Jasons Elk

fishuntr2 · 11-26-2003, 10:20 AM

My sons second bull in 4 years. This is the biggest....SO FAR!! I am as proud of my son as he is of this elk!

One of our cats can be seen behind Jason...looking for a handout!

Another view:

The elk quarters totaled 430 lbs at Gambles Meat Processing out Gales Creek. On the hoof I'm guessing the animal weighed better than 700 lbs. My son and I managed to load the whole animal in my truck by ourselves...it took about an hour to do so! We hung it whole then sawzalled it in half, then into quarters for transport to the butchers...A treat with this animal...we paid to have it processed so my wife wouldn't have to wrap and I could continue hunting for the rest of the season. We have eaten some and while tasty, it was tough. But thats entirely alright as I cooked it at a high heat for a short time and expected it to be tough. We,ll slow/moist cook most of it and it'll be just fine. So with 3 deer, 1 elk, and a bunch of salmon in my freezers I don't care how high beef prices get :grin:

nitrobass · 11-26-2003, 10:37 AM

Good looking pic! Definitely a nice looking coast bull. Big head, dark horns, tight rack...Gorgeous!

fishuntr2 · 11-26-2003, 10:47 AM

Thanx Nitro...Your bull picture earlier this year was a real dandy. Thanx to Skein for helping me with the sizing and upload of the 2 pictures...I am gonna have to get a digital camera. I've got some great shots of this elk and others but all 35mm.

Grantspastor · 11-26-2003, 10:47 AM

Most excellent! And a tribute to your teaching skills as well Dad!

Mello-Yello · 11-26-2003, 02:29 PM

Bravo!!! Nice bull! [img]graemlins/applause.gif[/img]

tag-a-long · 11-26-2003, 02:58 PM

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

Way to go... Nice bull!!!!

sliverpicker · 11-26-2003, 03:12 PM

Mega-dittos to what everybody said! [img]graemlins/applause.gif[/img]

jokester · 11-26-2003, 11:08 PM

Nice bull...Congrats!!

-jokester

11-26-2003, 11:10 PM

fishuntr2 · 11-26-2003, 11:31 PM

I've got to add more to the story. It had been raining most of the day. I was back at home drying out when the radio went off. It was my son telling me that he just caught the tail end of a herd that contained legal bulls. This was a couple hours before dark and Jason had been out all day hunting. He saw the herd was heading straight up and knew that he could get in front of them if he hurried. So he took off up the road to the ridge top and got setup. Before I could get my hunting gear back on, he called to say he had one down and to bring the truck. When I got up to the ridge all I could see and hear was my son dancing and hooting and hollering. He pointed out where the elk lay and all I could see was one antler side sticking up in the air. I drove near and walked up and over to where the elk lay. IT LOOKED HUGE. I pulled up the antlers to see the side that was buried in the ground and it was then my son realized how impressive this animal was. He had thought it was a 5 x 3. After he shot this bull, 6 more bulls and about the same number of cows took off running, some leaping over the downed bull...right towards him. There was a big 6x7 that stood 1 1/2 ft. taller than the 2 next biggest bulls which were about the size of the one Jason got. Then there was a 3 pt and 2 spikes. Jason said all the elk turned and ran past him back into the timber. The big elk paused and looked at Jason then shook its head and off it went! Talk about a rush!!Anyway, after gutting it took us over an hour to get this animal into my truck but working together we did it. Mud and blood and sweat everywhere...SWEEEET...
A couple of days later a buddy got a spike and Jason helped him get it out of the woods...on the hood of a jeep! I saw it on the jeep before they hung it later..what a sight to have seen that going down the road :smile: Jason said that when they got out on the road, they looked at each other and busted up laughing. No disrespect for the animal here, just the fact that this was the only way to transport a whole animal with this jeep. They only had to go about 7 miles to get to my shop, where the spike was hung and skinned.
All in all a great end to an excellent hunting year. :grin:

Gun Rod Bow · 11-26-2003, 11:38 PM

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

winterkill · 11-28-2003, 02:28 PM

Congrat's to your son jason on his very nice bull! His story sounds alot like my typical hunting stories... My dad wimps out and stays at home. Then I end up getting a deer or elk. Leave it to the young guys to go get the animals, then the older guys can catch up and pack. Us young guys have to hunt from sunup to sundown while we can, or when we get older we will be wishing we did. I haven't seen the elk on our side of the road in a while, but its good to know somebody locally got one of the bulls in the neighborhood. Where abouts did you get it, was it over towards the sunset or towards vernonia? My brother shot our only elk this year, a spike. But our neighbor has a cow tag and we will have to help him pack out, so I'm sure there is more meat coming!
Maybe someday We'll bump into eachother in the woods. Goodluck till then.
Ian

First Light Bite · 11-28-2003, 03:04 PM

Great Bull!!!!!! How cool Jason was able to connect with this beauty. [img]graemlins/applause.gif[/img] [img]graemlins/applause.gif[/img] Good job on the pics it really shows the rack off nicely.
Bob -- thanks again for the shad we will put them to good use.

redfish89 · 11-29-2003, 07:20 AM

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

fishuntr2 · 12-01-2003, 02:42 PM

Fish'n mission, Jeremy, Commander....How did you folks do? You all were in the Saddle Mt.area and Commander...you were to hunt the clear ck area all week...WELLL? Theres gotta be some kind of story for the week. I talked to someone with "ELK WIZ" on his license plate up behind Rocky Pt. on the last day, he said they were 4 for 6 tags in his group. Anybody now who this was?

MintBrite · 12-01-2003, 05:26 PM

First let me say that is a great looking coastal rack. Way to go Jason [img]graemlins/applause.gif[/img]

I hunt with 3 guys every year near Jewell, mainly the Benekee Cr. drainage up and over to Tidewater. We also venture into the Big cr. area but have yet to kill anything over there. This yr. was off to a different start?
Fri. evenings dinner BS session abruptly ends when 1 hunter gets the spins and says he needs to bed down

this was not the drinking type either. The next morning I was the last to rustle out of the sack only to find out that the brother's are making a run to Astoria's ER! The spins had not stopped. :shocked: New plans were made for my morning hunt so I could stay in radio range of camp and my only remaining partner.
Well the morning hunt was a bust but the trip to the ER revealed a virtigo attack. Motion pills and no hunting for the day was the prescrition. The poor guy couldn't stand let alone see straight but Sunday he was able to get out with us, well at least he could walk the grades and skids. I assured eveyone we had plenty of time and never worried at all.
Well when lunch rolled around on mon. we get a call to pick up our sickly hunter away from camp, we all know the only way he could of gotten there [img]graemlins/stupid.gif[/img] and that he was back in form.
Tues. morning we end up finishing our hunts in the same area and both saw alot of fresh sign. After lunch we took different rigs to the same area's, I went up toward reprod and he goes down toward Hamilton cr. I had just checked out a bowhunter's tree stand where I got a glimpse of the rd. I had walked up,oh by the way it wasn't as sturdy as I thought. (if it wasn't made by you don't go up there) Well I was regaining my composure :whazzup: when a couple of shots rang out. I've seen every hunter around and the only person it could be was Vertigo Man

I made it to the rd. and had my radio in hand waiting for the call to come in but also thinking huh 2 shots, he couldn't have missed, I've never known him to miss in the 10 yrs. and 3 kills before? needless to say the radio goes off and he says he has 1 down. I say great job and think I can make it to my rig and then to his in 15 min. it's 3:00. I get a bearing and make it to the site by 3:30

Good news bad news- the good, the Elk were coming out of a thinned area and crossing the new rd. when he drops him, the bad- you guessed it, where does the rd. come in at? did I mention he crossed the cr. and forgot to tell me about the bog? Well it was great to see this guy get rewarded for his tenacity. Raghorn 3pt. but big bodied. I really didn't mind the 3 hr. wait in the rain while our partners tracked us down.
The rest of the week resulted in nothing but memories of the year the snow fell

I forgot to mention that his first neck shot missed but the 2nd resulted in a heart stopper. I assured him there wasn't anything wrong with neck meat?

fishuntr2 · 12-01-2003, 11:25 PM

Winterkill...Jason shot the bull above the old Jenson homestead. Basically on top at the north end of the ridge. Less then 2 miles drive from my house across the river up to the point. We found a gut pile in Coon ck and later pushed a bull out to other guns above Coon behind and north of Mikes property. So I know of at least 2 other bulls that were taken in our general area. Titus got a couple (he always does), one of which was on the south fork of clear ck. And others got at least 2 bulls out of that same general area. I have heard of 30 or 40 bulls total taken by mostly Vernonia locals. Second season was way better than first this year.
So...any more Saddle Mt. storys?

LazerFisher · 12-02-2003, 03:23 PM

Way to go Jason and Bob, glad to see the Vernonia clan can still get a quality bull out of the Saddle Mnt. area.

fishuntr2 · 12-03-2003, 05:48 AM

Lazerfisher...you work with lasers? I do. Theres lots of quality bulls left in the Saddle Mt. unit. Gotta love that 3pt or better rule.

LazerFisher · 12-03-2003, 07:36 AM

Hey Bob, my real name is Tim, you know me well since we work at the same company...

Don't forget were on for fishing some early springers next year.

fishuntr2 · 12-03-2003, 12:35 PM

Lazerfisher...got ya covered. We are gonna practice on sturgeon first...right?

commander · 12-03-2003, 12:44 PM

Hey fishunter2,
It turned out that we did'nt hunt clearcreek this year, we usually camp above lower rock creek rd. at the gravel pit, this year though longview did'nt open the gates until real late and we wanted to hunt the kesey area and were afraid that we'd have to drive clear around if they did'nt open the gate. So we camped on buster mainline. One of our guy's got a 4x5 the last day at about 1:30 or so, a 420 yd headshot with a 30.06!
The guy you saw with elkwiz plates is vince lightfoot, his group camps at the jct. of wolf creek and macgreagor, the've hunted that area for probably 16,or 17 years. Two of the elk they got were shot on opening day over on rock creek.
We deer hunted over on clear creek and could'nt believe the amount of cutting the've done over the summer, there's nowhere for the elk to hide anymore.
That's a nice elk Jason got, both you and he ought to be proud!

fishuntr2 · 12-03-2003, 03:08 PM

Commander..thanx for the info and good job on the 4x5...at least your group got an elk....many didn't. I know what you mean about the cutting up clear ck...If they cut much more big stuff I'll have to hunt alot farther from home. The elk are gonna be in that older reprod and thats some ugly hunting.

LazerFisher · 12-04-2003, 09:32 AM

Anytime Fishhuntr2, just say the word and I'll be there for Sturgeon or Salmon.

SHOUGALNITE · 12-09-2003, 12:22 PM

Nice animal. :tongue:

lailong · 12-12-2003, 08:53 PM

way to go jason it looks good take me with ya next time

Birdnest · 12-13-2003, 03:50 PM

Thanks for sharing, enjoyed the post/pics.

Joe