Patapsco mike
New member
- Aug 12, 2014
- 11
Hey all,
Thought I'd share my experience from this past week. Started early Saturday morning packing in our gear for the next few days. About 4 miles in we come to our canyon/bowl we like to hunt. About 7am we are on the ridge glassing below. 2 herds about 15 elk in each and 3 big bulls! Man, we were excited. So we wait till they are back in the timber and we drop in. It's funny how from high above it looks manageable to get in there.
Tracks, rubs, poop everywhere. First morning the elk are on he cliff line feeding on the bright green grasses. It's almost impossible to know where they are going to drop into the timber so we pick a spot and wait them out. Wrong spot. Next morning wrong spot again. These elk are not talking at all but all in herds with lead bull. So the third morning wake up to find some coming along side a pond. I get into position to cut them off but they pass with to many small pines in the way. I cow call.... They are not interested but I here clicking rocks coming from behind me. I see antlers. Heads...a lot of bodies. Wind hits the back of my neck and it sounded like a rock avalanche. They gone. Other herd running too.
Never saw another elk for couple days so we pack up
So my ass is whipped and was going to take the night off but the wife back home wants meat so I'm climbing a mountain again. This time lower elevation blm land.
I go to my favorite spot around here. Patch of aspens 200 yards wide on top tall grass in between. Beautiful and lots of sign. I'm sweating and stop at a couple small pines up wind of the clearing. I'm still in my t shirt getting cooled off when I here rocks! Look in front of me and a cow elk is starring at me at 10 ft. We have a stare down witch never ends good. So cow runs off straight up the mountain. Now I'm in tune. Focused and ready. More rocks! I look to my left around my pine. Two or three deer walking around and one lays down. No more then 20 yards. I'm looking checking them out and here something to my right. I look and I see antlers and a body feeding up the hill. I couldn't tell how big he was but I'm gonna shoot him. My bow already has an arrow notched from the deer so I slowly tturn. He's still head down feeding at no more than 20 yards!!!! I move my feet around to position and those deer behind my takes off. The bull lifts his head. Beautiful 6x6. Now I'm a little hidden but he knows something is not right. Maybe he heard me breathing hard and heart pounding through my cheast. He takes a few bounds and looks back. I guessed 45. I was wrong shot low.
I'm still not right from this.... Last night
So I'm sitting there still shaking. Almost dark. And I hear more move not to my left where the deer were. Something's close... But I can't see it. Then I can hear it breathing loud. I can't see it though. I back step and look in front of my pines and huge black bear starring at me so I yell hey get outta here. Scared the crap out of the bear. He flys of the edge and I hear him crashing all the way down.
So now it's real close to dark I got to get off this mountain quick so I bush whacking, rolling, slidding down as fast as I can. I must have sounded like a wounded animal because I got noticed by a pack of coyotes that I had to scare off as well.
What a night!
My last hunt is tonight and I'll be behind those pines again depending on wind
This is why I'm addicted to elk hunting
Good luck to all
They're bugling hard now!
Thought I'd share my experience from this past week. Started early Saturday morning packing in our gear for the next few days. About 4 miles in we come to our canyon/bowl we like to hunt. About 7am we are on the ridge glassing below. 2 herds about 15 elk in each and 3 big bulls! Man, we were excited. So we wait till they are back in the timber and we drop in. It's funny how from high above it looks manageable to get in there.
Tracks, rubs, poop everywhere. First morning the elk are on he cliff line feeding on the bright green grasses. It's almost impossible to know where they are going to drop into the timber so we pick a spot and wait them out. Wrong spot. Next morning wrong spot again. These elk are not talking at all but all in herds with lead bull. So the third morning wake up to find some coming along side a pond. I get into position to cut them off but they pass with to many small pines in the way. I cow call.... They are not interested but I here clicking rocks coming from behind me. I see antlers. Heads...a lot of bodies. Wind hits the back of my neck and it sounded like a rock avalanche. They gone. Other herd running too.
Never saw another elk for couple days so we pack up
So my ass is whipped and was going to take the night off but the wife back home wants meat so I'm climbing a mountain again. This time lower elevation blm land.
I go to my favorite spot around here. Patch of aspens 200 yards wide on top tall grass in between. Beautiful and lots of sign. I'm sweating and stop at a couple small pines up wind of the clearing. I'm still in my t shirt getting cooled off when I here rocks! Look in front of me and a cow elk is starring at me at 10 ft. We have a stare down witch never ends good. So cow runs off straight up the mountain. Now I'm in tune. Focused and ready. More rocks! I look to my left around my pine. Two or three deer walking around and one lays down. No more then 20 yards. I'm looking checking them out and here something to my right. I look and I see antlers and a body feeding up the hill. I couldn't tell how big he was but I'm gonna shoot him. My bow already has an arrow notched from the deer so I slowly tturn. He's still head down feeding at no more than 20 yards!!!! I move my feet around to position and those deer behind my takes off. The bull lifts his head. Beautiful 6x6. Now I'm a little hidden but he knows something is not right. Maybe he heard me breathing hard and heart pounding through my cheast. He takes a few bounds and looks back. I guessed 45. I was wrong shot low.
I'm still not right from this.... Last night
So I'm sitting there still shaking. Almost dark. And I hear more move not to my left where the deer were. Something's close... But I can't see it. Then I can hear it breathing loud. I can't see it though. I back step and look in front of my pines and huge black bear starring at me so I yell hey get outta here. Scared the crap out of the bear. He flys of the edge and I hear him crashing all the way down.
So now it's real close to dark I got to get off this mountain quick so I bush whacking, rolling, slidding down as fast as I can. I must have sounded like a wounded animal because I got noticed by a pack of coyotes that I had to scare off as well.
What a night!
My last hunt is tonight and I'll be behind those pines again depending on wind
This is why I'm addicted to elk hunting
Good luck to all
They're bugling hard now!
