He heard I was going elk hunting for five days, and asked if I could cut it down to three? Ends up, he coud take three days off work and go. Hmm non-hunter taking three days off? I gave him the invite, and off we went.
The short of it was the first morning, we got into five bugling bulls and at 8AM, we're standing in a spot I simply love. I look over at him and said "you know how many elk have met their fate right here?" and he says, really? I said "yeah, good spot".
Just then a cow mews, and he asked what was that? I told him it was a cow, and we needed to move 20 yds over. We get over a few yards, and he see's the cow running down the hill being chased by two young bulls about 150 yds away but she wants none of it. I told him to get behind me, and get ready.
I cow call once, and the bulls are running at us. He's shaking like a little kid, and is laying behind me watching everything unfold. Here comes the bulls head on, 20, 18, 15 yards with nothing between us. I'm already set and at 15ish yards, they split, and turn broadside. I shoot the first bull that gives me a chance. Rob goes nuts and yells "you got him", the bull hit is now really running, and the other at this moment resides in NM. I cow call hard, and the bull is slowing up some 60 yds away, he's wobbling, but gets out of sight. Rob, is now shaking and cannot believe how exciting this stuff is. He says " man that was intense, short, but man intense".
The shot looks good, but I'll give him an hour. Rob says "An hour, you nailed him, let go get him". I tell him to relax and we'll give him a bit just in case.
We take up the trail, and the blood is very good, Rob is loving this part of it. I tell him to get off to the side, and I'll let him lead. We get to the spot where we last saw the elk, and head in. The blood is still good, and I see the elk but don't say anything. He finally spots him and is in shock at how big an elk is and he's smiling.
I ask Rob if he's ok with this and he says "yeah, everything is fine, great". We take some photos, and I ask if he's ok with breaking the elk down? He says, "yeah lets do it." So we get the job done and I promise half the meat, the horns, and promise a nice long pack out. Midway out, one of the packs is bleeding a bit from the meat around the shoulder. He asks, something is running down my back into but my butt. I look, and tell him he's just sweating and continue on kind of laughing to myself.
Two big trips, and we're done. I never thought about taking a non-hunting guy out, but I found it facinating. Anyways, that was my elk season, together with a NonHunter, packing meat, sharing stories, and it looks like he might get a bow. The funny thing is, another soccer mom sends me an email as seen below........
Chad,
I told Shawn that you took Rob hunting, and he thought that was really cool. He is a big outdoorsman, but has never been hunting. If you are ever interested in having a rookie tag along, and help haul gear, let Shawn know. He thinks that it would be a lot of fun.
Have a great day!
Tambrey
Oh, and while hunting in Northern NM this year I think I seen that other Elk run by me doing about 95! LOL!
YUM!
I'm picturing my son Hunter and the video I took of him after shooting a fawn a couple years ago...shaking like a leaf and loving every minute of it!
There's a hunting video idea. Take a newbie or nonhunter out and video their reactions when you get your buck, bull, pig...
Looks like the gutless method works well for you as well. Anyone notice that Rob, the non-hunter is in the middle of it all and is clean as a whistle? Certainly another advantage of gutless field care!
Monarch: Does the blue glove thing mean that I am a non-hunter, too? That is the one thing that is at the top of the pack when the field care starts. Sure makes personal clean-up easier!
Great story.
Now go teach those guys what kind of family bonding and benefit it can have on their kids!
Lance
Thanks man,
Nick
Never hunted and then in on a successful archery elk hunt. Wow. I guess if you're gonna take the plunge, the high board is as good a place as any to do it! Cool.
Here in MN if you have someone walking with you when you pheasant hunt or deer hunt they are "participating in the hunt", then they have to have a license. Just something to think about...
I have tried to do this since then and have got two people to cross over.
But yes, I agree, there should be a legal way for people to get introduced to the sport without getting in trouble.
Thanks a bunch!
ElkNut1's Link
ElkNut1
great deal too .... very cool story
Great job, Caz!
Well, the hunting season is upon us, and the non-hunter turned hunter has been shooting all summer long waiting for the season to come.
I told him we’d go to my elk spot to get things going, and I’d put him in my favorite elk spot. Many elk have met their demise there; he was excited.
To make a long story short, I shot an elk opening night, and we didn’t get back to camp until 3:30 AM. Rob was right there helping me break the elk down in complete darkness with the help of a lantern we packed in. I told him he was my good luck charm since I’ve killed two elk with him the first day out. Fishing has been pretty good with him as well?
He told me he didn’t think he’d be able to get up the next morning after all the packing we did, but low and behold, he was up at 5 going out. He came back to camp with smiles on his face. Evidently, he had two 4x4 bulls walk within 12 yds of him. I told him that was karma for getting out there.
Sadly, the shot just didn’t present itself until they were walking away from him and even though he drew, he felt rushed, and didn’t shoot. You could see he was really enjoying the process of the hunt, and the fact we needed to get close. He told me he really liked hunting in the morning versus the evening due to everything waking up. He mentioned the birds, the grouse, the turkeys, and the scary bears he’d seen. He confided in me that getting close to the animals was the turn on for him with archery. He said it was very exciting.
Prior to opening day, and all summer long, I told him to ensure he stayed within his 25 yd range, and to only take a good broadside shot. I told him it’s a lot easier coming back to camp talking about the elk he’d seen, and the close calls he had, than to hike up and down the mountains looking for an elk that was poorly hit. In other words, I told him you don’t “have” to shoot. You can let them walk. It seemed he was listening.
Well, the third day was his day. I’ll save all the small details, because they are very personal, but he waited for several minutes and got a 12 yd shot on his first big game animal. He told me he couldn’t breath, and every time he tried to hold his breath to calm down, the elk looked right at him, but I guess the choke cherry bushes were more important and once again, he started to feed. He waited, and waited, and finally when he told me he saw everything he needed on the elk to ensure the shot was there, he managed to draw and shoot. I asked was it a good shot? He said “yes.” I asked if he followed up on the trail? He stated “I saw him go down.” I asked how big? He said “six points on one side but I’m not sure on the other.” I said he went down but you didn’t touch him? He said “no, I wanted to come and get you.”
Turns out the elk went 60 yards with a solid double lung shot. Not only did he see it go down, he got to hear the loud crash. I found it a bit funny he was a bit sad that my elk had a bigger body but his had the bigger rack. Once again, at least in my eyes, the guy is on the right track.
Congratulations. You must feel proud.
GG
I loved the thread to the utmost!!!!
your pal.
serb
If this guy ever forgets how lucky he is to have such a great mentor, you need to leave him at home and take me instead.... ;-)
LOL
You have a lot to be proud of Cazador! Thank you for all that you have done for our heritage.
Highest regards,
Nick
Congrats to you both on fine elk, and espedcially to you for turning a nonhunter into a hunter. You are da man!!!!!!!!!
Great season for you so far, and more hunting to come.
I somehow missed this thread the first time. I am glad I didn't this time. Congrats on the bulls (both of you) but, more importantly congrats for getting others involved. Guys like you make this sport great. This is not just a great bowhunting story, it is a great life story. Hats off to you.
That deserves a bag of fried potato logs on the ride home.
one of the best reads on bowsite
ps: that 2nd pic (backstrap) is awesome, tells the whole story that guys like the "former" Rob would never understand
elkmtngear's Link
Jeff (Bowsite Sponsor)
The elk season came and went, and although we had some close calls, it just wasn't meant to be. I called in a nice bull to 15-20 yds, but Rob got caught drawing. As Ziek said in another thread, books are great, but you learn from trial an error. Rob was mad at himself and I told him it was a good learning experience.
So, November came, and although Rob hasn't shown the effort as I hoped, he finally got away from family and we got him set up in the whitetail woods. With two stands set, he had good action. On the second night he called me while on stand some minutes away stating he shot a buck, and he was still shaking bad. I told him don't follow up until I get there. He replied " I saw him go down". Well, then, I said, I'll be there soon. Little did I know 20 minutes later I would arrow a great buck and we both ended our 2010 season with two nice bucks 20 minutes apart.
I'm hoping in time he'll be a bit more motivated in the scouting, planning and such that comes with a hunt, but I suppose with three young children, time is very limited. Who knows, maybe I need to get another Rob involved.
Rob's first deer with a bow.
left me with tingle up my leg!
congrats! to both or you!
