Contributors to this thread:
After chasing elk in Colorado and Wyoming for a month, putting in 70-80 miles of boot leather, I am really looking forward to walking 200yds to my WT deer stand... sitting there and .... hunting :)
Thought I was the only one who thought that way. After every elk season it sure seems good to just sit in a stand and not be on a horse or humping up and down the side of a canyon. I sit in a stand thinking about elk hunting next year.
You are blessed to be able to hunt elk and put miles of boot leather on the ground. Sitting in a tree stand for 3 - 4 hours and not seeing anything makes me want to move around so I can find the game like you can when elk hunting. Good luck with the WT hunting though. Don't get me wrong, I do understand why you might like to take a break now and then. I sat in a tree stand the last 2-1/2 days and saw deer all but 1 sit.
BK, exactally.
When I was carving up my elk this year and then packing it out to the meadow and after hunting elk for 21 days, I also thought. " I just want to set in a treestand and hunt deer no more than 15 ft elevation."
This will happen at the end of the month for sure.
My best, Paul
But I bet after a couple sits in the deer stand your going to be thinking I wish I was out Elk hunting......
Yep, no more bugles or cow calls but more eyes and ears hunting! Good luck! C
Cnelk, I gotta say, after chasing elk around for September, I'm looking forward to going to work, where I'm mostly sitting at a desk ... time to lick wounds and look for those 8 pounds I lost.
Time to get back to being a productive citizen again, I guess. That said, There are whitetails in Nebraska in my future, too!
Busy work day yesterday aggravated my heel again. It was pretty stiff for the first 15-20 minutes this morning while getting ready for work.
My wife opined that I had to be happy that I wasn't going to be limping while humping a pack up and down a mountain today.
I told her that my heel would loosen up in a much shorter timeframe than my workday and that I wished that I was out there right now.
She chortled and said some bad things about my mental capacity.
I suggested that that's why she finds me irresistible. She threw a dish towel at me.
I've got a decent ten pointer that I'll be after early Tuesday AM before work.
Good luck healing up. Good luck being productive. Good luck on your hunts.
Heck, I was looking forward to waking up when it's light outside and hiking to the coffee maker instead of up a mountain in the dark.
But after a full month of the grind my internal clock has reset to wake up at 4:45 am, and desperately wants a nap right after lunch.
The nap part ain't all that bad, though...
:-)
"After chasing elk in Colorado and Wyoming for a month, putting in 70-80 miles of boot leather, I am really looking forward to walking 200yds to my WT deer stand... sitting there and .... hunting :)"
I couldn't agree more. Not to mention next to the sound of a bugle, the sound of an approaching whitetails foot steps in the leave is my second favorite sound while hunting.
It's been proven that a week away from electronic devices and in the woods where time is determined by the sun and moon, one's biological clock will reset.
Cnelk, I could not agree more! I too love September in the mountains and then look forward November-December chasing whitetails, roosters, and waterfowl! Good luck in Nebraska, my friend!
I don't have a whitetail tag this year, so I can't relate to that, but after getting home last week and doing my 4-12hr's shift tour, I was really looking forward to just relaxing and not stressing out over where, how and what I needed to take elk hunting for the first time in over a month! This was our first year doing the pack in thing so planning was a little more stressful than usual, we weren't very far in so it wasn't near as critical as if we were five miles in but still was a lot more stressful than usual. We really enjoyed it though and are already researching next year!
Wishing I was chasing white tails in Kansas next month but it wasn't in the cards. Agreed it is a nice change of pace. Plus, your not covered in sweat after every hunt!
I'm in the Seattle airport on my way to AK about to start 20 days of work straight. I'd take a 3rd elk tag and a couple more weeks in the mountains in a heart beat.
I don't know why, but the end of September was much harder on me this year than it ever has been. im ready to get serious about deer, but my heart is clearly still up there.
I'm with you cnelk. It takes me about the whole off-season to forget how much work elk hunting is in September.
I guess maybe because I don't live there it never gets old.....I'd give up treestands any day to be able to hunt elk another 15-30 days a year.....
I said the same thing on the way home from my elk hunt this year. But then yesterday morning I was in my whitetail stand and they just weren't bugling.
I said the same thing on the way home from my elk hunt this year. But then yesterday morning I was in my whitetail stand and they just weren't bugling.
For me, I'd much rather be in the mountains chasing elk. But last night was enjoyable. My son hunted one of our treestands while I sat a tripod overlooking our pasture on one side and bean field on the other. Had two coyotes chasing, who knows what in the beans. They were hopping around like something you only see on a Nat Geo show. Most fun I've had doing nothing in a long time....
I've been in the tree stand for a month (well not the whole time), and ready to head to NM for elk next week!
70-80 miles of boot leather? Weren't you just bragging about killing two elk within 700 yards of your truck from a tree stand? You have had a good season, and usually have some good stuff to say but relax on the exaggerations, you don't need to man.
@evan-1
No bragging here. just telling like it is.
We spent 9 days five miles deep in the Wyoming backcountry too. We hiked in, hiked out and in 5 days later, and then back out. Right there is 20 miles.
Each day we hunted 5 miles x 8 = 40 miles.
Now we are at 60 miles...
Shall i continue this easy math?
Brad, counting the miles you put on helping Aaron and Cole after you killed yours, knowing where you hunt, I thought 70-80 miles was an understatement considering your WY wilderness adventure miles on top of the rest.
I hunted 26 days, averaged 6-7 miles a day. My 61 year old knees are now enjoying walking to the fridge for a cold one for a couple weeks before the next adventure starts....
Hah! You old guys... Pshhttt!
My wirehair has a little different expectations. We took the shotgun for a walk yesterday, what a great day.
The sumac leaves are brilliant red. I love this time of year, watching the dog work. Great day for the first outing of the year.
Those thoughts were in my mind as I recuperate after 21 days in the mountains. I wasn't going to tell anyone, but it's good to know others thinking the same thing. Heading to Nebraska soon for mule deer and WT. Having a 28 ft camper with heated mattress currently sounds like only way to hunt..
Elkaddict - I did give up treestands to move to Colorado to chase elk 20+ days/yr, not to mention the time spent scouting. You are right - it's awesome! Now that I'm here and doing that, I still drive 400 miles back to eastern NE to "sit and ponder" in my treestand.
I agree with AndyJ "...next to the sound of a bugle, the sound of an approaching whitetails foot steps in the leaves is my second favorite sound while hunting."
Of course sitting in a spring turkey blind with a cooler full of food and drink is also right up there!
Elk hunting used to be fun, until these dang app on your smart phone tells you how many steps you took, flights of stairs you climbed, and miles you walked...no wonder why I'm exhausted!! Sad part is, I'm just getting started!! First gun season starts next weekend, and I've gotta say bye to sunny Pheonix tomorrow cause guys will be at the house on Wednesday.... I've got four new horses coming up from Texas that third gun season, a mule deer tag in my pocket that fourth season, shows to do in Reno in December, and I've been invited to Texas in December and January to help shoot a few tv shows, and then January will bring a couple of bowhunters to New Mexico with hopes of killing a huge buck. I'm really looking forward to February...
Brad- I am not questioning your math, I hate math in fact and never paid attention in school to it so I will trust your skills...
I just found it comical your "go deep boys, go deep" and then explained how deep you went this year that is all.
Maybe I am just grumpy because the season is over and I am already counting down until next year, who knows.
I took Brad's "go deep" comments as tongue-in-cheek.
After all the miles I put on, the biggest bull of my season, one I'd been chasing up and down the steeps for two weeks, bugled his way to me in the pitch dark only about 100 yards from my parked truck. Too dark to shoot, and he marched right up to me when he heard me walking through the timber. Go figure.
Great hearing all the stories, banter back and forth, and the camaraderie that is built on this site. I still have about two weeks before I head out, and I cannot wait.
Mike
