OT: Suffield Alberta - The Praire Elk Experience

[IronNoggin]

Been struggling with this one for a spell so it's taken a while to get my mind wrapped around just how this report should proceed...
This will not be like most of the hunting reports I have filed, although there will be some of that. Going to be lengthy, and towards the end likely controversial for some. That said, bear with me as I relate the situation as best I am able...

Background

Established in 1941, Canadian Forces Base Suffield is the largest Canadian Forces Base and the largest military training base in the commonwealth.
It encompasses 1,040 square miles of chiefly prairie habitat - grasslands, rolling hills and river breaks along the South Saskatchewan River. It is widely recognized as one of the largest contiguous blocks of natural prairie grassland in the world, a final remnant of North America's Northern Great Plains.
In 2003 177 square miles along the River were designated as the Suffield National Wildlife Area.



When the base was fenced, it "captured" herds of wild horses termed Mustangs within it's confines. These horses did extremely well, foraging on the rich native grasses and a near complete lack of predators.



It was their success that eventually lead to their undoing. Upon the recommendation of an Advisory Committee, convened by the Base Commander at the time to review the relationship between the horses and the natural environment, the 1,200+ horses were rounded up and removed from the base completely.

From the early '60's to the early '80's various forms of grazing leases were let within the base to local cattle producers. In 1982 the last of those leases expired, and the program discontinued citing a 1977 AF&W report that grazing on C.F.B. Suffield had negatively affected vegetation and species dependent on the same..

It was soon recognized that the grassland ecosystem was now being negatively effected by the lack of grazing animals, a factor well recognized as playing a vital role in grassland ecosystem maintenance. The American Bison (Buffalo) that once dominated the area were not considered a viable option to fill that role. So, in 1997 and 1998 a total of ~ 220 Elk were transplanted to Suffield from Elk Island National Park.



The introduced Elk started off with superior genetics, and soon made themselves right at home on the vast grasslands now available to them.
With the rich forage, and lack of predators, their population literally exploded from that initial 220 in 1998 to an estimated 7,000 in 2015.
A 3,200 % increase in just 17 years.

When the elk were originally introduced, local area ranchers operating adjacent to the base were told the herd would be managed so as not to exceed management's understanding of full carrying capacity - 800 Elk.

No attempts were made regarding active "management" in the years that followed, and with the hugely increasing numbers, conflicts began to arise between the Elk and ranchers / farmers outside the base. As the Elk numbers grew, these conflicts increased almost exponentially as the elk expanded "their" range to encompass the surrounding areas.

Under increasing pressure from those negatively effected by the elk, consideration now (finally) had to be given towards methods of actually managing the elk towards realistic numbers that the area could support. The concept of a huge round-up, and subsequent mass slaughter as proposed by some local ranchers was quickly dismissed. The next to be considered was capturing and relocating large numbers of the elk to various places within Alberta to either bolster depleted populations, or initiate new ones. This was dismissed by management (a HUGE mistake in this author's opinion) based upon the extremely remote possibility of disease introduction / broadcasting to the areas of introduction (despite the Fact that not a SINGLE incident of CWD, Tuberculosis or Brucellosis had EVER been recorded in any Suffield elk).

Thus the decision was eventually made in 2012 to allow hunting inside the base. A First Time Ever event that in itself was the subject of controversy.
Of much greater controversy was the way the hunts were stratified. Initially First Nations were directly invited to participate, with the expectation they would hunt for subsistence, and equally target cows and bulls. The hunts also allowed for non-aboriginal participation - Limited Draw required, and COW ONLY.
Frustration and resentment were soon forthcoming among Alberta's non-aboriginal hunting community, and it appeared to be with good reason. In their initial hunts, First Nations showed a decided preference for the larger mature bulls over the cows, taking 469 bulls vs 151 cows. It became readily apparent that many viewed these as exclusive Trophy Hunts rather than subsistence meat gathering events.

Despite the numbers hunting removed, the recruitment rate among the elk remained substantial, in fact surpassing the number killed by hunters for the next few years. Increases in numbers of on-base tags were supplemented with an increase in the number of tags let outside the base over time.

Again finally, in 2015 changes were made to the hunt stratification which would allow non-aboriginal hunters access to bull tags...

Continued...

[IronNoggin]

Against this backdrop, and knowing the area and it's elk, the decision was made to enter the draw for Suffield Bull Elk for the 2015 hunts. Being only a Priority 3, I realized the odds were likely long, but with the prospect of hunting the base itself, it was a no-brainer to enter...

We did not draw our first request (first hunt) nor our second (first hunt in January 2016) but did manage to draw on our third: the second hunt of January 2016.

The Scouting Run

Through the fall our Crew scrutinized the ongoing hunts there in as great as detail as possible. What we were hearing was downright discouraging (more on this later) but we managed to keep our spirits high, and looked greatly forward to the opportunity we were being afforded.

I visited an area adjacent to the base and managed to be successful on a Fine Muley Buck with my bow.
That also allowed me a good glimpse at what was occurring off the base (FN and LEH Hunting) and see a handful of rather tremendous bulls those hunts had taken.
Also got the odd glimpse inside the base, where in some places the elk trails looked like cattle had been run there for 1,000+ years!!



Also on that run we saw several Great Bulls that really helped to keep the enthusiasm high for the impeding hunt!!

The last days of hunting here on the Island passed into memory, and I held tight to the thought that my season wasn't over quite yet!
Lots of calls, lots of discussions, pouring over every little bit of intel I could gather kept me focused on the happenings a Province away until the day I could wander back there...

Deciding to make the journey in a couple of hops, my regular Island Hunting Partner and I departed home a full 3 days early, and overnighted with a Great Friend in Vancouver we hadn't had the pleasure of visiting with for far too long. Despite the excellent camaraderie and visit, we were up and away well before the first greying of the morning sky.

The highway was fine, and the miles literally flew by. Before we knew it we were topping out on the continental divide, and sliding downhill eastwards into Alberta. Although we had planned on an evening stop in Calgary, we decided to forgo that and make the final miles to Medicine Hat in one push. Again the weather cooperated with that mission, and we arrived to hearty grins & firm handshakes all round in the mid-evening.

There is a reason I plan these trips with the Buddy whose place we landed at so as to arrive a tad early. True to form, we "celebrated" well into the wee hours of the next morn (as I simply knew we would) requiring the next day to be a write-off spent recovering! Well worth it every time, and this instance was no different! The tales of Glory (and some not so glorious) kept all entertained, laughing and grinning the whole while. And it was much to my satisfaction that my two hunting buddies - one from BC, the other from Alberta - got along as famously as they did! In fact I do recall thinking that together they might well prove Dangerous to my health!!

One of the topics of discussion that night and the next day was the long snow machine run our Alberta Buddy had made - pretty well the entire river adjacent to the base the very day before we arrived. That report wasn't all that "pretty" as far as our aspirations were concerned. Despite temperatures below minus 20, the big river had yet to freeze solid enough to allow an elk to cross (a positive thing in many aspects). But even with fresh snow, the sign and sightings for his run were worse than dismal. Extremely few tracks, and a total of 3 bulls sighted being the only elk he wandered across in that full day run. The only thing that held our spirits up at that point was the somewhat dubious conclusion that "all the elk must still be up deeper on the base...".

Following the recovery day, and a day before our hunt would commence, we rose before dawn, and set off for a full day's scout of the entire base perimeter.
A skiff of new snow topped the 4 or so inches already down as we made our approach. Spotting scopes, Binoc's and telescope in hand, we set out to see whatever we could for sign of our quarry...

The run across the southern boundary produced a couple far off sightings of cows & calves, but little of interest beyond that.
Making our way northwards along the western boundary was much of the same until we neared the northern boundary intersection.
Topping a small hill, there was a little herd of elk, and in it the first bull we would see this trip:



Sure, just a spikey, but a bull nonetheless!

Their initial reaction appeared to be confusion, but it certainly did not take long before they firmly engaged the afterburners!!



No other encounters were realized as we turned now to the east, and wandered our way along the northern base boundary.
However it was but a short time after that turn when we ran into the first of a great many antelope herds we would bump into in the next coming days:



Although most had shed their horns (the only critter that does that with this type of horn) it was readily apparent that many we saw during this trip would be True Trophy Material. These were outside the base, but soon ducked back inside upon our appearance. Likely that protected area is the reason we saw as many Good Ones as we did methinks...

Also extremely interesting to be seeking hard for elk in the same areas frequented by these little Speedy Goats!
Our BC Buddy was entirely fascinated by this, exclaiming Now I understand why you guys shoot such long range rifles, and get so damn good with them! aYup!

To this point we had seen but little sign of anything beyond Mulies and Antelope wandering off the base. A small herd of perhaps a dozen had wandered westwards just before the herd the spike was in, and to this point, that was it.
So, when we topped another herd and found a significant crossing - fence completely down and tracks of 40+ elk - we got a little more excited. Unfortunately they were at least a day or two old, and going away from the base. But hey! More signs! They still exist!!

That was to be it for signs and sightings until we crossed the river.
Doing that on the highway, we soon wandered back to the river breaks across from the eastern boundary of the base.

Stopping to take peeks from every available high spot, we checked out numerous Mulies along our way:



Some had asked why we did not get out and hunt on foot much. Were these river breaks to be open, we certainly would have!





But alas, those on this side of the river are either outside the base, or in an area they did not open for us. And on the other side, the Wildlife Sanctuary encompasses all but the flat in the above picture. In that picture, you can see the wide open low flat that is on the base - the only section of river bank not inside the NWR. Walking across such flats, anything certainly sticks out like a sore thumb!! The hills behind - closed of course.

Continued...

[IronNoggin]

The base does not allow any pictures to be taken while there. We stuck to that religiously, but here is one I sniped off the net. Don't know if it is actually on the base or not, but certainly looks extremely similar to the central portion there. Again, a great indication why a hiking style hunt would largely be a Fool's Effort in most areas:



Our Scouting Run continued, making stops whenever we could see across into the base, and perhaps see a glimpse of an elk or two...





And as we wandered south, finally... SUCCESS!!



You can't make them out in the above picture, but there is ~ 125 elk in there. Scattered over the mid and tops of those far off bluffs.
And... ALL Bulls! The Bachelor Herd.

Scrambling to set up our most powerful optics, we zoomed in for a bit of a closer look:





Excuse the poor quality, this was the first time I have ever tried to take a picture through a bloody telescope!



Although we well recognized that herd was within the National Wildlife Sanctuary, our spirits literally SOARED!
Target Found, Identified, and exact position Plotted! Mission Successful!!!

We spent a considerable time drooling of course before once again pointing southwards...

With no other sightings forthcoming, we eventually broke off to visit with a couple area Ranchers where we checked the zero on my rifles (no change) and shared some tall tales with long term Buddies. All noted there were damn near no elk in their areas this winter, with only the odd smaller herd passing through.
Meant little to us at that point - we now KNEW where the ones we wished to concentrate on were. And we meant fully to do just that the following morning...

Continued...

[IronNoggin]

That same evening, several folks that had been in previous hunts wandered by to have a chat .
Some expressed encouragement, some helped define strategies, and some were downright full of discouragement.
Nonetheless, we hashed out The Plan for the following morning - one which I felt was sound and worthy of pursuit.

Before I get into the "Hunt" itself, I should explain just a little of the background of The Players:

Myself - semi-retired Biologist with over 4 decades of hunting experience ranging from pretty well all of Western North America, the Arctic, Africa etc.
Well experienced on elk, having taken 28 before this hunt. A few of those were "fence-line hunts" adjacent to National Parks or otherwise closed areas - similar to what we now were staring down. Practiced Long Range Prairie Shooter.
Noted among our Crew as the best judge of "score on the hoof" and efficient at spotting game at distance.

Alberta Partner - Long Term Professional Guide / Outfitter.
Experience world-wide, and very much so in wide open prairie style hunts.
Excellent Spotter, even better Strategist.
One of the Toughest Men I know, and one of the Best Friends I've ever had.

BC Partner - Wildlife Monitor by trade of late. Very Well Experienced. Not much in the way of elk experience (yet - we're working on that) but a Very Good Sheep Killer. Great eyes for game. Incredible Enthusiasm, Good Head on his shoulders, and another I'd trust my Life to in a heartbeat.

My Alberta Partner's Lady drew the same tag, same time. I will never understand why he engaged another guide to take her out for the hunt, and chose to accompany me instead (my Lady would KILL me!! ). Thankful he did though, and the strategy of two trucks working together made very sound sense.

At the end of the day, we had put on over 700 kilometers on my BC partners Toyota (Damn Tough & Capable Rig!!). Damn thankful fuel was running around 72 cents a liter! The chattering fringe were booted out early so we could supposedly get "a good night's sleep".

In my case that wasn't about to happen. After seeing the Big Boys - visions of what if and unbridled Anticipation ran so strongly through my mind sleep was a physical impossibility. Somehow managed to drift off just as I heard someone else start the coffee makings for the day about to unfold...

Apologies to the reader - at this point I am once again more than Bagged, and have a requirement to make supper for my late working Lady.
Tomorrow, as is the case at this point in the tale, the "Hunt" commences...

Cheers,
Nog

[L. E. Carroll]

Well,
You have me Hook, Line, and Sinker, so I'll be checking back for some more as you get it down in print.

Thanx so far,
Gene

[RexKay]

Im blown away already!

[Sandman]

Awesome account and pics TFS~!

[IronNoggin]

It seemed to me mere minutes since I had drifted into slumber, and in fact, it likely was when my BC Partner kicked open the bedroom door and roared Coffee is ON!!!

Wiping sleep from my eyes, I staggered to the spam, noisily complaining about Truck Butt after the run from BC and a full 700+ kilometer run the previous day. The searing coffee was a welcome relief, and was shortly working it's Magic. Aches and Pains quickly gave way to the rush of Anticipation that came roaring back at Full Steam! Time to Load Up!

The "Hunt" Day One

Packing four of us into the rig was interesting even with the four doors! Three rifle, lunches, ammo, orange vests, spotting scopes and all the gear we thought there was a remote possibility of needing squished in tight. Thankfully the truck had been started quite early, and it's heater held sway against the chill of the well before dawn hour.

Racing up the highway towards the Briefing Point, I realized we were damn early. As in an hour early! LOL! Nothing quite like the prospect of The Hunt to get the old bones rolling it seems! Once at the appointed gathering spot, we met up with the fellow who would be commanding Truck Two for our impending foray. He is well rehearsed on the Base, having been directly involved in no less than three successful hunts this season. We quickly bundled all of The Lady's equipment and rifle into his rig, and wandered inside the briefing hall. Although we were early, there was already a line-up. Many had not filled out their forms prior to arrival, and that stalled the process for some time. Eventually we were up, and sidled up to the table to complete our registrations. The fellow who did this was quite efficient, although more than a little doubtful regarding our chances of success...

While we waited for the briefing presentation, we held close to the registration table so as to overhear any tidbit of intel that might prove useful. None of that was forthcoming. In fact the alternative was much more predominant. Most of the hunters seemed downtrodden and discouraged. They were not helped in that aspect by some of the comments from base staff suggesting "You guys are your own worst enemies" & "there are no elk left in the open areas" & "most of the elk have left the base". Although these gentlemen were polite, it was rather plain to see they were burned out and pessimistic at this late stage of the "Elk Herd Reduction Program".

Through the previous openings, we had heard of great numbers of FN attendance. Thus we were quite surprised when only around a dozen showed up for this briefing. As the last of the hunters & their crews slowly wandered in, it became apparent that there was no way this could be wrapped up in time to allow an approach to the area before first light. Oh Well...
When the CO finally did call the meeting to order, a quick survey suggested there were about 140 folks attending all told.

The briefing was informative and explicit, explaining the nature of this "reduction" and clearly defining the Rules all who ventured onto the base must comply with. Some I kind of wondered about such as the No Photos rule. One can scrutinize the area quite closely via Google Earth, and at the time I simply did not get that (I eventually realized some of the why's - more on that later too...). Others made perfect sense such as the Ban on touching any ordinance found laying around out there on the prairie. For us, although informative, the meeting did nothing to relieve our impatience to get rolling...

After the CO finished up, a biologist gave a follow-up presentation. This same routine was to be adhered to for the next few days. Then suddenly the CO called the meeting over, and a Mad Rush for the door ensued! Already forewarned about this development, we were staged to get out of Dodge Damn Fast! As I we did so I heard one older Gent cry Holy chit as folks scrambled HARD around him for the parking lot.

Again already forewarned, our truck was parked in a rather strategic position. That meant a good 100 yard DASH, something I can proudly say my aging body managed quite nicely thank you! That put us into the number six position as the trucks now hit the highway North towards the only two entry points onto the base. Traffic that morning seemed damn near "sedate" in comparison with what would happen in subsequent mornings, and rolled along barely above the posted speed limit.

Arriving at the first gate, we realized 3 of the trucks in front of us kicked it up a gear and continued on the highway north. Two turned in front of us, and we now slid into position three. Good News. Once on the base, the two leaders did not slow their pace, continuing at damn near highway speeds towards the eastern front. We carried along, dropping a little behind, yet still leaving the parade following behind us.

Having carefully studied the supplied map, we knew exactly where it was we wanted to be. At the critical corner, both rigs in front of us turned south. Excellent. Position Number One! Now our speed dropped to a crawl, and our eyes STRAINED to find an elk. Hoping against hope that the Big Bulls we had seen the previous day from directly across the river might have made a mistake and slipped out of the Wildlife Refuge, we looked for any sign suggesting that, or perhaps even the Bulls themselves. As predicted, the briefing had eaten up a fair amount of the breaking dawn, and we proceeded perhaps an hour or so later than any of us would have preferred.

Topping a little knoll, the driver hit the brakes as we saw a Good six point standing less than 400 yards into the Safe Zone staring at us. Behind him were several more, and all appeared quite relaxed in the knowledge they were Safe from our aspirations. The tracks of the Big Six indicated he had crossed over from the open area mere moments before our arrival. Bummer. We immediately backed off out of sight, then rolled up on a far off vantage point to see what the small herd might do. From there, we could see many more well behind them, perhaps 1200 yards distant, feeding contentedly on the gentle hill tops. As more trucks rushed up to and by the scene (funny - most simply did not appear to even see these animals?) it became quite apparent that these elk were not at all interested in venturing off the Wildlife Reserve. So Close, yet so FAR Away!!

We sat another spell, hoping that situation might improve. During that time, we checked in with Truck Number Two who had headed to the north west section adjacent to where we had spied the herd with the spike the day before. Thought from our experienced crew was where there is one small herd, there are most likely more. Their report was Grim. Trucks had actually passed them at Warp Speed headed to the north east, creating a couple dangerous moments. But, in their favor, none ventured into the area they were looking in. Unfortunately that did not pan out, and they saw not even a single set of tracks on the fresh skiff of snow. So, they were headed east working along the northern boundary and hoping...

Abandoning the herd before us, we wandered back around and south to the border of where we were allowed to hunt. Examining the map, it was immediately clear that only a little less than 1/3 of the base was open to us, but we bolstered our spirits and committed to a Solid Effort. No tracks were seen in that block, so we rolled up again on our high point to verify the bull herd had stayed put. They hadn't. In fact most had slipped over the top of the rolling hills even deeper into the Sanctuary. Sigh.

Now began a slow and winding journey from the south east corner of the open area towards the north west. Although our other Team had not located any elk in that area, armed with GPS coordinates we believed we might. So sights set, off we went. Along the way we encountered some great herds of antelope all largely unconcerned with our presence. The same cannot be said for the mule deer and coyotes encountered, for each was in Full Fly as soon as they saw our rig. Made us wonder if they had been targeted of late? We also ran across small mini-towns constructed I guess to resemble far off potential battlefields. Some were actually quite realistic, and all certainly looked well out of place on the rolling prairie! Even more out of place were the plywood tanks and trucks scattered here and there, lending an almost surrealistic aspect to our wanderings.

As we approached the area we wanted to investigate next, we ran into another road block. Apparently the entire north west corner was another of the No Go zones, and the GPS marker blinked on the screen well inside of that. Damn! Guess that is exactly why those elk were there...

And so we wandered off towards the north east corner, stopping to scope from many high points along the way. More mulies, more antelope, no elk.
Eventually we ran into the same set of tracks heading north off the base we had seen the previous day, and we of course got out to verify that.
Just then a Range Patrol truck came rumbling up from the East, so we flagged him down for a chat. "Nothing taken yet. No amount of tracks seen nor reported in the open areas. Seems they are all inside the protected areas." Not exactly words of encouragement...

We bid them Good Day, and continued our journey east - back the direction from which they had just come. When we arrived at the north east corner and turned south, it was damned apparent the crew we had just met pumped us with misinformation. Tracks all over the road from this morning. Two gut piles from the same. And a chatty fellow who had witnessed the events as the first trucks rolled in there. About 125 elk were out. One bull dropped right there, another hit and made it inside the Refuge (apparently retrieved by the same crew who we had just chatted with?). Most ran back into the Sanctuary, but there was a current Running Gun Battle engaging a herd on the flats and hills to the south west of us. We thanked the fellow, and rolled to a high point towards the southwest. Along the way, we encountered the fellows who had shot the two bulls that morning. They were sitting having coffee just off the road, and we easily identified the two as a 6x6 about 320" and a spike.

From the next vantage point, we could see where trucks had pursued the elk cross-country, and apparently at speed. It wasn't overly difficult to determine their circular flight path in the fresh snow, and the presence of the odd truck parked next to a downed bull confirmed that. Certainly looked like a Gong Show of some sort had occurred! Another truck idled up, and the frustrated hunters inside related their tale of woe. Apparently these two fellows had seen a herd well removed from those that were ambushed right on the road, and decided upon a foot stalk to close on them. They had gotten pretty close, when the first of about 15+ trucks came roaring across the prairie towards the herd. Deciding to make the best of a worsening situation, they took careful aim, and hit the two largest bulls at about 300 yards. Both bulls remained in the herd, and wobbled over the gentle hill in front of them, accompanied by the sound of near continuous rifle fire. By the time they reached their hit animals, other "hunters" had them tagged and were loading them. WTF?? We were later to learn that a few Bad Actors in the pursuit vehicles had been witnessed actively Flock Shooting into the herd, and that several (including cows) had staggered, wounded, back to the Sanctuary.

Gong Show? Far worse! I recall making the comment This is the Mad Max of Elk Hunting! Get us the hell out of here!!

And so we wandered back down to where the Bachelor Herd was, and sat up on a point where we could study them from a distance. An hour or so before dark, the entire herd made it's way back over the top and slowly fed towards the Wildlife Sanctuary boundary. Not another truck in sight. We called in our second Team, and could tell by their voices they were at least as Frustrated as we were. Advised them to set up on a different hilltop, well away from the herd, and watch. With any luck, they might venture out yet...

Alas that was not to be, but at the last glimmer of light they were still headed in the right direction. Feeding slowly into the wind. Maybe, just maybe they will cross out tonight...

Shocked by some of what we had heard and seen, the ride back to the main gate was solemn. There we learned the "harvest" was in the teens, at least some had collected their bull... some quite apparently by whatever means possible...

500+ kilometers later we arrived back at my Buddy's Hacienda. And so a couple stiff ones to dull the pain, and we reviewed the many calls from others that had also been hunting. Pretty well all reported the same findings, and several noted they were pulling out of the scene and not returning. Although I could not blame them, we never even considered that alternative...

Maybe that Bachelor Herd will come out tonight, and stall long enough in the morning for us to capitalize...

Sleep came Damn Fast even with my consternation at the day's events and the now well enhanced case of Truck Butt struggling to keep me awake...

[IronNoggin]

Couple of points I missed from the first day...

When fueling up at the end of the day, we met a rather nice Fellow who although embarrassed, enlightened us to a near miss that same morning...

Somehow he managed to get around to the north of us, and came into the same general area we had decided to land on. He was the only one we encountered who had put the effort in to collect advance intel, and knew right where that Bachelor Herd was positioned. Coming south towards the same spot the first thing in the morning, he encountered a Big Six right beside the road. In his words: "It ran a bit, and we got out in front of it. I got out and got ready, and he ran up right beside us at about 150 yards. And Stopped. I Lined up, and MISSED! He then ran back the way he came, ducked into a coulee, and made the Reserve before we could even get turned around!" Surprised he would even admit to that, we consoled him suggesting anyone can miss, especially so when facing down a 380+ Bull!

It is entirely likely that the tracks and Big Six we first encountered were the same one he was referring to. I'd hazard a guess it would have run mid 380's, and it came exactly from the area the fellow described. That and the sole truck that wandered by us going the other way was most certainly the one he was in. I can only imagine The Pain!

But, that also gave us a little more confidence that just perhaps, one of those Big Boys might make a mistake yet!

The other point: There are exceedingly few trees on that base. So much so that to encounter one is always the subject of amazement. Elk of course have to shed their velvet each and every year. But with no trees...

Most of the fences inside the base (and many along it's perimeter) were in bad need of repair. Not only the wire being knocked loose or simply missing, but the posts themselves looked like Giant Porcupines had been working them over. It took us but a moment or two to put that together - the bulls were using those fence posts as velvet rubbing material! Some were simply rubbed, some hour-glass shaped, and some rubbed right off down to the base!

Here's a short clip that mentions both that, and the results of so many years of the entire lack of management in this particular case:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYQcahejM5M

I'll now get back to the next installment of this tale...

[coolhl]

GREAT NARRATIVE
looking forward to more
norm

[IronNoggin]

Even though quite weary, I awoke well before the alarm clock went off.
Heard the rustlings of my BC Partner - probably making coffee I thought - and recognized I was not alone in doing so...
Visions of the previous day wandered through my thoughts as I lay there wishing sleep to come back.
How in the hell did we get ourselves involved in this mess dominated my thoughts...
Oh well, let's make the best of it, and I struggled to the spam to down a stiff shot of caffeine or two.

The "Hunt" Day Two

Our Crew began this morning just a little more subdued than the previous one. It was becoming quite apparent that a great deal of the rumors we had heard were being discovered to be true, and the task of taking a bull elk - any bull elk - was proving to be quite the undertaking...
Nonetheless, we Manned Up, Saddled Up and soon found our way running North to the next briefing we had to attend.

The Lady had to work that day, so we would be operating solo. Well, not quite, there was one or two others we knew that were attempting to work together. And of course we welcomed that, recognizing any and all help at this point could only be a benefit. Thanks indeed to those who know who you are

The briefing itself was rather subdued that morning. Most arrived earlyish as opposed to the day before, and the numbers had declined by perhaps nearly half.
The semi-depression of the day before seemed almost omnipotent at this point amongst most, and was more or less enhanced when the CO announced that there were "Very Few Elk in the open areas" and "most have actually departed the base". Repeating the murmurs of his staff the day previous...
On the positive side, he also noted that to date, this was "the best group of hunters thus far, with zero infractions recorded, rule compliance was high, and the fact that many of us were noted as working together". Both my Partners shot me a hard glance as if to say "Shaddup" when I sat forward at those remarks, so I shook my head and let it slide...

With fewer in attendance, and most (a couple new FN's had showed) already briefed the day before, the meeting closed just a little earlier than the day before.
When it did though, the Mad Rush once again ensued, but our strategy once again proved sound (despite a near heart attack running to the truck that hard this time!) and we ended up in Position Four for the run up the highway. The same two gates were the only access, and once again the parade commenced north towards them. This time though, the three in front of us had obviously decided to hell with speed limits and Really lit it up! Rolling well in excess of the limit, they drew away from us as we tried to maintain some level of self control...

At the southern gate, we noted that only one of the trucks had continued north, the other two turning in as we did.
The run across the base was somewhat swift, but we did not even bother to keep the front runners in anything more than sight.
We, after all, already had A Plan

Nearing our destination, we saw one of the trucks continue on as we had the previous morning. No idea where the other one went. No Worries.
IF those Bulls had strayed outside their Refuge on the path they had started on at last light the evening before, they should theoretically be to the south.
Making that turn, we again slowed to a crawl, and noted that this time the wind was still very much in our favor.
Sneaking along as well as a truck is capable of, we closed towards the area we hoped the bulls might still be lingering.
The Plan worked, but only to a point. They certainly were not aware of our approach.
And, they had indeed closed some of the distance towards the Sanctuary boundary.
Unfortunately for us, just not quite enough of that distance.

For there, less than 300 yards from that damned border, stood the Ringleaders of the entire Crew!
Their manner strongly suggested they were blissfully unaware of our presence as they continued to feed contentedly.
Immediately we backed off, and made a hasty retreat to an observation point some distance off.
While the Bulls continued to feed, we rapidly set up spotting scopes to observe them while hidden below the crest of that hill.
Call The Big One my Alberta Partner whispered.
Front and right, in the lead the reply. Range differential between him and the fence now 382 yards...

Although accompanied by five bulls that would break 375" and several others approaching that, the lead bull simply outclassed them all.
I have a LOT of experience with mature elk, worked in National Parks, hunted the borders of some, much of the East Slopes, BC, Wyoming, Utah and more.
The only reason I bring that up is simply to put in perspective my next statement: That 7 x 8 Bull I was staring at through the tube was and is The Biggest I have ever had the fortune to lay my eyes on! An Incredible Animal, packing more weight & lengths in headgear than two of many mature bulls combined. I crunched the numbers a dozen times, and still could not believe what I was coming up with. Un-Effing-Real. And it simply wasn't just the antlers - he literally Towered over those in his company, suggesting a body weight approaching 1,200 pounds.

Shaking my head, I dropped down below the scope to give another buddy a boo. Holy Good Christ were the first words from my BC Partner's lips. aYup.
Grinning, my Alberta Partner whispered What do you think of that?
Whether we shoot or not, these moments just made my trip I murmured back. Never imagined I'd ever see one just like that...

Just then, our waiting game with them was to unfortunately come to an abrupt end. Several trucks came over the hill, and a couple this time could not help but see them. Slamming on their brakes to get a better look, at the exact point that herd was aimed at on the fence, was apparently the right thing to do for two of them under such circumstances. Big Boy and his Crew didn't like that so much, nervously milling around, then slowly wandering back uphill and deeper into the Sanctuary. Heavy Sigh. Knew this might happen under these circumstances. Watched for a rather lengthy spell until they disappeared over the ridge back towards the big river... Lordy...

Well, that gigs up noted my still positive Alberta Buddy. Let's roll...
Still shaking from the latest encounter, I wistfully agreed.
This time we ventured towards the middle of the area we'd wandered the day previous, with a mind's eye of taking advantage of a high hill overlooking a massive flat and lake system we had noted. Along the way we said hello to quite a few more antelope, and waved at several coyotes and the odd mulie as they fled to parts unknown.

The hill in question is likely well known, as it offers an extended view to points north over a rather large expanse.
Rolling up (and of course keeping below the skyline - even with a truck) we took position to scan the many acres laid out in front of us.
Within minutes, my Alberta Partner noted another group of antelope, but my focus was elsewhere.
Above them, to the right, and out another 350 yards I suggested.
Group of 7 or 8 elk. Bulls I believe from body size and posture.
Up with the spotting scopes. Yes. 7 animals. Unless two have mini-spikes - five bulls, a cow & a calf.
Size? queried my Buddy. Careful scrutiny. Distance 1600 yards. Max magnification. None will break 300. Raghorns.
What do you think?
Let's get on top of them and decide...

There was a small range of hills between us and the little herd we could see from our vantage point.
If all went well, we should be able to get within 300 - 400 yards.
Agreed & Rolling.
Somewhere behind that ridge we took a minor diversion. By the time we got back on track the little herd was nowhere to be seen.
Then the rattle of rifle fire. Two distinct, then a volley. Then another...
Oh Oh.
From the next vantage point it was easy to see what had happened. We were close, but the little herd got nervous due to two trucks coming from the north. So they had turned east towards the Sanctuary and ran into a Gauntlet. Two were down and trucks closing in. Five more trucks were in pursuit, but it was more than obvious the elk would win that particular race...

Sheesh!

After witnessing this, we decided to abandon the area and set out to explore what little of the base we had not laid eyes on to this point.
Getting away from The Madness seemed of utmost importance to all of us at that point, and as always, we let our instincts lead the way.

Funny thing about instincts, sometime they steer you right, but occasionally they veer the opposite direction.
As we ventured further north and slightly east, fog decided to roll in.
At first just distorting the horizon, but within less than an hour descending like a wall and reducing visibility to 50 yards or less.
Great. Out with the tracking skills...

Over the course of the next several hours, we moved rather slowly, looking for sign, and often wandering trails with week's old vehicle passage marking their way. We did see tracks. Mulies. Antelope. Coyotes. Even managed to jump a good sized flock of sharptails (and MAN that brought back reminiscence and tales of years past!). The few & only elk? Days old. Hmmm...

Eventually we made the conscious decision to return to where we'd seen The Giant.
That too took a spell, and when we got to the observation post, the fog still prevented us from looking where we needed to.
Screw it. Sit Tight. We did. And just before last light, the fog decided to give us a break...

Again that last effort was rewarded by another sighting of the Big Boy and his Crew. Followed by a good handful of their Followers.
Hmmm... Showing a similar pattern. KeRist! Almost wish they would Go Away at this point!
When the blackness consumed all, we made our retreat. The Big Bulls were once again within 400 yards of the fence... And we knew exactly where...

As we rolled out that night, late (of course) we learned that two of the three bulls harvested that day were the accidental results of our efforts.
Somehow that actually made us feel a little better...

Another 500+ kilometers. Stiffer rums. One day left forthcoming. All intel we can gather suggest failure is imminent.
We simply cannot accept that synopsis...

Worsening case of Truck Butt. Codeine is your friend...
...

[coolhl]

hope everyone else is enjoying this as much as I am....
norm

[paulaboutform]

Even with the Intel I'm on the edge of my seat!

Paul

[L. E. Carroll]

Great story and Pictures... keep them comming........please.

I have never heard of an Elk Hunt quite like this, with all of the driving around and all of the open treeless land your covering and encountering Elk herds.

I find your story very interesting and your pictures and verbal discripitions make me feel like I'm watching the whole hunt transpire.

Thanx,
Gene

[Michiganhunter]

Loving this but getting my butt in trouble...Wife thinks I have a girlfriend on the computer I guess....lol
Keep it coming it is exciting but I have to say it is also discouraging and maddening at the same time. I feel for you guys sounds like this hunt is "managed" very loosely.... to be kind.