This year was one of those rare occasions where I had two elk tags; one was a special permit to shoot an antlerless elk in conjunction with my general license in a multi-unit area and the other was a B-tag in an area where there have been a lot of elk hanging out on private lands. The B-tag is basically a bonus tag, which allows a hunter to shoot a second elk and it is often employed by the State for more intensive management tool where elk have become a bit of a nuisance to landowners as their numbers have exceeded management targets. Why would a single dude that lives alone need to shoot more that one elk? Well, I have friends and family that love elk but either don't hunt or don't have the time I do to increase their odds. I also have a really nice neighbor who doesn't get out hunting anymore but just bought a snow-blower...see where I'm going?
Let's back up just a bit. I had a buddy, Barret, come out from Milwaukee for a few days to hunt. Although he did not end up shooting an elk for himself, the hunt was incredibly successful. We did get my elk for my B-tag and he got to see a lot of really cool country and learned a little bit about what it's like to hunt out here. He'll be back.
That first weekend, we got a ton of snow and the elk came down from the high country. Since then, the snow melted and elk were able to move around a bit more and were even getting pushed back up into the higher mountains. This weekend we got dumped on again with another snow storm. It didn't bring as much snow but it was cold and animals were on the move again.
I drove around Saturday evening wanting to do some hiking and scouting to develop a plan for the next couple days. The storm was moving in but at that time, it was just raining. I didn't have the gear on me to withstand the wet so I stayed in the truck. The next morning, I woke up to a layer of the white stuff...perfect.
I contacted a buddy who had been out that morning in an area I like to hunt when there's is snow but he hadn't seen a track. That didn't sound good for the home team so I did some shopping and ran some errands. It had been really windy and I hate hunting in high winds so the plan was to hunker down and just get some work done at home. The thing is, as I was running errands, I noticed the wind settle a little and felt the front was moving through. I started getting the itch.
At about 1 o'clock I said, "Screw it, I'm out."
I texted my buddy who had already been out that morning telling him I had a good feeling and that I was heading up into the mountains. I didn't hear back from him so I decided to go solo.
It was still snowing a little but the wind had definitely laid down. I headed up the trail-head and did see a set of elk tracks heading into a park I might want to check out but the plan was to get to a vantage-point where I could glass a large drainage and park where we've been seeing elk this season. When I got there, I saw a few deer but no elk and no elk tracks. This is where my mind starts cycling and start doubting the original plan and think of an audible. The only set of tracks I saw were going into a park I couldn't see from where I was glassing.
With about in hour and a half left of shooting light, I pulled the plug and headed to the other parks.
The other parks were about a mile-and-a-half away and the snow definitely slowed things down a bit. I bushwhacked through a thick burn area and came out onto a trail that leads to the parks where I wanted to be. There were three sets of human tracks on the trail from that morning.
"Shit," was my initial reaction but then I remembered walking out another night where elk had literally walked on top of my tracks heading in. Someone walking on the trail doesn't mean they've pushed all the elk out of an area.
I noticed I was losing light rapidly and looked at my watch. I was about a quarter-mile from where I wanted to be and it was 15 minutes before the sun would set. We can legally shoot up until a half-hour after sunset for big game in Montana. I needed to hoof it.
I cut down off the trail as I got near the parks and skirted the edge along the tree-line. I was still moving pretty quick but scanning the park for elk as I moved. The parks are a series of meadows about 3/4 of a mile long and I needed to cover as much ground as possible with the few minutes of light I had.
The first park didn't produce anything so I cut across and over a rise through some timber to the next park. As I came out of the timber, I scanned the smaller park with nothing appearing so I went on the move again to get down into the next park before it got too dark to shoot.
I've said this before but I can't emphasize enough how shit can change from one minute to the next when you're hiking around, looking for elk. And when it does happen, it can be total chaos and usually, you're not at all prepared and the elk bust you without presenting a shot. However, sometimes that's not the case. There is chaos but for whatever reason, the gods are deciding it's time and things work out.
I headed down the tree-line of this smaller park. As I rounded the edge of a spruce tree there was a cow staring at me at about 50 yards. I dropped my shooting sticks in the 10 inches of snow and pulled up the gun. I forgot to flip the scope cover up so looking through the scope was just a dark blob.
"God, dangit..." I flipped up the scope cover but the elk spooked and headed deeper into the timber.
I literally ran towards where they elk was heading and when I got into the timber a couple yards, I had a good visual of her. She had stopped only 75 yards away. I pulled up the gun and settled the crosshairs on her and squeezed.
"Click!" I forgot to put a round in the chamber.
"Fuck!" I said. Somewhat out loud.
I racked a round into the chamber and brought up the scope but she was gone. I blew it.
Feeling a little defeated and remembered dropping my shooting sticks out on the edge of the park. I needed to head back to where I was standing when I first busted this cow out of there to find them in the snow. I saw the impression in the snow where the sticks fell, walked over and picked them up.
Shaking my head, I started thinking that it's probably not realistic that this cow was up in these parks alone. "Keep your head up, son." I told myself. "There's probably more elk up here..."
It was within a couple seconds, I saw movement down-hill towards the bottom of the park. There was a fricken elk standing broad-side, 150 yards away looking at me.
I didn't have time to get on the sticks. I pulled up the .270 Ruger Hawkeye, settled in on the elk with the crosshairs just behind the front shoulder and squeezed. She dropped in her tracks.
"What the fuck just happened?" That's all I could think. "What the..."
To some people who have access to private lands, shooting a cow elk isn't that big of a deal. I've shot quite a few elk now and it still jacks me up. I still have my doubts that I'm going to be successful just like everyone else and I still feel incredibly fortunate when it all comes together.
To others, they might be thinking, why don't you go after a big bull if you already have one in the freezer? Well, like I said, I have people that will really appreciate the gift of meat and I also have a trophy on the wall and my house is too small for another one. (Just ask Barret. It can be kind of a pain in the ass with all the antlers hanging around. BTW, Barret. I glued the skull back together so no worries. And honestly, it's not the best place to hang an elk rack so I'll take responsibility for the mishap.)
Here's the thing though about elk hunting and putting some things into perspective as it pertains to pressure and what a few hunters can do to an area. I hate running into people when I'm hunting. I hate seeing human tracks in areas I want to hunt. I absolutely hate hearing people over-calling during bow season because I have a pretty good idea of what that does to elk and their habits. But at the same time, you can't let a few tracks in the snow or other people in an area ruin a hunt; not to mention that they have just as much right to be there as you do. And let me share a little story from the following day that drives this point home.
All the elk that were on that park headed down through the creek bottom and wound up in the parks on the other side of the drainage from where I came from. I crossed their tracks on my way back to my truck that evening. Had someone else been in those parks, they might have gotten an opportunity too. And the next day, when a buddy and I went up to pack this elk out, those elk went right back to where I shot my elk. And when I say "right back to where I shot my elk," I mean they walked within 10 yards of the carcass as it laid motionless in the snow with crows and even an eagle eating on the gut pile. In fact, my buddy hadn't punched his tag yet so while I was prepping the elk for the sled, he followed those elk tracks and spotted the group at the top of the parks. We even had enough time to put a hunt on those elk and although we weren't successful in shooting one, we definitely gave ourselves a chance.
All I'm saying is you gotta believe and you gotta try not letting those thoughts creep in like, "Man, this is crap. There's nothing going to be up here anymore with someone already walking through here." Or, "Cripes, there's no sign of elk, this is BS. I'm not going to see anything." It's ok to use those thoughts to make a better plan or call an audible but you gotta believe and you gotta get after it and you gotta always be ready...
Keep 'em where they live...just where the damn mask...THANKS FOR VOTING!!!!
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