2006 elk hunters

[hunting man]

Where is the full report along with the pictures? :D

We had about 4 or 5 people post they or one of their family got drawn this year. So how about a report for the rest of us not so lucky elk hunters?

[Elk Guide]

The hunt went very well My hunter got a 6x6 and i am still waiting on the pics for that and will post them as soon as i get them.. Winterover filled his bull tag and he will post his story soon i think. I am not sure about redwingsdude but i am guessing he didnt fill as he didnt use a guide and they wanted to go on there own and hadn't filled as far as i knew on the 17th of september.....the other two drew december hunts and as you know it is a ways off yet..I am still trying to get the total kill numbers and will post that soon as well....take care

[codybear]

Elk Guide, did anyone score on Tony's (Anthony's) property up here?

[Elk Guide]

Hi codybear......I took a big bull off his place last december and will be guiding on it in december but in september there werent any elk on it but that doesnt mean there isn't any on it now...

[redwingsdude]

Sorry guys, but I didn't manage did get my cow. My dad and I put in 6 days of hard hunting, but couldn't pin down their locations. Put a lot of miles on our boots, and found some greats spots, it was just a matter of the right spot at the the wrong time. Our original spot, we were in the woods an hour before light, and could hear 2 cows mewing less than 100 yards off, but they wouldn't stick around. We knew they were crossing from private land across a ridge and into a bowl, we saw them the day before the season began, but they wouldn't cooperate while we were there. We left midday to check new spots, and when we returned, we found that 2 elk, a cow and her calf, had been shot about 400 yards north, right off the dirt road that led into the Public land. The next day the bull who had been traveling with this group of cows, a 4X4 in velvet, was shot, so the elk wisened up after that. We heard bugles that day, but only miles back on private land. We only got to hunt a day and a half that first weekend, as Dad had work, and I started College that week.

The second part of the hunt we were very optimistic about bugling, but that idea was shot down by 85+ degree days. We found a feeding area where a bull hunter had seen a cow the day before, and hunted that the first night, saw nothing. We found an even larger field further back and hunted it the next day, and the best field was even further back, but we couldn't find that perfect spot to set-up considering the wind. Again, with this second field, our timing was off, we found 2 gut piles in 2 days in this area. Every day we pushed further and further into the land, and always found sign, but the elk around this area don't seem to have a pattern. They are only hunted 2 weekends per year, and seem to wander as they please, making it hard to find one spot to sit and wait.

The second to last day, we walked further again, we came back, and decided to try a new spot that night. We found a nice rye field about a half mile off of a dirt road, loaded with red and pin oaks, and hoped the elk couldn't pass off this buffet. Well, the deer definately found it, but no elk to be found. The last morning we tried the big fields and the forests around them again, walking several miles, and found the second of the 2 gut piles (just missed!) and pressed on farther. We looped around and found a great wallow, but it had not been used in several days, so we went back to a buckwheat field where we spent the rest of the day. We had to be home that night, so we left early that afternoon, without my elk.

Anyway, I know that we both worked our butts off, and that's all I can ask for. Again, I didn't use a guide, and never really thought about it. I wanted to hunt on my own terms, with my favorite hunting buddy, my dad. Maybe he can pull a tag in the next decade or two and we will know what we are doing and can put the hammer on a nice elk. In all, it was a great experience, and I don't have a problem coming home empty handed- Live and learn.

Thanks to everyone who gave advice (Elk Guide, hunting man, grandslam, Big Game) and if anyone knows an elk guide named Bill Morey, who really helped us get started while at the orientation, say thanks to him as well.

And of course, congratulations to everyone who had a good hunt, whether they brought home an elk or not. Either way, we're all very lucky just to get the chance at all.

Thanks, redwingsdude.