13 replies to this topic

[DEERSLAM]

Decided to lace up the boots throw on the "Just One" and hit the hills for a little training for my backpack hunts late Sept. and late Oct. Got to my spot just before light and to my surprise the Tule elk were bugling. I could see one large bull feeding up through the oaks about 400yds away. He was ancent and huge bodied old dude, I'm guessing 10yrs old. He was short beamed and very heavy and busted off on his left side above the 2nd point. I sat there and messed with a bunch of elk for almost an hour. What a thrill! After things settled down I decide to head up canyon and try and call up a yote. I was just about to sneak over a saddle and peeked over the top and there 15yds away was the oldster. I dropped down and got out the camera and got a few pics. Unfortuantly the wife busted the good camera so all I had was the 4x zoom digital. The pica are ok and you can see the mass of his antlers and some of the scars on his body.Oh I almost forgot. Here's nasty lookin critter!

[ShooterJohn]

Nice pictures. To bad it's so hard to get a tag for those bad boys.

[Quade]

What call did you use for the spider....

[Cranky Farmer]

Great pictures! Sounds like a great day.

[Shoot-it]

What call did you use for the spider....

Now your getting the hang of it Thats a nice bull.Can you imagine those big guys roaming all around our state long ago.Why don't we breed them like crazy on a ranch and implant them in our forests I am talking about in big numbers .

[CoyoteHuntress]

Ill tell you why we dont pen them up and breed them like crazy.. Ever tried to pull a permit to own elk? Ever priced a nice bull with good genes?? Im talking minimum 12K on up to one bull I saw was a measley 25K Then you get to figure in the cost of the fencing that is required to keep them bad boys in... And of course the acerage required. Then heaven forbid if something near you gets a disease which can threaten your breeding stock...And they also keep tabs of where you got your stock from. If something turns up in or around THAT breeder your animals can be wiped out... They can and will wipe out your herd even if you test clean... Then figure in the Peta idiots who think that they should be set free to run wild...who will harrass the dog poop out of you if they even get wind of you wanting to attempt such a venture. Yes I considered raising elk.. Also thought about raising deer.. Neither of which will ever happen in this state.. Some day when we hubby retires and we can leave Calif I might try it doing it on a free range type scale. As a 3 yr old this bad boy scored 513 unofficial CSI .... As an 8 yr old he scored 475 6/8 typical... As you can see this boys genetics would be very pricey Hes is my idea of a dream bull...  CrackerJack1.jpg   24.95K   19 downloads

[Cranky Farmer]

That guy is a stud!The state should foot the bill to repopulate the elk herds

[PredatorMaster]

TEXAS!

[D-Man]

Not far from bishop someone has a nice herd of elk. Saw them last weekend when driving up the 395. Only a couple of small bulls and a lot of cows grazing near the highway. I love elk! Once you hear that bugle and smell the smell of them you are never the same. People get crazy for deer, for me, elk is what does it. Nothing like calling and still hunting an elk in the mountains. That older bull is sweet to see!Darren

[Cranky Farmer]

Darren, if you're talking about the herd north of Big Pine, that's a wild herd that just hands out down on private property there by the 395.

[Shoot-it]

Ill tell you why we dont pen them up and breed them like crazy.. Ever tried to pull a permit to own elk? Ever priced a nice bull with good genes?? Im talking minimum 12K on up to one bull I saw was a measley 25K Then you get to figure in the cost of the fencing that is required to keep them bad boys in... And of course the acerage required. Then heaven forbid if something near you gets a disease which can threaten your breeding stock...And they also keep tabs of where you got your stock from. If something turns up in or around THAT breeder your animals can be wiped out... They can and will wipe out your herd even if you test clean... Then figure in the Peta idiots who think that they should be set free to run wild...who will harrass the dog poop out of you if they even get wind of you wanting to attempt such a venture.

I am talking about the state passing a law letting ranchers raise them. Then they can be released in big numbers. I few little herds here and there will never take off. You can raise fallow deer I saw it on g fg wed site. I think they can be vaccinated like cattle.I will have to ask the vet next time hes out for a preg check . Why don't you raise some Buffalo I hear they are good eating and if reg you can sell them for a lot of MOOLLA LOL

[CoyoteHuntress]

Far as I know there is no STATE law saying you cant raise them... Its the release part that causes concern due to naturally ocurring diseases mainly CWD and TB.. You can pretty much raise whatever your wee heart desires as long as you can get a permit from Fish and Game. and sometimes you need federal permits too. As far as buffalo go.. People around me raise them.. Biggest problem is keeping them IN... They get it in their heads to run, they just go right thru fences like they arent even there. They require rather hefty wood or metal fencing. Not typical horse fence.. One thing cool about elk is that if they are born and raised on a property with low fencing... And they are never "taught" they can go over.. they stay in You get ONE smart one though and it can teach all the others to hop fences LOL.. Beefalo is supposed to be really yummy, and bison is real good. Used to be a resteraught down the road that was called the Buffalo stop... They raised buffalo and that is what they served in the resteraunt..

[D-Man]

Darren, if you're talking about the herd north of Big Pine, that's a wild herd that just hands out down on private property there by the 395.

That is exactly where I am talking about. Very impressive. Not super huge, but nice.Darren

[mac]

Nice bull, geez it would've been ultra cool to see him before he got into a scrape with the other big dude that broke his other antler off!Buddy of mine spent the $10k amount for the draw in Santa Clara county for elk hunting - yes he got his bull and has a full-size mount all on display in his "Man Cave" (I call it a man cave, but in reality it's a separate little house with a full on wet-bar, pool table and loads of stuffed animals -- )