We got up this morning at 4:30 and headed into the mountains to look for some elk. My thermometer only showed 14 degrees on my truck, but that was in the garage. By the time I'm down the road 10 miles, it is reading -25.

Who cares, it is still better than staying home and watching a college football game...

Nice!

So who had to take the gloves off to do the wet-work (not bad at first, very cold hands later at -25)?

Don't tell me you helped those two... (grins)

Nice Flash Frozen Elk

Well, it was -25 this am but once the sun came up we had a high of -5F... felt downright balmy.

Wow, very cool, errr, cold! grin

Congrat's

You're tough.

It was 68 here yesterday, and 60 today. I had a hard time staying awake on my TS

Nice elk BTW.

-25 that's when the huntin gets good

I shot a deer once, right at dark, about this time of the year. Late season Rez hunt...grin



All I remember is it was a cold sumbitch gutting that sucker out. No thanks...

Good for you! We were headed out tomorrow but my wife and daughter are both sick. She revoked my kitchen pass.

Where did you hit them and how did they react?

Well, the truck is plugged in and shooting hours are at 7:40 am. I am leaving after 5 and driving to Ennis and after that I do not know I will go. Any Ideas? When I park, I am parking with the front of the truck downhill.

Good deal, keeps Shrapnel out of my freezer.

That's not the only thing keepin' me out of your freezer. The fact that you are a vegetarian and I don't like peas and carrots, has alot to do with it!

I believe vegetarians should be banned from the fire!

Hope you got 'em cut up before they turned into elkcikles..

I met a local this year who claimed that the best elk hunting is when it's -20. Said the elk have to move. Can't lie down for more than an hour at those temperatures. So they move about and feed all day.
I have noticed when it does get that cold, they tend to bed in the open where they can look down on the hunters from a distance....
I'd find something to put over my gloves or get let them get bloody at those temps. My fingers loose their feeling easily when it's that cold. Along with my chin, nose, etc.... E

Late year sub temps are great for elk hunting!

I wish I were with you.

Geez!!!!! -25??!! That's hardcore! You could cut your hand while skinning and you wouldn't even bleed!

Very good deal, shrap.

I've always found them in the mixed spruce/quakies when it's that cold. I shot a cow several years ago right at sunrise about 20 below in mixed stuff at less than 10 yards. Walked right into the the bunch of 40-50 without knowing it, knelt down to take a little breather and they all started rising up out of the 2 feet of snow like brown/tan ghosts. I shot a big fat one without even thinking or realizing. Didn't know I'd shot until my hunting partner called on the radio asking what was up and I lokked at the snow beside me and saw the profile of an empty 308 case! Makes recovering your cases easy!

Minus temps with a bunch of snow is definately my favorite hunting condition, keeps me from overheating when hiking around.

Wish I was out chasing elk right now. I need to find some private land vouchers here in CO or better yet, NM!!

We shot our deer last weekend at 1 degree in a nice breeze. I thought that was cold. Reckon I would try -25 but I'd have a hard time getting my rifle to my shoulder over all the clothes.

There's nothing "hardcore" about shooting a cow in the open no matter the temp... usually a truck can be driven to the kill.

So if he'd shot a bull in the open then it would count for something? LOL!

Really? Even if it's done naked with a squirt gun?

Anything done outside in -25 IS hardcore.....but some people must be "too cool for school".

Cow hunts are "drive by shootings" here in Montana... it's no great feat no matter the temps.

Go hike in the mountains all day for a bull at -25F and get back to me... totally different.

Besides, it warmed up pretty substantially from "-25" yesterday am... some people have to have a bit of "dramatic flair" or their corn flakes don't taste right...

Ok

Been there done that and don't need CAP LOCKS or BOLD print to make it otherwise...

Did 40 days in Hohenfels, Germany one winter--what would you like to know?

Shrapnel still has my respect for being out in -25 degree weather! Butchering out an elk in that kind of cold is still a big job and not the most fun a guy can have with his clothes on.

Dude...

I have and I consider chasing Elk in the Mtns. hardcore regardless of temperature.

But I would imagine that chasing cows in the Mtns at -25 would be akin to your bull scenario...no?

Figured...

Cows are shot low-down in the open on drive-up (essentially) shoots (not hunts) this time of year... some have a flair for the grandiose obviously!

Maybe he just got a little excited and maybe people want to share his joy...? Maybe...?

Could be... maybe PM me...

I BET THOSE COW ELK EAT GOOD.....<WINK>

11 THOUSAND PLUS POSTS AND YOU WANT TO TELL ME HOW "HARDCORE" you ARE...? TIME TO STEP AWAY FROM KEYBOARD....

In anycase I don't care to piss on the posts of others...."In all perfectly beautiful objects there is found the opposition of one part to another and a reciprocal balance"- John Ruskin

OK, I have a suggestion for all:

Let's just let it go. The guy went out and killed elk in -25 degree weather. Maybe it was hardcore, maybe not. I'm sure we are ALL happy for the guy and wish him well. Let's not spoil his thread with pettiness.

I love you all!!

Amen...and Merry Christmas.

Congrats!! Anything is better than wasted time watching a sport of any kind on TV!

Jeff

Ace, consider that you have a standing invitation to come elk hunt for one day with me and see what you think.

PM for details...

Totally agree, Schrapnel should be happy to have some elk meat shot a -5F... elk meat shot is a GOOD thing, no matter how it was taken...

My apologies to those who are offended by this post. I didn't plan on it becoming an issue of BLOCK LETERS IN CAPS or bragging about shooting from the road.

As a matter of fact nothing was said about shooting from the road, as there were no roads where we got these elk.

Brad is someone I don't know with some bone to pick. In a few days I will have some bones for him to pick on.

It was just a cold day, we went elk hunting, got lucky, and I posted about it with a feature using different lettering, something Brad may not know anything about.

Regardless, it was still better than staying home with Brad watching a college football game.

Never watched College football yesterday but have met you even though you don't remember... glad you shot some elk.

Brad--- Thank you I would not hesitate to take you up on such a generous offer. I will look, after the first of the year, and see what my hunting time in the lessor 48 will allow me. I'm an easy dude to get on with and I'm sure one day together in the Mtns. will show more simalarities then differences. Thanks again.

Again Merry Christmas and a happy New Year.

Shrapnel---Good job. Meat ain't nothing to have to make an excuse for.....

LOL, sounds like we SHOULD meet!

Merry Christmas,

Brad

Brad

I have yet to see an easy elk. I'd be happy to shoot a few cows once instead of hunting elk... might have to look into later season and get some non TX clothing....

Jeff

I musta missed something on how this thread got all sideways, but the season is over, and it's way too close to Christmas to be jabbing at one another over something like this.

There's some folks out there with real problems right now, and there's a lot of other things to be plenty angry about.

I'm going to crack open another Celebration Ale and keep believing in Santa Claus.

Gee, I don't know how this one got sideways either.

Hunting in sub-zero temps is pretty common in Montana--or was until "climate change." I once rattled in a good whitetail buck at -30. Pheasant hunting can be pretty good as well.

I have also killed a cow elk at -20 on Thanksgiving morning (two miles up a mountain from any road) and watched football in the afternoon. Don't see how those are incompatible. Went back up the next morning with friends and retrieved the elk. This was back in the days when elk weren't nearly so common as they are now. Football bowl games weren't either.

compatability between ball and hunting is an issue with me..... haha. I hate that kind of sports. Sure hate to waste time watching it. Of course if its the only thing available and the wife isn't willing... I can watch...

Jeff

Brad,

I have to admit to whimping out yesterday. We had a foot of fresh, dry snow with 20-30 mph winds. The wc was -25 or so. A friend called about 7:30 as I was semi-concious in a warm bed and wanted me to break his conflict about whether to go after pheasants.

I did and said I'm not going. I laid my head down until the question of whether I made the right decision or not passed from my head and I fell asleep again. It was wonderful.

Congrats on the elk. I'm sure they'll keep giving in the future.

I'm kind of surprised nobody seems to see how things got sideways...anyone read Brad's posts? Wow, a guy cant tell a hunting story without being taken to task.

Once again, anything to do with elk hunting and Brad is the instant authority.

BTW, did I miss the picture of the bull Brad killed this year???Being all hard-core and all I'd of thought I would have seen a hero picture with a huge 6 point shot 53 miles from the nearest road. Hmmmm...must of missed that.

Yeah, but it's a dry cold, right?

I always found my hands to stay warm when gutting and skinning an elk by just keep them moving.

I wish I could have killed a cow elk this year.

Brad, I'll be glad to go with you.

If you go with Brad, make sure you take earplugs for all the BS you hear. Take a notebook and pen as well, you'll want to take notes on how to properly hunt elk.

Also, pack a sling as I'm sure he'll break his arm patting himself on the back the whole trip.

LOL, thanks Buzz.

Good for you guys. That should fill the freezer nicely!.



Been there, done that, went to Graff too and it was not a picnic!

Good shooting Shrapnel enjoy eating that elk . danny

Grafenw�hr wasn't that bad....

If your dressed for it and the wind isn't blowing its great hunting weather..I used to love it, but now at my age, the cold creeps into the old bones and I can only think of Arizona and Texas!

Right. This was in 1990-91. If I'd known then what I know now about cold weather and had the stuff available that I have now it wouldn't have been so bad but it still wouldn't have been good.

Guys, I had to wait for the cows & calfs to get out of my driveway yesterday morning. We all know that they know hunting season is over(3 wks ago) up here in this part of the state when the snow flies and it gets cold. I just finished unloading my truck in the afternoon and the elk started coming out of the timber. They started sniffing around where I used to have a round bale for my mules. I walked outside and no big deal. 40 yards was no problem. Hungry and cold makes any animal behave a little different huh?

-25 hunting....not me. I ain't that hungry yet. Merry Christmas!

Randy, when am I invited? Figure I can hand deliver some skulls.

Hey Shrapnel

Thanks for sharing. Did you folks kill them with modern rifles or did you take out one of your classic rifles?

Thanks for the photos. Good looking elk too.
More info on the guns, new or old?
Phil

Mr. Shrapnel;
Thanks for the story of the elk hunt and the photo.

As a guy who grew up hunting in Saskatchewan, I can relate to hunting in cold conditions, but after a couple dozen years here in a warmer part of BC, I can�t say I�d like to go back to hunting in conditions that cold.

I�d like to send a tip of the hat your way for taking the young fellows along, whoever they might be. It�s good to see young folks out hunting, so thanks.

Thanks again and Merry Christmas to you and yours.

Regards,
Dwayne

We used modern rifles: My son shoots a Remington 700 stainless in 300 Ultra Mag, I have a Sako Deluxe in 300 Weatherby. When it comes to elk and turkeys, I don't mess around with a chancy situation and I always take the most gun I can.

I have shot somewhere in the neighborhood of 45-50 elk, and I can never get over the urgency of killing one whenever I encounter them. I don't know why, but with elk, I leave nothing to chance.

I will admit I am an opportunist as well, I will always shoot the first legal animal I see. I always hear guys say they passed up one hoping for something bigger or better, but not me. I have shot everything from a 17 year old cow to a 385 bull, every one of them was where the opportunity first presented itself.



The young men are my 2 sons, Jesse, 25, and Reid, 27. They were able to drag the 2 elk to the truck over some rough country in very little time, while Mark and I sat in the truck and stayed warm. I call them slave-boy 1; Slave-boy 2. I am glad they still like to go with me as we spent their entire youth in the woods doing these things together.

Jesse learned enough about the outdoors that when he graduated from high school, he spent his first summer guiding fly fishing on the Madison River. Reid stayed in school and became a civil engineer and works for the Forest Service in Alaska, so he can work in the outdoors. I get the benefit of going to Alaska and hunting and fishing with him there.

Mr. Shrapnel;
Very cool that your boys hunt with you still, shows success on several levels to me. Well done sir!

Merry Christmas and all the best in '09.

Dwayne

Jeez Brad, what's wrong with a guy getting a pat on the back? It's like he's in court or something...........

Joseph

hey, guys! new to site, but not to elk hunting; where are you guys in pic? guys

Have done the cold hunting. Lived in Northwest Colorado for 24 years and killed many, many elk. My favorite hunts were the days that started in the 30'2 and progressed to the 50's with lots of sunshine. But I wasn't picky - no matter what the weather I wanted to be out there hunting. I think that the coldest was on Christmas Day in 1987 when we killed four elk (on depredation tags) and it was -30 F. Cleaning was miserable. We were in 3' of very fluffy powder snow and were able to drive to within winch distance. Truly an adventure.

On another hunt, it was -18 F and my firing pin wouldn't travel fast enough to ignite the primer. It would dimple the primer, but it wouldn't fire. So that night I stripped the firing pin apart and cleaned all the lub off and the next morning in -24 F temp it worked fine. Lots of learning in cold country.

I really enjoyed hearing all of the comments and stories on this topic. Thanks to everyone - refreshes fond memories.

Merry Christmas and God Bless to all!