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Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 24,619
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 24,619 |
You and I think a lot alike, and I am not just referring to the fatties.
I normally take the first legal bull I can, so that I can get back to my beloved bird hunting and fishing.
I still have not taken a really big bull though...probably because I take the first bull I legally can.
Who are you? Loser. Just kidding. Or not.
Have Dog
Will Travel
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Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 21,228 Likes: 2
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 21,228 Likes: 2 |
The only reason I kill elk is cause they taste good. Pass the bucks, any species, especially blacktail muley and western\canadian whitetail....
Ping pong balls for the win. Once you've wrestled everything else in life is easy. Dan Gable I keep my circle small, I’d rather have 4 quarters than 100 pennies.
Ain’t easy havin pals.
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Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 5,526
Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 5,526 |
I'm a thinking many enjoy "Elk Camp".
And they are made of tenderloins, backstraps hams, jerky, stew meat, and burger.
Some spelling errors can be corrected by a vowel movement. ~ MOLON LABE ~
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Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 3,099 Likes: 2
Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 3,099 Likes: 2 |
Because my son and I are never closer than when we chase elk together.
If you're not burning through batteries in your headlamp,...you're doing it wrong.
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Joined: May 2017
Posts: 4,946 Likes: 5
Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: May 2017
Posts: 4,946 Likes: 5 |
More to get away from the bullschit of the daily grind and to piss off the spousal unit than anything else? Maybe not, but sure seems like that. LOL!
Life Member NRA, RMEF, American Legion, MAGA. Not necessarily in that order.
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Joined: Mar 2013
Posts: 27,091
Campfire Ranger
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OP
Campfire Ranger
Joined: Mar 2013
Posts: 27,091 |
No deep secret. I just love to elk hunt.
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Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 8,213 Likes: 1
Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 8,213 Likes: 1 |
"Why elk hunt?" I'm not sure why elk hunt. I've never read a paper that detailed why elk hunt. Elk are herbivores, so they would not hunt in the fashion predators like men hunt. But I suppose elk could hunt some tasty grass or succulent forbs and browse. Now why do I hunt elk? I don't. I admit the elk won. I can't take it anymore. They laugh at me as they come right up to the fence dividing the properties and lay down and wait until legal light has ended, then they flood the field. I could go on, but it is just plumb embarrassing. I might have to go into the witness protection plan. Mainly it is because I love hunting antelope and deer more. If I have a need for a larger animal, I do better on moose. Another reason is that my left leg is significantly weakened after nerve damage caused by a back injury and retrieving most elk is difficult. I have a hard enough time retrieving a deer. Shucks some days it is hard to walk well in a parking lot, let alone rough terrain. No other animal has embarrassed me like elk. The elk won.
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Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 69,574 Likes: 26
Campfire Kahuna
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Campfire Kahuna
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 69,574 Likes: 26 |
If you live in a state with elk, it can be DIY relatively cheap entertainment, Well, if you already have all the equipment, it's just the price of the tag. But, it never seems to end there, does it? There's always '1 more thing' an elk hunter can't hunt elk without. I just laid out $300 for a new backpacking quilt. There's always a better scope that your rifle just can't kill an elk without. 9 years ago I got into llama packing because I'm getting too old to pack elk quarters on my back. They haven't quit eating since I got them. There's no end to the cost of that 'free' entertainment.
“In a time of deceit telling the truth is a revolutionary act.” ― George Orwell
It's not over when you lose. It's over when you quit.
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Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 19,117 Likes: 6
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 19,117 Likes: 6 |
9 years ago I got into llama packing because I'm getting too old to pack elk quarters on my back. They haven't quit eating since I got them. There's no end to the cost of that 'free' entertainment.
Boy that is for sure and mules eat a lot more than llamas. Then you figure tack, trailer truck to pull it with. However, if I didn't have them, I would have a tough time elk hunting
Last edited by saddlesore; 01/19/19.
If God wanted you to walk and carry things on your back, He would not have invented stirrups and pack saddles
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Joined: Feb 2013
Posts: 7,766 Likes: 1
Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Feb 2013
Posts: 7,766 Likes: 1 |
To get a bull 2 come in blowing snot all over, dry humping around screaming with eyes wide shut!
It changes you man, it changes you!
"Shoot low sheriff, I think he's riding a shetland!" B. Wills
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Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 7,010 Likes: 3
Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 7,010 Likes: 3 |
9 years ago I got into llama packing because I'm getting too old to pack elk quarters on my back. They haven't quit eating since I got them. There's no end to the cost of that 'free' entertainment.
Boy that is for sure and mules eat a lot more than llamas. Then you figure tack, trailer truck to pull it with. However, if I didn't have them, I would have a tough time elk hunting My sons, DIL, best buddy, and myself, have taken 5 elk, all cows, in the past few years, off of a RFW property here in CO. All have been 'meat hunts', and all have been enjoyable outings with friend and family. Cost of these hunts have been just the resident tag, maybe a motel for a night or two, occasional ammo or gear, and gas to and from. Hunt area is only about 80 miles from where any of us live. I will apply again this season, for the same tag, as I have enough pref points built up to again draw. One, or both, of my sons will join me on the hunt, to help with getting the elk loaded up once, or if, I pull the trigger. I look forward to this hunt as much as any guided hunt for a big bull I have ever been on.
I'd rather be a free man in my grave, than living as a puppet or a slave....
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Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 48,407 Likes: 51
Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 48,407 Likes: 51 |
My elk hunting partner says it "separates the men from the boys"... I say I hunt elk, because they are tasty...
I try to stick with the basics, they do so well. Nothing fancy mind you, just plain jane will get it done with style. You want to see an animal drop right now? Shoot him in the ear hole. BSA MAGA
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Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 1,862 Likes: 2
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 1,862 Likes: 2 |
To me, elk are nothing more than groceries. I typically apply for a cow tag close to home here in the desert where one can be procured easily and loaded into the truck in big pieces, if not whole. Once that’s done I get back to what I really enjoy, hunting big mule deer and antelope.
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Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 69,574 Likes: 26
Campfire Kahuna
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Campfire Kahuna
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 69,574 Likes: 26 |
To me, elk are nothing more than groceries. I typically apply for a cow tag close to home here in the desert where one can be procured easily and loaded into the truck in big pieces, if not whole. Once that’s done I get back to what I really enjoy, hunting big mule deer and antelope. Our rifle elk and deer season overlap for 2 weeks. Our deer season, in most units, ends Oct 31 and the rut starts after that so the big boys take some serious hunting to find them. This fall I saw a real dandy mulie buck with 10 does a week after the season closed. He would have looked good on anyone's wall. Standing broadside at 200 yds. Piece of cake except for that cussed closed season. Antelope tags in Idaho are very hard to get. The odds are usually 1 in 25 or worse. I've only drawn twice in my life.
“In a time of deceit telling the truth is a revolutionary act.” ― George Orwell
It's not over when you lose. It's over when you quit.
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Joined: Jan 2018
Posts: 2,083 Likes: 4
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: Jan 2018
Posts: 2,083 Likes: 4 |
I hunt solely for the meat. Have done so since I was a child. Horns are secondary. Think about it... God absolutely organic meat.
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Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 24,619
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 24,619 |
People like Dave (and many others on this forum) that are willing and eager to commit the time and Herculean effort it takes to be consistently successful at harvesting nice bulls on public land, have my total admiration. I am not willing to put in that effort.....and I suffer the consequences....by choice.
Have Dog
Will Travel
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Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 69,574 Likes: 26
Campfire Kahuna
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Campfire Kahuna
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 69,574 Likes: 26 |
Sometimes the hardest part of the hunt is getting the tag. Where we hunt, bull tags are about a 1 in 6 or 7 chance. With cow tags, we've only missed once in 5 years. I'd rather hunt as often as possible rather than hold out for that bull tag. Besides, antlers taste terrible.
“In a time of deceit telling the truth is a revolutionary act.” ― George Orwell
It's not over when you lose. It's over when you quit.
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Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 3,099 Likes: 2
Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 3,099 Likes: 2 |
Sometimes the hardest part of the hunt is getting the tag. Where we hunt, bull tags are about a 1 in 6 or 7 chance. With cow tags, we've only missed once in 5 years. I'd rather hunt as often as possible rather than hold out for that bull tag. Besides, antlers taste terrible. I agree. Having said that, I’ve only drawn one tag in 30 year of hunting Idaho. The bull in the photo above was OTC tag fwtw. Wageslave pegged it correctly with me. I’m just willing to go to lengths most guys aren’t to kill a bull. That’s been the “secret” to my success for my entire life. If I was a better hunter and could tag them more easily, I damn sure would. Thankfully for me, my boy seems up to the task as well so we’ve shared some sucess as a result. I know it sounds crazy, but the shared misery of packing a bull like that 5 miles on your back is a bonding experience unlike very few occurrences in a man’s life. My time at boot camp at Fort Leonard Wood comes to mind in terms of a similar experience honestly.
Last edited by iddave; 01/19/19.
If you're not burning through batteries in your headlamp,...you're doing it wrong.
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Joined: Mar 2013
Posts: 27,091
Campfire Ranger
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OP
Campfire Ranger
Joined: Mar 2013
Posts: 27,091 |
Elk do have ways of wining more often than not. But it sure is fun.
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Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 3,723
Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 3,723 |
Because the only thing that gets me more excited while hunting is a heavily furred coyote coming into a call. And I doubt the wife would appreciate me filling the freezer with coyote meat (I do end up with a lot of coyote hides in the freezer though). Besides antelope they are the best tasting animal I have had but an antelope doesn’t fill the freezer
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