Post by: Coastal_native on September 09, 2014, 02:00:26 PM
After 3 seasons of chasing elk around with a bow in the coastal brush, I was developing a great appreciation for how rare shot opportunities actually are. In fact, a few times I had to simply walk away from bugling bulls because the cover I was in was never going to allow me a shot opportunity, and I'd probably chase them out of the country if I got too aggressive...something I never had to worry about with a rifle...charge in and shoot 'em.
At any rate, after two days of playing chess with some pesky raghorn satellite bulls, I finally found myself in a position where a mature bull just couldn't resist the urge to come in and challenge me. I was so busy trying to figure out where the cows were in relation to this little annoying, chuckling raghorn that I had no idea there was a nice bull quietly working his way through the timber right at me. I didn't hear him till he was within 75 yds. I had no time to range anything around me so I nocked an arrow and drew back right as he came up over a rise looking straight in my direction at about 30 yds. He held for a second and then turned and started walking broad side through the timber, so I slowly let my draw down. He ended up popping out right on the old road I was crouched on at about 35 yds, slightly quartering away, leaving his lungs wide open in this little tunnel of a shooting lane I had (I spend a lot of my time at work using a range finder to measure distances at 50 - 200 ft for laying out stream buffers for timber sales...so my eye for judging distances inside 40 yds is very keen) I estimated him at about 35 yds and I was darn close. My practice must've paid off too because everything felt so natural as I drew back, anchored, and let 'er rip. The noise the arrow made upon impact sounded like what I imagine it would sound like if you shot an arrow through a piece of plywood...POP! I was actually a little worried that maybe it was deflected and hit a tree. The bull turned and darted for about 15 yds, stopped and took a couple slow steps, and then darted away again...crashing through the timber for what seemed like an eternity with the sound seemingly getting further and further out. I was worried. After my adrenaline settled, I crept down the road and inspected where he was standing. I did not find blood within the first 15 yds, but in the place where he slowed down for a second, I found a couple dime sized drops of blood...and my arrow, covered in blood, full penetration. I felt good at that point, until I remembered that this is exactly how my experience in 2012 started. It was 9:15am, so I calmed myself down and decided to stay put until 10:00am.
At 10:00 am, I started the track. I was finding good blood for about 30 yds, nice quarter sized drops with air bubbles, and a few places where it looked like blood had sprayed/misted the ground...and then nothing. For about 5 minutes I didn't leave a 50 foot radius area from where I last found blood...trying hard to figure out which tracks were his and combing the ground for any tiny bits of blood. After finding no blood, I decided to follow what I thought was his tracks. I went about 30 yds more slowly picking my way through the timber and ended up walking up on him...all piled up, dead. It was shocking to me at first...like I wasn't convinced that an arrow could actually kill an elk, until I proved it to myself… and the fact that he was laying there dead within 100 yds from where I shot him after sounding like he ran all the way down the hill and up the other side.
The feeling of killing an elk with a bow was certainly a little different than with a rifle, but it was pretty short lived for me...because no matter what you kill it with, you're still a solo hunter with an 800 lb dead animal to deal with. It took me about 2 1/2 hours to process him (while keeping everything clean)...gut, quarter and skin the legs, bone out the rest of the meat, sack it up, and hang it in the trees. I was pretty exhausted at that point, so I called up a friend of mine and asked him to find some packers...and boy did he deliver. He showed up with 6 teenage boys with pack boards, all with their chest sticking out, competitive as can be. It was a blast. For an 0.8 mile pack through timber and old skidder roads, it was fast. Those kids were actually racing each other with 75-125 lbs each on their back.
Anyway, here are some low quality cell phone pics.
Post by: pd on September 09, 2014, 02:04:15 PM
Post by: gaddy on September 09, 2014, 02:10:30 PM
Post by: MLBowhunting on September 09, 2014, 02:13:10 PM
Post by: CNELK on September 09, 2014, 02:26:12 PM
Post by: Big6bull on September 09, 2014, 03:09:25 PM
Post by: lamrith on September 09, 2014, 03:10:15 PM
Post by: 250savage on September 09, 2014, 03:34:16 PM
Post by: matlockmike on September 09, 2014, 03:35:09 PM
Post by: deerhunter_98520 on September 09, 2014, 04:35:09 PM
Post by: roy...s on September 09, 2014, 09:04:17 PM
Post by: kevinlisa06 on September 09, 2014, 09:07:45 PM
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Post by: SniperDanWA on September 09, 2014, 10:15:09 PM
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Post by: Greenhorn on September 09, 2014, 10:33:59 PM
Post by: Boogieman509 on September 09, 2014, 10:52:07 PM
Post by: Coastal_native on September 10, 2014, 02:09:19 PM
Very cool and SOLO! I am starting to think I need to go solo. Hard to depend on anyone!
Solo is the only way to go. In 15 years, I've only found 2 or 3 people that I actually enjoy hunting with. Maybe I'll change my mind when my son gets older.
Thanks, all.
Post by: HUNTINCOUPLE on September 10, 2014, 02:26:08 PM
Post by: 4fletch on September 10, 2014, 03:52:54 PM
Post by: Karl Blanchard on September 10, 2014, 03:53:31 PM
Post by: baker5150 on September 10, 2014, 04:01:27 PM
Post by: Coastal_native on September 10, 2014, 04:18:39 PM
Great job man!!!!!! I know someone who would be grinning ear to ear to see your success with your bow.
Thanks,...with the bow he found for me of course. The best part is, he would also be making fun of me for using my Primos terminator bugle and hyper lip cow call. I can't remember exactly how he characterized it when he was recommending game calls to me, but it was something along the lines of "those bozo white tail hunters from the southeast don't know anything about calling elk in the west." :chuckle: I took all the advice he gave me, but I wouldn't part with my little blue reeds. :chuckle:
Post by: Hoythunter on September 10, 2014, 04:20:25 PM
Post by: Karl Blanchard on September 10, 2014, 05:19:37 PM
Hahaha! What a dork he was! One of his favorite calls was the primos imakadabullcrazy (sp) and the Hyperlip single was his favorite open reed call for making lost cow sounds. He also owned every single "The Truth big bull" DVD's. :chuckle: He always dogged on them though. :chuckle:Great job man!!!!!! I know someone who would be grinning ear to ear to see your success with your bow.
Thanks,...with the bow he found for me of course. The best part is, he would also be making fun of me for using my Primos terminator bugle and hyper lip cow call. I can't remember exactly how he characterized it when he was recommending game calls to me, but it was something along the lines of "those bozo white tail hunters from the southeast don't know anything about calling elk in the west." :chuckle: I took all the advice he gave me, but I wouldn't part with my little blue reeds. :chuckle:
Post by: jason stevens on September 11, 2014, 08:57:56 PM
Post by: blacktailer on September 12, 2014, 07:59:58 AM
Post by: elkoholic1 on September 12, 2014, 08:05:18 AM