Montana Browns, Bucks and Bulls 2015
The long anticipated two week 2015 Guided Elk and Mule Deer hunt at Upper Canyon Outfitters in the Ruby Valley and Snowcrest Mountains of Montana has arrived. My check-in date by arrangement with Donna McDonald was moved up to October 20th to allow me time to acclimate to altitude and hiking in the mountains before the regular rifle season opened Saturday October 24th. .
The first week, 5 days guided hunting with Paulie, my guide proved challenging, enjoyable and offered no opportunities to punch a tag. Hunting pressure was significant on the National Forest land however we did see beautiful animals, including a cow moose with calf, and magnificent Mulie and Whitetail Bucks during the first week.
Thursday brought check-out for hunters with one week hunts and intersession for the guides and staff to recoup from the rigors of hunting in south western Montana. During this time I did some enjoyable solo hunting but saw no animals to harvest.
Saturday afternoon Joe, a fishing guide and all around help, Paulie and I had an opportunity for a brief but most enjoyable and productive fly fishing excursion to the lower Ruby River for fly fishing for Brown Trout. It was a real hoot, thrill, to see the trout laying in the current waiting for a tasty morsel, only to be surprised by imitation fish eggs artfully prepared and presented by Joe, who then instructed Paulie and me in the art of fly fishing.
The second week check-in and rifle checking was Saturday October 31st with the first day afield on Sunday November 1st. Paulie, my guide received a call from home that caused him to be awake most of the night so Donna graciously filled his position in the morning, suggesting that we just glass the mountain sides for elk as the rain was falling. Upon arriving at one glassing spot Donna spotted a nice whitetail buck, and asked if I would shoot one. Having a Montana General Deer tag as well as General Elk tag, and limited opportunity to hunt upon my return home to upstate New York, I replied “Sure”.
The hunt was on. The buck was in a pasture with interspersed Alders and other brush along the Ruby River. We attempted an approach, but the buck and other Whitetails ran into the brush. Donna directed an alternate sneak and came face to face with the buck, which turned for a quick exit. The buck reappeared running straight away in the open, and I held my shot. Donna used a bleat call to stop the buck, which turned broadside at 140 yards, offering a moment to get the cross hairs of my scope on his chest and squeeze the trigger. The buck was literally rolled over by the 180 grain Nosler Partition bullet from my Montana Rifle Company 30-06 rifle. He flopped around a bit and regained his footing and ran about 60 to 70 yards before expiring near the bank of the Ruby River. The bullet entered the base of the neck and caused major trauma.
Donna called for the pack out crew, Jake (Donna’s husband), Jay, Keren and Paulie who arrived in short order. After photos the deer was cleaned and hung in the meat cooler at Upper Canyon. Having had rain overnight and earlier in the morning Donna informed me that it was too good an opportunity to not go after elk while the forest was quiet, even if I did not feel like hunting. So following a short coffee break, off Donna, Paulie and I went looking for the elusive elk so sought after by the masses.
We passed through a private ranch and hiked up into the National Forest land where Paulie and I had hunted during the first week hunt and seen elk at and near the mountain top. The climb was steep and it was a challenge to use game and cattle trails to our advantage, where possible avoiding the brush and deadfall timber so prolific in the mountains. Upon arriving at a good vantage point Donna and Paulie set me up to keep an eye on a likely grassy opening in the timber while they scouted further up the mountain. No elk appeared so we moved to a second likely area and Donna left Paulie and me while she scouted further. Upon her return we moved to a beautiful vantage point on the face of a draw where we could watch the opposite face of the draw and the bottom of the draw below us.
After glassing for what seemed like a long time, Paulie informed me that we had elk, a bull and 3 cows, high and to the left of us on the opposing slope. Using my Leica range finder I determined that the elk were nearly 700 yards from us. As time passed more elk appeared and the final count proved to be 15. One large bull, which Donna called a hog, appeared but then disappeared. While the elk were grazing casually across the mountainside I ranged various spots for possible shots. All likely spots were in excess for 400 yards and I was skeptical of my chance of success because the range exceeded any distance that I had practiced at.
My rifle is a Montana Rifle Company American Standard Rifle in 30-06 with a Zeiss 2-10HD5 Conquest Scope which has the RZ600 reticle with cross hatch marks on the lower half of the vertical reticle for 300, 400, 500 and 600 yard hold over. Thanks to my old college friend Jack, we had checked the hold over at 300 yards, the maximum available at his club range, so I was somewhat confident in the equipment.
As the elk grazed slightly above us across the slope it became apparent that they were going to close the distance between us as they came directly across from us at their current elevation. When the bull, among the cows, was directly across from us I last ranged him at 525 yards. I was stationed behind a downed piece of small timber that I was attempting to use for a solid rest. From above and behind me Donna saw my unstable position and had Paulie motion for me to reposition next to a large tree to use for a rest. I slid backwards up to the tree, which gave me a very stable shooting platform. I told Paulie that I was going to place the 500 yard cross hatch on my reticle on the upper portion of the bulls shoulder to account for the extra 25 yard bullet drop. I looked up at Donna, standing behind the tree and watching the elk and asked “Are you ready?” I think her response was “ARE YOU READY?” The bull was broadside and I did as planned, squeezed the trigger. Upon recovering from recoil I found the bull, facing up hill, then faltering, down and tumbling down the mountainside. From behind me Donna ranged his decent from 525 yards to 427 yards before he disappeared in the timber below where he was when I fired the shot. The time was 5:20 PM and darkness was fast approaching with the time change.
We waited a few minutes and saw no movement from the bull’s last observed location so we packed up and headed down the side of the draw and up the opposite side, Paulie in the lead, followed by Donna and me, a distant third. By the time I arrived at the bull, Donna and Paulie had commenced the cleaning process which we completed before rolling the bull down the hill until he was stopped by trees in his path. This process was repeated until we reached the bottom of the draw where he was quartered. Tender loins and back straps removed and packed out by Paulie and Donna. The quarters were covered with personal garments to deter wild animals approach as we were in known bear country. It was 8:00PM when we left the bottom of the draw headed for Donna’s vehicle and nearly 9:00PM when we arrived, all exhausted from an exciting, rewarding and memorable day. This all happened on Paulie’s 47th birthday. Happy Birthday Paulie and Thank You Paulie and Donna.
The long anticipated two week 2015 Guided Elk and Mule Deer hunt at Upper Canyon Outfitters in the Ruby Valley and Snowcrest Mountains of Montana has arrived. My check-in date by arrangement with Donna McDonald was moved up to October 20th to allow me time to acclimate to altitude and hiking in the mountains before the regular rifle season opened Saturday October 24th. .
The first week, 5 days guided hunting with Paulie, my guide proved challenging, enjoyable and offered no opportunities to punch a tag. Hunting pressure was significant on the National Forest land however we did see beautiful animals, including a cow moose with calf, and magnificent Mulie and Whitetail Bucks during the first week.
Thursday brought check-out for hunters with one week hunts and intersession for the guides and staff to recoup from the rigors of hunting in south western Montana. During this time I did some enjoyable solo hunting but saw no animals to harvest.
Saturday afternoon Joe, a fishing guide and all around help, Paulie and I had an opportunity for a brief but most enjoyable and productive fly fishing excursion to the lower Ruby River for fly fishing for Brown Trout. It was a real hoot, thrill, to see the trout laying in the current waiting for a tasty morsel, only to be surprised by imitation fish eggs artfully prepared and presented by Joe, who then instructed Paulie and me in the art of fly fishing.
The second week check-in and rifle checking was Saturday October 31st with the first day afield on Sunday November 1st. Paulie, my guide received a call from home that caused him to be awake most of the night so Donna graciously filled his position in the morning, suggesting that we just glass the mountain sides for elk as the rain was falling. Upon arriving at one glassing spot Donna spotted a nice whitetail buck, and asked if I would shoot one. Having a Montana General Deer tag as well as General Elk tag, and limited opportunity to hunt upon my return home to upstate New York, I replied “Sure”.
The hunt was on. The buck was in a pasture with interspersed Alders and other brush along the Ruby River. We attempted an approach, but the buck and other Whitetails ran into the brush. Donna directed an alternate sneak and came face to face with the buck, which turned for a quick exit. The buck reappeared running straight away in the open, and I held my shot. Donna used a bleat call to stop the buck, which turned broadside at 140 yards, offering a moment to get the cross hairs of my scope on his chest and squeeze the trigger. The buck was literally rolled over by the 180 grain Nosler Partition bullet from my Montana Rifle Company 30-06 rifle. He flopped around a bit and regained his footing and ran about 60 to 70 yards before expiring near the bank of the Ruby River. The bullet entered the base of the neck and caused major trauma.
Donna called for the pack out crew, Jake (Donna’s husband), Jay, Keren and Paulie who arrived in short order. After photos the deer was cleaned and hung in the meat cooler at Upper Canyon. Having had rain overnight and earlier in the morning Donna informed me that it was too good an opportunity to not go after elk while the forest was quiet, even if I did not feel like hunting. So following a short coffee break, off Donna, Paulie and I went looking for the elusive elk so sought after by the masses.
We passed through a private ranch and hiked up into the National Forest land where Paulie and I had hunted during the first week hunt and seen elk at and near the mountain top. The climb was steep and it was a challenge to use game and cattle trails to our advantage, where possible avoiding the brush and deadfall timber so prolific in the mountains. Upon arriving at a good vantage point Donna and Paulie set me up to keep an eye on a likely grassy opening in the timber while they scouted further up the mountain. No elk appeared so we moved to a second likely area and Donna left Paulie and me while she scouted further. Upon her return we moved to a beautiful vantage point on the face of a draw where we could watch the opposite face of the draw and the bottom of the draw below us.
After glassing for what seemed like a long time, Paulie informed me that we had elk, a bull and 3 cows, high and to the left of us on the opposing slope. Using my Leica range finder I determined that the elk were nearly 700 yards from us. As time passed more elk appeared and the final count proved to be 15. One large bull, which Donna called a hog, appeared but then disappeared. While the elk were grazing casually across the mountainside I ranged various spots for possible shots. All likely spots were in excess for 400 yards and I was skeptical of my chance of success because the range exceeded any distance that I had practiced at.
My rifle is a Montana Rifle Company American Standard Rifle in 30-06 with a Zeiss 2-10HD5 Conquest Scope which has the RZ600 reticle with cross hatch marks on the lower half of the vertical reticle for 300, 400, 500 and 600 yard hold over. Thanks to my old college friend Jack, we had checked the hold over at 300 yards, the maximum available at his club range, so I was somewhat confident in the equipment.
As the elk grazed slightly above us across the slope it became apparent that they were going to close the distance between us as they came directly across from us at their current elevation. When the bull, among the cows, was directly across from us I last ranged him at 525 yards. I was stationed behind a downed piece of small timber that I was attempting to use for a solid rest. From above and behind me Donna saw my unstable position and had Paulie motion for me to reposition next to a large tree to use for a rest. I slid backwards up to the tree, which gave me a very stable shooting platform. I told Paulie that I was going to place the 500 yard cross hatch on my reticle on the upper portion of the bulls shoulder to account for the extra 25 yard bullet drop. I looked up at Donna, standing behind the tree and watching the elk and asked “Are you ready?” I think her response was “ARE YOU READY?” The bull was broadside and I did as planned, squeezed the trigger. Upon recovering from recoil I found the bull, facing up hill, then faltering, down and tumbling down the mountainside. From behind me Donna ranged his decent from 525 yards to 427 yards before he disappeared in the timber below where he was when I fired the shot. The time was 5:20 PM and darkness was fast approaching with the time change.
We waited a few minutes and saw no movement from the bull’s last observed location so we packed up and headed down the side of the draw and up the opposite side, Paulie in the lead, followed by Donna and me, a distant third. By the time I arrived at the bull, Donna and Paulie had commenced the cleaning process which we completed before rolling the bull down the hill until he was stopped by trees in his path. This process was repeated until we reached the bottom of the draw where he was quartered. Tender loins and back straps removed and packed out by Paulie and Donna. The quarters were covered with personal garments to deter wild animals approach as we were in known bear country. It was 8:00PM when we left the bottom of the draw headed for Donna’s vehicle and nearly 9:00PM when we arrived, all exhausted from an exciting, rewarding and memorable day. This all happened on Paulie’s 47th birthday. Happy Birthday Paulie and Thank You Paulie and Donna.
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