My partner and myself had a great week in the Ochoccos. We moved into a new area this year and was a bit disappointed with all the people. It was tough to find a ridge that didnt already have a hunter on it. :depressed:
We got into elk every day but one. There were so many encounters with elk it is hard to tell the stories. There was the cow elk that almost ran over the top of me when I blew on my hyper hot cow call. I was trying to say in my best southern drawl "Hey big boy come on over here and show me a good time", but I think it may have lost something in the translation as this cow turned and came at me full charge. I didnt even know she was 40 yards away when I blew on the call. As I hurriedly stepped out of the way on the trail she threw all 4 feet out in front of her and came sliding in to a stop just feet away. When she saw me and slammed on the brakes in cartoon fashion, her eyes were as big as saucers, ..... mine were twice that size :shocked:
There was the big bull we finally got to answer us on thursday. We never heard an elk chirp, bugle or grunt the entire week until we found this one big boy who wanted to out bugle me. We were just covering enough ground we would bump into them and play cat and mouse hoping a bull would give us a shot. There were so many hunters running around blowing their horns the elk were very very call shy. Anyway we are talking to this big boy, trying to cut him off from his cows and put an arrow thru his chest cavity before darkness set in. We get a couple spikes squeeling on the same ridge, and this small draw sounds like a RMEF calling contest between me, my parnter, these 2 spikes and the big boy we never got a good look at. My partner is on the trail of the big boy when these 2 spikes decide they want to follow the big boy and my parnter gets less than a 100 yards from these spikes for a while out in the open. The light was fading fast, and the spikes wouldnt let him close the gap, the big boy tooks his girls and left. When my partner was walking out with a light (about a mile to the road) he bumps into a kid (mid to early 20's) from Bemige Minnesota. :whazzup: This kid didnt have a light, a GPS, a match or anything on him but a bow. He is kind of lost and about 5 miles from camp. He had the general direction he needed to go to get back to camp but didnt really know anything but the road number he was camped on. He was hunting with some friends when he got seperated and came in to our calls. He was trying to cross the draw to get over to me, thinking I was the bull he wanted to go after
We got the kid back to camp and his partners werent there yet, probably still out looking for him for all we knew.
I did get in front of a herd that had several bulls in it. There was a couple rags and pair of spikes and several cows that had fed out in front of me. I dont think the herd bull had fed out of the timber following yet and I probably should have moved in and waited, I had already had to many hunts go sour when something went wrong while I waited for something better to happen, I took a shot a one of the rag 4's. I should not have dropped the fanny pack off 40 yards ago for better sneaking because I didnt have my range finder when I really needed it. I mis judged the distance and missed.
We came home with a comfirmed coyote kill, a few grouse and no elk. It is times like this I question passing on those cows almost every day. I guess I just cant change the desired object.
I doubt we go back to this area to hunt again. The last day there, we took off right at light to get to a distant ridge. We found 2 fresh man tracks on the ridge when we got there. They must have been dropped off as there was no car anywhere near where we took off from and there is no other way to get to this ridge. We get down the ridge about 1/4 mile and see 3 more hunters following us. 7 hunters on one ridge doesnt lead to the type of hunting experience I was looking for. :depressed:
Lots of elk, lots of encounters and memories for a lifetime.
Week in the Ochoccos
:tongue: 
Gus Orviston
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