The first day of the hunt our good buddy and hunting partner Del shot this cow. Del is quite an elk hunter and has killed a number of bulls. We call him an elk hunting snob because he is usually pretty picky on what animal he will shoot. With just three days left in the season Del couldn't pass up a 12 yard shot on this cow. He has some pretty unconventional elk hunting methods but the results speak for themselves...Del ran (yes...RAN) into the middle of a herd as Danny and Kelly watched in horror - thinking that the hunt was surely over. After shooting this cow he had to use his bow to poke another one so that it didn't run him over.
On the final evening of their hunt Danny and Kelly put on a monster hike. Later in the evening they heard a bugle towards camp, and the wind was perfect. Luck was on their side that night.
Sneaking as close as they could they spotted a big herd out in the open. Elk were running everywhere, making every noise an elk makes, and doing all the cool things that elk do. Kelly got to see this bull do everything and make every noise that they make for almost an hour.
With shooting hours winding down they feared ambushing these elk would run them out of time. Danny picked up his call and this big bull came in looking for blood. Kelly was drawn on a cow, but not knowing where Danny was exactly he did not shoot. As soon as he let down this bull ripped off a scream that Kelly said made his legs shake uncontrollably. He was only 20 yards away. Kelly drew his bow as the bull walked behind some trees and as he stepped into the open Kelly made a perfect heart shot.
Having never hunted, and never seeing anything get shot, Kelly didn't know what to do. The bull didn't act like it was hit. Kelly said he knew that you don't chase an animal, especially if it was hit, but the urge to get another shot over took him and he stumbled a few steps trying to get another shot at the animal, which of course scared some of the animals and the big bull. He only ran ten yards though and fell over.
Danny and Kelly
With the llamas carrying two elk the guys had to pack some of their own gear out. A guy waits all year for that painful job. Every step is worth the wait.