Sorry for the long post, but I'm gonna share in detail what is now my favorite hunt of all time!
Had a first season Oregon bull tag that I got through a friend and ranch owner. He was gracious enough to give me one of their land owner tags. I posted earlier about a quick scouting trip we went on. Well, my Dad and I met up with him at the ranch the day before the hunt opened and we went up on the mountain to glass and try and formulate a plan for the morning. We located a good 6x6 that was probably a half mile above the ranch house and watched him until dark. There was also a herd of about 175-200 elk that had moved from across the highway to a grass field on a neighboring ranch just below his property line. Things were looking good for the morning!
I didn't sleep much that night but I killed a lot of bulls in my dreams! We woke up well before daylight and my friend headed up on the mountain ahead of us to glass at first light and give us a direction to head to on the ranch. We never could locate that good 6x6 we had seen the night before. But there was a little branch antler bull running around in that area that we started to head towards. Then the neighbors got into the big herd and they were headed onto the ranch we were hunting. My buddy alerted us to get over to the other side of the ranch because there was a 1/2 mile long string of elk headed for the timber. We hustled back to the pickup and went as fast as we could to where we thought we could cut them off and took off with our packs through the timber. We hiked down one ridge and couldn't see them so we humped over the next ridge to the west and I finally caught a glimpse of the herd through the trees on the next ridge over but still out in the sagebrush prior to getting into the timber. They didn't appear to be in a hurry. There was a few elk feeding around and a few bedded down.
We decided to back track about a 100 yards up the ridge we were on and then cut over to the ridge they were on and drop down on them. We made it about 50 yards when all of a sudden a pile of elk started down the ridge across in front of us and were only about 50 yards away but there was thick timber between us. I could see a few bulls but never had a shot. Finally the lead cow winded us and they did an about face and tore off in the direction they had come. My Dad started cow calling and they settled down but still moved out over the ridge. We climbed up and encountered about 5 calves and a spike that didn't want to cross the fence that the herd had and they were about 15 yards from us. We waited motionless for them to figure it out which they finally did. We then followed and could see the main herd headed up the spine of the ridge one ridge over from us....my thought was there was no way we were going to catch up to elk that were strung out feeding. But they didn't seem to be in too much of a hurry and we thought maybe they'd go bed down in the head of the draw.
So we took off on the ridge that paralleled them and tried to make up some ground. We consulted the maps and decided that our ridge and their ridge connected with a ridge that was perpendicular to us. We cow called occasionally and got them to answer and they didn't seem to be moving much so we figured they had bedded. We got to where we thought we were above them and started across to the ridge they were on. As we got to the top of the ridge I could hear cows and calves calling to our right, downhill from us and not very far away. My heart began to pound and I thought we were finally going to get a good position on them. Then a cow stepped out from behind a brush pile about 15 yards in front of me. I froze and she hadn't seen me. Then many more elk proceeded to feed on by us from 15-30 yards away. One cow bedded down in the old logging road about 20 yards from me and chewed her cud. I was praying a bull would step out and give me a point blank shot....but then the first elk that fed past us got around above us and winded us, again.....
The elk again went crashing through the forest and we cow called and slowed them a bit. It was becoming a very unwelcome pattern! We took off after them through the thick timber towards a ridge that opened up into sagebrush and juniper. I finally spotted a group of them through a little shooting lane through the trees. I continued to sneak up into a shooting position looking down the break in the trees. I found a great little spot where I had a clear lane laying prone with the bipod. I could see about 12 cows and calves. I basically had to lay there and watch and wait and pray that a bull would show up in my little window. Then the herd started getting squirrely again and looked like they were going to blow out of there. That's when my Dad let out a couple of cow calls and the herd gaggled up in one big blob of elk....
The biggest bull in the group was on my side of the gaggle but had a calf and a cow standing directly behind it. I could only see from the front shoulder of the bull forward as it was standing behind a little juniper tree. The range was 325 yards and pretty much straight across from me, no wind. I dialed the appropriate elevation on my scope and got settled in for a shot if the elk behind him cleared. It seemed like forever but was probably only about 3 minutes. Finally the cow stepped forward and the calf followed. I checked with Dad to make sure the background was clear and I wasn't missing anything. I thought there may be a cow back from his shoulder so I pulled up on the front part of his shoulder to be safe, took a breath and squeezed the trigger.
The big 338 lapua came to life and just before I got the elk back in the scope I was greeted by a very impressive WHAPPPPPP....the unmistakable sound of lead connecting with elk. I then saw the bull lurch forward with his front right leg windmilling along under him. He passed behind some trees out of sight but I had no doubt he would be found dead a short distance away. I gathered my pack and jacked in a fresh round and headed down to the juniper where he was standing. We looked around the immediate area and found no blood. I started down the ridge in the direction he ran and still found no blood. My mind was racing.... I grabbed my binos and scanned the sagebrush ahead of me where I picked out an antler sticking up from the sagebrush. I took a deep breath and walked over to my bull. It took about 25 yards before there was any blood.....and then there was blood everywhere! He fell dead less than 50 yards from where he was shot.
The feeling of laying hands on my first bull was awesome. To share the moment with my Dad was even better. I've killed a lot of cow elk but this was very different. The 300gr AccuBond did a great job. It entered on the front side of the right shoulder and did an amazing amount of damage on the inside aspect of the rib cage and internals and then exited in the low neck/chest on the off side.
After getting the elk taken care of and skinned out and hung we ate some food and got cleaned up. We then decided to go for a drive around the ranch to kill some time and feed some of the fish in the ponds that are stocked. I threw my 260 in the truck just in case we saw a coyote or a cougar or something....turns out it was a smart move. We found a coyote mousing in a field at 225 yards away, quartered hard away from me. I put a 129gr ABLR in the air and it entered just in the front part of his left hip and exited with a nice 1" hole in his upper right chest neck area. He didn't even twitch! Just got smacked to the ground like he'd met Thor's hammer. It was the perfect end to a perfect day!
Had a first season Oregon bull tag that I got through a friend and ranch owner. He was gracious enough to give me one of their land owner tags. I posted earlier about a quick scouting trip we went on. Well, my Dad and I met up with him at the ranch the day before the hunt opened and we went up on the mountain to glass and try and formulate a plan for the morning. We located a good 6x6 that was probably a half mile above the ranch house and watched him until dark. There was also a herd of about 175-200 elk that had moved from across the highway to a grass field on a neighboring ranch just below his property line. Things were looking good for the morning!
I didn't sleep much that night but I killed a lot of bulls in my dreams! We woke up well before daylight and my friend headed up on the mountain ahead of us to glass at first light and give us a direction to head to on the ranch. We never could locate that good 6x6 we had seen the night before. But there was a little branch antler bull running around in that area that we started to head towards. Then the neighbors got into the big herd and they were headed onto the ranch we were hunting. My buddy alerted us to get over to the other side of the ranch because there was a 1/2 mile long string of elk headed for the timber. We hustled back to the pickup and went as fast as we could to where we thought we could cut them off and took off with our packs through the timber. We hiked down one ridge and couldn't see them so we humped over the next ridge to the west and I finally caught a glimpse of the herd through the trees on the next ridge over but still out in the sagebrush prior to getting into the timber. They didn't appear to be in a hurry. There was a few elk feeding around and a few bedded down.
We decided to back track about a 100 yards up the ridge we were on and then cut over to the ridge they were on and drop down on them. We made it about 50 yards when all of a sudden a pile of elk started down the ridge across in front of us and were only about 50 yards away but there was thick timber between us. I could see a few bulls but never had a shot. Finally the lead cow winded us and they did an about face and tore off in the direction they had come. My Dad started cow calling and they settled down but still moved out over the ridge. We climbed up and encountered about 5 calves and a spike that didn't want to cross the fence that the herd had and they were about 15 yards from us. We waited motionless for them to figure it out which they finally did. We then followed and could see the main herd headed up the spine of the ridge one ridge over from us....my thought was there was no way we were going to catch up to elk that were strung out feeding. But they didn't seem to be in too much of a hurry and we thought maybe they'd go bed down in the head of the draw.
So we took off on the ridge that paralleled them and tried to make up some ground. We consulted the maps and decided that our ridge and their ridge connected with a ridge that was perpendicular to us. We cow called occasionally and got them to answer and they didn't seem to be moving much so we figured they had bedded. We got to where we thought we were above them and started across to the ridge they were on. As we got to the top of the ridge I could hear cows and calves calling to our right, downhill from us and not very far away. My heart began to pound and I thought we were finally going to get a good position on them. Then a cow stepped out from behind a brush pile about 15 yards in front of me. I froze and she hadn't seen me. Then many more elk proceeded to feed on by us from 15-30 yards away. One cow bedded down in the old logging road about 20 yards from me and chewed her cud. I was praying a bull would step out and give me a point blank shot....but then the first elk that fed past us got around above us and winded us, again.....
The elk again went crashing through the forest and we cow called and slowed them a bit. It was becoming a very unwelcome pattern! We took off after them through the thick timber towards a ridge that opened up into sagebrush and juniper. I finally spotted a group of them through a little shooting lane through the trees. I continued to sneak up into a shooting position looking down the break in the trees. I found a great little spot where I had a clear lane laying prone with the bipod. I could see about 12 cows and calves. I basically had to lay there and watch and wait and pray that a bull would show up in my little window. Then the herd started getting squirrely again and looked like they were going to blow out of there. That's when my Dad let out a couple of cow calls and the herd gaggled up in one big blob of elk....
The biggest bull in the group was on my side of the gaggle but had a calf and a cow standing directly behind it. I could only see from the front shoulder of the bull forward as it was standing behind a little juniper tree. The range was 325 yards and pretty much straight across from me, no wind. I dialed the appropriate elevation on my scope and got settled in for a shot if the elk behind him cleared. It seemed like forever but was probably only about 3 minutes. Finally the cow stepped forward and the calf followed. I checked with Dad to make sure the background was clear and I wasn't missing anything. I thought there may be a cow back from his shoulder so I pulled up on the front part of his shoulder to be safe, took a breath and squeezed the trigger.
The big 338 lapua came to life and just before I got the elk back in the scope I was greeted by a very impressive WHAPPPPPP....the unmistakable sound of lead connecting with elk. I then saw the bull lurch forward with his front right leg windmilling along under him. He passed behind some trees out of sight but I had no doubt he would be found dead a short distance away. I gathered my pack and jacked in a fresh round and headed down to the juniper where he was standing. We looked around the immediate area and found no blood. I started down the ridge in the direction he ran and still found no blood. My mind was racing.... I grabbed my binos and scanned the sagebrush ahead of me where I picked out an antler sticking up from the sagebrush. I took a deep breath and walked over to my bull. It took about 25 yards before there was any blood.....and then there was blood everywhere! He fell dead less than 50 yards from where he was shot.
The feeling of laying hands on my first bull was awesome. To share the moment with my Dad was even better. I've killed a lot of cow elk but this was very different. The 300gr AccuBond did a great job. It entered on the front side of the right shoulder and did an amazing amount of damage on the inside aspect of the rib cage and internals and then exited in the low neck/chest on the off side.
After getting the elk taken care of and skinned out and hung we ate some food and got cleaned up. We then decided to go for a drive around the ranch to kill some time and feed some of the fish in the ponds that are stocked. I threw my 260 in the truck just in case we saw a coyote or a cougar or something....turns out it was a smart move. We found a coyote mousing in a field at 225 yards away, quartered hard away from me. I put a 129gr ABLR in the air and it entered just in the front part of his left hip and exited with a nice 1" hole in his upper right chest neck area. He didn't even twitch! Just got smacked to the ground like he'd met Thor's hammer. It was the perfect end to a perfect day!
