauler, and can handle heavier loads than most internals. While it's not perfect, it is quite good. Still, it's hard to beat a good frame pack for heavy hauling, and I'll likely get a SeekOutside pack this spring to try next year.

Sleeping Bag: WM Versalite w/ overfill (10*F).
Pad: MSR Neoair (Large, rectangular version). For cold weather a 1/4" Evazote can go on top. I may get a coldweather Neoair if I can choke down the cost. We have three neoari's at our house already!
Tent: MSR Hubba HP w/ Tyvek Footprint (non-mesh version, got mine from England, not available in the USA).
Boots: Crispi Hunters (I don't like them). Will get another pair of Meindl Perfekt's next year.
Gaiters: OR Crocodiles.

Depending on weather, I may use whipcord pants. Generally however, the early weather here is mild enough to just wear nylon pants. This year I used a pair of Prana Stretch Zion pants. I prefer a pant like these with built-in belt... a belt on normal pants is a hassle carrying a pack.

Rifle: Any number of Kimber MT's, depending (grin).
Binocs: Leica 8x32 (I don't pack a spotter/tripod).
Rangefinder: Leican 1200 LRF.
Ammuntion: 12-14 total rounds ammo.
Tiny, homemade rifle cleaning kit.
Game bags (I use 3 mil contractor bags) w/ Xtra Ziplock Bags.
Knife and small whetstone.
Nitrile Gloves.
Electric Tape / Tags.
Extra Bandana and Wet Wipes.
2 Headlamps w/ extra batteries.
Small Sony AM/FM radio with earbuds... The World Series/Playoffs are generally on this time of year. Helps pass the long evenings!
Paperback Book.
Blaze Orange Patch to attach to pack after kill.
Extra Lash Straps and Nylon Cord.

Clothing, only slightly different than normal backpack clothes:

Blaze-Camo Vest (LL Bean with tooth zipper).
Nylon T-Shirt.
Zip T-Neck (midweight Polartec).
Softshell Jacket (Mountain Hardwear).
Long underwear. Mid or Expedition Wt. Depending.
200 Wt Polartect 1/4 Zip Sweater.
Down Sweater or heavier jacket depending.
OR Gore Paclite Rain/Wind jacket (tooth zipper, with pit zips).
Thin Polartec Glove liners
Midweight Gloves (or heavier depending)
Insulated hat(s) - depending.
Crocs (for camp and stream crossings). Did two stream crossings this year. They're a godsend rather than barefoot.
Down booties.
Xtra socks/liners.

Normal, non-hunting backpack stuff that goes along hunting or not:

Komperdell Walking Cane (non-shockabsorber version).
Jetboil Sol.
Long Handle Plastic Spoon (REI).
Plastic Bowl (MSR).
Opinel Folding Saw (3.6 oz's).
Firstaid Kit.
Earplugs (I call them bearplugs).
Toothbrush/Toothpaste.
Toiet Paper / Wetwipes / Mini-Shovel.
Extra Ziplock Bags.
Candle.
Compass.
Maps.
Camera (Sony RX100).
Mini Pod.
Taylor Pocket Thermometer.
Repair Kit (Needles/Thread/Nylon Tape).
Several Lighters.
15' Piece Nylon Cord w/ Mini Biner.
Butt Pad.
Food bag (drybag), 50' nylon cord, and mini biner (for hanging food).
1 liter Waterbottle.
Extra packable 3 liter water bag (Hydrapak).
Food.

That's all I can think of off hand!

Well done! Again.

Good list to use as a guide. You listed "food". Have you found a dehydrated version that you like?

Nicely done, congrats. Thanks for the great write up and gear list.

Nice bull Brad!

Good list. No axe?

But seriously...
No cloth game bags? You're using plastic bags only?

I don't use cloth either. Mainly because the meat is only in the bags for the haul out on my back, otherwise, it's just hanging in a tree. And anything substantial made of cloth is heavy.

Gotcha. For us, it might spend a week in a bag before it gets home for processing.

And, horses don't mind they weight of cloth game bags.

Smoke answered for me...

Which powder did you use what was your average fps how did that 165 btsp work.

Thanks. Interesting to me differing means/methods around the country.

Do you guys not have problems with flies/eggs when hanging meat without bags?

Nope. Bugs aren't a thing here In November. Biggest problem I have is Eagle/Hawk chit. Cut it off and keep going.

I hunt the early muzzleloader season, it starts around September 10th. We hunt above 10K feet for the most part, and flies/bees/mosquitoes have never been a problem until this year. I guess it was abnormally warm and they didn't get killed off but we had all three. Next year I'll bring some lightweight gauze bags to keep the flies at bay. And of course, we won't have any.

Now if I could just shoot one of those six-pointers for you.....

Very cool and well done!

Congrats bud!

Nice work Brad,congrats.

Nice bull and thanks for the gear summary.

Some good info there.

Thanks for the gear list.

I just caught your post--congrats Brad! Nice!


I did a short backpack hunt too--killed a cow (I'm garnering preference points).


Casey

That would be nice (not having bugs)... for a few reasons. I had Ravens go to town on a goat shoulder once, but I think you'd need a pretty thick bag to keep them out.

Yeah, magpies and ravens are the first thing to find your elk meat.....


Casey

That's an really nice bull elk.

Brad,

Have you ever had an issue with bears coming around your tent after you butcher an animal?

It seems like it takes a really good scrubbing to get blood/elk off my hands. Even if bloody clothes weren't in the tent, I would think bears would still be attracted.

I know I've said this before, but great bull!

I'd be even more impressed if you said you'd shot him with a 7-08...... Nice work.

Solid work Brad!

Geez Brad, congrats on another beautiful bull, thanks for sharing your gear list, good stuff in there.