2017 elk success thread, post em up
- Thread starter tim
- Start date
ElkTrout
Veteran member
Nice Scott! Great looking bull! Congrats! Looks like it was a cold one!!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
hunter mojo
New Member
Colorado T
Active Member
Great bull Scott, good to see another elk pic on this thread!! Definitely awesome pic of the blood!!
Predatore
Member
My 5x5 bull from 2nd rifle season in CO, opening morning. I had hiked in about 2 miles before legal shooting light, only to have a hunter cross my path in front of me while letting out a bugle. Go figure, I thought to myself. I continued into the opposite direction to where I had seen a herd of elk the previous weekend. After looking through the meadows in the bottom of a basin, I decided to head up the north-facing slope of thick timber. Sometimes you find that secret bench that the 24k maps don't reveal, or those lush isolated meadows that only the elk know about. As I was slowly still hunting the hillside upward, branches started breaking to my left, and the noises were approaching quickly. I pulled up the rifle to my shoulder just as a bull elk emerged. He came to a stop 30 yds away, directly facing me, and sensed that something was not right. After 5 seconds he quickly turned downhill, and I pulled the trigger.
It was a great feeling being that person on opening day taking that one shot. Given that this was a solo hunt, I promptly got to work breaking down the elk with the gutless method. I loaded up a gargantuan pack that must have weighed well over 100 lbs, and used all of my might to roll over with it to stand up. I did 3 trips total, 2.5 mi each way, over the course of that day and the next morning. It's also a nice feeling exceeding personal expectations on how well you can tolerate such heavy loads (don't get me wrong, I was dead tired). The freezer is full again, and a new head will be adorning my living room. Now to see about them deer for 3rd season...
It was a great feeling being that person on opening day taking that one shot. Given that this was a solo hunt, I promptly got to work breaking down the elk with the gutless method. I loaded up a gargantuan pack that must have weighed well over 100 lbs, and used all of my might to roll over with it to stand up. I did 3 trips total, 2.5 mi each way, over the course of that day and the next morning. It's also a nice feeling exceeding personal expectations on how well you can tolerate such heavy loads (don't get me wrong, I was dead tired). The freezer is full again, and a new head will be adorning my living room. Now to see about them deer for 3rd season...
Last edited:
Catahoula12
Very Active Member
Predatore
Member
Trapper62
New Member
North Dakota has once in a life time tags for elk, 389 total tags, cow and any sex, were given out via a lottery for the 2017 season. Odds are extremely low to draw a tag and hunter success statewide is around 68%, so in no means is this a given for harvesting an elk, cow or bull.
We live in north central ND, our unit is very hilly and heavily timbered with lots of intermingled crop and hay land throughout, the majority is private land with larger tracts of State Forest Service land mixed in. My son was fortunate to draw 1 of the 15 any sex tags this year, so needless to say it was a long wait for the October opener to arrive. The first two weekends were unproductive, heard a little bugling in the distance but nothing showed. The third weekend we moved to a totally different area on some land where I knew the landowner, this guy is great about access but only one hunter at a time and until they fill their tag.
The area that we hunted that morning boarders 10,000's of acres of heavily wooded land intermixed with numerous lakes, this is were the elk hang out during the daytime (this is also in the Canadian province of Manitoba). At night they move into ND where they feed in harvested Millet fields and alfalfa meadows. Before sunup the elk start to move back to the timber, our goal was to try to intercept them before they got there, if they didn't move back in the dark. We hiked in about a mile an hour before legal shooting hours and got set up in a location we chose earlier in the week. The temps were pretty mild, in the 40's, but the wind was pushing 30 mph west to east. We continually glassed the meadows and intermingled timber for any sign of elk with nothing in sight, we started to think that the wind had pushed them back to the timber before shooting light. Ten minutes before sunup we started to hear the cows but couldn't see them so we focused our attention upwind and suddenly elk started coming over a small rise out of an alfalfa meadow about a half mile west of us. We had the wind in our favor but were in the completely wrong spot, a small bull was with the cows but nothing to really get you excited, that is until my son saw a dark antlered bull jump the fence. We grabbed our gear and headed as fast as we dared into the wind, we eventually closed the distance to 182 yards and quickly set up. By this time we had a herd of around 40+ elk in front of us. Two rag horn bulls, 6-7 spikes, and the herd bull. The elk moved around a lot feeding in the worked up millet field making it difficult to get a shot at the bull without other elk behind him. He finally presented a nice clear shot and I told my son to shoot, his response was which one! I never noticed the other 6x6 bull come over the hill that was standing about 50 yards behind the first one. A quick look showed that he was a lighter weight bull, so we quickly decided on the first one. One shot and we had elk everywhere and his bull of a lifetime was down. I'm not sure who was more excited but I couldn't have been prouder of him. This was a once in a life time tag, but it gave us memories to last a life time.
The bull was a very nice, heavy antlered 6x7, I am not an elk hunter nor do I have any experience at field judging elk, but we used the theory that if you have to ask if it is big enough then don't shoot, well that question never got asked and he was more than big enough.
We live in north central ND, our unit is very hilly and heavily timbered with lots of intermingled crop and hay land throughout, the majority is private land with larger tracts of State Forest Service land mixed in. My son was fortunate to draw 1 of the 15 any sex tags this year, so needless to say it was a long wait for the October opener to arrive. The first two weekends were unproductive, heard a little bugling in the distance but nothing showed. The third weekend we moved to a totally different area on some land where I knew the landowner, this guy is great about access but only one hunter at a time and until they fill their tag.
The area that we hunted that morning boarders 10,000's of acres of heavily wooded land intermixed with numerous lakes, this is were the elk hang out during the daytime (this is also in the Canadian province of Manitoba). At night they move into ND where they feed in harvested Millet fields and alfalfa meadows. Before sunup the elk start to move back to the timber, our goal was to try to intercept them before they got there, if they didn't move back in the dark. We hiked in about a mile an hour before legal shooting hours and got set up in a location we chose earlier in the week. The temps were pretty mild, in the 40's, but the wind was pushing 30 mph west to east. We continually glassed the meadows and intermingled timber for any sign of elk with nothing in sight, we started to think that the wind had pushed them back to the timber before shooting light. Ten minutes before sunup we started to hear the cows but couldn't see them so we focused our attention upwind and suddenly elk started coming over a small rise out of an alfalfa meadow about a half mile west of us. We had the wind in our favor but were in the completely wrong spot, a small bull was with the cows but nothing to really get you excited, that is until my son saw a dark antlered bull jump the fence. We grabbed our gear and headed as fast as we dared into the wind, we eventually closed the distance to 182 yards and quickly set up. By this time we had a herd of around 40+ elk in front of us. Two rag horn bulls, 6-7 spikes, and the herd bull. The elk moved around a lot feeding in the worked up millet field making it difficult to get a shot at the bull without other elk behind him. He finally presented a nice clear shot and I told my son to shoot, his response was which one! I never noticed the other 6x6 bull come over the hill that was standing about 50 yards behind the first one. A quick look showed that he was a lighter weight bull, so we quickly decided on the first one. One shot and we had elk everywhere and his bull of a lifetime was down. I'm not sure who was more excited but I couldn't have been prouder of him. This was a once in a life time tag, but it gave us memories to last a life time.
The bull was a very nice, heavy antlered 6x7, I am not an elk hunter nor do I have any experience at field judging elk, but we used the theory that if you have to ask if it is big enough then don't shoot, well that question never got asked and he was more than big enough.
Last edited:
Trapper62
New Member
If you look in the back ground of this photo, the timberline is the Canadian Boarder, 348 years away!
View attachment 19748
View attachment 19748
missjordan
Veteran member
Got my bull harvested during the second weekend of the Montana season. Weather was unusually warm and we had to work hard to find them. Spent lots of time behind glass and spotted this herd early In the morning. The elk and ourselves ended up in some steep stuff. I shot this bull from across a canyon at 500 yards with our .338 Lapua. Was the toughest packout I've ever been on but overall I'm pleased with how the hunt went.
My mom harvested her second bull ever the next day too. We glassed up this herd mid morning, watched them bed, and were able to make a move on them. It's been a great season so far! Headed to Eastern Montana in a few weeks to hunt deer and that should wrap everything up
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
My mom harvested her second bull ever the next day too. We glassed up this herd mid morning, watched them bed, and were able to make a move on them. It's been a great season so far! Headed to Eastern Montana in a few weeks to hunt deer and that should wrap everything up
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
missjordan
Veteran member
There's snow up high but it's not fresh! Some pockets will have a foot of snow in them that hasn't melted. Other places have a skiff to a few inches, the last few days have been warm and many spots that receive lots of sun have melted. Looks like we're supposed to get some weather closer to the weekend.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Congrats to all of you! Those hunts are some of the best!Got my bull harvested during the second weekend of the Montana season. Weather was unusually warm and we had to work hard to find them. Spent lots of time behind glass and spotted this herd early In the morning. The elk and ourselves ended up in some steep stuff. I shot this bull from across a canyon at 500 yards with our .338 Lapua. Was the toughest packout I've ever been on but overall I'm pleased with how the hunt went.
My mom harvested her second bull ever the next day too. We glassed up this herd mid morning, watched them bed, and were able to make a move on them. It's been a great season so far! Headed to Eastern Montana in a few weeks to hunt deer and that should wrap everything up
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk