Josh's Bragg Blog: Another Great Trip!

This past Saturday I went hiking with my friend Matt into an area we had thought might have a few antlers. It was somewhat of a new area for both of us too. We started hikind around 7 am. It had rained a lot the day and night before so the ground was very saturated and the new vegetation soaked our clothing quickly. But that would not deter us or the few expected showers during the day. After a muddy short 4-wheeler ride, we started hiking. Matt soon found a nice fresh 6-point elk antler and the hunt began. Matt continued to find a few more antlers, however, they were spread out and we hadn't found any matches yet. We knew other people had already been up in this area previously this year and had found a lot of antlers so we were happy that we were finding antlers still. We hiked further up the mountains and I soon spotted a fresh antler on an open ridge I was hiking down. I wasn't sure how big it was at first, but quickly realized after I picked it up it was the biggest antler I had found this year. After I radioed Matt, he quickly joined me in the search for its match. He soon found a few year old antlers, one being a nice 6-point and from the same bull as my big antler. We continued to look even though doubt was slowly creeping in that we would not find it. I decided to look in the timber a little further and soon spotted a big fresh 6-point antler. I thought it was the match, but discovered it was the same side. New energy filled me knowing there were two big sides to find now. As I picked up the antler and continued down a trail I spotted the match to the recent antler. I was thrilled! It is great being able to find a matching set. Matt and I continued to look for the match to the first big antler in the timber. Within a few minutes I spotted a familiar dark shape tucked behind some pines and instantly knew it was the match. I could not believe it. I felt like the luckiest guy in the world at that time! Two big matching sets on the same hill within a short time. I told Matt, "ok, I'm done now, I can go home." I don't think he could believe what I just found, but he definately was excited as much as I was. What a great guy to hike with! We soon ate our lunch and headed into another new area. After what seemed like a dry spell compared to the morning, we again began finding more antlers. I found a spike, a few older raghorns, and a nice fresh 6-point. On our way back to the 4-wheeler, Matt again found a few more antlers too. By the end of the day we brought back 16 antlers. I had seven and Matt had nine. It was a great trip.
My first find of the day, a big fresh 6-point.