Big Game Hunting 2023

Fall 2023

Archery Elk

My 2023 big game season started in September. I was determined to hunt elk again with my bow, especially after such a thrilling hunt last year. Joining me again was Bryce, with Ryan and Seth attempting to meet us there on the weekends. We choose to hunt during what most would consider the peak of the rut. 

Our hunt started with a fair amount of action with a few bulls bugling here and there the first couple of days. I had placed trail cams in July that showed several bulls in one area in the last few days. 

 

We called two different spike elk into nearly 10 yards in the same day on our second day of the hunt, but neither one presented a good shot. The next day we had a small group cascade down the hill toward us and gave Bryce a super quick 40 yard shot at a spike. He missed and hit a tree, unfortunately. It felt as though things might finally pan out this year. 

Everything came to a screeching halt when we woke up one morning to lots of new vehicles parked at almost every pullout, closed road and trailhead. It was obvious that lots of other hunters also had the grand idea that this was the "prime" time to be chasing elk with a bow. The woods went absolutely silent and the elk behavior changed. Bryce and I hit the hills hard everyday, starting at dark and finishing at dark. We tried a lot of different calling setups, new trails and hillsides, scratching our heads at what to do. Nothing was working.

By day 7 we were tired and exhausted. We'd relocated camp and tried hunting an entirely different mountain only to find just as many people there as well. On the last afternoon of the last day, we set off on a new trail to try some densely forested hillsides adjacent to some cliffy areas. We were immediately onto a lot of fresh elk sign. We tried a small amount of calling without any response. We pushed on, gaining more elevation and slowly working our way to the cliffs. We reached a prominent ridge with some dark woods on the valley-side in front of us. We had about an hour before dark, so this calling setup would likely be our last. We went with the ol' "cow party"; about the only setup we've really had luck with in the past. We began calling and immediately we heard a bull bugle in front of us. I decided to drop back and continue calling while Bryce stayed quiet on the ridge, ready to intercept a bull headed toward me. I scratched the ground, called and tried to sound like a bunch of excited cows. After about 45 minutes, I crept back up to Bryce.

"Dude, it was a huge bull! He came out right down there with sun on him." Bryce whispered excitedly, pointing to a large Ponderosa pine about 90 yards away. "He got a little closer and I could hear him breaking a few sticks below me but he just wouldn't crest the hill. I didn't know what to do. I think he had some cows and he pushed them up the draw, because I heard him bugle a couple more times and each time he was further up."

"Darn-it! Maybe we'll try to add a bugle to the situation and see if that fires him up?"

We threw a bugle out and nothing responded. Darkness quickly descended upon us and our hunt was over.

The archery season had kicked our butts this year. The sudden influx of tons of hunters had clearly altered the behavior of the elk or simply pushed the elk into pockets where no one would find them, including us. I did, however, discover a few locations I am anxious to try next year. 

Deer

It had been numerous years since I've taken a mule deer. Not for lack of trying or opportunities, it's just that over the years I've developed a high standard. Every year I've had numerous opportunities to shoot 2 and 3 pointers but I just can't seem to pull the trigger. This drives some of my hunting buddies nuts, who would be happy just to have the meat. But every year I've seen at least one giant or very respectable buck. It's the unsuccessful encounters with the big guys that keep me coming back and not wanting to settle for a young buck.

The deer season started like all the others; high aspirations to finally connect with a mature buck. But upon my arrival at deer camp, I felt the tell tale signs I was coming down with a virus. I hiked several miles the first day and by nightfall, my body ached pretty bad. I debated whether to return home or stick it out. I decided to stay; might as well be sick and hunting than sick and bored on the couch at home. 

Bryce arrived the second morning. We did a slow creep of a hunt along the top edge of a massive drainage. We spotted some does early on but nothing else until close to the end of the hike. We had peered into who knows how many small draws without a deer sighting. But on "peer" number gazillion, my eyes immediately spotted a deer below me at 200 yards.  Big buck! Unfortunately he had seen or heard me, because he immediately took off. I tried to stop him but he was too old and smart to fall for that. 

Ryan arrived that night. I was still feeling sick, but luckily it hadn't gotten any worse. I could tell I still had a fever and my nose was running. As long as I didn't hike too hard and continued to take symptom masking drugs, it wasn't too bad. 

Overall we hadn't seen a ton of deer sign where we normally do but we suspected it was because there had been domestic sheep in the area. In my experience, deer and elk hate sheep. Ryan and I decided to hike a closed road in a slightly different area. It paid off. Immediately, we were into a lot of deer sign. We came around the second corner of the road and Ryan spotted the white butt of a deer below us. We froze and began scanning the bushes below us. More and more deer began to materialize. So far they all appeared to be does and had no idea we were watching them. I crept over to a more open area where I'd have a shooting lane if I saw a buck. Ryan stayed where he was. I got into a prone position and began scanning the group of deer. Doe...doe...doe... doe...wait...buck! One of the deer below us had antlers: a two point. Ryan and I were far enough apart we couldn't communicate. It wasn't a large deer, but it was a legal one. I could hear my wife's voice in my ear. "Don't get too picky! We need meat!" The buck stepped out of the bushes and gave me a broadside shot. I suppose it would be nice to get some meat in camp, and this would be a super easy pack-out. I know Ryan or Bryce would shoot this...I could blame this decision on my feverish condition... BOOOM!!! I squeezed the trigger. The deer bolted downhill and disappeared from view. The 150 yard shot felt good.

Ryan walked over to me. "Glad you shot. I think there might have been 2 small bucks in there. I was waiting for a clear shot on one of them."

"I would have had you shoot this one but we were too far apart to communicate," I added. "Let's go find him."

We slowly walked down to where I had last seen him. A short distance later I came upon a dead deer. It felt good to get some deer meat in camp but this buck was far from the standard I'd set for myself. At least I would be coming home with some meat.

Ryan and I quartered him up and began the pack out. What the "meat hunters" don't tell you about shooting small bucks, is the difference in quantity of meat. This deer had to have half the amount of meat of a mature buck. Oh well, at least it'll be tender. 

The next day we returned to the same area. Around lunch time we spotted some deer across the canyon from us. We all began to glass with our binoculars, picking apart the mountain-side. There! A buck. I spotted a decent 4 point at 400 yards. Ryan said he was dialed at that range. He made his scope adjustments and settled into a prone position for a shot. Some errors were made somewhere along the line because he took 3 shots and the deer showed no signs of being hit. Ryan just looked at his gun with amazement and confusion. We trekked over to where the deer had been and found no signs of a hit. A disappointing turn of events for sure. 

Ryan had to return home but Bryce and I had another day. We hiked into a slightly different area and found lots of deer sign and a group of several fawns, but that was it. 

Late season elk

Ryan chose to get a late season rifle elk tag in the same area we hunted archery. I told him I'd join him so he wouldn't have to hunt alone. Ryan  also found the help of Luke, a guy in his early 20's just getting into hunting. Luke picked up a tag and joined us on the mountain. 

We spent several days hiking old roads and checking the usual haunts where we've had elk encounters. So far we'd struggled to spot live elk. We found fresh sign in the snow but couldn't get on them. This country is really thick, so glassing was difficult. Every day we spotted bucks, but that was because the deer season was closed, of course! 

On the last evening of the last day, Ryan felt drawn to a certain area. After sitting and watching a promising hillside, Ryan said he wanted to check one last little valley before calling it quits. 

We slowly crept up to the small valley in the waning daylight. Ryan stopped abruptly and shouldered his gun. I froze, staring at him. Did he see something? I slowly looked out into the valley and saw an elk about 150 yards away. BOOOM!!! The elk collapsed in it's tracks. 

"Luke, Luke, there's another bull!" Ryan whispered excitedly.

Luke crept over to where Ryan was standing and got ready for a shot. The other bull was looking over at it's fallen companion but started to show signs he was about to bolt. I began cow calling, freezing the other bull. Luke found a good rest on his bipod and squeezed the trigger. BOOOM!!! The other bull dropped.

"I think you spined him. Shoot him again!" I said, looking through my binoculars. 

BOOOM!!! Luke fire a second shot through the elk's neck, finishing the elk. 

Two bulls down! We couldn't believe it. We all celebrated and thanked the Lord for providing at the last minute. 

It was a long night of quartering and meat packing, but luckily the majority of it was on a mostly flat, closed road.

We returned home to finish cutting and packaging the meat. Luke was captivated by every moment of the hunt and I know he'll now be hooked for life. It was so rewarding to help a new hunter with his first elk. 

The season had its ups and downs, but I was blessed with a deer and elk meat from my generous friends. Now for 10 long months of anticipation for next season...