Post by 340wby on Feb 16, 2008 9:55:51 GMT -5
Ive gotten a good deal of satisfaction teaching the newer guys in our ELK camp, over the years how to find and get in reasonably close to ELK, there a good feeling seeing that silly grin on a new guys face after he drops his first deer or ELK and since I don,t think a hunts a total loss if I don,t fill my tag Ive seldom had any problem leaving camp on several days with a new guy tagging along, while some of my buddies have a good deal of adversion too,or abhor having new guys that don,t have the skills tagging along.
Our elk camp generally has 4-6 guys in camp and while theres usually a core group its not at all odd for there to be a new guys joining the group some years.
now most hunts result in guys finding they either have become hooked on ELK hunting or having developed a firm distaste for the type of back pack hunting in remote canyons, scouting, climbing steep slopes and sleeping out side that the type of hunting our group does.
now we have generally spent a good deal of time prior to any hunt with these guys at the range practicing and reloading, b.s.ing about prior hunts and running to get into physical shape for the hunt and guys that don,t want to go thru the effort usually drop out before the hunts.
this one year I had left camp (with a new guy at the time (RON) who later turned out to be firmly addicted to ELK hunting and a good friend)who seemed to be 3/4s blind, Id point out deer or elk and it took him several minutes even with me pointing at the game and giveing referance marks and ranges for him to see nearly anything, I truely wanted him to get his first ELK and on the 6th day we were trudging back to camp in the dusk along a long abandoned and partly overgrown logging road when I spotted a cow elk at about 200 yards , I dropped into a sitting possition slinging my rifle and getting ready to shoot if a nice bull was seen as the group crossed ahead of us, Id pulled RON down and got him seated and ready, the herd slowly crosed the narrow logging road infront of us , totally unaware we were there and I wispered advise on range, where to hold and legal status as each ELK as it passed thru the 30 feet of clear area in the aspens the road provided, suddenly the largest BULL ELK Id seen in YEARS, stood in the road.... I told RON to shoot, he said he didn,t have the right angle and didn,t see the BULL ELK standing in plain sight,I felt like SCREAMING SHOOOT DAMN IT!, in seconds the ELK was up into the aspens and gone with me feeling like a total fool for allowing a new guy to take a great shot and passing on it to allow him to get that shot, and having neither of us take the shoot........I got over it but the memory still pisses me off on those years when we don,t see a good ELK
in all the times Ive instructed new guys Ive had only one minor reget,and thats been it, and it seems Ive not learned as Ive done the same thing a few more times over the years but never with such a great elk.
yeah! I got a legal four point elk that year and RON got a mice MULE DEER but I still dream about sqeezing that trigger...
Our elk camp generally has 4-6 guys in camp and while theres usually a core group its not at all odd for there to be a new guys joining the group some years.
now most hunts result in guys finding they either have become hooked on ELK hunting or having developed a firm distaste for the type of back pack hunting in remote canyons, scouting, climbing steep slopes and sleeping out side that the type of hunting our group does.
now we have generally spent a good deal of time prior to any hunt with these guys at the range practicing and reloading, b.s.ing about prior hunts and running to get into physical shape for the hunt and guys that don,t want to go thru the effort usually drop out before the hunts.
this one year I had left camp (with a new guy at the time (RON) who later turned out to be firmly addicted to ELK hunting and a good friend)who seemed to be 3/4s blind, Id point out deer or elk and it took him several minutes even with me pointing at the game and giveing referance marks and ranges for him to see nearly anything, I truely wanted him to get his first ELK and on the 6th day we were trudging back to camp in the dusk along a long abandoned and partly overgrown logging road when I spotted a cow elk at about 200 yards , I dropped into a sitting possition slinging my rifle and getting ready to shoot if a nice bull was seen as the group crossed ahead of us, Id pulled RON down and got him seated and ready, the herd slowly crosed the narrow logging road infront of us , totally unaware we were there and I wispered advise on range, where to hold and legal status as each ELK as it passed thru the 30 feet of clear area in the aspens the road provided, suddenly the largest BULL ELK Id seen in YEARS, stood in the road.... I told RON to shoot, he said he didn,t have the right angle and didn,t see the BULL ELK standing in plain sight,I felt like SCREAMING SHOOOT DAMN IT!, in seconds the ELK was up into the aspens and gone with me feeling like a total fool for allowing a new guy to take a great shot and passing on it to allow him to get that shot, and having neither of us take the shoot........I got over it but the memory still pisses me off on those years when we don,t see a good ELK
in all the times Ive instructed new guys Ive had only one minor reget,and thats been it, and it seems Ive not learned as Ive done the same thing a few more times over the years but never with such a great elk.
yeah! I got a legal four point elk that year and RON got a mice MULE DEER but I still dream about sqeezing that trigger...
