This Years Elk Hunt... - 11/22/16
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!).
![[Linked Image]](http://i1192.photobucket.com/albums/aa326/bradmacmt/Hunting/Bull-10-22-16_zpsltibiebn.jpg)
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!).
![[Linked Image]](http://i1192.photobucket.com/albums/aa326/bradmacmt/Hunting/ElkPack10-22-16_zpsx2xeae4k.jpg)
(I'm garnering preference points). 