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Summer Elk Story

Well as I know all of you bowsiters love a summer elk story to pass the time and build the anticipation of September, I saved this 1 for the last 8 months. I did post a short version on another forum but this will be the unedited version.

My long time hunting partner Jeff (Jethro on Bowsite) and I finished loading the truck and trailer in the morning darkness. I said good bye to my wife and 3 children one more time and had the standard conversation of what was expected of them while I was gone. I told them I would try and call as often as I could and we could Skype until I arrived in Wyoming, but knew at that point I would probably lose phone reception. Cooper, who is 4, and Emma, who is 7, both gave me good luck charms for the trip. Cooper’s was a small stuffed animal he won by shooting a cork gun the night before at the town festival and Emma’s was a keychain with a picture of a moose. I put them on the dash of my Tundra and we pulled out with one last wave good bye. We made a quick stop to pick up my retired father who was tagging along as camp cook. We loaded his gear and we were off on the 30 hour ride.

Like most of our elk hunting trips preparation began nearly 9 months prior, but this year we were ready for a change of scenery. We had previously hunted Colorado 4 times and other than a bull my dad shot with a muzzleloader, Jeff and I didn’t have anything to show for our efforts. Yes we had a good time on each trip and experienced some beautiful places, but we didn’t have the meat or antlers we desired. It’s not like we didn’t put forth the effort or time. We researched loads of units and tons of data and had a few opportunities, but we could never capitalize on them. The only good thing was these lost opportunities were providing valuable experience and even though we had to keep answering questions back home to friends and family of why we came home empty handed once again, we actually thought we were becoming better elk hunters. Our calling was much improved as well as our tactics. We knew we could kill an elk with our bows if we could just get into elk like the guys online always seem to do.

The unit we chose for this archery hunt was known to have an abundance of elk as well as an abundance of hunters. From 1800 miles away it is impossible to scout with boots on the ground so all of our scouting was done behind the computer and on the phone. We talked to a biologist and a game warden and thought we had a good plan A, B, C, and maybe D. We got very lucky with help from two guys on hunting forums who had hunted our new hunting area. One turned out to be local to us and invited us to his home so he could show us on maps his spot and where he found elk and even camped. The other was Tim who I met on another forum. I sent Tim a message with a few questions for my dad about fishing the area after seeing some of the fish pictures he posted. After talking with Tim about the upcoming elk season, we realized that not only were we headed to the same unit, but the same trailhead. Jeff and I were planning on arriving on Sunday and Tim said he has planned to be there the next day. What are the chances? Tim not only answered all of my questions on the area, but he called me 3 days prior to our departure to offer to take Jeff and I into the wilderness on a resident permit. I said sure. Jeff was a little skeptical when I told him about my conversation with Tim and our potential new hunting spot. Since we researched the non wilderness areas for so long and had practically memorized the Google Earth images of all of our areas he wasn’t sure if he wanted to hunt an area that we knew nothing about.

We turned off the paved road Sunday around 2pm. I quickly called home to say hello one last time because I knew we would lose cell reception shortly. We had about 25 miles of dirt road to go before we would reach our pre determined camp site. As we got closer the apprehension began to build. When we talked to the biologist back in June he told us we most likely would finds camps at the trailhead we wanted to hunt. What do we do if there is someone there? Do we just camp there anyway? Move a mile or so down the road? Should we move to plan B? About an hour later we pulled in and the spot was empty. Wow more good luck. We quickly picked a spot for the tent and started unloading our gear. With no sleep for 38 hours it didn’t take us long to test our new sleeping quarters.

On Monday we were up and gathering gear about 2 hours before first light. We were a little disappointed that we didn’t hear any bugling the previous night or as we tossed down a protein bar for breakfast. Maybe this spot wasn’t as good as we thought. I checked my pack one last time and tossed in Cooper’s good luck charm. Jeff and I decided to walk out a closed dirt road in the darkness. This road paralleled a small basin and there was a similar dirt road on the other side that paralleled our road. Not too far into our walk we heard some bugles on the other side of the basin. Since we weren’t familiar with the area we didn’t want to rush down in the darkness so we just continued on. At the end of the road there was a small patch of timber that led to a small meadow. We decided to try a cow calling session at the edge of the meadow. After 30 minutes we continued on through the meadow and could see lots of fresh sign. Soon we heard a bugle and we were off after it, but unfortunately the bull was in his bed on the wilderness we couldn’t hunt without Tim. For the rest of the day we chased bugles, but could never get any of them to come in to cow or bull calls. We logged 10 miles and knew we found a new honey hole.

Looking forward to the rest of this. Keep it coming!

Sweet! Lots of good fishing memories from this area, looking forward to this!

Andy

Good start to the story! Anxious to hear more.

Can't wait to Read more! I'm wanting to do a hunt out of my home state. This story is giving me the itch to go out and fulfill this dream!

When we got back to camp Monday night Tim’s tent was set up and he was having a beer with my dad. Jeff and I introduced ourselves to Tim and he joined us for dinner. We decided the three of us would hunt together the next day. Tuesday we were up and out the same road in the darkness. Again it was quiet, but this time we walked past the first meadow and tried some cow calls. After an hour we moved on. At this point Jeff and I were asking Tim a million questions on strategy and everything elk hunting. We wanted to know what a real elk hunter did in these situations and to us Tim was the first real elk hunter we ever got to talk to in person. We could tell he was an expert by the way he touched the tracks to verify if they were fresh or not. Yes we read all the popular forums and listen to all the podcasts by the experts, but it was different having someone who has done it in the field with you. We decided to try a locator bugle. Tim pulled out his tube and left out a pathetic screechy bugle interrupted by a partial cough. I thought to myself some expert and gave Jeff a little eye roll. Tim quickly said he didn’t practice all season and had some type of “cold”. I asked him if I should bugle and he said yes. As soon as I finished we got a response and gained some confidence it my calling. We chased after this bull and a few more the rest of the day, but never could get close enough to any of them. We probably heard a dozen bugles and even heard hooves approaching a few times, but we never laid eyes on an elk.

Wednesday we decided to split up and hunt to lunch and then meet back at camp. Jeff was going to hunt the ridge behind camp and head east. Tim and I would walk out or now familiar road and I would hunt the ridge west back towards Jeff. Jeff and I weren’t trying to make a drive just trying to cover some different ground and since the ridge was big we knew we probably wouldn’t even see each other. As Tim and I walked out the road in the darkness we heard a lot of bugling from the bottom of the basin. Tim redeemed himself by pulling out his bugle and got an immediate response. It sounded like there were at least 3 bulls down there. Tim told me he was going after them so I headed out the remainder of the road by myself. At the end of the road I turned and started up hill. I cow called a few times and was just still hunting as the sun came up. As I moved higher and higher I finally turned west to head out the hill side back towards camp, but unfortunately the wind picked up and was now at my back. I was disappointed since I knew my only chance would be to see something above or below me. Plus I would have at least 2 miles of walking like this. Instead of just walking out the hill side at the same height I started angling up with the hope of getting a better wind. As I checked my GPS I realized I had a waypoint marked that was titled “good spot”. I didn’t remember making it, but assumed it was from something I noticed on Google Earth. I figured since I was close I may as well take a look. When I got to the spot I could see why I marked it. It was the top of the ridge and transitioned from thick pines to much opener pines full of grass openings. Problem was the wind picked up and was now blowing so hard I couldn’t hear a thing. I figured I may as well drop off the side a bit and much to my surprise the wind shifted 180% and was now in my face. This lifted my spirits a little and I started still hunting through the open woods. Soon I came to an area where there were a bunch of rubbed trees. I stopped to take a look and surveyed the area for possible spots later in the week.

Thanks....I needed this about now! Can't wait to see what happens.

I only walked 100 yards when I spotted and elk walking towards me and about 50 yards lower on the hill side. I immediately realized I had the wind on my side and moved 10 yards down hill behind a small pine. The elk was a decent bull and was working its way up towards me on a slight angle. He stopped to smell the air and I ranged him at 44 yards, but knew he would be coming closer on his current path. I clicked my release to the string and after he took a few steps gave him a mouth noise I can’t quite explain and he stopped in his tracks right behind 3 trees. At first I thought I screwed this up, but used the concealment of the trees to draw my bow. He took 2 steps from behind the trees and I put my 30 yard pin just behind his front leg and squeezed the trigger. I could see my lighted nock sticking out of his body as he turned and ran down hill. I though the shot looked perfect left and right and maybe an inch or two low. I marked the spot on my Garmin and realized I was only 0.96 miles from camp so instead of waiting an hour to go look for blood I walked back to camp to see if I could find help.

When I got back to camp Tim was there and I asked him if he wanted to help me find my elk. He said sure and we were off. As we hiked back I told him I was a nervous. The previous year I had hit a small bull right on the shoulder and we never found him. Jeff was with me and we thought it was a great hit, but had little penetration even though I was shooting 65 pounds and a fixed head. We only found a small amount of blood and lost the trail when the bull went down a steep basin we had trouble just walking down. I was hoping I made a better shot this year. As we got closer to the shot way point I realized I led us too far east and had to turn west to get back on track, but said to Tim to keep an eye out for blood since we were in the general area the bull had run after being hit. No sooner after we changed direction I looked up and the bull was laying there. Tim and I ran up to it and exchanged high fives or as Tim told me high sixes because it was a 6x6. It was such a great feeling of accomplishment after 5 years of trying. I was glad Tim was there to share the memory and of course to help with the field care. He was the expert. We quartered and deboned the bull. We got all of the deboned meat in five TAG bags and Tim offered to carry out the head and antlers. Since rain was in the forecast we made a roof between some trees with my tarp and put the meat I couldn’t carry under the shelter for safe keeping. On the way down with our 1st load we bumped another 6x6 bull, but Tim with his awkward load just wanted to get back to camp. It took me another 3 trips to get out the rest of the meat, but I was so pumped the “work” became fun.

BH was a Magnus Black Hornet 125 grain.

Jeff and Tim hunted that afternoon together and again the next 2 days. I made sure to give Jeff my good luck charm. Since Jeff had a partner I didn’t bother tagging along and spent my time getting my meat to town as well as helping my dad with the cooking. Each night we had dinner and drinks together and the hunters would share their close encounters. They ran into elk almost every day, but never close enough for a shot. On Saturday morning not long after the sun came up I heard Tim at his tent. I thought they must have scored to be back after less than an hour of shooting light. I put on my down jacket and went out to find Tim setting up his spotting scope. I asked him what was going on and he said he woke up with back spasms and couldn’t hunt. Jeff had apparently gone out by himself. Around 11am Jeff came back to camp and had a shot opportunity on a bull near my carcass, but there were coyotes barking and howling on it which ended up scaring off the bull. Since Jeff was a week into the hunt without a shower or much rest we decided to skip the afternoon hunt and head to town for a shower and hot meal. With Tim not being able to hunt he said he was going to pack up camp and head for him. We said good bye to our new friend. It was great having Tim there with us and we were sad to see him go. I told Jeff without Tim it looks like I am back on guide duty.

During dinner that night we discussed our options for the next day. We could move to our plan B or stick it out where we had been hunting the last several days. We decided to stay since we knew bulls were around even though hunting them the last six days seemed to push them farther from camp. The advantage of staying was we were finally learning the area. Sunday we woke in darkness, had a quick cold breakfast, and headed down the road. It felt good to be back hunting again even though I wasn’t carrying my bow. We decided to head up past my carcass to the area Jeff had the encounter with the bull the previous morning. We got to the top of a small ridge and decided I would do some soft cow calling. Within a few seconds the bull responded from the exact same spot Jeff found him the prior day. We decided to quickly move to get closer, but as we closed the distance only 50 yards we spooked a cow that was coming to us. The bull must not have been aware because he bugled and was coming in, but was below us. I quickly retreated 50 yards back to where I started calling and made a few cow calls. We could only see his legs as he came through the trees, but the morning thermals gave us away and the last we heard he was bugling far below us. There was not much we could have done differently so we continued up hill at a snails pace. We bumped another cow, but never could catch up to her. Finally we reached the very top of the ridge and decided to follow it to the wilderness border. This would be roughly the same track I took when I shot my bull, but in reverse order. We stopped and did some cold calling sequences with no luck. Eventually we bumped a bedded cow and watched as she ran down the mountain.

We would soon run out of ground because we were nearing the wilderness border. When we got to within a half mile of the wilderness border we popped out on a small rock outcropping that gave us a good view of the other side of the basin. We pulled out our binoculars and scanned the far side for elk. Even though we covered a lot of ground it was still only late morning. I said as I picked up my bugle, “may as well let one rip from here”. I made a short location bugle and didn’t get a response. As we stood there I said to Jeff I can’t believe one didn’t bugle from across the basin. We stood there trying to come up with a plan when we heard a deep throaty bugle at our level near the wilderness border. I said to Jeff damn that is the bull from the 1st day that we couldn’t get to because he was bedded in the wilderness. We knew we had to get closer and started moving quickly towards the bull. We covered maybe 100 yards and when he bugled again I cut him off. Jeff moved forward another 50 yards and I stayed put. I could tell he was coming and could soon see pieces of his body in the pines. He started ripping apart a small pine tree. What I didn’t understand was why Jeff wasn’t shooting. I could see them both although not clearly. Jeff was behind a dead pine less than 30 yards from the bull. I figured he couldn’t get a clear shot so my job was just to keep the bull there as long as I could. When the bull bugled I bugled. When he chuckled I chuckled. When he raked the pine I raked my own pine. I picked up a 6 feet long dead limb and was pounding on the ground to sound like hooves and raked the bark of a nearby tree. Finally the bull became disinterested since I would not come down to him and he walked back the way he came. I walked down to Jeff and he stood up when all of a sudden a second bull that had come in silently thundered down the mountain.

When I got to Jeff he told me he could never see enough of the bull’s body for a shot. I quickly looked at my GPS and realized we had room to move closer to the wilderness border. We jogged 60 yards towards the bull that we were just fighting with and I left out a pissed of bull scream. Sure enough the bull bugled back and we could hear foot steps coming right at us. This time Jeff and I were together behind a large pine with lots of dead branches. The bull started raking a tree and sounded like he was less than 30 yards away. The pines were so thick we couldn’t even see him so I told Jeff to go around the left side of the pine we were hiding behind. Jeff didn’t move more than 2 steps when I noticed the bull was coming on the right side. I motioned to Jeff and he moved back to my side and we both were on our knees watching the bull. He moved closer and seemed to be looking right at us. We could now smell him and he was just scanning the area looking for the intruder. At 1 point he was ready to turn and walk away and even though he was 20 yards away I bugled at him. Desperate times call for desperate measures. He took a few steps and Jeff went to full draw and the bull locked on to us. Unfortunately with all the dead limbs Jeff didn’t have a shot and after 30 seconds he had to let down. The bull took 2 more steps and then turned 180 degrees so he was now facing the way he came. He was starting to get bored and you could tell he was getting ready to move off. He took another and before he could run off I gave him the YO and he stopped on a dime. Jeff pulled back and the shot was off. We only heard the bull run a short distance and never heard a crash. With the pines being so thick I never caught a glimpse of the arrow flight, but Jeff though the hit was good.

We looked at our watches and decided to give him an hour while we ate lunch. We went back over the entire encounter and how crazy and exciting it was. Who would ever suggest bugling at a bull from 20 yards? Plus we were discussing the YO call the entire trip after hearing Joel Turner talk about it on a podcast and when I finally got to use it the call worked flawlessly. After we ate we walked over to where the bull was standing and didn’t find any blood. I eventually found the back half of the arrow and it had blood on the entire length. I could see tracks in the soft dirt so I followed them a short distance as Jeff looked for blood. I only moved 30 yards when I looked up and could see a bedded bull moving its head. I quickly retread to Jeff and we moved back to where we ate lunch. We could hear the bull occasionally, but could not see him so we assumed he was trying to get up but couldn’t. We didn’t want to sneak in for a follow up shot for fear of him running off into the wilderness. As we discuss what to do we heard a few loud gasps followed by a loud moan. I said to Jeff he’s dead and we slowly moved in to find the bull expired. Jeff had made a good shot and the bull only ran 70 yards. We slapped high 7s as it turned out to be a 7x7. This bull had two unique points off the bases that pointed up similar to a whitetail. What a rush we had the last 2 hours. We took plenty of pictures before we started breaking down the animal. Jeff wanted to make sure we sent a picture home for Cooper with his good luck charm. We will never take another elk trip without our little hedge hog.

We were able to get all the meat packed into four loads and down to the dirt road before dark. We hauled 3 of the loads the 2 miles back to camp and told my dad the exciting story and a celebratory toast. It would have been cool for Tim to still be at camp with us since he helped us a lot on this trip including becoming better elk hunters. The following morning we hiked back and I got the last load of meat while Jeff went up and retrieved his head and antlers. We had plenty of time to pack up and head for home, but decided to take our time and savor the moment and spend 1 last night in the elk mountains.

As a bonus for 2016 Jeff and I are meeting back up with Tim to hunt a unit in the Bighorns. 41 more days until we load up the Tundra again. Hope everybody is as excited as me.

Congrats!!! Great read, love the pics of course!!

Great story. Thanks for saving it. It is helping me get through the "dog days" of summer...

What an awesome adventure! Thanks for sharing and congrats to all of you!

Good luck on your 2016 trip!

Great story and adventure !!

Best of luck on the 2016 trip as well, sounds like you both learned a few lessons

Great Work , Great Story, Great bulls and Great Friends... What more could a man ask for?

Congratulations!

Scar.

Great story! Nice way to wrap up the previous season and stoke the fire for the upcoming season!

Great read, thank you for posting! Was the YO sound an actual call with the call, or did you just yell at it? Lol

Great job guys and congrats on your first of many,!!! Hunt

Thanks for the thread! Working the 59th hour this week and you made me smile at work thanks, won't be long till we be smelling pine trees and hopefully some smelly elk.

Jason and I have hunted together for a long time. 26 years I think. Not like we've never went 2 for 2 in that time, but nothing compared to this. Was extra special that he was kneeling less than 2 feet from me when I shot. There was a lot of big smiles, giggling, hand shakes, high fives as we replayed that story over and over again in the hour we waited to track him. Don't remember if we did the "man hug" thing.

My arrow was tipped with a Slick Trick Mag 125g. I didn't get a pass thru, but you can see in the pic the bulge in the hide. Thats the head pushing against the off side.

Excellent job with the story write-up, Jayman. Was great to relive it.

Congrats on a great hunt and two great bulls. Looking forward to hearing about 2016! Getting close.....

Who in their right mind would believe any predator, be it a praying mantis or a shark or a bear or a wolf would only kill weak and young.

anything that kills to live will kill anything it can kill to live. you think anything would come across a healthy prey target opportunistically and self-regulate itself not to prey on it when it otherwise could.

Excellent!

Thanks guys for the comments. Can't wait to get back out there.

thier eating all the low hanging fruit,the bull will stretch his neck up and rake the branches to knock apples down.

sorry thought it was "story`s" of elk in the summer ..ill go away know

MikeC

Great story thanks for posting?

Good for you 2 and for sharing with us.

Congrats

Good luck, Robb

That's awesome. Congratulations on going 2 for 2. I hope you are blessed again this year. I look forward to your next story.

It was on a podcast I listened to. Should be Sharp Sticks podcast either #3 or #4. Used instead of stopping them with a cow call. Joel swears by it says it stop them on a dime each and every time. I guess it may be what some refer to as a nervous grunt but to me just sounded like someone saying Yo really fast. Think he even referred to it as the Yo call. No diaphram just by mouth.

It was kind of a joke between us the entire ride out. To use it in the heat of battle and see it worked was very funny coming from someone who is not a great caller.

Congratulations guys! Great stories, thanks for sharing.

AWESOME STORY AND HUNT.. CONGRATS!!!

Way to go, guys! Thanks for the write up and pics...it was great!

Great job! Really enjoyed this

Thank you and Congrats!!!

Awesome story thanks!

Great story and even better adventure! Congrats! Mike

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