largest elk of my life

[TrophyHusband 0]

while bear hunting last night, i got to witness nature at its best. I was reloading my bait site while my friend continued up the trail to spot and stalk for bear. i heard him whistle at me, but when i looked around, i couldn't tell what he wanted me to see. moments later, i heard it. a bull elk was bugling just over the next ridge. a couple seconds later, another bull answered him about 200 yards up the hill from where i was. my heart started racing. i eased across the ravine to a rock outcrop where i sit to watch my bait. from here, i could see the first bull elk slowly making his way towards the second bull, furiously bugling at each other the whole way. this bul was impressive. he was a 6x6 and possibly 300 class. he had a deep raspy voice that was very distict. the other bull had a much higher pitch and i was sure that this 6x6 was going to run the smaller bull out of his territory. as bull number one got close to the trees where bull number two was, bull number two momentarily stepped out into the open. at that poin t i realized i was wrong. number two was huge, both body and rack. they both disappeared behind some trees and the ass whooping commenced. i couldn't see the action, but could cleary hear the ground pounding and the racks violently clashing together. several minutes later, predictably, the "smaller" 6x6 bull walked off cowless with his head down. the cows that had been watching went into the trees where the boss bull was. about 20 minutes later, he walked out and i really got a sense of how big he was. this was by far the largest elk i've ever seen in my life. he had a massive 7x7 symetrical rack. the mass and length of his beam and tines, i believe, puts him in 400 class. i estimated his weight to be over 1000 pounds. he slowly made his way up a hill and finally out of sight. when my friend returned after dark, he echoed my estimates as to the size of this bull. he also was in a position to watch the fight from about 60 yards. he said he could have gotten closer, but really didn't want to. at the end of the evening, i didn't even glimpse a bear, but still had a very successful hunt. i'm just glad someone else witnessed this. tonight, i'm going back up there, but this time i'm bringing a spotting scope and a cow call. the chances of seeing another fight are slim, but i really want to see this bull again. i'll have my camera with me, but i don't expect to get close enough for a good shot with it. if i do get a pic, i'll post it.

"Your scrotum is quite nice" - Skymama
www.kjandmegan.com

[Lindercles 0]

Shoot him!

[warpedskydiver 0]

USe that rifle you got last year, make sure you use the 200grain bullet, make that a Nosler Partition and it should do the job.

[TrophyHusband 0]

he's not in season. right now you can shoot cows with a muzzle loader. he won't be eligable until november 1. by then you will nevver find him. i won't be able to hunt him anyway, i drew a cow tag for another area that starts next week.

"Your scrotum is quite nice" - Skymama
www.kjandmegan.com

[TrophyHusband 0]

i had that rifle pointed at him for quite a while. he seemed to fill the scope, but when i looked at a cow, she seemed like a small deer next to him. while i had his vitals in the cross hairs, i was wondering how much i would be shaking if the season was open.

"Your scrotum is quite nice" - Skymama
www.kjandmegan.com

[warpedskydiver 0]

Probably none, you would do as you were trained to do.

[warpedskydiver 0]

BTW what scope did you put on it?

[TrophyHusband 0]

Quote

Probably none, you would do as you were trained to do.

not likely. i missed a bear last week. in my defense though, he scared the shit out of me. i heard something running behind me and when i turned around, a bear was barreling down the hill in my general direction at under 50 yards. i quickly fired three shots at it, but missed all three times. he did change course though. i was shaking so hard from adrenaline, i could barely reload. just like with pheasant hunting, i forget to lead a moving target.

i put a leupold VX-II 3-9x40 on the rifle.

http://www.leupold.com/hunting-and-shooting/products/scopes/vx-ii-riflescopes/vx-ii-3-9x40mm/

i like it, but i think it would be better suited on my 30-06. i want to replace it with the leupold VX-L 3.5-10x56.

http://www.leupold.com/hunting-and-shooting/products/scopes/vx-l-riflescopes/vx-l-3-5-10x56mm/

"Your scrotum is quite nice" - Skymama
www.kjandmegan.com

[Andy_Copland 0]

Hmmm pheasant... yum. Carry on.

1338

People aint made of nothin' but water and shit.

Until morale improves, the beatings will continue.

[warpedskydiver 0]

try a scope in the 1.75-2x min to a max of 10x

You may also prefer an objective of around 30mm so you will not have to mount it so high.

The beauty of a lowered power is the ability to track fast moving targets, or acquire close targets easily, and if need be you can crank it way up for distant shots as you will have time to.

Did you use the Leupold one piece base?

Also find a ballistic chart for the round you are using, and copy it to an index card and tape that to the stock until you have it memorized.

I hope that helps.

[Zep 0]

Not being into the North American hunting scene, I can't help but wonder, do you guys put scopes on muzzle loaders as well.

Gone fishing

[warpedskydiver 0]

Yes they do, most of them I see for sale are made specifically for black powder, I guess the reticle is geared towards that type of performance.

I would think it would be similar to average 12 gauge slugs in recoil.

I hear the .45cal sabots are pretty fast.

[TrophyHusband 0]

not here in idaho. muzzle loader regs are strict. other states allow muzzle loaders that are damn near like modern rifles.

"Your scrotum is quite nice" - Skymama
www.kjandmegan.com

[TrophyHusband 0]

i went back up there tonight with a cow call hoping to call in that bull and get a pic of him, but the wind was blowing hard. i called a couple of times but either got no reply, or couldn't hear it because of the wind. nothing was moving. this was the first time in there that i didn't even see deer. i was very disappointed to find the bacon and pancakes i left yesterday untouched. i resigned myself to the fact that i wasn't going to see anything, but i was happy to be in the woods anyway and decided to stick it out until dark anyway. it was a good choice.

"Your scrotum is quite nice" - Skymama
www.kjandmegan.com

[JohnMitchell 16]

Gonna make sausage?

[Erroll 80]

Quote

he had a massive 7x7 symetrical rack. the mass and length of his beam and tines, i believe, puts him in 400 class. i estimated his weight to be over 1000 pounds.

Sounds like a magnificent specimen. I just can't imagine why posters down-thread would want you to shoot him? To destroy that animal for an adrenalin rush, bragging rights, what?

Stalk him with your camera (without telescopic lense), and 'shoot' him up close. Surely that is enough?

I don't want this to end up in SC, where it will turn into another mindless debate, so I have attached a photo of a handsome young Kudu bull, 'shot' up close. He lived to be 'shot' another day.

[Beerlight 0]

Barrel, check.
Load barrel with food, check.
Climb tree to safety, check.
Bear arrives, shoot bear, check.


Now that....... is some tough hunting.

[TrophyHusband 0]

a friend's cousin really likes the meat, so i gave it all to him. i said he's going to grill it. another friend's mom is korean and was very happy to get the gall bladder.

"Your scrotum is quite nice" - Skymama
www.kjandmegan.com

[TrophyHusband 0]

make no mistake, if i could legally take him, i would. next year i will buy a muzzle loader tag which will allow me to hunt cows during rut. i'll bring a good camera and hopefully i can call him in and get some pics before taking one of his tasty cows.

"Your scrotum is quite nice" - Skymama
www.kjandmegan.com

[TrophyHusband 0]

the terrain where i hunt is extremely rugged, and that makes anything you do a lot of work. the hunting itself isn't that hard though. there's no berry crop this year and the bears are having a hard time finding enough food. this makes baiting them even easier, but many bears have already been destroyed because they've wandered into cities looking for food. many more will starve to death this winter.

"Your scrotum is quite nice" - Skymama
www.kjandmegan.com

[warpedskydiver 0]

Next time you bait for bear just use a large cooler

[warpedskydiver 0]

Hey you failed to observe the rule.

You need to put food in his mouth so he won't be hungry in the afterlife.

[TrophyHusband 0]

sorry, i was unaware of bear etiquette. this is my first time ever bear hunting and i did it alone. too late now, he's already been tagged by fish and game and he's chilling at the taxidermist.

"Your scrotum is quite nice" - Skymama
www.kjandmegan.com

[warpedskydiver 0]

It's ok now you know for next time.

We do the same for deer.

[warpedskydiver 0]

Hey DSE did the tradition start with the Native Americans?

Or was it simply my own friends custom?