final hunt-satellite down!

[JimKirk]

]well with my season set to close Sept 15, I was feeling tag soup pressure so took a few days off work to give it a shot. started out on a rainy wednesday evening hunt and sat a tree stand only to hear some distant bugles. Thursday morning tried the treestand over my water hole but got chilly and was hearing distant bugles. heading over I worked a bugle but he would come then move away. I finally cut the distance and was on the move when I spotted a small bull. I think he had caught my movement and I turned him several times with cow calls but he still knew what he had seen with his eyes wasn't the cow he was hearing. Then another bugle caught my attention, so off I headed. got over a small basin and could see cows on a distant hillside, but the bull was bugling and destroying a tree below me. I was in a terrible approach position with lots of brush to get down the hill. He was answering my bugles with full blown call backs with grunts but would not come up the hill as his cows were moving off. I finally saw him pushing his cows over a distant hill side. Had to pull out for a quick trip to town to grab my gear and groceries not arriving back in my area until 630 pm. I climbed the hill where I had last see the herd and sounded off locator bugles. had a bull below cranked up and another one a distant hillside. It was quite a drop into the basin so I backed out until this morning.
hit it early this morning. as i was walking in about to walk the ridge to the basin I had been the previous evening, a bugle above me drew my attention and it was pretty close. I could tell he was closing so I ducked behind a small pine on a logging road. I spotted him coming in bugling the whole way. He was cutting too far so I cow called and turned him. He was about 60 yards out and I believe pinpointed the call. He gave me a popping grunt and when he didn't see the cow turned and walked away. I briefly had a 50 plus yard shot but thought it was a little too far. about an hour later I hear another bugle so head uphill once more. I crossed a logging road and continued upslope hearing a bugle and cow mews too. I spot a deer about 60 yards up hill and then notice an elk above the deer. I am also hearing the other bull bugle up hill but see a 2nd elk as well. I gave a cow call and see the satellite I had spotted heading down. I am at full draw when he pauses 30 yards out broadside and slightly uphill. I squeeze my release and immediately see a good hit low thru the front shoulder. He immediately stumbles and goes only 40 yards before dropping in plain sight. His buddy is sounding off above me, but this guy is down for the count. He is a decent 4x4 and I am happy as any public land bow kill is a trophy. God has blessed my hunt with a clean kill. and easy pack job as I was able to get my quad into the logging road. I have had an incredible season with many elk encounters after spending 7+ weekends scouting, camping and working trail cameras. I was shooting new grim reaper 2" mechanical broadheads, with devasting results but with the heart shot I scored any broadhead would have put him down quickly.

[JimKirk]

only a picture a hunter would appreciate but this confirms the heart shot and why this elk dropped so quickly. no tracking job and heavy bleeding.

[gagodfrey]

AWESOME. All that action on public land without bumping into other hunters????? AMAZING.

[ElkNut1]

Jim, congrats!!! Absolutely awesome dude, way to hang in there & get it done!!

ElkNut1

[Swede]

Congrats on a fine bull with a great shot.

[LckyTylr]

Nice bull and GREAT shot!

Congrats.

[Magic]

Congrats on closing the deal on a nice bull. Your persistence paid off for sure.

[cnelk]

You're right!
I do appreciate that heart shot pic! Luv it!

Way to go!

[>>>---WW---->]

Way to go and congratulations. He should have been a 5 point but I see he is missing his #2s on both sides.

[loopmtz]

Very nice. Thanks for sharing.