1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:03,360 Speaker 1: Oh, how's it going everybody? Ben O'Brien Hunting Collective, Episode 2 00:00:03,440 --> 00:00:07,080 Speaker 1: seventy eight. We're back again. It's Elk season. We're gonna 3 00:00:07,120 --> 00:00:09,479 Speaker 1: do something a little bit different for this show, rather 4 00:00:09,520 --> 00:00:12,240 Speaker 1: than the format we've been going with lately. I just 5 00:00:12,280 --> 00:00:14,480 Speaker 1: feel like we haven't told enough hunting stories lately, and 6 00:00:14,520 --> 00:00:18,040 Speaker 1: we had. We got you hyped last week for Elk Season. 7 00:00:18,079 --> 00:00:21,279 Speaker 1: We talked to a bunch of cool hunters from around 8 00:00:21,360 --> 00:00:24,800 Speaker 1: but now we've pulled in three of our favorite meat 9 00:00:24,800 --> 00:00:29,240 Speaker 1: eater hunting fools and we got Ryan cal callaghan. We 10 00:00:29,360 --> 00:00:33,440 Speaker 1: got Joe Fernando Meteator scouting manager, and Sam Longer and 11 00:00:33,520 --> 00:00:37,120 Speaker 1: Meteator's fishing editor, but also an elk killer, as you'll 12 00:00:37,159 --> 00:00:39,520 Speaker 1: hear pretty soon. We want to just get together, tell 13 00:00:39,520 --> 00:00:41,760 Speaker 1: the stories from opening day, tell our elk stories up 14 00:00:41,760 --> 00:00:45,760 Speaker 1: to this point the season, comparing contrasts, see what we 15 00:00:45,760 --> 00:00:47,960 Speaker 1: can learn, see what we can find out. It was 16 00:00:48,000 --> 00:00:50,120 Speaker 1: great man, a lot of good stories, a lot of 17 00:00:50,159 --> 00:00:54,000 Speaker 1: good chatter, so hopefully you enjoy it. But before we 18 00:00:54,080 --> 00:00:57,200 Speaker 1: get to that, we're gonna go talk about first Light. 19 00:00:57,480 --> 00:01:00,200 Speaker 1: First Light you're gonna hear from Ryan cal callaghan here 20 00:01:00,200 --> 00:01:03,080 Speaker 1: in a minute. But if you go to First Light's website, 21 00:01:03,120 --> 00:01:06,520 Speaker 1: you're gonna see his early season antalopen elk kit, which 22 00:01:06,560 --> 00:01:09,840 Speaker 1: I think is a good run for anyone looking to 23 00:01:09,920 --> 00:01:14,000 Speaker 1: put together your kid. And we talked about We've talked 24 00:01:14,000 --> 00:01:15,720 Speaker 1: about this a lot of times on the podcast, but 25 00:01:15,800 --> 00:01:19,240 Speaker 1: for first like the Men's wik hoodie isn't essential for 26 00:01:19,280 --> 00:01:21,880 Speaker 1: me and it's essential for Cal. He's using the air 27 00:01:21,920 --> 00:01:25,240 Speaker 1: will neck gator, the Men's with long boxer brief, the 28 00:01:25,280 --> 00:01:28,880 Speaker 1: Obsidian Marino pants. Cayl loves the Obsidian and he's got 29 00:01:28,880 --> 00:01:32,240 Speaker 1: the Men's brooks Down sweater and then the vapor the 30 00:01:32,280 --> 00:01:34,560 Speaker 1: vapor storm Light Ultra Light rain jack. And that's what 31 00:01:35,000 --> 00:01:38,080 Speaker 1: Cow's wearing. That's pretty similar to my kit. But if 32 00:01:38,080 --> 00:01:39,600 Speaker 1: you go to first light dot com you can check 33 00:01:39,600 --> 00:01:42,440 Speaker 1: out what old Cow's up to, what he's wearing out 34 00:01:42,440 --> 00:01:45,839 Speaker 1: in the field. Hopefully you'll enjoy that. Without further Ado, 35 00:01:46,040 --> 00:01:56,280 Speaker 1: Episode seventy eight. I guess I grew up on an 36 00:01:56,280 --> 00:01:59,760 Speaker 1: older road, bared to the meadals. I always did what 37 00:02:00,960 --> 00:02:04,120 Speaker 1: until I found out that my brand new cloths looking 38 00:02:05,240 --> 00:02:08,320 Speaker 1: from the Hey, everybody, welcome the un in collective. It's 39 00:02:08,320 --> 00:02:13,840 Speaker 1: September ten, right Sam, correct, thank you, We're in Elk season. 40 00:02:14,360 --> 00:02:19,360 Speaker 1: It was opening weekend Antana, the latest opening weekend ever 41 00:02:20,040 --> 00:02:23,320 Speaker 1: is good though it has turned out to be very good. 42 00:02:23,320 --> 00:02:32,040 Speaker 1: It's a fantastic thing. I'm here with bassal of beauties. Yeah, 43 00:02:32,440 --> 00:02:34,120 Speaker 1: Col's looking at me like you're gonna keep going with 44 00:02:34,200 --> 00:02:40,079 Speaker 1: the bees bust busty beauties here. Uh Joe Fern and 45 00:02:40,160 --> 00:02:42,959 Speaker 1: say hey, Joe, hey, everybody, you're the community manage for 46 00:02:43,000 --> 00:02:45,240 Speaker 1: me either, are you not? You read all the emails 47 00:02:45,840 --> 00:02:48,800 Speaker 1: too many? Yeah, so be nice to Joe. You ever 48 00:02:48,800 --> 00:02:50,960 Speaker 1: see him on the street, because he's got his finger 49 00:02:51,040 --> 00:02:54,359 Speaker 1: on the pulse and he's got the coolest beat of 50 00:02:54,440 --> 00:02:57,320 Speaker 1: any journalist I've ever heard of. Yeah, what's your what's 51 00:02:57,360 --> 00:02:59,000 Speaker 1: your telling? What your beat is? On? Your beat? At 52 00:02:59,000 --> 00:03:03,240 Speaker 1: the Meteor dot Com, I'm the bad Ship editor. I 53 00:03:03,280 --> 00:03:06,040 Speaker 1: get to report on all the bad stuff that happens 54 00:03:06,040 --> 00:03:10,640 Speaker 1: out there. Bear attacks, wolf attacks, line attacks, people getting lost, 55 00:03:10,639 --> 00:03:13,840 Speaker 1: people get mauled, people falling off close. Yeah. Have we 56 00:03:14,880 --> 00:03:17,680 Speaker 1: so send him that stuff and not you're chafing photos 57 00:03:17,680 --> 00:03:20,560 Speaker 1: because that was a bad period in Yeah, Joe, it 58 00:03:20,720 --> 00:03:22,880 Speaker 1: was the worst period in my life. I was going 59 00:03:22,919 --> 00:03:25,280 Speaker 1: into a very dark place. Joe is the voice, He's 60 00:03:25,320 --> 00:03:27,800 Speaker 1: really the voice of the email because he reads everything. 61 00:03:27,840 --> 00:03:29,720 Speaker 1: So before you hit send, just know that it's going 62 00:03:29,800 --> 00:03:34,520 Speaker 1: to affect Joe's life tremendously. And please please don't send 63 00:03:34,520 --> 00:03:37,960 Speaker 1: me pictures of your chafing. Yeah, I mean traumatic content 64 00:03:38,040 --> 00:03:42,080 Speaker 1: and emails just to a strangers. Just yeah that ship. Well, 65 00:03:42,120 --> 00:03:44,840 Speaker 1: Hey Phil, I'm back on the white Claw meme train. 66 00:03:44,920 --> 00:03:47,200 Speaker 1: By the way, I'm back into it. You love it again, 67 00:03:47,240 --> 00:03:48,960 Speaker 1: I'm back into it. Okay. A couple of weeks ago, 68 00:03:49,000 --> 00:03:50,440 Speaker 1: I was off of it. Yes, it was there a 69 00:03:50,480 --> 00:03:54,040 Speaker 1: specific meme that brought you back. No, but there was 70 00:03:54,080 --> 00:03:58,000 Speaker 1: a shortage of white claws in America, Yeah, recently, and 71 00:03:58,080 --> 00:04:00,480 Speaker 1: I got so many memes about it and inspired me 72 00:04:00,560 --> 00:04:03,560 Speaker 1: to come back onto the white Claw train, Black call 73 00:04:03,680 --> 00:04:08,400 Speaker 1: meme train. That stuff is everywhere. Um my long road 74 00:04:08,440 --> 00:04:12,680 Speaker 1: trip with our shooter, Lauren Moulton, who has been working 75 00:04:12,720 --> 00:04:17,400 Speaker 1: for Big Sky Brewing here in Montana for like fifteen years, 76 00:04:17,920 --> 00:04:21,839 Speaker 1: gave me the entire history of the hard Seltzer and 77 00:04:22,680 --> 00:04:25,839 Speaker 1: a big guy started doing their own. Yeah it's pretty good. Yeah, 78 00:04:25,920 --> 00:04:30,360 Speaker 1: it's been real good for him. And uh yeah, I 79 00:04:30,440 --> 00:04:33,080 Speaker 1: just had no no clue. I've got a story about 80 00:04:33,120 --> 00:04:35,360 Speaker 1: white Claw that we'll get into later. When we talk 81 00:04:35,480 --> 00:04:40,160 Speaker 1: start talking stories really during your alcome yes, wow, god 82 00:04:40,440 --> 00:04:42,640 Speaker 1: you did you did really well. I mean, I'm like 83 00:04:43,360 --> 00:04:45,120 Speaker 1: I told Sam before he went up on this week, 84 00:04:45,160 --> 00:04:47,000 Speaker 1: I'm like, we're going to do a podcast and recap 85 00:04:47,000 --> 00:04:50,359 Speaker 1: our opening weekends. And he just hit it out of 86 00:04:50,360 --> 00:04:54,600 Speaker 1: the park as far as stories go. I feel Ben says, jump, 87 00:04:54,640 --> 00:04:57,080 Speaker 1: I say how high I'm feeling it. I'm feeling it. 88 00:04:57,400 --> 00:05:00,279 Speaker 1: We got Cal here, Hey, Cal hey man, Hey, I 89 00:05:00,320 --> 00:05:03,440 Speaker 1: just saw a photo of you wearing can we post 90 00:05:03,480 --> 00:05:07,239 Speaker 1: this of you wearing jeans shorts shorts Daisy dukes Daisy 91 00:05:08,320 --> 00:05:11,159 Speaker 1: like afraid bottle. They're not Daisy Dukes. Guys wear them 92 00:05:12,320 --> 00:05:16,920 Speaker 1: just they definitely are dude dukes. What are they called? Um, well, 93 00:05:17,080 --> 00:05:24,240 Speaker 1: it was a David Dukes and normally the one to 94 00:05:24,240 --> 00:05:29,760 Speaker 1: say offensive ship like thanks, thanks for no, we can't 95 00:05:29,880 --> 00:05:32,599 Speaker 1: can't post that. I was just like a raft Guide 96 00:05:32,600 --> 00:05:40,160 Speaker 1: reunion thing and uh yeah it was kind of a 97 00:05:40,240 --> 00:05:44,599 Speaker 1: good thing, like, oh wow, I can still fit in 98 00:05:44,680 --> 00:05:49,360 Speaker 1: my same uh former jeans. You wore those jeans for 99 00:05:49,400 --> 00:05:52,160 Speaker 1: a period of time because they're like, let me describe them, 100 00:05:52,160 --> 00:05:55,559 Speaker 1: They're like they're cut off to about mid thigh. That'd 101 00:05:55,560 --> 00:06:01,480 Speaker 1: be generous it's in the upper third of your thighs 102 00:06:02,600 --> 00:06:07,400 Speaker 1: shorts and there's like there's like a fraid bottom. Well yeah, 103 00:06:07,480 --> 00:06:11,480 Speaker 1: so they were, you know, just my kick around working 104 00:06:12,040 --> 00:06:15,800 Speaker 1: guy wranglers for until they had deteriorated, and then we 105 00:06:15,839 --> 00:06:21,320 Speaker 1: had a big seventies theme party. Um, so I hacked 106 00:06:21,360 --> 00:06:23,320 Speaker 1: him off for that occasion. Yeah, it's important to know 107 00:06:23,400 --> 00:06:25,520 Speaker 1: the origin story of a photo like that. I just 108 00:06:25,560 --> 00:06:28,679 Speaker 1: feel like, yeah, and that is that seventies theme party. 109 00:06:28,720 --> 00:06:31,640 Speaker 1: It was probably like twelve years ago, and I can 110 00:06:31,640 --> 00:06:34,960 Speaker 1: still fit in to the gene shorts I feel are 111 00:06:35,000 --> 00:06:38,480 Speaker 1: real get about. Yeah, that's a good weekend you go to. However, 112 00:06:38,520 --> 00:06:41,200 Speaker 1: the gut has gotten bigger. So apparently that I didn't 113 00:06:41,200 --> 00:06:43,680 Speaker 1: notice them. I didn't notice a little bit, yeah, a 114 00:06:43,720 --> 00:06:45,680 Speaker 1: little bit of something going on there. Yeah, but I 115 00:06:45,720 --> 00:06:48,280 Speaker 1: was you know, I'm not gonna say I wasn't excited 116 00:06:48,320 --> 00:06:51,200 Speaker 1: by that photo. Appreciate that. So you're never going to 117 00:06:51,240 --> 00:06:53,400 Speaker 1: see it out there, and listener Land's never gonna see it. 118 00:06:53,560 --> 00:06:55,719 Speaker 1: But just imagine what it would look like. I don't 119 00:06:55,720 --> 00:06:58,000 Speaker 1: think you can help. Let imagine it. Imagine. Let's just 120 00:06:58,000 --> 00:07:01,760 Speaker 1: take a moment, well here today to do a few things. 121 00:07:01,760 --> 00:07:06,640 Speaker 1: We're gonna go through ah our stories of our opening 122 00:07:07,000 --> 00:07:10,640 Speaker 1: elk and Cal was actually on private land when he 123 00:07:10,720 --> 00:07:13,200 Speaker 1: killed his bull, but that doesn't matter. Um, it wasn't 124 00:07:13,240 --> 00:07:16,440 Speaker 1: opening day? Was it Opening day in Oregon? When you well, 125 00:07:16,480 --> 00:07:19,040 Speaker 1: I started the hunt on opening Day? Perfect? That works 126 00:07:19,080 --> 00:07:20,720 Speaker 1: for this. We're gonna go through it kind of like 127 00:07:20,960 --> 00:07:23,280 Speaker 1: in a in a different way. We're gonna kind of 128 00:07:23,440 --> 00:07:25,640 Speaker 1: go through each stage of of how you get to 129 00:07:25,680 --> 00:07:28,400 Speaker 1: a to a hunt, how you decide the elk you're 130 00:07:28,440 --> 00:07:30,000 Speaker 1: gonna go after, how you make a game plan, and 131 00:07:30,040 --> 00:07:31,840 Speaker 1: then the story of how it actually all went down. 132 00:07:32,080 --> 00:07:35,600 Speaker 1: We're gonna do that in some parts. So the first 133 00:07:35,600 --> 00:07:38,000 Speaker 1: thing that I want to talk about is how you 134 00:07:38,040 --> 00:07:41,880 Speaker 1: pick a spot and how you get into a situation 135 00:07:41,920 --> 00:07:44,520 Speaker 1: where you're gonna then find a bull, make a game plan, 136 00:07:44,720 --> 00:07:47,880 Speaker 1: kill that elk. And so, Joe, you have a pretty 137 00:07:47,880 --> 00:07:50,680 Speaker 1: interesting spot that you found. We're not going to give 138 00:07:50,720 --> 00:07:56,000 Speaker 1: away anything about your spots, can't. You're gonna tell us, 139 00:07:56,240 --> 00:07:58,240 Speaker 1: you know, just just tell us how you found this spot, 140 00:07:58,760 --> 00:08:01,720 Speaker 1: what you were looking for. Feel free to reference on 141 00:08:01,760 --> 00:08:03,480 Speaker 1: its maps, because that's how we all find our spots 142 00:08:03,520 --> 00:08:08,120 Speaker 1: these days. Hopefully. Yeah, So my buddy actually found this 143 00:08:08,200 --> 00:08:12,200 Speaker 1: spot and basically from what I gathered, the only reason 144 00:08:12,320 --> 00:08:15,080 Speaker 1: I got to go there was because there are so 145 00:08:15,120 --> 00:08:17,680 Speaker 1: many grizzly bears in that area. He didn't want to 146 00:08:17,680 --> 00:08:21,480 Speaker 1: go alone, so he's like, let's bring Joe's bait. So 147 00:08:21,640 --> 00:08:24,040 Speaker 1: he gets eaten by the bears. How many grizzly bears 148 00:08:24,040 --> 00:08:26,800 Speaker 1: have you seen during scouting? During scouting, we didn't see any. 149 00:08:26,800 --> 00:08:28,520 Speaker 1: We saw a lot of sign, but during scouting we 150 00:08:28,520 --> 00:08:31,920 Speaker 1: didn't see any. And then when he went up there Friday, 151 00:08:31,960 --> 00:08:37,160 Speaker 1: the night before opening day, he counted four in one basin. Four. 152 00:08:37,480 --> 00:08:39,280 Speaker 1: That's the same base in the elk that you were chasing. 153 00:08:39,280 --> 00:08:41,880 Speaker 1: We're in the basin that we had to go into 154 00:08:42,200 --> 00:08:44,319 Speaker 1: to find Neal. And did you see any while you 155 00:08:44,320 --> 00:08:47,560 Speaker 1: were hunting? No, it's all one massive black bear while 156 00:08:47,559 --> 00:08:50,560 Speaker 1: we were hunting. No, no grizzlies. No grizzlies. It's a 157 00:08:50,559 --> 00:08:53,120 Speaker 1: lot of sign though, but from what we gathered, they 158 00:08:53,200 --> 00:08:55,679 Speaker 1: kind of moved up over into the other basins. So 159 00:08:55,800 --> 00:08:57,600 Speaker 1: just to kind of describe the spot you were in 160 00:08:57,760 --> 00:09:01,960 Speaker 1: general terms, what does it look like, Uh, very high 161 00:09:02,040 --> 00:09:05,800 Speaker 1: mountains kind of clift out with these really cool lower 162 00:09:05,840 --> 00:09:08,400 Speaker 1: basins that are just filled with springs and wallows and 163 00:09:08,600 --> 00:09:13,200 Speaker 1: lots of trees, just looks elkylky public land. How far 164 00:09:13,240 --> 00:09:16,600 Speaker 1: a hike in a few miles, a few miles into 165 00:09:16,600 --> 00:09:18,520 Speaker 1: the spot where we set up camp, and then we 166 00:09:18,600 --> 00:09:20,840 Speaker 1: decided to dump off the back side of the mountain 167 00:09:20,840 --> 00:09:23,559 Speaker 1: and go a couple of miles further from the truck. So, 168 00:09:23,559 --> 00:09:25,360 Speaker 1: so give us a brief. Why you pick a spot 169 00:09:25,400 --> 00:09:27,680 Speaker 1: like that other than soluble in there, like if you 170 00:09:27,720 --> 00:09:30,040 Speaker 1: were if they it was elkless, why would you why 171 00:09:30,040 --> 00:09:32,720 Speaker 1: would you guess or positive that there's an elk in 172 00:09:32,760 --> 00:09:35,880 Speaker 1: that spot? Well, I would look at that spot and 173 00:09:35,920 --> 00:09:37,920 Speaker 1: say it kind of had everything they need, really good 174 00:09:37,960 --> 00:09:41,680 Speaker 1: bedding areas, really good water feed the wallows and everything 175 00:09:41,720 --> 00:09:44,120 Speaker 1: that springs up there. It's that kind of awesome high 176 00:09:44,160 --> 00:09:47,240 Speaker 1: mountain area. They're very secluded, nothing really going to be 177 00:09:47,360 --> 00:09:49,240 Speaker 1: up there to get them. Not a lot of people 178 00:09:49,360 --> 00:09:52,200 Speaker 1: bugging them except for grizzly bears. Yeah, but the weird 179 00:09:52,240 --> 00:09:54,800 Speaker 1: thing was he saw two cow elk just hanging out 180 00:09:54,960 --> 00:09:58,360 Speaker 1: right nextuly grizzly bears. They give you pause. Cow in 181 00:09:58,400 --> 00:10:00,319 Speaker 1: a in a spot like that, you got you're two 182 00:10:00,360 --> 00:10:03,880 Speaker 1: miles in, you've got four grizzlies rolling around, You've got 183 00:10:03,880 --> 00:10:07,440 Speaker 1: your your bear defense lined out obviously, I mean yeah, 184 00:10:07,480 --> 00:10:09,680 Speaker 1: I mean if you do, I mean you should obviously 185 00:10:10,120 --> 00:10:12,960 Speaker 1: you should be aware of there's grizzly bears in an 186 00:10:13,000 --> 00:10:16,360 Speaker 1: area and and certainly pre planned for that. If you 187 00:10:16,400 --> 00:10:19,840 Speaker 1: haven't pre planned for that, I wouldn't go messing around 188 00:10:19,840 --> 00:10:22,160 Speaker 1: at this point in my life with trying to kill 189 00:10:22,200 --> 00:10:26,080 Speaker 1: something that's gonna take, um, you know, a lot of 190 00:10:26,120 --> 00:10:28,960 Speaker 1: a lot of time to pack out. Let's say you 191 00:10:29,000 --> 00:10:32,360 Speaker 1: got you know, your local hunter or you've got a 192 00:10:32,440 --> 00:10:34,679 Speaker 1: general say chunky national farce. Pretty good, you got your 193 00:10:34,679 --> 00:10:37,240 Speaker 1: A spot, your B spot, in your C spot, and 194 00:10:37,440 --> 00:10:39,800 Speaker 1: you know, as Joe did the morning before you go, 195 00:10:40,480 --> 00:10:42,720 Speaker 1: you spot four grizzlies you know in your A spot. 196 00:10:42,760 --> 00:10:44,600 Speaker 1: Are you moving to be just like bad I'm gonna 197 00:10:44,600 --> 00:10:48,040 Speaker 1: back out and move to my my B spot? Yeah, 198 00:10:48,120 --> 00:10:51,320 Speaker 1: I mean yeah, I mean best best answer is is yes. 199 00:10:52,000 --> 00:10:55,439 Speaker 1: I mean the odds are and from what it sounds 200 00:10:55,480 --> 00:10:57,559 Speaker 1: like a spot like that, if you're not seeing bears, 201 00:10:57,559 --> 00:11:02,760 Speaker 1: they're probably there anyway. But you know, at least when 202 00:11:02,800 --> 00:11:05,079 Speaker 1: they write your epithaf he can be like he did 203 00:11:05,160 --> 00:11:09,480 Speaker 1: his best to avoid the bears that when it was proven. 204 00:11:09,600 --> 00:11:11,600 Speaker 1: But the first but the first line of that epithaff 205 00:11:11,800 --> 00:11:16,360 Speaker 1: is pretty damn cool, you know, so maybe that wakes 206 00:11:16,360 --> 00:11:20,880 Speaker 1: it worthwhile. Yeah, that's true, but you stayed in. You 207 00:11:20,880 --> 00:11:24,000 Speaker 1: you guys went in. Your buddy Tie was in there 208 00:11:24,440 --> 00:11:27,760 Speaker 1: and he filmed those grizzlies on what Friday, sending me pictures, 209 00:11:28,240 --> 00:11:29,640 Speaker 1: and then while we were eating lunch, he was sending 210 00:11:29,679 --> 00:11:32,760 Speaker 1: all kind of videos of grizzly bears. Because you're bringing 211 00:11:32,760 --> 00:11:36,000 Speaker 1: a salt rifle, we have company. You're pretty nervous. I 212 00:11:36,040 --> 00:11:37,840 Speaker 1: didn't want to walk in in the dark by myself, 213 00:11:37,880 --> 00:11:40,880 Speaker 1: but yeah you did. Did got over my fear. Okay, 214 00:11:41,320 --> 00:11:43,120 Speaker 1: we're going to get to that. Sam. Let's tell us 215 00:11:43,160 --> 00:11:45,960 Speaker 1: about your your spot, like how you ran into it. 216 00:11:46,200 --> 00:11:48,040 Speaker 1: I think we're all in the spot where like in 217 00:11:48,080 --> 00:11:49,880 Speaker 1: a position where we have our buddies and other people 218 00:11:49,880 --> 00:11:52,280 Speaker 1: giving us intel and all those types of things. But yeah, 219 00:11:52,280 --> 00:11:55,480 Speaker 1: i'd start off with with saying that the secret to 220 00:11:55,520 --> 00:11:59,280 Speaker 1: finding good hunting spots is to find good hunting buddies. Yeah, 221 00:11:59,440 --> 00:12:02,080 Speaker 1: especially as I just moved here and didn't really get 222 00:12:02,120 --> 00:12:05,480 Speaker 1: to scout too much this summer. But my good buddy 223 00:12:05,480 --> 00:12:10,280 Speaker 1: found this spot um antelope hunting last year, and then 224 00:12:10,920 --> 00:12:12,760 Speaker 1: it was like, oh, hell, there's a lot of help 225 00:12:12,800 --> 00:12:17,280 Speaker 1: down in here, just you know, at at various times 226 00:12:17,320 --> 00:12:20,280 Speaker 1: of the early morning and very late evening, they passed 227 00:12:20,280 --> 00:12:25,240 Speaker 1: through a piece of public land going from some farmers 228 00:12:25,240 --> 00:12:29,040 Speaker 1: fields up into some high land where they like to bed, 229 00:12:29,200 --> 00:12:31,680 Speaker 1: so they go from private to private. But they passed 230 00:12:31,720 --> 00:12:36,320 Speaker 1: through a couple square mile chunks of public ground in 231 00:12:36,360 --> 00:12:40,200 Speaker 1: there right at first light. And um, we scouted it 232 00:12:40,200 --> 00:12:42,960 Speaker 1: out a couple of times, got up on this high 233 00:12:43,080 --> 00:12:45,600 Speaker 1: hill where we could stay out of their way. It's 234 00:12:45,679 --> 00:12:48,800 Speaker 1: it's it's very circuitous and difficult to get in there 235 00:12:48,840 --> 00:12:51,400 Speaker 1: because you kind of you have to walk a patchwork 236 00:12:52,080 --> 00:12:54,960 Speaker 1: of public ground to get way back in even though 237 00:12:55,000 --> 00:12:59,480 Speaker 1: you're not terribly far from a road. Um. Yeah, we 238 00:12:59,480 --> 00:13:01,840 Speaker 1: we have a really good scouting session last week. And 239 00:13:01,840 --> 00:13:06,480 Speaker 1: then went got down into the territory after the elk 240 00:13:06,559 --> 00:13:10,719 Speaker 1: had left and felt it out a little bit, and uh, 241 00:13:10,840 --> 00:13:14,280 Speaker 1: I felt really confident and going in any morning. And 242 00:13:14,320 --> 00:13:16,560 Speaker 1: this is a spot where, like you know, void of elk. 243 00:13:16,600 --> 00:13:18,400 Speaker 1: Had you not see has your body not seen out? 244 00:13:18,400 --> 00:13:20,400 Speaker 1: There's the spot you're picking out on the map, like, oh, 245 00:13:20,640 --> 00:13:24,720 Speaker 1: I'm gonna dump in there? Never yeah, never, No, it's 246 00:13:24,760 --> 00:13:28,199 Speaker 1: not And it's and to be completely honest, it's not 247 00:13:28,360 --> 00:13:31,880 Speaker 1: really what It's not really the kind of elk cutting 248 00:13:32,200 --> 00:13:36,520 Speaker 1: that I dream of and aspired to. I really like 249 00:13:36,640 --> 00:13:39,000 Speaker 1: climbing mountains and being up in the stuff Joe is 250 00:13:39,040 --> 00:13:43,520 Speaker 1: talking about and screaming at him and and heavy timber 251 00:13:43,679 --> 00:13:47,640 Speaker 1: and and whatnot. But we felt like, you know, it's 252 00:13:47,679 --> 00:13:49,640 Speaker 1: hard for a large group of elk to exist in 253 00:13:49,679 --> 00:13:53,440 Speaker 1: Montana without people knowing about it, and we we we 254 00:13:53,559 --> 00:13:56,760 Speaker 1: felt like it was probably going their patterns would probably 255 00:13:56,840 --> 00:14:01,440 Speaker 1: change pretty rapidly after they got pressure with archery season opening. 256 00:14:01,559 --> 00:14:05,720 Speaker 1: So it felt like an opening day move that we 257 00:14:05,960 --> 00:14:08,240 Speaker 1: might know might have felt it out a little bit 258 00:14:08,280 --> 00:14:10,600 Speaker 1: better than other people, and we could get in there 259 00:14:10,600 --> 00:14:15,160 Speaker 1: and try to capitalize on this good intel that we'd acquired. 260 00:14:15,480 --> 00:14:20,400 Speaker 1: And uh yeah, seem like worked out. Spot Cow, Cow. 261 00:14:20,480 --> 00:14:22,360 Speaker 1: Your situation is a little bit different than than just 262 00:14:22,440 --> 00:14:25,480 Speaker 1: running out an opening day, but I still think super 263 00:14:25,560 --> 00:14:28,720 Speaker 1: valuable for for this conversation. Tell us about where you 264 00:14:28,760 --> 00:14:31,920 Speaker 1: were and what you were what you were doing. Ah. Yeah, 265 00:14:31,960 --> 00:14:36,120 Speaker 1: I got a bull elk tag on a big chunk 266 00:14:36,120 --> 00:14:39,000 Speaker 1: of private ground um that is owned by the Nature 267 00:14:39,040 --> 00:14:42,680 Speaker 1: Conservancy in eastern Oregon out of Joseph. It's called the 268 00:14:42,760 --> 00:14:45,680 Speaker 1: Zoom Walt Prairie Preserve a lot of people get a 269 00:14:45,720 --> 00:14:51,080 Speaker 1: hunted every year, but there's very limited elk tags, very 270 00:14:51,200 --> 00:14:54,760 Speaker 1: limited or bull elk tags, very limited buck neil dear 271 00:14:54,840 --> 00:15:01,640 Speaker 1: tags and I had one I believe for um bull 272 00:15:01,680 --> 00:15:08,000 Speaker 1: elk text yeah yeah and so crazy opportunity. Um. There 273 00:15:08,040 --> 00:15:12,800 Speaker 1: were rather the hunters out there hunting cows, but um 274 00:15:12,840 --> 00:15:14,880 Speaker 1: I was the only person out there with the bull 275 00:15:14,960 --> 00:15:18,560 Speaker 1: tag and this time of year, so their season started, 276 00:15:18,640 --> 00:15:22,480 Speaker 1: or I should say my season started in August, and 277 00:15:22,800 --> 00:15:29,680 Speaker 1: the predominantly you could you could say all the bulls 278 00:15:29,680 --> 00:15:31,360 Speaker 1: were in one spot and all the cows were in 279 00:15:31,400 --> 00:15:34,880 Speaker 1: the other spot, like they weren't really mixing it up. 280 00:15:35,560 --> 00:15:38,440 Speaker 1: And we actually saw like the first couple of bulls 281 00:15:38,560 --> 00:15:43,120 Speaker 1: running and start hanging out with with the cows. Um, 282 00:15:43,320 --> 00:15:46,160 Speaker 1: did you spend a lot of time looking at onyx maps, 283 00:15:46,160 --> 00:15:48,240 Speaker 1: looking at the property, talking to the guides that are 284 00:15:48,240 --> 00:15:51,160 Speaker 1: talking to whoever, you know, landowners, trying to pick out 285 00:15:51,240 --> 00:15:53,000 Speaker 1: you know, here's the base and I'm gonna hit here's 286 00:15:53,400 --> 00:15:55,000 Speaker 1: you know, here's the prairie where they're gonna come up. 287 00:15:55,000 --> 00:15:56,920 Speaker 1: Did you do that or was it just a get 288 00:15:56,920 --> 00:15:59,160 Speaker 1: there and see what it's what it's like? It was 289 00:15:59,280 --> 00:16:03,080 Speaker 1: more get there and see, because you know, this is 290 00:16:03,120 --> 00:16:08,880 Speaker 1: like the I want to say, other than like some 291 00:16:08,960 --> 00:16:11,600 Speaker 1: depredation cows, Like this is the only time I've ever 292 00:16:11,800 --> 00:16:17,320 Speaker 1: hunted elk on on private land, and um, super cool opportunity. 293 00:16:17,360 --> 00:16:20,640 Speaker 1: And and one of the preserve So when they have 294 00:16:20,840 --> 00:16:25,120 Speaker 1: folks with with bowler buck tags, um their program on 295 00:16:25,160 --> 00:16:26,920 Speaker 1: this chunk of private ground, as you gotta go out 296 00:16:26,960 --> 00:16:32,480 Speaker 1: with one of the preserved stewards. And um, the preserved 297 00:16:32,520 --> 00:16:35,080 Speaker 1: steward that I was hunting with this gutch had dots 298 00:16:35,080 --> 00:16:39,000 Speaker 1: and he also had a buck mule deer tag for 299 00:16:39,040 --> 00:16:42,600 Speaker 1: the same area, not on the same property, but same area. 300 00:16:42,680 --> 00:16:46,640 Speaker 1: And and you know he's like, listen, we're gonna find 301 00:16:46,680 --> 00:16:52,640 Speaker 1: elk It's like if you don't want something pinned down, 302 00:16:53,240 --> 00:16:55,680 Speaker 1: it's like I'm gonna go hunt this mule deer tag 303 00:16:55,960 --> 00:16:59,320 Speaker 1: until you show up like perfect, because you know, I 304 00:16:59,400 --> 00:17:04,840 Speaker 1: just um already felt slightly cheapish of how freaking awesome 305 00:17:04,880 --> 00:17:07,040 Speaker 1: of an opportunity this was, and already just wanted to 306 00:17:07,119 --> 00:17:13,040 Speaker 1: avoid any sort of hand holding situation. UM. And yeah, 307 00:17:13,080 --> 00:17:15,520 Speaker 1: I mean yeah, there was no trick to finding out, 308 00:17:15,800 --> 00:17:20,480 Speaker 1: like showed up super late as per usual opening day. Um, 309 00:17:20,720 --> 00:17:25,480 Speaker 1: dropped our gear, assembled our gear, headed up um onto 310 00:17:25,560 --> 00:17:28,760 Speaker 1: one of the plateaus to just kind of get a 311 00:17:28,840 --> 00:17:32,000 Speaker 1: lay at the land, and um look over and there's 312 00:17:32,040 --> 00:17:35,440 Speaker 1: seven bowls walking out in front of us. And then 313 00:17:35,480 --> 00:17:37,520 Speaker 1: we went a little bit further and there's six more 314 00:17:37,560 --> 00:17:41,720 Speaker 1: bulls coming up out of the timber um, you know. 315 00:17:41,800 --> 00:17:44,159 Speaker 1: And so that set things off as I wasn't feeling 316 00:17:44,200 --> 00:17:47,359 Speaker 1: real pressured as to if we were going to find Elk. Yeah, 317 00:17:47,600 --> 00:17:49,720 Speaker 1: that's why I like going through it this way, because 318 00:17:49,720 --> 00:17:52,520 Speaker 1: then you start to see like everybody, you guys cal 319 00:17:52,720 --> 00:17:54,240 Speaker 1: and you know the end of these stories, you guys 320 00:17:54,240 --> 00:17:56,359 Speaker 1: both killed Elk, Colin, Sam killer Joe, and I did not. 321 00:17:57,160 --> 00:18:00,480 Speaker 1: But like you get into what exactly how exactly this 322 00:18:00,640 --> 00:18:03,560 Speaker 1: all start? How did you get the opportunity to do this? 323 00:18:04,040 --> 00:18:06,320 Speaker 1: How do you think about making a game plan of 324 00:18:06,359 --> 00:18:08,320 Speaker 1: where to go? And there's so many stories, funny, so 325 00:18:08,320 --> 00:18:11,560 Speaker 1: many stories where it comes from a buddy, where it 326 00:18:11,600 --> 00:18:14,200 Speaker 1: comes from somebody you know that has already done the work, 327 00:18:14,280 --> 00:18:16,159 Speaker 1: you know. Oh yeah, I mean if you can just 328 00:18:16,200 --> 00:18:22,960 Speaker 1: get a confident uh, this is the general zone that 329 00:18:23,200 --> 00:18:26,040 Speaker 1: that say of such an insane amount of time. I mean, 330 00:18:26,160 --> 00:18:28,840 Speaker 1: you don't even need like the you know how to 331 00:18:28,920 --> 00:18:31,480 Speaker 1: access it whatever. But if it's like listen, there are 332 00:18:31,520 --> 00:18:33,840 Speaker 1: a lot of l grading right here. Yeah, well that's 333 00:18:33,840 --> 00:18:38,520 Speaker 1: the hardest. I think the hardest part about ELK scouting, 334 00:18:38,880 --> 00:18:42,960 Speaker 1: especially in Montana, being that most of the state is 335 00:18:43,040 --> 00:18:46,320 Speaker 1: over the counter for elk. It's it's trying to pick 336 00:18:46,359 --> 00:18:48,800 Speaker 1: a damn mountain range to go to. It's like, well, 337 00:18:48,840 --> 00:18:50,560 Speaker 1: I heard this one's good, and I heard this one's good, 338 00:18:50,560 --> 00:18:52,359 Speaker 1: and I heard this one's good, and it's so easy 339 00:18:52,480 --> 00:18:55,359 Speaker 1: to it's it. Well, it's it's so much harder to 340 00:18:55,560 --> 00:18:58,359 Speaker 1: focus down the picture. And then once you pick that 341 00:18:58,400 --> 00:19:00,280 Speaker 1: mountain range, and it's like, well, hell, there's a lot 342 00:19:00,359 --> 00:19:03,640 Speaker 1: of really cool looking high mountain basins that have ponds 343 00:19:03,680 --> 00:19:07,800 Speaker 1: that are particularly like possibly wallows around them. And and 344 00:19:07,800 --> 00:19:09,840 Speaker 1: and I mean I was doing that all last week 345 00:19:10,200 --> 00:19:13,199 Speaker 1: looking for a Plan B spot, because what we were 346 00:19:13,200 --> 00:19:15,639 Speaker 1: going to hunt was going to be you know, we 347 00:19:15,680 --> 00:19:18,840 Speaker 1: had one chance. We had one chance opening morning, and 348 00:19:18,840 --> 00:19:20,399 Speaker 1: we it was gonna we're going to know in the 349 00:19:20,400 --> 00:19:23,400 Speaker 1: first hour if we blew it. Um And so we're 350 00:19:23,400 --> 00:19:25,800 Speaker 1: looking for high mountain spots to go hike into. And 351 00:19:26,480 --> 00:19:30,880 Speaker 1: I always I always struggle flying around like to narrow 352 00:19:30,960 --> 00:19:33,560 Speaker 1: my point of view down to a particular basin that 353 00:19:33,600 --> 00:19:36,320 Speaker 1: I'm going to hike into because there's so much good 354 00:19:36,359 --> 00:19:39,640 Speaker 1: looking country. Yeah, that's it. That's it. I spent. At 355 00:19:39,640 --> 00:19:42,679 Speaker 1: the same time, I almost hit a bowl with my track. 356 00:19:42,840 --> 00:19:47,160 Speaker 1: Thursday night, driving to this wedding um where you were, 357 00:19:46,960 --> 00:19:51,200 Speaker 1: you were like, Okay, does would be a good spot? 358 00:19:51,400 --> 00:19:53,920 Speaker 1: I'm like, I'm not above hopping off the highway. Well, 359 00:19:53,960 --> 00:19:58,720 Speaker 1: and that's exactly it. You take every little q that's 360 00:19:58,720 --> 00:20:01,600 Speaker 1: available to you, whether it's somebody saying something at a 361 00:20:01,680 --> 00:20:04,600 Speaker 1: bar or you know, I started looking at a mountain 362 00:20:04,680 --> 00:20:07,480 Speaker 1: range because my barber the other day the other week 363 00:20:08,080 --> 00:20:11,399 Speaker 1: mentioned that there's elk up in there, and I started 364 00:20:11,560 --> 00:20:14,359 Speaker 1: started checking it out afterwards. Or you know, you're driving 365 00:20:14,400 --> 00:20:16,680 Speaker 1: along and you're like, wow, that looks like a cool 366 00:20:16,720 --> 00:20:19,200 Speaker 1: place to go elk hunting. I sure like that. The 367 00:20:19,240 --> 00:20:21,760 Speaker 1: dispersal of trees and rocks and stuff up there, and 368 00:20:21,800 --> 00:20:23,959 Speaker 1: I'll just yeah, just like you're saying, pull it up, 369 00:20:24,040 --> 00:20:25,439 Speaker 1: pull off the side of the road, pull up on 370 00:20:25,560 --> 00:20:27,879 Speaker 1: X and mark something. That's what happened to me. I was. 371 00:20:28,240 --> 00:20:30,320 Speaker 1: I had had a couple of places picked out that 372 00:20:30,359 --> 00:20:33,480 Speaker 1: were further away from home, and I got a pregnant 373 00:20:33,480 --> 00:20:35,239 Speaker 1: wife and a son there, and I'm like, man, I 374 00:20:35,280 --> 00:20:37,920 Speaker 1: gotta find especially for these first couple of weekends where 375 00:20:37,960 --> 00:20:40,280 Speaker 1: that's not really far enough. I gotta find a spot 376 00:20:40,320 --> 00:20:41,879 Speaker 1: where I can go in the morning or in the 377 00:20:41,920 --> 00:20:44,360 Speaker 1: evening and at least be back home in a decent hour, 378 00:20:44,560 --> 00:20:46,479 Speaker 1: Like I gotta. I gotta do that. I gotta have 379 00:20:46,520 --> 00:20:48,840 Speaker 1: that option. So why not take at least the first 380 00:20:48,840 --> 00:20:51,200 Speaker 1: weekend to find that to look around? If it isn't there, 381 00:20:51,200 --> 00:20:53,520 Speaker 1: it's not there, but I'll look. And I think that 382 00:20:53,560 --> 00:20:56,199 Speaker 1: speaks to a big part of this is that it 383 00:20:56,280 --> 00:20:59,760 Speaker 1: helps to know what experience you're seeking, because I I 384 00:20:59,800 --> 00:21:04,080 Speaker 1: do go out and look look at trying to find 385 00:21:04,119 --> 00:21:07,200 Speaker 1: after work spots and and easy accessible things when I 386 00:21:07,200 --> 00:21:08,960 Speaker 1: don't have a lot of time. But at the same time, 387 00:21:09,359 --> 00:21:12,399 Speaker 1: probably the greatest hunting spot I've ever discovered on my 388 00:21:12,480 --> 00:21:15,920 Speaker 1: own where I've killed several nice mule here and played 389 00:21:15,960 --> 00:21:18,720 Speaker 1: with a lot of really nice elk. I found that 390 00:21:18,800 --> 00:21:21,320 Speaker 1: by deliberately looking for a place that I was going 391 00:21:21,359 --> 00:21:24,639 Speaker 1: to go for ten days by myself, and I looked 392 00:21:24,680 --> 00:21:27,119 Speaker 1: for the place that would be hardest to get to 393 00:21:27,240 --> 00:21:31,560 Speaker 1: by road, and then had the the area that was 394 00:21:31,680 --> 00:21:36,959 Speaker 1: farthest from roads and motorized trails within that the whole area. 395 00:21:37,040 --> 00:21:41,320 Speaker 1: So I deliberately found like the worst spot to get to. 396 00:21:42,480 --> 00:21:44,959 Speaker 1: This takes four ever from where I used to live 397 00:21:44,960 --> 00:21:46,919 Speaker 1: in Missoula. This place is in Montana. It takes me 398 00:21:47,000 --> 00:21:49,960 Speaker 1: twelve hours from where I used to live in Missoula 399 00:21:50,680 --> 00:21:53,720 Speaker 1: to to get there. But it's totally worth it. But 400 00:21:53,840 --> 00:21:57,200 Speaker 1: you have to have like a full week to get 401 00:21:57,240 --> 00:21:59,760 Speaker 1: in there. So it's it's all about like identifying the 402 00:22:00,000 --> 00:22:03,520 Speaker 1: are eat you're looking for. Yeah, that's a really good point. 403 00:22:03,880 --> 00:22:08,240 Speaker 1: Yeah all right. And and my story was I'm looking, Okay, 404 00:22:08,440 --> 00:22:11,240 Speaker 1: there's my house I'm looking at within half an hour radius. 405 00:22:11,320 --> 00:22:13,000 Speaker 1: So now I'm gonna look at what are my options. 406 00:22:13,040 --> 00:22:15,359 Speaker 1: I pick one range. I'm like, that's gonna be it. 407 00:22:15,600 --> 00:22:18,080 Speaker 1: That's really the only place I could go. I could 408 00:22:18,160 --> 00:22:20,679 Speaker 1: maybe hit this spot, this spot. I start looking, I'm like, 409 00:22:20,720 --> 00:22:22,720 Speaker 1: that's just not it's not worth my time to go 410 00:22:22,760 --> 00:22:24,480 Speaker 1: over there. I might driver there in the afternoon and 411 00:22:24,560 --> 00:22:26,520 Speaker 1: just run the road really quick and see what I 412 00:22:26,520 --> 00:22:28,960 Speaker 1: could see, but it's not worth hiking end over a 413 00:22:29,040 --> 00:22:33,160 Speaker 1: day or even scouting. Really, I got one real option. Um, 414 00:22:33,480 --> 00:22:36,240 Speaker 1: all I did was look at what is, and I 415 00:22:36,280 --> 00:22:37,879 Speaker 1: can't get too far up in there. I'm gonna be 416 00:22:38,000 --> 00:22:39,560 Speaker 1: I'm gonna be too far to get home at a 417 00:22:39,560 --> 00:22:42,800 Speaker 1: decent hour. So I'm like, okay, what road can know, 418 00:22:42,880 --> 00:22:46,600 Speaker 1: what's the first road that accesses this national forest that 419 00:22:46,800 --> 00:22:49,679 Speaker 1: gets me to a place where are you know, easily accessible? 420 00:22:49,880 --> 00:22:52,000 Speaker 1: And at this point it's like this, it borders a 421 00:22:52,000 --> 00:22:54,600 Speaker 1: bunch of agg and I can run up through check 422 00:22:54,680 --> 00:22:56,479 Speaker 1: these drainages to know where these elk are coming out. 423 00:22:56,520 --> 00:22:59,400 Speaker 1: Because we had seen, um, just like you were saying, 424 00:22:59,440 --> 00:23:01,720 Speaker 1: from a road you see you know, heard of cows 425 00:23:01,720 --> 00:23:04,920 Speaker 1: in a bull in August. You're like, okay, like that, 426 00:23:04,920 --> 00:23:08,080 Speaker 1: that's a starting point. So we found this private road 427 00:23:09,160 --> 00:23:11,560 Speaker 1: we found where we saw some elk that were, you know, 428 00:23:11,640 --> 00:23:13,760 Speaker 1: like they were just in the in a pocket of 429 00:23:13,920 --> 00:23:17,359 Speaker 1: landlocked stake ground. And then we rode up into the 430 00:23:17,440 --> 00:23:19,919 Speaker 1: national forest and picked the drainages that we thought they 431 00:23:19,920 --> 00:23:21,880 Speaker 1: were going to funnel back up into once they're off 432 00:23:21,880 --> 00:23:24,800 Speaker 1: the egg and set up in the first closest one 433 00:23:24,840 --> 00:23:28,080 Speaker 1: we could get to for a Saturday morning, and and 434 00:23:28,160 --> 00:23:30,240 Speaker 1: it it was pretty much on from there. So it 435 00:23:30,359 --> 00:23:32,200 Speaker 1: was we were going in there blind. We had never 436 00:23:32,280 --> 00:23:35,200 Speaker 1: been we had been to that spot but never been 437 00:23:35,280 --> 00:23:38,280 Speaker 1: in on that trail. So I mean it, you can 438 00:23:38,320 --> 00:23:41,280 Speaker 1: either have scouted it every day like Sam did, like 439 00:23:42,520 --> 00:23:44,959 Speaker 1: Joe did, or be I was fairly blind. You were 440 00:23:45,000 --> 00:23:48,040 Speaker 1: fairly blind cow in different situations. So there's a lot 441 00:23:48,119 --> 00:23:49,680 Speaker 1: of ways to get to the point where you're like, 442 00:23:49,720 --> 00:23:53,199 Speaker 1: now I gotta find an elk. And so had you 443 00:23:53,240 --> 00:23:55,600 Speaker 1: ever say I've ever seen the bullet you killed before 444 00:23:55,960 --> 00:23:59,119 Speaker 1: you killed it. I hadn't seen him up close, but 445 00:23:59,480 --> 00:24:02,800 Speaker 1: we saw that the whole herd, so I was looking 446 00:24:02,840 --> 00:24:07,199 Speaker 1: at him from ways off. I didn't like necessarily, you know, 447 00:24:07,920 --> 00:24:12,359 Speaker 1: mark him or anything there were with the main herd. 448 00:24:12,520 --> 00:24:16,159 Speaker 1: There was there was one big herd bowl and then 449 00:24:16,359 --> 00:24:18,600 Speaker 1: this one, and then a couple of little rag horns 450 00:24:18,600 --> 00:24:20,760 Speaker 1: and spikes. But then there's a big bachelor group that 451 00:24:20,840 --> 00:24:23,080 Speaker 1: was kind of shadowing them. But I know I didn't 452 00:24:23,160 --> 00:24:28,159 Speaker 1: like identify this bowl. I didn't. I mean I it 453 00:24:28,280 --> 00:24:33,120 Speaker 1: was probably less than less than sixty seconds between when 454 00:24:33,119 --> 00:24:35,239 Speaker 1: I saw him first and when I was putting an 455 00:24:35,320 --> 00:24:38,359 Speaker 1: arrow through him. It was it all happened very fast. 456 00:24:38,400 --> 00:24:46,400 Speaker 1: It's very crazy, chaotic sprinting situation. Joe, You've we don't 457 00:24:46,480 --> 00:24:48,760 Speaker 1: want to tell people about this giant elfit you spotted. 458 00:24:49,520 --> 00:24:51,679 Speaker 1: It sounds like everybody knows about it. Everybody in the 459 00:24:51,680 --> 00:24:53,920 Speaker 1: office knows about it. It sounds like everyone Bozeman knows 460 00:24:53,920 --> 00:24:59,719 Speaker 1: about it. You know. We we saw a bowl and 461 00:25:00,040 --> 00:25:03,160 Speaker 1: we were up scouting it and it was like that, 462 00:25:03,160 --> 00:25:06,920 Speaker 1: that's the bowl that we want. So we we took 463 00:25:06,960 --> 00:25:09,800 Speaker 1: that as we're going to go up there regardless of 464 00:25:09,840 --> 00:25:12,480 Speaker 1: the situation because weather wasn't supposed to be great and 465 00:25:12,520 --> 00:25:15,840 Speaker 1: everything in high mountains. And we saw him and he 466 00:25:15,960 --> 00:25:19,280 Speaker 1: got the drive going. So we ran up there and 467 00:25:19,480 --> 00:25:23,160 Speaker 1: unfortunately couldn't locate him this weekend. Really we we thought 468 00:25:23,160 --> 00:25:25,320 Speaker 1: we found the herd that he was with, but we 469 00:25:25,359 --> 00:25:29,720 Speaker 1: got close. Um Tie had him at about seventy yards 470 00:25:29,760 --> 00:25:32,080 Speaker 1: that heard and he said the bowl that was with 471 00:25:32,160 --> 00:25:35,159 Speaker 1: him was different, and uh, looking at him from a distance, 472 00:25:35,200 --> 00:25:37,199 Speaker 1: we were all like, yep, that's it. But we had 473 00:25:37,240 --> 00:25:38,720 Speaker 1: a lot of fog rolling in it was kind of 474 00:25:38,720 --> 00:25:41,960 Speaker 1: hard to identify. But unfortunately we couldn't find him. We 475 00:25:42,000 --> 00:25:44,360 Speaker 1: heard a couple of bugles that sounded like his, but 476 00:25:44,400 --> 00:25:46,359 Speaker 1: other than that, the video you show me that he 477 00:25:46,520 --> 00:25:51,160 Speaker 1: was rolling on this like ridge top just just let go. Yeah, 478 00:25:51,320 --> 00:25:55,800 Speaker 1: I mean beautiful, Yeah, there's something about hunting seasons opening, 479 00:25:56,640 --> 00:25:59,679 Speaker 1: then make big, magnificent bowls that you scouted and just 480 00:25:59,720 --> 00:26:01,760 Speaker 1: di pioud jump right into a hole in the ground 481 00:26:01,800 --> 00:26:03,680 Speaker 1: somewhere and don't come. That's happened to be a number 482 00:26:03,680 --> 00:26:06,080 Speaker 1: of times where I've found both huge bowls in the 483 00:26:06,119 --> 00:26:08,520 Speaker 1: summer and then I come back and hunting season and 484 00:26:08,520 --> 00:26:11,000 Speaker 1: all their satellites are still kicking around, but they are 485 00:26:11,080 --> 00:26:14,320 Speaker 1: just they've vanished. You hear the white tail hunter like 486 00:26:14,760 --> 00:26:18,760 Speaker 1: old stickers. Yeah, the swamp buck. Swamp buck seen it 487 00:26:18,800 --> 00:26:21,879 Speaker 1: for four years and then next year he was gone, 488 00:26:22,440 --> 00:26:25,040 Speaker 1: and then two years later he's back or sheds or dead, 489 00:26:25,240 --> 00:26:29,160 Speaker 1: his found or whatever. Um. All right, well we've established 490 00:26:29,200 --> 00:26:33,360 Speaker 1: that Joe and I are still have tags in our pockets. Um. 491 00:26:33,640 --> 00:26:40,520 Speaker 1: Cal have you told this story anywhere? Your elk story? No? Um, 492 00:26:40,640 --> 00:26:45,720 Speaker 1: I mean it's I got a bowl. It was you know, 493 00:26:47,720 --> 00:26:50,000 Speaker 1: you know, big chunk of private grounds. So you get 494 00:26:50,000 --> 00:26:52,720 Speaker 1: a lot of chips stacked in your favor. But it's 495 00:26:52,720 --> 00:26:57,080 Speaker 1: still old hunting and archery, l hunting and traditional archer. 496 00:26:57,880 --> 00:27:00,399 Speaker 1: You take it to another level. I don't believe in 497 00:27:00,440 --> 00:27:03,640 Speaker 1: that at all. Um, you don't think you don't think 498 00:27:03,640 --> 00:27:06,119 Speaker 1: it's harder if it weren't an effective weapon, I wouldn't 499 00:27:06,119 --> 00:27:08,760 Speaker 1: be hunting with it. And I just I hate this 500 00:27:08,840 --> 00:27:11,600 Speaker 1: culture of like, yeah, but let me define the fact 501 00:27:11,720 --> 00:27:16,200 Speaker 1: that this is what I'm doing. Well, if it was, well, 502 00:27:16,240 --> 00:27:17,840 Speaker 1: this is like you've kind of a lot of people 503 00:27:17,880 --> 00:27:20,320 Speaker 1: like to talk about the struggle stick, yeah, which I 504 00:27:20,400 --> 00:27:22,800 Speaker 1: think is you've kind of got this well, you've kind 505 00:27:22,840 --> 00:27:25,240 Speaker 1: of there. There is like we've we've got the nomenclature 506 00:27:25,280 --> 00:27:27,120 Speaker 1: of like you can't just be like I killed an elk. 507 00:27:27,200 --> 00:27:30,399 Speaker 1: Really I have killed a public land traad bow elk. 508 00:27:30,800 --> 00:27:34,680 Speaker 1: You have to kind of line up exactly so your 509 00:27:34,840 --> 00:27:38,680 Speaker 1: your adjectives are like I D I Y, private land 510 00:27:38,760 --> 00:27:42,280 Speaker 1: tread bow. It's all. It doesn't even make any sense. Yes, yeah, 511 00:27:42,760 --> 00:27:44,240 Speaker 1: it was like you were trying to make it hard 512 00:27:44,280 --> 00:27:47,400 Speaker 1: and easy at the same time. Yeah, and so yeah, 513 00:27:47,480 --> 00:27:51,000 Speaker 1: again like tons stacked in the favor. There wasn't like this, 514 00:27:52,560 --> 00:27:55,040 Speaker 1: Oh my god, I hope the elk are still there. 515 00:27:55,240 --> 00:27:57,719 Speaker 1: There wasn't any of this, you know, any of like 516 00:27:57,760 --> 00:28:01,000 Speaker 1: the normal stuff of like somebody else is gonna get 517 00:28:01,040 --> 00:28:05,400 Speaker 1: in here, I gotta make this happen. Um. But as 518 00:28:05,440 --> 00:28:10,000 Speaker 1: like so many times with New Spots, UM, the first 519 00:28:10,160 --> 00:28:16,000 Speaker 1: night was like arguably one of the best nights and 520 00:28:16,000 --> 00:28:19,720 Speaker 1: and had this you know, gorgeous big bullet about thirty 521 00:28:19,760 --> 00:28:26,159 Speaker 1: yards and was point two seconds from uh letting an 522 00:28:26,280 --> 00:28:31,600 Speaker 1: arrow fly and um, you know, and then he saw 523 00:28:31,680 --> 00:28:34,560 Speaker 1: something he didn't like and and that was that And 524 00:28:34,640 --> 00:28:36,919 Speaker 1: ended up just kind of like laying on this mountain 525 00:28:36,960 --> 00:28:38,960 Speaker 1: until it was dark enough to try to get out 526 00:28:38,960 --> 00:28:44,560 Speaker 1: of there without spooking everything. Um. And but like big Bachelor, 527 00:28:44,600 --> 00:28:51,160 Speaker 1: groups of bowls, zero cows um, and that was like 528 00:28:51,360 --> 00:28:54,400 Speaker 1: the difficult part where there were just so many elk 529 00:28:55,120 --> 00:29:00,000 Speaker 1: there you were never dealing with a single bowl situation. Um. 530 00:28:59,760 --> 00:29:02,920 Speaker 1: And tried waiting them out as they were moving up 531 00:29:02,960 --> 00:29:06,560 Speaker 1: to water and and better feed in the evenings. Um. 532 00:29:08,240 --> 00:29:11,760 Speaker 1: And you know, I had like some measures of success 533 00:29:11,800 --> 00:29:15,040 Speaker 1: doing that, like the pick out where you think they're 534 00:29:15,040 --> 00:29:20,120 Speaker 1: gonna go and cut them off and um. And then 535 00:29:20,320 --> 00:29:23,680 Speaker 1: you know, just tried stalking in on a few and 536 00:29:23,760 --> 00:29:27,360 Speaker 1: had again some measures of success and and failure on 537 00:29:27,440 --> 00:29:31,520 Speaker 1: that as well. And then um, you know, really it 538 00:29:31,560 --> 00:29:34,000 Speaker 1: was like kind of a combination of both. At the 539 00:29:34,120 --> 00:29:37,560 Speaker 1: end of that ended up shooting a bowl. So like 540 00:29:37,640 --> 00:29:41,280 Speaker 1: Snucky in or you're trying to film this and this 541 00:29:41,360 --> 00:29:44,560 Speaker 1: is gonna be it will be seen on Yeah future 542 00:29:44,800 --> 00:29:48,960 Speaker 1: project with Cole's Weekend Review. Yeah. Um and gotten this 543 00:29:49,120 --> 00:29:52,440 Speaker 1: great conversation and we're talking with multiple bowls and then 544 00:29:52,520 --> 00:29:56,240 Speaker 1: you know, there's one bowl that is just noticeably bigger 545 00:29:56,280 --> 00:30:01,240 Speaker 1: by sound, and it's just like super growlly and uh 546 00:30:01,400 --> 00:30:07,720 Speaker 1: And ended up dropping in and and getting on top 547 00:30:07,720 --> 00:30:12,960 Speaker 1: of him. UM And I bet he had moved tan 548 00:30:13,080 --> 00:30:16,920 Speaker 1: yards from his bed, and UM, and I think that 549 00:30:17,040 --> 00:30:19,200 Speaker 1: was really the thing I was able to, you know, 550 00:30:19,240 --> 00:30:23,040 Speaker 1: super dry, crunchy ground, walking on top of him, and 551 00:30:23,280 --> 00:30:27,960 Speaker 1: UM would bugle and he'd respond, and I sat I 552 00:30:28,000 --> 00:30:31,800 Speaker 1: had watched him bugle three times broadside at thirty five 553 00:30:31,880 --> 00:30:37,200 Speaker 1: yards with just not a great shot. And then UM 554 00:30:37,520 --> 00:30:42,480 Speaker 1: walked in to about twenty four yards on him, just calling, 555 00:30:42,600 --> 00:30:45,160 Speaker 1: and every time he dropped his head, I had crunch, crunch, 556 00:30:45,160 --> 00:30:49,120 Speaker 1: crunch and call and and you know, he just was 557 00:30:49,720 --> 00:30:54,720 Speaker 1: an old bull and didn't care about He knew the 558 00:30:54,760 --> 00:30:58,440 Speaker 1: cow noises I was making weren't like serious love making 559 00:30:58,480 --> 00:31:02,440 Speaker 1: noises because it just wasn't that time year yet, and 560 00:31:02,480 --> 00:31:06,440 Speaker 1: he was a old, big body dude and knew that 561 00:31:06,480 --> 00:31:09,080 Speaker 1: the bugles weren't It wasn't anything that was going to 562 00:31:09,120 --> 00:31:12,680 Speaker 1: bother him either, I didn't care, right, so I just basically, 563 00:31:13,560 --> 00:31:16,600 Speaker 1: you know, slowly got walking on him and cut him 564 00:31:16,600 --> 00:31:20,680 Speaker 1: off a little bit as he was feeding. Um, you know, 565 00:31:21,160 --> 00:31:23,760 Speaker 1: through like twenty minutes of moving from thirty five to 566 00:31:23,840 --> 00:31:27,560 Speaker 1: twenty four yards and and um, are you crawling at 567 00:31:27,560 --> 00:31:31,560 Speaker 1: this point? Are you standing just crouched walking? He makes 568 00:31:31,600 --> 00:31:35,280 Speaker 1: so much noise crawling too, and that's like unnatural noise also. 569 00:31:35,880 --> 00:31:38,720 Speaker 1: But like a couple of crunch crunch crunch footsteps everything. 570 00:31:39,880 --> 00:31:41,880 Speaker 1: Could he have looked over and see saw you? Or 571 00:31:41,960 --> 00:31:43,800 Speaker 1: is he like done a ridge where he couldn't have 572 00:31:43,840 --> 00:31:46,240 Speaker 1: he He looked right at me a couple of times. Yeah, 573 00:31:46,280 --> 00:31:50,040 Speaker 1: And I just made the biggest thing is like I 574 00:31:50,200 --> 00:31:53,800 Speaker 1: never stand behind anything because that's a great way to 575 00:31:53,880 --> 00:31:57,719 Speaker 1: observe wildlife, not kill it. Um, So I just make 576 00:31:57,760 --> 00:31:59,840 Speaker 1: sure I have a good backdrop. You know, I'll be 577 00:32:00,160 --> 00:32:03,360 Speaker 1: whenever possible. But um, and I have this big cliff 578 00:32:03,400 --> 00:32:06,400 Speaker 1: wall behind me and a super steep, super steep country. 579 00:32:06,480 --> 00:32:09,840 Speaker 1: You're not skyline, you're not sticking out, poking out. Yeah, 580 00:32:09,920 --> 00:32:12,320 Speaker 1: that's a good point to make people for people to remember, like, 581 00:32:13,000 --> 00:32:15,320 Speaker 1: hide behind something isn't always the best way to go. Yeah, 582 00:32:15,320 --> 00:32:17,680 Speaker 1: if they can see your silhouette. You're your host. But 583 00:32:17,720 --> 00:32:21,960 Speaker 1: if you're you're crouched and and have something behind you, 584 00:32:21,960 --> 00:32:23,680 Speaker 1: you can look at them all day. We had some 585 00:32:23,720 --> 00:32:27,600 Speaker 1: cows walk by us at like fifteen yards, just crouched 586 00:32:27,640 --> 00:32:31,560 Speaker 1: out in open grass i. You know, my story is 587 00:32:31,640 --> 00:32:33,760 Speaker 1: very similar to like call a bull in he kind 588 00:32:33,760 --> 00:32:36,720 Speaker 1: of he sees you the first time, rolls awaite, call again, 589 00:32:36,880 --> 00:32:39,200 Speaker 1: Just then just stand up and kind of move with him. 590 00:32:39,480 --> 00:32:42,680 Speaker 1: Then they're not gonna they're intrigued enough to not to 591 00:32:42,800 --> 00:32:45,240 Speaker 1: They're gonna need a good reason to bolt out. And frankly, 592 00:32:45,320 --> 00:32:49,200 Speaker 1: ilk have terrible eyesight relative to white tails and mule here. 593 00:32:49,200 --> 00:32:51,120 Speaker 1: I mean, I've had big Muley's picked me off at 594 00:32:51,120 --> 00:32:54,200 Speaker 1: like a thousand yards trying like, oh we can totally 595 00:32:54,240 --> 00:32:56,440 Speaker 1: dip through this saddle and get up and around. Come 596 00:32:56,480 --> 00:32:58,680 Speaker 1: down that mule he's bed. He there's no way he's 597 00:32:58,680 --> 00:33:02,080 Speaker 1: gonna see us. Every white every white shuners listening to 598 00:33:02,080 --> 00:33:04,240 Speaker 1: this knows that that when that dough steps out in 599 00:33:04,280 --> 00:33:07,800 Speaker 1: the field, like the fawns come out first, and then 600 00:33:07,920 --> 00:33:09,760 Speaker 1: the dough steps out like two hundred yards away and 601 00:33:09,760 --> 00:33:12,239 Speaker 1: looks right up at your tree standing bullshit, there's no 602 00:33:12,280 --> 00:33:15,080 Speaker 1: way I'm not moving at all, but like she can't 603 00:33:15,080 --> 00:33:18,240 Speaker 1: see me. If you swear she can't, she can continue 604 00:33:18,280 --> 00:33:22,520 Speaker 1: cal with here, I mean. So, so that was it. 605 00:33:22,680 --> 00:33:25,479 Speaker 1: I had a perfect broadside shot at twenty four yards 606 00:33:25,520 --> 00:33:29,880 Speaker 1: and there was more. Yeah, I'll let let an arrow fly, 607 00:33:30,080 --> 00:33:34,920 Speaker 1: and um sounded like a good hit. Um the bowl 608 00:33:35,000 --> 00:33:38,760 Speaker 1: reacted like it was shot in the heart. UM, like 609 00:33:39,200 --> 00:33:43,720 Speaker 1: the whole body posture changed. Um. You know, I just 610 00:33:43,760 --> 00:33:47,840 Speaker 1: had that look of like crashing the whole time. And 611 00:33:48,080 --> 00:33:53,880 Speaker 1: um probably ran hundred and twenty yards maybe, And then 612 00:33:54,120 --> 00:33:56,360 Speaker 1: I saw i'd hit the brakes and make it hard 613 00:33:56,480 --> 00:33:59,000 Speaker 1: ninety degree turn on what turned out to be a 614 00:33:59,080 --> 00:34:01,520 Speaker 1: game trail down there, and what turned out to be 615 00:34:01,560 --> 00:34:06,520 Speaker 1: a game trail directly above a cliff. Um, and yeah, 616 00:34:07,760 --> 00:34:09,920 Speaker 1: made a couple of steps, and then I heard a 617 00:34:10,680 --> 00:34:14,399 Speaker 1: major crash, and then like three seconds later I heard 618 00:34:14,440 --> 00:34:17,440 Speaker 1: another big crash, and then like five seconds later another 619 00:34:17,520 --> 00:34:20,319 Speaker 1: heard and I was like, oh, it sounds like he 620 00:34:20,400 --> 00:34:22,200 Speaker 1: fell all the way to the bottom, ha ha ha. 621 00:34:23,360 --> 00:34:26,920 Speaker 1: But he did. He went six d vertical feet we 622 00:34:27,000 --> 00:34:34,040 Speaker 1: think them off several cliffs and it was terrible. Did 623 00:34:34,080 --> 00:34:36,920 Speaker 1: you lose much of meat out of that? You know? 624 00:34:37,080 --> 00:34:41,960 Speaker 1: Surprisingly there was a lot of trauma. Um, but surprisingly 625 00:34:43,120 --> 00:34:48,600 Speaker 1: it wasn't all. It wasn't as bad as it Like 626 00:34:48,680 --> 00:34:55,879 Speaker 1: the initial impression was bad, bad, um, but it wasn't. Oh. 627 00:34:57,120 --> 00:34:59,360 Speaker 1: I mean honestly, like you opened that thing up and 628 00:34:59,400 --> 00:35:02,719 Speaker 1: yours like man, just walk away. Like I even made 629 00:35:02,719 --> 00:35:04,279 Speaker 1: the comment, I was like, man, I wonder if the 630 00:35:04,320 --> 00:35:08,120 Speaker 1: Oregon Fishing Game give me a cow tag because this 631 00:35:08,200 --> 00:35:12,080 Speaker 1: is like demos beat up thing I've seen. But um, 632 00:35:12,120 --> 00:35:15,920 Speaker 1: I think all the fat that this guy had on him, 633 00:35:15,960 --> 00:35:19,560 Speaker 1: just the fat was literally obliterated. It's like it's nothing 634 00:35:19,680 --> 00:35:23,000 Speaker 1: that I've ever seen. Um. If I could post these pictures, 635 00:35:23,040 --> 00:35:26,160 Speaker 1: i would because it is just like nothing I have 636 00:35:26,239 --> 00:35:28,799 Speaker 1: ever seen. And I've recovered a lot of a lot 637 00:35:28,840 --> 00:35:32,880 Speaker 1: of animals and um, but like the fat matter was 638 00:35:32,920 --> 00:35:38,160 Speaker 1: like busted down into like particulate size and distributed everywhere. 639 00:35:38,320 --> 00:35:40,200 Speaker 1: I've just absorbed the blow. Did you feel like he 640 00:35:40,280 --> 00:35:42,680 Speaker 1: free fell he had to have or did he slide 641 00:35:42,719 --> 00:35:45,520 Speaker 1: the entirety? Yeah, there's at least two spots where that 642 00:35:45,760 --> 00:35:50,280 Speaker 1: whole and there's a huge bodied bowl. Um, that whole 643 00:35:50,280 --> 00:35:53,959 Speaker 1: thing was airborne for you know, was at least six 644 00:35:54,080 --> 00:35:56,279 Speaker 1: eight feet off the ground two or three times so 645 00:35:56,680 --> 00:35:59,600 Speaker 1: at least at a minimum two times six dred feet 646 00:35:59,600 --> 00:36:01,840 Speaker 1: for those can't picture it, only spend a lot of 647 00:36:01,840 --> 00:36:05,040 Speaker 1: time mountains. That's a f and long way. That's a 648 00:36:05,080 --> 00:36:07,200 Speaker 1: long way, and it doesn't sound like a lot, but 649 00:36:09,680 --> 00:36:12,640 Speaker 1: if you if I said hikes six d feet, it's 650 00:36:12,680 --> 00:36:17,080 Speaker 1: going to be half as that is a long drop. 651 00:36:17,160 --> 00:36:19,319 Speaker 1: And it went so fast and these are all like 652 00:36:19,360 --> 00:36:23,439 Speaker 1: active rock slides like Big Hell's Canyon type country. Went 653 00:36:23,520 --> 00:36:28,360 Speaker 1: so fast that um like there was like no blood. 654 00:36:29,400 --> 00:36:33,279 Speaker 1: Um there was you know, it's just like active rockfall 655 00:36:34,040 --> 00:36:36,920 Speaker 1: and um. So you know you kind of start second 656 00:36:36,920 --> 00:36:40,600 Speaker 1: guessing yourself because there's a lot of places where that 657 00:36:40,640 --> 00:36:46,560 Speaker 1: bowl should have hung up. And um, I'm always very 658 00:36:46,640 --> 00:36:51,919 Speaker 1: hesitant to drop elevation, um unless I know going down 659 00:36:52,040 --> 00:36:55,560 Speaker 1: is the right thing. So um, I was going slow 660 00:36:55,640 --> 00:36:58,440 Speaker 1: and and and doing a lot of looking. And it 661 00:36:58,520 --> 00:37:01,680 Speaker 1: was actually the chunks of horn, like the pure white 662 00:37:01,840 --> 00:37:07,040 Speaker 1: core of the horn that it was like the oh yeah, 663 00:37:07,120 --> 00:37:09,160 Speaker 1: the bowl had to come through here because this is 664 00:37:09,160 --> 00:37:12,160 Speaker 1: where his antlers exploded on the rock. And so you're 665 00:37:12,200 --> 00:37:15,160 Speaker 1: like picking up little chunks of antler on your way 666 00:37:15,200 --> 00:37:18,440 Speaker 1: down the mountain. But yeah, you went went through that stuff. 667 00:37:19,239 --> 00:37:23,640 Speaker 1: Um again at times literally not touching the ground. Um 668 00:37:23,680 --> 00:37:28,120 Speaker 1: so fast that there was you know, I was like, yes, 669 00:37:28,200 --> 00:37:31,240 Speaker 1: he's got to be down this fall line, judging judging 670 00:37:31,280 --> 00:37:34,160 Speaker 1: from what I've seen, but you know it's pitch black, 671 00:37:34,200 --> 00:37:36,440 Speaker 1: and you always second guess yourself. Well that's what it is. 672 00:37:36,440 --> 00:37:38,719 Speaker 1: You shut the bull right around the dusk, right, Yeah, 673 00:37:39,680 --> 00:37:43,280 Speaker 1: which I hate doing and I've I've passed up shots 674 00:37:43,880 --> 00:37:46,440 Speaker 1: um beat just purely off of that in the past 675 00:37:46,480 --> 00:37:51,600 Speaker 1: because I just don't like dealing with it. Um and uh. 676 00:37:53,280 --> 00:37:56,160 Speaker 1: But I knew that there was an old two track 677 00:37:56,320 --> 00:37:58,040 Speaker 1: road in the bottom of this thing. I was gonna say, 678 00:37:58,040 --> 00:37:59,680 Speaker 1: how the hell you get out of there? Right? So 679 00:37:59,680 --> 00:38:04,720 Speaker 1: I do that and it was a great shot. And 680 00:38:05,080 --> 00:38:08,080 Speaker 1: you know I had in order to come back and hunt. 681 00:38:08,120 --> 00:38:10,479 Speaker 1: It would have been another twenty hours of driving around 682 00:38:10,560 --> 00:38:13,280 Speaker 1: trip and the last day and there's a bowl twenty 683 00:38:13,280 --> 00:38:16,319 Speaker 1: four yards from me, you know, so U or last 684 00:38:16,360 --> 00:38:22,040 Speaker 1: day of that hunt. So yeah, and it was Yeah, 685 00:38:22,040 --> 00:38:24,520 Speaker 1: it was just just amazing. So it was it was 686 00:38:24,560 --> 00:38:27,680 Speaker 1: an hour and a half picking my way down that 687 00:38:27,719 --> 00:38:34,319 Speaker 1: slope in the dark. Yeah. Uh. Ultimately, UM find it 688 00:38:34,600 --> 00:38:38,000 Speaker 1: about a hundred and fifty yards from the from their 689 00:38:38,840 --> 00:38:44,640 Speaker 1: bottom of the of the canyon there and and you know, 690 00:38:44,800 --> 00:38:49,840 Speaker 1: probably another hundred yards that they're relatively flat creek crossing 691 00:38:49,920 --> 00:38:52,440 Speaker 1: to get to get him to the road. So a 692 00:38:52,560 --> 00:38:54,879 Speaker 1: percentage of his antlers were gone. I mean I've seen 693 00:38:54,960 --> 00:38:57,120 Speaker 1: I've seen kind of a couple of shots of him, 694 00:38:57,120 --> 00:39:03,280 Speaker 1: but half of his rack. I think he was five 695 00:39:03,440 --> 00:39:07,799 Speaker 1: by six or something in there. And it's just like 696 00:39:07,840 --> 00:39:11,160 Speaker 1: an old bowl that is, you know, heavy ball. But 697 00:39:11,520 --> 00:39:19,520 Speaker 1: um uh, he is now a three by four with 698 00:39:19,640 --> 00:39:23,799 Speaker 1: the So he's broken right up right above his brow 699 00:39:23,880 --> 00:39:29,479 Speaker 1: times on the one side, and then he's broken um yeah, 700 00:39:29,480 --> 00:39:31,800 Speaker 1: he's broken above his third on the other side. But 701 00:39:31,880 --> 00:39:34,480 Speaker 1: there's part of that split there, so you could still 702 00:39:34,520 --> 00:39:38,440 Speaker 1: count that as a as number four if you wanted to. 703 00:39:39,040 --> 00:39:43,080 Speaker 1: Um and yeah around it's just a good, real good 704 00:39:43,120 --> 00:39:46,080 Speaker 1: memory maker for sure. Yeah, there's a lot of people 705 00:39:46,120 --> 00:39:48,400 Speaker 1: that talk about the struggles, thick or not. There's a 706 00:39:48,440 --> 00:39:49,960 Speaker 1: lot of people that hunt for a long time with 707 00:39:50,360 --> 00:39:55,160 Speaker 1: trad equipment and don't kill any bowl, let alone practice 708 00:39:55,200 --> 00:39:59,840 Speaker 1: man practice. Are you eating any of it yet? Ate? 709 00:39:59,880 --> 00:40:03,879 Speaker 1: The heart had smart sandwich is real good good. Last night. 710 00:40:04,880 --> 00:40:06,160 Speaker 1: That's what you gotta do, is that the thing you 711 00:40:06,200 --> 00:40:08,560 Speaker 1: gotta do the night you kill a bull. I'm not 712 00:40:08,600 --> 00:40:10,839 Speaker 1: a big fan of like just eating the straps or something. 713 00:40:10,920 --> 00:40:14,359 Speaker 1: That night, I I I typically will will do it 714 00:40:14,719 --> 00:40:17,719 Speaker 1: that night or the next night. With that night we 715 00:40:17,800 --> 00:40:21,200 Speaker 1: did a tenderloin just because it was easier, because you know, 716 00:40:22,120 --> 00:40:25,399 Speaker 1: get it flaying the heart um and getting it nice, 717 00:40:25,480 --> 00:40:28,560 Speaker 1: unless you're just gonna core it um. I like to 718 00:40:28,600 --> 00:40:31,319 Speaker 1: take take my time, get my cutting station. I'll set 719 00:40:31,440 --> 00:40:34,600 Speaker 1: up and do that. So I I I never freeze hearts, 720 00:40:34,640 --> 00:40:37,440 Speaker 1: you know, I always always have them early. But yeah, 721 00:40:37,480 --> 00:40:40,120 Speaker 1: tender loins typically might go to for that night just 722 00:40:40,120 --> 00:40:42,719 Speaker 1: because the tenderlins dry out so damn fast. Like if 723 00:40:42,719 --> 00:40:45,440 Speaker 1: you're trying to age the rest of your meat, tenderlins 724 00:40:45,480 --> 00:40:47,520 Speaker 1: can just I mean, it's been more more for deer 725 00:40:47,520 --> 00:40:50,840 Speaker 1: than elk, but they'll just shrivel up into nothings. Yeah, 726 00:40:51,920 --> 00:40:55,080 Speaker 1: conversations like very rarely to the tenderloins make it from 727 00:40:55,080 --> 00:40:57,680 Speaker 1: the field to the freezer. It's just like field and 728 00:40:57,680 --> 00:41:02,080 Speaker 1: then into the stomach. Yes, yeah, you and the heart 729 00:41:02,120 --> 00:41:05,399 Speaker 1: capraise saying is that what it was saying? That looks 730 00:41:05,440 --> 00:41:07,600 Speaker 1: damn good. I think I might do that tonight. I 731 00:41:07,680 --> 00:41:10,560 Speaker 1: kept one of the lobes of the heart just strongly 732 00:41:10,640 --> 00:41:13,400 Speaker 1: suggest you do. And I don't find anything wrong with 733 00:41:13,480 --> 00:41:17,000 Speaker 1: breezing them because there is so much material that you 734 00:41:17,040 --> 00:41:20,319 Speaker 1: trim off a heart anyway, you know. So, Um so, 735 00:41:20,360 --> 00:41:22,560 Speaker 1: I've had a lot that I have a problem freezing it. 736 00:41:22,560 --> 00:41:24,640 Speaker 1: It's just that that's like my favorite thing to eat 737 00:41:24,680 --> 00:41:27,680 Speaker 1: well plus get started right. It's like I get meat 738 00:41:27,680 --> 00:41:30,520 Speaker 1: hoarding situations all the time. But I think the best 739 00:41:30,600 --> 00:41:33,160 Speaker 1: rule of thumb if you can. It's like, if you 740 00:41:33,200 --> 00:41:36,000 Speaker 1: can let all that meat rest for twenty four hours, 741 00:41:36,040 --> 00:41:38,719 Speaker 1: that's going to be the best move. But yeah, man, 742 00:41:38,880 --> 00:41:41,400 Speaker 1: tender loins, there's there's no reason tenderlins need to make 743 00:41:41,440 --> 00:41:43,960 Speaker 1: it off the mountain if you're in that situation when 744 00:41:44,000 --> 00:41:47,200 Speaker 1: if you're truly parting an elk all the way out. Yeah, 745 00:41:47,480 --> 00:41:51,680 Speaker 1: I just there's a there's a decent amount of trimming 746 00:41:51,680 --> 00:41:54,759 Speaker 1: on a tenderloin anyway. Yeah, that's a difference between an 747 00:41:54,760 --> 00:41:56,520 Speaker 1: elk and a deer, right and elk. There's enough on 748 00:41:56,560 --> 00:41:59,000 Speaker 1: a tenderloin that could make a meal. I fed four 749 00:41:59,040 --> 00:42:02,560 Speaker 1: people on that tender line. Yeah, with a backstraps the 750 00:42:02,560 --> 00:42:05,399 Speaker 1: whole different story. But the tender loin, for sure, Um well, 751 00:42:05,440 --> 00:42:06,600 Speaker 1: we'll get to that. I want to get to like 752 00:42:06,600 --> 00:42:08,279 Speaker 1: what we're gonna do with these dead k the two 753 00:42:08,280 --> 00:42:10,439 Speaker 1: that we got in the room saying we gotta hear 754 00:42:10,520 --> 00:42:13,319 Speaker 1: we gotta hear your tail set us up. You're in 755 00:42:13,360 --> 00:42:16,959 Speaker 1: a very hard to get to spot with a ship 756 00:42:17,040 --> 00:42:21,279 Speaker 1: ton of elk coming through. Yeah, not terribly hard to 757 00:42:21,280 --> 00:42:23,960 Speaker 1: get to, just hard to hard to figure out, hard 758 00:42:24,000 --> 00:42:27,400 Speaker 1: to realize that there's elk in there. And I was surprised. 759 00:42:27,440 --> 00:42:29,000 Speaker 1: I thought it was gonna be there was gonna be 760 00:42:29,000 --> 00:42:32,800 Speaker 1: an overrun with with hunters, and we we saw a 761 00:42:32,880 --> 00:42:35,919 Speaker 1: couple of other guys who were just doing it wrong, 762 00:42:36,000 --> 00:42:37,440 Speaker 1: and then they got out of there. I don't think 763 00:42:37,480 --> 00:42:39,719 Speaker 1: they saw us. I don't think they knew that we 764 00:42:39,760 --> 00:42:44,120 Speaker 1: had a bull down or anything. But um so, yeah, 765 00:42:44,200 --> 00:42:47,160 Speaker 1: we we we got a good feel for it last week. 766 00:42:47,880 --> 00:42:51,160 Speaker 1: Uh and set made this whole game plan. I was 767 00:42:51,200 --> 00:42:53,319 Speaker 1: gonna be on the first ridge after they come out 768 00:42:53,320 --> 00:42:55,799 Speaker 1: of this little creek. Jake was going to go down 769 00:42:55,840 --> 00:42:58,239 Speaker 1: into the willows and try to be like in the 770 00:42:58,280 --> 00:43:00,960 Speaker 1: creek bottom where they can't where they come into after 771 00:43:01,400 --> 00:43:06,359 Speaker 1: leaving the agg fields. But we we were hiking in 772 00:43:07,560 --> 00:43:12,200 Speaker 1: and um, I just decided to completely throw the plan 773 00:43:12,239 --> 00:43:14,640 Speaker 1: out of the window. The wind was doing the wrong thing. 774 00:43:14,800 --> 00:43:17,680 Speaker 1: It was blowing kind of towards them instead of a 775 00:43:17,719 --> 00:43:20,719 Speaker 1: way like we thought it was going to um and 776 00:43:20,760 --> 00:43:24,440 Speaker 1: we could hear Elk talking in the creek in the dark. 777 00:43:24,960 --> 00:43:27,240 Speaker 1: Let me scroll this back little ways, because I promised, 778 00:43:27,239 --> 00:43:32,560 Speaker 1: because I prefaced this. Oh yes, we we we left. 779 00:43:32,680 --> 00:43:34,640 Speaker 1: We both left our houses at one thirty in the 780 00:43:34,680 --> 00:43:38,359 Speaker 1: morning on on Saturday to be able to do this 781 00:43:38,480 --> 00:43:40,680 Speaker 1: right because we knew how you know, we timed everything. 782 00:43:40,680 --> 00:43:42,720 Speaker 1: We knew the drive time, we knew the hike time. 783 00:43:42,880 --> 00:43:48,120 Speaker 1: How much sleep you're working on? About two hours I've 784 00:43:48,120 --> 00:43:50,280 Speaker 1: been there, yeah, because I tried to go to bed 785 00:43:50,320 --> 00:43:53,960 Speaker 1: with like three hours and I couldn't fall asleep, and 786 00:43:53,960 --> 00:43:57,239 Speaker 1: and went and had a ben a drill just to 787 00:43:57,280 --> 00:44:00,520 Speaker 1: try to get myself to go down for a minute. Um. 788 00:44:00,560 --> 00:44:02,719 Speaker 1: But yeah, so I was. I was very woozy, didn't 789 00:44:02,760 --> 00:44:06,240 Speaker 1: have time to make coffee like I The first alarm 790 00:44:06,280 --> 00:44:08,000 Speaker 1: went off and I was like, oh, yeah, cool, I'm 791 00:44:08,000 --> 00:44:10,200 Speaker 1: getting up and everything. Look at me get up and 792 00:44:10,400 --> 00:44:12,360 Speaker 1: you know, having like a dream of getting up and 793 00:44:12,400 --> 00:44:14,640 Speaker 1: getting packed and stuff. And then the second alarm went 794 00:44:14,680 --> 00:44:16,680 Speaker 1: off and I was like, oh, ship, I'm supposed to 795 00:44:16,719 --> 00:44:20,200 Speaker 1: meet Jaking fifteen minutes and look, I packed the car 796 00:44:20,360 --> 00:44:22,920 Speaker 1: the night before, but didn't have time to have coffee. 797 00:44:22,960 --> 00:44:25,720 Speaker 1: Just grabbed some stuff out of the fridge and wolf 798 00:44:25,800 --> 00:44:28,640 Speaker 1: it down, just brought to me with the car, or 799 00:44:28,680 --> 00:44:31,279 Speaker 1: brought to the car and ate it on the way. Um. 800 00:44:31,400 --> 00:44:33,799 Speaker 1: But yeah, so we we ran out there. We got 801 00:44:33,800 --> 00:44:35,520 Speaker 1: to the spot at like three in the morning, and 802 00:44:35,520 --> 00:44:39,120 Speaker 1: we we we were a little early. And uh, there 803 00:44:39,200 --> 00:44:41,920 Speaker 1: was a white claw in my back seat, yes, and 804 00:44:42,680 --> 00:44:46,160 Speaker 1: we just we decided to split it. What flavor black cherry. 805 00:44:46,440 --> 00:44:48,680 Speaker 1: You'll never forget that thing. I never forget every time 806 00:44:48,680 --> 00:44:51,680 Speaker 1: you drink. Every time you drink a black cherry, white claw, 807 00:44:51,800 --> 00:44:55,000 Speaker 1: you'll taste the running bull. We probably wasn't running. And 808 00:44:55,080 --> 00:44:58,279 Speaker 1: Jake said something very prescient. He's like, man, if we 809 00:44:58,360 --> 00:44:59,960 Speaker 1: kill a bowl this morning, you know we're gonna have 810 00:45:00,040 --> 00:45:02,520 Speaker 1: to have a white cloth before we go hunting every time. 811 00:45:02,520 --> 00:45:05,320 Speaker 1: It's gonna be a lucky thing. And then like Sam, 812 00:45:06,280 --> 00:45:09,760 Speaker 1: Sam got diabetes. It was I mean, sitting sitting there 813 00:45:09,800 --> 00:45:11,799 Speaker 1: like in the truck, like we're just like you know, 814 00:45:12,560 --> 00:45:14,839 Speaker 1: we saw it. We wanted to be the first truck there, 815 00:45:14,880 --> 00:45:18,120 Speaker 1: so if somebody showed up, we could kind of be 816 00:45:18,120 --> 00:45:21,000 Speaker 1: be walking if we saw headlights, but we didn't really 817 00:45:21,040 --> 00:45:23,400 Speaker 1: need to be in there at that early. But sitting 818 00:45:23,400 --> 00:45:24,759 Speaker 1: there in the truck, I mean, this is the most 819 00:45:24,760 --> 00:45:28,040 Speaker 1: degenerate thing I've ever done in in my life. Let 820 00:45:28,040 --> 00:45:30,440 Speaker 1: me just say, let's cover that for a second. What 821 00:45:30,440 --> 00:45:32,680 Speaker 1: do you guys all think about? Because I had this 822 00:45:32,960 --> 00:45:34,960 Speaker 1: My story has this kind of on the tail in. 823 00:45:35,200 --> 00:45:38,879 Speaker 1: But how you like, if you have a parking spot 824 00:45:38,960 --> 00:45:41,640 Speaker 1: or a poll in spot and you're either the first truck, 825 00:45:41,719 --> 00:45:44,880 Speaker 1: secondary or whatever. How how what's the how do you 826 00:45:44,920 --> 00:45:47,880 Speaker 1: handle the situations? Oh? Man, there's there's a lot of 827 00:45:48,480 --> 00:45:52,880 Speaker 1: etiquette tied up in that question. It kind of depends 828 00:45:52,880 --> 00:45:55,400 Speaker 1: on the size of the area. I got all a 829 00:45:55,440 --> 00:45:57,560 Speaker 1: lot of times, you know, get to some spot and 830 00:45:57,600 --> 00:45:59,440 Speaker 1: if there's a truck there, I'm like, oh, well, hell 831 00:45:59,640 --> 00:46:02,560 Speaker 1: going to the next spot just because Yeah, I guess 832 00:46:02,600 --> 00:46:05,640 Speaker 1: the better question is victory hunting, just one person can 833 00:46:05,880 --> 00:46:09,040 Speaker 1: disturb a lot of country. Well even for even for 834 00:46:09,120 --> 00:46:12,360 Speaker 1: you cal like when you're what's the scenario where you 835 00:46:12,400 --> 00:46:14,839 Speaker 1: will see a truck and still go in it? It's 836 00:46:14,840 --> 00:46:16,440 Speaker 1: like a single we had a situation was like a 837 00:46:16,440 --> 00:46:19,799 Speaker 1: single trail head. One truck can get into the gated 838 00:46:20,200 --> 00:46:22,040 Speaker 1: portion of it like you could pull into the gate 839 00:46:22,080 --> 00:46:23,560 Speaker 1: and walk at the rest of the trail. So if 840 00:46:23,560 --> 00:46:26,759 Speaker 1: there's one truck, it's pretty clear like you're not there's 841 00:46:26,760 --> 00:46:30,000 Speaker 1: nowhere else to be and we and I've seen and 842 00:46:30,040 --> 00:46:32,280 Speaker 1: I've seen I saw this weekend a couple of times 843 00:46:32,680 --> 00:46:35,240 Speaker 1: where guys that just drive to the top of the canyon, 844 00:46:35,640 --> 00:46:37,560 Speaker 1: to the top of the drainage and then probably drop 845 00:46:37,600 --> 00:46:40,560 Speaker 1: in the top, knowing that there's somebody in the bottom, 846 00:46:40,600 --> 00:46:42,680 Speaker 1: you know, and so like, what's the spatial awareness that 847 00:46:42,719 --> 00:46:45,240 Speaker 1: you have to have in those situations? Yeah, it's tough. 848 00:46:45,360 --> 00:46:49,960 Speaker 1: I mean I know a lot of spots well enough 849 00:46:50,080 --> 00:46:55,160 Speaker 1: to where, um, you know, I'll walk up with people 850 00:46:55,160 --> 00:46:58,920 Speaker 1: with my head lamp off, watch their head lamp decisions 851 00:46:59,320 --> 00:47:02,120 Speaker 1: in the middle of an and be like cow's watching. Okay, 852 00:47:02,160 --> 00:47:05,280 Speaker 1: they're going this way, then this way, and bush animals 853 00:47:05,280 --> 00:47:09,120 Speaker 1: that way, and I know I'll never see them. Um, 854 00:47:09,239 --> 00:47:12,239 Speaker 1: where the odds are, I will never see them. If 855 00:47:12,239 --> 00:47:13,879 Speaker 1: you're walking in the dark in the woods, cow could 856 00:47:13,880 --> 00:47:17,960 Speaker 1: be watching you. Oh absolutely, This phobia is always watching. Yeah, 857 00:47:18,320 --> 00:47:23,239 Speaker 1: major phobia of running out of batteries and so I 858 00:47:23,320 --> 00:47:29,520 Speaker 1: consequently basically never use anything battery powered. Like I've walked 859 00:47:29,680 --> 00:47:32,879 Speaker 1: so many miles. That makes sense in the moonlight me too, man, 860 00:47:33,040 --> 00:47:35,239 Speaker 1: just been like I do that. I do that very 861 00:47:35,320 --> 00:47:37,640 Speaker 1: deliberately and all kind of a couple of times I've 862 00:47:37,719 --> 00:47:39,480 Speaker 1: kind of snapped at friends, like, dude, don't turn on 863 00:47:39,520 --> 00:47:43,080 Speaker 1: your head lamp. You're gonna ruin it. Like the dude 864 00:47:43,120 --> 00:47:45,439 Speaker 1: with their super bright head lamp is is the dick 865 00:47:45,560 --> 00:47:48,640 Speaker 1: of and they always have it on right in your face. Yeah, 866 00:47:49,360 --> 00:47:51,879 Speaker 1: and avoiding your phone screen is important there too. That's 867 00:47:52,320 --> 00:47:55,279 Speaker 1: it takes. I've read that it takes uh forty five 868 00:47:55,360 --> 00:48:00,360 Speaker 1: minutes for your eyes to fully adjust to low lights situations, 869 00:48:00,440 --> 00:48:04,880 Speaker 1: So you want to keep them, you know, keep them developing. 870 00:48:05,320 --> 00:48:08,880 Speaker 1: But yeah, you absolutely have to develop this attitude. And 871 00:48:08,920 --> 00:48:11,920 Speaker 1: it's taking me a long time, but I absolutely have 872 00:48:12,000 --> 00:48:15,279 Speaker 1: it now to where I absolutely know that somebody's going 873 00:48:15,320 --> 00:48:18,319 Speaker 1: to be at the spot I picked. So if I 874 00:48:18,400 --> 00:48:20,440 Speaker 1: get up there and there's a truck there, then I 875 00:48:20,560 --> 00:48:24,200 Speaker 1: just go pick another spot. Um. But if there's not 876 00:48:24,280 --> 00:48:27,000 Speaker 1: a truck there, I'm like, Okay, they probably dropped in 877 00:48:27,040 --> 00:48:29,480 Speaker 1: here from a different direction, but at least there's nobody 878 00:48:29,520 --> 00:48:33,280 Speaker 1: parked here at least. Yeah, if you're gonna hunt public lands, 879 00:48:33,360 --> 00:48:34,960 Speaker 1: you've got to have a pretty thick skin about it, 880 00:48:34,960 --> 00:48:38,080 Speaker 1: because it's everybody's everybody has every right to be out 881 00:48:38,120 --> 00:48:40,520 Speaker 1: there too, and you're just gonna you're just gonna see 882 00:48:40,560 --> 00:48:43,280 Speaker 1: people and you just have to you have to thicken 883 00:48:43,360 --> 00:48:45,960 Speaker 1: your skin over and like you can't situation saying like 884 00:48:47,440 --> 00:48:50,080 Speaker 1: it doesn't matter if somebody's parked where you guys are 885 00:48:50,080 --> 00:48:55,360 Speaker 1: parked red because there's that checkerboard of the public private interface, 886 00:48:56,000 --> 00:48:58,560 Speaker 1: Like there's so many means of access that you just 887 00:48:58,640 --> 00:49:03,799 Speaker 1: can't account for. Um, so you gotta you gotta just 888 00:49:03,840 --> 00:49:06,279 Speaker 1: be like, Okay, we're gonna dedicate I'm warning to this 889 00:49:06,360 --> 00:49:08,879 Speaker 1: and and see you see we can get lucky. That's 890 00:49:08,880 --> 00:49:11,000 Speaker 1: how I built my mindset for this. I was like, 891 00:49:11,280 --> 00:49:14,000 Speaker 1: I am assuming this is gonna be overrun with hunters 892 00:49:14,040 --> 00:49:16,479 Speaker 1: and they're gonna blow out all of the elk before dawn, 893 00:49:16,560 --> 00:49:19,440 Speaker 1: and then we're gonna go hike in somewhere else and 894 00:49:19,640 --> 00:49:22,080 Speaker 1: that's okay, that's where that's we were talking about that 895 00:49:22,120 --> 00:49:23,759 Speaker 1: on my hunt. I was like, we're going into a 896 00:49:23,800 --> 00:49:26,200 Speaker 1: place we don't know anything about. This is we are 897 00:49:26,200 --> 00:49:28,040 Speaker 1: I had the privilege of it being public and we 898 00:49:28,080 --> 00:49:30,719 Speaker 1: can explore it like it could be exploratory. How many 899 00:49:30,800 --> 00:49:33,200 Speaker 1: hunters are there, how many elk are there? How easy 900 00:49:33,280 --> 00:49:35,640 Speaker 1: is the access? Is this a place? Is this a 901 00:49:35,719 --> 00:49:37,880 Speaker 1: spot or is this just a place? Like is this 902 00:49:37,960 --> 00:49:39,520 Speaker 1: a spot we could go back to, or just a 903 00:49:39,520 --> 00:49:42,160 Speaker 1: place where there might be an elk? Like that is 904 00:49:42,239 --> 00:49:45,920 Speaker 1: fun to me. Like I spent my entire life thinking 905 00:49:45,960 --> 00:49:48,439 Speaker 1: about moving west to like the first time I saw 906 00:49:49,440 --> 00:49:51,080 Speaker 1: loan some dove, or the first time I saw an 907 00:49:51,080 --> 00:49:53,640 Speaker 1: elk go down, you know, the first time I thought about, Man, 908 00:49:53,880 --> 00:49:56,320 Speaker 1: you know, one day I could be like a resident 909 00:49:56,360 --> 00:50:00,879 Speaker 1: elk hunter. Maybe that might be cool. I finally got 910 00:50:00,880 --> 00:50:02,640 Speaker 1: there and I was like feeling that, like, oh dude, 911 00:50:02,640 --> 00:50:05,280 Speaker 1: I'm just I'm here for this reason, to explore this place, 912 00:50:05,560 --> 00:50:07,840 Speaker 1: to see if there is a spot close to my 913 00:50:07,840 --> 00:50:09,960 Speaker 1: my house, if there is, like if I can have 914 00:50:10,000 --> 00:50:12,360 Speaker 1: that experience. And I pretty quickly found that that that 915 00:50:12,440 --> 00:50:15,440 Speaker 1: I could. Um, but it's it's not a gimme. Like 916 00:50:16,400 --> 00:50:21,720 Speaker 1: my buddy's dad, as you know, he's your classic working man, 917 00:50:22,360 --> 00:50:27,600 Speaker 1: been working for Montana rail Link for his whole life. Um, 918 00:50:27,640 --> 00:50:31,480 Speaker 1: you know, very kind of limited schedule, a weekend warrior, 919 00:50:32,239 --> 00:50:36,520 Speaker 1: and you guys never shot now, Yeah, thirty plus years, 920 00:50:36,880 --> 00:50:40,560 Speaker 1: way longer than that forty some plus years hunting in Montana. 921 00:50:40,600 --> 00:50:43,040 Speaker 1: You know a lot of stories like that. My buddy 922 00:50:43,040 --> 00:50:44,600 Speaker 1: Omar I was hunting with us, telling me he had 923 00:50:44,840 --> 00:50:47,600 Speaker 1: a friend who's dad hunt for forty years and never 924 00:50:47,680 --> 00:50:51,920 Speaker 1: killed it. Now, yeah, I think I've hunted Montana as 925 00:50:51,960 --> 00:50:56,080 Speaker 1: a resident or on the you know, the school like 926 00:50:56,320 --> 00:50:59,680 Speaker 1: the active student license thing. I think I've done eight 927 00:51:00,000 --> 00:51:03,920 Speaker 1: seasons in Montana now, and the first four I hardly 928 00:51:03,960 --> 00:51:07,400 Speaker 1: saw elk and certainly didn't kill any That's where I'm 929 00:51:07,440 --> 00:51:09,520 Speaker 1: I'm like, and then the second four I've killed one 930 00:51:09,520 --> 00:51:12,440 Speaker 1: every year. But those those that like gathering of intellectual 931 00:51:12,480 --> 00:51:14,839 Speaker 1: property is an important I think, at least for me, 932 00:51:14,920 --> 00:51:18,520 Speaker 1: it's like an important period of time, however long that lasts. Absolutely, 933 00:51:18,640 --> 00:51:20,720 Speaker 1: you could be super really good at it and find 934 00:51:20,760 --> 00:51:23,040 Speaker 1: three or four hotspots in the first year and be 935 00:51:23,120 --> 00:51:26,040 Speaker 1: like I got my A, B, C and d um 936 00:51:26,160 --> 00:51:28,520 Speaker 1: or you could take you five years to find those 937 00:51:28,719 --> 00:51:30,600 Speaker 1: those areas, depending on how good you are at that. 938 00:51:30,760 --> 00:51:33,080 Speaker 1: So like when you're telling a story, when you're telling 939 00:51:33,080 --> 00:51:35,120 Speaker 1: Elk story nowadays, that's that's a huge part. And it's 940 00:51:35,120 --> 00:51:39,040 Speaker 1: also about acquiring knowledge, because like I had no fucking 941 00:51:39,160 --> 00:51:41,880 Speaker 1: clue what I was doing. Like I had hunted a 942 00:51:41,880 --> 00:51:44,279 Speaker 1: lot growing up, but I hadn't really you know, as 943 00:51:44,360 --> 00:51:47,759 Speaker 1: coastal western Washington. Mostly I got to go on an 944 00:51:47,840 --> 00:51:50,360 Speaker 1: elk hunt with my cousin in Colorado, but you know, 945 00:51:50,440 --> 00:51:52,279 Speaker 1: I just really didn't know. I had to figure it 946 00:51:52,320 --> 00:51:55,000 Speaker 1: out and had to make a lot of mistakes and 947 00:51:55,200 --> 00:51:57,560 Speaker 1: learn the hard way and mostly by myself and just 948 00:51:57,600 --> 00:52:02,680 Speaker 1: trying to a crew the to the knowledge of behavior. 949 00:52:02,840 --> 00:52:06,040 Speaker 1: And yeah, habits all right, we'll take us no one 950 00:52:06,040 --> 00:52:09,319 Speaker 1: thing before we get back to your story. When you 951 00:52:09,320 --> 00:52:11,640 Speaker 1: were with a buddy and you're walking in the woods, 952 00:52:12,400 --> 00:52:16,160 Speaker 1: how do you decide who goes first? Like walking first 953 00:52:16,239 --> 00:52:20,319 Speaker 1: or who gets first shot? It was walking first? Um, 954 00:52:20,520 --> 00:52:23,520 Speaker 1: I think it's it's useful to have kind of discussions 955 00:52:23,520 --> 00:52:28,240 Speaker 1: about who's who's the trigger man that day? And and 956 00:52:28,719 --> 00:52:31,520 Speaker 1: you know, I've had got a lot of different ways 957 00:52:31,520 --> 00:52:35,920 Speaker 1: with friends from you know, ro Shambo two. You know, 958 00:52:36,040 --> 00:52:39,959 Speaker 1: you had a stock yesterday, so I'm on today, Or 959 00:52:40,360 --> 00:52:42,600 Speaker 1: you know I called for you yesterday so you called 960 00:52:42,640 --> 00:52:45,920 Speaker 1: the day. There's a variety of different ways to approach it. 961 00:52:46,040 --> 00:52:50,279 Speaker 1: A lot of times it's kind of who, um, you know, 962 00:52:50,320 --> 00:52:52,040 Speaker 1: if you're with a buddy, hasn't gotten Elk yet and 963 00:52:52,080 --> 00:52:56,319 Speaker 1: I'm usually trying to trying to help them. Um, this 964 00:52:56,320 --> 00:53:01,480 Speaker 1: this weekend, I had every tension and desire of getting 965 00:53:01,680 --> 00:53:03,880 Speaker 1: Jake and Elk because this is his spot and he 966 00:53:03,920 --> 00:53:06,719 Speaker 1: was kind enough to show me and and take me there, 967 00:53:06,719 --> 00:53:09,399 Speaker 1: and even like running in on the herd. He had 968 00:53:09,440 --> 00:53:12,200 Speaker 1: a narrow knock and I was filming him and just 969 00:53:12,239 --> 00:53:14,640 Speaker 1: the way it shook out, he was he went one 970 00:53:14,640 --> 00:53:16,839 Speaker 1: way up the coolie. I doubled back because I thought 971 00:53:16,880 --> 00:53:18,520 Speaker 1: there was more coming behind, and I just I was 972 00:53:18,560 --> 00:53:21,279 Speaker 1: the one who got lucky. And so it's it's but 973 00:53:21,320 --> 00:53:24,000 Speaker 1: it's important. What I'm saying is it's important to uh, 974 00:53:24,080 --> 00:53:27,640 Speaker 1: you know, discuss prior to the hunt. Yeah, definitely, what 975 00:53:27,680 --> 00:53:30,920 Speaker 1: do you do? Cal I really like to call. So 976 00:53:31,480 --> 00:53:34,600 Speaker 1: whoever is with me is by default shooting and there 977 00:53:34,680 --> 00:53:37,040 Speaker 1: and when you're hiking in you're leading him or are 978 00:53:37,040 --> 00:53:40,920 Speaker 1: you following? Um, you're normally showing, so you're probably I'm 979 00:53:41,280 --> 00:53:46,560 Speaker 1: typically um that can be a fast walker too. Ah yeah, 980 00:53:46,600 --> 00:53:50,160 Speaker 1: And I mean I like talking to animals, so I'm 981 00:53:50,200 --> 00:53:54,200 Speaker 1: always always good at I'm the same way. Um. Yeah. 982 00:53:54,440 --> 00:53:55,840 Speaker 1: Now I think that it's funny to me because we 983 00:53:55,920 --> 00:53:58,160 Speaker 1: talked so much about how much it like we've all 984 00:53:58,239 --> 00:53:59,880 Speaker 1: we all hunt with buddy, Like he had a buddy 985 00:53:59,880 --> 00:54:01,120 Speaker 1: with to you, you got a friend and you got 986 00:54:01,160 --> 00:54:04,200 Speaker 1: a hunting partner, Like how how that all works out? 987 00:54:04,320 --> 00:54:07,200 Speaker 1: Especially when you're new. I was hunting with a my neighbor. 988 00:54:07,760 --> 00:54:10,120 Speaker 1: We just met like three months ago. We become super close, 989 00:54:10,160 --> 00:54:11,840 Speaker 1: but we've just never been in the woods together, and 990 00:54:11,880 --> 00:54:14,840 Speaker 1: so you get I mean he's former military man. He 991 00:54:14,840 --> 00:54:16,960 Speaker 1: can rock, like he can go Like, so, how do 992 00:54:17,000 --> 00:54:20,000 Speaker 1: you know, how do you put that all together? Especially 993 00:54:20,080 --> 00:54:22,600 Speaker 1: when you were you know, somebody you've really you've never 994 00:54:22,640 --> 00:54:24,840 Speaker 1: been out there with, Like what's that? Like? It puts 995 00:54:24,920 --> 00:54:27,600 Speaker 1: it puts a relationship under a lot of strain. I've 996 00:54:27,600 --> 00:54:31,279 Speaker 1: had people go from being really good buddies to go 997 00:54:31,360 --> 00:54:33,960 Speaker 1: hunting that we're not really that good. And it's also 998 00:54:34,040 --> 00:54:36,560 Speaker 1: like who makes a decision. He's like, dude, I think 999 00:54:36,600 --> 00:54:38,719 Speaker 1: we should go if we just dropped down in I'm like, well, 1000 00:54:38,719 --> 00:54:41,160 Speaker 1: I think that brings up an important point. And I 1001 00:54:41,400 --> 00:54:47,000 Speaker 1: absolutely love hunting alone. I do it a lot and 1002 00:54:47,000 --> 00:54:48,640 Speaker 1: I had and I used to do it a lot 1003 00:54:48,680 --> 00:54:50,640 Speaker 1: more back when you know, I didn't really have as 1004 00:54:50,680 --> 00:54:53,319 Speaker 1: many hunting buddies and was trying to figure out by 1005 00:54:53,320 --> 00:54:55,280 Speaker 1: myself and didn't want to be a burden on anyone. 1006 00:54:55,360 --> 00:55:00,239 Speaker 1: But you learn more by yourself, I think, And um, 1007 00:55:00,239 --> 00:55:02,799 Speaker 1: it's I really like not having to have the discussion 1008 00:55:02,840 --> 00:55:04,719 Speaker 1: that WHOA, what do you want to do? Do you 1009 00:55:04,760 --> 00:55:06,359 Speaker 1: think we should go up there? You think we should 1010 00:55:06,400 --> 00:55:08,520 Speaker 1: stay here? Well? What I don't know? Like and it 1011 00:55:08,560 --> 00:55:10,880 Speaker 1: goes back and forth in this circle jerk forever. But 1012 00:55:10,880 --> 00:55:13,680 Speaker 1: when you're hunting by yourself, you just follow your instincts. 1013 00:55:15,080 --> 00:55:17,719 Speaker 1: You just don't do what you feel like doing. If 1014 00:55:17,719 --> 00:55:19,600 Speaker 1: you want to go chase that bowl that's crossing the 1015 00:55:19,640 --> 00:55:22,000 Speaker 1: top of the mountain with the half hour of light left, 1016 00:55:22,280 --> 00:55:24,080 Speaker 1: you go do it, or you don't if you don't 1017 00:55:24,080 --> 00:55:27,719 Speaker 1: want to. Yeah, So that complicates that having another person 1018 00:55:27,719 --> 00:55:29,560 Speaker 1: there for sure, and if it's a friend of yours, 1019 00:55:29,960 --> 00:55:31,279 Speaker 1: there's like a lot of you've got to be kind 1020 00:55:31,280 --> 00:55:34,520 Speaker 1: of be conciliatory depending on what the you know, the friendships, 1021 00:55:34,560 --> 00:55:36,080 Speaker 1: like you got to be able to like work through 1022 00:55:36,080 --> 00:55:38,239 Speaker 1: some ship together. It's not like a guide scenario like 1023 00:55:38,280 --> 00:55:39,880 Speaker 1: this is what we're doing. It has to be a 1024 00:55:39,920 --> 00:55:42,799 Speaker 1: democracy on some level. And so that that's a big 1025 00:55:42,840 --> 00:55:44,880 Speaker 1: part a lot of these stories, that that's that's That 1026 00:55:44,920 --> 00:55:46,879 Speaker 1: goes back to what I was saying about deciding who's 1027 00:55:46,920 --> 00:55:49,360 Speaker 1: the shooter, because once you do that, then that person 1028 00:55:49,520 --> 00:55:51,879 Speaker 1: is can kind of be the hunt master and make 1029 00:55:51,920 --> 00:55:54,520 Speaker 1: some of the calls. So I think that's that's useful 1030 00:55:54,520 --> 00:55:57,240 Speaker 1: in that if it's your tag, then you know, decisions 1031 00:55:57,239 --> 00:56:00,799 Speaker 1: should definitely be yours some love unless you've already eat. Like, hey, cow, 1032 00:56:00,840 --> 00:56:02,719 Speaker 1: your guide me. You know more than I do. You 1033 00:56:02,760 --> 00:56:04,759 Speaker 1: tell me what to do. Yeah, I got that kind 1034 00:56:04,800 --> 00:56:08,879 Speaker 1: of thing. Anyway, continue, Sam, looks your tail. You're half 1035 00:56:08,920 --> 00:56:12,040 Speaker 1: drunken white claws? No, you're sober. It takes a lot 1036 00:56:12,040 --> 00:56:15,120 Speaker 1: of white clothes. I mean, feel how many white claws 1037 00:56:15,200 --> 00:56:18,600 Speaker 1: till you're feeling it? Oh? Just just one half? Just 1038 00:56:18,640 --> 00:56:22,160 Speaker 1: a half top, No, I'd say it's about Jesus, it's 1039 00:56:22,160 --> 00:56:24,640 Speaker 1: about three, three or four. Does a shot of white 1040 00:56:24,680 --> 00:56:30,160 Speaker 1: claw like feeling? Yeah, Joe, you big white clow guy, Dude, 1041 00:56:30,200 --> 00:56:32,680 Speaker 1: love white claws. Drink of the summer, Drink of the summer. 1042 00:56:32,719 --> 00:56:36,400 Speaker 1: Favorite flavor. I like black cherry. So when said that, 1043 00:56:36,440 --> 00:56:39,480 Speaker 1: I was like, can we all agree that natural natural 1044 00:56:39,560 --> 00:56:43,239 Speaker 1: lime is dogshit? That's a hard hard disagree from me. 1045 00:56:43,520 --> 00:56:47,160 Speaker 1: Black cherry is soft disagree from me? Really, you like 1046 00:56:47,280 --> 00:56:50,400 Speaker 1: the natural first off? Like what what unnatural? Lime is? 1047 00:56:50,440 --> 00:56:56,440 Speaker 1: What it tastes like? Well, we were talking about Lacroix flavors, 1048 00:56:56,920 --> 00:56:59,719 Speaker 1: uh last week or two weeks ago, like pample news 1049 00:56:59,560 --> 00:57:02,120 Speaker 1: it looks actly lime and grapefruit. I think are the 1050 00:57:02,120 --> 00:57:04,320 Speaker 1: best La croise and I also think they're the best one, 1051 00:57:04,160 --> 00:57:08,600 Speaker 1: one of the best white class checking out now, thanks Ben. 1052 00:57:08,880 --> 00:57:12,359 Speaker 1: See if they've got on the board with your pample Moves. 1053 00:57:12,400 --> 00:57:14,680 Speaker 1: You're drinking pamper Moves right now. You didn't get Yeah, 1054 00:57:14,719 --> 00:57:18,160 Speaker 1: nothing ever there? Okay, go ahead say yeah. So anyway, 1055 00:57:18,480 --> 00:57:21,280 Speaker 1: um we the wind we got in there. We we 1056 00:57:21,360 --> 00:57:24,480 Speaker 1: hiked several miles back into where the spot was and 1057 00:57:24,640 --> 00:57:27,160 Speaker 1: um or where we thought we'd be able to intercept 1058 00:57:27,200 --> 00:57:30,200 Speaker 1: those elk, and the wind was different. We heard elk 1059 00:57:30,400 --> 00:57:33,440 Speaker 1: bugling down in the creek bottom already when we didn't 1060 00:57:33,480 --> 00:57:37,720 Speaker 1: anticipate them to be there until first light. So we're thinking, well, hell, 1061 00:57:37,760 --> 00:57:39,920 Speaker 1: if we get in there close. One, they could win 1062 00:57:39,920 --> 00:57:42,440 Speaker 1: to us. Two, they could pass us before shooting light 1063 00:57:42,520 --> 00:57:46,480 Speaker 1: starts because they they're they were on an accelerated schedule, 1064 00:57:47,320 --> 00:57:49,520 Speaker 1: likely because there was people coming in from a different 1065 00:57:49,560 --> 00:57:53,400 Speaker 1: angle behind them, which we found out to be the case. Um, 1066 00:57:53,480 --> 00:57:56,840 Speaker 1: So we went way back as far almost as far 1067 00:57:56,880 --> 00:58:00,280 Speaker 1: as we could on the public got on high round 1068 00:58:00,320 --> 00:58:03,400 Speaker 1: to be able to sort out the situation instead of 1069 00:58:03,440 --> 00:58:06,160 Speaker 1: being stuck down low not knowing where they were coming, 1070 00:58:06,200 --> 00:58:10,000 Speaker 1: where they would be um, and we we tried to 1071 00:58:10,000 --> 00:58:15,680 Speaker 1: stay very far like just on this kind of the 1072 00:58:15,720 --> 00:58:18,120 Speaker 1: start of it, so that our wind wasn't blowing down 1073 00:58:18,120 --> 00:58:22,040 Speaker 1: these coolies towards them, and like not we we we 1074 00:58:22,160 --> 00:58:25,400 Speaker 1: set up in like for the last you know, hour 1075 00:58:25,480 --> 00:58:29,920 Speaker 1: of darkness first you know, beginnings of first light, and 1076 00:58:30,000 --> 00:58:33,280 Speaker 1: not at all like an ambush situation. We were just 1077 00:58:33,320 --> 00:58:35,800 Speaker 1: trying to see where they were. We set up two 1078 00:58:35,800 --> 00:58:39,000 Speaker 1: different places and then looked at maps, started to be 1079 00:58:39,040 --> 00:58:42,000 Speaker 1: able to see the landscape and then move because it's like, oh, well, 1080 00:58:42,040 --> 00:58:43,640 Speaker 1: we weren't weren't going to be able to move off 1081 00:58:43,680 --> 00:58:46,880 Speaker 1: this spot without them seeing us. It's a good place 1082 00:58:46,960 --> 00:58:49,560 Speaker 1: to view from, but we can't. We can't like move 1083 00:58:49,640 --> 00:58:53,280 Speaker 1: laterally without getting paid. Still dark while you're making these decisions, yeah, 1084 00:58:53,440 --> 00:58:56,800 Speaker 1: and but like increasingly becoming light. But then we found 1085 00:58:56,800 --> 00:58:58,600 Speaker 1: a spot that we liked where we had a little 1086 00:58:58,600 --> 00:59:02,000 Speaker 1: bit of cover to get down into coolie um from 1087 00:59:02,000 --> 00:59:05,760 Speaker 1: this high spot and then just some flooding. Describe it 1088 00:59:05,800 --> 00:59:10,000 Speaker 1: coolie for those coolie or gully or a wash or 1089 00:59:10,040 --> 00:59:12,360 Speaker 1: you know, it's just like a micro valley, a fold 1090 00:59:12,400 --> 00:59:17,840 Speaker 1: of the landscape. Um, it's a good way, yeah. Um. 1091 00:59:17,880 --> 00:59:19,520 Speaker 1: And so we got up on these got up on 1092 00:59:19,560 --> 00:59:22,360 Speaker 1: these rocks with some brush covering us, and there's another 1093 00:59:22,360 --> 00:59:24,480 Speaker 1: little fool that we could get behind and sneak down in. 1094 00:59:25,240 --> 00:59:27,360 Speaker 1: But then all of a sudden there's you know, two 1095 00:59:28,000 --> 00:59:31,240 Speaker 1: coming up there up the hillside towards us. So many 1096 00:59:31,280 --> 00:59:36,640 Speaker 1: bulls that you feel like you're in Um, like how 1097 00:59:36,640 --> 00:59:43,680 Speaker 1: many male elk probably a dozen or so. How many 1098 00:59:43,680 --> 00:59:47,400 Speaker 1: mature bals too? There was there was a large herbalal 1099 00:59:47,800 --> 00:59:50,880 Speaker 1: right smack dab in the middle of the cows. We 1100 00:59:51,200 --> 00:59:53,960 Speaker 1: and then just like a couple of spikes and really 1101 00:59:54,000 --> 00:59:58,920 Speaker 1: spendly rag horns and then um, but but like the 1102 00:59:58,960 --> 01:00:01,280 Speaker 1: one I got was not with really that herd was 1103 01:00:01,320 --> 01:00:03,640 Speaker 1: kind of trailing it. But then we but we knew 1104 01:00:03,680 --> 01:00:05,760 Speaker 1: that there was a big bachelor group that we saw 1105 01:00:05,800 --> 01:00:08,400 Speaker 1: like twenty two bowls when the last time we scouted it, 1106 01:00:08,480 --> 01:00:11,400 Speaker 1: and we could see them on the horizon at one 1107 01:00:11,440 --> 01:00:16,320 Speaker 1: point during this hunt, but nowhere near public land. Um, 1108 01:00:16,360 --> 01:00:19,040 Speaker 1: so so all of a sudden, there's all these elk 1109 01:00:19,080 --> 01:00:22,160 Speaker 1: and we were somewhat pinned down. They came up a 1110 01:00:22,200 --> 01:00:26,280 Speaker 1: different route than they've come before. Um, but we waited 1111 01:00:26,400 --> 01:00:29,240 Speaker 1: until like kind of the big flush of them was 1112 01:00:29,600 --> 01:00:32,600 Speaker 1: through and we just weren't seeing horns except for that 1113 01:00:33,000 --> 01:00:37,440 Speaker 1: big herd bowl. But he's got like seventy cows around him. 1114 01:00:37,480 --> 01:00:39,360 Speaker 1: He was screaming his head off. It was really fun. 1115 01:00:39,760 --> 01:00:41,760 Speaker 1: He just rounding him up or he just talking him. No, 1116 01:00:41,960 --> 01:00:44,560 Speaker 1: they were they were all pretty nervous like that because 1117 01:00:44,640 --> 01:00:47,160 Speaker 1: they there was people behind them and they were moving. 1118 01:00:47,200 --> 01:00:49,880 Speaker 1: There was um what I have to assume as a 1119 01:00:49,960 --> 01:00:53,160 Speaker 1: lead cow who was bugling, which is very interesting. I 1120 01:00:53,280 --> 01:00:55,560 Speaker 1: you know, you hear people talk about cow bugles, but 1121 01:00:55,600 --> 01:00:58,760 Speaker 1: I'd never like really been able to identify it. But 1122 01:00:58,800 --> 01:01:01,400 Speaker 1: I had binos on a cow who was who was 1123 01:01:01,440 --> 01:01:04,160 Speaker 1: doing long drawn out bugles, and it was we heard 1124 01:01:04,200 --> 01:01:06,760 Speaker 1: it in the morning. We're like, man, that is the 1125 01:01:06,760 --> 01:01:12,600 Speaker 1: shittiest little spike just practicing felt like Simba. It was 1126 01:01:12,600 --> 01:01:16,440 Speaker 1: like Simba and the lion king, like you know, trying 1127 01:01:16,440 --> 01:01:19,120 Speaker 1: to learn how to roar. But then we saw that 1128 01:01:19,160 --> 01:01:21,160 Speaker 1: it was a It was a cow who was kind 1129 01:01:21,160 --> 01:01:23,120 Speaker 1: of in between the larger groups and trying to keep 1130 01:01:23,120 --> 01:01:27,760 Speaker 1: everybody organized and get their shipped together. Um, but the 1131 01:01:27,800 --> 01:01:30,440 Speaker 1: most of them got by us. We and we're kind 1132 01:01:30,440 --> 01:01:33,360 Speaker 1: of came around so that are like sneaky little exit 1133 01:01:33,480 --> 01:01:37,400 Speaker 1: off of our glass and tit was totally exposed, so 1134 01:01:37,440 --> 01:01:40,360 Speaker 1: we couldn't move. We were just like you know, trying 1135 01:01:40,560 --> 01:01:44,160 Speaker 1: just trying to hunker down, monitor the situation. But then 1136 01:01:44,200 --> 01:01:47,040 Speaker 1: they kind of got behind full of the landscape and 1137 01:01:47,080 --> 01:01:49,880 Speaker 1: we're mostly looking uphill and I was like, Okay, there's 1138 01:01:49,920 --> 01:01:52,760 Speaker 1: more coming. There's ones are up there, and we just 1139 01:01:53,440 --> 01:01:55,680 Speaker 1: dropped down into the cool as fast as we can. 1140 01:01:55,920 --> 01:01:57,600 Speaker 1: Just felt like we had an opening and it's like, 1141 01:01:57,640 --> 01:02:00,720 Speaker 1: oh ship, here's our opening. Go. We after our packs. 1142 01:02:01,200 --> 01:02:03,640 Speaker 1: We left like, you know, I had my sitting pad 1143 01:02:03,760 --> 01:02:05,880 Speaker 1: so I didn't sit on cactus and I you know, 1144 01:02:05,960 --> 01:02:08,720 Speaker 1: I left that there and we we both just grabbed 1145 01:02:08,720 --> 01:02:12,040 Speaker 1: her bows and ran. That's another probably not in your situation, 1146 01:02:12,080 --> 01:02:16,000 Speaker 1: but when to leave your pack, that's another big but. 1147 01:02:16,000 --> 01:02:18,000 Speaker 1: But we wanted to be light and fast. We knew 1148 01:02:18,000 --> 01:02:19,960 Speaker 1: we had just this one chance at them before they 1149 01:02:20,000 --> 01:02:22,080 Speaker 1: crossed into private land, and so we just had to 1150 01:02:22,600 --> 01:02:24,880 Speaker 1: had to take off when we had the opportunity to do. 1151 01:02:25,000 --> 01:02:28,600 Speaker 1: So we got into that coolie and cut up towards 1152 01:02:28,640 --> 01:02:30,880 Speaker 1: the herd. They started to kind of mill around once 1153 01:02:30,880 --> 01:02:33,560 Speaker 1: they I mean, honestly, it was like right after they 1154 01:02:33,560 --> 01:02:37,800 Speaker 1: got out of the right near the private land boundary, 1155 01:02:37,840 --> 01:02:40,040 Speaker 1: but they kind of were out in the open, and 1156 01:02:40,360 --> 01:02:42,880 Speaker 1: I think we're like, okay, we left those guys behind, 1157 01:02:43,040 --> 01:02:45,360 Speaker 1: like let's regroup, and they started to mill around and 1158 01:02:45,360 --> 01:02:48,080 Speaker 1: settle down a little bit. Um. But we came up 1159 01:02:48,080 --> 01:02:50,880 Speaker 1: behind him. We were coming up this coolie. Like I said, 1160 01:02:50,880 --> 01:02:52,320 Speaker 1: I had Jake in front of me. He had a 1161 01:02:52,400 --> 01:02:55,400 Speaker 1: narrow knocked and I was I was filming him, and 1162 01:02:56,320 --> 01:02:58,400 Speaker 1: but I was also I was walking backwards for a 1163 01:02:58,480 --> 01:02:59,920 Speaker 1: lot of it because I knew that there was more 1164 01:03:00,240 --> 01:03:03,240 Speaker 1: behind us, UM, and I was keeping an eye out. 1165 01:03:03,360 --> 01:03:06,560 Speaker 1: And at one point, Um, I happened to be looking 1166 01:03:06,600 --> 01:03:09,120 Speaker 1: backwards as he's creeping forward, trying to get to a 1167 01:03:09,280 --> 01:03:12,919 Speaker 1: rise where some of those elk were hanging out, and 1168 01:03:13,080 --> 01:03:15,800 Speaker 1: I saw ears coming up behind us, and I was like, Jake, 1169 01:03:15,880 --> 01:03:19,680 Speaker 1: dount stop and and we both just froze, kind of 1170 01:03:19,680 --> 01:03:22,600 Speaker 1: half crouched, and we had a cow and a calf 1171 01:03:22,680 --> 01:03:27,000 Speaker 1: walk by us at fifteen yards or less. Um, first 1172 01:03:27,080 --> 01:03:30,800 Speaker 1: light fusion camo, nice little plug there. Um, And you 1173 01:03:30,840 --> 01:03:36,400 Speaker 1: were never thinking just shoot a cow. No, wow, Jake 1174 01:03:36,440 --> 01:03:39,040 Speaker 1: had a trophy hunter. Jake has a has a cow 1175 01:03:39,120 --> 01:03:42,120 Speaker 1: tag for for that unit. And so we we we thought, 1176 01:03:42,200 --> 01:03:44,080 Speaker 1: we thought about it. But you know, at the time 1177 01:03:44,120 --> 01:03:51,320 Speaker 1: with Broadside Elk, Yeah my story, my story. But yeah, 1178 01:03:51,320 --> 01:03:53,240 Speaker 1: I mean there's plenty of plenty of time. I mean 1179 01:03:53,240 --> 01:03:57,440 Speaker 1: we can kill cows and tell February nowadays in Montana, 1180 01:03:57,520 --> 01:04:02,040 Speaker 1: so um, I usually try to target bulls for opening morning. Um. 1181 01:04:02,160 --> 01:04:04,640 Speaker 1: But the way they came up, I was like, you know, 1182 01:04:04,680 --> 01:04:07,520 Speaker 1: maybe more we'll be following their path. And Jake really 1183 01:04:07,520 --> 01:04:09,440 Speaker 1: wanted to try to sneak up to the end of 1184 01:04:09,480 --> 01:04:13,240 Speaker 1: this little coolie because you could, you could get like 1185 01:04:13,480 --> 01:04:18,400 Speaker 1: right up into that big old herd. He's like, let's 1186 01:04:18,440 --> 01:04:20,680 Speaker 1: like keep going. I'm like, I'm like, okay, you you 1187 01:04:20,800 --> 01:04:23,360 Speaker 1: keep going, man, I'm just gonna like double back. Because 1188 01:04:23,400 --> 01:04:26,720 Speaker 1: of the way those cows came over the hill, I'm like, 1189 01:04:26,720 --> 01:04:28,400 Speaker 1: I'm gonna get to that rock and see if I 1190 01:04:28,400 --> 01:04:30,000 Speaker 1: can just post up. And like as soon as I 1191 01:04:30,040 --> 01:04:33,240 Speaker 1: got to it, I saw horns coming. I knocked an arrow, 1192 01:04:34,720 --> 01:04:38,080 Speaker 1: got up just a little bit more and drew, and 1193 01:04:38,120 --> 01:04:41,400 Speaker 1: then this bowl just kept coming and and I stood up, 1194 01:04:41,480 --> 01:04:44,000 Speaker 1: and then he was behind some grass and walked and 1195 01:04:44,000 --> 01:04:47,840 Speaker 1: walked and walked, and then came out into my site window. 1196 01:04:48,160 --> 01:04:50,680 Speaker 1: And I knew it was gonna see me just the 1197 01:04:50,680 --> 01:04:52,960 Speaker 1: way I was standing. And I didn't really have anything 1198 01:04:53,000 --> 01:04:54,720 Speaker 1: behind me, because I was just standing on the edge 1199 01:04:54,720 --> 01:05:00,360 Speaker 1: of the coolie and so kind of silhouetted against the grass. Um. 1200 01:05:00,400 --> 01:05:04,600 Speaker 1: But he was kind of slightly quartering to me. Not 1201 01:05:04,600 --> 01:05:08,160 Speaker 1: not a great shot, but it was like twenty two yards, 1202 01:05:08,200 --> 01:05:11,800 Speaker 1: and I let loose um just because I knew he 1203 01:05:12,360 --> 01:05:15,360 Speaker 1: was gonna have me pinned any second. I didn't really 1204 01:05:15,360 --> 01:05:18,080 Speaker 1: even think about it. You know, everybody's been I've been 1205 01:05:18,120 --> 01:05:20,440 Speaker 1: talking to everybody about how my elk season lasted for 1206 01:05:20,480 --> 01:05:24,160 Speaker 1: twenty five minutes. But it never even crossed my I 1207 01:05:24,200 --> 01:05:26,960 Speaker 1: see a you know, I see a branch handlered bull. Hell, 1208 01:05:27,280 --> 01:05:30,040 Speaker 1: I just have a very hard time not not shooting it. 1209 01:05:30,080 --> 01:05:33,760 Speaker 1: After so many years of struggling so hard and having 1210 01:05:33,760 --> 01:05:37,320 Speaker 1: weeks upon weeks of not even seeing hell uh in 1211 01:05:37,440 --> 01:05:40,440 Speaker 1: the learning process that I just can't really help myself. 1212 01:05:41,040 --> 01:05:43,480 Speaker 1: I just kind of get that, get a get a 1213 01:05:43,480 --> 01:05:46,800 Speaker 1: really strong drive, and um, yeah, so put an arrow 1214 01:05:46,920 --> 01:05:49,640 Speaker 1: through him, landed a little farther back than I would 1215 01:05:49,640 --> 01:05:54,560 Speaker 1: have liked. Um, you know, being quartering too, um, because 1216 01:05:54,600 --> 01:05:56,640 Speaker 1: you're trying to push back from the shoulder a little 1217 01:05:56,640 --> 01:05:58,520 Speaker 1: trying to push back from the shoulder because I shoulder 1218 01:05:58,520 --> 01:06:01,560 Speaker 1: bladed a really big bull one time and watched him 1219 01:06:01,640 --> 01:06:05,080 Speaker 1: run away like a you know, like a you know 1220 01:06:06,880 --> 01:06:12,720 Speaker 1: pekador spear and a bullfight. Um. And yeah, just just 1221 01:06:12,800 --> 01:06:16,000 Speaker 1: you know that it penetrated an inch and stopped dead. Um. 1222 01:06:16,040 --> 01:06:18,480 Speaker 1: So I'm always very fearful of that. And that's a 1223 01:06:18,480 --> 01:06:21,439 Speaker 1: delicate shot when yeah, more on a deer than an elk. 1224 01:06:21,520 --> 01:06:23,080 Speaker 1: But when you got a quartering two and you're trying 1225 01:06:23,120 --> 01:06:25,360 Speaker 1: to avoid that shoulder blade and sit put that arrow 1226 01:06:25,400 --> 01:06:29,000 Speaker 1: in that pocket, that's a delicate like from shoulder blade 1227 01:06:29,040 --> 01:06:31,360 Speaker 1: to liver. I mean like it may seem like a 1228 01:06:31,360 --> 01:06:34,200 Speaker 1: big area, but that's a delicate placement of an arrow. Yeah. 1229 01:06:34,240 --> 01:06:37,959 Speaker 1: And so the arrow landed um between the last two 1230 01:06:38,080 --> 01:06:43,320 Speaker 1: ribs um in in the I mean penetrated chess cavity, 1231 01:06:43,880 --> 01:06:47,400 Speaker 1: nicked one of the lungs, went through the liver, but 1232 01:06:47,480 --> 01:06:49,600 Speaker 1: it kind of it also kind of ricochet, It kind 1233 01:06:49,600 --> 01:06:52,560 Speaker 1: of clipped off of one of the ribs and and 1234 01:06:52,600 --> 01:06:55,840 Speaker 1: so it exited on the other side, just in front 1235 01:06:55,880 --> 01:06:58,880 Speaker 1: of the ham m. So just kind of the way. 1236 01:06:59,200 --> 01:07:01,800 Speaker 1: It wasn't that wasn't like, that wasn't the angle. It 1237 01:07:01,920 --> 01:07:04,880 Speaker 1: definitely got a rib and change direction, so it did 1238 01:07:04,880 --> 01:07:07,640 Speaker 1: go through the guts, but it also you know, broke 1239 01:07:07,760 --> 01:07:11,680 Speaker 1: the diaphragm. Um, and he ran, he ran a little 1240 01:07:11,680 --> 01:07:14,640 Speaker 1: ways and stopped, and I and I you know, rushed 1241 01:07:14,640 --> 01:07:17,400 Speaker 1: another shot at him. I guessed it was forty and 1242 01:07:17,400 --> 01:07:20,720 Speaker 1: it was probably more like fifty five, and retrospect went 1243 01:07:20,840 --> 01:07:23,200 Speaker 1: went under him. Then he ran a little further and 1244 01:07:23,200 --> 01:07:26,320 Speaker 1: then Jake took a shot at him and missed. Um. 1245 01:07:26,360 --> 01:07:29,600 Speaker 1: But then he ran off and over the hill. Um. 1246 01:07:30,320 --> 01:07:32,680 Speaker 1: And but I but I knew, I knew it was 1247 01:07:32,720 --> 01:07:35,000 Speaker 1: a decent shot. I knew it was a lethal shot. 1248 01:07:36,000 --> 01:07:40,920 Speaker 1: So we just we kind of regrouped and and Jake's like, 1249 01:07:40,960 --> 01:07:43,400 Speaker 1: I'm gonna go down there. I saw another bull coming 1250 01:07:44,200 --> 01:07:46,880 Speaker 1: and he ran off, and I was kind of sitting there. 1251 01:07:46,920 --> 01:07:51,320 Speaker 1: Then weirdly, a decent pronghorn antelope basically ran up to 1252 01:07:51,320 --> 01:07:53,760 Speaker 1: me to shake hands or something, and Jake had a 1253 01:07:53,760 --> 01:07:56,880 Speaker 1: pronghorn ta archery pronghorn tag and I didn't and I 1254 01:07:56,960 --> 01:07:58,680 Speaker 1: was like, oh, I should call him. Oh no, I 1255 01:07:58,680 --> 01:08:01,880 Speaker 1: can't do that. And so I started to like kind 1256 01:08:01,920 --> 01:08:04,080 Speaker 1: of be like hey, buck and tried to push it 1257 01:08:04,160 --> 01:08:07,040 Speaker 1: towards him, but that didn't work. But Jake ended up 1258 01:08:07,040 --> 01:08:11,320 Speaker 1: getting about fifty yards away from UM a rag horn 1259 01:08:11,360 --> 01:08:15,320 Speaker 1: that was broken off on one side UM, which is 1260 01:08:15,680 --> 01:08:19,080 Speaker 1: a long shot, a very long shot UM. And he 1261 01:08:19,160 --> 01:08:20,960 Speaker 1: didn't take it, you know, which I think was a 1262 01:08:20,960 --> 01:08:24,600 Speaker 1: good ethical decision, especially having one elk potentially on the 1263 01:08:24,600 --> 01:08:27,639 Speaker 1: ground already. UM. But I waited a while and then 1264 01:08:27,680 --> 01:08:32,000 Speaker 1: just kind of slowly wandered the path I saw that 1265 01:08:32,040 --> 01:08:35,840 Speaker 1: bowl take until I could see down into the next 1266 01:08:35,920 --> 01:08:39,000 Speaker 1: little dip and I saw him bedded in some grass 1267 01:08:39,040 --> 01:08:41,240 Speaker 1: over there. I gave him probably about half an hour 1268 01:08:42,000 --> 01:08:45,479 Speaker 1: before I wanted to kind of go see if I 1269 01:08:45,520 --> 01:08:47,479 Speaker 1: could see where he went. And I could just see 1270 01:08:47,520 --> 01:08:50,120 Speaker 1: his his horns, and I was kind of behind some stuff, 1271 01:08:50,160 --> 01:08:53,639 Speaker 1: and so I backed out, went and got my When 1272 01:08:53,800 --> 01:08:56,960 Speaker 1: I went and found the arrow that went through him. Anyway, 1273 01:08:57,000 --> 01:09:02,000 Speaker 1: the other one might still be flying. I don't even UM, 1274 01:09:02,080 --> 01:09:05,720 Speaker 1: and we uh, And then I just kind of hung 1275 01:09:05,720 --> 01:09:07,720 Speaker 1: out for a while. Jake came back from kind of 1276 01:09:07,800 --> 01:09:10,320 Speaker 1: running around to see if there are any more stragglers. 1277 01:09:10,360 --> 01:09:13,400 Speaker 1: And I brought my jet boil with me and so 1278 01:09:13,479 --> 01:09:17,879 Speaker 1: we we had um a cup of a pot of coffee, 1279 01:09:17,920 --> 01:09:21,760 Speaker 1: and I also had some Swiss miss hot coco, so 1280 01:09:22,120 --> 01:09:25,479 Speaker 1: made it into a hobo mocha. And then Jake had 1281 01:09:25,520 --> 01:09:30,200 Speaker 1: a little flask of Penalleton whiskey and so dump that 1282 01:09:30,280 --> 01:09:34,160 Speaker 1: in there. So invented a whole new drink. What do 1283 01:09:34,200 --> 01:09:37,320 Speaker 1: you call that? We call it the nerves that the 1284 01:09:37,400 --> 01:09:42,240 Speaker 1: bro the bromo hobo mocha. Ye, like that, the nerve 1285 01:09:42,320 --> 01:09:45,120 Speaker 1: settler was what it was though, because like I really 1286 01:09:45,240 --> 01:09:47,240 Speaker 1: wanted to go and try to take another shot at 1287 01:09:47,280 --> 01:09:50,639 Speaker 1: that bowl. But but where we where we sat down, 1288 01:09:50,720 --> 01:09:53,040 Speaker 1: we could kind of stand up and like get our 1289 01:09:53,080 --> 01:09:56,000 Speaker 1: tippy toes and see his horns um, And we were 1290 01:09:56,280 --> 01:10:00,559 Speaker 1: we were probably three yards away, but he was just 1291 01:10:00,680 --> 01:10:05,320 Speaker 1: he was bedded their head up, feeling sick. Um. And 1292 01:10:05,439 --> 01:10:09,360 Speaker 1: we had a pot of coffee with whiskey and hot coco, 1293 01:10:09,960 --> 01:10:13,120 Speaker 1: and then went and checked on him again. And I 1294 01:10:13,200 --> 01:10:15,120 Speaker 1: was like, oh, you know that rock pile, I can 1295 01:10:15,160 --> 01:10:17,640 Speaker 1: go way over there and then come in, keeping the 1296 01:10:17,720 --> 01:10:20,840 Speaker 1: rock pile between me and the elk, and I'll be 1297 01:10:20,880 --> 01:10:22,800 Speaker 1: able to get I'm like, oh, I'll be able to 1298 01:10:22,800 --> 01:10:25,160 Speaker 1: get to like fifty yards from that rock pile. And 1299 01:10:25,200 --> 01:10:27,640 Speaker 1: then I did it, got to the rock pile, and 1300 01:10:27,680 --> 01:10:29,639 Speaker 1: I was ranging and it was like eighty four yards 1301 01:10:30,240 --> 01:10:33,400 Speaker 1: and and he was kind of looking right at me, 1302 01:10:34,439 --> 01:10:39,759 Speaker 1: and I would have had to expose myself to step 1303 01:10:39,800 --> 01:10:44,439 Speaker 1: out and take a shot. And I can. I can 1304 01:10:44,520 --> 01:10:48,080 Speaker 1: hit things at eighty yards, but that arrows in the 1305 01:10:48,120 --> 01:10:50,840 Speaker 1: air for a very long time. And I am not 1306 01:10:50,960 --> 01:10:54,000 Speaker 1: a distance archer. I I do that only like for 1307 01:10:54,080 --> 01:10:58,639 Speaker 1: practice occasionally. I don't have a rolling um site. So 1308 01:10:58,840 --> 01:11:01,639 Speaker 1: I'm I'm gay, Jane. When I shoot at eight yards, 1309 01:11:01,680 --> 01:11:05,880 Speaker 1: I'm gauging off of the leveler, the level at the 1310 01:11:05,880 --> 01:11:08,479 Speaker 1: bottom of my of my site, you know, and kind 1311 01:11:08,479 --> 01:11:13,080 Speaker 1: of like picking that between that my sixty pen and 1312 01:11:13,240 --> 01:11:18,160 Speaker 1: I'm like, and he's like right on the public boundary, 1313 01:11:18,320 --> 01:11:21,679 Speaker 1: and so I'm like weighing my options, and I decided 1314 01:11:21,680 --> 01:11:23,280 Speaker 1: that it was a huge gamble to try to take 1315 01:11:23,320 --> 01:11:26,760 Speaker 1: another shot, because if he got running, he could be 1316 01:11:26,920 --> 01:11:30,400 Speaker 1: miles into private land before he stopped again. And I 1317 01:11:30,520 --> 01:11:33,640 Speaker 1: just I've had too many bad experiences. I lost a 1318 01:11:33,680 --> 01:11:36,400 Speaker 1: bowl a few years ago that I think I probably 1319 01:11:36,400 --> 01:11:40,639 Speaker 1: pushed in the dark and had an amazing recovery another 1320 01:11:40,720 --> 01:11:43,160 Speaker 1: year of a bowl that was shot through the lungs 1321 01:11:43,160 --> 01:11:46,559 Speaker 1: but still managed to run about a mile um. And 1322 01:11:46,640 --> 01:11:49,160 Speaker 1: so I decided to sneak back out of there again 1323 01:11:49,200 --> 01:11:51,799 Speaker 1: and went back and we had another pot of coffee 1324 01:11:51,840 --> 01:11:57,400 Speaker 1: and hung out and shot the ship and tossed rocks 1325 01:11:57,439 --> 01:12:00,800 Speaker 1: at other rocks and and just kill time and kept 1326 01:12:00,800 --> 01:12:03,679 Speaker 1: monitoring him. And then one time I looked up and 1327 01:12:03,720 --> 01:12:07,320 Speaker 1: he was kind of wobbling and then tipped over. UM. 1328 01:12:07,360 --> 01:12:10,240 Speaker 1: So I felt very badly that he had to suffer. 1329 01:12:10,320 --> 01:12:13,800 Speaker 1: But he wasn't rolling around and screaming or anything, you know, 1330 01:12:13,840 --> 01:12:16,559 Speaker 1: it was just kind of sitting there, like you know, 1331 01:12:16,640 --> 01:12:20,760 Speaker 1: going septic in his in his guts for better part 1332 01:12:20,760 --> 01:12:22,720 Speaker 1: of two hours. So I felt bad about it, but 1333 01:12:22,800 --> 01:12:24,560 Speaker 1: at the same time, I felt like it was the 1334 01:12:24,600 --> 01:12:28,120 Speaker 1: smart thing not to push him, not to engage that adrenaline, 1335 01:12:28,800 --> 01:12:30,719 Speaker 1: and just to have him feel like he's just because 1336 01:12:30,720 --> 01:12:32,839 Speaker 1: he never I don't think he really even saw us. 1337 01:12:33,080 --> 01:12:36,920 Speaker 1: And the craziest thing is we spooked one elk out 1338 01:12:36,960 --> 01:12:39,360 Speaker 1: of that those over two hundred, and it was that one, 1339 01:12:39,640 --> 01:12:42,640 Speaker 1: that little rag horn that Jake was chasing after. So 1340 01:12:42,680 --> 01:12:45,160 Speaker 1: we got right up into the middle of him and 1341 01:12:45,160 --> 01:12:47,760 Speaker 1: and didn't really disturb the whole thing. And I don't 1342 01:12:47,760 --> 01:12:49,760 Speaker 1: think he really knew what happened or what hit him, 1343 01:12:49,800 --> 01:12:53,320 Speaker 1: and just sort of went and slowly faded faded out, 1344 01:12:53,360 --> 01:12:55,799 Speaker 1: and then we were able to walk up and recover 1345 01:12:55,880 --> 01:12:58,080 Speaker 1: him and start butchering. And there's like, there's nothing like 1346 01:12:58,160 --> 01:13:02,040 Speaker 1: being in in a herd of elk like that, especially 1347 01:13:02,040 --> 01:13:05,640 Speaker 1: when they were just supermouthy and and a little nervous 1348 01:13:05,680 --> 01:13:08,120 Speaker 1: about people being in there. And oh it was it 1349 01:13:08,160 --> 01:13:12,280 Speaker 1: was a cacophony. That's awesome. Man. It strikes me like 1350 01:13:12,640 --> 01:13:16,280 Speaker 1: in those situations what elk really are, Like, they're pretty amazing, 1351 01:13:16,680 --> 01:13:20,320 Speaker 1: very gregarious animals, pretty amazing animals. We were talking about 1352 01:13:20,760 --> 01:13:23,760 Speaker 1: previous podcasts, like some hunts you go for the country, 1353 01:13:24,000 --> 01:13:27,960 Speaker 1: you know, sheep hunting, doll sheep hunt interacting with sheep. 1354 01:13:28,040 --> 01:13:29,439 Speaker 1: You don't get to do it a lot. You're not 1355 01:13:29,479 --> 01:13:31,200 Speaker 1: calling to the sheep. You find them, you stalk it, 1356 01:13:31,280 --> 01:13:33,400 Speaker 1: and you kill them. Most times you do. There there 1357 01:13:33,400 --> 01:13:35,200 Speaker 1: are times you'll watch them for a long time, but 1358 01:13:35,240 --> 01:13:38,800 Speaker 1: they're not as gregarious critters. But when you're eltcounting, you're 1359 01:13:38,840 --> 01:13:42,599 Speaker 1: hunting for the experience with the animal. Yeah, And I think. Yeah. 1360 01:13:42,640 --> 01:13:44,920 Speaker 1: Something I said to Jake was like, because I had 1361 01:13:45,200 --> 01:13:47,960 Speaker 1: um kind of tentatively planned a cariboo hunt this year 1362 01:13:48,000 --> 01:13:50,400 Speaker 1: that didn't end up panning out, and I felt like 1363 01:13:50,439 --> 01:13:53,240 Speaker 1: I got my caribou hunt the way the way this 1364 01:13:53,320 --> 01:13:57,320 Speaker 1: all went down, broad wide open country could have been tundras, 1365 01:13:57,640 --> 01:14:00,720 Speaker 1: you know, mountain slopes, lots of animal was moving in 1366 01:14:00,800 --> 01:14:04,960 Speaker 1: big bands or across the landscape. Having one walk like 1367 01:14:05,280 --> 01:14:07,519 Speaker 1: right up on top of me. I like, I shot 1368 01:14:07,560 --> 01:14:11,120 Speaker 1: it uphill. You know, he was probably ten or fifteen 1369 01:14:11,160 --> 01:14:14,680 Speaker 1: ft above me when I made that shot. The arrow exited, 1370 01:14:14,960 --> 01:14:18,880 Speaker 1: you know, higher than it entered. Wow Um. And so 1371 01:14:19,000 --> 01:14:22,160 Speaker 1: it very much felt felt like a north slope caribou 1372 01:14:22,200 --> 01:14:25,679 Speaker 1: experience more so than the l hunting I typically get 1373 01:14:25,680 --> 01:14:28,360 Speaker 1: involved with. That's why I wanted to like start these 1374 01:14:28,600 --> 01:14:30,280 Speaker 1: at the beginning and like compare because a lot of 1375 01:14:30,320 --> 01:14:32,519 Speaker 1: times you're being camped with buddies you're hunting with, but 1376 01:14:32,560 --> 01:14:34,519 Speaker 1: when you're not, when you haven't planned to hunt with someone, 1377 01:14:34,600 --> 01:14:38,639 Speaker 1: you can like compare your situation to their's. Especially multiple stories, 1378 01:14:38,640 --> 01:14:40,559 Speaker 1: you can see how many different angles are to take 1379 01:14:40,600 --> 01:14:43,479 Speaker 1: at this and like the different the different things that 1380 01:14:43,479 --> 01:14:46,559 Speaker 1: that happened, and learn from those but it really is, 1381 01:14:46,600 --> 01:14:48,600 Speaker 1: it's it really starts with at the very beginning with 1382 01:14:48,640 --> 01:14:50,160 Speaker 1: why are you going out there? How much time do 1383 01:14:50,200 --> 01:14:52,960 Speaker 1: you have, what's the what's your desired result? You know, 1384 01:14:53,000 --> 01:14:54,839 Speaker 1: what are you willing you know, what are the structures 1385 01:14:54,880 --> 01:14:56,880 Speaker 1: you built? What are you willing to take and not take? 1386 01:14:57,040 --> 01:14:59,559 Speaker 1: Make sure those expectations max up with your buddies too. 1387 01:15:00,040 --> 01:15:02,479 Speaker 1: In that's a big one. Yeah, that's a huge one. 1388 01:15:03,439 --> 01:15:05,800 Speaker 1: But Joe, your your story would be yet to come. 1389 01:15:05,920 --> 01:15:08,680 Speaker 1: You didn't find your bowl, you didn't have any did 1390 01:15:08,720 --> 01:15:11,040 Speaker 1: you draw your bow and draw my bow? But I 1391 01:15:11,240 --> 01:15:14,960 Speaker 1: knocked an arrow several times. Uh. We were up really 1392 01:15:15,040 --> 01:15:18,320 Speaker 1: high and the weather systems were moving through pretty heavy, 1393 01:15:18,360 --> 01:15:22,120 Speaker 1: were so pretty much every time we had an opportunity 1394 01:15:22,160 --> 01:15:24,320 Speaker 1: on a milk like a really kind of surefire, like 1395 01:15:24,360 --> 01:15:27,400 Speaker 1: this is gonna happen, the fog would roll in. And 1396 01:15:27,760 --> 01:15:30,120 Speaker 1: there were two times where I didn't get a shot 1397 01:15:30,120 --> 01:15:32,800 Speaker 1: at able because I couldn't get a solid range on 1398 01:15:32,880 --> 01:15:36,920 Speaker 1: them and I was not comfortable estimating range in the fog. 1399 01:15:37,680 --> 01:15:42,000 Speaker 1: So you're going back yard twice within fifty and to you, 1400 01:15:42,000 --> 01:15:45,280 Speaker 1: guys hunted all day for two days. We came back 1401 01:15:45,360 --> 01:15:48,280 Speaker 1: liter early yesterday because storm rolled in and it was 1402 01:15:49,080 --> 01:15:52,040 Speaker 1: ripping winds up on top of the mountain and Harley 1403 01:15:52,160 --> 01:15:56,120 Speaker 1: rain coming. So you're gonna go back? Yeah? Yeah, this 1404 01:15:56,200 --> 01:15:58,360 Speaker 1: is just like a day day hunt run. You gotta 1405 01:15:58,400 --> 01:16:00,639 Speaker 1: like commit to this one. Yeah, you gotta commit to it. 1406 01:16:00,640 --> 01:16:03,400 Speaker 1: It's pointless to go up there for a day hike 1407 01:16:03,479 --> 01:16:07,320 Speaker 1: ant and then have to hike back out. All right, So, cal, 1408 01:16:07,439 --> 01:16:09,759 Speaker 1: what's your You didn't you went to a wedding this 1409 01:16:09,760 --> 01:16:13,479 Speaker 1: this weekend? You didn't hunt? Correct? But what's your what's your? 1410 01:16:14,040 --> 01:16:17,320 Speaker 1: You get a game plan? I mean I still have 1411 01:16:18,240 --> 01:16:21,759 Speaker 1: l tag in Idaho and here in Montana, so I'd 1412 01:16:21,760 --> 01:16:26,240 Speaker 1: love to run back to Idaho and and uh and hunt. 1413 01:16:26,320 --> 01:16:28,240 Speaker 1: And then I also have a buddy who drew really 1414 01:16:28,240 --> 01:16:33,280 Speaker 1: good tag any unit here that I've never hunted, um, 1415 01:16:33,400 --> 01:16:37,120 Speaker 1: and I can. I'd be quite happy just running around 1416 01:16:37,120 --> 01:16:41,080 Speaker 1: with him and checking things out for his potential, you know, 1417 01:16:41,200 --> 01:16:46,720 Speaker 1: real big bowl tag um and uh. You know it 1418 01:16:46,800 --> 01:16:49,519 Speaker 1: probably like I always get a phone call like in 1419 01:16:49,600 --> 01:16:52,200 Speaker 1: November where it's like, you know, do you haven't he 1420 01:16:52,240 --> 01:16:56,160 Speaker 1: helped me? I love to get something there, and so 1421 01:16:56,760 --> 01:17:03,000 Speaker 1: like I could just stop right now, um, but I 1422 01:17:03,000 --> 01:17:05,599 Speaker 1: already already have folks ask him for me too, So 1423 01:17:05,720 --> 01:17:09,080 Speaker 1: it would be good good to get one more, one 1424 01:17:09,080 --> 01:17:16,600 Speaker 1: more elk and then uh yeah, or like try to 1425 01:17:16,600 --> 01:17:18,360 Speaker 1: pick up a handful of deer, you know, feel some 1426 01:17:18,400 --> 01:17:20,800 Speaker 1: white tailed dough tags or something like that. I'm gonna 1427 01:17:20,840 --> 01:17:23,760 Speaker 1: need to get a new freezer. I'm gonna killing anything else. 1428 01:17:23,760 --> 01:17:25,120 Speaker 1: I don't even know if I'm gonna be able to 1429 01:17:25,200 --> 01:17:27,040 Speaker 1: get this bull in there. And I just went and 1430 01:17:27,040 --> 01:17:28,720 Speaker 1: bought a new freezer. I bought the bowser. What's the 1431 01:17:28,760 --> 01:17:31,600 Speaker 1: biggest chess freezer you have? Like bring it to me, 1432 01:17:31,960 --> 01:17:33,599 Speaker 1: and I like, I'll pay that. I don't even care. 1433 01:17:33,680 --> 01:17:35,640 Speaker 1: I don't want ever to run into a problem like 1434 01:17:35,680 --> 01:17:38,400 Speaker 1: the chess pre sure, I got you fit probably too 1435 01:17:38,400 --> 01:17:40,200 Speaker 1: full elk in it. So I just got actually enough 1436 01:17:40,280 --> 01:17:42,479 Speaker 1: meat this summer. I guess I know. Well, you got 1437 01:17:42,479 --> 01:17:45,080 Speaker 1: shanks giving coming up, right, Yeah, you're gonna have everybody 1438 01:17:45,080 --> 01:17:48,000 Speaker 1: come over and just eat elk shanks like the like 1439 01:17:48,040 --> 01:17:52,160 Speaker 1: the freaking the fair, like they're going to the medieval times. 1440 01:17:52,280 --> 01:17:56,559 Speaker 1: You like it. Have a very caveman. Listen close out. 1441 01:17:56,560 --> 01:17:58,000 Speaker 1: I'm gonna tell you my story. I want you guys 1442 01:17:58,000 --> 01:17:59,759 Speaker 1: to tell me if I made the right or wrong decision, 1443 01:17:59,800 --> 01:18:02,559 Speaker 1: because I'm in a similar situation where um, I had 1444 01:18:02,600 --> 01:18:04,960 Speaker 1: a freezer fail and I lost almost all of my 1445 01:18:05,120 --> 01:18:08,320 Speaker 1: game meat, which was many is a couple of heartbreaking 1446 01:18:08,439 --> 01:18:10,640 Speaker 1: it was. It was if I could have had a 1447 01:18:10,640 --> 01:18:12,760 Speaker 1: funeral when I got rid of the meat, I would have. 1448 01:18:12,840 --> 01:18:14,599 Speaker 1: I mean, it's just like, once you've lived with a 1449 01:18:14,600 --> 01:18:16,439 Speaker 1: full freezer for a long time, or at least enough 1450 01:18:16,439 --> 01:18:18,960 Speaker 1: where you know you have what you need, being in 1451 01:18:18,960 --> 01:18:21,280 Speaker 1: a position where you have a little bit left he 1452 01:18:20,920 --> 01:18:26,519 Speaker 1: is it's the first world but very rough problem. So 1453 01:18:26,600 --> 01:18:29,360 Speaker 1: I'm I got my first ever resident elk tag. I 1454 01:18:29,400 --> 01:18:31,880 Speaker 1: want to kind of learn the country and get the experience. 1455 01:18:32,840 --> 01:18:36,439 Speaker 1: But at the same damn time, there's no there's very 1456 01:18:36,479 --> 01:18:39,559 Speaker 1: little meat left in the freezer, and so I've got 1457 01:18:39,560 --> 01:18:42,000 Speaker 1: to make the decision of like what do I do. 1458 01:18:42,120 --> 01:18:44,519 Speaker 1: Well the first morning, you can come help me, butcher 1459 01:18:44,520 --> 01:18:47,120 Speaker 1: tonight and to find your way into some milk meat. 1460 01:18:47,360 --> 01:18:50,080 Speaker 1: That's fine, that's all fine. The cal gave me some 1461 01:18:50,160 --> 01:18:52,960 Speaker 1: meat over the winner, which we're still eating on. And 1462 01:18:53,000 --> 01:18:55,240 Speaker 1: then like other people gave me some meat, Joe, you 1463 01:18:55,240 --> 01:18:58,400 Speaker 1: gave me some some bison. So like from what I 1464 01:18:58,479 --> 01:19:00,439 Speaker 1: had to what other people gave me, I was fine, 1465 01:19:00,479 --> 01:19:03,880 Speaker 1: but just fucking feel the same. It feels cheap. It 1466 01:19:04,000 --> 01:19:07,360 Speaker 1: was like I'm cheap. Well it's maybe not so much 1467 01:19:07,400 --> 01:19:12,080 Speaker 1: that it's cheap, just that you know that pride and 1468 01:19:12,200 --> 01:19:16,640 Speaker 1: just immense satisfaction of eating an animal that you killed. Well, now, 1469 01:19:16,680 --> 01:19:19,479 Speaker 1: I'll also be honest, like my wife does a lot 1470 01:19:19,479 --> 01:19:21,439 Speaker 1: of the cooking. I do a good bit of the meat. 1471 01:19:22,080 --> 01:19:23,880 Speaker 1: And like I've just gotten used to the way that 1472 01:19:23,920 --> 01:19:26,800 Speaker 1: I butcher, like the way that I label stuff, the 1473 01:19:26,800 --> 01:19:29,000 Speaker 1: way the way that it's presented. Like it just you 1474 01:19:29,080 --> 01:19:32,000 Speaker 1: get used to the like get out of the package. 1475 01:19:32,000 --> 01:19:33,840 Speaker 1: You know what it's gonna be, what it's gonna look like, 1476 01:19:34,080 --> 01:19:36,960 Speaker 1: what what situation is going to be in So there's 1477 01:19:36,960 --> 01:19:38,960 Speaker 1: that too. But so I went out with a buddy 1478 01:19:39,439 --> 01:19:43,240 Speaker 1: close to home. We go out and we park at 1479 01:19:43,240 --> 01:19:45,559 Speaker 1: a trailhead. We've got probably a mile walk in and 1480 01:19:45,600 --> 01:19:48,840 Speaker 1: we're just really we've got one little drainage that that 1481 01:19:48,880 --> 01:19:51,400 Speaker 1: goes right into some aggory. We've seen some a couple 1482 01:19:51,400 --> 01:19:53,560 Speaker 1: of days before. The idea is that they're going to 1483 01:19:53,640 --> 01:19:55,640 Speaker 1: come back up into there. We don't know nothing that 1484 01:19:55,720 --> 01:19:57,639 Speaker 1: we don't know really anything about the drainage at all. 1485 01:19:57,840 --> 01:20:01,240 Speaker 1: We don't know if it's melk habitat. If it's it's 1486 01:20:01,240 --> 01:20:03,600 Speaker 1: something that they're going to move into. The idea is 1487 01:20:03,600 --> 01:20:06,479 Speaker 1: to pop in there, see what it looks like, call 1488 01:20:06,520 --> 01:20:08,400 Speaker 1: a little bit, see what the activity is like. If 1489 01:20:08,400 --> 01:20:10,280 Speaker 1: there's nothing, we back out. We drive up to the 1490 01:20:10,320 --> 01:20:12,479 Speaker 1: next one and kind of try to you know, frog 1491 01:20:12,560 --> 01:20:15,040 Speaker 1: leap our way down the ridge and try to get 1492 01:20:15,320 --> 01:20:17,680 Speaker 1: check all these dranges that are running down into this 1493 01:20:18,160 --> 01:20:21,800 Speaker 1: really good looking agg and that's private. We jump into there. 1494 01:20:22,840 --> 01:20:26,320 Speaker 1: It's about seven thirty in the morning, it's day has broken, 1495 01:20:26,600 --> 01:20:29,720 Speaker 1: it's fully light out. Well, he hit the call for 1496 01:20:29,720 --> 01:20:34,599 Speaker 1: the first time, complete silence. Hit a bugle again, complete silence, 1497 01:20:36,000 --> 01:20:38,680 Speaker 1: and looking around. We've got some some timbered outcuts. We 1498 01:20:38,760 --> 01:20:40,840 Speaker 1: gotta burn over the top of a big ridge that's 1499 01:20:40,880 --> 01:20:43,120 Speaker 1: probably about half a mile from where we are that 1500 01:20:43,160 --> 01:20:46,920 Speaker 1: I'm glassing with a with a spotter, my buddy ship. 1501 01:20:48,040 --> 01:20:50,719 Speaker 1: We look over and there's a bull just screaming through 1502 01:20:50,760 --> 01:20:54,120 Speaker 1: this timbered piece, coming down this ridge into the bottom 1503 01:20:54,400 --> 01:20:56,519 Speaker 1: and he's coming for us, like there's no he didn't 1504 01:20:56,560 --> 01:20:59,880 Speaker 1: make a sound, he didn't bugle, he didn't We didn't 1505 01:21:00,080 --> 01:21:03,320 Speaker 1: or him crash. Luckily he ran, I mean he came 1506 01:21:03,400 --> 01:21:05,680 Speaker 1: busting through an open patch where we can see him 1507 01:21:05,920 --> 01:21:08,920 Speaker 1: drop down into his timber bottom. Now we we gotta 1508 01:21:08,920 --> 01:21:11,080 Speaker 1: guess like he's coming to us. We gotta get down 1509 01:21:11,080 --> 01:21:13,559 Speaker 1: this ridge we've never been down before. Pick a spot, 1510 01:21:13,640 --> 01:21:16,320 Speaker 1: get ready, and get him to us. I don't know 1511 01:21:16,360 --> 01:21:18,719 Speaker 1: really how big the bull is, just know it's a bull. 1512 01:21:19,560 --> 01:21:23,240 Speaker 1: We dropped down probably five yards on this you know 1513 01:21:23,320 --> 01:21:26,200 Speaker 1: finger ridge gets set up. I'm like, oh, I got 1514 01:21:26,400 --> 01:21:28,320 Speaker 1: twenty three yards in front of me. I'm kind of 1515 01:21:28,320 --> 01:21:30,439 Speaker 1: blocked off to my right, but I know if he 1516 01:21:30,479 --> 01:21:32,519 Speaker 1: pops up here, he's gonna be thirty yards. And if 1517 01:21:32,520 --> 01:21:35,880 Speaker 1: he gets here, I'll see him. We sit down, hit 1518 01:21:35,920 --> 01:21:38,200 Speaker 1: the call one time, we no longer hit no more 1519 01:21:38,240 --> 01:21:40,200 Speaker 1: than hits the call one time. And I look over 1520 01:21:40,280 --> 01:21:43,360 Speaker 1: and there's the back, the back antler tips of this 1521 01:21:43,400 --> 01:21:46,000 Speaker 1: bull coming up at like he was forty yards. If 1522 01:21:46,080 --> 01:21:48,080 Speaker 1: I could see him. He's on the shadow on this ridge. 1523 01:21:49,000 --> 01:21:50,720 Speaker 1: He comes. So I get drawn. I'm like, I'm gonna 1524 01:21:50,720 --> 01:21:52,040 Speaker 1: shoot this. I don't give a shit what this is. 1525 01:21:52,080 --> 01:21:55,000 Speaker 1: I'm shooting this bull. I get drawn. I kind of 1526 01:21:55,000 --> 01:21:57,439 Speaker 1: turned to my right. This buol's coming up on the ridge. 1527 01:21:57,439 --> 01:21:59,320 Speaker 1: He's coming up still making no noise. He kind of 1528 01:21:59,320 --> 01:22:01,360 Speaker 1: does a couple of lunks, gives us a little bit 1529 01:22:01,880 --> 01:22:03,840 Speaker 1: gonna be close to hear that. Yeah, I mean he's 1530 01:22:03,960 --> 01:22:05,840 Speaker 1: thirty five yards at this point. Gives us the first 1531 01:22:05,880 --> 01:22:07,960 Speaker 1: time I've heard any elk vocalization. He gives us like 1532 01:22:07,960 --> 01:22:10,640 Speaker 1: a couple of lunks and just kind of bowls up, 1533 01:22:10,680 --> 01:22:12,519 Speaker 1: and he's behind a tree and I'm waiting. I can 1534 01:22:12,560 --> 01:22:14,120 Speaker 1: just see the top of his back. At this point. 1535 01:22:14,120 --> 01:22:18,439 Speaker 1: I'm like, man, seven, eight, ten steps, it's money, I'm full. 1536 01:22:18,520 --> 01:22:21,000 Speaker 1: I'm drawn. It's just like I'm waiting. I'm probably drawn 1537 01:22:21,080 --> 01:22:23,200 Speaker 1: for five minutes. And I could just see this one 1538 01:22:23,240 --> 01:22:25,599 Speaker 1: and saw that video. You're shaking pretty hard talk by 1539 01:22:25,600 --> 01:22:27,880 Speaker 1: the time that video. By the time video started, I 1540 01:22:27,880 --> 01:22:31,360 Speaker 1: had been drawn for what felt like a long long time. 1541 01:22:32,120 --> 01:22:33,760 Speaker 1: I'm waiting on him to come and waiting on him 1542 01:22:33,800 --> 01:22:36,920 Speaker 1: step and waiting on the step. And then I looked 1543 01:22:36,920 --> 01:22:38,320 Speaker 1: to my left. Just out of the corner of my eye, 1544 01:22:38,360 --> 01:22:44,120 Speaker 1: here comes a spike, just freaking just cruising right towards us. 1545 01:22:44,640 --> 01:22:47,320 Speaker 1: So the bull is still behind some down trees where 1546 01:22:47,320 --> 01:22:49,519 Speaker 1: I could just see. I could see that he's looking 1547 01:22:49,560 --> 01:22:51,439 Speaker 1: back at the spike and he doesn't know where there. 1548 01:22:52,160 --> 01:22:54,439 Speaker 1: He finally steps out, well, he steps out instead of 1549 01:22:54,439 --> 01:22:56,799 Speaker 1: stepping on our broad said, he steps out facing the spikes, 1550 01:22:56,800 --> 01:22:59,439 Speaker 1: And now I've got a thirty yard shot of him 1551 01:22:59,520 --> 01:23:02,880 Speaker 1: just basically his brisket quartering to me and like, that's 1552 01:23:02,920 --> 01:23:04,800 Speaker 1: not that's not going down. He's gonna have to cross 1553 01:23:04,800 --> 01:23:07,360 Speaker 1: where the spike crosses. I'll just wait. So at this 1554 01:23:07,400 --> 01:23:09,640 Speaker 1: point where that video starts its own social and like 1555 01:23:09,640 --> 01:23:11,160 Speaker 1: I've been there a long time and I'm waiting for 1556 01:23:11,200 --> 01:23:15,639 Speaker 1: this thing to move. He steps down at at about 1557 01:23:15,680 --> 01:23:18,160 Speaker 1: thirty and starts turning a broadside just about at that time. 1558 01:23:18,160 --> 01:23:21,120 Speaker 1: The spike just at this point he's three yards from us, 1559 01:23:21,280 --> 01:23:24,400 Speaker 1: so he sees us, smells us whatever. Who knows three 1560 01:23:24,479 --> 01:23:26,320 Speaker 1: yards It could have been any one of those things 1561 01:23:26,640 --> 01:23:30,040 Speaker 1: bust down the mountain, but he only goes thirty yards 1562 01:23:30,520 --> 01:23:34,040 Speaker 1: the five point, turns around and goes back behind where 1563 01:23:34,040 --> 01:23:37,839 Speaker 1: he is. My buddy Omar hits the call. They turn around, 1564 01:23:38,160 --> 01:23:40,840 Speaker 1: come back trying to get our wind and I so 1565 01:23:40,920 --> 01:23:43,360 Speaker 1: I just kind of mirrored him on the mountain and 1566 01:23:43,400 --> 01:23:45,439 Speaker 1: the only shot, the shot that I could have taken 1567 01:23:45,439 --> 01:23:48,439 Speaker 1: on this bull. He comes back up the hill now 1568 01:23:48,479 --> 01:23:52,160 Speaker 1: on the other side of me. He was. He came 1569 01:23:52,200 --> 01:23:55,080 Speaker 1: back at twenty five yards. I was kneeled down behind 1570 01:23:55,080 --> 01:23:58,920 Speaker 1: a stump. My buddy was calling and sees him comed 1571 01:23:58,960 --> 01:24:00,679 Speaker 1: He's like, just stand up and shoot him. He's twenty 1572 01:24:00,680 --> 01:24:03,120 Speaker 1: five yards. So I drew and I stood up. Well, 1573 01:24:03,160 --> 01:24:05,000 Speaker 1: if i'd have been like six inches taller, I could 1574 01:24:05,040 --> 01:24:08,040 Speaker 1: have seen vitals. I had, like his backstraps and maybe 1575 01:24:08,120 --> 01:24:10,479 Speaker 1: the top of his vitals. And in my mind in 1576 01:24:10,520 --> 01:24:12,559 Speaker 1: the moment, I'm like, if I let this arrow go, 1577 01:24:12,640 --> 01:24:15,040 Speaker 1: it's gonna have to crest this ridge and to drop 1578 01:24:15,080 --> 01:24:18,519 Speaker 1: into the pocket. And I'm just not I'm just not 1579 01:24:18,640 --> 01:24:20,800 Speaker 1: sure of that that happening. And I don't want to 1580 01:24:20,840 --> 01:24:22,400 Speaker 1: hit him in the no zone. I want to like 1581 01:24:22,439 --> 01:24:24,240 Speaker 1: hit him in that because that's basically what I had 1582 01:24:24,280 --> 01:24:27,599 Speaker 1: to aim at. And so I just let it down 1583 01:24:28,280 --> 01:24:30,599 Speaker 1: and spooked to when I let down, and they went 1584 01:24:30,600 --> 01:24:32,360 Speaker 1: back down the mountain. We called him in again about 1585 01:24:32,360 --> 01:24:34,160 Speaker 1: eighty yards and they stood a broadside for a while, 1586 01:24:34,200 --> 01:24:36,280 Speaker 1: and then they had enough of that and they were off. 1587 01:24:37,320 --> 01:24:39,960 Speaker 1: And after the fact, I'm like, man, that's about as 1588 01:24:39,960 --> 01:24:43,880 Speaker 1: good of an opportunity you're gonna get that quickly. And 1589 01:24:44,960 --> 01:24:48,920 Speaker 1: I could have sent one or two arrows and been 1590 01:24:48,920 --> 01:24:51,120 Speaker 1: fairly confident. I mean, I feel like they were marginal, 1591 01:24:51,160 --> 01:24:53,000 Speaker 1: but I still gonna be fairly confident that they were 1592 01:24:53,160 --> 01:24:55,320 Speaker 1: shots that might have killed an elk. So at the 1593 01:24:55,400 --> 01:24:57,000 Speaker 1: end of the day, I'm like, it's a marginal shot, 1594 01:24:57,880 --> 01:25:00,320 Speaker 1: it's not a huge bull, and it's opening day, and 1595 01:25:00,360 --> 01:25:01,960 Speaker 1: so you weigh all that stuff in your head. And 1596 01:25:01,960 --> 01:25:03,400 Speaker 1: when I when I look back, when I'm like, I'm 1597 01:25:03,439 --> 01:25:05,439 Speaker 1: glad I didn't just fling an arrow with this thing, 1598 01:25:06,040 --> 01:25:10,160 Speaker 1: not being not confident that I was going to kill right, 1599 01:25:10,400 --> 01:25:12,720 Speaker 1: an arrow that might have killed an elk. Yeah, you 1600 01:25:12,760 --> 01:25:16,200 Speaker 1: don't shoot those. So at the end of the day, 1601 01:25:16,240 --> 01:25:17,920 Speaker 1: like all those things go went through my mind, like, 1602 01:25:17,920 --> 01:25:21,720 Speaker 1: oh man, I've got I need meat, Like this would 1603 01:25:21,760 --> 01:25:25,800 Speaker 1: be my first Montana resident archery bull, Like this is 1604 01:25:25,840 --> 01:25:28,200 Speaker 1: a these are pretty rare opportunity to call a bull 1605 01:25:28,280 --> 01:25:33,320 Speaker 1: in and in Virgin Country. That quickly, um, all those 1606 01:25:33,360 --> 01:25:37,080 Speaker 1: things together don't don't add up to a marginal shot. 1607 01:25:37,560 --> 01:25:39,760 Speaker 1: They just don't know. And I just think it's just 1608 01:25:39,800 --> 01:25:42,719 Speaker 1: the type of hunter that you want to be. Maybe 1609 01:25:42,840 --> 01:25:44,439 Speaker 1: I don't know, but it's something that I've thought about 1610 01:25:44,479 --> 01:25:45,840 Speaker 1: for a couple of days, thinking, man, that could have 1611 01:25:45,840 --> 01:25:47,600 Speaker 1: been a nice Just much like your story, you go 1612 01:25:47,600 --> 01:25:50,599 Speaker 1: out boom boom boom. Done. So you and you got 1613 01:25:50,640 --> 01:25:53,160 Speaker 1: all the meat you need and you can go help buddies. 1614 01:25:53,200 --> 01:25:55,559 Speaker 1: You can go hunt deer, you can do whatever else 1615 01:25:55,600 --> 01:26:00,160 Speaker 1: you want, So go fishing whatever else. I'm gonna do 1616 01:26:00,240 --> 01:26:01,840 Speaker 1: a lot of fish in this fall. But I'm also 1617 01:26:01,880 --> 01:26:05,080 Speaker 1: really excited to call for buddies because I worked really 1618 01:26:05,120 --> 01:26:07,559 Speaker 1: hard on my out calling skills the last couple of years, 1619 01:26:07,600 --> 01:26:10,840 Speaker 1: and last year I buelled the bull into myself hunting 1620 01:26:10,880 --> 01:26:14,479 Speaker 1: alone and that was transcendent. And but it's just it's 1621 01:26:14,560 --> 01:26:16,760 Speaker 1: to be fun to go out there and practice. I'll 1622 01:26:16,800 --> 01:26:20,120 Speaker 1: be I'll be left to wonder every unsuccessful day from 1623 01:26:20,160 --> 01:26:23,519 Speaker 1: here till the end of the season whether or should 1624 01:26:23,560 --> 01:26:26,519 Speaker 1: have went or should have stayed just slipped it through there. 1625 01:26:26,680 --> 01:26:29,280 Speaker 1: There's so many horror stories of that though, Like all 1626 01:26:29,360 --> 01:26:31,800 Speaker 1: those started, like, man, I lost this bull and it 1627 01:26:31,880 --> 01:26:34,639 Speaker 1: was a shot that I didn't know if it would 1628 01:26:34,680 --> 01:26:37,000 Speaker 1: have killed it. So when you have those thoughts, you 1629 01:26:37,600 --> 01:26:40,679 Speaker 1: may have killed an milk And it's just the choice. 1630 01:26:40,800 --> 01:26:43,080 Speaker 1: The torture as part. As you're so close, you're like 1631 01:26:43,160 --> 01:26:46,760 Speaker 1: six inches away, you take three more steps, And that 1632 01:26:46,840 --> 01:26:49,400 Speaker 1: happened a couple of times in that scenario. So it's 1633 01:26:49,439 --> 01:26:50,920 Speaker 1: all those things to go through your mind, all the 1634 01:26:50,920 --> 01:26:52,559 Speaker 1: things that led up to that. All it's like, how 1635 01:26:52,640 --> 01:26:55,160 Speaker 1: lucky are we to step into a drainage and hit 1636 01:26:55,200 --> 01:26:56,680 Speaker 1: the call a couple of times and here comes a 1637 01:26:56,720 --> 01:27:00,400 Speaker 1: bull that we've never seen, didn't know was there. We 1638 01:27:00,520 --> 01:27:02,800 Speaker 1: guessed that he was there. Were like, if El is 1639 01:27:02,840 --> 01:27:05,240 Speaker 1: gonna be somewhere, we think he's gonna be here. We 1640 01:27:05,320 --> 01:27:08,519 Speaker 1: had no idea, And so all that stuff comes together 1641 01:27:08,560 --> 01:27:11,000 Speaker 1: and it doesn't happen. You know what, There's a lot 1642 01:27:11,000 --> 01:27:13,519 Speaker 1: of what ifs. But like said Cal, at the end 1643 01:27:13,520 --> 01:27:18,000 Speaker 1: of the day, don't send it no man, no way. No. 1644 01:27:18,320 --> 01:27:21,920 Speaker 1: He turned a good season into a bad season real quick. Yeah, 1645 01:27:22,200 --> 01:27:24,200 Speaker 1: do you have a whole you know rather than what 1646 01:27:25,240 --> 01:27:31,360 Speaker 1: you know? Great season? Wounded a bowl? Yeah? You chasing 1647 01:27:31,439 --> 01:27:37,000 Speaker 1: for six days? Yeah, private, stare at me forever. No, 1648 01:27:37,000 --> 01:27:40,320 Speaker 1: nobody has a fond memory of that. Well, we got 1649 01:27:40,360 --> 01:27:44,800 Speaker 1: many more days in. We got a long time. I'm 1650 01:27:44,840 --> 01:27:47,400 Speaker 1: into it, man, I like I like most stories that 1651 01:27:47,479 --> 01:27:49,759 Speaker 1: you tell. Well, we come into the office on Monday 1652 01:27:49,800 --> 01:27:53,640 Speaker 1: after the opening season. Everybody's tell a story. Tell a story. 1653 01:27:53,960 --> 01:27:56,080 Speaker 1: I like to hear, like the truncated version and then 1654 01:27:56,080 --> 01:28:00,000 Speaker 1: the real version. Trying so hard to work when we're 1655 01:28:00,200 --> 01:28:03,559 Speaker 1: we're all talking, talking over him and around him about 1656 01:28:04,520 --> 01:28:06,760 Speaker 1: he didn't get to go hunting this weekend. It was 1657 01:28:06,800 --> 01:28:10,640 Speaker 1: just like trying to focus really hard. How dare you 1658 01:28:10,680 --> 01:28:12,519 Speaker 1: try to work on the Monday after opening day in 1659 01:28:12,560 --> 01:28:17,240 Speaker 1: the Mediator offices? Yeah? Break, And then the editorial meeting 1660 01:28:17,400 --> 01:28:20,160 Speaker 1: was all hunting stories. Steve told his you, guys, I'm 1661 01:28:20,160 --> 01:28:22,800 Speaker 1: sure we'll hear on the Future Mediator podcast the story 1662 01:28:22,800 --> 01:28:25,800 Speaker 1: of Matt's bowl and this weekend. But man, it's fun 1663 01:28:25,800 --> 01:28:28,479 Speaker 1: to have almost all of us around hunting. Cal of course, 1664 01:28:28,520 --> 01:28:33,560 Speaker 1: was celebrating nuptials, which is very appropriate. Not mine. No, 1665 01:28:33,680 --> 01:28:37,120 Speaker 1: we're still, We're still. You're never gonna be. Just to 1666 01:28:37,160 --> 01:28:40,639 Speaker 1: be clear, Phil, what do you you know? You're always 1667 01:28:40,640 --> 01:28:42,160 Speaker 1: the voice of reason? What do you take away from 1668 01:28:42,160 --> 01:28:47,519 Speaker 1: all this? It sounds like um an experience I would 1669 01:28:47,520 --> 01:28:52,400 Speaker 1: love to be a part of some days. Pick out 1670 01:28:52,560 --> 01:28:56,439 Speaker 1: what was forty six bucks for a general health dear? 1671 01:28:56,920 --> 01:29:01,240 Speaker 1: If that whatever, If it's cheaper than that, it's only 1672 01:29:01,280 --> 01:29:03,559 Speaker 1: forty sicks. It's that was like a hundred and twenty 1673 01:29:03,600 --> 01:29:06,680 Speaker 1: for me early in the year to get just all 1674 01:29:06,760 --> 01:29:09,200 Speaker 1: of it. I don't even have no idea what it 1675 01:29:09,240 --> 01:29:15,040 Speaker 1: is individually with all your archery permids PIDs and fishing 1676 01:29:15,120 --> 01:29:19,879 Speaker 1: their waterfowl iron woolf All right, well, hopefully you learned 1677 01:29:20,360 --> 01:29:22,840 Speaker 1: something from this. I enjoy just like comparing stories and 1678 01:29:22,880 --> 01:29:25,240 Speaker 1: how we got there, how we made it happen, how 1679 01:29:25,240 --> 01:29:27,160 Speaker 1: we didn't make it happen, what we're gonna do, why 1680 01:29:27,280 --> 01:29:30,080 Speaker 1: we did it. I think this stuff is is super exciting, 1681 01:29:30,080 --> 01:29:34,000 Speaker 1: and this talent hunting stories, it's bad ass. So thank 1682 01:29:34,040 --> 01:29:37,639 Speaker 1: you boys, and good luck to everybody out there this week, 1683 01:29:37,680 --> 01:29:39,640 Speaker 1: this weekend, the rest of the month. Whenever you're at 1684 01:29:39,680 --> 01:29:49,760 Speaker 1: El Hutton, good luck, enjoy, We'll see you. So that's it. 1685 01:29:50,080 --> 01:29:54,200 Speaker 1: That's all Episode seventy eight Books talking ELK. Thanks for 1686 01:29:54,240 --> 01:29:57,920 Speaker 1: listening to our stories. Our decisions are good and are bad, 1687 01:29:58,760 --> 01:30:01,439 Speaker 1: success and failure as a part of hunting. So I'm 1688 01:30:01,479 --> 01:30:04,240 Speaker 1: glad that you were here to listen, and I'm glad 1689 01:30:04,560 --> 01:30:06,720 Speaker 1: to be colleagues with these gentlemen that sat in. So 1690 01:30:06,880 --> 01:30:09,639 Speaker 1: thank you to Ryan, Thank you too, Sam, and thank 1691 01:30:09,680 --> 01:30:11,439 Speaker 1: you to Joe for sitting in sharing a little bit 1692 01:30:11,479 --> 01:30:14,120 Speaker 1: with us. Of course, next week we'll get back to 1693 01:30:14,160 --> 01:30:17,679 Speaker 1: the old format with interviews and new guests and different topics. 1694 01:30:17,720 --> 01:30:20,400 Speaker 1: I'm sure, but for now it's nice to stew and 1695 01:30:20,439 --> 01:30:22,400 Speaker 1: hang an ELK season because that's what it is. That's 1696 01:30:22,400 --> 01:30:24,920 Speaker 1: where our minds are to meet eat our office. And 1697 01:30:24,960 --> 01:30:28,960 Speaker 1: speaking of ELK season, Remy Warren's new podcast, Cutting the 1698 01:30:29,040 --> 01:30:32,800 Speaker 1: Distance that I work on with Remy, we have been 1699 01:30:32,800 --> 01:30:35,679 Speaker 1: working hard to get you some ELK episodes. Episode four 1700 01:30:35,720 --> 01:30:38,519 Speaker 1: of his podcast, which was two weeks ago, is all 1701 01:30:38,560 --> 01:30:40,920 Speaker 1: about how to dog in Elk. Last week was how 1702 01:30:40,960 --> 01:30:44,320 Speaker 1: to coax and Silent Bulls, and another ELK episode coming 1703 01:30:44,400 --> 01:30:47,719 Speaker 1: up this Thursday. So if you haven't subscribed to Cutting 1704 01:30:47,760 --> 01:30:51,040 Speaker 1: the Distance, if you aren't listening to Remy's podcast, you're 1705 01:30:51,080 --> 01:30:54,720 Speaker 1: not going to get this invaluable ELK information. And you 1706 01:30:54,840 --> 01:30:56,920 Speaker 1: gotta go over there and you gotta listen to Remy. 1707 01:30:56,960 --> 01:31:00,840 Speaker 1: He is a savant, he's a master. Everyone here agrees 1708 01:31:00,840 --> 01:31:02,760 Speaker 1: that he's one of the better hunters we've ever run into. 1709 01:31:02,800 --> 01:31:04,639 Speaker 1: And he's been an ELK guide for the better part 1710 01:31:04,680 --> 01:31:09,479 Speaker 1: of his life. So he's got endless knowledge and he 1711 01:31:09,520 --> 01:31:11,519 Speaker 1: imparts it on Cutting the Distance. So go over there 1712 01:31:11,560 --> 01:31:15,120 Speaker 1: and subscribe to Cutting the Distance, and you're after you 1713 01:31:15,160 --> 01:31:18,120 Speaker 1: do that, go to Metator's YouTube channel and subscribe there too. 1714 01:31:18,160 --> 01:31:22,000 Speaker 1: We've got some great new content coming from the white 1715 01:31:22,000 --> 01:31:24,120 Speaker 1: Tail world that I've also been working on with our 1716 01:31:24,120 --> 01:31:26,800 Speaker 1: boy Mark Kenyon. So stick around there. If you want 1717 01:31:26,800 --> 01:31:28,839 Speaker 1: to get it, you gotta subscribe to the YouTube channel. 1718 01:31:29,360 --> 01:31:32,200 Speaker 1: One last thing to subscribe to is our brand new 1719 01:31:32,240 --> 01:31:35,760 Speaker 1: white Tail Weekly Newsletter. Go over to the mediator dot 1720 01:31:35,840 --> 01:31:40,120 Speaker 1: com and click and subscribe, and you're gonna subscribe to 1721 01:31:40,160 --> 01:31:43,640 Speaker 1: the white Tail Weekly Newsletter that's every Monday afternoon and 1722 01:31:43,720 --> 01:31:47,720 Speaker 1: your inbox new white Tail content. You're gonna love it, 1723 01:31:48,280 --> 01:31:51,679 Speaker 1: and you're gonna thank me, I promise. So until next week, 1724 01:31:52,439 --> 01:31:55,559 Speaker 1: enjoy hunting season. We're deep in it and thanks for 1725 01:31:55,640 --> 01:32:01,920 Speaker 1: joining us. See you, thank you. I'm seven, Tennessee. Who 1726 01:32:01,920 --> 01:32:05,160 Speaker 1: whiskey got me dragging in heaven and h and just 1727 01:32:05,200 --> 01:32:08,400 Speaker 1: stopped to look good to me. They're gonna have to 1728 01:32:08,439 --> 01:32:14,639 Speaker 1: department to the fire redeed, oh on the fire, indeed, 1729 01:32:16,160 --> 01:32:24,120 Speaker 1: drinking in the fide, oh the fiery dragging in heaven.