First elk!

[Duckgtr]

Tuesday afternoon i planned on deer hunting is what I told my buddy Seymour because we hadn't seen any elk since sunday. We left camp around 230pm and parted ways about 3/4 of a mile from camp. I go walking up out all these fingers and dead ends and end of legal shooting light is coming so I start to make my way back to meet up with Seymour where we parted ways. On the walk down still during legal light I see tan cruising up the road feeding towards me. At first I thought it was a doe until the big dark head moved and realized I had elk feeding towards me. No real cover to be found so I get in the drainage ditch next to the road next to a fern that had a piece coming out in front of me so I'd have a window to shoot. The elk keep moving closer just about when it reaches my window I try to pull my bow back but can't due to excitement. I retry and get it back just as the cow reaches my window and only 10 yards away! I take aim she faces me feeding and no shot. She then eats on the far side of the road giving my a quartering to me shot within the last 5 minutes of legal shooting light! Don't be silly I sent it! My arrow went all the way to the fletchings so I knew penetration was good. Of course the rest of the elk scatter. I back out to go to camp and find blood so I mark it and continue to camp to get us food as Seymour had a 2 mile hike to get to me so chow was important to us because we knew we had a long night. After I got back because it took an hour we start to look for blood and proceed to do so the next few hours until we were at a loss and couldn't find blood any more. So we break to eat around 1130. Before we eat I ask  Seymour if he wants to see where I was when I shot and on the way up bedded in the drainage ditch was a cow so I cover my head lamp and back off. We're hoping it's her and try to figure out what to do to finish her quickly but there wasn't a way  with how she was laying In the ditch and we weren't exactly 100%  sure it was her so we sat for 3 hours in the rain, wind and Misty fog waiting. We go to check her at 2am Wednesday morening and she had expired and the real work began. The next 4 hours was spent skinning, gutting quartering her for the pack out. After 5 hours of packing we had her all in the truck by 130 pm Wednesday.

She was my first elk and I really wanted to get it with my bow. Granted it's not a bull but since I started elk hunting last year I had my mind set on taking the first legal animal I had an opportunity to shoot. Can't eat antlers any way!

[CedarPants]

Great job!  Way to stick it out until the wee hours.

[hawks33]

Congratulations! You'll never forget your first.

[carpsniperg2]

Congrats

[Pinetar]

Nicely done, Congrats!

[huntnfmly]

Very cool congrats.Thanks for sharing

[redi]

Nice first elk. Congrats.

[Sandberm]

Great hunt, thanks for sharing. You are certainly tenacious for staying up all night. Congratulations. 

[TikkaT3-270Shortmag]

What broadhead? Rage?

[Bob33]

Well done! Every elk is an accomplishment.

[Mfowl]

  Congrats! Thats awesome!

[Milkman]

Awesome! Congratulations.

[Duckgtr]

What broadhead? Rage?

Rage hypodermic +P

Thank you everyone. It was a long nerve wracking night just waiting.

[Wanttohuntmore]

Congrats!

[Hoythunter]

Way to go!