I worked hard for this little 3x3 Roosevelt Elk. I got him on September 18th, the 10th day of my hunt. I never went less than 5 miles in a day (and that only because the Seahawks game was on Sunday) and worked hard on the St. Helens Tree Farm. I saw 200+ elk, heard a elk bugle every day, and got within 30 yards of 15+ bulls. This was the smallest bull I saw the whole trip, but that's how the luck goes. I had a lot of new experiences this year including a big bull coming up and barking at my cousin and I and taking his cow with him. Calling elk is exhilerating. On another occasion, my cousin called in three bulls that were all bugling at me and each other from 15 yards away. No shot opportunities. The swirling winds killed about 10 of our setups.
For this bull, I was on a steep hillside 100 yards above a small creek and was calling to a 5x5 on the opposite hillside. We went back and forth for 20 minutes, when I heard an elk coming in the reprod to my left. He was 30 yards and closing on me and my cow call. I would not get a shot should he come out where he was heading so I threw two big rocks down 40 yards in front of me. It worked and the bull turned and walked right into my shooting lane. A 20 yard shot with my Elite Synergy and the Slick Trick did it's job. Hit centered behind the shoulder, the double lung shot left the largest blood trail I've ever been on. He made it 30 yards and expired in some very thick reprod. We worked until midnight getting him out that night, good fun.
Just to tease me...ten minutes after my bull expired, the big 5x5 bull across the canyon I had been calling stepped into my shooting lane exactly where I shot the first one. Oh well, maybe he'll be a 6x6 next year.
Now I'm leaving tomorrow for my two week Idaho moose trip. I'm contemplating shooting it with a bow if possible, but I won't pass up a bruiser with a gun. Should be fun, it's been cold and the rut should be going good. Hopefully I'll have another post in a few weeks...
