Date: November 4th, 2024
Opening week got pretty busy around 10AM when our first bull hit the ground. The morning started out slow and for the hunters it didn't take long for that opening morning anticipation to turn into a mid morning nap. Thank goodness for one hunter a bull bugled in a herd that had already walked past his ground blind while he was asleep and woke him up in time to make a quick shot on a great bull. His son was above him in another ground blind and heard the shot, got ready, and dumped the first bull that walked out of the timber past his blind. Two bulls down mid morning on opening day!
Meanwhile the 2 mule deer hunters where banging away down South and harvested 2 good bucks. The wind was a little swirly and the herd of deer where spread out making it tough to get into position. After a few moves the #2 buck on the hit list in that group was down with a great shot. While quartering that deer out they spotted the #1 buck coming up in a different location. Some quick moves got them above the herd and the steep downward angle made for a tough shot off a vertical bluff. The buck dropped in his tracks!
Two other elk hunters and I abandoned our morning spot and went to the Mountain and it only took a hour into that sit until one hunter tagged out on a really nice bull around 1:30pm. My other hunter and I got to our spot and busted two good bulls literally 30 yards from where we where going to sit. We almost caught back up to them and where only 10-15 seconds away from getting set up and having a shot at 300-350 yards before they vanished into some thick pines. So close but yet so far away they say. One other hunter passed on a bull opening morning at 350 yards but then never got another opportunity after that. The rest of the week went pretty slow.
