Roosevelt Elk. Please nudge me in the right direction. I feel hopeless.

[Mike450r]

Luck or perhaps chance plays a role in every successful hunt in my opinion.  Doing all the right things puts you in a better position to benefit from the luck of the animal actually being in or coming into the right place but if they aren't there all the skill and hard work in the world isn't going to make it happen.   Great job sticking to it.

[Badsmerf]

So luck 100% played into it. I would watch an area/clear-cuts that had elk sign near it every morning and evening and then in between I would try to go and follow trails. I followed one trail that was very obvious elk trail. A lot of poop and beds so once again it confirmed that elk are in the area. I also knew it was most likely herd of cows because of how many beds there were but I just wanted to see some elk and figured there's a chance that a younger bull might stick with the cows, I know blacktail spikes and forkys like to do that.

Sunday - my first day. A lot of people driving around. No elk.
Monday - still some hunters but much less.
Tuesday - saw only 2 trucks driving around the area I was focusing on. Tuesday evening saw nobody else there.
Wednesday morning weather is nasty, on and off rain, dark with very low visibility. I decided to just drive around my route one last time and then go check out some other areas near Pe Ell. While driving around I was stopping to glass the reprod hills whenever I could. I spotted something around 1200-1500yards, not sure what it was, possibly a bush, couldn't tell because of the rain but looked interesting. I have been constantly saying to my self "it just takes one" so figured I would go back, take the other road to get to that clear cut to check it. Well while driving there looked to my left and saw a group of cows on top of a clear cut just looking at me. About 150-200 yards. Binos on, yep there's a legal bull with them. Heart rate jumps like crazy. I start shaking. Get out the car. Get my rifle, shaking so bad I can't aim. Finally let a round fly, not the best shot, didn't drop him instantly, he just standing there I thought I missed, shot him again. He drops down. This was at around 830am.

I was able to get my car about 20 ft from him which was a blessing because boy they are heavy. Finished quartering him at around 130. That whole day I haven't seen or heard a single hunter driving. Most people seem to give up.

Lessons learned. First of all I need to practice shooting and learn to calm myself. I decided I won't shoot again until I am calm and clear minded, I'm very disappointed in my shots and because of poor shooting some meat was lost.
Second, like you guys said, younger bulls still do hang out with cows.
Third, they were in clear-cuts after a full night of dumping hard rain and wind, possibly because they were hunkered down the whole night without wanting to move much?
Forth, a lot of hunters seem to give up after couple days so staying longer than the other guys is good.

Like I said, i was very lucky. It definitely wasn't me figuring out something, it was just me being in a right place at the right time. In fact I still don't know what would be "bull signs" in comparison to regular elk sign. Nonetheless I am extremely grateful for the meat and I'll remember this bull forever.

Nice work! I definitely would call that a "younger" bull. Right-place-right-time for clear cuts. The biggest multiplier is time in the area, hunting where there are elk, and sometimes covering lots of ground to catch them when they're there- they don't always hang out for long. I'd say a high majority of the elk killed during modern in the unit I hunt are in clear cuts. I agree with your assumption about not coming out during the night if it is super windy and dumping rain. I'd 100% rather it be like that than a beautiful night with a full moon.

[blackveltbowhunter]

Great bull! Congrats!