idgaf

Kinda weird herd this evening. I followed bugles hoping to get a couple of pics and then I got a little to close and stuck in the middle of a field. After the herd settled Weird part Fuzzy bull, two full sized bulls, several raghorns and spikes and a ton of cows. The rut could be weird this year.

What unit? +1 very curious to know as well! Hopefully one of the lower rim units! 3b, Went back to see him today and get a picture of his fronts. Some D-bag in a plane harassed them until they left the area. I have pictures of the plane, but the serial number is just a little to blurry. I will get him next time.

Took this pic about one o clock today. Elk were calling until about 11:00

Herd some small talk, nothing really starting yet. These little guys are still friends one fuzzy, one not. I took the picture yesterday.

My primary hunting attire for early season is a pair of camo shorts I got at ross for 19 bucks, a brown haynes t-shirt for five and a pair of running shoes. Its not a fashion show just get out and hunt. I use the running shoes because they are two pounds lighter than hunting boots and ten times quieter. Last year I spot and stalked and took a 95" buck wearing a. collared green golf shirt and levy's (after work) and the last day of my brother's antelope hunt after watching him make several wrong turns,I took the lead getting him into range for three shots on the lead buck of a herd of thirty antelope wearing a black rain jacket, levy's, and a brown golf shirt. Just remember the fashion show is secondary, so wear what you want. have fun and good luck.

Seen a few, my wife has a rifle tag so i have been watching a couple of bucks with great interest.

After about a million practice shots I can shoot my recurve out to about 27 yards or so. With my real bow on loan to my self centered Brother this year will be really interesting. One more thing my new overloads decided on having are grand opening on opening day. Fortunely I know a couple of places within the 15 minutes of my office. I excited for the challenge of instinctive bowhunting. I'll be hunting (scouting) 1 and 3b for the most part and wherever else I may end up. Good Luck, I cant wait.

I have seen nearly every kind of illegal there is from the families that I rout for to make it, to the drug runners with the heavy back packs, to the militia style, to the guys walking back south after a drop off, to three dozen plus people walking straight at me. (see some of my previous post). I would not hesitate to spend a week down there by myself in some of the most used areas if the hunting was good.

I would save your money. I watched several be the decoys, a couple of montana decoys, and a couple of guys in white paint suits tried to stalk antelope during my brothers antelope hunt last year. The antelope did not let them get them within three hundred yards.

Which unit and month or week would you hunt if you had a tag that was good for coues all year in any unit???

Had a few minutes to scout after work yesterday saw a few bulls.

I'm taking my daughter this weekend, bears fit her personality and I am starting to instensify my scouting for upcoming hunts.

There's a reason I ask, my friend won the super raffle and I get to take him for a few days

I would not camp around Pintail Lake unless your into that Brokeback Mountain style of romance. Saw an older gentleman and a native entrenched in a passionate embrace and I will not mention what my brothers saw when they were cutting wood in the area.

BC, speaking from experience, if you are determined and do not give in eventually she will accept your passion. STAY STRONG!!

It was my experience that the elk were focused in on feeding more than anything. I witnessed some rutting activity, including a really cool fight between a couple of 360+ bulls with a couple of other bulls watching and a herd of cows just out of sight (I found out the hard way). There was always bugles, but they were not really responding to any calls, so it was more just "herd" talk. I hunted everyday of the season some days not seeing an elk and other days seeing a fifty elk herd the first second I put my binoculars to my face. They bulls and cows sometimes were together sometimes not, but they always seemed to be focused on feeding. I passed several bulls my hunting partners told me I was crazy to pass. I shot my bull on the last day in the middle of a large herd of cows, calves, and spikes at 18 yards causing a pretty cool stampede. Good Luck and remember that big elk do exist beyond September and the rut their just a little harder to find.

If you have the time and resources I would scout as often as possible. The bull in my avatar is from the late archery hunt in 2011 in 3c and I missed a much larger one. I have started scouting for my October hunt already remembering old terrain I have hunted in the past, learning new terrain that I have yet to hunt, and checking the validity of rumors of huge bulls crossing the road and feeding in my area. So I would scout knowing that everything is subject to change.

I have really enjoyed this thread and it got me thinking on the deeper meaning of hunting and what it means to me. My first thought was I am transitioning into a trophy hunter like some of the other threads stated, but I am really not. Than I thought well I only shoot mature animals, but why is that? The answer for me at least is I am not a trophy hunter in the standard sense I go after mature and larger animals not because I want recognition from peers, but because I want to better my hunting skill and I love the challenge of the hunt itself. I love the feeling of self accomplishment when I have done something that I have not done before and know few people have. Its my version of addiction, my drug of choice. But now its not just the animal that is the trophy, its the method. In a few short weeks I will be hunting again and I will increase the challenge not just by hunting larger animals but by doing it with more primitive weapons. I will put down my trusted modern bow (on loan again to my brother for his elk hunt) and go traditional and see if I can keep my streak alive of taking mature animals. There is nothing like the challenge of trophy hunting in whatever sense it means to you.

A few more from this evening. I still have a lot more scouting to do. Quite possible the ugliest elk I have ever seen, its like the crypt keeper cow elk.

Here are a few pics from earlier this evening

I gave it a try again, admittedly I am the worst turkey hunter in the world. I did see a few birds and had a few gobbling, but I am not very good at turkey hunting and blew it. The only turkeys I have taken were in self defense not including my first one, which was a two pound poult I shot at sixty five yards running with my bow in the neck. Here are a couple of pics. On my way in to my hunting spot The only bird I called into range My hunting buddy Typical, on my way back to the truck I got mad and did some high country catfishing.

Yeah, I would like to space it out evenly but this statistical anomaly will make for an elk season that will be very hard to match and be one for the ages or a total bomb.

Apparently because they all came to my relatives and me

Saw a couple hundred elk over the weekend including one bull with incredible growth. My brother and good friend have tags so I will be tagging along with some guys with incredibly high standards. Scouting between the unit 1 and 3b early bull tags so my scouting time will be segmented. This is going to be fun. Seems kinda easy to get early bull tags this year

There use to be some beaver ponds on the north east side of the highway right before you entered town that were absolutely loaded with fish. Its the perfect place to take your kids for non stop action, if they are still around its been many years since I have been there. Good Luck