2023 OFFICIAL ELK MEAT POLE THREAD

[TX_Diver]

Nice to be able to post in this thread finally!

Was able to spend a good amount of time hunting this year but despite at least seeing an elk almost every day, and getting to full draw a few times, it took til September 27th to get a shot.

 

[Minute_of_Antelope]

Definitely worked for this one. Idaho solo bull that I spiked in for and stuck through some crappy weather to come out smiling on the other side.

 

[Bouldercreek]

solo backcountry sorry for the lack of pics meat hunter at heart!

 

[KennethDeemer]

solo backcountry sorry for the lack of pics meat hunter at heart!

My goodness! Congratulations. Any chance there is a story coming?

 

[TX_Diver]

solo backcountry sorry for the lack of pics meat hunter at heart!

I'd still be out there taking pics if I'd shot that!! Nice job.

 

[wytx]

Meat for the freezer, private land cow and spike, Wyoming.

 

[Bouldercreek]

solo backcountry sorry for the lack of pics meat hunter at heart!

A lot of miles riding, way too many wolves, finally this bull decided to answer about 80 yards in a tangle hole. We were screaming back at each other going right at him and ended up shooting him at 5 yards. 6 days of covering ground for 5 minutes of complete chaos, living the dream!

 

[LuvsFixedBlades]

Dang, there are so many sweet bulls in this thread. I'm going to have to go back through it again!

 

[LuvsFixedBlades]

Sept. 18th
New Mexico, public land
Solo

Bugled this herd bull in on the 4th day of a 10-day season. The first shot was 33yds, quartering towards me quite a bit. Entrance was in the crease at the top of the bottom 3rd. Exited paunch behind the last rib at the top of the bottom 3rd.

Had a reed in my mouth and stopped him. He turned to look and was perfectly broadside. I estimated he was at around 45yds, bracketed my 40 and 50 pins on him, and sent another one. Entrance was a couple inches back from the crease at the bottom of the top 3rd. Exit was the same.

The terrain looks nice to pack through in the pictures, and it really was. I was alone and about 50 football fields from my truck though, so the bones were coming out. Got the last load to the truck and on ice around 3:30am. The superb weather and the sound of wolves howling in the dark during the pack out added an extra element of sweetness to the overall experience, a great hunt. Few are so enjoyable, even when you're coming out heavy.

Congrats to ALL of the posters in this thread!

 

[Minute_of_Antelope]

Sept. 18th
New Mexico, public land
Solo

Bugled this herd bull in on the 4th day of a 10-day season. The first shot was 33yds, quartering towards me quite a bit. Entrance was in the crease at the top of the bottom 3rd. Exited paunch behind the last rib at the top of the bottom 3rd.

Had a reed in my mouth and stopped him. He turned to look and was perfectly broadside. I estimated he was at around 45yds, bracketed my 40 and 50 pins on him, and sent another one. Entrance was a couple inches back from the crease at the bottom of the top 3rd. Exit was the same.

The terrain looks nice to pack through in the pictures, and it really was. I was alone and about 50 football fields from my truck though, so the bones were coming out. Got the last load to the truck and on ice around 3:30am. The superb weather and the sound of wolves howling in the dark during the pack out added an extra element of sweetness to the overall experience, a great hunt. Few are so enjoyable, even when you're coming out heavy.

Congrats to ALL of the posters in this thread!

View attachment 612112
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Phenomenal bull. Congrats

 

[MTguy0341]

Killed two bulls in a week, buddy knocked one down as well. Seasons off to a great start

 

[KennethDeemer]

Killed two bulls in a week, buddy knocked one down as well. Seasons off to a great start

Beautiful work and beautiful country!

 

[saltfork]

My dad and I have been archery hunting elk together every year for the last ten years. It has always been my favorite trip of the year. He drives from Iowa to my place in CO and stays with us for a week or two depending on whatever else we have going on in our lives. He has had a hand full of opportunities, but the stars never aligned to close the deal. Over the last few years, I have tried to convince him to switch to using a rifle or muzzleloader, but he flat out refuses to put down his bow.

Last night we charged into the woods as we normally do. This time it was a little different though. For the first time ever, my five year old son got to join. He had been begging to go every day of the season. Before we left last night my son took it upon himself to go upstairs to his room, put on his camoflauge, strap on his shoes, and fill up a water bottle. He took the initiative to do it. I was busy getting my own gear ready and loaded up. When I walked in the house to grab one last thing, he was standing in the living room and said "Dad, I am ready. Can I please come? I want to go real life elk hunting." He made it impossible to say no.

As we walked up the trail to our spots, my dad took off ahead for a tree stand while my son and I walked at a slower pace. Before my son and I got to our spot about 1.3 miles in, I could hear my dad yelling for me from about 600 yards away. He had already climbed the stand, shot, and recovered his first elk. The bull was at 15 yards within minutes of being in the stand.

My son and I walked directly for him. When we saw my dad, my son took off on a sprint to give him a hug. After some hooting and hollering, we let my son follow the blood trail and find the bull (it was only about 30 yards from the stand). The excitement was overwhelming. It still is. So many miles, trips, spots, and years finally paid off for my dad and my five year old got to be a part of the whole thing. After about 1,000 pictures and high fives, my dad and I got to work while my son held his little flashlight that we grabbed out of the junk drawer before we hopped in the truck.

When we got down to the truck well after bed time, my son's final words before he fell asleep were "This is the best day ever."

Its not huge, but it means everything.

Best day EVER!!! Says it all right there

 

[KyleSS]

On October 11th my 81 year old grandfather was able to arrow this bull at 35 yards with a perfect shot. The bull only went 70 yards before falling. He was able to track the bull with his 5 year old great grandson (my son). My grandfather has multiple shoulder injuries. He had to tie multiple rope handles in the box blind so he can pull his bow. He picks up his bow, grabs the rope handle with this bow hand, puts tension in the rope by moving backwards, and then draws his bow. The rope helps keep his should from collapsing while drawing. Once at full draw he lets go of the rope, aims and shoots.

 

[Geewhiz]

On October 11th my 81 year old grandfather was able to arrow this bull at 35 yards with a perfect shot. The bull only went 70 yards before falling. He was able to track the bull with his 5 year old great grandson (my son). My grandfather has multiple shoulder injuries. He had to tie multiple rope handles in the box blind so he can pull his bow. He picks up his bow, grabs the rope handle with this bow hand, puts tension in the rope by moving backwards, and then draws his bow. The rope helps keep his should from collapsing while drawing. Once at full draw he lets go of the rope, aims and shoots. View attachment 613381

Your photos are always phenominal! Congrats to your pops!

 

[Ditt44]

October 7th, New Mexico, Unit 34. My second elk hunt, the first was in 2008 in the Flattops of Colorado. This year may be my last opportunity for an elk and I was so lucky to have a good friend tag along and a great outfitter who provided a fantastic person as a guide that I would have loved to have spent an entire week following around. Wake up was 3:30, in the truck at 4:40. My buddies primary concern: Snakes. "Do you have snakes where we're going?", he asked the guide, "Yeah, they're everywhere, but don't worry about them".

After about an hour drive and the guide backs in so that we can get over a fence from the tail gate. I climb in the bed from the passenger side to get our gear out... my buddy is on the ground, same side... the guide walks back, checks the distance to the fence, gets back in the truck, adjusts, looks again, adjusts, parks it. Now he is walking about the fourth time and says "Sssshhhhh... I think I hear a snake, turn your lights on.". And right there in my headlamp light, not 18 inches from the left rear tire is a 3.5 foot rattler. He had stepped right next to it four times. Very lucky for us it was 30 some degrees, I suppose. Snake dispatched, we went about getting on the move. Let's just say the two of us treated every step like a minefield until daylight! Wherever Armando stepped, we stepped.

We moved slowly, headed mostly in a south direction toward a long ridge about a mile and half from us. Perhaps a third of the way there, just as it was light enough to turn off the head lamps, we heard our first bugle. The bugles continued every few minutes, rippling down the ridge line toward our right. We kept moving right, angling toward a distant saddle and the bowl beyond it, hoping to interdict the herd as they crossed the face of the saddle.

Once we had good light, we often stopped to glass, spotting numerous bulls (guides count was 12) and cows slowly making their way toward our right. I know I spotted at least seven different bulls, several stopping to bugle, and watching a couple nice ones slip up and over the top of the ridge out of sight. We continued to close the distance, at first a good 1,000 yards, down to barely over 200 when we caught up with what we thought was the tail end of the herd still this side of the ridge.

A very nice 5x6 followed a couple cows across our front, under 250 yards. He offered a few good shots but my guide looked at me an winked... "We can do better.". I agreed, it was 8 AM on day one and he saw a pair that would go over 320 the night before. A small 4x4 also teased an easy broadside but as he moved on, so did we, moving left now to head for the saddle where this group and others we lost sight of would likely bed for the day.

We hadn't gone 30 yards when we heard a bugle, seemingly up the draw to our right front and sounding like it was several hundred yards away. Then my buddy says "He's right there!!!!". The bull and a cow had bedded within 100 yards of us and were now moving away. My first sighting was the cow headed up a steep hillside, dead away as she vanished into brush at 450. Then I here Armando say "That's a shooter!" as he then asked my buddy for a range. I had a huge pine between the bull and I and had to wait. At 400 finally I had an open shot but the bull was headed dead away and up the hill. At what was 437 yards he stopped and looked back. Armando hit a short bugle. The bull, almost acting annoyed, turned ever so slowly to full broadside and started a response bugle... I fired.

I never in my life imagined watching a bull crumple at the shot. A little high on the shoulder but it broke his spine and he dropped then rolled about 20 yards down the slope. I'll be 55 in a couple weeks and my body is going to crap but this was the most amazing experience as a hunter I have ever had. It lasted barely 2.5 hours but it was everything I would have hoped for. 7 hours later we were back at the truck and that is all thanks to four friends of Armando's that took their time to come help us pack out.

He isn't the biggest or baddest but I would not trade that bull or those few hours for anything.

 

[The Guide]

October 7th, New Mexico, Unit 34. My second elk hunt, the first was in 2008 in the Flattops of Colorado. This year may be my last opportunity for an elk and I was so lucky to have a good friend tag along and a great outfitter who provided a fantastic person as a guide that I would have loved to have spent an entire week following around. Wake up was 3:30, in the truck at 4:40. My buddies primary concern: Snakes. "Do you have snakes where we're going?", he asked the guide, "Yeah, they're everywhere, but don't worry about them".

After about an hour drive and the guide backs in so that we can get over a fence from the tail gate. I climb in the bed from the passenger side to get our gear out... my buddy is on the ground, same side... the guide walks back, checks the distance to the fence, gets back in the truck, adjusts, looks again, adjusts, parks it. Now he is walking about the fourth time and says "Sssshhhhh... I think I hear a snake, turn your lights on.". And right there in my headlamp light, not 18 inches from the left rear tire is a 3.5 foot rattler. He had stepped right next to it four times. Very lucky for us it was 30 some degrees, I suppose. Snake dispatched, we went about getting on the move. Let's just say the two of us treated every step like a minefield until daylight! Wherever Armando stepped, we stepped.

We moved slowly, headed mostly in a south direction toward a long ridge about a mile and half from us. Perhaps a third of the way there, just as it was light enough to turn off the head lamps, we heard our first bugle. The bugles continued every few minutes, rippling down the ridge line toward our right. We kept moving right, angling toward a distant saddle and the bowl beyond it, hoping to interdict the herd as they crossed the face of the saddle.

Once we had good light, we often stopped to glass, spotting numerous bulls (guides count was 12) and cows slowly making their way toward our right. I know I spotted at least seven different bulls, several stopping to bugle, and watching a couple nice ones slip up and over the top of the ridge out of sight. We continued to close the distance, at first a good 1,000 yards, down to barely over 200 when we caught up with what we thought was the tail end of the herd still this side of the ridge.

A very nice 5x6 followed a couple cows across our front, under 250 yards. He offered a few good shots but my guide looked at me an winked... "We can do better.". I agreed, it was 8 AM on day one and he saw a pair that would go over 320 the night before. A small 4x4 also teased an easy broadside but as he moved on, so did we, moving left now to head for the saddle where this group and others we lost sight of would likely bed for the day.

We hadn't gone 30 yards when we heard a bugle, seemingly up the draw to our right front and sounding like it was several hundred yards away. Then my buddy says "He's right there!!!!". The bull and a cow had bedded within 100 yards of us and were now moving away. My first sighting was the cow headed up a steep hillside, dead away as she vanished into brush at 450. Then I here Armando say "That's a shooter!" as he then asked my buddy for a range. I had a huge pine between the bull and I and had to wait. At 400 finally I had an open shot but the bull was headed dead away and up the hill. At what was 437 yards he stopped and looked back. Armando hit a short bugle. The bull, almost acting annoyed, turned ever so slowly to full broadside and started a response bugle... I fired.

I never in my life imagined watching a bull crumple at the shot. A little high on the shoulder but it broke his spine and he dropped then rolled about 20 yards down the slope. I'll be 55 in a couple weeks and my body is going to crap but this was the most amazing experience as a hunter I have ever had. It lasted barely 2.5 hours but it was everything I would have hoped for. 7 hours later we were back at the truck and that is all thanks to four friends of Armando's that took their time to come help us pack out.

He isn't the biggest or baddest but I would not trade that bull or those few hours for anything.

Great story and beautiful bull!

Jay

 

[Hoosker Doo]

After being out quite a few times and not making it happen with my bow (my fault, not the elk's), and not being able to pin down a bull with my early rifle tag, it was time to put some meat in the freezer. The elk knew that the general season opens tomorrow and were pretty hard to come by, so when this cow along I was thrilled to have her.

Almost solo haha. I brought a little help of my own, but was going to return in a second trip for the last hind quarter, but a couple first class guys from Oregon doing a little scouting came by and grabbed a front and hind quarter and wouldn't accept any kind of tip or anything, so I got out in one trip. Talk about blessed.

I made sure they had my number, gave them a pin, and told them to let me know if they need somewhere to hang meat while they're here. A case of beverages may be in their future.

 

[coast2peak]

Here is my 2023 Idaho general bull. Me and my buddy had never been to this unit before and got there a few days early to scout. We saw a few elk. But no groups. Mostly solo bulls. Opening day we decided my buddy would go after a group of three 5x5s and I would go after a big solo bull we had located. They were only about a half mile apart so we would hike in together and then split off before it got light and wait to glass where we had seen them. As light started to come over the hillside I could not locate my bull. About 7:30 I hear a shot and then another. Right where my buddy was. Seconds later I get a call saying he had taken one of the 5x5s (I won’t post his picture because it’s not my elk). Initially I was super happy for him but bummed because he said if we had stuck together we both would have been able to take elk out of that group. He then said the other two had ran down and to the left. Wishful thinking soon had me running down the mountain as fast as I could to maybe intercept them, although I knew it was a real long shot. I was about 300 yards down a very steep slope and saw this guy walking through the timber at 100 yards. He had bedded in there and my buddies shots got him up and moving. It was the big solo bull we had spotted two mornings prior. He didn’t know I was there and I put the first shot high shoulder and he dropped. The mountain side was so steep I lost sight of him once he dropped so I sprinted down after him. Ran into him at about 60 yards and put another shot in him as he was trying to stand up. Right through both lungs. He drops again and I loose sight. Running toward him again I see he back legs are down but he front legs are trying to get up again. I put the cross hairs on the back of the neck and fire a third shot. He dropped right there and I crept up shaking and beyond excited. My first branch antler bull. I have always been a meat hunter and love elk meat but I was so excited to finally get a bigger bull. Two guys and two branch bulls down within 5 minutes of each other on opening day. We spent the next five days getting meat off the mountain. We were about 7 miles (round trip) and a lot of incline from our truck. Still couldn’t be more excited! I was shooting a tikka 30-6 with a banish 30 suppressor. 180 grain Barnes tsx.

 

[CNEdeer307]

We connected in Wyoming this past weekend October, 14th & 15th. Put two great bulls on the ground in a general area, which is about all you can ask for!