elkaholic Report post Posted October 1, 2010 well I'll probably get the dink award - Scouting the night before opening day - produced a huge 6x6 340+ class standing in the middle of the rd, at 200 yrds , for at least 5 minutes . they were trying to jump a fence - Opening morning , at the same spot. At least 4 bulls were bugling like crazy - I just couldnt get them to come in and wasn;t able to get ahead of them . Was one possible 300 yrd plus shot - at a big bull running thru the trees - i passed. I walked right into a 4x5 with a few cows but passed. opening evening i sat a water hole and had same 4x5 at the tank at less than 50 yrds for 10 minutes - I passed. After that things got hot - weather wise and the bulls shut down. 2nd morning not a peep in the same meadow. Hunting the Navajo depot has lots of disadvantages - very limited hunting area - mile wide x 6 miles long on both sides of the base. they can shut down one side or both at any time. they shut down my tank the second evening and the other side produced nothing- Most of the elk- a herd of over 600 stay inside the base area , which is off limits. no reason to go anywhere! some hunters were successfull 6 bulls and 6 cows were taken in 4 days. the biggest taken was a 5x6 that wouldnt go 300 . mostly raghorns after 2 days of not see or hearing elk I was getting a bit discouraged - ya had between 6-7:30 on the morning or from 5-630 in the evening. most animals were taken from sitting water in the evenings. I was mostly after a freezer full of meat , not a set of huge antlers! I had a minor problem with my truck - my 4x4 sticking in 4 high - that didnt help but I noticed wednesday mornin U joint clunk - Since i was one of the last to still be hunting - if ya get stuck you are on ur own - most hunters had left- I decided next elk that walked into the tank I was sitting that night , was hittin the dirt - At 6:05 the next night a dink 3x came to water - well a fork with a busted 3rd- lol- he never left! Now on the depot you have to bring out the entire animal for ID- you can only leave a gut pile - all else must be checked in! Luckly I had exchanged #'s with the only other hunter in the area! I called and he helped me load the elk- I'm quite thankfull it wasn't a super bigelk - as I'd have been left to cut it up by lantern/ headlights - It was hard enough as it was- fat little sucked- after checkin in the bull - I still had to skin and debone him. I pulled under a parking area street lamp and butchered up my elk - took me 2 hrs on my tailgate!- I iced the meat- and decide to head home it was after 12 but hey its only a 2 hr drive. I just finished cutting/wrappin backstraps - got the front / back legs in fridge along with the ribs/neck meat - Loin steaks tonight - I got my TROPHY - a freezer full of meat- well a 1/2 full freezer - lol I made it home safely but as i backed in my wifes like what the heck was that noise - now i gotta replece my u joints- Oh i forgot to mention My driver sdie electric window stuck in the up position the day before I left Just happy to be home safely!-- whats the dink award anyway ! no pics - too tired - this is the readers digest condensed version - lol - Gary Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tjhunt2 Report post Posted October 1, 2010 You can't eat the horns and your young bull will be better eating than some old 400 class bull anyways. Congratulations and glad you're home safe. Enjoy some great eating and thanks for sharing. TJ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cactusjack Report post Posted October 1, 2010 nice job. I will be on the Depot on the 15th. Call me when you get a chance. I wanna hear more. Thanks. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bonecollector Report post Posted October 1, 2010 Good job filling the freezer, like Tj said you can't eat the antlers Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DUG Report post Posted October 1, 2010 Way to stick it out. Any elk is a good elk! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mje1 Report post Posted October 2, 2010 A freezer full of elk meat is a good thing, and think no taxidermy bill with that. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jon In Tucson Report post Posted October 9, 2010 A freezer full of elk meat is a good thing, and think no taxidermy bill with that. +1 on that! God Bless! Jon In Tucson Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
