coles Posted November 18, 2008 Report Share Posted November 18, 2008 Well guys since my abcess is about a quarter of the size it was yesterday before the shot and i feel a million times better i decided to not make ya'll wait any longer. so heres a lil short version of the story and the pics. We left Choteau well before daylight and after stopping at the game check station in augusta we arrived at the trail head at Gibson Reservior. After getting all the horses and mules saddled and loaded we headed out. Not even 100 yards our of the parking lot we had a wreck and one of the horses flipped upside down in the middle of the road. Luckily she was not hurt. So on we went down a trail that is probably one of the most dangerous trails in the Western States. Heres a few pics of our trail ride... some grizzly tracks in the mud this was also my 13 year old brothers first trip back here. so here he is after about 14 miles or riding So on with the story. We arrived at camp about 6:30 p.m. which was well after dark and about 18 miles from the trail head. it had taken us over 7 and a half hours to get to our camp. Which was still on the backs of all the horses i must add. As we rode into camp we could here a bull bugling maybe 200 yards from where we were goin to camp and i even caught a glimps of him running through the downed timber. too bad it was after shooting time though. We threw the tents up and unpacked cots and sleeping bags. After a quick dinner and puttin the horses to bed we all passed out only to be woke up at about 3 a.m. to the sound of about 350 head of elk not 50 yards out of our camp. i could not sleep the rest of the night. we were all up early and had some quick oatmeal. My dad, lil bro, and another guy went to the south and my grandpa and i went to the north. As my grandpa and i walked out of the timber and looked across the big burn we could see elk making their way back towards the river. The west side Of the North Fork of the Sun is the Sun River Game Preserve so you can not shoot or hunt over there so the elk know the game pretty well. But my grandpa and i caught up to about 10 to 15 raghorns spikes and cows but neither of us shot for some stupid reason. I was regretting that the rest of the week. The next couple days i put on a ton of miles on my boots and thanks to high school football, my knee sure felt the results of wanting an elk so bad. Every day i would see at least 50 to 100 head of elk but they were always on the wrong side of the river. They were just waiting for it to get dark enough for them to come across. Tuesday night brought rain and everyone was pretty sluggish wednesday morning. but one thing my grandpa said stuck in my mind and only made me more determined.....he said, "elk can die on a day like this too." and with that statement running though my head i walked down towards the river just south of camp. Just before shooting light i was half way to the river when i looked up and saw about 150 head of elk still on the legal side of the River not 500 yards from me. So i went into stealth mode...kinda. I was so excited that i might get a chance that i kept falling over all the burnt downed logs in the big burn. I made it to the river and got right on the edge trying to cut them off before the got across. As i was sneaking up on them i looked to my right and there was another guy doing the same. so we joined up and as we popped over the ridge they were gone. we ran down the hill and i saw them again. I was not goin to lose another chance so i sat down and found a big mature cow at the back since she was the only one out by herself. everything else was in a big wad. I sat down set out my shooting sticks, flicked off the safety, took aim, pulled the trigger to my 300 wsm, and through the scope i saw her take one step and fall down the hill. She fell out of sight and i did not know if she was up or not so i ran over there to her before she could get across the river. But she was dead as could be!!!!! i was so excited since i had worked so hard for this elk. So here is a pic of her after we got her quartered up and back to camp i just relaxed. It rained all day wednesday and wednesday night and finally turned to snow about 11 a.m. thursday morning. We decided to pack up and head home friday so ended up that i was the only person in camp to shoot an elk. One of the guys with us did shoot a big 5x5 whitetail though. but here are just some other pics i took over the course of the trip. I hope you enjoyed the story and pics!!!!!!!! the two squirrell's my lil brother killed with his blow gun. lol he made a bow with arrows that even had broadheads made from the jaw bone of an elk!!!!! creative lil guy. never killed a squirrell with the bow though. i found this moose shed right behind our camp not 100 yards from the tent in the swamp. this is a huge bull for this area soo. and just one of my dad and lil brother in the tent along with bob facklam. well guys i think that is all my pics. but since my other younger brother is in his first year of college he wasnt able to make it with us. but he did come to choteau for the weekend and went elk hunting with a couple of his buddies up on the ranch they worked on this summer and look what the lil turd shot while i was 18 miles back in the mountains workin my butt off for an elk.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cinch314 Posted November 18, 2008 Report Share Posted November 18, 2008 Sweet pics and congrats!!!! Looks like you had a lot of fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ambuscher Posted November 18, 2008 Report Share Posted November 18, 2008 That sure looks like alot of fun. Congrats on the cow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texan_Til_I_Die Posted November 18, 2008 Report Share Posted November 18, 2008 7 and a half hours on horseback! It'd be 3 days before I could walk... Great story and pics. Congrats on the elk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dawg Posted November 18, 2008 Report Share Posted November 18, 2008 Looks like a ton of fun. I'd like to go on a hunt like that one of these days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coles Posted November 18, 2008 Author Report Share Posted November 18, 2008 haha yeah after that long on a horse i didnt get back on one till we were leaving camp for the trucks. lol. my grandpa kept asking if i wanted to go for a ride down the trail just to look around and i passed on the offer every time. lol. i must say though. even after getting over bein sore when we got home i have to go through it all over again. i have to take the 3 shots im getting in the butt so i can hardly walk right now. lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeramie Posted November 18, 2008 Report Share Posted November 18, 2008 Looks like a blast! Congratulations on the cow! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
csualumni21000 Posted November 18, 2008 Report Share Posted November 18, 2008 Nice pis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unioncountyslayer Posted November 18, 2008 Report Share Posted November 18, 2008 Thanks for sharing your story and pics. Congrats on your success, and your brother's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OJR Posted November 18, 2008 Report Share Posted November 18, 2008 Sure is some great country! If I ever rode a horse that long, I would never walk again! Congratulations on the elk to both you and your brother! Also to your other brother on the squirrels! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shaun_300 Posted November 18, 2008 Report Share Posted November 18, 2008 Wow, aweosme pics Cole! Congrats on your cow and congrats to your brother too on a great bull. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ruttinbuc Posted November 18, 2008 Report Share Posted November 18, 2008 Looks like an awesome time. Congrats on the kills! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texastrophies Posted November 18, 2008 Report Share Posted November 18, 2008 Great story and pics. One of these days, I will do a horseback trip. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GWSmith Posted November 18, 2008 Report Share Posted November 18, 2008 Wow, aweosme pics Cole! Congrats on your cow and congrats to your brother too on a great bull. Awesome is Right! Beautiful pic's and looked like a great hunt... WOW..The "Pucker Factor" in the second pic...Extreme! I leaned to the right just looking at the photo! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RangerClay Posted November 18, 2008 Report Share Posted November 18, 2008 Thanks for sharing your great pics with us. Made me feel like I was there with you. :cool: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aksheephuntress Posted November 19, 2008 Report Share Posted November 19, 2008 Spectacular hunt...and awesome pictures! -I have enjoyed this thread so much! -Thankyou for posting all of these...a real treat...and congratulations! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoosier Hunter Posted November 19, 2008 Report Share Posted November 19, 2008 Awesome pics! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coles Posted November 19, 2008 Author Report Share Posted November 19, 2008 sorry some of the pics are blurry guys. my camera has about had it i think and was doin alot of wierd stuff. but i have alot more pics and vid of the huge herd on my video camera so i just gotta figure out how to upload them onto my computer and ill put those up too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jorden Posted November 19, 2008 Report Share Posted November 19, 2008 Awesome pics, thanks for sharing:cool: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest outdoorgirl Posted November 19, 2008 Report Share Posted November 19, 2008 Congrats awesome pictures & story thanks for sharing with us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hammerforged Posted November 19, 2008 Report Share Posted November 19, 2008 What a great hunt and great pics, glad you are feeling better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
007hunter Posted November 19, 2008 Report Share Posted November 19, 2008 Beautiful pictures and Congrats!! One question. Why all the downed timber? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c_lou Posted November 19, 2008 Report Share Posted November 19, 2008 Congrats on the elk. Looks like you had a great time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WHISKEYSWAMP Posted November 19, 2008 Report Share Posted November 19, 2008 some great pics... looks like an awesome hunt! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ladybird Posted November 19, 2008 Report Share Posted November 19, 2008 Great pics,looks like you had a lot of fun,thanks for sharing and congrats. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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