2013 Nevada Cow Elk Hunt

Well it's been a rough few days. I've been looking for a cow elk half way between Battle Mountain and Elko about 10-15 miles North of I-80 and boy talk about a challenge. Lots of hiking up steep terrain with little reward. To start out its been very chilly below freezing leaving the house early before the sun is up around 0-5F and highs between 23-31F. Got a lovely 6-8" of snow on the ground luckily the winds have been calm to non-existent.

First 3-4 days I had off we did a lot of driving looking to find something in the flats and relatively easy to get to after 300 miles no tracks it was pretty disappointing. My dad and I stopped in the local hardware store to visit a friend who is an avid hunter, he had a nephew with a tag and had spent the last 3 weeks looking for one and had traveled every road in the 3 units for the tag and had seen nothing. He said one of the biologists had stopped in to BS and had said they had been flying and seen elk on the patch that I'd initially wanted to check out.

Sunday we went out and checked the roads in the area and some of the easily accessible hills we found lots of tracks and signs but no elk. But it was a step in the right direction.

Tuesday my brother and I went out and started hiking up the mountain. It had a large rock pass that was well traveled looked like an elk freeway so we started up it. The truck was parked at 5,000 ft and 3 miles from the base of the mountain so it was quite the hike. We got up there in a pretty timely fashion I think about an hour and a half and around 6500 ft. We took a break there and did some glassing. We found nothing but more tracks going up to the top so after 20-30 minutes we grabbed our gear shed a few layers of clothing and up to the top of the hill we went. As we climbed further up I saw a few birds sitting on the rocks at the peak. I have no idea what they were. Maybe wild turkeys possibly something else. They made some noise that kinda sounded like a turkey but I'm not sure. So we topped the mountain and the south side had no tracks or anything going down it but there was a nice hillside coming back down to the northeast. So we came gown that pretty slow. Drifts up to 18" and rocky. Each step was an adventure. Half way down we found a survey marker. It was pretty cool to see. Then we ventured down farther to a rock formation and took a break to drink some water and glass up a draw. Saw some trees up there and tracks but nothing else. So we continued following this hill down stopping to glass the draws on either side of us. We saw nothing. We got to the edge and climbed up a small hill we found some fresh scat and looked back. At the tip of the next hill between the draw we walked next to and the adjacent draw to the east I saw a bunch of sage brush and something was outta place to me. So I stopped and started glassing. I told Matt there's an elk. He said no there's nothing there. I dropped the glass looked again to make sure I was looking at the right thing I saw outta place. Brought the glass back up and this time there was no doubt. I said again there's an elk. Matt started looking and be stood up. He was a bull at about a mile I'm guessing I could see the main beams come back over his top line but couldn't make out any points. He stood there for about 30 seconds and quickly made his way up the draw and outta sight. It was pretty cool. I felt good knowing I was in the right area and on the elk. As he disappeared we continued up the ridge back to the truck we got up to the top and I stopped and looked back. The bull was topping the ridge to the east 1500 ft above where he was bedded down and another mile from that point in 7 minutes. He was hauling the mail. So as we worked down to the truck we saw a ton of tracks on that east side and more fresh scat. But no more elk to be seen. We got back to the truck after a long hike that took us from 5000ft to 7000ft and 8-10 miles made for a long day as we headed home. Matt said "Why is it every time I go with you I end up hiking up a mountain?" I answered well we saw something didn't we? He responded "No, when we went deer hunting we went up the mountain and saw 6 does and you had a buck tag. This time we go up the another steep mountain and we see one bull and you have a cow tag!"

So Wednesday we went a little father north to a canyon I had seen from the top of the mountain. We came up and stopped the truck to move some rocks so I started glassing and after a few minutes found 12 cows 200 yards from the top of the mountain above a rock slide bedded down about a mile and a half from us. So we went up to the fence line where the road ended. We got geared up and ready to go I glassed it again they were gone I think they just jumped over the top. So up the mountain we went stiff and sore legs and all. We started again at about 5000ft and ended up around 6500 or so. We got to the top and there was a saddle that was easy to cross to the north east of where we had seen the cows. As we crossed found another survey stake. So we crossed there and worked around the backside of the mountain. Found a good set of rocks to drop our packs and I grabbed my rifle and away we went around to the south side easing up the 300ft or so we had cut off for the saddle. Glassing the draws below we saw nothing. We found where they crossed over fresh scat and all but couldn't find them again. They had disappeared. The top gave some pretty neat views. Then down the mountain we came. Another long hike. As we were coming down we found some pretty slick spots rocks with slick melted snow. I was really surprised I don't have blistered feet or twisted and swollen ankles.

Today we hit the back side of the hill we chased the cows up yesterday and glassed it extensively then glassed the hill we climbed yesterday. Nothing we went back to the first mountain we climbed and did some glassing and saw 2 elk at 2 miles or so. We ran into another couple hunters and they said they were seeing the same as we were. All of them up high and very skittish.

Here's some pictures probably gonna take a few posts to get them up.

Most people don't know how beautiful Nevada really is. Thanks for the outstanding write-up and pictures. Makes me want to get out there and bring in a song dog or two. Best of luck,

Rob

More pictures. The last 4 pictures in the first post were from Tuesday the rest are from Wednesday.

More pictures.

Nice!!!! Great looking country, keep at it you will find them, thanks for sharing.

I think I'm gonna need some help to fill my tag though. The only two ways I see it happening is first we get about a foot to 18" of snow up there to drive them down or second to be have a couple horses and mules to take up to the top and stay for a few nights and hope you can get to a spot they will cross within 1/4 mile of you. Archery season opened in August so they have had a ton of pressure. There is still a ton of feed up on those mountains. Plus it's about 10-15F warmer on the top of the mountains than in the valleys. It has been a learning experience and I got until the first and we are expecting a couple snow storms this week!!

Best of luck Jake.

JD338

Exciting pictures, Jake. Definitely demanding country. When you tag your elk, it will taste all the sweeter.

Great looking country!
Thank you for the pictures. That's some demanding country. Good luck for the rest of your hunt.

That is great looking country Jake. Stay on them fresh elk tracks buddy, use your glasses and run them down.. Remember, those bino's are more important than than your rifle till you close the distance, scan and look thru everything buddy. If they were there run them to the edge if you have to, but you'll catch up with them, if they are up there feeding on the tops you'll sort them out soon buddy. Stay after them, I haven't ever had an easy elk, and these sound like they must be from the same places in Idaho and Oregon I hunt!

Good luck and keep plugging away hope you can get one in range. From the pics that's alot different then anywhere I have ever hunted elk. We have a lot more cover and ussually getting them out of the thick stuff is the problem. Your dilemma is these elk are like highland pronghorns lol they bed with a great view and an escape route, using the wind and terrain in thier favor. No tips to add , don't skyline yourself, play the wind if possible. Only other possible thing I can think of is to camp in the high country and try and get in position before sun up. For this to work the herd will have to be patterned , may be short on time for that. Good luck.

Yeah it's kinda like Normandy! Gotta get to the high ground somehow! The full moon probably isn't helping much either at night with the snow it's almost like broad daylight.

nvbroncrider":1tjgq3aj said:

Yeah it's kinda like Normandy! Gotta get to the high ground somehow! The full moon probably isn't helping much either at night with the snow it's almost like broad daylight.

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LOL, thank you for reminding me of Cousin Billy this morning.
He was a hoot and jumped on D-Day June 06, 1944. He came home too. :grin: I really liked him but didn't get to know him as well as I'd have liked to. His Brother, Cousin Sherm, short for Sherman Watson, was on Iwo. He too came home. :grin: Some of you Marine history buffs may recognize, or learn about, Sherm Watson.
Good luck getting after those more antelope "like" elk. Get the high ground and don't retreat!

Interesting note about your cousin Sherm, Vince. Very neat stuff. Here is what I was able to dig up. I have read Flag's of our Fathers, so the name sounded familiar, but I couldn't recall it exactly.

http://www.theledger.com/article/200706 ... ?p=2&tc=pg


Now Jake, get back to elk hunting! HA!

SJB358":2t4287pk said:

Interesting note about your cousin Sherm, Vince. Very neat stuff. Here is what I was able to dig up. I have read Flag's of our Fathers, so the name sounded familiar, but I couldn't recall it exactly.

http://www.theledger.com/article/200706 ... ?p=2&tc=pg


Now Jake, get back to elk hunting! HA!

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Interesting, indeed. One who was there.

...a little moto for ya, Jake...

..."Endeavor to Persevere"...

That's pretty country but sure is tough looking as well!! Keep at it you will find them. Hard to believe that a 500-750 pound animal can hide out where on first glance there appears to be nothing. Every one of those cuts and edges and rock piles has the ability to hide them until you peer at it from just the right angle. I wish you the best of luck.

http://kahtoola.com/product/microspikes/

Might have to get you some of these!! They really work fantastic in the snow, rocks, and ice!!

David

Looks like a winter migration trail area, Jake?

No Charlie that's the summer range. Still too much feed and not enough snow to drive them into the flats. The crested wheat grass up there is still 2.5-3 ft tall. And if you look there's still green grass up there.

David no doubt. Them darn critters act just like brahma cross cattle. They see ya stick there neck up lift there tail and away they go. Watching cattle is the only thing that got me to see the elk I've seen this year. Looking for something outta place. I actually kinda impressed myself spotting the cows I saw with my naked eye at a mile and a half. For cows that are red or black I generally can pick them out at 3 miles but the elk blend in so much better. It's almost frightening how they blend in.

nvbroncrider":1o1ikvcs said:

No Charlie that's the summer range. Still too much feed and not enough snow to drive them into the flats. The crested wheat grass up there is still 2.5-3 ft tall. And if you look there's still green grass up there.

David no doubt. Them darn critters act just like brahma cross cattle. They see ya stick there neck up lift there tail and away they go. Watching cattle is the only thing that got me to see the elk I've seen this year. Looking for something outta place. I actually kinda impressed myself spotting the cows I saw with my naked eye at a mile and a half. For cows that are red or black I generally can pick them out at 3 miles but the elk blend in so much better. It's almost frightening how they blend in.

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Sorry about sidetracking your thread.
Your mention of Normandy got me to thinking about some of my family. As for elk, spotting cows helps to train your eye. I really believe that. Break out the spotting scope and use the Arizona Technique: Glass, Glass, and Glass some more. :grin: When you covered every inch of ground glass it again.

Now if that fails drive in to town and go to the local Hardware Store. Buy every big screwjack they have. Then take them to the nearest mountain but before you do that put a net at the base of the mountain on the opposite side. Then start cranking on those screwjacks. Eventually you'll upend the mountain and everything will tumble in to your net. You'll have your elk, the neighbor's cows, a Basque Sheepherder, 23 sheep, a Border Collie, and a rabbit or two. :grin:

Vince