My hunt recap

[elk-n-walleye]

So I left the mountains disappointed but mostly in a single moment. Now I'm sitting here at the airport waiting for a flight thats been delayed for seven hours so to pass time I'll recap.

Pre-opening day: My dad and i went out scouting in the direction we would be hunting the next morning. It started raining half way up the mountain but we continued. We did see sign along the way (scrapes, wallows, etc.) When we reached a saddle at the top we decided we were wet enough and seen enough so we headed back. On our decent my dads knee started hurting and we had a mile or so to go. We made it back soaked and my dads knee strained to the point of not being able to walk. We made dinner got some meds in him and went to bed early to our warm sleeping bags .

Day1: my dads knee was still stiff and hurting so the new plan was for him to relax and I would go off solo. But stay close and come back for lunch . So we drove too a meadow and glassed the opposite slopes. We only saw some mule deer so I prepared to head into the woods. As i headed out my dad found a sappling that had been shredded that morning so I took off in the direction off the tracks. At that time the elk had been silent and continued to be so. As i crept through the forest I found areas that provided shooting lanes an set up and cow called and waited and listened. Nothing, so I moved on from those positions. Finally I came to a thick stand of new growth and older trees and I figured I have to check it out. Sure enough, beds and scrapes and sign all over but no elk. Now, I'm a rookie archery hunter and not sure of my next move, i thought if the bull that made this mess is near maybe he wouldnt like if another bull was in his bed. So I remembered discussions of being aggressive calling so i started raking a tree then followed that with a bugle. I waited a little while and decided to move down wind incase an silent elk was approaching in that direction. I had moved down slope probably 100yds when we locked in on each other. All i could see was vitals and the belly and that he was peeing all over so I knew i was staring at a bull. I ranged him at 41 yds and felt good about the shot i was about to take. I drew back brought my 40yd pin to his vitals and sent the arrow flying... right into a branch i didnt account for in the flight path. The brach snapped, the arrow deflected and stuck into some unsuspecting tree never to be found and the bull bolted. With his head tilted back and white tipped tines mocking me as they disappeared i felt a bit ignorant not considering the flight path and surrounding branches . My naive eyes only saw a good view of his vitals.

Thats the end of my morning hunt. More to come but the airline just sent pizza. Im hungry but it Doesnt excuse them for a seven hour delay.

[Buglemaster]

That's a great start. Eat your pizza & let's get back to the rest of the story!

[elk-n-walleye]

Typing on this phone is slow going but...

Day1 afternoon: started out from the south end of the area up slope from my hunt destination. So I'm creeping along the opposite side of a depression between two ridges. My wind must have swirled because all the sudden a stampeding herd crashes over and through blow down and hurl themselves over the edge. I say hurl because when i got there i thought how the heck did they get down in one piece at that speed. I followed at a snails pace finding my way down large boulders and fallen trees. Thanks to the 10 hrs of rain the night before i made it thru relatively quietly. Soon i found myself on the heels of a cow and calf at about 35-40 yds. They saw me too but were not spooked just moving away. To slow them down i gave soft mews on occassion to stop them. Eventually the cow was bored with me and left but the calf was interested and i got to within 28 yds with a head on shot but i wasnt looking for a calf and i wasnt going to take that shot anyway. I waited and eventually the calf turned to seek out the cow. So i started moving quicker down the slope and thats when i heard the calf mew. I got to within 40 yds of both again when all the sudden the remainder of the herd trotted over a small rise right down the atv trail and rejoined them. And there he was my nemesis for the rest of the week. Im not good at making snap judgements on how a bull measures but he was easily over a 300". More than a trophy for my first archery hunt. They were on the move so i stopped him and the rest with a couple cow calls. He was only about 60 yds (too far for me). He couldnt find me so he gave me a nervous grunt and i only answered with a couple more cow calls. Not satisfied he moved into the trees at bottom of the draw where the thermals were moving and they winded me. The end of day 1. Pretty good day for me but my dad could only find a spot to sit and wait.

[elk-n-walleye]

Day 2: my dads knee is still lame but has a little more mobility but Im still going solo. I start by hiking in on one of the atv trails in the area pre-sunrise. Bulls still arent talking so using the thermals to my advantage i start making my way up the slope. Everthing was soaked again from a night of rain so being stealthy wasnt a problem. I found a nice area with shooting lanes so i cow call and wait and repeat. I move on and as i start to crest the top of the slope give another cow call and i see a nice bull moving my direction. A young 6x6 with short 2"-3" sixths. Its was like a seen made for video with him peering in my direction with the sun gleeming off his shoulder and tines. He's head on and i range him at 35yds. This is my first indication that any of my calling is effective because he starts circling down wind of my last call. As soon as he starts moving all shooting lanes disappear in the midst of new growth pine. All i see is his antlers moving in and out of the gaps of the tree tops. Here my inexperience prevails again. I decide to drop lower too close the gap and reduce the number of obstacles between us and keep the wind in my favor. In hind sight i should have gone high to see over the growth and risk having a shot before getting winded. As it was i entagled myself in tight new growth without any visual and making noise. He didnt like sounds of branches brushing against my pack and moved out.

Phone battery is low.
To be continued...

[Indian Summer]

Silence is golden sometimes. I did way more sneakin n peakin until I could see them. Or felt like I was on top of them. I am still a rookie in my book though. Just keep at it you just never know what the next day/ encounter will bring!

Figured I'd save myself some typing.

So far so good... really good.

[elk-n-walleye]

…so after that bull moved off I continued my silent hike through the forest. Eventually I reached the atv trail where it crosses some moving water. I figured this would be a nice cool place to take a break in the shade. At mid morning the thermals in this spot were still moving down slope bringing a nice cool breeze across my face. It felt great! All the sudden a small group of elk, who must have had the same idea as me, busted up opposite slope. I was thinking, “what the heck just happened and why were elk so close to the atv trail” but my legs and feet were already rushing me up the atv trail in their direction. About ½ way up the trail I decided to dive into the forest and see if I could find elk. As I hiked about 200 yds in and up the slope I saw movement. It was thick and I had to bend over to look under the thickest level of branches and there was a bull with his head down looking under the thickest level of branches at me. The stair down was on. It was too thick to shoot but I slowly grabbed my range finder just to get an idea of distance. About 35 yds. I waited til he turned and I began moving across to try finding a shooting lane. He also moved to my left behind a fallen tree. Combined with the thick forest I lost sight of him so I moved quicker to get around the fallen tree. He must have taken another turn up slope because I never saw him again. There I was at the middle of the ridge alone and defeated but happy.
That was the last activity I would have during day 2

[elk-n-walleye]

Day 3: Probably the most exciting day of my hunt. Woke up earlier this morning and entered the forest just as enough light reached the forest floor to see. I went to the opposite side of the area I had been hunting and about the time the sun started to hit the mountains across the valley the elk started bugling for the first time during the hunt. It was just about 7:00am. I heard one to my left on the opposite side of the atv trail so I headed that direction. I didn't have to bugle because he was responding to the other elk and leading me right to him. He had an awesome deep bugle too which he occasionally followed with a few chuckles. So there I was climbing the slope and gaining ground with him above me and two other elk talking below me in separate drainages. I had not heard him for a little while so I let out some mews to get a response so I could redirect my path to close in on him more. He answered right away and I had my new bearings. He was to my right and up slope just a few hundred yds. I kept climbing when all the sudden I came up on 3 mule deer and I had to stop. I couldn't afford to have them spook and go bounding right to him and move him off. So I waited and waited and finally they moved off in the bulls direction but casually. Some time had past so I called and once again he let me know where he was and he sounded close. I decided that this was the place for a set up. He was above me to the right. I had shooting lanes in front and down wind if he moved that direction so I tucked away in front of a couple pines for cover. this is when I wish I had more experience calling in a bull. I did my best to entice him but he must not have been interested because the last I heard him he was farther off and I never did see him. Definitely a fun morning! Up until my path took me directly into the thickest dog hair I have ever bothered to navigate. It was hopeless trying to be quiet and all I could do is try finding the next easiest step to take and hope it was down the slope and out of that mess.

[elk-n-walleye]

Day 4: Hitting rock bottom
Based on yesterdays activity I got around even earlier and hit the trail in hopes of closing the deal on one of these bugling elk. Like the day before they started bugling around 7:00am when the sun was hitting the slopes across the valley. I located the nearest bugle and headed that direction. This would be my third hike across this area in 4 mornings. I had been hiking a little while and was wondering where this bull may be. Well, the answer came after other bulls sounded off and he let out a soft but deep bugle as if he didn't want other bulls to know his location but had to say something. After hearing that I was pumped! I continued and later let out another cow call along the way and the response this time was a low moan. As I crested another ridge getting closer to the original bugle I went with a cow call to get a response and what I heard broke my spirit a bit a bugle came from the next ridge over. I thought my calling had pushed him off. Discouraged I pressed on methodically and quietly. It must have been quiet because before I knew it(not on the next ridge) I was right on top of my nemesis and his cows. Unfortunately he caught my movement and trotted behind some cover leaving his cows as sitting ducks. I didn't even range them. They were unaware and just 30 yds. There was one tree kind of in the way so at full draw I moved up next to it to open up the window more. 25 yds broad side of a cow elk just waiting for vitals to reach the shooting lane. this was a sure thing. The cow took one more step and I moved the pin to her vitals behind the crease of her leg. I released the arrow and the worst thing happened but I'm not sure how. Perhaps I turned my wrist as I released the arrow because the arrow flew left directly into her lower shoulder blade. As I watched her run I saw the arrow at a good position up and down but 2"-3" left and nearly the entire arrow jutting from her side. I was sick with regret. I knew it wasn't a deadly hit but I held out hope. Maybe I would find my arrow and it would reveal deeper penetration than I thought. I waited and eventually searched for over 2 hours finding one drop at a time every 20 yds or so but no arrow and no other indication of more serious injury like stumbling. Eventually the drops of blood disappeared and I was left trying to decipher and follow her tracks which also eventually disappeared. I searched the area in the direction of her last tracks but found nothing. That shot is going to bother me for at least another year.

[BRazz]

That shot is going to bother me for at least another year.

Sounds like a great hunt elk-n-walleye. I'm sorry about the wounding - but you are not alone there... (seems like a bit of a curse on this forum this season)! Keep you head up, know that it happens to the best of us, and continue to learn and get better. Also, based on your description, there's a good chance she'll shake that arrow out, heal up, and survive - only to run into you next year!

[elk-n-walleye]

That shot is going to bother me for at least another year.

Sounds like a great hunt elk-n-walleye. I'm sorry about the wounding - but you are not alone there... (seems like a bit of a curse on this forum this season)! Keep you head up, know that it happens to the best of us, and continue to learn and get better. Also, based on your description, there's a good chance she'll shake that arrow out, heal up, and survive - only to run into you next year!

Well if I run into her next year I hope to see the bull (my nemesis) that she runs around with. He escaped me a couple times this hunt.