Elk hunting 2017

StG58

StG58

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Orygun, the wet side...
Got back from four days up in the Coast Range chasing down the elusive Wapiti. Traveled a little over 400 miles on back roads, FSR's and skid trails. Lots of sign, but the four of us only got one chance to harvest one branch bull, and I blew the shot with my 24/47 Mauser. I got off two shots, but missed low at about 75 yards. I have no idea how that even happens. The only thing that I can figure is that the American 8mm Mauser ammo is way under powered. (Maybe I choked too, but who wants to admit that...right?)

Anyway, I've got some pictures of the countryside for you-all.
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Testament Creek Valley. We were hunting the ridges and benches around this area. Lots of Elk sign, the herd was definitely in here! Oldest daughter got on the trail of a really nice 5x5, but never could get a shot off at him. Elk are extremely cagey critters. Especially the old herd bulls!

Since I've caught crap about not having pictures of the SE in it's natural environment, here's a couple to get that out of the way.
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More pictures coming. I seem to be missing a couple.
 
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The territory is a little steep around here...
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There's a bench behind me in this photo that was just full of ferns and Elk sign. The herd had moved on though, on down the hill. There were about forty bazillion hunters just up the hill from here that moved everything off the hill and down into the pucker brush. The new software on the tablet is amazing for tracking. Being able to see more territory on the map than the Garmin can display, plus the ability to mark and track where the fresh sign is made this hunt way more productive. It almost seems unfair to the Elk. Still never caught up with their fuzzy butts though. Got in close proximity, but never quit got eyeballs on them.

The trail down to here was a 36% grade according to my GPS mapping software. That's not atypical in this neck of the woods.
 
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Great pictures! That is some thick country to hunt in. I see why you want a close range rifle to hunt with.
My Dad gave me an open sight sporterized 8MM Mauser when I was 17 years old. I took a lot of game with ole rifle. I got to where I was pretty good at shooting blacktail deer on the run with those open sights.
Sorry you didn't get your elk. But time with your daughter and in the woods.... priceless!
 
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lowranger said:
Great pictures! That is some thick country to hunt in. I see why you want a close range rifle to hunt with.
My Dad gave me an open sight sporterized 8MM Mauser when I was 17 years old. I took a lot of game with ole rifle. I got to where I was pretty good at shooting blacktail deer on the run with those open sights.
Sorry you didn't get your elk. But time with your daughter and in the woods.... priceless!
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Wife, Son in Law and Oldest Daughter were the other three out there. We had a blast! The wife does well, but the kids are just assassins in the woods. The benefit of youth.

Even in the ferny open benches the Elk like to hang out on, the trees are close enough together that it's really hard to take that second shot in an ethical manner.

The silly Elk are just ghosts in that thick stuff. Hard to spot because they blend right in to the foliage. There's a type of fern that turns the same color as an Elk's backsides this time of year. I snuck up on several ferns this time out. I feel good about my fern hunting skills. Not one of them spooked!

Mauser's are greatly under rated as a hunting rifle. The cartridge is in the same category as the 30-06, same power & etc. The bullet is slightly larger in diameter and ever so slightly slower loaded the way the Europeans load it. (CIP spec's.) American ammo is pitiful. It's about the same as a 30-30 or a 32 Winchester Special load. A true Mauser design action is very fast on follow up shots. Almost as fast as a lever gun. The extra guide rib on the bolt keeps things from jamming up when you run it fast.
 
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lowranger said:
How do those ferns taste that you hunt? Not sure how you would cook those??
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lol, not bad with mushrooms and garlic. Little tough though. Stringy.
lowranger said:
Do you camp out for the 4 days there? Looks like you got some rain during your hunt.
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Lots of rain and two days of wind. We didn't camp out this year. The area is only about 35 miles from us. We just ran back and forth, after it got good and dark. Dodged a lot of Deer.
 
Awesome! Elk are no joke. They hide in the steepest, nastiest, shit on the mountain. In Sept a buddy got within about 40 yds of a bomber but that sob knew how to keep a shot at bay by hiding in thick, dark timer, and to keep moving a little bit at a time. The big boys don't get big by being foolish. Keep at it!
 
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Rob5589 said:
Awesome! Elk are no joke. They hide in the steepest, nastiest, shit on the mountain. In Sept a buddy got within about 40 yds of a bomber but that sob knew how to keep a shot at bay by hiding in thick, dark timer, and to keep moving a little bit at a time. The big boys don't get big by being foolish. Keep at it!
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No kidding. The one I got a shot at was walking away from daughter and SIL who were one swale over to my left. 100-150 yards maybe?) Bloody walking. I think the only reason I even got a shot at him was because he was young and inexperienced.
 
StG58 said:
No kidding. The one I got a shot at was walking away from daughter and SIL who were one swale over to my left. 100-150 yards maybe?) Bloody walking. I think the only reason I even got a shot at him was because he was young and inexperienced.
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I'll take a young and inexperienced elk on my table any day! :)
 
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lowranger said:
When my wife and I hunt elk this way, if we don't get an elk, we just enjoy the ride and country.View attachment 25476
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Those are the original Jeep. There's an old guy that lives up the hill a ways and rides all the time. Just him,his horse and his dog. He's really old school. Once in awhile we'll chat when we run into each other out in the woods. We got to talking about horses vs. Jeeps one day and I was telling him how good my TJ was off road. He said "Follow me". So, we putzed around for about five minutes, with me doing pretty well keeping up with him, his horse and his dog. He must of got tired of that game because he made a 90° right hand turn and headed up the side of a hill. Game over, thanks for playing! He sat his horse part way up and just smiled and waved good buy.
 
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StG58 said:
Those are the original Jeep. There's an old guy that lives up the hill a ways and rides all the time. Just him,his horse and his dog. He's really old school. Once in awhile we'll chat when we run into each other out in the woods. We got to talking about horses vs. Jeeps one day and I was telling him how good my TJ was off road. He said "Follow me". So, we putzed around for about five minutes, with me doing pretty well keeping up with him, his horse and his dog. He must of got tired of that game because he made a 90° right hand turn and headed up the side of a hill. Game over, thanks for playing! He sat his horse part way up and just smiled and waved good buy.
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Yep....the horses can get you into some pretty good country that your Jeep can't get into. But when you park your Jeep, you don't have to keep feeding it. :)
 
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