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2017 Elk Season- The Quest for 3 (Part 2)

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2017 Elk Season- The Quest for 3 (Part 2)

Postby MTLongdraw » 09 08, 2017 •  [Post 1]

2017 has afforded me the opportunity to have 3 elk tags in my pocket. A MT General Elk, a MT cow tag, and an Idaho B tag. It's been 5 season since I took a bull with my bow so that was goal number 1 this year. This year was like most others. The summer was too fast and I had very little time to do anything hunting related. Shot my bow but that was about it. Fortunately, I had a buddy who was able to scout literally every weekend since January so he assured me he had a pretty good bead on where the elk were. He asked me to tag along and I accepted.

The plan for opening weekend was to hunt with my buddy Jaydan. We hiked into his spot Friday night. It was a SUCK. 2 miles in and 1700+ vertical feet to camp. I'm not in terrible shape but I can assure you I hurt upon arrival. Just as soon as we arrived at our camp site we jumped a real nice 6 point. He was literally standing in our campsite. It was tough to not get excited for elk season!

As many of you know MT has had a rough 2017. Many places were impassible until May due to snow and then August started one of the worst fire seasons we've seen since 2000. How that worked out I don't know but it was so hot and miserable it was almost tough to get excited for hunting season. Opening weekend weather was going to be into the 90's. Meat care was definitely a concern.

With sunset came a miserable night of sleep. Partially because it was camping and I don't ever sleep good camping. The other part is my tent was set up over a slight impression and a rock where my hip was. Needless to say when 5 AM rolled around I was ready to get up and go. We ate some breakfast and set out about 615. We started with a big loop up around camp and hit some good looking areas. I let out a few locater bugles and thought I got a response but wasn't sure and couldn't get reassurance so we went on. We had only been walking about 45 minutes when we sat down to glass a gorgeous looking area. I let out a locator and sat down. Within a minute or two I caught movement on the top of the ridge. I threw my glass up and didn't see anything. Then I looked again and saw some birds so I figured that must have been what I saw. Then a minute or so later I saw movement again. This time I was positive it wasn't a bird. I let Jaydan know what I was seeing and within a few second we heard a branch break. We both looked at each other and agreed there might be an elk nearby.

Roughly a minute later I was glassing a nice green meadow about 230 yards across the draw from us when a gorgeous 6 point appeared. I figured he was about a 270" bull. He had a massive body on him. I whispered to Jaydan there was a bull in the meadow and we started to glass him up. Pretty soon a smaller 5 point came out behind him. The smaller bull started raking a fir tree on the left side of the opening. The bigger bull started raking the ground at the bottom of the opening. They both got stiff legged and started squaring off. Jaydan said he was going to try and sneak across the meadow, down into the draw, and up towards them. I said no don't do that were going to get busted. It was pretty much a 230 yard straight shot to the bulls and the only cover we had was a few small fir trees in the bottom of the drainage. He said what are we going to do then? I said "I have an APP for this :lol: "

Once the bulls took their eyes off of our general location I snuck back into the small patch of timer we were on the edge of. It was only about 60 yards in total and it was wide open all around us. Once I got back behind Jaydan about 20 yards I gave some soft cow calls. The big bull immediately invited me over. I started to ramp up the calling just a little bit more and he did it again. At that point I turned and walked away. Cow calling as I went. I probably made it about 30 yards when I came to a 10 yard opening in the timber. As I was tip toeing across the opening to get to the other side and the last 30 yards of timber I looked down below me 70 yards. There was a 5 point bull standing there looking at me. Where the heck did he come from. I'd only been gone from Jaydan a couple of minutes. I threw my glass up and could see blood dripping down his right side. Then he took off across the meadow for the timber. When he got to the timber I could see an arrow sticking out of him and he was getting a bit wobbly.

About that time Jaydan came running across the top of the ridge. We both threw our arms up! I didn't hear his bow go off but I knew exactly what had happened. He said when I started walking back with that cow call and leaving the area, the small bull came sprinting across the meadow. He said he covered 200 yards in less that 2 minutes. He drew when he was at 42 and it stopped the bull. He pin wheeled him!

A short track later and we were taking grip and grins and cutting meat. Then the work was on. We each loaded up half and headed to the truck. We got to the truck about noon. We rushed back to town and got the meat in the freezer. What a relief. We were both exhausted but decided it would be best to hike back to camp that night so we would be ready to go Sunday morning. So that's what we did. Another 1700' climb. I slept quite a bit better that night!

I couldn't pass up a golden opportunity to get a picture with the Chuckler!

...To be continued
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Re: 2017 Elk Season- The Quest for 3

Postby Roosiebull » 09 08, 2017 •  [Post 2]

look forward to more! great job so far :D
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Re: 2017 Elk Season- The Quest for 3

Postby Losefreeze » 09 08, 2017 •  [Post 3]

Congrats
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Re: 2017 Elk Season- The Quest for 3

Postby sasquatch » 09 08, 2017 •  [Post 4]

Congrats


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Re: 2017 Elk Season- The Quest for 3

Postby ElkNut1 » 09 09, 2017 •  [Post 5]

Josh, very nice & really enjoyed the details of your story! Retreating while cow calling has put a few bulls down! (grin) Nice work!

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Re: 2017 Elk Season- The Quest for 3

Postby MTLongdraw » 09 09, 2017 •  [Post 6]

Part 2

Sunday morning came too fast. When we woke up It was hot and smoky but we determined to hit it hard and try to find me a bull. We set off into the same general area as we knew it had good timber, feed, and water near by. About 0830 we had come to a big rim over a steep drainage and started sending out locaters trying to get something to answer. No luck, but the wind was bad so we'd move another 100 yards or so and try it again. We came to a rock cliff over the top of a small timbered bench. Let out a locator and bingo. Two responses from two different bulls. Before we could make our way another 20 yards to the goat trail that went down the cliff he bugled back. He was fired up and this might work!

We got to the bottom as quickly as possible. We stopped near the top of the timber and tried to rake a few times. After a few more exchanged bugles I kept my buddy back breaking trees and bugling while I snuck in on the bull. He had closed quite a bit of distance but wasn't fully committed yet. I had probably made it about 300 yards into the timbered bench when I stopped to glass and make sure I wasn't going to run into him. What I failed to do was bend around the other side of the tree I was looking from and see him standing frontal at 66 yards. A nervous grunt quickly followed and I tried to nervous grunt him back which kept him there for a few seconds but no luck. How a 800 pound yellow animal can sneak undetected through the woods at 60 yards and not be seen is beyond me, but they can.

66 yards is close but not close enough. He trotted off and I sat down to lick my wounds ;) We gave him a few minutes and tried to get him fired back up but no luck. By now it was about 0930 and it was getting hot. The heat, the smoke, and the previous days trips were catching up with us. We were flat dragging ass. We hunted until about noon and decided to call it a weekend. I hated leaving the woods a day early but figured it was early in the year and a day or two at home and the fires would be burning again. So we packed out Sunday afternoon. By the time we got to the truck it was 93 degrees. When we got back into town it was 98. Too damn hot to be hunting elk in MT

I made it home Sunday night and spent the day with my boys and their grandparents at the lake on Monday. Spending the day at the lake in September can really make a guy feel guilt stricken :lol: Sunday night I had gotten a call from my buddy Paul. He had killed a nice 6 point Sunday morning in an area we had hunted together last year on opening week. We had gone 4 for 4 (3 cows and 1 bull)so I knew it was a good area. The original plan was for me to meet up with him on Wednesday and hunt it through September 10th. He asked me if he cared if he headed home because he was worried about the meat. I told him no and that I was hunting one way or the other so do whatever he needed to do and I would adjust. He got home Monday and told me he would be good to hunt with me again Wednesday but he'd have to be back home Sunday for his kids birthday. BINGO...that was going to work just fine for me. It was pretty cool knowing I had a designated caller, who is a good hunter, in the most epic elk spot I"ve ever been.

So with the new plan in place I took my boy to his first day of school on Tuesday and headed into work for a few hours. It was one of those days that makes you wish you were hunting and not working. I mean everyday is like that but this one was especially dumb and now I had the fires burning bad. Just enough of a bad day to light the elk hunting fires.

Tuesday evening I met Paul and got all of our camp stuff packed. Then we were up and on the road by 9 on Wednesday. We got to our camp spot mid afternoon Wednesday and got everything set up. We then headed up to where Paul killed his bull and had seen a bunch of elk just two days prior. We hunted till dark... Didn't see anything or hear a single bugle. When we got back to camp Paul said he was a little dejected and down after not seeing a thing. I told him it would be fine and we'll get into them up behind camp on another trail in the morning. He said you think so? I said you bet. This area is too good for them to leave and that other hunted told us that's where they had killed them and their were wolves up there. I said if there's one thing I know about wolves they usually go where the elk are...like them or not we'll find them in the same general area.

Thursday morning we headed out about 45 minutes before sunrise. About 1.5 miles up the trail we jumped an elk out of it's bed (right off the trail). We didn't chase the elk but let out a locator bugle to see if there was anything else close by. First one didn't generate a response but the second one did. He sounded nasty, worked up, and close. He was only about 100 yards above us and 200 yards up the trail. I started working my way up the ridge to where the bugle was. Paul stayed back and kept him talking. I set up once thinking he sounded real close but nothing ever came in. I walked about 30 yards and saw a cow feeding up on the ridge above me. The bull was still a bit up the hill but I couldn't see him. She was standing there broadside at 52 yards. The good thing is I had two tags for this area. The bad thing was there was a bull close by and if I shoot the cow I'm not going to get a shot at the bull...So I did what I normally do and drew back on the cow...the first legal elk that I have a chance at :lol: Then the REALLY BAD THING HAPPENED. My peep sight was turned a 1/4 turn. I couldn't see anything out of it. NOTHING!

I let down and tried to twist it back but to no avail. I was almost in tears. How the hell could this be happening? As I was trying to twist on my peep sight to get it to stay, I saw movement right above the cow. I threw my glass up and saw it was a bull raking and feeding. He was headed straight towards the cow and an opening right above me. The herd bull was still bugling so I knew this wasn't him but did I mention he was a bull? I cranked on my peep a few more times trying to get it to stay where I could use it. He came out and stopped broadside on the top of the ridge at 55 yards. He turned slightly away and put his head down to feed. I now had a bull at 55 yards, on a steep uphill shot, and a bow that was in less that desirable condition. I drew and anchored just the same I would if my peep was working. I then glanced every so slightly around my string and put the 50 pin right in the sweet spot. I sent it and immediately heard what sounded like a good hit. The bull and the cow both shot down the hill like a rocket. Within a few second I heard crashing below me.

The mixed emotions going through me were unreal. To make it even crazier all the other elk were still above me in the timber. The bull was going nuts and cows were mewing around all over the place. I called Paul up and told him what happened. As we were discussing the shot the cow came back up out of the bottom but she was by herself. I started to feel better about it all. Paul tried to talk me into doubling down and filling my elk tag but I said no. I've got to save something for later :lol: Plus that's a lot of work! I sent Paul up the hill to try and locate blood while I guided him in from my shot. He immediately reached the top of the ridge and pointed to his shoulder. He said it looks like you've got good lung blood but I can't find much of it.

I'm red green colorblind so it takes a lot of blood for me to see it on my own. Its not that I don't see it at all, its just very tough to find. Paul was only finding a few specs here and there so I headed down the ridge to the deadfall where I thought I heard a crash. Before I got there I came around the corner of a fir tree and damn near tripped on my bull!!! I turned around and cow called to Paul who was about 30 yards behind me. He looked up and my bow was already in the air! I had done it. I had finally killed a bull with my bow after a 5 year drought.

Words can't describe how incredibly excited and grateful I was. The shot was perfectly placed. I'm not going to sit here and brag, there was some luck there. We all need a little luck in the elk woods. I hit him lower third right behind the shoulder. IT double lunged him and passed through the other side about mid body. Never found the arrow. I guess when you have a 33 inch draw things really get moving :lol:

After some pictures we each loaded up half and headed down the trail. Had him on ice by 1045. We then tore down camp and hit the road. My cousin will be joining me the week of the 18th. My quest for 3 will continue October in Idaho. Hopefully there's more to come! Thanks for reading.
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Re: 2017 Elk Season- The Quest for 3 (Part 2)

Postby Roosiebull » 09 09, 2017 •  [Post 7]

very cool! congrats! I am enjoying the story
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Re: 2017 Elk Season- The Quest for 3 (Part 2)

Postby Old school » 09 09, 2017 •  [Post 8]

Congrats! And thanks for taking the time to post your story.

--Mitch
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Re: 2017 Elk Season- The Quest for 3 (Part 2)

Postby Sask hunter » 09 09, 2017 •  [Post 9]

Good story congrats
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Re: 2017 Elk Season- The Quest for 3 (Part 2)

Postby Kellum » 09 10, 2017 •  [Post 10]

Awsome read congrats!
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Re: 2017 Elk Season- The Quest for 3 (Part 2)

Postby Cbb » 09 10, 2017 •  [Post 11]

Great job and great story!
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Re: 2017 Elk Season- The Quest for 3 (Part 2)

Postby MTLongdraw » 09 10, 2017 •  [Post 12]

Thanks to all who read and congratulated me.
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Re: 2017 Elk Season- The Quest for 3 (Part 2)

Postby ishy » 09 11, 2017 •  [Post 13]

Great job.
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Re: 2017 Elk Season- The Quest for 3 (Part 2)

Postby Losefreeze » 09 18, 2017 •  [Post 14]

Well done. Great read and makes me hope for a little "elk luck" coming up this week. Congrats
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Re: 2017 Elk Season- The Quest for 3 (Part 2)

Postby Elkhunttoo » 09 18, 2017 •  [Post 15]

Congrats!!!
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Re: 2017 Elk Season- The Quest for 3 (Part 2)

Postby wewarev » 09 19, 2017 •  [Post 16]

Great job!
I still remember the story of the monster you killed several years ago. (Can't believe it was at least 5...)

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Re: 2017 Elk Season- The Quest for 3 (Part 2)

Postby MTLongdraw » 09 25, 2017 •  [Post 17]

Wewarev it was. 2012. I've done a lot of hunting since then and have had a few close encounters with an even bigger bull than he but haven't been able to recreate that sucess...BUT I'll keep trying :lol:
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