The Return to Payson

For the rifle elk hunt this year we decided to take a different approach and head back to the old spike only unit, which meant the return to Payson.  It had been several years since we hunted elk in Payson and I think we were all anxious to see how the area had changed, and how the elk and deer herds had held up in the time we had been away.

We hunted the usual area this year, started off around The Knob area, and proceeded to continually hunt, hike, and glass the surrounding areas until we could locate the elk, which was not any easy task due to the thick brush and heavy cover all throughout the area.  Fall was in full swing, the leafs were still changing, and every which way we turned the landscape was filled with bright color.  In usual fashion, the majority of the area was steep, thick, and hard to maneuver around in, but by the second weekend we had managed to start seeing elk.  In fact, early one morning Dad and I headed up the Bennie Creek trail and cut off into the meadow just before light.  When we reached the top of the ridge Dad spotted an elk on the ridge just across from us.  This area is famous for big bulls, which is one reason that the spike only hunt is so difficult. We were excited to see the elk and by the time it was light enough to see, it was not hard to tell that we were looking at a bigger bull.  We determined that it was a smaller six point, and continued to watch the bull for several minutes before we spotted another elk which came from some thick brush just above.  This was another bull, in fact, this was one of the biggest bulls I've ever seen.  We determined that it too was a six point and would have been one for the record books, had it not been a spike only unit....of course.  We continued to watch the two bulls for about an hour.  In that time we were able to watch the two spar and push and shove one another around, which was an awesome sight.  As we watched the two bulls wrestle around in the clearing we could hear the smashing sound of antlers every time they locked up.  Once we had determined that the two bulls were alone, we decided to have a little fun and use the bugle and cow calls a few times.  Though they were interested in our calls, they wanted nothing to do with another bull, and they proceeded to disappear into the brush and steep hillside.  We didn't see any other elk that day, but the two fighting bulls put on a great show nonetheless, and we were pretty satisfied that we were able to watch, plus we now knew there were elk in the area.

Within the next few days, Dad and I, along with Glen, Nick, and Austin, returned to the same ridge.  The morning started off slow, and nothing seemed to be moving, with the exception of the deer of course, I'm pretty sure I saw around thirty deer that morning.  After a few hours Glen made a trip to the other side of the ridge and happened to spot a heard of elk feeding in the pines across the way.  We quietly made our way over and found that there were approximately 10 elk milling around in some very thick maples and pines straight across from us.  The sun came up just as we saw the elk, which made it impossible to glass the ridge, so instead of spooking the heard, we decided to return to the other side of the ridge and check back in a couple hours.  So thats what we did, and when that time came, we sent Glen and Austin down and around the back side of the ridge the elk were on, Nick stayed put, and Dad and I slowly hiked over to get into a better position.

As soon as we crept over the ridge we could see that the elk were still there, however they were in such thick cover that it was near impossible to determine whether or not there was a spike with them.  We glassed the hill for several minutes and though the elk didn't seem too spooked, they were definitely on to us, and were working their way up the hill and the opposite direction from us.  We strained to see if there were any spikes with the herd, but only saw a big bull and several cows and calves.  After a while the herd dissapeared up over the top and out of sight, at which point we got a call over the radio from Glen and Nick.  Apparently they were standing right in front of a spike on the other side of the ridge....figures, the only two guys that weren't hunting at the time ran into the spike, isn't that the way it usually goes?!

On the last day of the hunt Dad and I headed back up one last time to the place Glen and Austin had spotted the spike a few days prior.  Early in the morning way up on Loafer we saw a herd of at least 15 elk standing in the sun, but they were moving, and were out of our reach.  Dad saw a glimpse of a single elk out in front of us as well, but the country was just too thick, and though we sat there patiently for the majority of the day, we didn't see any other elk.  So, with that we headed down to the Daley Freeze, picked up a grease burger, and called it a hunt.  No elk this year....yet.  Never know what the extended will bring...