Brian Pfleuger
Moderator Emeritus
aka... That was the hardest thing I've ever done in my life.
Aspen Leaf Reservoir was a bust, so we moved on. Figured I'd better learn some areas myself. After a couple days of driving, stopping at a few spots, wandering a ways back in the woods and seeing nothing, not even tracks, we were at last day.
There was a place I though looked promising on gps, and another hunter we'd seen told us he hunted about a mile away and always saw elk so we decided to try it.
The spot is right at 9,600 feet (of course, the truck is at 9,900ft
)and there's ~12" snow up there already. I walked back in, 2,300ft to be exact, no counting the elevation change, down a hill to an open meadow and sat under a nice pine with dry ground around it. The wind was, amazingly, right in my face and steady. After about an hour, my legs got cramped so I stood up.
Another 1/2 hour later, I look over to the SE and see what I "knew" was a rock sticking out from behind a tree, because I just "knew" there were no elk around, but it looked just like an elk butt and I thought to myself "That's odd, how did I not notice that before?"
I took a peak through my scope... damn thing was on 3x... who talked me into getting a 3x variable anyway? I looked down to turn it up and just as I looked back up the "rock" started walking. As soon as I saw the head I knew it was a legal bull. It disappeared behind a large pine in the middle of the field and I took the opportunity to lay down and use my pack as a rest (which was waiting on the ground for just such an occasion).
I had ranged the field when I first sat down and I knew it was 278 to the far side. Perfect setup for my Tikka T3x in the feeble, elk incapable caliber of 7mm-08. I thought for a while that the bull was going to turn and go straight away behind that tree, but I finally saw brown where he was coming out. He headed more or less perpendicular to me across the field and just as he was about to enter the trees and I thought I'd have to whistle (or something, I hadn't decided), he stopped. I was guessing 250 yards, which is about dead zero for the feeble... oh never mind... 7mm-08. I was already on target, "heart high" so I immediately squeeeezed the trigger.
The 120gr Barnes did exactly as I've come to expect (on deer)... the bull dropped instantly. He was kicking his front legs, so I put another one through the bottom of his chest and he stopped immediately.
Took me 4 trips back to the truck. No joke, that was the most physically challenging thing I have ever done.
Aspen Leaf Reservoir was a bust, so we moved on. Figured I'd better learn some areas myself. After a couple days of driving, stopping at a few spots, wandering a ways back in the woods and seeing nothing, not even tracks, we were at last day.
There was a place I though looked promising on gps, and another hunter we'd seen told us he hunted about a mile away and always saw elk so we decided to try it.
The spot is right at 9,600 feet (of course, the truck is at 9,900ft
)and there's ~12" snow up there already. I walked back in, 2,300ft to be exact, no counting the elevation change, down a hill to an open meadow and sat under a nice pine with dry ground around it. The wind was, amazingly, right in my face and steady. After about an hour, my legs got cramped so I stood up. Another 1/2 hour later, I look over to the SE and see what I "knew" was a rock sticking out from behind a tree, because I just "knew" there were no elk around, but it looked just like an elk butt and I thought to myself "That's odd, how did I not notice that before?"
I took a peak through my scope... damn thing was on 3x... who talked me into getting a 3x variable anyway?
I looked down to turn it up and just as I looked back up the "rock" started walking. As soon as I saw the head I knew it was a legal bull. It disappeared behind a large pine in the middle of the field and I took the opportunity to lay down and use my pack as a rest (which was waiting on the ground for just such an occasion). I had ranged the field when I first sat down and I knew it was 278 to the far side. Perfect setup for my Tikka T3x in the feeble, elk incapable caliber of 7mm-08.
I thought for a while that the bull was going to turn and go straight away behind that tree, but I finally saw brown where he was coming out. He headed more or less perpendicular to me across the field and just as he was about to enter the trees and I thought I'd have to whistle (or something, I hadn't decided), he stopped. I was guessing 250 yards, which is about dead zero for the feeble... oh never mind... 7mm-08. I was already on target, "heart high" so I immediately squeeeezed the trigger.The 120gr Barnes did exactly as I've come to expect (on deer)... the bull dropped instantly. He was kicking his front legs, so I put another one through the bottom of his chest and he stopped immediately.
Took me 4 trips back to the truck. No joke, that was the most physically challenging thing I have ever done.
