Elk Opened Yesterday

[Woodycreek]

Sounds like you're having lots of fun, Doc. Good luck on a big bull.

 

[DrMike]

Brian,

Believe it or not, I am content with a three pointer as I am after the meat. Should a six-by-six come it, I'll take him, but I'm not necessarily pursuing a big bull this year. In fact, cow opens on September 15th, and I could be quite content with a dry cow. Antlers are nice, but the meat is superb.

 

[filmjunkie4ever]

Call me crazy Doc but I love elk meat too much still to ever hold out. Like you said, I am perfectly content with a lesser bull (or a cow when legal) because the meat is so much more tender and less "gamey." And typically most rifle hunters I know are that way. Granted like you said if a 6 point ran by we will shoot him just as fast as a spike but a spike is so much better to eat.

Its the bow hunters I know who feel like they are being asked to wear pantyhose and a dress if they settle for less than a 300 class 6x6 bull. I suppose if you don't NEED the meat that this thinking is okay but I still like to think that hunting is for the food and less for the bragging that can come along with it.

I take a lot of good-natured kidding from friends here locally about my guns not being big enough, my scopes not having knobs, and my forends being free of b-ipods (unless I am shooting sand rats). They can't figure out how I can just shoot the first thing that comes along that fits the bill with the old '06 or my new 300 Winchester SHORT Magnum without all that stuff. Besides, don't my 180 or 200 grain bullets have to be going 3200 fps at the muzzle to kill elk? Amateurs.... :grin:

I just smile as I eat another steak and they have yet some more burger. Someday they will grow up I know...til then I will just keep hunting and harvesting tender meat for the winter. Good luck Dr. you sound like the kind of fella we say "would do to ride the river with any day." Maybe someday I will get the privilege of hunting something with you. Good luck on the elk!

 

[FOTIS]

2 Cool Doc!

 

[DrMike]

I reckon I've shot enough big antlers in years past. I do enjoy the meat, and I share what I have with others who have need. I want the to enjoy the meat provided as much as I do.

 

[big rifle man]

Doc, excellent story and actually a great learning experience to go along with it. Last Year the first limited Elk season in Colorado was quite warm (60's during the midday hours) It was a little late for the rut but the Elk were bugling like crazy. I had allready gotten my bull and my buddy who had seen more elk than all of us but had yet to take one was sitting in an area between a wallow and a waterhole. He told me that from just before sunrise to just after sunset the Elk were bugling. He said it was one of the most enjoyable days he ever spent afield. Elk bugles tend to make your arm hair stand up and he was fortunate enough to listen to them all day long.

 

[DrMike]

The bugle is music of a rare sort, that's for sure. I have had as many as eight big bulls in the same open area simultaneously. It was the end of the rut, and two of those bulls were outstanding 7 X 7 bulls. The remainder were 6 X 6 with one 5 X 5. They were still occasionally bugling. It is all delightful.

 

[Woodycreek]

Brian,

Believe it or not, I am content with a three pointer as I am after the meat. Should a six-by-six come it, I'll take him, but I'm not necessarily pursuing a big bull this year. In fact, cow opens on September 15th, and I could be quite content with a dry cow. Antlers are nice, but the meat is superb.

I'm all for tender Elk steaks. Thats what our Oct hunt is all about. But I would like to have a nice set of antlers to bring home one day. Just to worry Mrs. Woodycreek as to the placement of the antlers at home :lol:

 

[DrMike]

Brian,

The antlers are nice for display, and every hunter should have som0e to show. A few pictures satisfies anymore, and the memories from years past (no doubt growing as time passes) are priceless.

 

[wildgene]

The bugle is music of a rare sort, that's for sure. I have had as many as eight big bulls in the same open area simultaneously. It was the end of the rut, and two of those bulls were outstanding 7 X 7 bulls. The remainder were 6 X 6 with one 5 X 5. They were still occasionally bugling. It is all delightful.

...like our fear of spiders & snakes, like the smell of meat cooking on an open flame or the howl of a wolf, the bugle of an elk triggers an atavistic response. If you don't "feel sumpthin" when a bull bugles in the timber below you, there's something wrong w/ you...

 

[DrMike]

If you don't "feel sumpthin" when a bull bugles in the timber below you, there's something wrong w/ you...

Amen!

 

[SJB358]

The bugle is music of a rare sort, that's for sure. I have had as many as eight big bulls in the same open area simultaneously. It was the end of the rut, and two of those bulls were outstanding 7 X 7 bulls. The remainder were 6 X 6 with one 5 X 5. They were still occasionally bugling. It is all delightful.

...like our fear of spiders & snakes, like the smell of meat cooking on an open flame or the howl of a wolf, the bugle of an elk triggers an atavistic response. If you don't "feel sumpthin" when a bull bugles in the timber below you, there's something wrong w/ you...

That is about a true statement as I've ever heard!

 

[Guy Miner]

I've got it so bad, I even woke up this morning, thinking about elk hunting... But, I have to go to work instead of hunting. Doggone it!

Guy

 

[DrMike]

All right! Temperature this morning is -1 C and a predicted high of 18. Morning temps are again where I can hunt. I've got a full day today, but tomorrow should be a day afield.

 

[Elkman]

After 50 years of chasing the wiley beasites I have "no" elk horns hanging anywhere. I have come close a couple of times, but not connected with a "good" bull. I am hoping before I get to old to chase them, that at least one truly trophy sized bull will present him self for a shot.
To me its all about the hunt. Satisfaction is the number of days in the woods, the number of days hunting. The mountains at sunrise, and the deep dark cool timber pockets on the north hill sides. The new tracking snow, and the dry cold of December, I have been fortunate to have been physically, and financially able to hunt elk almost every year since the 60's.
I am 3 weeks out from my first day in Wyoming.
Headed out for the PT hill before it gets to hot, 106 here yesterday, cooling trend coming. !!!

 

[Oldtrader3]

Bill, whew that is hot, it was 79 here yesterdy. I do not have any horns from elk hanging around either. After all of these years of hunting elk, I only have one raghorn 4-point to show for horns and I did not keep those. I always shot cows and spikes for eating instead of bulls which were gamey tasting. Plus, I just never connected on bulls that are there in Wyoming. Utah elk were really difficult to get a decent bull on public land while I lived there. That has improved in recent years.

Given my age, I doubt seriously that I will now ever shoot a large bull worth hanging. You never know, my BIL shot one in Oregon two years ago that was a 340. So, it can happen but he is in better shape physically than I am. Even if I don't, I have had my poke at it and won't complain about the experiences that I did have.

 

[DrMike]

I've never brought antlers home. My wife asked me not to bring them home. She enjoys the meat and is gracious and generous in not carping at my time invested in the field. I figure I'd better just enjoy what I have. What I have are some great memories of hunts past, time spent with good friends and the brisk feel of the fall chill, the sound of snow crunching under my boots, the pungent scent of a bull in full rut. Oh, yeah, there are a few pictures.

 

[Gm weatherby man]

DrMike I truly enjoy your post and replies, great stories, insight, and great ethic both in relation to guns, reloading, and the way you conduct the time in the feild. I tip my hat to you sir, and next time I'm in Dawson creek I shake you hand. I just want to share the fact sportsman like you and others on this site are a welcome thing, yet I find are far few in-between these days. :grin:

 

[DrMike]

Gm weatherby man,

Thank you for your kind words. You'd always find a warm welcome in this area. The coffee is usually on (except when I'm heading for the range). I do believe that the Nosler site has attracted some of the finest examples of sportsmen to be found in our world today. Perhaps it is because Nosler is an ethical company that they attract such good people to the forum.

 

[Gm weatherby man]

Your welcome, and yes I believe nosler has given a great tool for us to express or views, share our stories and mold those new and those misguided to a better respect and understanding to the sport. Some days like today a good coffee just is what the doctor ordered .