Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game Why do we do this? Or, our elk hunt 2004

Probably won't hold a candle to Spike's story, but hopefully you'll see a little bit of what we love to do- BTW, this hunt is just a couple miles from where Spike was hunting. Almost identical terrain, too.


The indistinct shapes on the horizon slowly became shapes recognizable as the hills I was used to hunting during Oregon�s short Elk seasons. Spotting a short finger ridge the night before while looking for a camp for our group, I had hoped to explore this new (to me) area the next morning- opening day.

My son and I drove quietly down a short logging road and parked at the end of the road, not knowing exactly what we would find when we walked out this ridge, but determined to make the most of this opportunity in an area we hadn�t hunted before. We slowly picked our way to the edge of the canyon a couple hundred yards away and looked over what we could barely see in the pre-dawn darkness. We could see clearcuts shining in the darkness, beginning to grow over with the brush and trash species that come up before the replanted trees have a chance to overtake them and limit their growth.

We slowly worked our way to the end of the finger ridge, hoping to find a place to watch the dawn arise over some canyons where the elk might be moving and spotted at first light. What we found was even better than we had hoped. A large canyon ran from right to left as we faced North, with smaller wooded draws running up to near the tops of the hillsides. Most of the rest of the hillsides were large, open meadows of grass, mud, and snow covered areas where the sun hadn�t had a chance to heat the icy patches yet.

The wind was blowing quietly but not enough to make it uncomfortable. It was a little below freezing, but we were well prepared in our wool swiss army pants, polypropolene long johns, Pendleton wool shirts, heavy jackets and hunter orange stocking caps- our most visible nod to safety as there were numerous other hunters in our area. Being comfortable is as important as shooting well in Elk hunting- if you can�t stand to be still you�ll never be around when the elk start moving.

As the sun started up, the hills glowed orange in the early morning cold. Slowly the glow got brighter and worked it�s way down the hillsides opposite us. This has always been my favorite time of day to hunt, as the world seems all new and I get to see a new area for the first time. As the glow continued down the hillsides opposite us, we continued to glass the canyons, draws, and meadows large and small hoping to catch a telltale movement or patch of tawny yellow that would indicate the elk were moving up from the bottom as they have a habit of doing every morning.

Suddenly, out of nowhere we spot a herd of elk coming out of a draw heavily treed in Douglas fir, Ponderosa Pine, and numerous brushy bushes such as vine maple and alder thickets. First five or six elk, then more,. Soon an entire herd is heading into the open and across a meadow, not stopping to eat but acting as if they had a need to get into the heavy woodline ahead of them before the rays of sunshine gave away their presence. Sixteen or seventeen elk is awesome sight at any time, but especially this time of year when they seem to be in their element in their prime. Several branch antlered bulls were easy to pick out, even at the long distance the glasses needed to reach- probably 1200-1500 yards. Too far to tell if there were any spikes in the group- the only ones we had tags to take during this late season.

As the elk disappeared into a heavily wooded saddle, Joe and I try to decide how to best take advantage of the situation, if we can at all. We move down a snowy closed logging road to a point more directly across from where the elk had just disappeared minutes before, hoping they will bed down awhile and then come back out to feed in the heavily grassed meadows. It didn�t look hopeful. In order to get close enough to get in position we would have to cross two large canyons at least 1200 foot deep and the ridges between them. While trying to decide if we were up to it ( you never are, but you try to convince yourself you are no matter what) A good coach like Vince Lombardi would have been good to have right about then. I was having a hard time deciding my 51 year old body would be able to do all that climbing in the short hour or so we would have to take advantage of the elk�s habits. The window closes fast and other hunters might have witnessed the same awesome procession we had just seen.

�Don�t move dad, there�s an elk right there!� my son said excitedly, having the same tendency I have to elevate his voice when excited. I slowly but excitedly started to scan the hillside looking for this wandering elk asking �where is it Joe? I can�t see it.� Joe quietly describes where he sees the elk coming out of the trees just below us but across a canyon. I slowly shoulder my rifle, hoping to see if the elk has anyheadwear that would make it legal game and I�m disappointed by another smoothhead elk. Suddenly, Joe is excited again- �dad, there�s another one� I scan from the first elk to one that is following about 20 feet behind- just now coming out of the trees. Amazingly, it is a spike- legal game for this season.

We look for a way to cut the distance from the 350-400 yards the elk is at to a more managable shooting distance before we are spotted and decide there is now stealthy way to get through the snowberry, vine maple, and other brush between us and the bottom of the canyon by the acre. I am trying to get my pack off and build a rest, but the hill is too steep to allow me to find a place to line up the shot. Joe is excited and not wanting to let this opportunity escape as the elk continue on across the open hillside- soon to enter some more trees and out of our sight.

�Dad, I can hit him from here!�, Joe says. I�m not sure I agree and I�m not even sure I can make the shot with a good rest as I�m still a bit winded from the hike over to this overlook we�ve stumbled upon. We sit down, get in a good shooting position and rest our elbows on our knees for stability to see if we can hold steady enough for what would be a tough shot- a moving elk, 350-400 yards, downhill. Joe decides to count to three so we can shoot at the same time and increase our odds of one of us hitting the elk with a telling shot. This is a habit we�ve gotten into when hunting together and we�ve been successful in using it many times. Claiming who shot the animal has never been as important to us in these situations as putting meat in the freezer so we�ve always been happy for each other just having some success.

At the count of three, as steady as we were going to get, both rifles go off in unison. Joe�s Pre 64 Model 70 300 H&H Improved and my 338 breaking the silence with loud roars. We momentarily lose the elk in our scopes, but quickly gain a sight of the animal again just in time to see him flinch slightly. The cow decides there are safer places to travel and starts to head down hill, the bull thinking this must be a good idea and decides to follow. We both quickly follow up with another shot before the elk disappears into the trees and out of our sight, heading back the way they had come.

We quickly bust through the vine maple, salmonberry, currant and ferns to cut them off if they come out in the open or up our side of the mountain. After a couple hundred yards of our hats getting caught in the tree branches we were running under, tripping on vines and saplings, dropping packs and generally acting like a stumbling old man we come out into a large snow covered meadow. It was 7:30 and the sun had risen enough we could see most of the other hillside clearly- sagebrush, firs, pines and open meadows interspersed- making it difficult to see very much of the mountain at any one time, but enough to see large patches that if the elk were moving we would catch the movement. We move down further to catch them in the lower part of the canyon and slide and slip over a short cliff to another meadow covered in show.

It was time to make a decision- we were being surrounded by trees and brush as we got lower in the canyon and visibility would soon be extremely short, giving all the advantages to the elk. We would need some landmark to determine where we would come out and start our search for a blood trail or anything that would lead us to the elk we hoped to tag. Looking across the canyon for a landmark, I spot something out of place on the opposite hillside. Right in the open, just barely covered by alignment with the top of a large tree growing out of the side of the canyon is our elk! Laying facing away he is moving just barely as though he is trying to get up but can�t quite make it to his feet. To make sure he doesn�t move too far before we can get to him we each shoot once more. Harder this time as we are winded, our hearts are beating hard, and he is still a good 300 yards away. He quiets down, so I decide to go down the canyon and up the other side to find him with Joe guiding me to the spot.

I start down the hillside and out of the small meadow we are standing in and into thick fir forests, leafless undergrowth grabbing at my legs, pack, rifle, and hat every step of the way. I notice immediately that all that interference isn�t really slowing me down much and I realize why- this hill is REALLY steep! Trying to keep my feet under me in the 4-6� of snow and dead logs hidden underneath, I manage to make it to the creek in the bottom with only a couple falls and no major injuries. (nothing that wouldn�t heal after the hunt, at least) Starting up the other side, I hear a shot, then another. Joe�s voice on the radio announces the elk tried to get up and walk but before he had made it a shaky 50 yards Joe had gotten a good rest and shot him, hitting him on the second and causing him to roll at least a couple hundred yards down the mountain and out of sight. Now the job was really going to get harder.

I keep climbing up the hill, hoping Joe will spot me and lead me to the elk. Using elk trails, small ledges, and any other foothold I can find I slowly climb up to where I think the elk should be but Joe can�t spot me. �I must be too low�, I say to myself as I continue climbing. Finally, I call on the radio to see why he can�t spot me as I must be at least as high as the elk was at the time of the last shot. Joe looks around and raises his gaze to realize I am almost to the top of the other hillside, many hundreds of yards above where I needed to be! Landmarks are hard to find when the only time you�ve seen them is across a canyon in early dawn light!

I slowly find my way down with guidance from my son finding our elk wrapped around a small fir tree, his feet tangled in some snowberry bushes and his head downhill in an awkward position. Why do they always do this? I�ve never seen another game animal that has the knack to fall into a more difficult position while dieing! Now the fun part begins! I take a few pictures and guide my son to the elk so we can start the retrieval which is going to be more difficult than I can imagine.

Decisions need to be made as the nearest road behind us on the hill the animal has died on is at least a mile and a half and up and down several very steep hills. This also means we would have to go back to the truck first to get our pack frames. We decide there is no real advantage to this approach and decide to take what we can (heart and liver) and head back to the truck, go to camp and get help from my brothers and nephews, and use the Simpson chainsaw winch to take the elk up to the relatively flat ground where we can handle it. We drag the elk down to the bottom of the canyon next to the creek, trying not to become it�s victim as he tries to get even with us by rolling over us on the way down the hill. Leaving him in a small group of trees we use our engineers tape to mark his location and the route we will take him up the hill with the chainsaw winch rope. This hill is so steep, we are clawing and digging our boot toes into the hillside, grabbing anything that is still alive and growing to keep us from sliding back into the cold snowy creekbed we had just left. We finally make it to the top after what seems like days. It is actually about 11:00 and the day is slipping away.

We make the short walk to the truck to round up our supplies and decide to make the short mile drive back to camp, sit down for a quick bite to eat, and summon help. Gathering up everybody and explaining the situation we all head out to the canyon to retrieve our elk. Climbing down into the canyon with the rope, chainsaw winch, gas, and all the other supplies we needed took awhile and by now I was starting to worry if we would make it out by dark. I�m not sure I could prepare my brother and nephew who would go to the bottom of the canyon to help my son how difficult this job would be but they soon discovered what I tried to explain.

Finally getting my temperamental Homelite chainsaw power head to start, we start to drag the elk up the canyon . The first thing that happens when the line came tight is the rope highlines from the elk to the first contact point on the canyon 150 yards or so up the canyon. So, the carefully laid out line up the mountain is lost with the rope running 30 feet above the ground and pulling tight. It is amazing how much you can stretch 600 feet of polypropylene rope when you have a load on it, but once the line came tight, the elk took a leap directly into the creek and the rope was headed through the worst tangle of alder saplings imaginable. Too late, the work crew realized they had to go where the elk went no matter how bad it got. Someone had to guide the pulled elk through, over, and around all the obstacles it would encounter as it went up the hill. Good natured accusations of goofing off as each person slipped, fell, or got tangled in the undergrowth on the steep and slippery hillside seemed to make this task bearable- but just barely. By time they had struggled to get the elk through the worst of it the undergrowth they were already some very tired puppies and we had a long way to go to the top of the mountain. Three more lengths of the 600 foot rope through the winch and we were on relatively flat ground once again. However, by this time it didn�t seem very flat as we were so tired that simple walking seemed like a real chore. Five hundred yards from the truck, the drive wheel on the winch decides to fall off so we are to dragging the rest of the way.
Finally, about 15 minutes after dark we are having a beer at the truck with the elk safely tucked into the back. Funny how long the neck on the elk was by time we got it to the top of the mountain!

We skinned the elk at the meat pole by the light of headlights and lanterns, but I can think of worse things to happen! What a glorious day! As the stars lit the night sky, we headed to bed- destined to sleep as if we had died, ready to get up and do it again in the morning! Are we having fun yet, or what?

Good story! Sounds like fun to me.. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Wow. Great story. Sounds like a great father - son hunt.

Great story, thanks for sharing!

Huntr

I don't envy you the work but I do envy you the experience! Memories to last a long time there! Glad it worked out. TM

That is just to GOOD!

I could just see you guys going after it. Wish I could have been with you Bob.

Thanks for a good report.

On my spike hunt in the Washington Blues, I only saw branch-bulls. No spikes. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

But had a great time as always! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

What is the average altitude in your hunting area and the specific area of Oregon? I am always looking for "lower" places to put on my wish list. Thanks.

Your post and Spike's as well as others like these are greatly enjoyed.

I enjoyed that. Thanks Sheister.

Schiester --

Congrats on the elk, but I have to suggest that before next year's hunt you and your son practice some 300 and 400 yard shots, and get a laser rangefinder to accurately judge distance with. If I counted correctly, you and your son took 8 shots before the bull was still. You got it, and that's what counts, but it sounds like it may have suffered more than necessary.

Coyote Hunter,

Fact is, the first two shots took him through the lungs and front shoulder. He was dead, just didn't know it yet. The other shots were just to anchor him in place to keep him from running into the hell hole he eventually ended up in anyway. In all, he actually only travelled about 200 yards from the first shot to the last. When we opened him up, his lungs were shredded and his body cavity was completely full of blood but he was still in a fighting mood just moments before that.

"Shoot until they are on the ground" is good advice around here, no matter how well you do/don't shoot. Thanks for the concern, though. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Sheister -

My buddy and I have taken 7 elk in the last 5 years, one bullet each, at ranges of 100 yards to 350 yards. He shot one in the neck and it went 100 yards, two went 40 to 50 yards when shot in the chest, the remaining four more or less dropped in their tracks. Armor plated they are not.

Elk will go down within seconds when their blood pressure drops, and a good lung or heart shot will cause a rapid pressure drop. I suspect your elk went 200 yards because the first shots were not the ones that took out the lungs. I could be wrong but my experience tells me otherwise.

You don't mention how you practiced at 300 or 400 yards, and I suspect the reason is you did not. All I am suggesting is that you give it a try. When I first tried 300 and 400 yard shots two things happened: A) I found out where my rifle was REALLY shooting at those distances, and B) I became a better shooter at shorter distances because I had to learn better shooting discipline (breathing, trigger control, etc.). Besides, I think both you and your son will enjoy shooting at those ranges a lot.

yote hunter,

Your gift of suspicion seem be in high gear tonite and
before you give brother Sheister another sermon, I'll let you know I've been on two varmint hunting trips with the man and I dare say he knows how to shoot well above average.

SU35 �

You are correct. Here�s why:


�Dad, I can hit him from here!�, Joe says. I�m not sure I agree�
�I�m not even sure I can make the shot with a good rest�
�to see if we can hold steady enough for what would be a tough shot- a moving elk, 350-400 yards�
�so we can shoot at the same time and increase our odds of one of us hitting the elk with a telling shot�
�300 H&H Improved and my 338�
�just in time to see him flinch slightly.
� We both quickly follow up with another shot before the elk disappears into the trees�
�we each shoot once more. Harder this time as we are winded, our hearts are beating hard, and he is still a good 300 yards away�
�I hear a shot, then another. Joe�s voice on the radio announces the elk tried to get up and walk but before he had made it a shaky 50 yards Joe had gotten a good rest and shot him, hitting him on the second�


That�s 8 shots with at least one acknowledged as a probable miss (�hitting him on the second�, or #8, suggesting #7 missed). I suspect there were others. A .300H&H and a .338, both very adequate elk cartridges. The initial reaction is described as a �flinch slightly� � hardly the reaction I would expect from two shots to the lungs (as Sheister claimed in a later post) with these cartridges.

Further, there were a total of 4 shots taken immediately, after which the bull went 200 yards?

Then the bull is shot twice more, #5 and #6, and still manages another 50 yards before shots #7 and #8 finish him?

Am I suspicious of bullet placement? You bet!

Coyote hunter,

Seems the long range shooting Nazi's have come out again. I won't justify your BS with a more detailed response except for a couple small items.
There is obviously much more to this story than can be told on a short tale on an internet forum, but for the sake of a readable story I didn't include every little detail. If you had been around here long enough you may or may not have assumed I know what the heck I'm doing.

Secondly, I certainly don't need your approval or anyone else's to determine my course of actions. After gutting this animal, it was easily determined the first two shots both hit him. I won't begin to explain to you how I know that, but if you don't believe me I could give a sh&t less. If you have had different experiences than I have while hunting elk, well, I guess that doesn't really prove a dammed thing, does it? Have a nice day- Sheister

When the intended live target quits wiggling is when I stop shooting. Nuff said.

Amen Brother Sheister! Of course, you could get into a long winded argument about who, what, when, where and how but I think you just handled it very nicely! JMHO TM

Way to Go! I'm another happy user of the 1 - 2- 3 system.

Sheister wrote:



I'm hardly what you could call a "long range shooting Nazi", but I do think that people who take such shots benefit from practice. For myself, I feel pretty confident out to 350 yards with various rifles because I practice at both 300 and 400 and use a range finder in the field. Perhaps you practice such shots, perhaps not -- I don't know because you haven't said.



Undoubtedly so.



I tried to have an open mind. Missed shots happen, and even if they don't miss placement is not always as desired.



I would hope not.



I have to admit curiosity as to how you determined which two of the eight shots hit him by autopsy. Perhaps the angle, I don't know. Sounds like a Swiss cheese elk, though.



No, it proves nothing, but it still makes me suspicious as to bullet placement. I have never seen an elk well hit with a single shot travel any where near 200 yards, let alone one hit with 4 shots or more. For that matter, I have never seen an elk that was shot that many times, let alone 7 or 8 times.

If indeed you your bullets were all well placed, I would seriously consider changing bullets.

Coyote Hunter,

You are wrong and thanks for screwing up Sheister's thread. The above quote by you says it all. Perhaps you should lay off the Outdoor Channel for awhile.............................

Sheister,

Congrads and thanks for sharing. I enjoyed the read!

MtnHtr

Don't get the Outdoor Channel, don't have either cable or a dish.

But hey, I'm can admit a mistake. Elk soak up bullets like sunshine and routinely run 200 yards after doing so. Especially when the bullets are only .308 or .338 caliber and are well placed. In fact, the more bullets and the better placed they are, the further they run.