So I finally got to hunt the opening day of early elk season and was a pretty excited even though the season started earlier. Fortunately the bulls were talking right from the start. Off I go behind closed gates by boot and bike to find my prize!
Nine days of hard hunting, climbing over windfalls, busting through reprod, and glassing clearcuts was looking pretty dismal for yet another early elk season. The bulls were talkin' but weren't being very cooperative. To top it off, a couple other hunters I talked to had tagged out after being in the same area a mere couple hours after I'd just been through the same area!
We were leaving Friday, and when Thursday rolled around I was done, physically and mentally. Still, I had to at least go check out my one hidey hole that always holds elk. So off I went to "Huckleberry Hill." I'd planned on riding my bike in, but when I went to pull it out of the back of the truck, the front tire was flat.
I had a spare tube, but not enough time to change it out before wasting the last couple hours of daylight. I still had a 1/2 hour walk to get into my spot.
I got to one corner of my area and let out a bugle.... and received an answer! Woo Hoo! Off I went in the direction of the bull. A few hundred yards later I let out another bugle and.... get 3 replies! Two of them were bulls for sure and the other was another hunter. I'd seen his truck parked a ways down the road but unless he was familiar with this area, he'd never get to the elk, so I wasn't worried. I'd been after these bulls earlier in the week so I knew what those bulls sounded like.
I headed off to "Huckleberry Hill" where the sounds of one of the bulls were coming from. Along the way, the other hunter bugled from time to time and the bull would answer letting me know he was still in the same location. As I approached my spot I could hear branches breaking and the rustling of brush. Elk were close!
I slowly crept closer and as I looked down the hill from the direction of the sounds I could see the tops of small trees moving, but I couldn't see any elk yet. Nearby there was an old rotten cedar stump that looked more like cedar mulch than a stump. It was covered in grass and it would give me an additional 3 feet to look over the hill. I crawled to the top of the stump and looked over.... Three elk under 40 yards!
The time was now 7:10pm. No time to be picky, I picked out the one that had the best shot opportunity, waited for her to step into the open and settled my 40 yard pin on her. Well, I rushed the shot and ended up hitting her a little high and a little back.
After the hit she hurriedly walked 20 yards to a small clump of trees and that was the last time I saw her. I didn't hear her run off, and the rest of the elk didn't spook, so I figured she just laid down among those trees. Time now is 7:15pm.
Two minutes later a 5x5 bull steps out and stands in the exact spot I had just shot the cow.
Well him and another cow just hang around the same area where the cow I just shot went looking at what I figured was my cow. I decided as long as they don't spook she'll stay right there, so I backed out quietly and headed back to camp for some help.
We made it back 4 hours later and when we arrived the elk were still there! We played around with cow calling and bugling for the wives and girlfriends so they could hear the elk talk. It was pretty cool. Down we went looking for my cow... "she should be just behind those trees," we have blood... we have a cow! WOO HOO!
It'd been many frustrating years since I've taken an elk, so this one was very welcome. As tired as I was, I was happy to be packing out an elk, even if we didn't get back to camp until 4am, and left for home at noon. A normally 5 hour drive turned into a 7 hour drive due to heavy traffic and a couple stops for ice, and we got the cow dropped off at the butcher shop. 323 pounds of carcass. Yeah buddy! Elk for the winter!
Whatever it takes to get it out!
I took 2 halves of the backstraps home (9lbs worth!) and we had some for breakfast the next morning, YUM! Everything on the counter is either harvested or grown by us, no store bought produce there! Good eats my friends!
