Well Pinetar I dont think it's mine....but here's a little story from my 2002 season in that unit. It's all true...every last painful word I typed up.... Sometimes things just happen no matter how hard we try to avoid "Murphy".....
After scouting all summer and choosing a tree carefully I was sure I was in the right spot for opening morning of elk season. However, when I went in to hang the stand the day before opening I discovered I had miscalculated the height and needed to raise the stand about a foot or so to provide a better view of the area. I did not take my saw in with me as we had prepped the trees earlier and didn’t think I would need it. As I sat in the stand at the higher elevation I knew I had to do some additional pruning in the morning. We would get into the stands almost 2 hours before sunrise and I could do it then.
Sunday morning came with much anticipation. I climbed into my stand with my headlamp and, not wanting to make too much noise cut a few more limbs and thought I would finish up after the morning hunt. As Murphy’s law dictates, the limbs I decided to cut later would come into play. At first light I saw a spike coming down the hill, but he broke to the right and did not present a shot. Shortly after 2 cows and a calf came down the hill on the other side of the canyon, they were only 20 yards away but screened by the only trees in front of me. They walked away never presenting a shot. I knew I was in a good spot, 30 minutes into the season and already I had seen 4 elk. Ten minutes later I heard the familiar noise of hooves on rocks and turned to see another spike crossing the brushed choked creek behind me. His path would put him into the open at a little more than 20 yards.
It all happened quickly, but it is still etched in my brain. I quickly grabbed my bow and turned to face the tree, waiting for him to clear the brush. I looked briefly at his antlers to confirm he was a legal elk with a spike on the right side. The left antler was unique with a ball of antler at the top, but he was legal. As he stepped through the creek I tried to draw my bow but the top limb hit two tree limbs growing out of that side of the tree. I had failed to cut those two, thinking I could get the bow underneath them if necessary, and of course Murphy made sure. I bent my knees and came to full draw, under the limbs. Here I was, 30 minutes into the 2002 season and I could see this spike down already. I picked my spot tight behind the shoulder and put the cross hair on him. At the release I heard a very loud WHACK! I watched in horror as my carefully tuned arrow flew like a wounded duck towards the elk. It was not going towards the spot I had focused so hard on however and promptly struck the elk in the left antler, the big ball of bone at the top, with a second WHACK! I quickly looked for the sound of the first noise and saw the imprint of the edge of my top wheel in the tree limb I thought for sure I was under.
I watched the elk run about 40 yards obviously confused by the additional 425 grains of weight now added to his left antler. As he turned his head, all I could see was the green and yellow fletching waving back and forth. Murphy had struck me again.
and yes that vision is still with me to this day....
