First Elk!!

[obssd1958]

After many years of trying, with centerfire, bow and muzzleloader - I finally got my first elk yesterday!!![smilie=w:

I was using my Traditions .54 cal percussion, iron sites, loaded with 120 gr. FFg and a Lee R.E.A.L 380 gr. that I cast myself! :castmine:

The season was for antlerless elk only, in an area that is extremely difficult to get in and out of. Very steep and the access (logging) roads are blocked off just off of the main road. Took several hours to hike up to where I found the elk at and 8 hours to pack it out in pieces by myself. Worth every step!!!!!!!!!!!

By the way, I turn 48 Saturday, so this weren't no youngster packing that elk out!:drinks: (and yes, I am VERY sore today!)


http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m9/obssd1958/shooting/100_3561.jpg

Don

[waksupi]

Don, congratulations. I can see from the photo, you had excellent bullet placement. And,we have just about the same amount of snow over here by Kalispell.

[Murphy]

Good going Don. Sounds like you had a heck of a good time and aint' it good shooting one with a boolit YOU made yourself?

Congratulations!

Murphy

[krag35]

Good going!!!!

[piwo]

WOW!!! Excellent!!!!!!

I'm going cow elk hunting the 18th, 19th and 20th of December on the Jicarrilla Apache reservation in northern New Mexico. I went cow elk hunting two years ago in Meeteetse WY, but didn't see a single elk. Saw more wolves then even deer. Unseasonably warm, then snowed like mad the last morning.

Your pic has me totally phyched up. Can you tell me how much meat you got from the cow? I've heard vastly different amounts from the same "on the hoof" weight. How far was the shot? And as mentioned, excellent placement. I'm going with a .54 flintlock that shoots a 224.7 gr. roundball using 130gr FFFg, with a muzzle velocity of 1940 fps (well, probably less at extreme cold).

Congrats again. Man I can't hardly wait now!!!!!

[45stomp]

awesome! That beats any road hunting story by a wide margin. Nice job and congrats:drinks:
Stomp

[JDL]

Very nice obssd1958! Indeed, the meat is sweeter when you make the boolit and pack it out on your own. :-) -JDL

[TCLouis]

a swell reward at the end.
I attempted to do that in september and nothing but bulls saved me all of that effort needed to pack one out.

[Glen]

Well done! Congratulations!

[Ringer]

Good Job! Nice to see this can be done single handed, as opposed to the TV "shoot em and have someone else finish the work hunts". Have always preferred to hunt alone or with my son.Regards,Ringer

[RugerFan]

Very nice! Always good to see cast bullets harvesting table fare.

[Vly]

Well done! And thanks for the photo, sounds like a great hunt! An elk hunt is on the list of things I want to do before I die.

[Beerd]

Nice!!!!!

Big game season is over here, so it's time to start planning for next year. [Hunt more, work less]
..

[Four Fingers of Death]

Crank up the barbie! I'll bring the beer! :-D

[obssd1958]

Thanks guys, for the words of support and encouragement! Like most of you, I am looking for a sense of self reliance, that I find lacking in today's society. This was one more step along the way!

Waksupi,
The boolit missed the leg bone by 2 inches, went between the ribs, through the right lung, took the plumbing off the top of the heart, through the left lung, between the ribs and out the "armpit". She still went 20 steps before she collapsed. I really did want to recover the boolit, but I'm very happy with the results! The timing of the snow storm was so fortuitous as be undeniably the work of a Greater Hand. :roll:

By the way, the shot was 158 yards according to my range finder. While I wouldn't recommend that everyone shoot that far, I have practiced a lot, out to 180 yards, and I had a solid rest on a tree branch when I took the shot.

piwo,
I haven't finished butchering her yet, so any weight figure from me would be a wild guess for now. I will try to give you an honest figure when I get done. (I swear she weighs 6 or 700 pounds, maybe 800! :kidding:
at least it felt like that by the time I got her to the truck!!)

Good luck on your trip to New Mexico. I hope you find yourself with the dilemma of so many elk, you have to decide which one is the biggest, and deserves to wear your tag home!!:drinks:

To the rest of you gentlemen who replied with your commendations,

Thank you...
Thank you...
Thank you...

[smilie=w: [smilie=w: [smilie=w:

(I'm still jacked!!!!!!!!!!)

Don

[Four Fingers of Death]

Wow, that's a long way for oe of those, well done.

[obssd1958]

piwo,

I finally have a good estimate for you on "how much meat" I'm getting out of this elk. Keep in mind that this is my first elk, and I'm not sure if it was a "big" one or not - sure felt heavy when I was dragging her out! Anyway, I have about 180-190 pounds of boneless steaks, roasts, and burger. There is nothing added to the burger - I make ground meat jerky and fat would ruin it. I also like to add the regular ground beef - 15% fat - to the burger to use it for anything that I would use ground beef in. Makes it just like the extra lean stuff, but it still holds together!
Let me tell 'ya, this is excellent eating!!!!!!!

Good luck on your hunt! :drinks:

I'm also adding another picture here, taken from where the elk dropped. If you enlarge the picture enough, you can see my little Ford Ranger 3/4 of a mile down the mountain...

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m9/obssd1958/shooting/100_3550_mod.jpg

Don

[carpetman]

obssd1958--- A pretty good rule of thumb is that you lose about 1/2 of live weight when you gut,skin,and take off legs at knees. Then you lose about 1/2 again when you take out the bones. Folks that have the bone in theirs will say you wasted meat because they have so many more pounds-duh.

[Dale53]

Don;
I great big CONGRATULATIONS is in order for your feat. Excellent hunt and excellent shot coupled with an excellent carry. Looking at your area, it looks like a small collapsible sled would have been a great help in the snow.

Dale53

[LET-CA]

Let me add my "huzzahs!" along with everyone else. Your accomplishment will live forever with those great photos too. Thanks for sharing.

[Ivantherussian03]

An old hunter told me this rule of thumb on the meat: 1/3 guts, 1/3bones, and 1/3 meat.

GREAT HUNT and GOOD JOB


NOW FOR THE FUN PART--:drinks:

[Larry Gibson]

Pretty much true about the meat. Below is a picture of the spike I got last month and one of me and my two hunting parters with the two spikes we got on the meat pole. Only two of us had tags so we did ok. Also is a picture of two coyotes that were killed with one shot while eating on a dead elk. I hung 232 lbs of elk at the meat processer's and got back 264 lbs cut and wrapped. That included the extra ingrediants added for the sausage I had made. It is very yummy!

Larry Gibson

[obssd1958]

Great job Larry! I had 4 close encounters with spikes during archery season, but never got "the shot". Maybe next year!
As soon as the duck season is over, my hunting buddies and I are planning on spending a day or two here and there, calling and hopefully shooting a coyote or ten. :Fire:
VERY cool getting 2 with one shot!
Congratulations again!

Don

[Topper]

Congrats on your first Elk harvest.
With a smoke pole at that distance in cold weather, excellent shot:Fire: