My archery hunting passion started when I lived on the Oregon coast. I could literally see elk from my back yard at one house I lived in. The first house I bought was a 15 minute walk to good deer and elk hunting. A few spots I like to hunt were a short drive away from home, this story takes place in one of those spots.
A cow elk in the dense Oregon coast rainforest.
During my second or third year of archery hunting, I found a spot that was elk nirvana. It was an old growth timbered hill top surrounded by second and third growth reprod, dense fern, alder and salmonberry choked draws and a few patches of clear cut further down the hill. This hill top has food, water was nearby, caught the ocean breeze and has lots of places to escape when the animals were disturbed.
Elk trail through the salmonberry, yup, kinda thick!
I usually had time to get out after work for a few hours and one afternoon I decided to go up to this spot even though it was a bit further from home which would reduce my time for hunting, but for whatever reason it just felt right to go there. So I drive up as far as I can get, grab my gear and hike up the hill.
It can be thick, you usually hear or smell the elk before you see them.
The conditions were perfect, cool breeze blowing off the ocean, blue skies above the trees and the wind in my face. As I topped out and the ground leveled I could feel it, not sure how but I could feel it, elk were nearby. Slowly stalking through the timber, keeping to the shadows, watching my footing, I made it to a small saddle and lo and behold, I spot the tan flank of an elk. A cow, it's head was in a huckleberry bush, maybe 75 yards away, feeding, oblivious to the hunter in its midst. Looking around, I spot another, then another, then as if materializing from nothing there are about 25-30 elk in front of me, some feeding, some bedded, some just standing around, mostly cows and calfs with a couple small bulls. The cows and calves would occasionally mew back and forth, keeping tabs on each other.
Then I hear it, uuuuuuugh! A bugle! Several cows mew back. UUUUUUUUUGHHH! A bit louder and longer! I was mesmerized. It was the first time I had heard an elk bugle that I knew was an elk, not a person. About 30 seconds later I see movement coming towards me and my eyes about fall out of my head as a spectacular 6x6 bull heads my way. He was walking with purpose, head up, antlers rust colored from rubbing on the alders. I didn't know what to do, so I just sat there next to a big spruce and watched as he passed on my right side at about 40 yards, then disappeared into the ferns dropping off to my right. WOW, that was really cool, I thought!
Another bugle further back in the timber snaps me back to attention and I strain to look into the darkening woods. A flash of movement catches my attention, maybe 100 yards away, a cow is trotting down into the timber to my left. As I watch her disappear, I see a sight that takes my breath away. Right on her tail a shaggy black mane and blond body is dogging her. On top of that black head was the biggest, thickest, blackest set of elk antlers I have ever seen on a live elk. This bull was massive, his body looked like a horse, antlers the size we all dream of having on our wall. I only saw him for a few brief seconds but it's a sight I will remember forever. My only thought was "holy @#$% that bull was huge!". In a flash, that bull was gone forever.
As it was starting to get dark, I decided to try and make a move to see if I could get a shot at one of the other elk still hanging out and most of them were. So I slowly got up and moved to my left, trying to keep the wind in my face. Scrolling over the edge of the hill a bit of movement catches my eye, about 20 yards away is a small 4 point raghorn burning holes through me with his eyes, dang it, I'm busted. We have a staredown for about 10 seconds then he decides I'm not one of his kind, he whirls and goes crashing off the hill making a fair bit of a ruckus.
By now it's getting too dark to shoot even if I had a shot so my better judgement takes over and I decide to pull back and head home. Even though I didn't kill an elk or even draw my bow for that matter, it was by far my best elk hunt!
(The pictures are not from the hunt in this story, but were taken near the spot described on a different hunt. Unfortunately, at the time of hunt in my story, I didn't have a good camera and didn't take many photos.)
Topic: Anyone hunting Oregon or Washington? (Read 470 times)
