The entire experience was amazing: The high country mountains, rivers, forests...The rain, snow, sunshine...warmth and cold...The comfort and pain...blisters, bruises, gasps for oxygen...and a clean kill that gave a merciful death.
On this trip I used my TallTines recurve with my 62 pound limbs. I was shooting a 525 gr. gold tip .300 spine arrow and 250 grizzly single bevel.
Ok so the story:
Day 1:
I hiked in and set up camp the day before opening.
Day 2:
Opening day was exciting as I still hunted and hiked the north and south side of a canyon and had 2 really close encounters and stalked 40-50 yards away before the elk essentially walked away from me and out of my life.
Day 3: Nada except lots of mule deer
Day 4: Nada but Had some wonderful encounters with other wildlife.
Day 5: Saw some mule deer and had a great encounter with a nice buck, late in the evening got about 45 yards for broadside cow before she walked out of my life.
Day 6: Regroup, pack back down the mountian and head to another area
Day 7: Nada for me but saw nearly 30 mule deer and had a good day
Day 8: hunted all morning without luck stopped for lunch and then in the afternoon decided to sit on the waterhole/wallow. At about 7 o'clock in the evening a cow and calf stepped out of the woods followed by my bull. I sat motionless with the downhill thermals being perfect and the cow and calf started to wander off as my bull came in. I mewed to stop him in about 25 yards broadside but because of the poor position I didn't reach my full draw length and shot just a few inches low. The bull ran off into the thick brush and I lost sight of him almost immediately although I had just enough time to see my fletching sticking out of the entrance wound. I thought I heard a crash but wasn't sure and follow the blood for a few yards before deciding to back out until the next morning.
Day 9: after a virtually sleepless night I took up the trail of my bull in daybreak and found him within 20 minutes. He had only gone 50 to 70 yards. The shot have been slightly low although not bad but the grizzly Single bevel head had angled up into the chest coming out perfectly centered in the exit. I took a few moments to take it all in and get some pictures before starting the skinning and quartering. My buddies Gabe and Travis were a huge help with the pack out which took two trips.
I learned a lot on this hunt, one of the most important things I learned is the value of stand/ambush techniques for hunting elk. I spent days of running all over the mountains and failing to get within 40 yards but having good success getting 40-60 yards. I wouldn't shoot at with traditional equipment.
These calling/run and gun techniques work well for compound shooters who are able to take 40 to 60 yard shots with ease. Between this trip and last season I had a total of seven solid shot opportunities between 40 and 60 yards on bulls and cows alike. Unfortunately I need a shot at 40 yards or less as most other traditional shooters. Because of this I will not be using standard techniques anymore for elk but will focus on ambush techniques and I would recommend other traditional archers do the same.
I still have a cow tag to fill, after giving it a few more days all I can do is wait for next September!
Topic: My first bull elk (updated with story and pics) (Read 4491 times)
