My 2011 Elk story (with pics!) & followup to my intro

[ORBowHunter]

Okay, hopefully I've figured out the photo thing...5th time is the charm right!?

4 days before the end of the 2011 Oregon Archery Elk season, I left home and headed west to the coastal range, in hopes of getting lucky and finding some animals.  I had just returned from a successful elk hunt in Idaho, where I shot my first ever animal, a small anterless bull.  I was more than happy, and had met a very nice 75 yr old man i hunted with for a few days there, and he put in lots of effort in helping get to my first ever archery kill.  I had intended to just drive out early, and do a half-day hunt, then return home to continue butchering and processing the meat i had in the cooler at home.  After getting into thick fog high up in the hills, I decided to return to to a place i had first seen elk in a couple years priors.  This area is usually hit really hard with people in the early part of the season, but on a weekday, with four days left, things were really quiet up there.  I parked my rig at the end of a gravel road, and quietly made my way through a trail that cut through a tall stand of trees, and led to a reprod area of 8'-10' tall trees.  I know this area, and the land here well.  I started to walk down a trail along the edge of the big timber, but then remembered this spot led to a really thick nasty area towards the creek, and decided to side-hill away from the timber.  I gave a couple quiet cow calls, and paused to listen for a response.  It was about 9:30am.  I took a few steps across the reprod and immediately heard the heavy crunch of an animal walking in the bigger timber.  I stopped and held my breath.  By the sound it was clearly an elk and not a deer.  The wind was a little swirly.  I let out a soft little mew to keep it's attention.  I could not see the animal, but from the sound it was showing interest, and started to walk down and around below me, trying to catch the wind and find out what I was.  With my heart racing, my ears followed the footsteps, only 40 yds below me, and closing in, but I still could see nothing.  Then suddenly with the wind in it's nose, it started coming right up the hill towards me.  I knew it was close, drew my bow, and waited. 

Moments later, I could see it's hind end through the trees, and then it turned and poked it's head right through a bow of branches and trees right in front of me, maybe 15 yds at most.  It looked straight at me, and i was statue-still, with no shot, staring in awe at it's 5x5 antlers.  Not a huge rack by any means, but an antlered animal, and right in front of me!  I had no shot, and it scented me, turned and disappeared through the trees.  I heard it run maybe 30-40 yds and stop.  The wind changed direction and was now in my face, so i cow called, and decided to take the game to him.  I started slowly walking through the trees to where I heard him stop.  Shooting lanes are small, with so many soft green doug firs everywhere. I rounded a corner, and we stood facing each other, 9 yds apart.
 
Frozen, we just stared for a second or two.  I slowly moved my hand to my coat pocket and got my call, put it in my mouth and let out a quick soft cow mew.  The bull turned his head in curiosity like a dog would.  his legs were hidden by branches, but his head and chest were exposed.  Leaving the call in my mouth, I drew my bow, and called again, hoping he'd turn and give me a clear broadside shot.  He was looking right through me, trying to figure out where that cow was, and right then I decided to take the frontal shot.  I was confident I could hit my mark, and released a Montec G5 towards his chest.  My arrow buried into him and he turn and bolted.  Again, within 30 yds he stopped.  My heart was racing, and amazingly over the pounding in my chest, i heard him cough three times, and then THUD.  In seconds it was over. I could not believe it!  I waited 20 minutes, just in case.  It was a long 20 minutes.  I followed a good blood trail, and started flagging the way, but laughed at myself as i went just a few yards and there he lay, piled up just a few yards from where I shot him.  The arrow penetrated deep into his chest and went straight through his heart, and slightly into his lungs, and stopped.  I was elated, and completely blessed for the opportunity to harvest this great animal, and thankful for the meat he'd provide for my family over the next year.  It was a lot of work breaking him down by myself, but I was only 10 minutes from my truck, and for that I was thankful.  I learned a few things, and by the end of the afternoon I was heading home, with my second tag punched for the week, and thankful to God for the ability to hunt, the health to enjoy it, and the satisfaction of harvest.


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[Ranger91298]

Hey brother welcome to the site & congrats on a great looking animal. Thank you for sharing...

[gunnarnewt]

congrats and welcome! 

[Devinshoe]

Great story and pictures.

[blackveltbowhunter]

Cool story and nice pics!!  Congrats and welcome!!

[Austrian Hunter]

Awesome!!!!!!!!

[Johnb317]

Awesome!!   always been told front on is a no no but at 9 yards...   Spear range.

[PlateauNDN]

 

[Elkslayer]

Awesome!!!!!!! Great story and congrats on a great looking bull!

[windygorge]

 

[doyourtime89]

Awesome.....great story and pic's...thanks and welcome to the site

[Dan-o]

Is it just me, or did Orbowhunter commit a serious breach of forum ettiqutte with this post??     

I can't believe nobody jumped on you sooner....   This is way worse than posting a pic of a nate out of the water.

Don't you know that for a first post on this forum, you're supposed to start with something simple like:   

"Hey, I don't want your honey hole, but which forest service road would you drive up in the Little Natches, and how far up would you stop to hunt and which side of the road would you hunt?"

P.S.    That is an awesome bull.   The pics are great, but they're always so much better with a good write-up like yours.   thanks so much for sharing.

[washelkhunter]

Awesome. great story.

[SniperDanWA]

Welcome, great story and pics.  Congrats

[bow-n-head]

Very nice...keep up the good work