The weekend before the Westside rifle elk opener I set up a game camera in an area I had seen elk in the past. Not expecting much, just hoping to see if there were elk passing through the area. I set the camera on 10/27 and I would be returning on 11/3 for the opener.
Opening morning I went to a different area. I had missed a bull in this spot last year so I had a score to settle. I was hunting through a thin-logged area with great visibility (for Western Washington). Despite my best stealth mode I was busted by some elk while moving through the timber. I didn’t see any bulls in the group, but was disappointed they got the jump on me.
After a brief siesta I decided to check out the area I had set my cam the previous weekend. I slowly picked my way through the brush and ferns towards the creek bottom I had set it in. About 10 minutes in and 50 yards from my cam, I look to my left and see the dark silhouette of an elk head at about 70 yards through the trees. I raise my rifle and count: one... two… three… Confirmed, it’s a legal bull. All I could see was his head and upper portion of his neck. I settle the crosshairs just below his chin and squeeze. A sharp report and he dropped in his tracks. This was at approximately 3:00 pm. With the help of my dad and uncle we get him quartered out and back to the truck. With the last glimpse of daylight I bust down to my cam and pull the card.
Back at camp we look through the images and get a very cool bonus to the story. I had captured some great images of the bull I just shot from 10/28 and another cool looking bull on 10/29. The topper was I got a bunch of great photos from the bull I shot, from that day, less than 1 hour before he expired. These pictures, along with some field photos, are below. I ended up with 260 lbs of meat and couldn’t be more happy with this red-headed Roosie.
