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| Cow elk hunt just as exciting as hunting bulls ...or hunting with Murphy |
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 | | CENTRAL OREGONIAN | | While Scott Staats used to care for the large antlers of a bull elk, above, he now finds the meat of a cow elk to be more palatable. |
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In my younger years when I cared more about antlers on the wall than meat in the freezer, I always put in for bull elk hunts. As I've gotten older and wiser, I've discovered the meat to be more palatable than the antlers and have since applied for cow elk hunts. Besides, I've also realized that any elk I get is a trophy.
With cow elk season for most units in central Oregon beginning November 18 and lasting through November 26, those hunters who drew tags may glean some helpful hints from a past hunt of mine.
I left camp at 6:30 opening morning with a foot of snow blanketing the ground. The cold wind blew the sleet and fog sideways.
About a mile from camp fresh elk tracks appeared in an area of mountain mahogany. They were only a few minutes old and told the story of the animals stopping to graze on the shrubs. I had scouted the area the week prior and found lots of sign.
Sneaking quietly through the wet snow, the unmistakable brown of elk began to materialize in the fog about 50 yards away. My first thought was, "How lucky can I get, 7:00 opening morning and I'll have my elk."
But I had spoken to myself too soon. As the rest of the body appeared, a five-point rack sat atop the elk's head. This would have been a good sign except for the fact I was carrying a cow elk tag. A second elk came into view and my hopes again began to rise. This has to be a cow, I hoped. It too had a set of antlers almost as big as the first animal.
Then I recalled Murphy's First Law of Elk Hunting: When bull elk hunting, you will most likely run into several cows close enough to pet. When cow elk hunting, you will have bulls licking at your Cabela's boots.
Hoping that a few cow elk would appear, I hunkered down for about a half hour watching the two bulls slowly feed until they moved off, then stood up to get the blood circulating again. A clean, dry handkerchief was needed every few minutes to wipe the foggy freeze from my scope.
At mid-morning I met my two friends back at my wall tent. The smell of wet wool permeated the air as we dried out around the wood stove. Outside, the rain, snow and wind continued. Inside, the hot cocoa and oatmeal warmed us up.
Just before lunch we forced ourselves to open the tent flap and headed back out. Less than a half mile from camp, something caught my attention out of the corner of my eye. A cow elk came running broadside about 80 to 100 yards away.
By the time I got the scope cover off and pulled up, the elk was too far off for a shot. She never saw me so I decided to follow her, thinking she would have to slow down sometime. Tracking posed no problem in the snow. Twice I got within 50 yards of the cow when she took off from thick cover.
A mile and a half later, I found myself trudging through a foot and a half of wet snow, slowly climbing up into thick timber. The tracks led up a draw when suddenly they veered sharply to the left. Interesting, I thought. Upon closer inspection, mountain lion tracks could be seen coming down the draw. The cat took off after the elk in leaps of 10 to 15 feet. I followed for a while until the forest closed in around me and decided that the lion was now the hunter. I bade them both, the cat and the elk, good luck.
The next morning I headed out from camp in the opposite direction while my friends hunted the area where I saw the two bulls. A big four-point buck chased a doe in circles, getting within 25 yards of me. A while later I heard several shots up ahead. After a few minutes I could hear elk coming my way. A few passed within 75 yards in thick cover, but I couldn't tell what they were. Then a spike bull walked to within 20 feet of me and stopped, looking right at me, snorted and took off. Murphy's Law again.
Arriving back at camp around noon, I found that my two friends each got a cow. The rest of the afternoon was spent getting one of the elk out. A plastic sled can work wonders with snow on the ground. By noon the next morning we had the second elk back in camp.
The fourth day of the season I hunted an entirely different area and saw lots of fresh elk tracks. At one time I looked down in a wooded draw and saw movement. A light brown body, the head, the ears, no visible antlers. Finally, this is it, I thought. The animal stepped out from behind a tree and I whispered a short expletive - a wild horse. Hunters need to be aware that many wild horses can be found in the Ochocos. And each year, a few are mistakenly shot for elk.
The following day I had another spike come within 30 yards of me as it fed. A fox and a bobcat also made an appearance. I took Thanksgiving Day off and headed back to the woods on the seventh day of the nine-day hunt.
I decided to change my strategy. I've been covering five or six miles a day in deep snow with the only result was my getting tired. I dressed warm, grabbed a hot-seat and hiked into where I saw the bulls on opening day. I sat for three hours in the drizzle and light snow hoping for elk to come by feeding on the mahogany. A doe mule deer walked by feeding on moss but no elk appeared.
The snow was now crunchy, making it difficult to sneak. I walked no more than 200 yards when I spotted some elk about 100 yards off. About five or six cow elk were milling around in the mahogany. I braced my .270 against a tree. The long, hard hunt had finally paid off. Murphy and I filled our tags.
Scott Staats is a full-time outdoor writer who has lived in Prineville for the last 10 years. His articles have appeared in local, regional and national publications. He can be reached at: falcon@crestviewcable.com |
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