Shameless copy/paste from another board.
I don't have the time to re-type everything, and pictures are a p.i.t.a.
If you can find me on Facebook, I have a bunch more photos there.
<Long post warning>
I'll never forget the feeling of sitting at my work computer on June 19th, feverishly updating the draw results webpage.
"Well, I got my elk point." my boss exclaimed.
(me)<click>... Preference points....
0... OMG! What did I do? Did I put the spike hunt as my first choice?
A sense of panic overwhelmed my body. It should have updated to 12 points. My 11 points were gone...
There is no way.... NO WAY.... RIGHT????
25% pool!!! :meme:
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Now an even greater sense of panic rushed over me.
This was happening....THIS WAS REALLY HAPPENING!
I thought I had at least five years to prepare; learn the unit, spike hunt it, deer hunt it, upgrade my gear, practice, get my kids out of diapers before leaving them with my wife for the hunt of my dreams...
Now, I have 4.5 months.
I wore out Google.
If there was a forum post, YouTube video, blog or mere photo tag containing the phrase "Mt. Emily"... I found it.
I started adding pages to a 3-ring notebook with locations, names and monikers of previous tag holders, tips, photos and 'grocery' lists for items I would need to acquire before November.
I got a map, and every time I would talk with someone, I would mark their info in a specific color. Each person got a different color, including archery tags and rifle tags. This way I could look for overlaps and patterns and focus on these areas.
I sent out more e-mails and PM's than a Nigerian scammer trying to find an heir to his lost fortune.
Much to my amazement, responses came pouring back from nearly everyone I contacted.
It would prove to be another facet of why this hunt is so special; everyone seemed to genuinely care to help.
Nonetheless, the task at hand seemed daunting.
Unlike most of the stories I had dug up, I would not be packing an entourage of helpers into the woods with me. I knew nobody that would say 100% "I'll help". Jobs, other hunts, family commitments, physical limitations weighing as heavily on everyone I talked to as it was me.
Could this even be done alone?
Outfitter? There was just no way I could justify the expense, even for what could amount to a once in a lifetime experience.
Divorce? Also a concern when I suggested to my wife how much time I would need to scout and hunt while she stayed home with our two boys under 3 while working part time.
My new job didn't even offer vacation.
Aaargh, pleeeeeeeeeeease tell me I didn't screw up the elk hunt of my dreams by defying the odds and drawing *gasp* early....
I spent hour upon hour pouring over any info I could dig up.
I spent more time on the phone with former tag-holder complete strangers than I had any member of my own family.
I also had to get in better shape. So every other night, from the day I drew the tag, right up to deer season, I'd grab my boys and hit logging roads near my house; one in a backpack, one in a stroller, and do 4-6 miles a night on the steepest roads I could find.
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On July 24th, I looked into my first Mt. Emily canyon since way back in my firefighting days.
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The early scouting trips were brutally hot, and the woods seemed void of all forms of life. There was no point in glassing. Animals were sticking to dark night and dark timber. Instead, I used these trips to familiarize myself with roads, ridges, glassing spots and terrain. I recorded countless waypoints on my GPS and mapped track logs so I could re-trace my steps in the dark if need be. I kept a log of distances between road systems when driving, and the time it took to both drive from point A to point B, as well as recorded the times it took to hike to various points I had marked. That way I could say "It will take me 25 minutes to drive to X gate, and 1hr 40 min to hike to the glassing point."
My boss, ifisher wanafish, tagged along on one trip.
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Various images from scouting trips:
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I also found a few signs from hunters before me.
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(I really thought this was a sign due to it being the same caliber I was going to use)
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Always a sign of good luck...
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Before I knew it, the season was right around the corner.
Unusually warm temps was wreaking havoc with scouting. Hearing bugles and seeing sign was no problem...but elk were still nowhere to be found out in the open. You'd get an occasional brief glimpse at an animal at first or last light, but nothing was out during the day. Everyone said "you want snow, not a lot, but you want snow"... Well, it wouldn't so much as frost through the entire season. I was starting to stress. If bulls weren't out of the rut, out in the open feeding and recovering, how the heck would I find a good one? The odds of pushing the thick timber and getting a good shot at a good bull were slim.
The last weekend of October was spike first season. I'd been exchanging messages with an ifisher I knew would be up spike hunting with friends that weekend. While exploring a new area, I found a herd with a spike, so I messaged those guys into my location and we were able to kill a spike.
As luck would have it, the guy who shot the spike said he would be back up during the big bull/second spike and would help look for a bull for me. In fact, this ifisher and his two friends would prove to be a huge asset in this hunt! My boss also told me that he would be giving me a week of paid vacation that I could use for my hunt :bearhug:
Wednesday night I kiss the wife and kids, and take off on the 5.5 hour drive up to my camp location. I arrive just at sunrise to one of the prettiest sights an elk hunter could lay eyes on.
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A little later than I had hoped, the sun was already peeking over the ridge tops as I made my way into the unit. Knowing elk would only be out briefly before retreating back to the timber, I peeled off on a road I previously had not explored. Gazing out across a canyon, I spotted three elk; a big bull and two rags. The big one looked like a red stag or big roosevelt; stubby tines, mass, dark coloration. I was stoked to finally see some bulls without cows, and out in the open!
I set up camp, then decided to head over to a trail I had wanted to check out earlier in the summer. Not long into the hike I found this guy:
I sat watching him for almost 3 hours, then just before dark the hills came alive with elk as I spotted over six more groups totaling over 150 head materialize on adjacent ridges.
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Friday morning I elected to go back to 'red stag' canyon due to the slope exposure matching well with visibility at sunrise.
Much to my excitement I found this waiting for me:
http://youtu.be/EoJccvt7cMQWhile I knew he wasn't "OMG huge"...he was well within my acceptable range, so I decided to make a go at him Saturday morning. I watched him feed into a timber stringer and never materialize, so I crossed my fingers he bedded there.
Unfortunately, I ran into another spike hunter who said he knew of three groups of guys watching the bull from a ridge behind me while I was in between them and the elk. :palm:
A coworker came up for opening weekend so we went back in the evening to see if he would make an appearance again, alas he was no where to be found. Just four smaller bulls.
We ran into another big bull tag holder who was camped near the access route into the bull, and he offered to park a vehicle from his camp at the entry point, so that it would look like someone is already headed in.
Desperate times call for desperate measures so I told him go ahead
Saturday morning I made my way back out the ridge. A buddy of the ifisher I'd exchanged info with came along with me. He had a spike tag, but more importantly, he had a Lapua all tricked out for long range shooting if I needed it. I was using my stock M77 tang safety Ruger 7mm, with a non-adjustable scope. I was confident out to 500, and had a cheat sheet for distance drops and wind drift at various speeds taped to the stock. The ifisher and the guy who bagged the spike the previous week would make their way out the top of the ridge the bull was on so they could glass back towards me. The plan seemed perfect.... then I realized I had lost my phone. (It had dropped out of my pocket while zipping up my tent I would later realize)
With no means if communication, we went ahead with the plan anyways.
Part way out the ridge Mr. Lapua opted to stay so he could get a good vantage point for the middle of the canyon. I told him I'd come back if I needed to swap guns. As I crept down the ridge, cows mewed in the bottom below me. Straining, I could barely make out the yellow dots of elk across from me. Still too dark to see, the elk moved across the open face and disappeared into the timber stringer the video bull had bedded in the day before. I couldn't believe that it wasn't even light and yet the elk were bailing for the cover of timber. I clicked my rangefinder a few times and finally got a reading. 594 yards. Too far I said to myself.
A few minutes pass, and suddenly there is an elk on the opposite edge of the timber finger the others had just disappeared into. Then another. Then another and another. Looking through my binos I saw "rag, rag, rag...good bull!" I click the rangefinder. 503yds. As I comtemplated, I looked through my scope and confirmed what I thought to be the video bull. Hmmmm.... click. 506yds....
I guess the wind to be 10mph, and referencing the chart on my gun, I see that I will have a drop of 32", with a drift of 25". Bipods go down. If I'm shaking, I'm not shooting I tell myself. But I am ROCK steady...unbelievably steady. Let's do this. Off goes the safety. I raise the crosshairs ~20" over his back and then pan up his neck what I estimated to be 25" left of his shoulder. Re-confirm, then BOOM!
At the shot four elk scamper 30 yards up the hillside.
"Well, they all look healthy" I think to myself. Then as I'm watching them, I hear rolling rocks.... but the elk are all standing still. What the heck?
I pan my bino's down to see my bull sliding face first down the hillside! :meme:
Apparently while sizing up the shot, a 5th bull came out which I hadn't seen. I only saw 4, so when 4 trotted off...I thought that was all of them, when in fact mine dropped in his tracks!
For him to drop so fast, I assumed a spine shot, when in fact I got a perfect double lung, no damage to either shoulder.
Soon after, the gang from the previous weekend spike success descended upon me to assist with getting him out.
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:meme:
Can't thank these guys enough!!! They saved me from needing to use the horse pack service I had reserved with the outfitter in case I was successful and alone.
My takeawaysI can't thank everyone enough who provided messages, information, pictures and even offering to come up and pack or glass if I really needed it. There are some truly great members of this forum, and I feel like many of you are longtime friends even though we've never physically met. I've received messages wanting updates, offering congratulations, and asking if I needed anything. It is truly a humbling feeling to have so many people come together to help me realize a dream.
My bull grossed 321 2/8, net 315 7/8. Definitely not the biggest one, yet considering the conditions and lack of animals being seen, I was very happy with him.
- Don't put in for this hunt if you do not plan to hunt that upcoming season. The 25% pool CAN HAPPEN TO YOU!
- Be prepared for shots at a minimum of 300-400, and more realistic out to 600. I personally don't go beyond that due to too many variables and too much risk.
- The wind blew 10-15 steady and up to 30+ 24hrs/day, every day I was up... PLAN FOR WIND! Practice in wind!
- Good glass is important, good boots, trekking poles and a GPS are equally as important. COVER GROUND!
- Do your research. There are a lot of people out there that are willing to help!
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