Just rolled in from Arizona.
What a ride this years elk hunt was.
First off, I had my chevy 4x4 stolen three days before my hunt.
Fortunatley, a good friend came through and loaned me his 4x4
After the drive to the hunting area, I settle in and find a good looking area.
That evening, I'm kept awake by the constant bugling of rutting bull elk.
morning breaks with drizzle and dark skies.
I hear a deep throated bugle erupt about a 1/4 mile away and I stealthily make my way to the area where I last heard the lovesick bull.
Suddenly I see two cows and am pinned down, I dont move a muscle and tuck in behind a tree.
Whithin minutes, the biggest gnarliest bull steps out.
On one side his rack is a giant six point (like 380"!) with an enormous whale tail of a fifth and sith point.
The other side is sort of deformed with four gnarly points on it.
My heart was about to explode as he let out another roar!
I tried real hard for twenty munites to coax him closer, but the bull stayed out of bow range at 157 yards.
As the elk drifted away, I tried to circle around and cut them off, but I was unsuccesful in my ambush.
What a rush.
After I gather my composure, I make another hike and see a herd of elk moving through the timber several hundred yards away, but they never slowed down and apparently left the area.
I never got to see if there was any bulls in the herd.
Day 2...
The weather clears up and I awake to a very clear morning, no bugles were heard during the night.
I roll out at first light and listen for bugles... Seems the elk have shut up.
My hunt was the second archery hunt in this unit and it appeared the hunting pressure was starting to show, also there was a complete full moon overhead last night.
I make a morning hunt and up till about 8am, I see or hear no elk.
I get back to the pickup, fix breakfast and drive about one mile west.
I grab my bow and head off into the timber to see if I can make something happen.
I head downhill about half a mile when something catches my eye in the clearing below.
I raise my Swarovski's and am surprised to see a cow elk laying in the shade.
I need to get much closer to check things out.
Getting closer meant belly crawling Rambo style for about 400 yards to a very small rock pile.
All the way, I just know I'm going to get busted in the open, but the breeze was steadily blowing in my face.
When I reach the rocks, I put on my head net, and peek up over the rocks and glass for more elk.
I am now about 160 yards from the herd.
I find about eight animals, but no bull.
I continue to wait at my location, hoping that a bull stands up and shows himself.
Four hours go by and still no bull!
Finally a large cow stands up and moves to my right and goes out of sight over a slight knoll.
Suddenly, a nice six point bull stands up out of nowhere and follows the cow.
I watch excitedly as he too walks out of sight.
I decide to go for broke and belly crawl the final hundred yards while the two elk are out of sight.
I make it to a big burnt pine tree and slowly stand up.
I glass back at the cows to make sure none are on to me.
Everything looks cool, they are all still dozing and the wind has not shifted.
I knock my Gold Tip arrow and hope for the best.
A couple minutes later here comes the big cow, followed by the six point bull.
Crunch Time...
I let the cow walk past and slowly raise my rangefinder while trying to be part of the tree.
The bull is 80 yards out but still coming...
My heart races as he hesitates, and comes broadside.
62 yards.
I slowly come to full draw with my Bowtech Allegiance line up my 60 yard pin behind his shoulder and let the arrow fly...
SHOCK AND HORROR...
My bowstring makes contact with the left sleve of my jacket and the arrow is deflected and completley misses the bull.
PANIC!!
The bull is startled and takes ten steps to his left.
I fumble and manage to knock another arrow.
His head is shielded from my line of sight, but his vitals are exposed.
I quickly range him again...59 yards.
Again, with my heart about to explode, I am at full draw.
I put the bottom pin on my Spot Hogg behind his shoulder and squeeze off my release.
I watch in disbelief as the fletchings bury into his ribcage right behind his elbow, the arrow completley passing through his rib cage.
Adrenaline rushes over my entire body.
I am jacked to the max.
I suddenly feel ill and uncontrollably puke my guts out.
COMPLETE ADRENALINE OVERDOSE!
I look back and see that the cows know something is not right, but they are not spooked by all the commotion.
I try not to spook them as I don't want them to startle the bull and risk having him flee the scene.
I turn my focus to the bull which is showing signs of a vital hit.
He is coughing and getting weak in the knees.
I watch him do his death dance for nearly ten minutes.
I feel a slight sense of remorse as I watch the spirit of life leave this great beast.
The bull drops to his knees and slumps to the ground.
He is done.
I watch him through my binos, he looks to be expired.
I step out from behind the tree, the lead cow barks and the herd of cows freight train through the timber.
I move forward to claim my trophy.
Quite possibly the best stalk of my life.
While this bull is not a monster, he represnts a great hunt for me and a well thought out strategy that worked out perfectley.
I wouldn't have been able to be successful on this hunt without the generous outpouring from my friend Mike that loaned me his truck so I could make the trip.
This was a completley self guided solo trip that I did on a shoestring budget.
It turnd out to be one of my most memorable ever.
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