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bitmasher · Joined: 27 Feb 2002 Posts: 2595 Location: Colorado

I filled my cow elk tag this weekend in northwestern Colorado. With nearly full moons, clear night-time skies, and warm days (I got a sun tan :smile:), the elk can basically eat all night and then sleep all day in dense cover.

Anybody else hunting these conditions?

bigashiko · Joined: 28 Oct 2002 Posts: 2

I will wait for more snow, hunt in December, similar place.

did you submit for CWD testing? Couple elk so far NE of Kremmling positive.

bitmasher · Joined: 27 Feb 2002 Posts: 2595 Location: Colorado

Hi Bigashiko,

I was hunting unit 211 south of Craig, about 2 hours west of Kremmling. If your from outside CO, most of the state got a dusting of snow today.

I used to hunt third season and have hunted some real cold ones although never as late as December. Snow is a blessing for tracking and the cold keeps them moving.

Yes I submitted the head for testing about 10 days ago, but have yet to hear back. My Dad also took a cow elk and he submitted his for testing as well. We did the testing more out of wanting to help the DOW get more info on herds and less for safety concerns (although I don't really blame anybody if they are concerned about the safety of the meat). The DOW officer said if it came back positive that they would contact us in 4-5 days.

What about you? Do you plan to have yours tested?

[ This Message was edited by: bitmasher on 2002-10-29 22:36 ]

bitmasher · Joined: 27 Feb 2002 Posts: 2595 Location: Colorado

The CWD test came back "Not Detected". Rather interesting that they don't say:

-Negative
-Not present
-No CWD

"Not detected" doesn't sound very confident, like it could be an instrumental error or something.

Perhaps the DOW is just covering its rear (from a lawsuit) if CWD is ever found to cause CJD and they had given out a bunch of "Not present" or "Negative" results with a weak test that wasn't very predictive. And then I may be reading too much in to it.

Either way I'm eating the meat...drug the damn animal for 2.5 hours with my Dad and that was down hill. Better get a good meal out of it!

Any way thought you would like to know. I'll post back when I find out how Dad's turned out too.

expatriate · Joined: 26 Oct 2002 Posts: 1148 Location: Alaska

Ha! Modern science is great, isn't it?

Proof that OJ comitted the murders wasn't detected, either. That doesn't mean I want him to date my daughter. It'd be nice if the scientists would include something to the effect of: "None detected. Steak had a nice buttery flavor, not too gamey, with little gristle."

Do you know anything about their testing methods?

bitmasher · Joined: 27 Feb 2002 Posts: 2595 Location: Colorado

Yeah, I thought I had read somewhere that the false negative rate was fairly high for this test. Just throwing out numbers maybe like 1 in 10.

So of 10 samples that were known to be positive 1 would slip through as a negative. Repeat testing on the sample is the way to get better acuracy, although in this case I don't how many times they repeat the testing (if at all).

As for the exact chemistry of the test it probably is some sort of UV absorption or IR absorption test. In such tests they usually take another chemical that selectively binds to the protein in question (in this case the prion) which makes it easier to "see" at UV or IR (possibly even visible) frequencies.

I've read that the animal has to be "pretty far gone", meaning high concentractions of the prion in the nervous tissue (they take a plug of brain tissue for sample testing). So the particular test must not be terribly sensitive and/or they don't have a good way to purify the sample.

All of this is guessing, based on prior knowledge, I have not read how the tests are done.

BTW, my Dad's elk came back "Not Detected" too.

[ This Message was edited by: bitmasher on 2002-11-04 21:36 ]

DS · Joined: 24 Nov 2002 Posts: 11

Well, I hunted with a partner, Anaconda, in the 3rd season. We went in on horses with 4 elk tags and two deer tags. We spent the week working our butts off packing out 2 bulls, 2 cows and a deer from 8 miles back in.......weather got down to -16 at night....it was brutal but was a very productive hunt with me taking a nice 6x6 and my partner taking a good 4x4. Snowed like heck on us the whole time......but a guy couldn't ask for more from a hunt.
DS

bitmasher · Joined: 27 Feb 2002 Posts: 2595 Location: Colorado

Sounds like you had a good hunt this year, DS. I assume you were hunting 3rd season, but what unit?

Welcome!

DS · Joined: 24 Nov 2002 Posts: 11

We started in unit 25 and 26 in the Flat Tops wilderness.......but wound up moving all over in pursuit of the bulls. The cows were easy, but the bulls proved a bigger challenge.

[ This Message was edited by: DS on 2002-11-27 13:09 ]

bitmasher · Joined: 27 Feb 2002 Posts: 2595 Location: Colorado

Oh you were in the Flat Tops, that explains the snow and the cold. Pretty area over there, heard some of it got hit by the fires this past summer...

DS · Joined: 24 Nov 2002 Posts: 11

..didn't see any burns where we were...but I know they were close.......hell half that country burned up!
DS

Keepitsimple · Joined: 19 Nov 2002 Posts: 44 Location: Northern Wisconsin

Have you guys ever hunted down near Salida. I used to do some treking around those parts but never got a chance to hunt. Found some damn nice Muley sheds though.

bitmasher · Joined: 27 Feb 2002 Posts: 2595 Location: Colorado

Yeah quite a bit of pretty country got smoked, hopefully it won't be so bad next summer...

I have not hunted around Salida, Keepitsimple, but it is a nice area down there, especially as you go south in to the Sangre De Cristo's.

What part of Northern Wisconsin are you in? A few falls ago I was in the Duluth/Superior area and I was blown away by the fall colors up there (CO mostly just has yellow aspens in the fall). My wife and I did a little hiking on the MN side of Lake Superior.