Very nice, Elk. Congrat’s to you & your dad. Where were you hunting?
Awesome! I really miss hunting. Grew up with it in PA. Did alot when I was in WA but don’t get to do it much here in southern CA. Mostly whitetail but have been Elk hunting a few times. Never got one though. I never got buck fever when hunting deer but the first time I saw and elk through my scope I was shakin like a leaf. haha
Well, another big game season has come and gone for me.
I enjoyed the original muzzleloader hunt this thread documented and this past week came back from a rifle elk hunt.
We had picked up a few left over cow elk tags for a unit in southern Colorado, the San Luis Valley to be exact near the top of La Manga Pass. Saw some elk open morning to far to shoot at, so I didn’t get to FIRE my gun, but had a another great time with my dad and good friend Tom.
Here are a few pics from the hunt. The scenery was mind blowing and I though the pics would bring it out but they don’t do it justice.
Any other hunters out there bringing home meat or otherwise enjoying some outdoor life?
1 pic me and my dad.
For the shooters, I am using a Howa 7mm Rem. Mag with a 3x9 Leupold scope. Loads were Federal Premium 175 grain Spear Grand Slams sighted three inches high at one hundred yards and able to anchor an elk out to 400 yards with a good rest.
Good Friend Tom who is more of a bow hunter, but will enjoy the occasional rifle hunt. He’s shooting a 308.
http://images.t-nation.com/forum_images/./1/.1129940301114.Fishing-resize.JPG
Nice elk!!! I was raised in Alaska and still live and work up here. Hunting and fishing is what we do up here. We always had moose and caribou in the freezer. I usually try to get out moose hunting every year (missed this year due to starting a business).
Next year, the old man and I are trying to set up a hunt for some Kodiak brown bear…never done bear so I am pretty excited for that.
Cheers-
PS - Here is a pic from this summmer after a night of dipnetting red salmon on the Kenai River…cleaning took most of the day (picture shows about half of them that two of us caught in about 4 hours).
[quote]Kuz wrote:
While I have never been hunting myself, those are some very cool shots.
Weird question since I have never been hunting: Is is strange for someone new to hunting to get used to shooting an animal? I always wonder if I could truly pull the trigger on a deer or something.[/quote]
Not a weird question at all. I think the answer is yes. If you are new to hunting, even if you are a good shot, the excitement and andrenaline of your first shot will make it difficult.
Elk, thanks for posting the pics. That was a mighty big whitetail.
The ones I see in my backyard are a little smaller.
awesome stuff Elk Hunter. And elk is definately some of the best meat. I personally like to make jerky out of it. Those areas in the first pictures look like familiar land. Where are the first pictures from?
I don’t mean this to come across as a shitty question, because I’m really interested in the answer. I just can’t think of a good way to phrase it. I’ll say up front that I only dove hunt, because I seem to have ADD.
Why do you use the muzzle-loaders? People don’t play tennis with old wooden rackets, race Model-T’s or play basketball in shitty Chuck Taylor All-Stars. What is the attraction of using inferior technology to hunt? Also, why do you choose to draw the line at muzzle-loaders instead of spears or big rocks?
I know I come across as an asshole, but I don’t know how to word this better. I have no problem with the hunting, I just find the choice of weapons interesting.
Congratulations on the hunt.
They do it because it is more of a challenge and it’s a different type of hunting so it’s a different type of fun. People do play vintage instruments through tube amps and race classic cars. Some types of primitive hunting are not considered humane or safe. Is killing a winged duck with your bare hands, clubbing a rabbit to death or crushing a squirrel with a rock primitive enough. There are limits to how primitive you can get and still have it be fun. Believe me, none of those listed above are fun.
Down here in the south people use muzzle loaders because most states have special seasons that allow primitive weapons only. The muzzle loader extention is usually not as long as the archery, but it allows you an extra week or two to deer hunt either before or after the regular gun season.
[quote]Phill wrote:
Im stuck here in the Nations Crapitol. Not exactly a Hunting Meca.
[/quote]
That’s not what the Beltway Sniper thought.
But then, he never ate any of his kills, so he could hardly be called a hunter.
Excellent work, Elk.
“I do not hunt in order to kill, on the contrary: I kill in order to have hunted.”–Jose Ortega y Gassett
[quote]skinnygrowboy wrote:
Down here in the south people use muzzle loaders because most states have special seasons that allow primitive weapons only. The muzzle loader extention is usually not as long as the archery, but it allows you an extra week or two to deer hunt either before or after the regular gun season.[/quote]
Same type of deal as in PA. Rifle season is short, but if you bowhunt or muzzleload you can spend a lot of time in the woods.
[quote]Pretzel Logic wrote:
Is killing a winged duck with your bare hands, clubbing a rabbit to death or crushing a squirrel with a rock primitive enough. There are limits to how primitive you can get and still have it be fun. Believe me, none of those listed above are fun. [/quote]
Ummm… and you know this from personal experience? (slowly backing away)
Doogie, as others have stated it’s the challenge. It is definitely harder, but the advantage they give you is that muzzle loader season for elk in Colo. falls during the rut when they are mating, so in that regard it can be a big advantage.
The bulls are less cautious and so testosterone fueled and horny they can be a little easier to fool.
Although they are growing more educated to elk calls now that more hunters use them. To the outdoors men that responded and others thanks for the positive feedback!
[quote]ballistic ram wrote:
awesome stuff Elk Hunter. And elk is definately some of the best meat. I personally like to make jerky out of it. Those areas in the first pictures look like familiar land. Where are the first pictures from?[/quote]
BA, it’s in the Sangre De Cristo mountain range off of HWY 69 by Gardner Colo. We have jerky from the bull drying out now.