If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.
You used my favorite hunting bullet. Elk are my favorite meat , another pair of ivory teeth added to the Grendel, good job. Did you have to drag it very far? thanks for sharing.
"Bugout bag?..What's that? Is that all the junk you sidewalk commandos plan on humping when the SHTF? I'll grab a Nylon 66, a box of 22s and a poncho liner and in less than a week I will have all of your stuff and everything else that I need for the duration."
Took it last Tuesday morning, in the middle of a snowstorm in very steep terrain at about 6500 ft. Bridger Mountains, outside Bozeman, MT.
Shot placement was not ideal, but was acceptable. She was bedded down in timber below me (I had climbed to the top of the mountain before sunrise, and was hunting my way back down) on a steep slope about 150 yards across an open meadow. There were three other cows with her that I could see, further back in the timber. She was quartering away, and most of the vital zone was under snow. So, I was forced to shoot high and also ended up hitting farther forward than I had intended. The bullet entered in front of the near shoulder, and exited the base of the neck on the far side.
At the shot, the other elk in the herd jumped up and ran off. She just laid there, head up but not moving. For a moment I thought I had mistakenly shot an elk-shaped tree stump out of the middle of a herd of elk, she kept so still. After about 15-20 seconds though, that big long neck started to wobble, and a few seconds later fell over flat on the deck. I got up and began moving down across the meadow. Got about half way there, and her head came back up and then crashed down again. She saw me coming and struggled to stand but only managed to get her front feet under her before she immediately fell over backwards and rolled about 20 yds down the mountain and further into the trees. When I got to where she had been bedded, it was clear that although I had not hit the spine, I had punched a major blood vessel. So much blood. People joke about a blood trail that Ray Charles could follow, but in this case it was literally true. No need to see it, as I could smell the blood in the air.
Looked down through the trees and spotted her on the ground where she had come to rest from the tumble, about 20 yds downhill. As I moved toward her, she tried to stand again. She was dead, but just hadn't come to terms with it yet. I put a second shot thru her lungs to hasten the inevitable, though I do not believe that I hastened it by much more than a few seconds. I think that had I waited a minute before heading down the mountain initially, I would have found her dead right where she had been shot.
The haul out was an experience. Only about 1/2 mile to the truck, as the magpie flies. But about 1,000 feet down. At least it was down. Had it been up, I'd still be out there. Took about 4 hours for me to get her down the first 600 yards. Sometimes I was dragging her down the mountain over trees and rocks through the snow, sometimes it was the other way around. Right at dark, the ravine I had been dragging her down dumped over a 10 foot cliff. Buttoned her up and went home, as I did not believe that negotiating her over that sort of obstacle, alone, in the dark, was prudent. Turns out that was a good call. Came back the next morning with a buddy and a come-along, and it still took us the better part of three hours to get her down that last 200 yards (and 250 ft vertical). Over two more cliffs. Across the creek. Back up the hill to the truck.
Technical details - 20"barrel (Lilja). 120 gr TTSX. 28.75 gr TAC on Hornady brass, CCI BR-4 primers. Not a published load. Duplicate at your own risk.
Took it last Tuesday morning, in the middle of a snowstorm in very steep terrain at about 6500 ft. Bridger Mountains, outside Bozeman, MT.
Shot placement was not ideal, but was acceptable. She was bedded down in timber below me (I had climbed to the top of the mountain before sunrise, and was hunting my way back down) on a steep slope about 150 yards across an open meadow. There were three other cows with her that I could see, further back in the timber. She was quartering away, and most of the vital zone was under snow. So, I was forced to shoot high and also ended up hitting farther forward than I had intended. The bullet entered in front of the near shoulder, and exited the base of the neck on the far side.
At the shot, the other elk in the herd jumped up and ran off. She just laid there, head up but not moving. For a moment I thought I had mistakenly shot an elk-shaped tree stump out of the middle of a herd of elk, she kept so still. After about 15-20 seconds though, that big long neck started to wobble, and a few seconds later fell over flat on the deck. I got up and began moving down across the meadow. Got about half way there, and her head came back up and then crashed down again. She saw me coming and struggled to stand but only managed to get her front feet under her before she immediately fell over backwards and rolled about 20 yds down the mountain and further into the trees. When I got to where she had been bedded, it was clear that although I had not hit the spine, I had punched a major blood vessel. So much blood. People joke about a blood trail that Ray Charles could follow, but in this case it was literally true. No need to see it, as I could smell the blood in the air.
Looked down through the trees and spotted her on the ground where she had come to rest from the tumble, about 20 yds downhill. As I moved toward her, she tried to stand again. She was dead, but just hadn't come to terms with it yet. I put a second shot thru her lungs to hasten the inevitable, though I do not believe that I hastened it by much more than a few seconds. I think that had I waited a minute before heading down the mountain initially, I would have found her dead right where she had been shot.
The haul out was an experience. Only about 1/2 mile to the truck, as the magpie flies. But about 1,000 feet down. At least it was down. Had it been up, I'd still be out there. Took about 4 hours for me to get her down the first 600 yards. Sometimes I was dragging her down the mountain over trees and rocks through the snow, sometimes it was the other way around. Right at dark, the ravine I had been dragging her down dumped over a 10 foot cliff. Buttoned her up and went home, as I did not believe that negotiating her over that sort of obstacle, alone, in the dark, was prudent. Turns out that was a good call. Came back the next morning with a buddy and a come-along, and it still took us the better part of three hours to get her down that last 200 yards (and 250 ft vertical). Over two more cliffs. Across the creek. Back up the hill to the truck.
Technical details - 20"barrel (Lilja). 120 gr TTSX. 28.75 gr TAC on Hornady brass, CCI BR-4 primers. Not a published load. Duplicate at your own risk.
Sounds like you earned that elk. I have a chain saw winch for such occasions.Great hunting story.
Comment