Steve Azevedo hunt report

Day #1

We went to Elk Mt. with guide Sparky, Maury, and hunter Ben.  Ended up

seeing 5 bucks and passed on a 23"er.  Sparky and Ben spotted five other

bucks from the ridge top.  Maury and I tried to sneak on them for a closer

look, but we never saw them.  When following Maury's horse in the morning I

thought "man, that horse sure has gas".  After following Maury on foot later

that day, I'm not sure who has more gas, Maury, or his horse.  Could be a

man and his horse thing, but I don't recall John Wayne having this problem.

Day #2

We went to the top of the mountain only to run into snow with extremely

limited visibility.  Dropped down in elevation and built a fire.  Ben wanted

to go back, so Sparky and I hunted behind camp in the afternoon.  I spotted

one average buck above camp that day.

Day #3

On the way to the top of the ridge behind camp, Ben harvested his buck, with

five shots.  No other bucks were spotted that day.

Day #4

This was of course the most exciting of all the hunt days.  We went to Bonnie

Lake and beyond.  On the way up the mountain Sparky spotted five bucks.  No

monsters were spotted so we kept going up in elevation.  We spotted 2 more

bucks from above in a bowl.  No shooters though.  Near the top of the

mountain, we spooked up 4 bucks.  I made a mad dash around the side of the

mountain to try to get a shot and all of a sudden I heard "boom".  It turned

out that we spooked the bucks by another guide and hunter, but they

evidently missed.  We never saw the deer again.  On the way back down the

mountain, Sparky and I decided I would walk through the hillside were we

spotted the 5 buck earlier that morning.  While walking to that area, I ran

into the 31" three point buck and harvested it with four shots (three had

hit the neck/shoulder region). It was around 4pm and we wanted to get off

the mountain before dark.  Sparky did an excellent job of processing the

deer and getting us off the mountain with time to spare.  I later found out

that this buck was believed to be the dubbed "Lucky".  Lucky had at least 24

shots fired at him without ever being hit.  On this day, Lucky's luck must

have finally run out.  For the day, we saw 12 bucks and had a really great

hunt.   (This buck had an incredible amount of trail shrinkage.  On the way off the mountain Sparky measured the buck at 31 inches.  The next day at camp Jonesy measured it at 28 1/2 inches.  The horse must have leaned it against the trailer.)

All in all I had a great hunt and plan on returning.  I can't say enough

about Sparky's hunt ethic, knowledge of the area, and professionalism.  I

only spent one day with Maury, but I have an equal amount of respect for him

and his overall operation. 

Return to 2004 Success Report