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Worst Day Elk Hunting

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Worst Day Elk Hunting

Postby Swede » 06 03, 2019 •  [Post 1]

Likely the worst day I ever had out elk hunting was in eastern Oregon, 1974. It had been raining all night and it seemed everything was damp inside of out tent. The humidity was high and it seemed to just cling to you. We had a quick breakfast by a campfire before heading out. An early snow storm had dropped about two feet of snow in the mountains above where we were camped. The few open roads in the area were a mess as warmer temperatures had turned the snow into slop. At this point the hunters restricted to using them, with only one alternative.
Dad, a friend and I decided to stay below the snow line and see if there were any elk that had moved down. We went down an old muddy road and forded a creek. I did not think much about the rain that continued on as we hunted all day with out cutting a fresh elk or man track. All we got for our efforts was wet. Dad got back the truck early and waited. When Glen and I rendezvoused with him at the end of our hunt. Dad was waiting for us. He asked if I had thought about how the rain on the snow above was effecting the creek. I confessed that I had not. I still wasn't worried, but acknowledged he had a good point. I hope he is wrong, I thought. "We will be ok as it is a fairly small stream" was a reassurance I quietly gave myself.
I thought there is no point in worrying. "We will be out shortly." Down the road we drove. Dad was riding shotgun and I was driving. Soon enough we came to the stream. I stopped and we looked. It was up. It was up a lot. We sat there and looked at each other. The stream was not going down anytime soon. In fact, surely in the next few hours it would get worse as the rain continued to melt the snow above. I finally said, "lets go for it." Before anyone could say "no", I gunned it. Almost instantly the front wheels dropped into the stream, and the water was well up above the floor in a very few seconds. The truck lunged forward, as it made its way forward. We could feel the water sweeping the rear end of the truck down stream. Just as the engine started coughing and sputtering, I felt it start to come back up out of the water. The tires had caught hold of enough rock on the bottom and the other side to lift up a few inches. We continued on, still half scared until the front end, and finally the whole truck, was on the opposite bank.
For a minute there had been total silence from all of us as we watched and waited to see how things were going to turn out. When we were back on gravel, the chatter started to return, but I know we all let out a sigh of relief. I said a short, silent "Thank you Lord", as we went on. We were wet, but in good shape. We went back to a cold tent and dad made dinner while we started a fire. Probably the strangest thing was that no one of us ever spoke of that incident again amongst ourselves. My friend Glen and dad are both gone now, but in my memory, they are alive and relieved to be back on solid ground.
That worst day ever was really a wonderful experience.
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Re: Worst Day Elk Hunting

Postby elkstalker » 06 04, 2019 •  [Post 2]

I hope this was meant to elicit other bad day stories, because I have one too :lol:

It was the last day of my 12 year old daughters rifle elk hunt, we had a great hunt and she actually had missed a great bull a few days earlier, but after two 4 day trips she was ready to be done. We hunted the morning rather uneventfully, and as we packed up camp, her grandpa and I proposed one more hunt that evening. We were to have camp packed and ready to go, so when the evening hunt was over we could hook onto the trailer and make the 5 hour drive home. It started raining at about 1:00, and we found ourselves napping in the truck at the trailhead hoping the rain would stop. It didn't, so I proposed a plan B... lets just road hunt, everyone was more than eager to drive to glassing points and hopefully catch a glimpse of a bull. The first road we drove, we had been on a dozen times that week, in various weather conditions from snow, sunshine and rain. As I crept down the muddy road, I approached a narrow section... my outside tires were about 2 feet from the edge of the road where there was a steep 10 foot drop before the terrain leveled out. All of a sudden the truck began to slide towards the edge and in no time flat we were high centered on the shoulder of the road, nearly sliding off. We were safe, but needless to say my daughter was a little (ok a lot) freaked out. I couldn't back out, couldn't go forward for fear of rolling the truck. We debated and tried to engineer our way out of the situation, but in the end called a wrecker, who drove 40 miles on pavement, then 10 miles up forest service roads to come and pull me out. Since then we are a little more cautious what roads we drive down and are a little more eager to put the chains on.
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Re: Worst Day Elk Hunting

Postby Swede » 06 04, 2019 •  [Post 3]

I liked your story elkstalker. Yes the original thread was intended to evoke further dialog.
Your story reminds me of the time I was elk hunting alone above Toketee Falls Oregon in the Fall of 1973. It had been raining but it had stopped when I drove down this muddy road. I did not think anything about it until I came around a corner where I saw a large tree had fallen across the road. The tree was broken off and the top had gone down over the hill past the road. Still the main trunk was sticking out and blocking much of the narrow roadway. I stopped to contemplate the situation. There was no way for me to back up. It was just too slick. As I stared at the log sticking out in the roadway, my pickup, a two wheel drive 57 Chevrolet was sliding sideways. The mud was like grease and the road was out-sloped enough to be a real problem just then. I had to decide fast what to do.
I believed I had enough room to pass by the tree and continue down the road. If there was another tree down I would be in trouble. So, I put the truck in gear and shot past the log and headed down to the bottom. Whew! I had enough speed up to get by the tree and not go any farther sideways.
When I arrived at the clear-cut on the flat below I decided I might as well hunt the area. After all that is why I started down there in the first place. I grabbed my rifle and headed out to see if there were elk in that area. I went about a hundred yards, and turned back. I was worried. I was very worried. I would be going uphill on a very slick out-sloped road, and I had left my chains at home. I had no fancy mud grip tires either so the mud made the old recaps like slicks. I quickly got the transmission up into third gear and was going up-hill as fast as I could. I wanted momentum to help carry me along and through any difficulty. The log was soon in sight with the petal to the metal so to speak. As soon as the trouble had emerged it was behind. I was out! When I arrived back on the gravel, I stopped. I was uncontrollably laughing like a mad man.
That was back long before cell phones and the nearest wrecker was 50 miles away. The mobile home I was renting was just five miles away. Maybe I should have walked out to be safe, but that idea never occurred to me. I have always been impetuous.
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Re: Worst Day Elk Hunting

Postby 7mmfan » 06 11, 2019 •  [Post 4]

I've either been really lucky, or not brave enough. I've never really found myself in a bad situation while out hunting. I've found myself on slick frozen roads, been stuck for short periods of time, but nothing that I thought, "oh crap this is going to be bad". Growing up, my Dad was always very conservative about where we drove and the conditions we drove in. If there was snow/ice, the chains were on. His words of advice still stick with me, "4 wheel drive is for getting yourself out of a bad spot, not for getting yourself into one". I pretty much abide by that to this day. The few times I've pushed it have bit me in the arse.

If I had one memorably bad day it would have been a day in eastern Wyoming when I was about 17. We were hunting small chunks of state and BLM land for mule deer. One particular piece of ground was long and narrow, and I knew the back end of it had a complex of canyons the deer liked to hang out in during nasty weather. We left the truck and it was raining, and shortly after it turned into almost whiteout blizzard. Dad and brother stayed close to the truck and I took off back to those canyons. I found all kinds of deer hunkered down out of the weather, but no bucks. I finally turned around an hour or so before dark and hustled back. In the low light and blinding snow, I realized I didn't know exactly where I had to go to get out. I had to use my compass to get to the fence line that ran the property boundary. I was 2/3 of the way back when my Dad and brother met me. They were heading in to find me assuming I'd gotten lost or hurt or something since no man in his right mind would be out there that long in this weather. They may have been right but I was a young buck and tough as nails! :roll: This was the only time I'd seen Dad that pissed at me for going hard. We got back to the truck and I realized why they were so mad. The roads were covered in drifting snow and the temp had dropped to single digits. I honestly didn't know as I'd been on the move the whole time and was well dressed. It took us 2 hours to make the 20 mile drive back to town.

Went back to those canyons the next morning under crystal clear skies and bitter cold and killed what was my best buck to date.
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Re: Worst Day Elk Hunting

Postby Lefty » 06 11, 2019 •  [Post 5]

I dont think Ive ever had a bad day elk hunting!
I burned all those situations up a long time ago.

However I have had a few things go wrong. I made a bad shot that I had promised myself wasnt ever going to happen to me.
a flat tire and broken rim 70 miles to the nearest help onr day,.. could have been bad but I had a spare 2 miles away
Once on Mt St Helen the whole day hunting was called off ,.. poured rain,.. but sat with good company
Welll over 100 degrees in the desert,.. the tent was to hot, 121 , in the shade of my pickup 107
Maybe the day I had ranged everything in sight and kept shooting over the back of a bull
Or the day I hadnt ranged and shot over a dandy 5x5
Otherwise the day I messed up a shot opportunity for my daughter, huge bull at 17 yards,
Or maybe the day I roller the snowmoble over my wifes rifle,..
Or I had sole private access to a nice bull in a draw trophy hunt. The whole unit had 15 tags,.. 9 other hunters with hunting companions and two Conservation officers parked on the canyon the elk generally walked in and out of the area
I took my buddy Dave,.. he got dehydrated then sick and out of work for nearly two weeks,
Ive shared about my scoped being messed up
maybe the day the herd bull with 54 cows and calves was coming to me,. still 60 yards out, in just a few minutes he would be at 20 yards. All the cows were bedded. Anfd three guys were trying to rally the elk,.. I was disappointed in the way I handled the situation
I did have a day of straight winds of 70 mph,.. the last headache I ve had,.. so I didn't hunt anyway
Ah too many to remember, situational happenings.


Ive tried to live what my grandmother use to say :D
"Anyday you wake up is a good day"
I just dont like hunting in the rain anymore, so maybe rain days
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