HB, gitano and crew's elk hunt '08

[kombi1976]

Wow! Amazing stuff, guys.
Paul, those land owners sound like right mongrels.
Mind you perhaps folks in the past have been really rude and even shot on their land.
Still it's a pity that they didn't even give you the time of day in the first place.
If they had they would've saved everyone some grief.
Wow, HB.......450yds to down that wounded elk.
Must've been a real wretch to have use your other tag to fix someone elses mistake.

[rockinbbar]

Great write up & pictures.

Looks like you guys had a good time on that hunt!

[gitano]

The issue of private land is a hot one in the American West. The residents think everybody but them is a jerk and a "slob hunter". In this case, I would have understood completely if the owner had simply said "No". It's his land and his prerogative. By the same token, it takes only courtesy to listen to someone and then say "no" if appropriate. However, courtesy is not the "watchword" of landowners in this part of the world during hunting season. By the same token, the fellow with the truck that stopped and helped was very nice. He just wasn't a land-owner.
 
We did have a good time, rockinbbar. HB's relatives were a "hoot". All three were truckers and fully capable of keeping up with a submariner when it came to "giving as good as they got". And thanks to Tom and Harvey, we certainly lacked for nothing when it came to 'camping'. It was a real pleasure to meet them and hunt with them. Harvey was shooting an '06, Tom a 7mm Rem Mag, and I forget what Bob had - mighta been a .300 Win Mag.
 
More later including pics.
 
Paul

[gitano]

We met up and finally got to the camping area about 1600. We picked a spot and set up our tents. Tom, my wifes uncle BBQed some great ribs for dinner.

I think I need to correct this "for the record". The story's not over, and it'll get confusing if the time-line gets outta whack.
 
We got to the camping area much later than 1600 on Thursday. It was about half-an-hour before dark. By the time we set up camp, it was completely dark, hence the "dark" of the above photos of camp that were taken shortly after we were finished setting up. Also, that first night, we had chili - not BBQ'd ribs. The ribs came on Friday night, after a leisurely day of scouting.
 
Speaking of chili, now seems a good time to bring this up. That way it won't interfere with the huntin' story. Most everbody I know that hunts from a camp brings chili along to eat. In my opinion, short of Ex-Lax-laced brownies, there is nothing more insane than chili on a remote hunting trip. Sheesh!
 
My intent when I'm on an extended hunting trip in the 'wilds', is to use as little toilet paper as possible. Bringing chili along as one of the staples doesn't exactly make achieving that goal very easy. For what it's worth, here's what I eat - always and regardless of the duration or remoteness of the trip:
 
Breakfast:
............. Two instant oatmeals - nothing added but enough hot water to make swallowable
............. A cup of tea made with two tea bags and two heaping spoons of refined suger
 
Lunch:
............. Two "granola" bars
 
Supper:
............. One Mountain House dehydrated meal (Beef Stoganof is favorite) with only enough water added to make it swallowable.
............. A cup of tea made with two tea bags and two heaping spoons of refined suger
 
Repeat for each day in the field.
 
If game is taken, then fresh liver from moose, sheep, or deer (caribou are too likely to have parasites), for supper the night of the kill and breakfast the following morning. The tenderloins rarely make it out of the field.
 
Now... It's important to add that I partook with relish the meals (non-chili) that Tom and Harvey prepared. (We even had Louisiana shrimp boil one night!) They were quite a treat. I certainly have no complaint about that kind of meal prep - as long as I'm not doing it. It's WAY too much of a logistic hassle for me to enjoy, but if someone else wants to do it, and is willing to gladly share - as the Brothers Rosa were - I'll certainly partake - IF IT'S NOT CHILI or some other gastro-intestinal 'bomb'.
 
Chili on a remote hunting trip??? Are you nuts??? :cry:
 
Paul

[Hunterbug]

Maby it was later than 1600, I don't remember. The chili was good. Hot, filling, easy to prepare, everything you need on a hunt.

[Brithunter]

Hi All,

        Gitano whilst I may not go along with you menu when hunting I certainly would not be eating Chilli and that's how I would be feeling after eating Chilli.



Me no do Chilli  nor do I do shell fish yep fussy eater me.

[gitano]

The chili was good.

In fact, it was very good. I had to restrain myself from eating too much of it.

Hot, filling, easy to prepare,

True... but...

everything you need on a hunt.

Fails to acknowledge the repercussions not just to the eater.
 
I might say "everything you need on a hunt and more".
 
I'll grant that MANY folks think chili is a great camping food. I'm just not one of 'em. While I am in general a "live and let live" kinda guy, especially when it comes to what food one wants to eat, I'm a bit "firm" on this matter, especially when I have to share a tent with the eater.
 
Lest anyone think I'm looking a 'gift horse in the mouth', let me reiterate that I enthusiastically and appreciatively partook of the gustatorial delights offered - almost even the chili, as it was so good. It just doesn't make sense to me to make chili a staple of a camp hunt menu. Now if you're spending the night in a hotel/motel and hunting during the day, I'd quickly agree that what one eats is almost a non-issue.
 
Paul

[Hunterbug]

Gitano, you could have been in the other tent. Believe me, that would have been worse!

[Paul Hoskins]

Sounds like a great hunt to me. Even the chili sounds good. Congrat's guys. Sure wish I could shoot an elk.    ............Paul H

[gitano]

Believe me, that would have been worse!

I have no doubt!!!
 

Sure wish I could shoot an elk. ............Paul H

[/B]
 
Me too!
 
Paul

[Hunterbug]

Harvey was shooting an '06, Tom a 7mm Rem Mag, and I forget what Bob had - mighta been a .300 Win Mag.

Tom had his 7mm Mag, Harvey had his uncles Pre '64 Model 70 FTW 30-06, and Bob had their dads Pre '64 Model 70 Sporterweight 30-06.

[recoil junky]

What I wanna know is how those elka nd the deer got to my house??!! And what happened after, what witht e snow and all
 
RJ

[Brithunter]

Hi All,

     Now I am not quite so rushed  may I thank you for the story as it is so far. Enlightening to say the least. after reading about that drag I was plumb tuckered out and had to retire early  and I have always been led to believe that the Western Folks were so hospitable too  it's a shame to realise that they too can be just plain rude and ignorant. I am sorry to say I would have given a few choice words loudly which more than likely would not have helped at all .

     As the old gamekeeper said after a 6 hour struggle to lift a 22 stone (308lbs) Hirsche (Red Stag)  back onto the deer lawn it fell off in Austria after he shot it:-

I should have shot it in the back leg and made it walk out

[/COLOR][/SIZE]

    After such a drag me is thinking I would be needing hospital treatment if it didn't kill me that is . You should have seen me after a much shorter drag back in 2003, it was quite pitiful really I only had about 1/4 mile to drag a Whitetail button buck up from the creek side to the farm road. OK it was almost all up hill but by the end of it my face was like a beetroot and sweating??????? I actually carry a length of soft nylon braided rope in my back pack for such an eventuality that I brought from the farm store in Milan Mo.

   Oh I almost forgot the congratulations on fine shooting and a successful hunt!

   After reading the trials on the rifle builds it's gratifying to here of this fine perfomance and the accurate shot placement I look forward to the next instalment :smiley:  well done chaps.

[kombi1976]

And, by the sounds of things, chili also has everything you DON'T need the next day when trying to minimise the amount of scent that game can pick up.
Speaking from experience, while hunting last weekend, even in of a vehicle I actively avoided using Dencorub (ointment that brings heat to muscle strains) to relax my badly aching shoulder and back because I knew everything for miles around, especially my buddy stuck in the Landy with me, would be acutely aware of my presence.
It did occur to me when I first saw the word "chili" that the results could be a little negative if not disastrous.

[gitano]

Comin' atcha soon RJ. My wife and I 'entertained' the 17 teenage girls on my daughter's cross country ski team last night (it was a sleep-over too) and I've still got pancakes to make this morning, but when I get a chance, I'll post "day two".
 
Thanks for the comments one and all. The drag was definitely "a drag", but it wasn't life-threatening. As for the rifle's performance, I am quite pleased. It is very satisfying to use a tool in the purpose for which it was designed, especially when you built it with your own two hands. The next step for the SLT is to 'beautify' it. Bluing and a wooden stock.
 
Paul