As for an introduction. My name is Matt I love to archery hunt for deer and elk. I grew up in Oregon hunting down around Sheridan for blacktail. I now live in Ocean Shores and mainly hunt the copalis unit for blacktail and williams creek for elk. I have harvested 2 elk with my bow, one cow, one bull. I have also harvested 3 elk with my rifle one in Colorado, and two in oregon. Last year was the best year ever for my hunting wise. I drew a copalis unit spring bear tag and harvested a 7'2" boar on opening day. Elk season came around and was dry down where I hunt. The second week of hunting started out good and on day 10 I harvested a nice 4x4 rag horn. I then went to Montana early part of November for a Mule deer hunt. I ended up shooting a respectable 5x6 muley towards the end of the hunt. Nothing huge, but definitely my best. I came back to washington and prepared for my late season blacktail hunt in copalis. My first hour out during the late season I once again got lucky and shoot a nice 4x4 blacky with my bow. I would rather be lucky then good any day, and 2008 was my lucky year.
Here is a short story on last years elk hunt.
I hunted again with my buddy named stew. Stew is a long time rifle hunter who has hunted this area for 19 years and knows the area very well. He made the switch to bow last year but unfortunately did not get a opportunity last year. However this year he missed a good 5x5 bull on the opening morning. He was between two dirt berms on a ridge top and had not one, but two 5x5 elk in the middle of the skid road at 50 yards. He took the shot, and said it felt great at the release, but he missed far right clean in front of the animal. He said when he walk up to where the elk where he realized he did not account for wind, and it truly was blowing hard, not only that morning, but the whole first week. It would be his only opportunity the whole season.
I did not see any elk on the opening morning or night, though I hunted all day.
The next 8 days where more of the same. Stew went home because of his business on the second day, so I was by myself for the rest of that week. I saw some elk, but the moon and heat were killing me. Hot everyday, large moon and getting larger at night. Elk went to bed very early in the morning and came out just before dark. Not many elk talking that first week either, did not hear one bugle after the opener. On the 8th day during the evening hunt I finally bugled up a bull down in an ugly ravine. I went down in after him but it was just too thick. No elk that night, but at least they were starting to talk.
On the 9th day during the evening hunt I went back to the same landing where I bugled that bull the night before. No answer tonight, so I kept walking out to the next ridge. Today there was clouds, and some light fog. It was cooler and felt like a good night for a hunt. I made it to a ridge where I had seen elk many times and let out a few light cow calls. The response was immediate. Right away the whole hillside lite up with cows talking and an occasional bugle. The wind was with me and I had light to work with. I cut up to a road that goes up to the top of the ridge the elk where on. They were in thick reprod, and I could not see any of them, but they were talking. So I cut up the road into the reprod and kept cow calling. I could hear elk moving my way so I knocked and arrow. I would cow call and he would bugle or chuckle, but he was not coming my way fast. But I could hear him moving in the brush what seem to be less then 50 yards from me. This game of cat and mouse went on and on, and I just couldn't get him to commit, so I decided to abandon him and keep moving up the hill to the ridge. I came around a corner and there was elk butt. Luckily the elk was feeding away from me and I quickly made my way behind some brush. My light was going fast and I had not an hour of day light left. Up my glasses went. At first I thought it was a cow, and in this area you can shoot a cow, or 3 point or better, so I thought if I get a good shoot I would shot, but when I put my glasses up I saw that it was a spike. I could not shoot a spike. So I moved a little closer and waited for the rest of the heard to come out of the reprod. Long story short the spike feed within 17 yards, and while I could here the elk just inside the dog hair, they would not come out, and I could not spook the spike in fear of pushing the whole heard out of the area. I waited to till dark hearing many bugles and cows, but only seeing that spike. I decided to back out of the area.
On the 10th day, during the morning hunt I went back to where I saw the spike just before first light. Immediately the elk where talking again, unfortunately they were in front of me and they beat me to the dog hair. No elk
On the 10th day, during the evening hunt I had an idea where the elk were going to come out. I again went to the ridge were the elk were talking on the 9th night. It was 3pm, slightly overcast, nice and cool compared to the previous week. As I rounded the corning to start up the ridge I look down into the ravine and saw elk. Only two, but I knew the rest of the heard was in the dog hair. I checked the wind and realized I definitely had it on my side for what I wanted to do. I moved up the hill to the top of the ridge. I knew the elk where going to feed down at the bottom of the ridge. I had seen them do it many times. So I started down on a hogs back towards them. On the right side of me I had the dog hair and valley that the elk had been in the previous night, on the left side of me I had side hill of the long ridge which is open clear cut 4-5 years old. As I moved down the hogs back I immediately saw an elk right in front me down at the bottom of the ridge. It was that damn spike again. I was disappointed at first cause I thought the herd beat me to area I wanted to catch them in, but it was only a single spike. I moved to the other side of the hogs back and continued down. Then there were two elk, both spikes, now I had 4 eyes watching. Luckily they had not seen me yet, as there were many stumps to move in and out of. As I was moving down the hogsback I looked to the right into the ravine and spotted what I thought was a 5x5 move out of the dog hair and into the ravine. Things were looking good. When I looked to the left I now saw that I had two spikes and a cow feeding 60 yards infront of me down at the base of the ridge. It was a little windy this night, and I was shooting down a fairly step hill, so while on a good day, during good conditions I can shoot 60 yards, this wasn't that day I wanted to get closer, less then 50. I decided to sit down and let this brew a bit. I knew the whole herd was coming and if I could avoid 50 eyes and noses I would get a shot. It wasn't long before I heard a bunch of thrashing down below me. I thought they winded me. I peeked up and look down below me and saw the bull thrashing a small sapling. I took the range finder back out, he was 65 yard, but off to the right the cows began to file in. I sat back down to wait it out. Then I thought I heard the elk coming up the hill right at me, so I quickly got up to look again and saw that the bull was running the cows around, and the cows were running towards me but not up the hill at me. It was truly great. The bull was paying attention to the cows, the cows were paying attention to the bull, and I was talking 4 more steps to close the distant to 40 yards to the bull. The bull had move directly below me to 40 yards on the money. I drew back, put the yellow pin just behind his should and squeezed my release. It all happened too fast. The bull did not move, and I could see the arrow on the other side of the bull. The cows started to run because they could plainly see me. I knocked another arrow because I thought I had missed. I went to full draw and the bull turned to follow the cows. I squeezed the release again, but the bull was moving and the arrow went right over his back. Just before I squeezed the release I saw a red spot just behind his shoulder. I had a pass through shot on my first arrow. The bull tried to run, but his back legs went out on him quickly. He only went 20 yards before he went down, and died right before my eyes. I could not believe it.
I made my way down the hill to the elk. He was dead. When I had first seen him I thought he was a 5x5, but he was a 4x4. Not huge, but a definite keeper. So there I was 2 miles behind a locked gate late in the evening by now, all by myself. Long story short, it took 7 hours to get him out and that was with help.
