Pennsylvania Game News - July 2009 - 19

Lodge, obtained access to private lands and saw elk. The Game Commission and Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation have done an excellent job of reestablishing the elk herd and habitat. Much work was going on at home. I was busy printing out GPS maps and noting good potential areas for the hunt. Another decision had to be made. Was I going to use a firearm or bow? Being a dedicated flintlock hunter, the decision was easy. I ruled out the bow and centerfire rifle. Next, I decided on a 42-inch barrel .54 flintlock with a curly maple stock made by my husband Tony. One area that looked promising for later in the hunt was an old reclaimed strip mine. Shots there were long range so I decided to take the Ruger 77 .30-06 with synthetic stock and a Simmons Aetec 2.8-10x scope for back up; I hoped I wouldn’t need it. Next was practice time and load development. For the flintlock I came up with a load of FFg Goex black powder pushing a 400-grain Maxi Ball with FFFFg priming powder. With traditional iron sights, I was able to shoot a group less than two inches at 100 yards. For the Ruger I ended up with a load using the 165-grain Hornady Interbond bullet. I was able to shoot groups less than an inch with this load. After weeks of scouting, practicing and collecting gear, I was ready to head to Benezette and elk country. We left Sunday, November 4, loaded with two quads, butchering equipment, multiple layers of fleece and weather resistant clothes, rangefinders, binoculars and all the other necessities for the hunt. And, of course, lots of food and snacks. Because I was planning on using the long gun, I did not take a portable treestand. We got settled into our cabin, got our gear ready for the next morning, and reviewed the maps and my hunting strategies one more time. On Monday morning I was up before the alarm clock sounded, anxious to begin. We left the cabin in the dark with a heavy fog hanging on the mountain top. I JULY 2009 went down into the valley and got into position. Everything was quiet. When hunting time arrived things were still foggy and quiet. About 10 a.m. I moved. By then the fog had lifted and I noticed movement in the distance. After glassing the area I spotted a bull. A few minutes later I spotted a couple more bulls. The bulls were grazing and slowly worked their way up to my stand. Way behind I could see what appeared to be a couple of cows. The first bull, a real monster, bedded down in front of me. The next thing I saw was another bull bedding down. Well, they all bedded down. I sat and watched the bedded elk for an hour. Finally they got up and returned the way they had come. I never had a cow in range. After lunch I decided to change locations again. We drove over to Trout Run and I went up the mountain to the Game Lands. I got comfortable, leaning against a tree, and began glassing the area but didn’t see anything. I checked a couple of openings with my rangefinder and they were within my 100-yard range. All I needed was a cow elk. I spotted some motion up on the ridge; it was a spike bull working his way down the hill. I watched him for a while and hoped he had a couple of girlfriends nearby. Sure enough, here came another elk, this time a 4x4 bull. He walked past me and started eating. Finally, I spotted four cows. Two headed down the hill to join the spike. The other two went back up the hill. It was approaching 4 p.m. and a light drizzle had started. I put the leather cover over the lock of my flintlock and zipped up my Gortex jacket. The two cows and 4x4 bull started to come down toward me and two cows came within range, but the bull was between me and them. Not long af19

Pennsylvania Game News - July 2009

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