My first Elk!

[van7559]

Man what a year for hunting. It started out crazier than ever this season.
Went to set up camp a week before the season started, only to have my youngest fall into the camp stove, and severly burn her wrist. This ended that trip promptly with a nascar like trip back into town the same night it all started. Fast forward to opening day. My unlce Ray and Cousin Mike were able to get camp established the weekend prior, so all I had to do was show up. Hunted super hard opening morning with nothing seen. Sat in the top of a park with a bull answering cow calls only to have loco mtn. outfiitters and their client set up directly in between us and the bull[Rant1].I guess that is hunting but not my stlye. They started bugling and the bull flat shut down. Went back into that same park at daylight the next morning to do a little more calling, having two bulls answering the calls me and my cousin took off on foot to find the elk in the black timber. My uncle Ray stayed in the park and had a small spike about 16" walk out after 30 minutes of us walking in[Bang]. After hiking all morning down one side trough the black timber seeing some good sign. We started to cross the drainage and back up the other side of the black timber. We were trying to time it to where we walked back into the park just before dark, and stopped to take a nap. After sleeping for two hours and eating lunch in the thick timber we saw a bull just above us in the timber with no shot. We were not really being quitte at all either. After spraying some elk piss in the air and hitting the mouth calls we thought it was over. 2 minutes later a cow walking the game trail just below us made a be-line to where we had been sleeping. By the time she relized what was going on she had no way out of the 348 grain bullet and 130 grains of powder I squezzed of in her direction. I shot her no more than 10ft. from where we were sitting. She damn near came in on top of us. I was stoked my first elk, and a crazy adventure. Took me and my cousin 2 days of rigerous hiking to pack out all the meat. Tight and steep is not easy with a quarter. I estimated the hind quarters to way somewhere in the #125 range, and the fronts somehere in the neighborhood of #100. I don't really ahve anything to compare it two but my cousin who has shot dozens of elk over the years said she was a big ass cow. I know what people mean when they say the work starts once you kill one!

My little ones wrist after the stove burned the shit out of her
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d150/van7559/20120905_195006.jpg
All bandaged up getting into my gear as I prep for the hunt
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d150/van7559/20120903_142249.jpg
The park we left from. Hiked all the way down the right side, and back up the left. My elk was shot down in the bottom of the left hand side
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d150/van7559/20120911_093154.jpg
The cow I harvested to feed my family and friends
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d150/van7559/20120909_143116.jpg
My first elk hell yeah!
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d150/van7559/20120909_143034.jpg
My cousin taking a break with the 2nd and 3rd quarters one hind, one front. He is approx. #250 for size comparison
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d150/van7559/20120910_122319.jpg
My little #135 ass humping the last hind quarter out on day two. What a chore it was.
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d150/van7559/20120911_092405.jpg
My trusty jeep that billy goated all over the damn place!
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d150/van7559/20120911_115817.jpg

[asmo]

Congratulations! Looks great! Gotta love it when they walk right into the bullet.

[Musashi]

Congrats on the cow. Always good to hear people get what they are after. Wish I had that kind of luck my first time out.

[Bootifus]

Congratulations on the cow and thank you for the pictures!

[van7559]

Congrats on the cow. Always good to hear people get what they are after. Wish I had that kind of luck my first time out.

Not my first time in pursuit of elk. My second[ROFL1]

[4gunfun]

Way to go! Hope I can do the same in 4th season.

[hghclsswhitetrsh]

Congrats. Smart move on takin dem big ol boys to help pack out meat.

[van7559]

Congrats. Smart move on takin dem big ol boys to help pack out meat.
No shit, the first night he packed out a front quarter, I was puking my guts out from exhaustion. The next morning I woke up all shakey and ate a good breakfast, and packed out the other front he had a hind. On the last day of pack out it was a pride thing for me. I packed out the last hind quarter like a boss. It was 9/11 I was grateful for the men and women who died protecting our freedoms that enabled me as an American to do this. To top it off I unfortunatly found out half way up the hill via text message that my dad was diagnosed with cancer. That fueled my fire to know that my biggest issue in life that day was sucking wind, and my old man is starting the fight of his life. My cousin seriously could not keep up only carrying a daypack that morning. It was bitter sweet knowing I was in god's country living out a dream, doing what I loved most. But my Dad 1000 miles away was struggling to build up the courage to tell me that things aren't looking good. [Bang]

[4gunfun]

Someone else told me about pucking there guts out while packing thier meat out. Sorry to hear about your dad man, god bless you and yours.

[02ducky]

Congrats on the elk man!

I am very sorry to hear about your father, you guys will be in my thoughts and prayers!

[hghclsswhitetrsh]

Praying for your father and family.

[DSull]

Good job!

[sniper7]

Congrats! Hope your dad gets through it no problem. My dad just had colon cancer in february and is up elk hunting with me so tell him he has lots to look forward to!!!
Took the meat in to steves meats today. I would recommend them if you haven't got the meat in anywhere yet. 3 elk 2 deer and 2antelope have all turned out great

[van7559]

Thanks for the thoughts and prayers guys. They are needed and appriciated.

[223kev]

Congrats on the hunt and thanks for sharing the great pictures. Hope all goes well for your dad.

[ColoWyo]

Well done man.

Thoughts out to you and your family.

[Coteaudp]

Congratulations. She looked like a nice fat animal.

[van7559]

She was healthy for sure. I felt bad cause she was wet on the teets when we skinned her. Hopefully the calf makes it this winter

[TheBelly]

congrats on the cow! Yeah, the fun stops once you squeeze that trigger.

[TennVol]

The last cow elk I shot we were able to get it to the processor without quartering it. The processor I use doesn't have a permit to dispose of the waste, so he gives it back to you in several garbage bags. Just out of curiosity, I weighed the bags he gave me:

Bones - 82 lbs
Head - 25 lbs
Hide - 40 lbs
Total = 147 lbs

After that, we never quartered another animal or attempted to drag one out whole. We bone out anything we can't drive the truck close enough to where we can see the animal.

Anyway, congrats on the hunt! Also, I'm a big fan of the high shoulder shot you took. All of the deer and elk I've hit in the high shoulder have dropped in their tracks.

[ezgoinrob]

wtg Van!!
Ez

[harley]