z1r Posted December 5, 2007 Report Share Posted December 5, 2007 Well, I had just about given up on the notion of hunting this year when one of my customers came through for me. He called and asked if I was interested in an Elk hunt in Utah the week of Jan 19-25. Heck yeah, I said. Best part is, he's paying for my half as his down payment for a custom .338-06 I'm building him. Yes Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. More details as I get them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AzRednek Posted December 5, 2007 Report Share Posted December 5, 2007 Yes Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. Not only Santa but the Tooth Fairy and Easter Bunny as well. Congrats!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clemson Posted December 5, 2007 Report Share Posted December 5, 2007 That is the kind of customer to have! Either that or a thinly disguised plot to insure that he has a rifle in his hands two weeks after Christmas.......... Good luck with the elk either way! Clemson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
z1r Posted January 16, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 16, 2008 Tomorrow's the day. I'm off bright and too early to fly to Reno where I'll meet my friend and drive back to SLC. We spend a week hunting then I drive back to Reno to spend a day at the ACGG show. There's been a ton of snow in the area. I was told the highs are in the single digits. Im packing right now and double checking my list, wait , where are my longjohns. Can't wait! -Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brenden Posted January 16, 2008 Report Share Posted January 16, 2008 good luck hunting and take plenty pic's of game and snow covered mountains! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horsefly Posted January 17, 2008 Report Share Posted January 17, 2008 Gosh dang I'm tickled for you Mike.You need a good break! Good luck,and don't worry about us here,we'll hold down the fort.Be Careful. Jerry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
724wd Posted January 17, 2008 Report Share Posted January 17, 2008 good luck, mike! we'll talk about your knife when you get back! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
z1r Posted January 17, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 17, 2008 Thanks Guys! I found my long undies, wouldn't do to freeze anything off. I hear it's below zero there now. Brrr. See ya'll on the 26th. -Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
z1r Posted January 27, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 27, 2008 I'm Baaaack. The hunt was a big success. I flew to Reno where I was picked up by my friend Mike. We drove to SLC where we stayed the night. Friday Morning we drove to a Gunshop that is owned by a friend of Mike's, then we drove and visited a gunsmith friend of ours. Finally, we picked up some Snowmobiles and drove to Coalville. The ride took us straight through Park City where we stopped for lunch. It was fun watching all the people there for the film festival. It reminded me of why I left SoCal. We arrived in Coalville around 3:30 checked into the hotel and then drove out to survey the property and surroundings. I'd never seen so many deer. Mulies everywhere. We also saw two large herds of Elk and were really starting to get excited. Saturday morning was a brisk, cold morning. We meet the land owner bright and early and he took us out to show us the lay of the land. On the tour we quickly discovered that the sleds we'd rented we no match for the 3 feet of snow that had accumulated. My luck that the area hadn't seen so much snow in well, forever. The land owner and I saw a moose while waiting for Mike to unstick his sled. After Mike caught up we headed back to the truck to gear up and then set out to hunt. Things started out badly. My sled was the better of the two so I headed up to the higher ground where Rob, the land owner had blazed a trail. I reach the highest point shown in the following pic and then proceeded to stick the sled. I spent the next hour digging it out and man was I pooped! The pic gives an idea of the altitude and terrain we were on. I left the sled and proceeded to walk a bout a mile and a half on snow shoes. Half the time I sunk past my knees. Sunday we went back out on the sleds but most of the trails we were on the day before had been covered by blowing snow. So, not only was it cold, it was windy. I spent most of the day snowshoeing. Man is that hard work when you sink past your knees. I did get a surprise when I was following what little remained of the snowmobile tracks from the day before. I looked down and noticed some tracks, then it struck me, these were cat tracks. Mountain lion! Wow, the reality that these tracks were less than half a day old suddenly struck me and I forgot just how cold I was. I walked about a mile and then the tracks were lost, covered by the blowing snow. I saw lots of mulies but no elk on the property. We decided that the sleds were of no practical use so we drove back to SLC and dropped them off. That saved us more than a few bucks. Monday morning we awoke to find that it had dropped another 6 inches of snow. We headed back to the ranch for another day of snowshoeing. I walked forever it seemed and though I snuck up to within 20 yds of a nice buck again we saw no elk on the property. It was near zero again. Tuesday was more of the same only colder. We awoke to a temp of minus 13. We knew right from the start what the day would be like. Yup, you guessed it, cold and more slogging through hip deep snow. Same old story, drive out to the ranch see herds of elk at the lower elevations and tons of mulies on the slopes near the ranch and on the ranch itself but no elk on the ranch. You have no idea how frustrating it is to see so many animals and not have the right permit! We spent half a day Tuesday hunting then called it quits. We got on the phone cand called the game warden and the local DNR biologist to see if they knew of any problems herds or ranchers that might still have permits. No dice. Wednesday morning Mike is having breakfast and notices a couple of guys in camo. he starts talking to them and finds out that they are hunting on the land where we have been seeing much of the elk. They give us the number to the landowner and we call. Yup, he has a couple more permits and WANTS to get rid of those elk so he cuts us a deal. There were only a few days left in the season. We drive into Ogden to get the new cow tags and then meet the landowner in town. From across the highway we can see the herd that we will be stalking. There are two cows in the herd, so we drive to the property and saddle up. We take the sleds up to the top of the mountain then walk down until we are on the hilltop just above where the elk are. They are just on the other side of the hill below us. So, we spread out and stalk on down to the hill below. We were hoping that they would break to the right of us and down into the pasture. No such luck. They break left instead and disappear over the crest of the hill to our left. So, we hightail it back up the hill we'd just come down hoping to catch them as they emerge from behind the hill and make for the break in the fence on the opposite mountainside. We caught a break and the herd emerged where we wanted. I had wanted a bigger animal but decided that being our last day, I wasn't coming home empty handed. So, I kneeled down and leveled the crosshairs on the neck of the lead animal which happened to be my cow. She was about 250 yds aways and moving a good pace for the break. I lead her a little and squeeze the trigger. Boom goes my rifle and she slumps in a heap. The other animals pile up behind her like an LA traffic jam. Mike's animal is the fourth one back. He fires and misses. Then the animals break and head straight up hill. He fires again and another miss. Just over the top. He gets off one more round before they disappear over the crest. So, he and the landowner run back to the sled and take off trying to catch them a couple of hills over. About twenty minutes later I hear some more shooting. Mike got his animal too. She is much bigger. I hike down to mine and dress it out and the landowner's helper and I drag her carcass down the frozen stream to a fence where we have to roll her through the fence to the other side so we can move her to somewhere where she can be hauled out. There was no way to get a sled in and pull her out from where she went down. That was quite the fun. Thankfully the stream was mostly frozen and there was enough snow on the ground to make sliding easy. Here she is: And here's the trusty .338-06 that performed perfectly. The owner helped us haul the animals to teh butcher and we collected them on Thursday around noon. Then we headed to SLC where we had an early dinner with our gunsmith friend before heading back to Reno. We got into Reno around 2 am. The SCI show was going on in Reno and also the ACGG show which we attended. It was great seeing all those fine custom rifles. I headed off to the airport this morning and back to Denver. Man, what a great trip but it sure is nice to be home and see the wife and kids again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ken98k Posted January 27, 2008 Report Share Posted January 27, 2008 Congratulations on the hunt! Sounds like you had a great time. Welcome back! PS. I see the problem with your snowmachines, it's a polaris. Next time rent a Ski-doo! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
z1r Posted January 27, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 27, 2008 Congratulations on the hunt! Sounds like you had a great time. Welcome back! PS. I see the problem with your snowmachines, it's a polaris. Next time rent a Ski-doo! I think the real problem was that the tracks only had paddles a hair over 1" long. The vendor was definitely trying to get his money out of the machines. Between you and me, one reason I settled on the smaller animal was so I wouldn't have to ride tandem on the sled anymore, lol. I'm a control freak. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horsefly Posted January 27, 2008 Report Share Posted January 27, 2008 The only way I could be happier for you,is if I had been with you.I'd really have to get in better shape to do all that snow-shoeing.Coming from S. Cali. to Colorado maybe seasoned you a little for the cold weather.I'm so glad ya'll had a good time and that your back.With fritz gone and not hearing from you in a week,well,never mind.Thanks for the great report.Maybe you missed your calling and should have been a hunting book author,or even better,a Mauser sporter writer. Jerry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
724wd Posted January 27, 2008 Report Share Posted January 27, 2008 congratulations Mike! nice shot! dont worry about the cow being smaller... they eat better! great write up, too. how did your knife hold up... ;-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
z1r Posted January 27, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 27, 2008 congratulations Mike! nice shot! dont worry about the cow being smaller... they eat better! great write up, too. how did your knife hold up... ;-) the knife held up well, the outfitter was very impressed with how sharp it was. It's ugly as hell but good old carbon steel. I'll post a pic of it later. Turns out it has a carbon 5 blade made by cold steel. I still like the one you made and would love one with brown laminate handles. wink, wink. Jerry, being mentioned in the same breath as fritz is, well, quite the compliment. I too miss his posts. I know he and I had our tussles but the funny thing is I think we agreed on more topics than we'd admit, especially over the last year or so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brenden Posted January 27, 2008 Report Share Posted January 27, 2008 good to see you back mike. Thats some beautiful country out there. Dad's still gotta take me out there for my senior trip, after i get outta college (2 years left!!!!!) Nice animal you got, every one taken is a trophy to be proud of. Brenden Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flaco Posted January 27, 2008 Report Share Posted January 27, 2008 Glad to hear you had fun, Z- I remember that rifle. It was a tack driver when you sighted it in. Still, that's an impressive neck shot on a moving target. Vis a vis kitty cats... one of the boffins at JPL photographed a cougar on their campus in the Arroyo last week. Didn't you live in Pasadena? LOL. flaco Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron J Posted January 27, 2008 Report Share Posted January 27, 2008 Great story of a great trip. I love seeing something get whacked with a custom Mauser. Welcome back and congrats. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AzRednek Posted January 28, 2008 Report Share Posted January 28, 2008 Sounds like the kind of hunt you will sharing for many years over a camp fire. Bet you learned real quick to appreciate every half ounce you managed to relieve your rifle of. Years ago a co-worker of mine went on a Utah hunt with some Phoenix Firefighters. Didn't take him anytime at all to discover there was no way he could keep up with them. He said the thin air and mountains didn't slow down the fireman as they were all in excellent physical shape. As far as I know he still hunts the same area but now he does it on horse back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
z1r Posted January 28, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 28, 2008 Glad to hear you had fun, Z- I remember that rifle. It was a tack driver when you sighted it in. Still, that's an impressive neck shot on a moving target. Vis a vis kitty cats... one of the boffins at JPL photographed a cougar on their campus in the Arroyo last week. Didn't you live in Pasadena? LOL. flaco Yup, same rifle. Only, I wanted more velocity than that load delivered so I QUICKLY worked up another. Got the velocity but sacrifieced some accuracy. Still, it was more than plenty to do the job. Wow, a cat in Pasadena. I once had a deer trapped inthe fenced in property next to mine for the better part of a day. Amazing where those animals will show up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
z1r Posted January 28, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 28, 2008 Sounds like the kind of hunt you will sharing for many years over a camp fire. Bet you learned real quick to appreciate every half ounce you managed to relieve your rifle of. Years ago a co-worker of mine went on a Utah hunt with some Phoenix Firefighters. Didn't take him anytime at all to discover there was no way he could keep up with them. He said the thin air and mountains didn't slow down the fireman as they were all in excellent physical shape. As far as I know he still hunts the same area but now he does it on horse back. You bet I'll be talking about this one for some time to come. Just finished up some steaks with the family. My six year old asked not for seconds but thirds! I'd rather have been lighter by about ten or fifteen pounds. That rifle is heavy but slung it seemed not to matter. I can tell you I don't regret for one minute that, the way you saw it pictured, it weighs 9 lbs. That rifle settles down very nicely and makes off hand shots a breeze. Thanks to all for sharing in this experience with me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flaco Posted January 28, 2008 Report Share Posted January 28, 2008 Here she is: For those who don't know, JPL is the Jet Propulsion Lab, sometimes part of NASA. These guys build and control the Martian rovers, for instance. So the cat cruised down the ravine from the San Gabriel Mountains, looking for, well, yummies. I like the idea of the contrast: the ultimate in modern technology, and the timeless predatory wild. flaco Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
littlecanoe Posted January 28, 2008 Report Share Posted January 28, 2008 I really enjoyed the story and the pics Z. Glad the hunt was successful. Been looking forward to your return write up since you found your long johns! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flaco Posted January 28, 2008 Report Share Posted January 28, 2008 Didn't intend to hijack your thread, Z. flaco Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
z1r Posted January 28, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 28, 2008 Didn't intend to hijack your thread, Z. flaco No worries, I really enjoyed the pics of the Mt Lion. She/he looks like it means business doesn't it? I'm just glad I didn't have to see one face to face. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tinkerfive Posted January 29, 2008 Report Share Posted January 29, 2008 I looked down and noticed some tracks, then it struck me, these were cat tracks. Mountain lion! Wow, the reality that these tracks were less than half a day old suddenly struck me and I forgot just how cold I was. I know just what you mean. Black bear tracks on top of mine from the day before at the foot of my stand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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