AZ Cow Elk Down!

huntinaz · October 19, 2018, 11:23 PM

I love the fall. It's hunting season

A coworker has been interested in hunting for a few years, he finally got serious and put in for elk this year. As luck would have it he was drawn for a very good antlerless hunt.

My dad and brother were able to set up camp a day before the hunt and the evening glassing session yielded promising results. Screenshot of our text evening before the hunt:

We left my house at 0445 this morning and hit the woods. My dad and brother were already on the hill glassing when we showed up at daybreak. I got them on the radio and sure enough, before we had parked they had a herd of elk spotted. We got out of the truck and immediately could hear elk bugling from where they said the elk were. Excitement was high.

After a pretty short walk our guides had us spotted and said we were on a path to intercept the herd when a heavy fog set in on the hll they were on and they lost visual of us. We were still a ways from where they could see elk but a bull let out a bugle within 200 yards of us so we stopped and waited. Before long we could see some cows feeding casually towards us and could hear cows and calves chirping so we posted up and waited. The herd of elk was huge and they were about to feed around us. Bulls bugling everywhere. Perfect.

After about 10 minutes a cow and calf cleared the trees and I could see by John's posture he had a shot.

"Can you kill that cow?"
"Yes"
"Smoke her"

He damn sure did. 105 yards, he squeezed the trigger and she collapsed. We'd been out of the truck maybe 20 minutes.

Rifle is a Ruger Scout in 308, suppressed, factory 165gr Hornady GMX did the trick.

The rest of the herd hadn't seen us so we just sat there for awhile and the elk gathered up slowly and took their time leaving. We listened to elk call and bugle for another 15 minutes while my dad and brother got the to the truck and made their way to us. Gutted her out, loaded her up and headed for the hanging tree.

John made a good shot and he wants to do it again

We got home in time to cut up the hind quarters, have a full day of butchering tomorrow and then off to scout the Kaibab for next week's deer hunt. I couldn't be happier.

I love to hunt elk, and that's that.

Brian Pfleuger · October 20, 2018, 03:41 PM

That's awesome... you all saw more elk in one short hunt than I've ever seen in my whole damn life!

That must have been amazing having them all around like that... suppressed .308 doesn't even scare them. That's awesome.

Congrats!

FrankenMauser · October 20, 2018, 04:51 PM

Very nice.
Suppressors sure do change the reactions of other animals in the area.

Jack O'Conner · October 20, 2018, 06:14 PM

Good shooting!

Jack

NHSHOOTER · October 20, 2018, 07:01 PM

Congratulations on a great hunt, maybe someday I will get a chance at a elk..

Dano4734 · October 20, 2018, 09:43 PM

Wonderful

October 19, 2018, 11:23 PM	#1
huntinaz Senior Member Join Date: September 21, 2010 Location: az Posts: 1,332	AZ Cow Elk Down! I love the fall. It's hunting season A coworker has been interested in hunting for a few years, he finally got serious and put in for elk this year. As luck would have it he was drawn for a very good antlerless hunt. My dad and brother were able to set up camp a day before the hunt and the evening glassing session yielded promising results. Screenshot of our text evening before the hunt: We left my house at 0445 this morning and hit the woods. My dad and brother were already on the hill glassing when we showed up at daybreak. I got them on the radio and sure enough, before we had parked they had a herd of elk spotted. We got out of the truck and immediately could hear elk bugling from where they said the elk were. Excitement was high. After a pretty short walk our guides had us spotted and said we were on a path to intercept the herd when a heavy fog set in on the hll they were on and they lost visual of us. We were still a ways from where they could see elk but a bull let out a bugle within 200 yards of us so we stopped and waited. Before long we could see some cows feeding casually towards us and could hear cows and calves chirping so we posted up and waited. The herd of elk was huge and they were about to feed around us. Bulls bugling everywhere. Perfect. After about 10 minutes a cow and calf cleared the trees and I could see by John's posture he had a shot. "Can you kill that cow?" "Yes" "Smoke her" He damn sure did. 105 yards, he squeezed the trigger and she collapsed. We'd been out of the truck maybe 20 minutes. Rifle is a Ruger Scout in 308, suppressed, factory 165gr Hornady GMX did the trick. The rest of the herd hadn't seen us so we just sat there for awhile and the elk gathered up slowly and took their time leaving. We listened to elk call and bugle for another 15 minutes while my dad and brother got the to the truck and made their way to us. Gutted her out, loaded her up and headed for the hanging tree. John made a good shot and he wants to do it again We got home in time to cut up the hind quarters, have a full day of butchering tomorrow and then off to scout the Kaibab for next week's deer hunt. I couldn't be happier. I love to hunt elk, and that's that. __________________ "When there’s lead in the air, there’s hope in the heart”- Hunter’s Proverb "Feed me, or feed me to something. I just want to be part of the food chain." -Al Bundy Last edited by huntinaz; October 19, 2018 at 11:38 PM.

October 20, 2018, 03:41 PM	#2
Brian Pfleuger Moderator Emeritus Join Date: June 25, 2008 Location: Austin, CO Posts: 19,578	That's awesome... you all saw more elk in one short hunt than I've ever seen in my whole damn life! That must have been amazing having them all around like that... suppressed .308 doesn't even scare them. That's awesome. Congrats! __________________ Nobody plans to screw up their lives... ...they just don't plan not to. -Andy Stanley

October 20, 2018, 04:51 PM	#3
FrankenMauser Senior Member Join Date: August 25, 2008 Location: In the valley above the plain Posts: 13,421	Very nice. Suppressors sure do change the reactions of other animals in the area. __________________ Don't even try it. It's even worse than the internet would lead you to believe.

October 20, 2018, 06:14 PM	#4
Jack O'Conner Senior Member Join Date: July 11, 2005 Location: Manatee County, Florida Posts: 1,976	Good shooting! Jack __________________ Fire up the grill! Deer hunting IS NOT catch and release.

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October 20, 2018, 07:01 PM	#5
NHSHOOTER Senior Member Join Date: November 26, 2012 Location: Concord NH Posts: 1,002	Congratulations on a great hunt, maybe someday I will get a chance at a elk..

October 20, 2018, 09:43 PM	#6
Dano4734 Senior Member Join Date: October 6, 2014 Posts: 730	Wonderful