My long awaited Manitoba Bull Elk

[Manitoba Stickflinger]

This will come in bits and pieces....please bear with me as I have lots going on around here.

First off, I gotta say that I've had a monkey on my back that has grown into a gorilla over the years when it comes to mature bull elk. Been fortunate to kill a few with archery equipment but never a large bull and never with my stick. Finally,,,finally,,,finally ,,, God smiled down on me and put one in my lap. Literally,,,in my lap!!

[Matty]

Bring it man!!!
       

[KentuckyTJ]

Yes!!!

[Manitoba Stickflinger]

Archery elk tags are on a draw system here in Manitoba which allows resident hunters to draw a tag every 2 or 3 years. I've hunted most areas of the province and over the years have never been selected for a southern area that was always high on my list of choices. This year I was finally selected to hunt my long awaited area and lucky for me that my closest hunting buddy is very familiar with the area. Jason (my hunting buddy) headed out a week before me and managed to kill a nice 6X6 after just a few days. The elk were not calling much but he managed to capitalize on one of the 2 bulls he heard call. Jason hauled his bull home, took care of the meat, did some household chores, and was ready to go again the next week which I had off work.

[Joe2Crow]

This is gonna be good!

[Tater]

[Manitoba Stickflinger]

Backtrack one week....

My wife and I received a phone call from her brother in NC who's wife is a prof at Duke, sharing the news that at age 35 she has been diagnosed with Stage 4 colon and liver cancer. Life right there came to a halt. My wife being a home care nurse booked a flight south to aid in post op care while I tended to the kids here as well as working and schedules.

Unsure as to whether or not I've even see the elk woods I prepared Jason for the possibility of a cancelled hunt. Elk hunting at this point really didn't matter and I knew that one day my time would come to harvest a mature bull...or any elk with a stick for that matter.

[Ray Lyon]

Originally posted by Joe2Crow:
This is gonna be good!

Probably an understatement. I'm in.

Yep Ryan, I got that gorilla on my back too, but it is for any elk with my bow, not just a good bull!

In for the rest, and prayers up for your SIL, and all your family!

Bisch

[Manitoba Stickflinger]

The next 5 days were busy at home trying to handle 48 hours of work mixed with parenting and the full schedule of activities for 3 kids under age10. The back and forth FaceTime with my wife, rollercoaster emotions of prognosis, and severe lack of sleep made for a blurred week of near chaos.

The occasional thought of elk and the woods calling made me feel guilty and kinda selfish. Heading out hunting seemed near the bottom of the list of things to do. Perhaps a few days at the end of the week would be cleared aside for hunting?

[Manitoba Stickflinger]

With a care plan in place, white boards prepped, diet plans complete, and chores completed, my wife felt good in returning home.

Leaving for elk camp with my wife home was not the first thing on my mind, as the last thing she needed was to be overwhelmed with kid stuff after being physically and emotionally drained while away. The next day and a half was catching up as a family and trying my best to get things in order around home to make things easier while hunting. Understanding that we'd have to get back to routine and a sense of normalcy, we agreed I'd leave Monday evening after the kids were in bed for 6 days of chasing elk.

[Manitoba Stickflinger]

Fortunately the drive is a mere 3 hours putting me into camp near midnight. 5 am would come fast as Jason was already in camp with an alarm set and a plan set.

Morning came quick but zero complaints from this guy. Quick coffee and granola bar and we were off. A short truck ride revealed that hunters were already headed into the spot we wanted so we made our way to another trail.

Morning 1....really long mountain bike ride in the wind with not a sound of elk.

Evening 1...nothing

Morning 2....20 minute bike ride with a really sore bottom from the day before....nothing

Evening 2.... one coyote that sounded like an elk and a possible elk call to the north.

Morning 3....head to where there may have been an elk call the night before

[SportHunter]

[Manitoba Stickflinger]

I really need to stress how wonderful it was to be in the woods. Even though there was not much sign of elk, it really didn't seem to matter to me. The new terrain, the walks, the bike rides, the campfires, and time with a great friend was fuel for the soul. Blessed to have my health and healthy family was more than enough for me!

As the sun rose in the east the rain started coming down,,,not pouring,, but a gentle rain that turned into a slight mist at times. No sound of elk anywhere. Moving north we walked and called and about an hour in had an elk bugle about 400 yards NW.

The wind was all over the place but never from the east so we decided to come in from that direction. About 200 yards into our stalk we had an elk bugle about 60 yards in front of us,,, a young sounding bull...but a bull! He had obviously heard us walking and called due to our noise. Jason and I moved in opposite directions, me towards the elk and him away as he did some soft cow calls. The rain started coming down a bit harder and the its sound falling on the Hazel brush leaves was near deafening. Manitoba hazel brush is quite the experience with visibility being mere feet and almost no chances of shots. I waited....nothing. 20 minutes later Jason shared that he could see the brush moving as the elk circled down wind of me and it walked away. Happy to have had the encounter but slightly disappointed we decided to make our way back to the bikes.

[MnFn]

Good wives are a blessing in itself.  Praying for your sister in law and your family.
Gods blessings to you Ryan,
Gary

[Jayrod]

I am tuned in RY!!

[Manitoba Stickflinger]

Walk back the way we came or cut SW through new area was or predicament. Both loving new terrain we decided to push on. Steps later another bull erupted...mature and close!

At 200 yards we figured we'd move slightly ahead and assess the situation. Wind was good....moving along. Thundering hooves stopped us in our tracks as we rounded a small pond maybe 75 yards across. We had gone maybe 75 yards and so had the herd of elk towards us putting us on top of each other. The hazel brush was very thick here with the only opening being the pond. A slight 3 or 4 foot drop from the brush to the pond edge littered with fallen trees was the only possible route between us and the elk.

The cows and calves rounded the far side of the pond and almost sure we were busted Jason let out a squealer bull call out of desperation. Immediate hooves and antlers on brush made it way to the pond edge and at 40 yards I saw giant eye guards and a dark faced bull stick his head out of the hazel and scream at full volume. The bull was at a crossroads to either follow the herd of come kick some small bull butt.

Seconds later he turned toward me and while tilting his rack from side to side began following the waters edge straight at me. Teetering on the hill edge rolling into the pond I stood behind a large birch tree with Jason 2 steps behind me. We had no choice but to stay put as we would be in view of the bull. I had virtually no shot and was on a collision course with the bull. 30 yards out he rubbed a sapling and at 15 yards took a 4 inch poplar and snapped it like a toothpick. Fingers wrapped around the string I noticed my fletching stuck to the shaft from the rain but no time to switch arrows. Slowly I raised my bow and stuck my bow hand and arrow through some brush pointed at the bull now under 10 yards.

[Talondale]

[fnshtr]

Oh...oh my! Keep it coming.

[Gen273]