Hunting Washington Forum
Big Game Hunting => Elk Hunting => Topic started by: Duckgtr on September 16, 2018, 10:34:10 AM
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Tuesday afternoon i planned on deer hunting is what I told my buddy Seymour because we hadn't seen any elk since sunday. We left camp around 230pm and parted ways about 3/4 of a mile from camp. I go walking up out all these fingers and dead ends and end of legal shooting light is coming so I start to make my way back to meet up with Seymour where we parted ways. On the walk down still during legal light I see tan cruising up the road feeding towards me. At first I thought it was a doe until the big dark head moved and realized I had elk feeding towards me. No real cover to be found so I get in the drainage ditch next to the road next to a fern that had a piece coming out in front of me so I'd have a window to shoot. The elk keep moving closer just about when it reaches my window I try to pull my bow back but can't due to excitement. I retry and get it back just as the cow reaches my window and only 10 yards away! I take aim she faces me feeding and no shot. She then eats on the far side of the road giving my a quartering to me shot within the last 5 minutes of legal shooting light! Don't be silly I sent it! My arrow went all the way to the fletchings so I knew penetration was good. Of course the rest of the elk scatter. I back out to go to camp and find blood so I mark it and continue to camp to get us food as Seymour had a 2 mile hike to get to me so chow was important to us because we knew we had a long night. After I got back because it took an hour we start to look for blood and proceed to do so the next few hours until we were at a loss and couldn't find blood any more. So we break to eat around 1130. Before we eat I ask Seymour if he wants to see where I was when I shot and on the way up bedded in the drainage ditch was a cow so I cover my head lamp and back off. We're hoping it's her and try to figure out what to do to finish her quickly but there wasn't a way with how she was laying In the ditch and we weren't exactly 100% sure it was her so we sat for 3 hours in the rain, wind and Misty fog waiting. We go to check her at 2am Wednesday morening and she had expired and the real work began. The next 4 hours was spent skinning, gutting quartering her for the pack out. After 5 hours of packing we had her all in the truck by 130 pm Wednesday.
She was my first elk and I really wanted to get it with my bow. Granted it's not a bull but since I started elk hunting last year I had my mind set on taking the first legal animal I had an opportunity to shoot. Can't eat antlers any way!
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Great job! Way to stick it out until the wee hours.
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Congratulations! You'll never forget your first.
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Congrats :IBCOOL:
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Nicely done, Congrats!
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Very cool congrats.Thanks for sharing
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Nice first elk. Congrats.
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Great hunt, thanks for sharing. You are certainly tenacious for staying up all night. Congratulations. :)
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What broadhead? Rage?
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Well done! Every elk is an accomplishment.
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:tup: Congrats! Thats awesome!
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Awesome! Congratulations.
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What broadhead? Rage?
Rage hypodermic +P
Thank you everyone. It was a long nerve wracking night just waiting.
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Congrats!
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Way to go!
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Love the tenacity :tup:
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Love the tenacity :tup:
Double ditto to that! You've got what it takes to be an elk hunter. Congratulations!
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Good job!
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Nicely done :tup:
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Nice work, very exciting.
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:tup: :tup:
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Nice job. Thanks for the story and pics.