# Sad the 2008 season is over...



## JayHelfrich (Dec 8, 2008)

Hello all,

It was a great hunting season for me but as it is every year I am sad to see it go. I was lucky enough to have the ENTIRE season off from work so I got out more than I usually was able to. I was lucky enough to draw a 380 Bull elk tag (actually it is either sex but who's going to shoot a cow on that tag?) this year just days after my daughter was born (10 weeks early and is doing great) so July was a good month for me.

With my daughter being in the NICU in Missoula till the end of August and working out of state for much of September and October I was not able to scout the area as much as I wanted. I was finally able to scout the week before the general season and found some great bulls on a BMA. I patterned these elk for several days and left them rest for 3 days before the opener.

I drove in to the spot on opening day by going the long way so I wouldn't spook the elk that had been spending the night feeding in a river bottom hay field. I got up above the elk and parked along a fence line in preparation of walking in to ambush the elk as they came out of the field. I started walking in an hour before sunrise giving me a half hour to walk before shooting time began. Once I got into the position where I wanted to be for beginning of shooting light, it was as if there was a gate that had been opened! It wasn't elk either! There were several trucks that came tearing up the county road just minutes before shooting light. I walked the draw I had seen the elk traveling through and saw no fresh sign. Once daylight was upon me I got to a high point to try and glass for elk and was surprised to see no less than *10* trucks in the 2 miles I had view of. The hay field that was full of elk just days before was now full of cows and as most people know elk don't like it when cows are put in their feeding area. I was sad all my work was for not. I did see a nice Mule deer buck run past me after he had been shot at by another hunter. It would have been an easy shot but I was elk hunting and I didn't have the deer permit required for that area so he got a pass till next year (know where I'll be putting in for 2009!)

Down but not defeated, I walked back to my truck to regroup, eat a sandwich, and take a nap. I looked at my maps after a power nap and decided that I had not seen anybody on the north side of the road all day. It was an area only one section wide to the north but 3 sections long to the east so I'm sure that most people were not willing to work it. I was willing to walk it as I needed to see some more area. It was the right choice for me. I walked slowly up and down the many tree covered coulees and saw lots of great sign. I snuck up on a mule deer doe that was bedded down, saw a coyote and then watched it hunt and kill a cottontail, and finally watched a spike bull elk (legal to hunt with a general tag in 380) play peak-a-boo with a hunter using a lone tree on a ridge line for his only cover.

As darkness drew closer, I made my way back towards the main road to be closer for the walk out in the dark. As I neared the last ridge line that I was going to walk I saw some movement in the trees several hundred yards to the north of me. He was moving slowly to the south feeding as he went. I got in to a position where I could see the two ways he could come out of the area he was at so I could ambush him. I sat to wait for him and continued to glass the area I saw him disappear into. Where I thought he would come out was much further away than where he did come out at! He came out of the brush just 300 yards away from me and was bigger than I thought! There were lots of blow down's and dead trees where he was slowly grazing towards me. I was sure he would never get out of that tangle to where I could get a clear shot on him before shooting light was over. I moved slowly to a position where I could get a better shot on him as he feed down a finger ridge and jumped over the fence that put him in a shooting position. With the bang of my .300 Winchester Magnum the anticipation from the last 3 months was over. I had harvested my first bull elk!!!

With the light fading fast I started cleaning the beast and finished just as it became too dark to see. I drug the bull about 50 - 75 yards before I gave up. I was going to need help getting this magnum beast out. I was sure glad I was only a 1/2 mile from the road! Once I got to the road, I walked the 3 miles to where my truck was parked at and called for reinforcements! I sent my wife to pick up a game cart for me. She called back and said that they had just sold the last one just a few minutes before she got there! Oh man what now? I called everyone I knew and my 2 brother-in-laws offered to help me. I went home and ate a couple burgers and changed cloths and picked up my helpers. It took the 3 of us an hour to drag the bull to the truck. By the time we got the bull to the truck we were a little tired! It then took over an hour to load the bull in to the truck (shoulda cut it up and not loaded it whole!)

This was just the beginning of my season. I will write more later about the rest of the season if interest shows.

Jay


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## Sasha and Abby (May 11, 2004)

Nice bull. Too bad about all the broken points...


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## rednek (Dec 29, 2006)

nice story and nice bull :beer: i love huntin back there. one day i hope to move back


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## JayHelfrich (Dec 8, 2008)

His rack was pretty broke up but he was an old warrior. He had huge scars on his face and front shoulders. There was *NO* fat at all on his carcass when I skinned him out. It would have been a tough winter for him.

Jay



Sasha and Abby said:


> Nice bull. Too bad about all the broken points...


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## iwantabuggy (Feb 15, 2005)

JayHelfrich said:


> His rack was pretty broke up but he was an old warrior. He had huge scars on his face and front shoulders. There was *NO* fat at all on his carcass when I skinned him out. It would have been a tough winter for him.
> 
> Jay
> 
> ...


The no fat comes from the wolves. At least that's what I am finding here in Idaho. Even the cows have no fat on them any more. Ten years ago they would have had a nice thick layer of fat, but not any more. I would bet it is the same way there in Montana also.


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## huntingdude16 (Jul 17, 2007)

Nice bull and congrats! :beer:

Great story.


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