ElkStalker
40 Cal
- Joined
- Nov 22, 2021
- Messages
- 272
- Reaction score
- 424
I went out for an evening hunt tonight. It was about 3:00 when I left my vehicle at the gate. I had about a 1.5 mile walk to where I’ve been seeing a lot of elk and deer sign. Walking down the old logging road which was covered in about 3” of crunchy snow, there were Wolf tracks everywhere. I was feeling a bit deflated as what I’ve seen in the past is, when a pack moves in like this, they pretty much run every living thing out of the area. But I pressed on. I had given up on trying to be quiet. The snow was just too crunchy, so my focus was on getting into my spot. I knew that if I got there and hiked up the mountain, the sun had melted the snow enough that the grass would allow me to sneak up there in silence. About a 1 1/4 miles in, the logging road makes a sharp dogleg with a small pine on the inside edge (1st photo). This tree was blocking my view from anything around the corner. I took one more step to peer around the tree and was face to face to a bull elk, who also saw me at the same time. Mind you, I wasn’t trying to be stealth at this point, but it sure wouldn’t have hurt, darn it. As I was raising my rifle, he was whirling around, and by the time I had the hammer back, he was out of sight. He ran straight down the hillside in the thick, overgrown timber. Sounded like he curled up in a ball and rolled down the mountain. . I sat and waited for any sound of his footsteps and didn’t hear anything. Tried to find a way to get down the mountain after him, but it was way to wet for how steep it was. I went back and paced off the distance from where he was to where I was when we spotted each other. 20 paces. Closest I’ve ever been to a bull elk with a muzzleloader in my hand. That was exciting and a great reminder of why I go out there in first place. That encounter made the last 5 days of hiking worth it. It was also a good lesson as the reason this didn’t work out was that I was ultra focused on getting to the “perfect” spot and not expecting what I should always be expecting- Elk, right around the corner.
I got up to my spot and sat for about an hour. I saw a good flock of wild turkeys, elk and deer sign, an old wooden cross and one heck of a view. I walked out in the twilight and almost got back to the gate before dark.
I got up to my spot and sat for about an hour. I saw a good flock of wild turkeys, elk and deer sign, an old wooden cross and one heck of a view. I walked out in the twilight and almost got back to the gate before dark.
