Had a really fun elk hunt this year in Colorado wilderness. A group of 4 us went. 3 of us always go and 1 newby. 3 trad bows and 1 compound (newby). We hunt in groups of 2 then reconvene after a few days and change up the groups. Compound buddy shot a bull at 8 yards on the first evening. His first elk on his first day of elk hunting (spoiled for life). The next day we packed it out and packed back into the back country. Day 3 we split into new groups, compound newby calling for the one of us that has never killed an elk before and me and a recent trad convert hunting together. Me and recent trad convert got into some good country and made a play on a bull at around noon but couldn't get any closer than 40 yards and he winded us. We like to switch every encounter (encounter is hard to define... something like bull within 40 yards, or thinking you may get a shot). Anyways, that was my encounter so it was his turn to be shooter. We got into good sign and laid low till the thermals switched and started hearing some bugles but they seemed to be moving out of the bowl we were in, not into it. We covered some ground but ultimately decided to retreat as we didn't feel like we were making any progress and we wanted to leave the country fresh in hopes that if they were leaving in the evenings they may be coming back in the mornings. Anyways, 30 minutes before dark we hear some noise not far and all of the sudden 2 young bulls come running down the hill into a little meadow. They run a circle around the meadow, one chasing the other, past us at 40 yards and then disappear into the timber on the other side of the meadow a few hundred yards away. We position ourselves in an attempt to call them back over to us but it seemed futile as they had left on a dead sprint away from us. So we sat quiet. 10 minutes later they were back in the meadow and we were positioned well for me to make a few cow calls and them to come sit in recent trad convert's lap for him to get a nice close shot. I love young bulls. I started making some calf sounds and they came sprinting but they literally just ran by us and disappeared into the timber. I kept on begging them to come back with a lost calf call and they finally did. But they stopped running and just started feeding 50 yards from me in plain sight. I knew they were close to my buddy but I wasn't exactly sure how close. I quit calling, as I didn't want them to look over at me and not see an elk, and just stood there tucked in a few little christmas trees. After a few minutes I hear a commotion and the elk take off running. One of them with an arrow hanging out of its' butt. I already had an arrow nocked and as it ran past me on a full sprint I pulled back and thought about all the pigs I have shot behind on the run and thought to myself "you better lead this thing". I led it and let it rip and watched my arrow zip through perfectly behind the shoulder at 15 yards. I heard the elk crash 15 seconds later and celebrated with my recent trad convert buddy. He was sad about his shot but pumped about mine. Said it was about 20 yards but his mind went totally black when he started drawing and he barely remembered letting the arrow go. I know that feeling. We let the other guys keep hunting and packed this one out ourselves. No more elk were harmed but one more was missed.
For any Christians reading this... I had a full circle moment with this one that I figured I'd share. Last year I missed a really nice bull at 18 yards. I got real bent out of shape about it. I've always prided myself on how hard I work at things. I bust my tail for elk every year. Thousands and thousands of arrows. Workout nearly every day. My gear is packed a month in advance. I expect that as a result of my hard work, which God has clearly called me to in his word, that I should have success... and I wasn't getting it. This elk failure was also sandwiched in between some other pretty serious failures related to my job that I also work very hard at. God was showing me through my failures that He is the provider. He is sovereign over all and I'm not. He gives success when he sees fit. I can't work my way to success. He's called me to work hard for His Glory and not because it means I'll make a bunch of money or kill an elk. So the full circle realization for me was this year I worked just as hard to get ready for the elk hunt and when it came down to it, my shot had nothing to do with my hard work. I don't practice running elk shots. My shot had everything to do with God graciously giving me that success. Reminding me, yet again, that He is the giver of all things.
Thanks for reading!
Topic: Funny Elk Story (Read 853 times)
