Elk hunt

skew

skew

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Location
scenic Skew Gardens
Been going up northwest of Durango in some really cool wilderness. No elk yet but lots of deer, turkey, bear and mountain lion(sign). The trees in this area are amazing. I found one bristlecon pine that has a trunk diameter of about 50"! I wonder how old that sucker is.
In some spots the dead fall is so thick it looks like Mt. St. Helens aftermath.
There are tons of standing dead giant aspen that are pretty scary when the wind blows.
Some giant pondos that must be three hundred years old.
Today is the last day of the season- more about the hike than the shooting for me:)
 
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s.

Today is the last day of the season- more about the hike than the shooting for me:)

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That is what every other hunter says.
If it was true, why bother to bring a gun?

If you like to hunt, at least own up to it.
 
I do like to hunt and I do own to it. This year I didn't even load my weapon. If I did decide to kill an animal it would be with the utmost respect of the fact that I would be ending that animal's journey on this plane.
When I was young and introduced to the "sport" (for lack of a better term) and did'nt have much appreciation for what was actually going on.
After having the benefit of wisdom(years) to draw upon I arrived at the following conclusion: I am a meat eater. What is the difference wether I go to the market and buy some pork chops or go to the woods and shoot an elk?
In my mind the difference is that I will never eat a hambuger or a steak or what not without thinking about where it came from.
In a funny way hunting makes me not want to eat meat for a while maybe because of the graphic nature of the care of the meat.
So question my freind- are you a meat eater?
 
Good luck to you skew!

I love elk meat! doesn't seem to have the gamey taste like white tail and it's low in fat and cholesterol. No growth hormones or chemicals is an added benefit.

Now, if they only made elk tofu....
 
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So question my freind- are you a meat eater?

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Bet you thought you had me there!

No, I have been a herbivore my whole life.
Not from choice, I simply never could stomach meat, fish or poultry. Makes for a lot of hassles and a lot of dead beans in my life, but nothing I can do about it.
I used to raise cattle on my land, till meatprices got so low, it turned ridiculous.
I'd welcome american visitors to" the only vegetarian cattle ranch east of the Pecos river"
I have also been known to shoot the occasional feral housecat on my land, since I'm a birdwatcher and feral cats and songbirds don't do well together.
So you see, it was not because of some misguided love for animals, that I laid into you.
Hunting season is on here, we have 176000 registered hunters in a VERY small country with a population of 5 mil.
I swear, sometimes it sounds like a reenactment of the first world war ( battle of the Somme, just without the mud!)
I get really tired of these overweight, grenclad couch potatoes, who see hunting as an easy way of proving their masculinity. And then still really won't own up to it, but hides behind phrases like: "it's mainly for the chance to enjoy nature".
If they love nature so much, why can't they name a single plant, or for that matter any species of animal,not on the list of huntable game.

So you see, the reason I unloaded on you was because of frustration with danish hunters.
You just got in my sightline and took the whole load, undeservingly, for which I'm sorry.

Sure felt good to get it out of my system, though.
Think I'll go kill a cat.
 
Nice one! (cat shoot joke that is). I too share the disdain of the fat couch potatoe on a four wheeler that blows into town and complains that he didn't see any animals while cruising the coffee shops downtown wearing his camo/orange garb.
For me alot of the apeal of hunting around here is getting off the beaten path and exploring new places that I would otherwise not go to.
Believe it or not I am rooting for the Elk and deer and love seeing them in their natural state. I am lucky to live in a place with tons of wildlife surrounding.
 
I do some hunting out here, but I passed on a large black bear this year. My wife went with me, and I built a pretty elaborate blind out of branches and ferns. I had been tracking the bears for several weeks, and they had pretty distinct patterns. I wanted her to see the sow and cubs... a guy'd have to be pretty hard-hearted not to get sentimental watching them play and chase each other around. Anyway, the night she went with me one of the loner males walked to within 3' of our blind. My heart was racing, I coulda reached out and touched him.. I could smell his breath, and he was big, easily 400 lbs, maybe more. I made a snort noise, and he took off, but he only spooked to the edge of the forest (huge spruces, 4' tall sword ferns, primordial). He came back to snuff around some more, and when he was within ten feet I said "HEY!" and he took off again, but this time he didn't even leave the clearing. I said to my wife "if we don't intend to shoot this guy, we need to leave." She said let's leave, he was too beautiful to shoot. I chambered a round anyway and put the rifle's safety on, just in case he got more aggressive than I was expecting. We could move quickly and quietly on the trail, and by the time we 125 yds away, he was looking around in the blind we were just sitting in..

I liked seeing him. I've never been so close to such a big wild animal. In the exact same spot two years prior I watched a Roosevelt Bull Elk mount a cow. I felt a little odd, but it was a real Marty Stauffer moment.. I was unarmed and only 25 feet away. I just sat still and quiet... wouldn't to make one of those guys mad.. still, I felt like a peeping tom.

Mostly, I enjoy shooting just for he sake of shooting though. I am hoping to compete in some competitions in 2009 for 1000yd rifle.
 
Hey Stig
What exactly do they hunt in Danmark? You can drive through the largest forest there in ten minutes with legal speed (Rold Skov)so what game can there possibly be to to build the macho image of so numerous hunters. No poking in this just curious.
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You are wrong!
It takes at least 15 minutes.

The mighty hunters breed and release millions of pheasants.
Then they shoot them.
End of story.
 
OK, so I drive a little fast then
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Don´t seem like the mighty hunters have a lot to show for themselves then, still they get out of the sofa for a couple of hours.
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Cheers Neighbour
Svein
 
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In my mind the difference is that I will never eat a hambuger or a steak or what not without thinking about where it came from.

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Well said. Same here.

I got in a little late here, but excellent thread and great comments and stories,esp by Skew and Spelyei. Yes it must be great to live near world class wilderness.
 
Hello all. Got in late on the thread too. I started hunting when I was 10, for rabbit on my Grandparent's farm with my Dad, Grandpop, and Uncles. Hunted everything back then, small game, quail, waterfowl, white tail (no elk here in South Jersey). We didn't really hunt for "sport" though, we ate everything we hunted. What I didn't have a taste for (squirrel and duck) I would give to my Grandmom. As time went by, the hunting lands and the game in my area got more scarce but I still went, just to be outside and in good company. Eventually I hunted less and less because of various reasons. A few years ago a friend turned me on to pheasant and quail hunting which I really enjoyed. Those areas are getting more crowded too and safety was becoming a bit of an issue, so I didn't go last year and probably won't this year. I think I liked seeing the dogs lock up on point more then anything else anyway. Wouldn't mind trying a South Dakota pheasant hunt some time though.

Another thing I guess is that I really don't have a reason to hunt anymore. The supermarket has everything I need and a buddy of mine will give me all his extra venison if I want it. If I want to see nature, I'll walk out my back door and watch the squirrels contemplating how they are gonna get into the new bird feeder (smart and entertaining little buggers!). I still support a persons right to lawfully hunt but I don't have much respect for people who hunt solely for a trophy. I just figure if you're gonna take something's life, it should be for a better reason then to just put a set of antlers on your wall.

Just my opinion.
 
so far I haven't bagge anything but fish and crabs. Looking for a trophy hasn't even figured into the equation. I'd like to harvest a deer, elk, boar, or bear to fill the freezer. I'm a meat eater, but I don't want to support the large scale meat-industry. we have considered buying locally raised beef, but i'd rather hunt my own wild animal.
 
speelyei - Have you had wild boar? If so, what's the taste like, as compared to regular pork? I never had elk but after jim454's description I'd like to try it. Wouldn't know where to get it though. I've seen bison burgers advertised in some restaurants but never tried one. I'm not an adventurous eater so I try to get as much info as possible so I can gauge whether or not I'll like it <u>before</u> I order it. How many times can you hear "it tastes just like chicken" only to have it not taste "just like chicken"?
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I have a distinctly unrefined palate... I like 'em all just fine. I have always thought wild boar was indiscernible from regular pork, except leaner.
 
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