I'm an elk nut i think if i only had one season to hunt it'd be elk season hands down no questions. My second choice would be bear hunting believe it or not.
Big mule deer top my list of the OTC WA critters. Then bear, blacktail, elk and whitetail. When I started bowhunting elk was much higher on my list. The thought I could poke such a larger critter with a stick and watch him do the "Timber!!" was truly thrilling.
I remember my big 7X7 Oregon bull like it happened yesterday instead of 31 years ago. Watching his hair open up as the arrow seemed to just get swallowed by his chest. The way he just stood there after the shot as if he was too big, too bad, and too ornery to run away. The way the right front leg buckled three times before the others followed suit. The way the weight of his antlers seemed to pull him over in a spectacular event much like the falling of an old growth fir tree. My amazement as I noticed my broadhead sticking in the tree behind where he stood and the arrow dripping of blood as if it had a fatal wound of it's own. The difficulty I had in closing those few short yards due to the uncontrollable spasms in my leg muscles - the ultimate side effect of the moments emotional magnitude. Yes! There was a time when I felt there could be nothing more thrilling than bowhunting elk.
But over the years, with the exception of one opening day nemesis, elk have sort of lost their attraction. Somewhere along the line the thrill of antler and body size gave way to the thrill of the challenge. For me the wariness of a big mule deer, the difficulty of the stalk in high mountain huckleberry bear, and the elusiveness of the coastal blacktail all add a challenge the bullish elk no longer holds. Make no mistake - I still enjoy hunting them! Just like I enjoy almost all hunting of big and small game. But as I age the work after the kill seems awful disproportionate to the thrill of the elk hunt itself. And, they really aren't very smart creatures.
