New Country....chasing after big bucks this time...

Headed up to check out some old whitetail haunts from last year and saw quite a few nice ones...


While I intended to simply try and put a doe in the freezer; once there I realised I'd mistakenly purchased a doe tag from another district. Being ethical and lawabiding I decided to do the right thing and not fling any arrows at any doe till I got that straightened out. Kinda absurd really, not just me driving an hour to kill a doe when there's a half dozen in the pasture every morning, but not being able to shoot one here was a bit ridiculous too; since I saw well over 200 doe's in all.



This is the Sheilds River bottom and I figure the doe-to-buck ratio must be around 40 to 1. While this little guy was all alone, most of the bucks I saw were travelling in bachelor herds still and tough to get close too.


Had I snagged an antelope permit for this region these would have been fair-game and a tag would have been definately punched; considering I was very close with bow in hand at the time they were taken. Both the antelope and myself were surprised to find ourselves in such close proximity that I barely got off a frame. They didn't stick around long enough for another one though once they realised what I was and what I was doing there.


These two were on a BMA I have hunted before, but were not the caliber I moved to Montana for so I didn't even get out and sign in. They were with three more smaller bucks and all very nervous when I pulled to a stop to take their picture.


The colors were fantasic, even though the light wasn't. It was bit overcast and cool around 50 all afternoon. Perfect for deer hunting, but I just wasn't into it for some reason. I'd slept most of the day, not used to working five days a week, and even after having Monday off I was still dragging ass and not too intent on killing anything but time.


That is until I spied this guy and his friends!!! The one in front had me freaking out at how to circle on him in an open field and not be detected..?? Though they all were on a private piece, they couldn;t have been a few hundred yards from the public stretch I'd signed-in on at the time.


....It'd be near impossible, but was worth a try...


..As expected it was a bust, couldn't get within 400 yards. Still I have these pics as incentive to try again next week ...when I get another 'day off'.


Before I'd stopped to hunt I'd also spotted some promising grounds for taking the girls up after birds. I waved to a few local ranchers and even told a lady on an ATV where she could find four of her stray cows. I did all this so I could then go back next week and ask for permission to hunt their land. It probably wont work and they'll forget they ever saw me, but at least it was worth a shot.


It wasn't a total bust since I wasn't at work and got to drive back home thru Montana...

Moe

12 Bulls...on one hillside all bugling at the same time!!!

I wouldn't have believed it if I didn't see it with my own eyes, counted them myself, and taken the pics to prove it...


Today's weather changed dramaticly as a cold front moved into the northern part of the state and though Bozeman only saw the southern end of it; I was convinced it would likely be good for elk movement so made the trip after work. I wasn't disapointed, while the lighting was shit the bulls were going balistic and chasing, fighting, and just doing what they do in September; but even more so because of the low cloud cover and light rain (temps dipping into the low 40's before sunset).


The seven bulls in the pic preceding this were all together and slowly working their way out of the treeline down to the action below. Once there they interacted with another band of bulls; some who were already working cows and others who entered the show from the woods right of frame. All in all I counted 12 individual bulls. Not all were huge trophys of course as several were rag horns and satelite bulls lingering just out of frame, but a couple young ones spared and even a black one showed up which really blew my mind (pics below)...??!!!




As you can tell from the above pic I'm quite a distance away so the pics have had some post editting to get them clear, but one things for sure; I have done nothing to manipulate the image of the black one your seeing and am still scratching my head about that one.


Here he is again, entering in the upper righthand corner, and appears to have a messed up rack as well; especially compared to the HUGE guy below him whose G-4's are absolutely incredible!!


I dont know if there's anything to this, but viewing the above pic the dominance of the biggest bull being 'above' the other bulls on the hillside appeared to have quelled any mischief they might have been up too before the big guy showed up.


One last look at the big man before he disappered into the thick stuff with is small harem of hot cows..


Meanwhile these two satelite bulls continued to spar (for the second time) and put on quite a show..


It continued for well over a minute and covered roughly 100 feet of field before they called it a draw...


As soon as they stopped they immediately looked toward their female audience, though didn't get the reaction they expected; so continued duking it out for a third time instead...


While doing so another much bigger bull showed himself briefly and simply ignored the two satelites and came in to get the girls up outa their beds and 'show them who the man was afterall'...



..............

I swear rain or shine, 88 degrees or 20; Montana was always the place for me and I'm damned glad I quit my job and moved here!!

To think such incredible things are right here in my backyard is almost like heaven on earth I tell ya...

...

I'll be sure and see what they're up to next week too; so check back often if it interests ya...

Later,

Moe

Elk, Elk, and even more Elk.....

I dont think I'll ever get tired of seeing these dudes do their thing or hear their screams either...


While I'd like to set up camp and just take pics of these bulls every night a guy's gotta work (I found a new job)..; plus I gotta hunt and fish in between, but will be up there every 3 days from here on out after work to get more footage (so keep checking back).


I'll admit that fence was a bummer in the foreground, but he just wouldn't jump it till his cows did first. My poor attempts to use my cow call only spooked him and spooked him bad (he actually ran away).

"#@%*"


His' cows and calves however, seemed gald to be rid of him and all jumped the fence and barely paid me any nevermind.


One even began nursing her calf right in front of me.


Eventually the dude entered the field and within minutes forgot all about me over behind the bushes. He even went about bugling and getting pretty aroused I might add..(I hope thats piss?)


He then chased a hot cow into the bottom and they did their thing. I've yet to capture the act itself, but intend too.


...I know this is gonna sound crazy but there were 7 bulls up on the hillside screaming their heads off and well over a hundred elk in all; in less than a 40 acre area. While a couple sparred pretty good too, they were just too far off for good pictures.

I figure this is the seasonal meeting place for nearly every elk in the Bridgers and its no secret they're here either; as a half-dozen other photographers/spectators were parked nearby.

Still, the fact this unique spectacle is less than 16 miles from my home (10 from Bozeman); makes it easy to get too before the sun sets.

As long as the show lasts I intend to capture it every chance I get.

Stay tuned...

Moe

Two Even Bigger Bulls!!!!.....

While I thought the 6x6 was a "nice bull", these two fella are in an entirely different class...


Since they were considerably further away than the younger bull was on Friday, my images aren't nearlly as sharp, but you still get the feeling these two were the ones actually in-charge of the harem (which now included over 60 cows) in the same area...


I was about sure these two bulls were gonna scrap, but the one bigger (second picture) simply skirted the one above in the field and they never came closer than 100 yards...

Two more bulls sounded off repeatedly within the same area, but I never got a good look at them. Its assumed at least one of those was the 6x6 from Friday, but who knows how big the other one was...

Though these bulls were on private inaccessable lands as well, not two miles up the road I even spotted another bull chasing cows and while this fella (too blurry pics to post) wasn't near the caliber of what I have; he was much closer to public lands and would be just perfect hanging above my bed in the singlewide.


Moe

Nice Bull......

Was headed up to see if I could squeeze in an evening bowhunt around Bridger Bowl and spotted this fella and his harem of cows on a ridge below the roadway...


He wasn't very vocal though obviously must have been to attract the ladies he had hanging out with him. I'd heard a few good bugles two nights earlier, in the same area, so assume they were from him.


They were obviously on private land at this point, but not a half-mile from public so I'll give it a go tomorrow night and see if there are any others nearby.


Moe

Went for a Drive....

Just to see what I might find...?

Wasn't even outside town when I spotted this coyote hunting mice in a field.

Not a bad start.

......

Stopped and stared into the Gallatin and its' deep pools filled with fish, the same I've pursued a dozen times, but for reasons I cant explain I just sat on a rock and zoned out instead of ever breakng out the rod.






I'd been focusing my photography on the big things lately like elk and vast landscapes and almost forgot about the little pieces of brilliance mother nature provides...


...........

Onward I drove and into the park for a bit and thought I might enter thru West Yellowstone today..?

Saw this fella and his buddy cast a dozen times, but come up empty. So I ventured on but snapped a picture of his' audience first...



.....

Becuase I'm prone to such whims I decided last second, as I spotted the sign, to head west and check out the area between Hebgen and Quake Lakes...?

This is Hebgen...skies got a bit gloomy the further west I went..


..."The Madison Dam was hit by a school bus sized boulder last night" the old guy told me at the cabin fly shop; so in preperation for repair the waters' between the two dams were being drawn down 9 feet when I arrived; thus I said - 'screw it' and kept on driving...

(9/1/10 -correction: Old guy was right about boulder, but wrong about which Dam. It turned out to be the Ennis Lake which was being drawn down drasticly (50 miles away); increasing the Lower Madisons' flows by 3,000 cfs as of 6PM tonight, and effecting water temps dropping them down to 60 degrees as well. While the fishing might be good the next few days, there's significant concern as to the browns spawning this season and possible fish kills in the lake itself.)


On further to Quake Lake the wind was pretty strong too - another excuse not to fish - but I was just content to drive around Montana anyway today.
..

As I stopped at an overlook to take care of business, I realized where I was and that I'd been on that road a time or two, but it had been from the other-end headed east and it dawned on me everything surrounding me was prime forestry lands!!

"Holy #@&%"

My mind began wondering how many critters the opposite bank of the lake held undisturbed, and whether a short canoe trip was in order..(archery-openner is only days away)..?


When I past Slide Inn Fly Shop I found myself about where I'd elk hunted on the openner last season and decided; 'what the hell, might as well do some scouting..?'

I wasn't on the BLM ranch five minutes before spotting these three bucks making their way uphill...

Though I didn't score an antelope buck tag this season, I'm conent with the prize I took last which hangs on my wall; and shortly after seeing these I came upon a young man with an early-season archery permit and showed him the pics and where they lay.

Next I spotted a sign directing me toward two isolated lakes I'd only heard of, but never seen so onward and upaward I went....

..Ten miles of gravel later and I was out of Gallatin National and into Beaverhead-Deerlodge and at the shores of Wade Lake.
Overcast, cool, and the 31st of August; I had the place all to myself save a large black bear I caught only a glimpse of (he being in camp raiding garbage cans) as I approached.

I walked quite a ways in his backtrail hoping for a picture, but no dice tonight; so I headed toward the other lake nearby.

This is Cliff Lake, surrounded on all sides by breathtaking mountians and again - all national 'huntable' forest; so my thoughts were once again: "grab that canoe and give the other bank a try..?"
Today was certainly not as pretty as if the sun were out and less cloudy, but having that many hundreds-of-thousands of acres all to myself (and thoughts of being similar during archery); made it worth the trip.


Not a bad day, not a bad day at all...

I'll be hitting all of those spots and more in the coming weeks.


Moe

Yellowstone National Park.......

Bit the bullet and bought a seasonal pass to all National Parks as well as my annual Yellowstone fishing license. Late I know as most folks are now leaving the park for the summer, but since I can enter it from 3 locations and find myself constantly at its entrance; I figured 'what the heck..?'


For those who've vistited Mammoth your well aware of the rather tame resident elk herd and considering I see and photograph enough wild elk too; I still like these rascals as they're much more cooporative and grant me some nice shots when I need them.


Though somewhat illegal, I couldn't help grabbing my sweet sounding new cow call off the rearview mirror and messing with the two young bulls; geting some neat shots while doing so.


While seeing a dozen lying on the lawn outside the visitor center and a few wayward Italians appproaching to close 'ignoring the signs' is a shot in itself; seeing them meander outside town toward dusk and congregate with their less tame brotherin provided some beautiful scenes and made a rather fruitless fishing trip (due to heavy winds) into one with some salvagable shots for the portfolio.


Night fell sooner than expected and I readied myself to head home...


Just as I snapped my last elk pic, these four noisy things flew overhead to 'wish me well'.


Moe