So after three weeks up North I flew back down to Missoula to rejoin the lower 48. Hunter had just returned from his 10 day elk hunt and had to work this week so I spent the next two days helping butcher his cow elk he took. We did a morning hunt close by town just to wet my feet on how calling sequences go down for elk hunting. The next weekend we left for a hike in hunt I wasn't sure I was ready for. 15 miles up a jeep "trail" that was essentially rock climbing to get to the trail head/wilderness boundary. Five miles from the truck we set camp at a lake and spent the afternoon hiking up high to glass avalanche chutes for elk movement. Nasty weather was moving in and we took advantage of sunlight by glassing. After spotting the herd bull 2 miles further up the drainage (along with 10-12 cows and 3 black bears) we dropped down to camp for the night. It poured all night and broke to a drizzle around daylight. We woke up and made a fire to warm up and contemplated just hiking out to the truck as it was supposed to just get worse when a bugle rang out 300 yards from camp. We dashed for bows/calls and moved in.... the bull made his way in to about 90 yards but never made it into bow range. It did however get us WAY too amped to tap out now. We decided to load the packs with snacks and butchering gear and head up the drainage to where the herd bull was the night before. As shown above I switched to a floor less tarp shelter for this year and LOVE it. Stay bone dry, twice the room as my last tent, and it weighs right at 1 lb with lines and stakes included... I'll never switch back for early season backpack hunts.
After we got up near the bench we saw the herd bull on we stopped for a granola bar, now two miles from camp... I wasn't halfway through mine when a bugle rings out. Game on. We charge up hill and Hunt hangs back below the peak as me and Roger creep over to head in. The ridge split into a V, so I went down the left finger as Roger crept down the right. Hunt begins his calling sequence 100 yards back just over the hill and the bull quickly bugles again. Luckily 60 yards ahead of me. I stop as I see his head poke out at 30 yards bugling in my face. I thought he'd continue until he trampled me or spook but luckily Hunter bugled back so he veered off the trail and trots up to stop broadside at 21 yards. As I was touching off the arrow (mid bugle) he begins trotting again so the arrow hits him a bit back. I was still confident I got lungs but nervous. I run down to Hunter fist pumping. We couldn't even celebrate as another bull is screaming now and closing into bow range. I help hunter by cow calling and throwing rocks/breaking branches as he bugles back. This starts an absolute frenzy. We ended up having SEVEN bulls in bow range in a matter of 10-15 minutes. A nice 5 point makes his way towards us past Roger, who I can now see. He walks within feet of him and Roger doesn't even have an arrow knocked... I'm furious asking Hunter WTF he is doing. The bull finally backs out giving Hunter a chance to inform me Roger already shot a silent 5 point the same time I shot mine. Both ran past him spitting blood simultaneously within 10 yards on the left and right like a stampede. Now a 6 point is 20 yards out (bigger than mine slightly but look like practical twins) and he is rutted up. He rubs trees, pisses down his legs, bugles no less than 20 times, and stares us down as I snap pics. I was laying between two logs hiding just exposing the cam for pics. Another bull and a spike join him. As these three begin to leave Roger finally creeps back to join us, we discuss our game plan as the rain sets back in when a branch snaps behind us. ANOTHER 6 point is 35 yards down the hill seeing what all the commotion us. That 15 minute sequence was by far the craziest of my life, much less hunting career. Now for the pics.
Rogers bull crashed within 30 yards so there was no worry there. We would have liked to give mine time given the shot, but with the rain picking up to a steady rain/drizzle... we took up the blood after 15-20 minutes. It began to wash out/peter out after 50 yards. It was in a direct line down a trail straight down hill so we were confident we could find him. I hung back following the sparse blood being washed away by the second as Hunter moved forward to search for the bull. Roger and I quickly heard a bugle from down 75 yards ahead. "What does that mean?!!?" I asked Roger. Hunter comes up and says he doesn't like what he sees.... I call his bluff and ask where he is at and quickly get a big smile followed by a tackle/hug. We were riding a high like no other. I storm down the hill to see my bull. Blown away. Taped 282" and should just barely squeak by as a P&Y bull. I'm spoiled for elk hunting. I may never experience this again in my life and Im only 23.
Now the work began. we have TWO bull elk down, 3 backpacks, and we are 7 miles from the truck. We debone my bull and have him in game bags in about 50 minutes... These guys have butchering down to a science. I tell them to take care of his bull and I'll start shuttling my bull down to the first lake about a half mile away 800 ft down. We had my bull split into three game bags plus the head. As I finished the third pack down, I returned back up hill to find them finishing up the final touches on Rogers bull. It was two years younger, so we split it into two game bags and take it down to the lake. We load up the three heaviest meat bags, Rogers bull head, and both bows and drop down the 1.5 miles to camp. It was beginning to get dark and had been raining ALL day so we tell Roger to hang back to start a fire as me and Hunt make the mad dash back up the mountain for the final two meat bags and my head. We get back to camp to a roaring fire, a flask of whiskey, and darkness setting in. We dethawed, ate like kings, and celebrated before turning in for the night. We got up early the next morning and a steady mist is still going strong with temps in the upper 30s... We pack the first 3 meat bags and half of camp down to the game cart that we drug in 2 miles from the truck. Return back to camp and grab the heads, final two meat bags, and remainder of camp. We get back to the game cart around lunch and everyone is beyond worn out. We load a deer game cart with two full bull elk and two packs and begin dragging it out over the rocks... Honestly I think backpacking would have been easier lol. After a half mile Roger and Hunt mentioned taking a break. I was cold, miserable, and with the youngest back offered myself up for sacrifice. Y'all walk along side the cart and keep it from tipping and I'll get it to the truck. I drag it the remainder of the trek out and have never been happier to see a vehicle. We load up, and head back for civilization too sore to even stand up straight.
It takes a few days to recover and butcher the two elk.. but I still have a few weeks of freedom and a mule deer tag and WY antelope tag in my pocket. That weekend was opening weekend for Rifle Antelope in WY, so I convince Brad to fly down from Alaska and join me for a weekend gun hunt. I start the 500 mile drive back picking him up at the airport in Billings along the way. As many opps as we had in archery season I all but guaranteed an easy hunt. Never been more wrong in my life. We saw exactly 22 antelope on public land over 2.5 days and 600 miles of driving checking every square inch of that unit.... all the while counting nearly 80 trucks of hunters. It was a circus. You literally couldn't pay me to do a hunt like that again. Complaining aside, I did shoot a very small buck opening morning 20 minutes after sunrise. I almost passed due to his size, but it was a blessing I didn't as we never had another opp at a buck. Crazy the difference from archery to gun seasons in the same exact area.
I drop Brad back at the Billings airport Monday and return to Missoula to butcher my antelope and pack up for work (I began a 6 week rotation at a Native American Hospital in northern Montana the following Monday).... With a deer tag left, I leave the next day and head north for a week of chasing mulies on the prairie... Tough hunting, hiking a couple miles in each evening catching the deer heading down from beds to feed at night. I can't complain, as I blew to GOLDEN opportunities at a stud upper 150s lower 160s Mulie with the bow. Missed due to 30 mph winds the first time and 4 nights later got another crack at him and flat out missed shaving a few hairs off his belly without even drawing blood. I waved the white flag and head to work that Monday. Two of my best friends from Pharmacy School in Alabama join me for work. Luke doesn't hunt much anymore and James had never been hunting in his life, so I convince them to join me for opener of rifle season two weeks later. They had a wonderful time opening morning as we saw a 350+ Bull elk, two cow moose, 30+ mulies, several whitetails, 4 coyotes, and I even passed a 130+ nice 4x4 mulie knowing the bucks in the area. We head back in that evening and set up to glass. As the pictures show, they were a HUGE help spotting game.
James gets too cold from the wind and asks for keys to wait at the truck... not 10 minutes after he leaves the action picks up. The buck I had missed twice shows up, only this time with a friend so much bigger I forgot he even existed. This buck was a legit 170" buck. He comes down to the field we were in about 15 minutes before dark so I tell Luke to follow me as I drop into a drainage ditch and move in closer. There were already 9 bucks in the field, and as we get into rifle range I can't find the big boy who waited til later to join. Finally a buck comes out from the left where I lost sight of him and it had to be him. It was getting pretty dark, so I went through each buck in the group one last time to confirm the back buck was him... as I settle back on the last buck I pull the trigger and rock it at 200 yards. It was wobbling about to fall but I put another round in him to drop him. I fist pump Luke and say wait til you see this monster... pretty embarrassed as I walked up on my buck haha. I shot the wrong buck! Still a nice first mule deer, but I was pretty upset at first. He must have fed farther up into the group of bucks when I second guessed myself checking the front bucks again so when I settled on the back buck, it was no longer him. Oh well, live and learn and still a great day of hunting. I only had one backpack, so I debone the deer, load him up, and pack him the two miles back to the truck.
We head back to the town we work in and I spend the next day butchering the deer. I'm now tagged out for the fall and spend the next 4-5 weeks working and partying a little to hard in western MT on the weekends. We head up to Calgary in Canada one weekend for shenanigans as well. I finish up work the Tuesday before thanksgiving at lunch and head to my friend Ricks ranch in eastern MT. I pull up right at dark to him gutting a 361" absolute monarch Elk. I spend the next day butchering this elk with him and Thanksgiving day we go out with his father after thanksgiving dinner and smoke a 167" stud Mule Deer. I don't have the pics of these animals on the computer yet, so I'll have to add them later. Rick lives in Alabama where I was headed, so I load up two of his elk from previous years, the mule deer, my elk, and ten sheds along with all my original gear and head East last Friday. I drive 1200 miles the first day. Stop for a 5 hr nap, and finish out the drive the following day rolling into KY to spend time with family for the weekend. Now that I'm done I'm revamped ready to hunt again. Get to spend a week in the stand in KY next week and then 5 days in AL between Christmas and New Years. Will feel weird sitting still for a change while hunting, but I look forward to it. After that I guess it will be waterfowl until turkey come back in. Find out in February whether or not I land the job in Alaska and from there I guess the process starts over... I obviously will never have a solid 7 weeks off again for a fall, but 2 hunts a year should be doable. Moose round 2 and Mountain Goat will hopefully be up to bat this next fall.
Be sure to let us know if you post the footage of the ram anywhere! Sounds like a great time man. Good luck on the rest of your season!
Dude....ridiculous. One hell of a fall. I have been waiting on this thread, and you did not disappoint. Congrats on the adventures.
Man that is awesome! I loved seeing the pictures of Montana! I grew up just north of Missoula, makes me wonder why I left! Congrats on such a successful season!
