My youth tag bull - I rambled to a very long story, sorry!
hound_hunter
9/22/06 9:42pm
Well alright, this is from 2004 when I was 15.. but I just barely learned how to post pictures on the internet about 10 minutes ago and i think its probably the coolest thing ive learned in my life... so bare with me cause im gonna be posting a lot of pictures on here now just for my own fun of knowing how to do it, haha. Its always seemed like such a scary thing to try and lear, but now that i figured it out (after abtou 18+ months) it's really pretty simple with that photobucket program.. wow - well anwyays, here's the bull.
My dad had a buddy that had some property up around park city and after hearing I was going on my first elk hunt with this youth tag i'd drawn he agreed to let us on.. My dad didn't have much time to take me with work n all so it was posed ta be just a one day deal and if we get lucky it happens (a saturday). we get there well before first light and make a small 40 min. hike to the top of a mountain that looked into a small watering hole. at first light a spike comes into it... looking back on it i cant believe how danged excited i was!! my dad asks me (as a joke in his mind) do you want him? I was begging him "CAN I TAKE HIM!! ARE YOU SERIOUS!!" he just laughed at me and says he's not doin all this for a little spike. i tried to convince him it was a big spike but to no avail. not 30 minutes later a small heard comes in (there were maybe 10 elk) 2 or 3 small bulls if i remember right came right up to the water to drink. my dad was thinking about letting me shoot when suddenly what i thought was a huge bull (it was about the size of the one i got) just barely showed himself out of the trees for a split second, man was i pumped! never saw him again though.
well to sum it up that night we hiked and hiked through the other side of the property at all kinds of elevations. saw little sign and no elk. The sun was beginning to go down so we began to circle to the truck.. out of no where my dads muscular palm crashes into my chest, i look up to see his forefinger strongly pushed to his lip telling me to keep hushed. i dont know how the old mans ears caught this but i began to faintly hear all kinds of splashing going on far far off in the distance.. immediately my dad says "Book it! Follow Me!" and tears off through the forest. now keep in mind i had no idea elk do the whole wallowing thing, i was brand new to elk hunting and hadnt studied there behaviors at all before. so i didnt know what was wrong and quite frankly was sorta half wondering if my dad thought someone was drowning or something? well we were on a DEAD sprint on a race against time for honestly over a mile. luckily football had my butt in gear for this and i made it alive. We snuck up to 75 yds. (which wasn't too hard with how loud and occupied these elk were! well it was 31 minutes before sunset :thumb so i proped up the gun to rest on my left knee cap and took a shot at the pictured elk below. They all started racing to run up the mountain into the nearest trees. my bull kept up with them to the 30 yd. run to the base of the hill, but he fell over flat on his back when he tried to run on the incline. i'm afraid to know how quickly my blood was rushing through my body at this time! Definately one of the greatest experiences in my life and im forever greatful to my pops and his pals for instilling me with a true passion for hunting and the outdoors. I'll never forget the great time I had with my dad on my first elk hunt! (and might i say how glad i am now that he didnt let me take the spike :)) )
Here's the beaut... nothin huge, i know. but its a decent bull and man did it put an undying love for this species in me!! the elk is an absolutely astonishing creature! hope yall enjoyed!
http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m42/hound_hunter/FirstElk4.jpg " alt="" />
http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m42/hound_hunter/FirstElk2.jpg " alt="" />
alright, ill throw this in too - I saw this large rock wall behind me while i was sitting at the water hole in the morning and couldnt help but wonder how many bobcats were crawlin around here in the winter months.. man would i love to find out, i think i took a picture just cause i had just barely saved up to buy a digital camera (same one i use today) and was wanting try out a lot of pictures, so here's just some scenery from the hunt.. sure wish i could go back with some hounds!
http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m42/hound_hunter/RockWall.jpg " alt="" />
My dad had a buddy that had some property up around park city and after hearing I was going on my first elk hunt with this youth tag i'd drawn he agreed to let us on.. My dad didn't have much time to take me with work n all so it was posed ta be just a one day deal and if we get lucky it happens (a saturday). we get there well before first light and make a small 40 min. hike to the top of a mountain that looked into a small watering hole. at first light a spike comes into it... looking back on it i cant believe how danged excited i was!! my dad asks me (as a joke in his mind) do you want him? I was begging him "CAN I TAKE HIM!! ARE YOU SERIOUS!!" he just laughed at me and says he's not doin all this for a little spike. i tried to convince him it was a big spike but to no avail. not 30 minutes later a small heard comes in (there were maybe 10 elk) 2 or 3 small bulls if i remember right came right up to the water to drink. my dad was thinking about letting me shoot when suddenly what i thought was a huge bull (it was about the size of the one i got) just barely showed himself out of the trees for a split second, man was i pumped! never saw him again though.
well to sum it up that night we hiked and hiked through the other side of the property at all kinds of elevations. saw little sign and no elk. The sun was beginning to go down so we began to circle to the truck.. out of no where my dads muscular palm crashes into my chest, i look up to see his forefinger strongly pushed to his lip telling me to keep hushed. i dont know how the old mans ears caught this but i began to faintly hear all kinds of splashing going on far far off in the distance.. immediately my dad says "Book it! Follow Me!" and tears off through the forest. now keep in mind i had no idea elk do the whole wallowing thing, i was brand new to elk hunting and hadnt studied there behaviors at all before. so i didnt know what was wrong and quite frankly was sorta half wondering if my dad thought someone was drowning or something? well we were on a DEAD sprint on a race against time for honestly over a mile. luckily football had my butt in gear for this and i made it alive. We snuck up to 75 yds. (which wasn't too hard with how loud and occupied these elk were! well it was 31 minutes before sunset :thumb so i proped up the gun to rest on my left knee cap and took a shot at the pictured elk below. They all started racing to run up the mountain into the nearest trees. my bull kept up with them to the 30 yd. run to the base of the hill, but he fell over flat on his back when he tried to run on the incline. i'm afraid to know how quickly my blood was rushing through my body at this time! Definately one of the greatest experiences in my life and im forever greatful to my pops and his pals for instilling me with a true passion for hunting and the outdoors. I'll never forget the great time I had with my dad on my first elk hunt! (and might i say how glad i am now that he didnt let me take the spike :)) )
Here's the beaut... nothin huge, i know. but its a decent bull and man did it put an undying love for this species in me!! the elk is an absolutely astonishing creature! hope yall enjoyed!
alright, ill throw this in too - I saw this large rock wall behind me while i was sitting at the water hole in the morning and couldnt help but wonder how many bobcats were crawlin around here in the winter months.. man would i love to find out, i think i took a picture just cause i had just barely saved up to buy a digital camera (same one i use today) and was wanting try out a lot of pictures, so here's just some scenery from the hunt.. sure wish i could go back with some hounds!
4,333
As for everyone else, i appreciate the comments and glad you enjoyed the pics/story (quite frankly im suprised to see very many people read it, I usually just skip over the really long posts out of sheer laziness. but when im writing them i end up makin them into those long ones i dont like. hah.)
anyways, take care everyone and again, glad you enjoyed it.
Quiet frankly I loved the story and pics, sounds like a great time with good friends and your dad. I love how you learned so much with your experience and how it 'hooked' you on hunting.