So took the wife and went into a new area. Much easier to access via hiking trail. Got up to just shy of 11k and off trail in to some small parks. Lots of sign but all of it appeared to be a week or so old. No fresh tracks or crap at all. Did have an up close and personal encounter with a Muley doe that needs to make a call to Jenny Craig. And did get to put eyes on a 300 class 6pt with about 10 cows and calves but they were not on public ground. Fun day, got to learn some new ground and wife got to see some critters, even had some coyotes serenade us on the way out. She didn't see the humor in my telling her they sounded like them big giant wolves on game of thrones. Was impressed that she picked up on the difference in the freshness of the sign between the spots we have been in.
The adventure begins
- Thread starter Btaylor
- Start date
The adventure is now over cept for the long drive home. Went back in to the first spot this morning and decided I would take a different route in and that was a mistake for two reasons. It was by far the toughest climb up anything I have ever tried without ropes. Got in a couple of spots where was afraid to continue but each time there was no freakin way to back out. So I just kept climbing like a freakin idiot. The good Lord was watching over me and I made it to the top. Started down into a small saddle and picked a nice log to have a short rest and send the wife a text that I was still kicking. A buddy sent me a text asking if I had heard any bugles and I sent back a no. Maybe a minute passed and one fired off. Woohoo
The sad part is if I had taken my first approach in this morning I would have been in perfect position but at least I felt I was in he game. Made a big loop circling down then back up to get elevation and the wind. He fired off again which gave me a location and direction. Started humping to make another flanking move thinking they would most likely go up through one of two spots. I guessed wrong when he fired off again but I knew where I felt I needed to get to and headed that way circling again to keep the wind. Eased into where I thought I would have the wind and be within a hundred yards and cow called. A couple minutes pass as I scan the area for movement. There is no mistaking getting barked at just like when a whitetail blows at you. Snapped my head around and catch glimpses of bodies leaving the scene. Sadly they were only about 50 yards but dangled if they didn't get above me and got the wind.
Since it was already past noon, I figured this was the end of my hunt and sat down and ate a peanut butter and honey sammich, sent a few text and drank some water. That killed about 25 minutes and as I was putting my pack on the bull sounded off one more time to rub a little salt in the wound. They had moved several hundred yards from the sound of it. I just grinned and headed out.
This trip has been a blast. It wasn't a dedicated hunting trip but that was ok. I got to learn a lot about some new areas and saw a good bit of game. Got a little better educated on what it takes to kill these freaking things and already formulating plans for next year. I gained a lot of confidence on this adventure which may sound odd coming from a guy with an unfilled tag but tackling the area I focused on the most solo and being able to get into elk in an entirely new area leaves me feeling like I have cleared a big hurdle. I know now I can trust my scouting abilities using the web and I know my physical abilities are substantially better than I anticipated. Will certainly make some minor tweaks to training that should pay big dividends.
I hope everyone has a safe and successful season. If you are new to this game like I am, don't measure your success by whether or not you punch a tag. Measure by what you experience and by what you learn, you will be a better hunter and a more consistent tag filler if you do.
The sad part is if I had taken my first approach in this morning I would have been in perfect position but at least I felt I was in he game. Made a big loop circling down then back up to get elevation and the wind. He fired off again which gave me a location and direction. Started humping to make another flanking move thinking they would most likely go up through one of two spots. I guessed wrong when he fired off again but I knew where I felt I needed to get to and headed that way circling again to keep the wind. Eased into where I thought I would have the wind and be within a hundred yards and cow called. A couple minutes pass as I scan the area for movement. There is no mistaking getting barked at just like when a whitetail blows at you. Snapped my head around and catch glimpses of bodies leaving the scene. Sadly they were only about 50 yards but dangled if they didn't get above me and got the wind.
Since it was already past noon, I figured this was the end of my hunt and sat down and ate a peanut butter and honey sammich, sent a few text and drank some water. That killed about 25 minutes and as I was putting my pack on the bull sounded off one more time to rub a little salt in the wound. They had moved several hundred yards from the sound of it. I just grinned and headed out.
This trip has been a blast. It wasn't a dedicated hunting trip but that was ok. I got to learn a lot about some new areas and saw a good bit of game. Got a little better educated on what it takes to kill these freaking things and already formulating plans for next year. I gained a lot of confidence on this adventure which may sound odd coming from a guy with an unfilled tag but tackling the area I focused on the most solo and being able to get into elk in an entirely new area leaves me feeling like I have cleared a big hurdle. I know now I can trust my scouting abilities using the web and I know my physical abilities are substantially better than I anticipated. Will certainly make some minor tweaks to training that should pay big dividends.
I hope everyone has a safe and successful season. If you are new to this game like I am, don't measure your success by whether or not you punch a tag. Measure by what you experience and by what you learn, you will be a better hunter and a more consistent tag filler if you do.
WV Mountaineer
WKR
Glad you had a good time. Good luck next time and God Bless
FlyGuy
WKR
- Joined
- Aug 13, 2016
- Messages
- 2,106
That's a great mindset. You'll do well at this. Enjoy the process and savor all it. The good and the bad.
Sent from my SM-G610F using Tapatalk
Sent from my SM-G610F using Tapatalk
For sure. My only regret is not taking this up much earlier in life. Start the last year of my forties on Sunday.
Trust me I haven't always had that mind set. While I am new to this game, this week kicked off my 37th year bowhunting. My take above is the result of those years of experience. I had great mentors to learn duck, deer and turkey hunting and that significantly shortened the learning curve along with being able to pursue those all season at home. There are a lot of folks on this site that share very useful tidbits that those of us just getting into this pursuit can use but hunting solo with only a short window amplifies the challenges to putting everything together. Keeping that in perspective pretty much eliminates the bad. I had three close opportunities in four days hunting on my second hunt in an entirely new area on an otc tag. Earlier in my hunting career I would be hacked at not closing the deal and would discount or entirely disregard the improvement between hunt one and two. As it is, I feel like I made serious strides this year and have a short list of things to add to my game or change entirely which I feel will get me over the hump. A lot of folks here would have certainly killed that bull this morning. That is frustrating to know but at the same time, I know why I didn't and how to remedy that issue.
While I am at it I want to say thanks to all the folks that share there experiences and hunting tidbits here. They are helpful and much appreciated.
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