Quest for the bigger one....
Re: Quest for the bigger one....
Great year for Tom. I was hoping to see some field photos.
Re: Quest for the bigger one....
Tom's story and pictures should be coming out in the next issue of trophy hunter mag. along with Corby's rifle hunt buck. Which I have yet to talk about. 
There's always next year
Re: Quest for the bigger one....
Oct. 6th
Opening day of the general season elk hunt and I find myself at work for the whole day. My wife gave me a hard time about just not working and going hunting instead. But I figured we needed the overtime and it would be less crowded on the 2nd weekend. In the past 20 years, I think last year was the first time anyone in our group has killed an elk on opening day. So I thought the odds were good that I wouldn't miss out on too much action. Boy was I wrong. That night, I get a call from my Mother-in-law. Stating that my wifes three cousins all killed 6 point bulls that morning. One of them was a 330-350" class bull.
Sounded like they had an incredable day of hunting, with elk all over the area but now where would the elk be a week later?
I planned on getting off work a little early on Thurs. Oct. 11th and drive the 6 hours to my honeyhole that night. So I would be ready to hunt at first light Friday morning. Boy it was going to be a long week, thinking of what might have been and what was to come.
Here are some bulls that I scouted and got some video of in early July.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76LsBNbXn5I
Opening day of the general season elk hunt and I find myself at work for the whole day. My wife gave me a hard time about just not working and going hunting instead. But I figured we needed the overtime and it would be less crowded on the 2nd weekend. In the past 20 years, I think last year was the first time anyone in our group has killed an elk on opening day. So I thought the odds were good that I wouldn't miss out on too much action. Boy was I wrong. That night, I get a call from my Mother-in-law. Stating that my wifes three cousins all killed 6 point bulls that morning. One of them was a 330-350" class bull.
Sounded like they had an incredable day of hunting, with elk all over the area but now where would the elk be a week later?
I planned on getting off work a little early on Thurs. Oct. 11th and drive the 6 hours to my honeyhole that night. So I would be ready to hunt at first light Friday morning. Boy it was going to be a long week, thinking of what might have been and what was to come.
Here are some bulls that I scouted and got some video of in early July.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76LsBNbXn5I
There's always next year
Re: Quest for the bigger one....
Well Oct. 11th came and went with me not making the long drive down to elk camp. Although I started work at 5:00am, I still didn't get home until almost 8:00pm. So John and I decided to make the drive early the next morning but with a big snow storm scheduled to hit over night I wasn't sure what to expect concerning our travel.
Oct. 12th
I picked John up in Salt Lake at 5:00 am and it was raining lightly. By the time we drove into camp about 11:00am, it was snowing hard, with about an inch on the ground. My father in-law Terry came out of his trailer to meet us. He said we should have been there earlier because it was a beautiful morning and the snow had only started about a 1/2 hour before we got there. Go figure!
For the next 5 hours we just sat in camp waiting for the snow to let up but it never did. So I finally decided to just go for a walk and see if I could hear or see anything. I hiked about 2 miles with no luck. About an hour before dark John and I headed for a high point on the mountain to a better view. Once we got to a point were we could see real well and the snow had let up for about a 1/2 hour. We couldn't see anything but did hear a bugle somewhere down canyon. Then another wave a snow hit and it was a complete "whiteout". With less than an hour of light left and less than 50 yards of visability. We headed back to camp. On our was back down, maybe a 1/2 mile above camp, we ran into some deer tracks. Very big deer tracks. We followed them for less than 100 yards in the fresh snow. When suddenly I came around a tree and there was a huge non-typical buck standing in the brush looking back at us. I frantically took off my pack, trying to get my video camera out but the buck was gone as quick as it appeared. John got a better look than I did but it appeared to be a very heavy and tall buck. About 28" wide, with 6 or 7 points on each side. Some of the inlines and cheaters were 5-8" long. I was bummed to say the least that I hadn't got my camera out when I first started following the big track. Lesson learned.
Here's a picture of the country we were hunting.
Oct. 12th
I picked John up in Salt Lake at 5:00 am and it was raining lightly. By the time we drove into camp about 11:00am, it was snowing hard, with about an inch on the ground. My father in-law Terry came out of his trailer to meet us. He said we should have been there earlier because it was a beautiful morning and the snow had only started about a 1/2 hour before we got there. Go figure!
For the next 5 hours we just sat in camp waiting for the snow to let up but it never did. So I finally decided to just go for a walk and see if I could hear or see anything. I hiked about 2 miles with no luck. About an hour before dark John and I headed for a high point on the mountain to a better view. Once we got to a point were we could see real well and the snow had let up for about a 1/2 hour. We couldn't see anything but did hear a bugle somewhere down canyon. Then another wave a snow hit and it was a complete "whiteout". With less than an hour of light left and less than 50 yards of visability. We headed back to camp. On our was back down, maybe a 1/2 mile above camp, we ran into some deer tracks. Very big deer tracks. We followed them for less than 100 yards in the fresh snow. When suddenly I came around a tree and there was a huge non-typical buck standing in the brush looking back at us. I frantically took off my pack, trying to get my video camera out but the buck was gone as quick as it appeared. John got a better look than I did but it appeared to be a very heavy and tall buck. About 28" wide, with 6 or 7 points on each side. Some of the inlines and cheaters were 5-8" long. I was bummed to say the least that I hadn't got my camera out when I first started following the big track. Lesson learned.
Here's a picture of the country we were hunting.
There's always next year
Re: Quest for the bigger one....
Oct. 13th
In the morning John and I were glassing from a high spot but we didn't see anything moving at all. About mid-morning, we heard some shots higher up on the mountain. So we moved to a different area where we were hoping some elk might get pushed to us. We arrived at our new spot at about 11:00 am and we waited and waited and waited. There was some other hunters across the canyon from us. At about 4:00pm, I could see one of the hunters was pointing there gun up canyon but towards our side of the ridge. As hard as I tried, I couldn't see anything with my binos. This went on for about an hour, I finally picked up my gun and hiked over the hill to get a better and different view. Once over there, within seconds, I spotted a cow and spike about 250 yards across a draw. I hurried back to John, so I could have him video for me and maybe when we got back over there, more elk might show themselves. Once we got back over there, I could not relocate the elk. After about a 1/2 hour of looking, I saw the hunter across the canyon pointing their gun uphill on their side of the canyon. After a few seconds, I could see a raghorn 4 point bull running hard down through the oakbrush, heading for the bottom. It would be coming up that small draw the cow and spike was just in. When the bull came running across a small meadow, I whispered to John to use his cow call to stop the bull. I waited but no call came. So I said over and over again, John, blow your call, blow your call. I finally looked back at him and he was pulling down his snow pants digging into his pockets of his levis, to find his cow call. He finally found it and instantly blew on it. The bull stopped on a dime, looking up at us at about 150 yards away. I swung my rifle around and when my crosshairs were on his shoulder, I pulled the trigger. OH NO! I hadn't taken my safety off. By the time I did get it off. The bull was off and running again and then he just disappeared into the thick oakbrush jungle for safety. I can't believe I just blew a chance at two different general season bulls. We did see some more elk far off in the distance and are hoping we could can get on them in the morning.
In the morning John and I were glassing from a high spot but we didn't see anything moving at all. About mid-morning, we heard some shots higher up on the mountain. So we moved to a different area where we were hoping some elk might get pushed to us. We arrived at our new spot at about 11:00 am and we waited and waited and waited. There was some other hunters across the canyon from us. At about 4:00pm, I could see one of the hunters was pointing there gun up canyon but towards our side of the ridge. As hard as I tried, I couldn't see anything with my binos. This went on for about an hour, I finally picked up my gun and hiked over the hill to get a better and different view. Once over there, within seconds, I spotted a cow and spike about 250 yards across a draw. I hurried back to John, so I could have him video for me and maybe when we got back over there, more elk might show themselves. Once we got back over there, I could not relocate the elk. After about a 1/2 hour of looking, I saw the hunter across the canyon pointing their gun uphill on their side of the canyon. After a few seconds, I could see a raghorn 4 point bull running hard down through the oakbrush, heading for the bottom. It would be coming up that small draw the cow and spike was just in. When the bull came running across a small meadow, I whispered to John to use his cow call to stop the bull. I waited but no call came. So I said over and over again, John, blow your call, blow your call. I finally looked back at him and he was pulling down his snow pants digging into his pockets of his levis, to find his cow call. He finally found it and instantly blew on it. The bull stopped on a dime, looking up at us at about 150 yards away. I swung my rifle around and when my crosshairs were on his shoulder, I pulled the trigger. OH NO! I hadn't taken my safety off. By the time I did get it off. The bull was off and running again and then he just disappeared into the thick oakbrush jungle for safety. I can't believe I just blew a chance at two different general season bulls. We did see some more elk far off in the distance and are hoping we could can get on them in the morning.
There's always next year
Re: Quest for the bigger one....
Oct. 14th
Today I had to make a very hard decision. I have not hunted a single Sunday in the past 20 years but I knew my family could really use the extra meat this year. The freezer was starting to get low on game. This may sound a little funny but I said a little prayer and asked god if it was ment for me to take an elk this day, please let it be next to the road, where I could easily load it into the truck.
So right at first light, John dropped me off at the edge of a big sagebrush flat with an old two track road heading up into a small canyon. John headed down the road to check out another spot. Just as I saw John disappear out of sight. I heard a bull bugle at the other end of the flat. I could see some elk moving up into the thick bush and timber. I got up into the small canyon hoping the elk would maybe cross the road but they're too smart for that one. John came back about an hour later and I asked him to hike up around the top of where I thought the elk would be and maybe they would come back down through the flat they were feeding on earlier that morning. John went on his way and about an hour later, I saw movement at the top of a ridge and I could see some cows coming my way. Then a really big 6x6 and a smaller 5x5 bull appeared. They all started crashing down through the thick oakbrush. It was amazing how loud it was when you have 15 or so elk all crashing through very thick oakbrush. I could see the branches moving wildly but it was too thick to see the elk. I could see that the elk would end up at the other end of the flat when they came out in the open. That would be about 400 yards. I hurried and jogged about 200 or so yards closer. Right when I stopped to see where the elk would be, the first few cows came exploding out of the oak onto the sage flat at a dead run. I quickly sat down, checked my safety and watched as more elk flew out of the oakbrush jungle. Suddenly, I saw the big 6x6 out in the flat running with the cows. It must have come out right at the time I was sitting down getting ready to shoot. Just as I pulled up my rifle and got the big bull in my cross hairs, he suddenly stopped and turned broadside looking back up the hill from where he had just come. I put the crosshairs right on his front should and squeezed the trigger. The bull dropped right in his tracks. I could not believe I just shot the biggest bull of my life and I then noticed that he was laying right in the middle of the old two track road. I stood up and shoulder my rifle and started walking towards it. It was kicking a little but I thought it was just his nerves going into action. Suddenly, he rolled over and onto his feet in one smooth motion and was off and running towards the thick oakbrush. I quickly took a running offhand shot that missed. Then he stopped broadside at about 250 yards and I quickly shot again standing offhand. I saw a puff of hair fly but the big bull was off and running again. He disappeared into the jungle of oak from which he had just come from. Within less than three seconds, I went from the most incredable high to absolute horror.
to be continued....
Today I had to make a very hard decision. I have not hunted a single Sunday in the past 20 years but I knew my family could really use the extra meat this year. The freezer was starting to get low on game. This may sound a little funny but I said a little prayer and asked god if it was ment for me to take an elk this day, please let it be next to the road, where I could easily load it into the truck.
So right at first light, John dropped me off at the edge of a big sagebrush flat with an old two track road heading up into a small canyon. John headed down the road to check out another spot. Just as I saw John disappear out of sight. I heard a bull bugle at the other end of the flat. I could see some elk moving up into the thick bush and timber. I got up into the small canyon hoping the elk would maybe cross the road but they're too smart for that one. John came back about an hour later and I asked him to hike up around the top of where I thought the elk would be and maybe they would come back down through the flat they were feeding on earlier that morning. John went on his way and about an hour later, I saw movement at the top of a ridge and I could see some cows coming my way. Then a really big 6x6 and a smaller 5x5 bull appeared. They all started crashing down through the thick oakbrush. It was amazing how loud it was when you have 15 or so elk all crashing through very thick oakbrush. I could see the branches moving wildly but it was too thick to see the elk. I could see that the elk would end up at the other end of the flat when they came out in the open. That would be about 400 yards. I hurried and jogged about 200 or so yards closer. Right when I stopped to see where the elk would be, the first few cows came exploding out of the oak onto the sage flat at a dead run. I quickly sat down, checked my safety and watched as more elk flew out of the oakbrush jungle. Suddenly, I saw the big 6x6 out in the flat running with the cows. It must have come out right at the time I was sitting down getting ready to shoot. Just as I pulled up my rifle and got the big bull in my cross hairs, he suddenly stopped and turned broadside looking back up the hill from where he had just come. I put the crosshairs right on his front should and squeezed the trigger. The bull dropped right in his tracks. I could not believe I just shot the biggest bull of my life and I then noticed that he was laying right in the middle of the old two track road. I stood up and shoulder my rifle and started walking towards it. It was kicking a little but I thought it was just his nerves going into action. Suddenly, he rolled over and onto his feet in one smooth motion and was off and running towards the thick oakbrush. I quickly took a running offhand shot that missed. Then he stopped broadside at about 250 yards and I quickly shot again standing offhand. I saw a puff of hair fly but the big bull was off and running again. He disappeared into the jungle of oak from which he had just come from. Within less than three seconds, I went from the most incredable high to absolute horror.
to be continued....
There's always next year
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MuleyMadness
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Re: Quest for the bigger one....
Good grief Ridge, that was a suspenseful story on that day.
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Huntnfool7
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Re: Quest for the bigger one....
That's a awsome story I can't wait for the other half of it
Re: Quest for the bigger one....
Can you update the story soon? 
Im sure we all want to hear how this turns out
Im sure we all want to hear how this turns out
Watch your top knot!
Re: Quest for the bigger one....
Wow that's quite a story. Can't wait to hear the rest of it. Hopefully sooner than later.