Kirk Beckstrand set up a trail camera to catch a glimpse of the deer coming in his backyard and captured this nice high horned Blacktail getting a drink.

Zeke Bass and his Dad, Kiel, (who I’ve hunted with at Tejon Ranch) put together a great backpack adventure on Alaska’s Kodiak Island.  For 10 days they braved hurricane force winds and rain and Zeke managed to arrow this nice velvet Sitka Blacktail buck

Zeke and Kiel were also able to spend a day fishing and limited out on halibut, caught three solid lingcod, one silver salmon, and a few seabass.

Monday morning I drove out to the area I had been in the midst of the action with the morning prior. The bulls were in full voice answering each others bugles and I could hear cows and calves chirping loudly below me in the river bottom.

Before I could get into the tree line I had two bulls bugling close. I set up in some tall weeds and cow called and both bulls came in on a string. I recognized the bull I’d gotten to 30 yards on in his bed the day before from his broken 4th point on the right antler. He came in twice to 25 yards. Another bull circled me a couple times but didn’t like the looks of things and gave a nervous grunt/bark that was distinctive. I could here the herd bull below chasing cows and then big splashes and squeals as the bull pushed his harem across the river. Cows were going everywhere and at one time there were as many as four different bulls sounding off. Pretty soon the whole herd was across the river so I went back to the truck to find a way across the river.

I got over to the other side to see that there was more than one herd. A good 6 point was following about three cows along the river. I was stuck in the open so I tried to use the Montana Decoy to disguise myself until I could get to cover but the cows stepped into the thick cover and took the bull with them. I could still hear bugles up river so I worked along the edge of the trees and brush to try to get in an ambush position. A bull was answering my cow calls but not moving. I then spotted the herd bull standing on the bluff above assembling his cows to move off into the desert. They had three satellite bulls (2 spikes, and a small 6 point) that were moving with the herd but keeping their distance from the herd bull. This was the group I’d spotted Friday with Leigh.

As they moved off at an amble through the desert, I was able to crawl along 125-150 yards behind them. They meandered for an hour to around half a mile from the river on a path that took them past my pickup parked along a 2 track road. They eyeballed the white GMC for a good 30 minutes then moved off to 378 yards from it and bedded in a small depression . I snapped some pictures from the truck and left them there and took my midday break. If they wanted to bake on the sand for the next seven hours they could do that without me. Besides they were in an unstalkable position with 20 some cows looking at the whole perimeter.

It was 5:00 pm before I got back out to check on the herd. The satellites were out there, but I didn’t see the main herd until I checked the river. The bull was standing guard over the cows spread out feeding a sub-irrigated flat along the creek channel just off of a two track road. I circled to the North and used the terrain to maneuver within 150 yards of the bull and his cows bedded in the tall grass at 6:00 pm. I vowed to wait and let the elk make the first move before I called. I couldn’t see the cows but I knew they were close to where the bull was bedded with his antlers sticking up. I wasn’t going to get any closer without getting busted. About every 20 minutes the bull would bugle from his bed.

Pretty soon in about 45 minutes cows began to get up and move around . I started some light cow talk, and had an elk calf come at a trot to within 15 yards of my position chirping and mewing up a storm. He got so close I could see quite clearly it was a bull elk calf (if you know what I mean?) He circled behind me on my down wind side but for some reason never busted me. I was nervous about him being down wind, but when I heard the vehicle coming that became a secondary concern. The Pickup came down the two track road and the driver was on the cell phone . I heard him remark “Dude there is an elk up here right in front of me.” I heard the muffled voice from the other end of the call, and the driver said “Yeah, dude, WAPITI!”

The truck passed by me at 40 yards as the cows watched it drive by. Apparently they see a lot of white pickups daily and didn’t blow out of the country much to my surprise. I was extremely dismayed when the truck stopped 200 yards behind me and the driver got out to watch the elk. The vehicle was hidden from ythe elk by some trees so I figured what the heck, I’d continue to call to see what wa going to happen.

Well it turned out better than I thought. The cows mewed back and began trailing my way. The bull got out of his bed, bugled and began pushing cows by me at 40 yards, along a trail . When he stepped into the open I drew my bow on the unsuspecting bull and put an arrow RIGHT OVER HIS BACK!

He whirled and ran 10 yard before he looked back as I frantically tried top nock another arrow with the nock full of dried mud. I dropped that arrow and nocked a different one, put the 50 yd pin on him and watched my fletching pass into and through the bulls ribcage. Then the bull hit high gear! My cow calls stopped the herd briefly, and I thought I herd some gurgling but moment later I could hear the herd spashing across the river, and even heard a bull bugle on the other side. I could only hope my bull was not in that group that went across.

In order to fill the 15 minutes I vowed to give myself before I looked for blood, I walked over to the pickup to meet my spectator. It turned out he was an employee of the local utility company, and he apologized profusely for driving through my hunt. He introduced himself as “Cowboy”, but I told him that tonight he must be my guardian angel. It turned out Cowboy was an avid rifle hunter and he offered to help me trail up my bull. As soon as the 15 minutes was up I went to the site of the shot and saw my bull laying 50 yards away.

I was ecstatic! At that point I snapped a picture with my cell phone and started sending it to folks in my contact list. For the rest of the evening the phone vibrated constantly with congratulations pouring in, as Cowboy held light and legs for me as we broke down my bull. He even loaded the quarters in his truck and gave me a ride back to my vehicle before he bid me good night shortly before 10:30 pm.

That night I contacted a deputy sheriff who validated my tag and got my elk in a cooler before 11pm.  The next day at noon I loaded my gear and began my long drive home

Sunday morning, before daylight, my buddy Leigh drove me to another spot we had spotted a bull and his harem Friday morning. We never got to the turn off. We had a confused elk calf crossing the road, so we stopped and shut off the headlights to let her calm down and find her way and we had bugles all around us.

I bailed out of the Jeep and headed for the action. A pair of bulls were trading insults with a herd bull and I dogged them across the flat undwer the cover of darkness until shooting light. I cow called, and the two good sized satellites were closer and hotter than I anticipated and they caught me on open ground and came into 25 yds as I tried to look like a rabbit hiding under a sage brush. They spooked out of there following a herd and I trailed the procession of mews, whines bugles and barks for 2 miles (straight line) until they kegged up on the river just near where we had the herd bull and his harem located Friday. at 8 am I hiked back out to Leigh and the Jeep, drank some water and moved down the river to try an end around on the still vocal group.

I worked in to 150 yards from where I was hearing bugles and caught glimpses of elk through the trees and grass. I settled in to wait ‘em out, as the action quieted down. I stayed quiet and sat there for 3 hours while they bedded in the tules. I decided to try back in the evening and began to walk out towards where my crew was. On the way I spotted a sleeping bull and stalked into 30 yards. When he woke up, he spotted me, flew out of his bed and never gave me a chance to draw. Moments later a couple of Mexican Vaqueros came riding through on horseback. We chatted and they said “Maybe we rope one for you!”

I met up with my crew who had a cheese burger and water refills for me and went to another spot where we had seen elk coming into some pastures in the evening. I set up there and caught my midday nap in the 90 degree shade instead of the nice swamp cooled trailer. The elk never came in that night until after dark. We ordered a pizza and called it a night.

At this point I was kinda stressing out. Opening day had been elk action like I had never seen, and I didn’t kill a bull yet. I knew another hunter had connected from other hunters I’d talked to who had a bull dead also. My buddy Ed Fanchin killed on Opening day a few years ago, my buddy Cindy had killed on opening day in 2008. My support crew was going home in the morning. I was on my own. I got a lil emotional….

My dad counseled me as we drove back to the house and said “John I think you are being too hard on yourself. You are gonna kill a bull. You have been on hunts when you didn’t even see a bull or buck until the 3rd day or later and you were enjoying the experience. Quit talking about how this is the once in a lifetime tag. You will keep having chances to succeed. you don’t have to run after elk in 100 degree heat ”

I agreed that I was a lil high strung. I also promised him I would chill out at mid-day. Monday at 4:00 am I headed out to hunt by myself….

Opening Morning we went into the swamp and had bulls lighting up all around us. Saw a 6X6 out at 60 yds circling us, then a spike in behind us before the target bull came in on a string to 20 yds quartering to me. Cindy was on the other side of him with the video camera and I worried that I might hit her with an arrow if I took the shot. Then my top limb hit the trunk of the willow I was next to and the bull boogered out of there. He was a clean 7X7 with crown points that I would have taken in a heartbeat, but couldn’t make it happen.

The whole day went like this. we were chasing Bugles until the action cooled off 11:00 am and the weather heated up to the upper 90′s.

I had a couple of other memorable bulls that will remain in my recollections for years to come. Keep in mind that a 225 inch bull makes Pope and Young, and a 285 inch bull makes Boone and Crocckett, and the World Record Typical Archery bull scored 312 and change from this unit.

Had a 200 inch 5-point come past me at 5 yds, thought I would have to shoot him in self defense. He had a bigger bugle than his rack.

Had 2 SMOKER bulls, 300 inch plus come in together from the wrong side about 100 yds on the other side of an opening in the tules. I was out of position to shoot them. After they came by and back in the tules I sprinted to the other side where the bulls were but they Stayed in the tules and raked and wallowed and bugled and raised Holy Hell but never stepped back out in the open.

In the mid morning we ran into a hunter, and partner who were friends of Rich and Cindy’s. He said he had an arrow in the bull and were looking for blood. We wished him and his partner luck and went back to trudging through the shin to knee and sometimes waist high water. Rich wore fishing waders, I wore my trail running shoes, and Sitka pants. They dried quickly.

Finally we went to town for a burger, and on the way back spotted a bull in the open chasing a cow and calf. I tried to get across the open with my Montana Decoy and the bull was interested, but the cow didn’t like my looks and ran away taking the bull with her.

We cooled our heels for the afternoon then went out at 4 pm. The bulls had shut down and we only heard faint bugles. I spotted an antler in the brush, and snuck to 15 yds and found the bull the hunter had arrowed earlier in the morning. We called him on the cell phone and flagged a trail out to the opening. He was a happy camper.

The only other action that evening was a spike bull that was kind of a pest. We never got the kind of buglefest we had in the morning. Rich and Cindy left for home with words of encouragement. I was wiped out after a day of water aerobics. and That is coming from a guy who ran a 16 mile trail run 2 weeks before. The Swamp is as tiring to navigate as any Rocky Mountain elk hunt at high elevation. I was covered in Mosquito bites despite bug spray applied hourly, and I had sweated off my face paint 3 times that day.

After a hard day of hunting, I looked like i’d been “Hit at and missed, S##T at and hit.”

I’ve been slacking on my posts of late, but with the best reason I can think of. I was scouting and hunting Tule Elk in the Owens Valley of California.

I was one of five lucky bowhunters who drew an archery tag for a stretch of real estate that covered most of an area from Bishop to Highway 190 along Highway 395, a main North-South artery for the region between Los Angeles and Reno.

Over the 4th of July weekend my father and I got to know the unit and even saw some elk. I had some intelligence from previous tag holders and became intimate with the roads and access points to areas they had seen animals. by July 5th I had a plan on where I wanted to concentrate on opening day that arrived on August 14th.

I got to the Unit Wednesday night, the 11th and found a high spot where I glassed a lot. Found a few groups of elk but mostly in Early morning and late evening. Not much action midday when temps hit triple digits. This coastal boy was HOT!

I had a bunch of help from family and friends. My Father stayed with me Wed-Sun, and my running partner Leigh came Fri, Sat and Sun. I even had my uncle Sat and Sun. They were an outstanding support team. We had time to do a little fishing during the heat of the day before the season opened.

We stayed in a private home in Independance and it was nice to have room to spread out and still have a cool spot to chill out. Motels were all booked up this weekend, and having a shower and fridge and freezer to make Ice bottles was a definate mood enhancer.

We determined that I was going to hunt opening morning in a swampy area with a couple of friends, Cindy and Rich Krug who are both accomplished elk hunters. They volunteered to come up and call for me on opening day. The tules in some places were 10 ft high and stretched for huge distances. The elk made trails through them that you couldn’t see from the bank, but were crisscrossing the whole 300 acres of tule jungle.

Coming up next, Opening Day!