Got my second season western colorado cow elk. The first and second day were miserably hot and dry keeping elk and deer up in the high dark timber.
Hunting was impossible do to the dry conditions.
Putting a stalk in the dark timber sounded like steping on potato chips alerting any game long before seeing them.
Third day we finaly got some rain and snow. I left my flip scope caps back at camp, great.
Fourth day cold and wet perfect conditions. Climed to the top of a ridge then slowly made my way down through heavy dark timber.
At about noon I was ten steps into the transition between dark timber and aspen tree line when I jumped a bull and a cow at about thirty yards to my left. They ran down the hill to about twenty or thirty yards cut right then stopped right in front me. I had my 4x12 scope set at 4 power and still had trouble finding her. So much for all that long range practice with a high power mag rifle.
Bang, they darted off into some trees and alder brush. I have never had buck fever until this hunt, I looked like an excited Barny Fife.
Inspecting the place she was standing when I shot, no blood! I was aiming dead center behind the front shoulder so how could I miss. I finaly found a bit of hair, started slowly stalking the direction they ran. At about ten or fifteen yards blood, but only a tiny speck on a oak leaf, the next few steps there she was, that scared the crap out of me. She found a depresion in the ground, layed down in it and then died.
My browning ss a-bolt .325 wsm shooting a 200gr ab enterd between a rib clipped a lung made mush of the liver then excited between another rib. Not an ounce of meat wasted.
Followed this bugger halfway through Nevada coming back from my aughust scouting trip.
Camp
Sorry for the gruesome pic but at the time I found her it started blowing rain and snow sideways and widow makers were falling all around me. Pictures was the last thing on my mind at this point in time. Direcly in back of me in this pic was a four wheeler road about one hundred yards away, what luck.
Hunting was impossible do to the dry conditions.
Putting a stalk in the dark timber sounded like steping on potato chips alerting any game long before seeing them.
Third day we finaly got some rain and snow. I left my flip scope caps back at camp, great.
Fourth day cold and wet perfect conditions. Climed to the top of a ridge then slowly made my way down through heavy dark timber.
At about noon I was ten steps into the transition between dark timber and aspen tree line when I jumped a bull and a cow at about thirty yards to my left. They ran down the hill to about twenty or thirty yards cut right then stopped right in front me. I had my 4x12 scope set at 4 power and still had trouble finding her. So much for all that long range practice with a high power mag rifle.
Bang, they darted off into some trees and alder brush. I have never had buck fever until this hunt, I looked like an excited Barny Fife.
Inspecting the place she was standing when I shot, no blood! I was aiming dead center behind the front shoulder so how could I miss. I finaly found a bit of hair, started slowly stalking the direction they ran. At about ten or fifteen yards blood, but only a tiny speck on a oak leaf, the next few steps there she was, that scared the crap out of me. She found a depresion in the ground, layed down in it and then died.
My browning ss a-bolt .325 wsm shooting a 200gr ab enterd between a rib clipped a lung made mush of the liver then excited between another rib. Not an ounce of meat wasted.
Followed this bugger halfway through Nevada coming back from my aughust scouting trip.
Camp
Sorry for the gruesome pic but at the time I found her it started blowing rain and snow sideways and widow makers were falling all around me. Pictures was the last thing on my mind at this point in time. Direcly in back of me in this pic was a four wheeler road about one hundred yards away, what luck.
