My wife bought me the bow for Christmas. PSE Stinger, nothing fancy, but that was sort of the point - I just want to be out there amongst the elk, armed with a basic, reliable, accurate close range weapon. It's a little heavier than some, but it'll do just fine.
I practiced my shots at 20 yards, then 30 and 40 yards, all year long. I won't say I practiced every week, or harder than anyone else, but I was diligent. I got to where shooting my bow felt like second nature to me. By August, I was grouping 3 arrows in a three inch group in the bullseye most of the time. Still had a wild shot now and then, but even my wild shots were only 4 inches off, rather than the 10 or 12 they were when I started.
I'm ready! Let's do this!
I knew a guy that hunted elk close by, our parents are close friends. He is a few years older than me and we just never really spent time together before. But I asked him if I could tag along this season and learn from him. He said I could and he promised me we would get to see some Bulls this year. Maybe not get a shot, but we would see them.
Pre-season came and we did some scouting and some maintenance on some tree stands. He introduced me to his friends that we would be hunting with. They all welcomed me to the group. It was just right.
We hit the season hard. We were in the elk everyday. Sometimes we were not in the right spot, sometimes we were and we just didn't have a shot. I got to see a big 300+ bull at 150 yards away. I passed on two small bull, neither were legal. I found a few cows on my own one night, but it was just too late and too dark to shoot.
Finally the pressure eased up on our area, and about mid-week, the elk started following a fairly distinct pattern. We started changing our positions to work this pattern better. While preparing for the evening hunt Friday, I asked if I could change my position to be somewhere across the opening from the bedding area. My guide team said that would be a good idea and we made a plan.
I got set up and hid in the brush. We had some guys in trees and some across from me near the bedding. About 5 minutes after I was set up, a small bull (legal, but small) busted out from behind me and ran across towards my friends. I couldn't get a shot. He went straight toward my partners, and I signaled them that he was coming and they spotted him. He came into about 80 yards, and then he got spooked and ran the opposite way and hid in another patch of brush.
I thought that might be my opportunity, and I was close, but not close enough. Just then, another of my hunting partners signals to me that a calf was coming straight towards me... And a small legal bull was following behind it! I had an arrow knocked already when I seen the ears of the calf coming in close. I had already ranged the surroundings and knew the distance to each stump, tree, etc. She was 50 yards and coming closer. When she was 25 yards, I seen the bull. He was following her, 25 yards behind here. Eyes fixated on her, not me. The calf got to 15 yards, then 10... If she can somehow sneak by me without spooking, he's going to come right in. Now she is 10 feet from me, the bull is 27 yards, neither one of them see me. I had my iPhone on vibrate, and it was in my front pocket. Somehow, the way I was crouching down made my pants press and hold the home button on the phone. Siri pops up and says out loud "I'm sorry, but I do not understand that request."
!!!!!!!!!
The calf froze stiff and looked right at me! The bull, stopped abruptly and started trying to find the danger that spooked the calf. It's now or never.
I stood up, drew and held my thirty yard pin on him. He was facing me directly, and I know how hard of a shot that is. I missed to the left by about 4-6 inches. (Just like that occasional shot while I was practicing.) I knocked another arrow and he started to wheel around. I settled my 30 yard pin just behind his shoulder blade and touched it off just as he was coming broadside. He made it around a little farther, but I watched my arrow go in about dead center of his abdomen! As he bounds off, I see my fletchings flashing their colors through the brush! I signal the entire group "I stuck him! He's got my arrow hanging out of him!"
He walked sort of slowly, as if sick to his stomach right back towards the guy who spotted him. At one point he looked as if he would lay down between us. When he started nearing the thick brushy swamp (a place we don't ever go into. Some holes in there are rumored to have no bottom) I thought I had better get closer and make sure he goes down before he gets in there. I started across the clearing. I found my arrow about half way across the opening, bloody on both ends and thick blood on the shaft! My buddy who had spotted him was watching all of this as well. When the bull made it across the opening, he didn't go into the swamp. He rounded the corner and tried to make it through this gap behind the tree line. This was an escape route of theirs that we had witnessed them using earlier in the season. I got within range of him again and fired one more arrow. It went into his spine above his right rear hip and stuck.
He bounded off down the escape trail. I climbed into the stand with my partner and we discussed the whole thing. I told him I was not sure my shot would kill him. I felt it was too far back. He said when the bull passed him, he seen pink frothy blood coming from the exit wound, he was certain that I had gotten some lung. He said last shot would certainly slow him down and that we needed to give him 20-30 minutes to go down.
We waited, we hugged, we filled in the group. We decided after 20 minutes, we needed to at least find and mark a blood trail before it got too dark.
At first the blood was very sparse. A little here and there, not much to go on. Neither of us had any ribbon. I took off my out layers and then my t-shirt. I cut us a few ribbons and we started marking. We tracked for about 100 yards and then the blood started getting much heavier and more often. Pretty soon were thinking "how much blood does he have to give!?!?"
We found him in the last spot of the escape trail before he would have had to be back out into the opening! He was completely dead, the one arrow still in him, the first arrow having passed through. Lots of pink lung blood down the back hip by the last wound.
I couldn't believe it! I had filled my first archery tag! I had honored my friends coaching, his helping me and allowing me to hunt with him in his spot and all of the many people who also gave me advice and help all year long. My father, my cousins, friends and colleagues who had all hunted archery before. Ted down at Lucky Shot Archery who helped me tune my bow. My wife and daughters who supported me going out night after night, not being around as much. So many people helped me along the way. And it finally paid off! I am now officially an archer! And I will be hooked for life, I'm certain of that!
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