3650 Miles in the Hurtlocker

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Megatron (Warning, PG-13) (Read 431 times)


Feeling the growl again

    Fair warning, I wanted to share the beautiful scenery but if you go down far enough you will see something dead.

     

    We stayed in nothing but 4-star accomodations...

     

    View from what became affectionately known as The Crow's Nest, our primary glassing location for launching spot-and-stalks...

     

    Crow's Nest sunrise...

     

    "WTF, I'm more likely to fill my Sasquatch tag than my elk tag..."

     

    I encountered Megatron where the triangle of trees in the center of the photo comes to a point about a half mile distant...

     

     

    View back up at The Crow's Nest (second hill from right in background) from the general vicinity of where I linked up with Megatron...

     

    Until I download my other camera, a poor Blackberry photo is all I have of Megatron...if he'd shown up a few minutes later it would have been too dark and he would have been safe...

     

    Me arriving back at camp with about 60lbs of Megatron....I think the look on my face when I tried 90ish lbs the first trip with a poorly adjusted pack would have been frame-worthy...

     

    Mr. Stinky the Dead Elk, my buddy's consolation prize for not shooting one.  He'd been there quite awhile when we found him...from a couple hundred yards downwind.  He elected to ride on top so he didn't have to share a truck with 2 dudes who had not bathed in 10 days...

    "If you want to be a bad a$s, then do what a bad a$s does.  There's your pep talk for today.  Go Run." -- Slo_Hand

     

    I am spaniel - Crusher of Treadmills

     

      Some really nice views, man.

       

      I don't recall the last time I was in a place that wide and that silent. How was it? 

      "If you have the fire, run..." -John Climacus


      Feeling the growl again

        Some really nice views, man.

         

        I don't recall the last time I was in a place that wide and that silent. How was it? 

         

        It was awesome, though I feel bad that I'm the only one of three that scored an elk.  They had a bad winter kill so numbers were WAY below normal.  The night sky was AMAZING.

         

        This was even more remote that where we usually go, which I did not expect.  You could drive in further but in terms of how close you were to any real civilization....it was nonexistant.  Pretty much cut off, only intermittent and poor cell service at the highest points of elevation.  Thought we'd flip over backwards on a couple spots of the 2-tracks they were so steep.

         

        The one bad spot was the last night in the tent when we had all the meat in the truck....apparently the huge numbers of coyotes could still smell it.  I awoke at 2:30am to the sound of many, many coyotes howling in close proximity, and something moving quietly around the outside of the tent....after using the panic button on the truck to clear a path, we spent the rest of the night in the truck.

        "If you want to be a bad a$s, then do what a bad a$s does.  There's your pep talk for today.  Go Run." -- Slo_Hand

         

        I am spaniel - Crusher of Treadmills

         

          Dang. And people run around those parts at night? 

          "If you have the fire, run..." -John Climacus

            Yup. I think that's him, for sure!

             

             


            Feeling the growl again

              Dang. And people run around those parts at night? 

               

              Only if they're being chased. 

               

              I was actually surprised to see a runner when we went into the itty bitty town 30 miles away to get a tire fixed one morning.

              "If you want to be a bad a$s, then do what a bad a$s does.  There's your pep talk for today.  Go Run." -- Slo_Hand

               

              I am spaniel - Crusher of Treadmills

               

                Why do you cut his antlers off instead of hanging his entire head on your wall? (for real)

                 

                 


                Feeling the growl again

                  Why do you cut his antlers off instead of hanging his entire head on your wall? (for real)

                   

                  There are 3 basic ways to mount:

                  -Full mount (head, head and shoulder, heck full body if you want to)

                  -European mount -- antlers attached to part or all of an exposed bleached skull

                  -Antler mount

                   

                  A full mount MUST be done by a taxidermist and probably ranges from $600 on up.  A) I don't have a good place for one in my house, B) my wife prohibits it as only really good taxidermists make them to age well and bad taxidermy is sickening, and C) I'd cheap.

                   

                  I considered a European mount and tried to cut the skull for that but got the angle wrong and gave up...I didn't want it bad enough to sweat another half hour to redo the cut to get it right.  I have an antelope I may do a European on but they have to be done tastefully or they look gaudy.

                   

                  Antler mounts are easy to do and make them look well, and they look that way forever.  And they are cheap, I make the plaque and mount it myself and wrap the skull cap with deer leather suede.  I like projects (my wife does not always appreciate the time I put into them!) and this give me an outlet to do something creative.

                   

                  MTA:  A full mount also requires the skin to be caped out with the antlers.  I'm not sure I'd do it right, and then I'd need to preserve that along with the meat and get it to a taxidermist ASAP.  Maybe if I shot some real record book animal but I never have, I'm more of a meat and experience hunter.

                  "If you want to be a bad a$s, then do what a bad a$s does.  There's your pep talk for today.  Go Run." -- Slo_Hand

                   

                  I am spaniel - Crusher of Treadmills

                   

                    Finally just saw the pictures this morning as they don't come up on the computer at work.  Looks like it was a good trip.  Exhausting, I'm sure but good.  Congrats on megatron.  That's a heck of rack he had and I'm sure you guys have enough meat that one to go around.  I had a co-worker head up to WI this weekend and get a full cow.  ~850 lbs of beef in all.  Where in the hell do you even begin storing that much?


                    Feeling the growl again

                        Where in the hell do you even begin storing that much?

                       

                      I have a really big deep freeze I negotiated for the prior owners to leave when I bought the house.  Perhaps empty it would hold 850lbs, but it's pretty full now (a lot of venison).  I worked for 3 months prior to the hunt to open enough room to hold a potential elk. 

                       

                      If I had kept all of it, it may not have fit.  There is so much heat in the meat that it will take 2+ days to freeze solid, it appears.  I did not really realize how much was on an elk.  When I shot mine in 2008, I followed the local guy's lead on how to butcher it...in retrospect we probably wasted a third of the meat.  We were VERY picky to get every possible scrap this time.  I carried out 1 load that night and paid two local cowboys $50 and a bottle of whiskey to go in and pick up the rest for me the next day as we had to leave to drive back.  They never showed and I had to leave without it; we were afraid they'd gotten snowed in the backcountry by a blizzard that hit, but really they misunderstood and thought they had another day to get it back so they got hammered at the Indian bar and passed out in the truck.  By the time I got it the next year the local guy who'd helped me hunt it had eated a lot so I had a deceiving perspective of how much came off an elk.

                       

                      Most people I know of split a cow when they buy it.  Seems like the meat would be getting old before one family could eat a whole cow.

                      "If you want to be a bad a$s, then do what a bad a$s does.  There's your pep talk for today.  Go Run." -- Slo_Hand

                       

                      I am spaniel - Crusher of Treadmills

                       


                      Prince of Fatness

                        This thread delivers.  Thanks for sharing the pics.

                        Not at it at all. 

                          I wanted to get a better look at it so i fiddled with it in photoshop. Thought i'd post it here as well.



                          Feeling the growl again

                            Holy crap kmark, that is amazing!

                            "If you want to be a bad a$s, then do what a bad a$s does.  There's your pep talk for today.  Go Run." -- Slo_Hand

                             

                            I am spaniel - Crusher of Treadmills

                             

                              What do you mean holy crap?  You're the one that took that beast down.  The rest of us should be saying holy crap as we're finally getting a decent look at that thing.  Impressive!


                              Ostrich runner

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