Holding my breath

I went out looking for a buck this morning, with my flintlock smoothbore. I got to the property I hunt, just after daylight. The property is a place in the Creston Breaks I have been a caretaker for, for many years. The fringe benefits are the exceptional hunting. This is extremely rough, broken country, where it is very easy to get lost in. This property hasn't been logged for probably 50 years, and has some nice stands of timber, along with some very thick grown over areas.
Unfortunately, the aging owner has put it up for sale, so if any of you want some premium Montana hunting area, he wants $600,000 for it. The only catch is, if I tell you where it is, I want hunting permission!
I started with my usual thing, of peeking over the rise, right in front of where I park at. This is at the end of the shooting range, and is a regular travel corridor. There is generally deer in the little saddle, and as usual, there were some there this morning. There was a buck and a doe. The buck was a spindly 4 point, so I backed off, figuring he would be in the same area later, if I didn't find something better, and I decided to come back for him.
I moved on up the mountain past the house on the place, and continued on towards a large clearing. My destination was about four hundred yards beyond this, as there is a small peak I have shot quite a few bucks on, over the years.
I was using my binoculars as I went, and spotted a doe on the far side of the clearing. She was standing still, with her head down, but not eating. I figured there was a buck with her. I kept glassing, but never saw one, and she finally moved over a small rise. The wind had made a small shift, so I started over the same ridge she had went over, only a few hundred yards away.
As I peeked over the ridge, I saw a fir tree sway. There was only very light wind, so I stopped, to determine what had made the motion. I could see a buckskin color in the trees, but couldn't make it out. I took another step forward, and could see antlers about thirty yards away from me, and lower. I took another step, and was within spitting distance of a raghorn bull elk. Looking through the glass, I made out eight more elk.
I did raise the smooth bore, and thought how easy the bull would be. But, I had turned this same one down a couple weeks ago, when I had shot a cow from this same herd. So, with no elk tag left, all I could do was watch them.
I was in a bit of a quandry. The only other person with permission to hunt this area, was supposed to have been there this morning, but hadn't shown up. I figured he was suffering from a turkey overdose, and hadn't made it out of bed too early.
I backed out of the area, keeping the wind in my face, and headed for an area on the other end of the property, where I knew a big buck had been bedding.
As I was moving slowly along the ridge on the far side of the property, I saw that distinctive buckskin color again. I knew it wasn't the same elk I had just left. I was studying it in the binoculars, trying to make out what it was, in the thick brush.
Then, he took a step into an opening. And it was one of the biggest bulls I have ever seen around here. Once again, I had been watching the wind, and he had no idea he had company. And once again, he would have been an easy kill, at about 45 yards.
That did it. I headed for my truck, for my cell phone, to stir my friend up, and get him out there. When I got there, I remembered I had left my cell phone in my lunch box at home. So, I went to the cabin, and getting the spare key, went in to use the phone. Which was turned off.
I didn't want to risk going back into the areas, and spooking the elk out, so I came home, called my buddy, and gave him explicit instructions where they were. I'm sure the main herd was going to bed in the thicket, where they had been feeding, and should stay put for a couple hours.
So now, I am sitting here waiting for my phone to ring, to hopefully be called to help him pack it out. The guy is an old retired AF MS/SGT, with diabetes and high blood pressure, and several heart surguries under his belt, so I help him when needed. I do know he is using a lever action .45-70, with cast bullets, just to sweeten the pot.
I wish him luck.

Good story. Very good of you to square away the old AF MSG. What's your max hunting accuracy distance with the smoothbore?

Sounds like an exciting hunt to me, waksupi. Sometimes, I have much more fun whenever I decline the shot, rather than shoot the game. I let a nice whitetail buck walk a couple of weeks ago, crosshair right on the heart area, and he never knew I was on his trail.
You know that you have better table fare with what you have rather than a tough, old bull don'tcha.:-D
Hope your friend scores and if I happen to come with the $600k, consider hunting anytime you want. -JDL

Rugerfan, I limit myself to about 80 yards with the smoothbore. It will shoot better than that, I just can't define the sight picture better. I have friends who shoot them well over a hundred yards with good accuracy. Back when I could still see well, we would shoot out to 300 yards, and have amazing luck, once we figured out our sight picture.

JDL, I derive more satisfaction from watching the animals, and being outdoors, than any kill will ever give me. When I have the time to spend in the woods, I will see 30-40 bucks before I shoot one, and the one I get, is usually a lot smaller than the big one I had seen the week before. I spend time year round watching the animals, and what they do in a particular circumstance. There is more predictability in them than many would think, but they still can pull off some strange stunts.

My buddy didn't connect today, so we are going back in the morning, and I am going to try and put him right in the middle of them. They should still be on the property, as it is good cover, and has very light pressure from the two of us.

it is always a thrill to watch a undisturbed herd of elk (mostly because when i see a herd of elk they are anything but undisturbed)what load and boolit is you freind using? good luck . ive been watching that herd for years . "only" $600,000 what is the place like ? 4 acres and a run down shed?

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Originally Posted by The Nyack Kid

it is always a thrill to watch a undisturbed herd of elk (mostly because when i see a herd of elk they are anything but undisturbed)what load and boolit is you freind using? good luck . ive been watching that herd for years . "only" $600,000 what is the place like ? 4 acres and a run down shed?

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I believe he is using a 405 bullet, no idea what the powder charge is.
Kid, it's a little over forty acres, but if flattened out, would be over a hundred, I'm sure.
Not exactly a shed. Very nice large, high end mountain cabin, with studio, two separate living quarters, plus a small cabin out back. Then there is the shooting range, and a couple lakes. Nothing a sensible person would be interested in.

sounds a nice place and a good deal . most places like that are going for what? $3.2 mil give or take $100,000. im interested but then again im anything but sensable ,let me get the check book out

If I had near exclusive hunting rights to a piece of land with occasional elk on it...I wouldn't advertise that it was for sale. However, you did state you required hunting rights for the advertising so probably are trying to preserve your hunting rights by having some say in the buyer. At that price it will likely sell regardless...as Nyack said, purchase price of any acreage in the western half of the state with a house on it now seems to be measured in millions.

On this side of the divide, hunting priviledges on private elk terrain are tough to come by and getting worse. The two areas I used to hunt on (and gain access to public land through) had the trespass rights leased by outfitters over 10 years ago. Those areas and the huge tracts of NFS land they controlled access to are now solidly locked up. My elk hunting is pretty much now restricted to those public lands that have public access...and believe me the pressure on those lands makes for much tougher hunting...without a cow permit your chances become pretty slim.

Private land access is not quite so difficult for deer and antelope but some only allow doe hunting...
especially on the deer. Where bucks are concerned access is becoming more difficult. Best hope for hunting on private land is now the block management areas...and thats where I do most of my private land hunting.

Hats off to you Waksupi for:

1. Not taking that huge bull and then trying to find someone to tag it for you (illegal but a few couldn't resist the temptation).
2. Telling someone who is disabled about that herd, and then helping him hunt them.

I hope you had success!