Pond Boss Forums GENERAL QUESTIONS Pond Boss Hunting/Trapping 2013-2014

Here's the elk hunt story - it's a long one. Hard to make a 4 day hunt short! I am just getting the pictures organized, so they'll be up tomorrow evening. Play time is over, work starts again tomorrow.

It is a bit technical because I also posted it on a reloading forum that I belong to where half of the guys on the trip frequent. The people on the trip were me, Dave, JJ, Colorado Mark, Florida Mark, Randy and Harry (also from Florida). Randy, both Marks and I were on the trip last year and Randy was the only one to get a cow. Harry blew his knee out less than 12 hrs before the plane was to take off and a doctor friend drained it and told him to be VERY careful. He tore his ACL and is going in for surgery tomorrow.

Short story - I got my cow. It was a small cow, but it will be tender!

Long story? Here goes. I�ll upload the pictures to Photobucket later and get them added in here tomorrow.

We (my buddy Dave from Tinley Park, Ill and JJ from Southern Illinois. JJ is a retired State Police Sniper Instructor) had pulled into Montrose at 8:00 a.m. on Monday, so after a bit of breakfast and a tour of the town for the guys, I took Dave and JJ to the landfill to sight in our guns and to check how they fared during the trip out. It was also a chance for me to shoot the big gun at altitude with the Berger 180g VLD bullets after having problems with the 175g Sierra MatchKing bullets coming apart in the air due to the speed and rpm. At my elevation (750 feet) the Bergers were leaving the muzzle at 3350 fps., about 145 fps slower than the SMK's. At the landfill, it was 6330 foot elevation, the temp was 39�F with a swirling 5-7 mph wind. JJ estimated with the elevation change, the bullets had a MV of 3400 fps. Dave was first up with his .300 Win Mag with handloads of 168g Berger VLD's pushed by H-1000 for a MV of 2950 fps at 750' elevation. His rifle is a Sig Sauer 202 Takedown, and his scope is a Swarovski 6-24x50. His rifle was zero'd here at 300 yds, and we had to do some adjustments for the altitude, but he was hitting at 300 to 500 - 600 yds. JJ was shooting a 30-06 with some Carcino bullets that he had worked up for Wildebeest in Africa. That rifle was spot on at 100-600 yds.

My gun? It took a bit of dialing in because of the different elevation, but we worked up and verified a drop table from 300 to 1335 yds. I couldn't find anything to shoot at safely any further away, durn it! I really had wanted to stretch it's legs to a mile, but it wasn't to be. So, I'm ready to go. Riiggghhhhtttttt.................

First day we hiked in to where the Elk were supposed to be crossing a corner of a ranch. I could only see 130 yds in one direction and 250 in the other. The Elk decided they wanted to take another route, so both Florida Mark and I came up empty. The wind was blowing and gusting up to 50 mph ahead of the approaching storm, so long shots were impossible. Later on that evening, on a different property, about 2,000 ft higher in elevation, the guide saw 2 cows laying under a ponderosa pine, maybe 400 yds past where Mark, Dave and JJ shot theirs that morning. Florida Mark lined up on the cow and I lined up on the head of the other one (all I could see was from in front of the ears forward because of a bunch of aspen tree trunks, but since the rifle will shoot groups of �� or less at the distance the guide said the elk were, I wasn�t concerned). Mark connected, I did too, and she flopped her head down at the shot. Mine tried to pick up it's head at Florida Marks 2nd shot, so I sent 2 more down range. She quickly flopped her head back down and never twitched again. I couldn't see any blood thru the 22 power scope, but she just laid there, not moving. The guides and both of us watched both elk for a bit and they never moved, so they said that we could put the guns away as they walked up to field dress the elk. The guide walked up to the elk, but when he got close to Florida Marks elk, mine got up and ran off straight up the mountain.

We figured we followed mine for 4 miles until it crossed a patch of bare ground and we (or rather the guide) lost the trail. I couldn't keep up with the guide, and I think I left part of a lung on the mountain trying to keep up. Not fun trying to keep up with a cross between a billy goat and a bighorn sheep that is years younger than you! The snow was about knee deep, and the elk kept going up and down the ridges. I ranged the shot after the fact, and it was only 120 yds, much closer than what the guide estimated. My altimeter said 8330' elevation corrected for pressure. I�m disappointed at myself for muffing the shot, and for not staying put until we KNEW both elk were down. We checked where my elk was laying when I shot. Very little hair, and just a tiny bit of blood. I'm guessing that with the bullet that I was shooting, if I'd hit anything substantial, it would have exploded. Maybe I just grazed her and knocked her out, she sure acted like that the way she got up and ran off when the guide got really close.

Lesson learned? When zero'd for 300 yds, always range the target if there is time. A few inches off can make a HUGE difference.

Dave and JJ went out predator hunting Tuesday night with a guy that Colorado Mark fixed them up with, but came home empty handed. I was supposed to go too, but after that high altitude hike I opted to stay in the lodge. They think they had a bobcat in the light at 200 yds, but miscommunication let the cat get away. BTW, we were told that bobcats in Colorado are going for $350 to $1,300 each this year!

Next day was spent in the lodge all day long, watching movies and BS'ing. I got up at 4:30 a.m. looked out, and saw a few flakes, but couldn't see the lights of Montrose, I went back to bed and got up a few hours later. We watched the snow fall, and I think when it was all said and done, about 18" fell at the lodge, and about 24" came down further up the mountain. We started off with coffee and JJ�s home made Irish Cream for creamer, and the Florida boys had Bloody Mary's. We finished up the day going thru 3 quarts of JJ�s apple cider hootch that is made with Everclear. Good stuff!!!!! I think we had green chilies and eggs for breakfast, I forgot what lunch was, but dinner was an appetizer of artichokes and mushrooms, with chicken, green chilies, mushrooms, rice and I forget what else for dinner.

Last day. When we got up @ 4:30 a.m., my phone said -17�F, and after coffee, it had dropped another degree. Florida Randy and Florida Harry went up the mountain, JJ (to call out drop and yardage), Dave (for moral support and extra help) and I along with my guide went about 30 miles away near Olathe, Co. which is about 1,300 feet lower in elevation to a ranch where the elk were supposed to be feeding on a ranchers haystack. We pulled through the gate and drove towards the haystack. Nothing. No tracks, no sign of any elk. So we slowly drive around on the ranch, following the 2-track that was there, going through a few gates.

The wind isn't blowing at all, but the truck thermometer says -8�F. Durn cold! Getting to the ranch, we saw a plow/salt truck that almost backed into a deep creek. We were amazed that it didn't tip over.

There wasn't room in the truck for my case and gun, so it was in the bed of the pickup, but I had the magazing and 8-10 shells in my pocket. JJ has the rangefinder and the dope book.

Anyway, we'd drive to a hilltop and glass. Nothing. Another hilltop. Nothing. Next hillto..... CRAP, there's a herd of elk! What a mad scramble. As*#$ and elbows all over the place in the mad scrambel to get out of the truck, get to the rifle, etc.. JJ ranged them at 250 yds, and before I could even get to my gun, they trotted down into a drainage and out of sight. I dashed out of the truck, got the gun, threw the mag into it and got ready. When they came out of the drainage, they all stopped at the top of the knob and stared. JJ called out range and clicks (400 yds. and change), I adjusted the scope, squeezed the trigger and promptly missed. WTH?? Checked the dope, lined up another and squeezed. Same thing, and the elk start moving TOWARDS the truck, then down into another drainage. Grab shells from my pocket, fill the magazine up again, and glass for the Elk. They popped up again, but they never really stopped moving, except for about 5 seconds. All there was time for was to JJ to range and call out dope, me to dial in more dope and squeeze off another shot, this time for 500+ yds. Another clean miss.

The elk are confused, and start towards the truck again just to go down into another drainage. When they appear again, this time they are at roughly 700 yds. They are milling around, and because there are a number of bulls and spikes in the herd of 30-40, it's hard to pick out a cow that doesn't have another elk behind or in front of it. Finally after JJ says "they're at 700 yds, the dope says to dial in 7 moa up." I confirm that I have dialed 7 and he says "dial in 2 more moa up". I confirm and dial up 2 more. The guide says to take the furthest one to the left, I move the crosshairs over, get the rifle settled in for a high shoulder shot and squeese the trigger. When I come back out of recoil, I can see the elk down on the ground, her front feet moving, but her back feet not moving at all. She had her butt to me, so I can�t put another into her without ruining a bunch of meat. We watched her for a minute (me through the scope set on 22x with a round in the chamber, Dave and the guide through 10x binoculars) and she quit moving. It took a while to find her, because we kept looking on the wrong hill, but we finally found her. The 180g Berger went right where it was supposed to, a high shoulder shot, clipping some of the backbone and dropping her in her tracks. With a VERY lacerated set of lungs, she expired quick. Looking at where the Elk went after the shot, I'm glad that she dropped there or we probably would have had to quarter her out to get her back up the hill. Less than 50 yds away they dropped into a 300 to 400 foot deep canyon before moving off.

The Berger performed great, exiting the other side. In looking at the data, and even at 700 yds it still hit her at somewhere around 2500-2600 fps and with about that much energy. We met up with the other guys and they saw a few Mulies, but no more Elk. She was back at the processor by 9 a.m., and she was all cut up, packaged and frozen for us to leave the next day. I asked for the hide, and with that she completely filled a 120 qt cooler and another 80 qt. cooler with deboned meat. Steaks, roasts, stew meat and hamburger.

That night right before dark, JJ and Dave are on the porch outside and they notice some specks in a field. Dave grabs the rangefinder and glasses, and we range a herd of cows at 1970 yds. JJ looks at the hill on the other side of the lodge and sees more Elk. These turn out to be a herd of 6 bulls, all pretty good, but one is really good, and looks to be a 6x6, 6x7 or a 7x7. I wish I had a bull tag! We ranged it at 1400 yds - well within the dope that we generated at the landfill, and the elevation was about the same. I could have shot a VERY nice bull right from the lodge.......... That snow really pushed the elk down from the high country in a hurry!

All in all it was a great trip. Crappy ride home because of the icing on the roads around Denver. It took us about 3 more hours coming home because of the bad road conditions. JJ sent me a text later after he got home saying that he had 1� of ice covered by 18� of snow, but Dave and I drove the rest of the way home on snow and ice free roads. It took us 24 hrs to get there, and 27 to get home