Archery Colockum bull

[Farmer72]

Sorry this has taken longer to post than I hoped. after 3 weeks of being gone (Archery Elk and Muzzy deer which I was also successful) I had a bit to catch up on.

I will start this off with a couple things before I get into the hunt.

First thank you to all the people that offered help and gave me some starting points. Plus those I was in contact with during the hunt giving me encouragement and hope.

Second I will get into the area that may piss some people off or they may just realize I have been very lucky this year.

I usually hunt westside rifle for elk but haven’t really hunted the last 4 or 5 yrs. as the area I hunt has been screwed up hoof rot and land getting closed. I drew a multi-season elk tag this year with 11 points and so I dusted off my old bow (2005 PSE Firestorm lite) for which I haven’t used in 10 yrs. I took my bow over to Rock Creek archery to restring it so I could start practicing. Denton did a awesome job and as the proof it work as it should. Since I had the multi-season I decided to put in for archery Colockum (first choice) and muzzleloader Colockum (second choice). To my surprise I was drawn for my first choice with 11 points. Now I have hunted rifle and muzzleloader elk and have been well above average success on the westside. But this is the first time I have ever archery hunted for elk (I used to archery hunt for deer years ago). Matter of fact this is the first time I have ever hunted a Rocky mountain elk.

I spent several weekends scouting and talking to people that knew the area and have had the tag before and were successful. I feel good about the fact that while I got some info on where to start I did was not given any info on any specific elk in the area or what drainage. Me and my father did it together and that is what was important to me.

I do believe I had help from one more person that even though he passed away on September 1st of this year I believe my luck in having the bull stop after being spooked, my hit being better than it should have been, and my ultimate recovery of the animal was his doing.

Now on to the story.

It was day 11 of a 13-day season and I was getting pretty discouraged that I was not going to fill my quality tag. For the evening we decided to go back to an area we hadn’t been in for a couple days and see if anything was talking or moving. We were driving down the road on switchbacks heading into the area when I seen an elk through the trees out in an opening. I stopped the truck and grabbed my binoculars to see it was a nice 6x6. I looked around the clearing and saw he had 7 or 8 cows with him. I didn’t have a lot of time to try to get on him as it was already 6:46pm and shooting hours were 7:25pm. I decided my dad would stay with the truck and watch from there while I walked down the road to the corner and drop into the woods to make a sneak. As I was heading down the road I saw the elk through the timber spook and run for the bottom corner of the clearing. I decided to continue down the road and stick with my original plan of dropping into the woods only I figured I would swing wider from the clearing as I was hoping to cut the elk off in the woods. Just as I got into the woods I heard a truck coming up the road from the bottom which I figured was what spooked the elk. While I was in the woods my dad had talked to the person in the vehicle that was coming out of the road and they had mentioned the bull had been in the clearing the last couple evenings.

Meanwhile I was still heading down into the woods paralleling the wood line about 100 yds. In. When I got down toward the corner where they had gone in I heard the bull bugle again. As I was looking around, I saw a cow right on the wood line starting to head back out into the clearing I was still 100 yds. away and there was no way to sneak closer without being seen. I see another cow coming and then the bull pushing the rest of the cows out into the clearing. I wait till they are out in the clearing and over a hill before I make my way to the edge of the timber. I get to the edge where I can see the elk 150 yds. out into the clearing. It is getting very close to last shooting light so I made the decision to have my dad drive down the road in the hopes they would come back to the corner as they did when the truck that was in the bottom left. My dad came down the road but to my surprise the elk didn’t come back toward me but instead stayed where they were except the bull that started making his way towards the truck. That was my last hope for the night and now it was too dark to see so I backed out slowly and quietly with the hopes of getting on him in the morning.

We got up early and went up to the same spot on the road we had spotted the 6x6 the night before. It was still plenty dark and we were hoping to hear him bugling. Darkness turned to light and there were no bugles. Looking over the clearing there were no elk to be seen. We decided to leave and check out some other areas to see if there was anything calling or moving. The plan was to come back early in the evening and get down in the clearing and wait for them to come out.

We came back around 4 pm and looked over the clearing before heading down into it. We didn’t see or hear any elk around (just some cattle) so I made my way down into the clearing toward the corner they had gone in and came back out the night before.  I was sitting in front of (well kind of inside to try to get out of the cold wind) a Christmas tree size fir tree about 50 yards from the corner of the clearing. As I settled in I looked at my watch to see it was 4:30pm. The wind cold was blowing pretty consistently from the top of the clearing to the bottom. I had taken my day pack off and set it next to me under the tree along with my quiver. I waited, watched and listened for what seemed like forever in the cold wind. I had not seen or heard and elk. I looked at my watch again and by this time it was 6:45pm (the time I had seen them the night before). After about another 10-15 minutes I heard a bugle but it wasn’t from the corner of the woods I was watching it was from behind me in the top of the clearing. I turned around to see 6 cows and what I thought was the same 6x6 from the night before. They had come out of the woods and crossed the road in front of where my dad was sitting in the truck ad came out into the clearing. I ranged the elk and they were 200 yds away. I wasn’t sure if they would get close enough for a shot before it got dark again. I watched the lead cow quickly make her way down the hill stopping to look and smell before going farther. She came al the way down and crossed 30 yds from me between me and the rest of the elk. I know the bull would come the same path but was not sure if it would be while I could see. About that time I look up to see the bull start pushing the rest of the cows down the hill towards me. Sure enough they came the same path. As the bull got to the 30 yd mark I drew my bow back from behind the tree. Unfortunately when I came up with the bow I hit the limb of my bow on a limb of the tree. The elk heard it and bolted back towards where they came from. Luckily they had not seen what happened and the bull only running 10 yds stopped and looked back to see what it was. I guessed the range was now 40 yds and leveled my 40 yd pin on him and took the rushed shot as I didn’t think he would say long. I watched my arrow strike the elk but as it turned to run I could see it was sticking out farther that it should have. At that moment I got the sinking feeling I had hit him in the shoulder blade. The elk had ran partially up the clearing and turned into the woods on my side of the road. My dad decided to drive down the road in hopes of cutting them off from crossing the road.

As my dad got partway down the road he saw the bull standing by himself in the woods. He watched the bull standing there 15 yds away for 5 minutes before the bull slowly turned and when back into the woods where he lost sight of him. My dad notified me where he had seen him and that he was hurt good and moving slow. I grabbed my quiver and bow when down to the road below me to head up towards my dad. He told me what draw he had seen the elk last and I decided to come up the draw towards my dad. When I got to where I could see my dad, he pointed in the direction the elk last went. I moved down toward the creek the elk had went. I was stopping and scanning the other hillside when I spotted the tan body laying down. I couldn’t see if he had his head down or up and was trying to get in a spot to see. About that time the truck from the night before had come down the road and stopped to talk to my dad. The elk had heard the truck and started moving his head. I tried to find a clear spot that was close enough to get a second shot. About that time the elk stood up and tried to go up hill but started staggering and stumbling. It finally tuned and laid back down. It was then that I knew I had hit him harder that I first thought. It was getting dark fast and I decided to try to get closer to get a second arrow into him. I crossed the little creek and made my way up the hill where the elk was still laying with his head up but never tried to get up. I closed the gap to only a few yards as I could no longer see my sights and laid another arrow in him just behind his shoulder on the opposite side of where I had hit him originally.

The young guy that had stopped to talk to my dad asked if we needed any help packing the elk out. Since my dads knees had been killing him the whole trip he quickly said yes. I guy said he would go get his pack and friend and they would come back to help.

My dad drove up the road to get above me so the young guys could just drop straight down to me. While I was waiting for the guys to come back I realized I had left my pack out in the clearing where I had been sitting and I had all my gear in it. My flashlights, knives, water, and rags were all in my pack. I was standing next to my elk with nothing but a bow, arrows, range finder, radio and my phone as a light.

By the time the young men had gotten back to where my dad was parked it was 9 pm. I made sure to have my dad give the guys one of his knives to bring down to me. They got to me and then the work started. I quartered and caped and they packed. Luckily it was only about 100 yds to the road but it was up hill. I was pleased to see 2 complete strangers stop and help to pack out someone’s elk. They had left me with the horns and cape but I was by myself and could not lift it up onto my back. They came back down and before I could say help me get this on my back one of the guys said throw it on my back and then he took it up the hill. As it turned out they packed the whole thing out I was very thankful as was my dad. We had put the last of the elk in the truck and looked at my watch to see it was 1 am. Granted we were BSing and telling stories while cutting it up they had taken the time to help complete strangers for 4 hrs. Needless to say I don’t believe they got an elk on the last day but they went home with meat.

I know I took forever telling this story and it was only the last 2 days of my hunt but they were the most important. I saw elk 11 of the 12 days I hunted and I saw nice bulls 10 of those 12 days. But as hunting goes I was not able to get a shot on any of them till this bull.

[Farmer72]

More pics

[Farmer72]

more

[Farmer72]

last

[Farmer72]

I did a quick score and came out with 370-6/8 gross. He had broke the 2nd and 3rd point on the left side and also broke what might have been long enough for a 8th on the same side. but is still a very nice 6x7.

[timberfaller]

Nice!!  Hope you thanked the help!!  Nice to see others willing to help these days!

[Farmer72]

I thanked them several times. Plus I think they will remember me saying thank you when they are eating the backstrap I gave them. I would have given them some cash but it was at the trailer.

[Dan-o]

Great bull. 

Thanks for sharing

[Watimberghost]

That's a big bull! Way to stick it out! Congrats!!

[mburrows]

Beautiful bull congrats!

[Apples]

great bull and good write up!

[cooltimber]

Thks for the write up.good eating Im sure!

[jmscon]

Mass!! Great bull, congrats! And thanks for sharing!

[Boss .300 winmag]

Nicely done.👍

[Brushbuster]

Great Bull! Congrats! Enjoyed reading your story. Young men with strong backs. It doesn't get any better.  :tup