Cascade Elk Success

[Bait O' Eggs]

Friday I picked up my buddies kid (Brad) after his football practice, I thought he was 13, but found out he was 14 so I mis-spoke the other day about his age

We get to camp and the kids dad (Ken) put about 8 miles on the boots that day and didnt see an elk, <img border="0" title="" alt="[Frown]" src="/forum/images/graemlins/frown.gif" /> and then just before dark he was glassing the ridge he had been hiking on, and saw a herd of elk and one big bull and another that had bull color but he couldnt put horns on it. <img border="0" alt="" title="" src="graemlins/shrug9.gif" />

We got to the trail head the next morning a couple hours before light and nobody was there. We get our packs on just as somebody pull up. It is only 1/2 hour hike to the first opening that we wanted to hunt thru, and about 2 hours till light and we have company that is going to hike the same trail. We hiked to the opening and held up waiting for light hoping these other guys would go somewhere else and not actually follow us up the trail. As we sat by the first opening the pair of guys from the first rig walked by us in the dark with flashlights and thru the opening we were sitting at. This turned out to be no big deal, as when we got back to the trail head mid day, there were 8 vehicles parked by ours. <img border="0" alt="[ohbrother]" title="" src="graemlins/hoboy.gif" /> but that was expected. The elk the night before were about the same elevation we were but about 1/2 mile to the side of us, but feeding towards where we were. We decided to not wait and move to where the elk were just before dark the day before. The original plan of getting in front of the elk and hope they were still moving our way was tossed out the window. It turned out to be a great plan to not wait. We side hilled across the top of the ridge and got in the opening the elk were in right at dark the night before, immediately Ken spots an elk just as it is getting light. He couldnt make out horns yet, but we were pretty sure it was the bull, and the elk were feeding the opposite way as the day before, so we would have waited a long time if we hadnt moved to this opening. We are a couple hundred yards above the elk, with good wind, and praying for some more light.

As we move parallel to the elk above them, they are predominately side hilling but slighly coming up the ridge towards us. We keep seeing elk thru the trees, it is kind of a high open meadow but there were just enough trees we could see elk for a second, identify it was a cow and it would be gone, We did this for about 20 minutes, moving slowly hoping to not get our movement skylighted. A bull was bugling 100 yards ahead of us at the same elevation as the elk, but we thought there was another bull in the herd also so we just kept moving along looking and hoping a bull would show itself before we were spotted by the elk.

Finally we had worked our way up to where the bugle came from and we can see the bull. He is a massive 5 point. Very dark horned and heavy. He was bigger than the 6 point pictured below. The bull is behind a log and we can only see his head at first. He is 100 yards below us on a fairly steep hill. 2 cows are just below the bull, I was afraid Brad would mistakenly shoot a cow rather than the bull. I kept pointing out the fact the bull was the closest elk behind the tree, and to not shoot one of the 2 broadside ones down there. I think Brad was getting tired of hearing it, but you never know what is going thru somebody elses mind, and dont want a mistake.

Brad has limited hunting experience because of his age. He bought his first elk tag last year and it was a Wilson unit youth hunt. He filled his tag by noon the first day. He has been on some bow hunts with us, as an observer, but basically has 1/2 day packing a gun elk hunting. This day he has about 30 minutes of time under his belt since it got light. Lack of experience brings hesitation and being unsure of what to do.

We are all pretty excited, the bull has bugled a couple times and is not giving us much of a shot, and there are enough elk in the herd it is only a matter of time before we are spotted and the hunt is over. We are right out in the open, waiting for a shot. As the bull did his thing on the hill you could make out the bulls body thru the 20 foot fir he kept standing behind, and his head was fully exposed to one side of the tree then the other side of the tree. Brad knelt down a couple times trying to steady his shot but the way the hill rolled when he knelt, he couldnt see the elk. It was a situation you had to shoot offhand standing or you couldnt see the elk.

Brad is patiently waiting for a clean shot, Dad and me are telling him which one is the bull for the 100th time. There is nothing to rest the gun on and Brad is looking all over for something to lay the gun across, but it doesnt exist.

After what was at least 5 minutes, another bull walks into the opening right along side the bigger bull. He is completely wide open and broadside. We both thought he was a smaller 5 point because of the fork in the top. I just never count eye guards and brow tines, because 9 out of 10 times they are just there. I could see 3 points up high on the one side and figured he was a small 5. Turns out the bull didnt have any brow tines and was only a 3 by 4.

After his dad told him to shoot the closest one broadside, Brad throws the gun up and squeezes one off. It is never good when the bulls rear end hits the ground while the front is still up, but the bull rolled after the rear end hit the ground. I have been around my buddy several times when he killed something, but he has never been 1/2 as excited as when his boy killed his first bull. <img border="0" alt="" title="" src="graemlins/beerchug.gif" />

The bull had a broken back, in the small of the back, not a great shot, but considering the shooters age, and shooting offhand at 100 yards it was perfect.

Here is the 3 of us with the bull.

<img src="http://traskrivertackle.com/Images/brad_IMG.jpg" alt=" - " />

meanwhile on the next big ridge, my dad and brother are hunting some elk they saw the day before. My brother-in-law Jon, who I didnt even know was going to be up there was on the same ridge. Jon was hunting with a couple guys he works with. One of the other guys takes the first shot and breaks the bulls leg right above the knee and the bull goes down but gets back up and is gimping along. Jon got into position and puts the bull down for good. Here he is with the 6 point.

<img src="http://traskrivertackle.com/Images/jon_IMG.jpg" alt=" - " />

Later than night my brother got a shot at a spike but didnt connect. Not a bad first day of the season.

[Sturgeon Tom]

That was one very good day. [img]graemlins/applause.gif[/img] Nice pictures,
st

[SLEDDER]

Great story and pics.!! Thanks and cogratulations!!

[skein]

Great story and pics! Glad to hear you had a successful morning - only now Brad probably thinks this elk hunting stuff is pretty easy. Two elk in his first two years of hunting, both on opening day. Piece o' cake. Wow!

Did the guide get a pretty nice tip? :grin:

Skein

[nitrobass]

Long live the Cascades!

[Gun Rod Bow]

Right on Roy!! [img]graemlins/applause.gif[/img]

WTG gettin' that young fella into 'em.

[img]graemlins/applause.gif[/img]

[tag-a-long]

Great day of hunting. Thaks for sharing. I had to go to Bend on Saturday morning, and there were more trucks from home to the top of the pass than I have seen during the winter snowmobiling...

[rainrshine]

Looks and sounds like a great time. Way to go

[REEL HANDEL]

BOE.
Nice bulls; It is good to see a young hunter get his first. I rember your first up near P point. it lookes like the whole tillamook crew has gone tothe Cascades to hunt. Bet i know where you were hunting. Email you later.

[Ramstrong]

Wow, Someone that remembers Roy's first? I thought he came out of the womb with a gun in his hand and filled all of his tags when he was two.

[Kentucky Hog Hunter]

Awesome animal... Congrats

[SHOUGALNITE]