finally shot my first elk/bull with a bow, it has been a long time coming but it was worth the wait.
didnt get pics till we got back to pack him out.(2am)
i would like to thank windy gorge, and another buddy of mine, j. borkowski.
both these dudes were on their way to help me pack him out when i called them after 10pm. we got him packed out of
the hole i shot him in at 530 am the next day. we had to bone him out..
i got to say it again, you dudes are great friends and studs for coming and helping me .
thank you
the short story,,,,,
afternoon hunt, by myself
dropped into a canyon not to far from where my bud borkowski shot a cow a few days prior,
about .2 miles in i get busted downwind by a few elk, i try to get the wind right and circle downwind of them, as im doing this i hear in the drainage next to me mews, so i decend down the mountain with these mews echoing every 10-20 sconds,,, making it easy i finally hear a deep throaty hoarse bugle from the bull, sounds like he has a cold or just doesnt want anyone to hear how regal he is.
i get within 100 yds of them, i call him up out of his hole with a mew and small bull challenge, i run down the hill 60 yds anticipating his arrival at a certain spot uphill of me, instead he pops out directly in front of me at 50 yds, no shot, i stay quiet, not wanting to blow future chances, i have the wind, i just need to be (as my good buddy windy says) patient!!!!
i hold out and his cows call him back, i take a few steps downhill and get busted by a cow that had come up from below, i never noticed her, she did not get my wind just saw my movement...
the herd, i hear,, is headed down the mountain to the bottom.
i patiently wait for silence,, mews still echoing, i change tactics,, they are headed up the other side i can hear them, i give them about ten minutes then dive off the mountain to the bottom,,
i have found it, their bedroom, their hideout,,, for the long hot days..
i reach the other side and am not hearing anything.
i wait watching and listening, have they left? where the heck did they go?
i contemplate heading up the hill to the north, but just then i see a cow uphill to the south,, i am back on them...
i slowly start sneaking up a trail that is headed directly for them, the wind is in my face and at 5pm on a north east slope will stay that way,, i have the wind!!!!
i keep sneaking and cannot see anything, but i can hear movement i think,, and the water running in the small creek .
i get to a tree that has fallen, its root wad to my right,the tree concealing my waist down
just then 60yds in front of me i see the cows,, a bunch of them...
i am knocked and ranging spots
just then slightly to my right and uphill a calf walks over the rise, she is coming from my left to right
i range where she will hit a open lane, thinking that a 35 yd calf kill for my first elk would be accpeptable.
i clip on to my string and just then antler tips right behind the calf, its him, my first good look at him.
he is legal and thats as far as i judged him.
my eyes and instincts quickly focus to the lane he will enter, he passes behind a couple huge trees, i come to full draw, im anchored,
i have my spot
he is walking to it
he stops just feet short
in the background the cows are calling the calf, they both turn and walk back to the herd
im so amped up,,, i close my eyes and concentrate on my breathing and refocus the task at hand
i turn back to my left to the cows coming back down the creek from 60 yds to 40 yds off to my left
i start pleading with my conscious to pick a cow and and make a perfect shot
but i keep hearing this raspy deep hoarse sounding bull bugling, he is drawing my attention everytime..
minutes go by, and i cannot get a good shot at any elk
then 8 yds in front of my appears this calf again, at the same time i have a buzzard or fly or god knows what gnawing on my neck, shelooks behind her and i take the moment to scratch it off me, she sees my movement, crap, know way is this yearling going to give me up. i hold still not breathing, thinking, dreaming, nothing...
she passes by her youth not realizing the severity of the situation she has just put the herd in....
she moves up to my right and the root wad is between us concealing all my movement from her.
i look back to the left to the herd
then back to the right keeping tabs on this calf
then left
then right
then left
oh crap,, a cow has followed the same path as the calf and is 8 yds in front of me, i hold still, just then i see the bull following closely behind her,,, 8yds,,, i cannot draw, they will see me and bust, i have to wait,
i hear windy gorge in my ears (BE PATIENT)
they pass me by and the root wad again conceals any movement i can make from them.
i swing to my right and anticipate the cow and bull coming around the root wad to my far right
just then my brain wants to check behind me to my left, oh no
a cow at 8yds has me pegged, its about to get real crazy....
i know i have only seconds before she busts
i return focus to the cow , calf and bull
the cow that has me pegged busts back to the left an toward the main herd and creek,
the cow calf and bull to my right all jump at her movement, but not knowing what is going on take their time.
the calf goes up the hill from right to left at the same spot she came down earlier(35yds)
the cow is following her,
im at full draw, and zeroing in on the cow, just then the bull comes into my vision on my far right heading the same way.
i swing my aim toward him and follow through to a lane he will pass into, 10 yds, 8 yds, 5 yds, three more steps, one more step and stop him
mew
he stops
heading right to left perfectly broadside right leg forward left leg back concealing his vitals a little
im focused on one sopt
my finger is on the trigger
he is 35 yds away
i squeeze the trigger
i see the red light from the luminoc buried deep in his vitals, and a thwack in the background....
he is hit hard
right where i was aiming
he bolts
i quietly mew twice
he stops about 20 yds futher
i cannot see him now, the small ridge is hiding him
everything is quiet
i see the cows off to my right nervously looking around
just then i here staggering footsteps
then a crash
then another crash
then he comes into view cartwheeling down the slope toward the small creek only 60 yds in front of me
he stops
not moving
nothing
i remember to breath,,
i take my first breath in 30 minutes, at least the first breath i remember in that time...
he is motionless
its been 30 seconds since the shot
cant be
i have always worried i would not make a humane shot and being so close to the animals when bowhunting you can hear everything....
forturnately,
i made a lethal shot that spared any suffering for both of us.
i look around, looking for my bow hunting brothers to share the thrill and excitement of what just happened
no one ,
without a word spoken i take up the blood trail just to give him a few minutes more and to reflect, i go to the site i took his life
his hooves digging deep into the soil propelling his large body up the hill , ten feet later, blood 3' down the hill
then more blood, then he stopped, a puddle
my arrow, then the blood straight down the hill to his final resting point
i reach him
he is so massive
so impressive
so regal
i will always remember this bull and how he was, how he walked and carrried himself, how he treated his herd, how he treated the calf
it was so awesome to see the interaction with them
i was in the herds presence at that root wad for over 30 minutes only taking two steps in that time
i was able to soak up all their movements and behaviors in that time
it is truly one of the greatest experiences of my life
it solidifies my passion for bowhunting and why i wanted to pursue elk in this manner
im thankful for a quick clean kill, and the memories these elk have given me.
