the story behind my first elk

[JJ Overkill]

I put this on a different forum but figured I post it here for those who come here only.

first things first though, I have to give a special thank you to trophyhill aka david. he invited my son and I to his camp and showed us around his hunting areas. I really enjoyed meeting him and hunting with him, looking forward to seeing him this up coming weekend.

heres the story, sunday evening david wanted to hunt a rim of a canyon to check it out. Cameron and I went into some dark timber. while we were in the timber I gave a location bugle and had a bull respond by racking on a tree. it was getting pretty close to dark and we couldn't proceed any farther. we decided to back out. roughly around the same time david got into some cows and calves. later that night in camp we made a plain to go into the area david was in and we would try and call one in for Cameron.

the next morning, as we drove to our hunting spot I told david I had a weird feeling that if I went back into the area I was in the evening before id get into elk. he replied "trust your gut" go for it. I asked if he minded if Cameron went with him since he didn't want to come in the area with me. he said he didn't mind, but said id regret not going with them when they put one down. we parted ways and made plans to meet up at noon.

I headed up the hill towards the trail head. as soon as I got up there I started to notice fresh signs of elk. I move slowly and came upon a water hole. I didn't see any signs as I skirted the area. I made my way towards some small meadows, stalking around them in the timber line. I came up to a heavily used game trail and fresh elk droppings. ( I stepped on it and almost busted my tail ) the trail lead into some dark timber, I made my way into the timber. I made it about 100yds into the timber and everything looked perfect to hold some animals. I got into some cover with decent shooting lanes. I let out a location bugle, waited 20-30sec and gave some light sounding chuckles. it wasn't even 1 min later I saw antlers moving from left to right down the draw below me. I counted four tines and went to full draw. I had a small opening right in front of me and the bull was heading right for it. he came around a pine tree and looked right at me. he was quartering towards me. I settled my 40yd pin in the > and released. the bull didn't move until the arrow buried into his side. the bull busted out of there and I could see the gash on his side. I waited about ten min to go see if I could find my arrow. I saw something fly behind the bull when he busted out. I couldn't find it so I walked up a little hill behind to see if it had landed up there. I looked across the way and I saw antlers in the tall grass tilted sideways. my bull was down.

during the whole draw cycle, aiming , releasing the shot, I felt extremely calm. but now I was almost vibrating from the adrenalin rush. I couldn't believe I had just called in my first elk let alone put him down. I walked up on him and put a stick on his eye to make sure he was down for good. after that I looked for an exit hole and didn't see one but I couldn't see my arrow. It wasn't until I started to quarter him out I saw my nock under a rib. I tried to pull it out with my fingers but it was buried deep. I got my leatherman out of my pack and was able to pull my arrow out intact.

in hind sight I miss judged the yardage. it was a 30yrd shot not a 40. I hit him high. the arrow went through a lung, stomach, and settled in the hind quarter. the broad head almost came out of the leg. I could see where the head was cutting the muscle as the bull ran. im just glade it was a down hill shot.

I quartered him up and started to pack him out. I got to where I was suppose to meet up with my partners, no one was there so I stashed my bow and emptied out my pack and placed the quarter under a tree to keep it cool and headed back up the hill for another part of my bull. meanwhile david told Cameron that they were going to find me by the trees taking a nap. until they found my stash. when I came back down with another load in my pack and made my way down the road I could see the truck. as david saw me he let out a holler. and asked what I shot. he was as excited as I was. we high fived, I rested for a little while, recalling my encounter. we all packed up and got the rest of the bull off the mountain.

what a great way to get my first bull and I couldn't think of better company to share the moment with.

again thank you david for everything.

thanks to everyone on here as well. ive learned a lot form the guys and gals on here. pics to follow

[JJ Overkill]

pics of said bull

[JGH]

Great story! Good job!

[Indian Summer]

Awesome!!! Great story and pics. That's a great first bull. That's a great 10th bull! lol A good solid 5 point like that is a shooter in any public land bow hunters book. I had to laugh when you said... so I quartered him up and started to pack him out. Like it was no biggie. How'd that all go for you? it is very cool how everything played out huh. Hunting with great companions and killing a nice bull solo. Priceless! I'm excited to hear you got one under your belt man. A huge congrats!!!

So tell us: How many times have you looked at that pic of the bull on your back? Gotta love those shots!

[JJ Overkill]

I wont try to b/s anyone. it was a work out quartering him out and the pack out was worse that I thought it be. the one thing I didn't know is how potent the smell is WOW!! its going to take a month to get that smell out of my nose. lol.

as for the pics. I think ive looked at them 2 dozen times. I still go out to the shop and hold the antlers and admire them. im going to get a euro mount done. dropping the head off tomorrow.

[LckyTylr]

Awesome!!! Congrats. Well done and that's a great bull!

I hope I can repeat your good fortune and tag my first elk this season as well.

[Kevrod3]

Congrats man!! Glad to here someone harvesting an elk. Sounds like a lot of guys are having near misses! My hats of to the hunter who invited you to his camp! That is what a true sportsmen is! I'm sure that your son will get a better understanding of what it is to give back because of him!

Congrats again on a great bull and a great hunt!!

[easeup]

fantastic story and hunt! my congrats and high five from TX to you also.!

you still walking on air?

[JJ Overkill]

yes I am. I really get amped up when telling the story to people. that's just one thing that I love about this game

[ElkNut1]

Jeremy, an absolutely fantastic job!!! Your success has put a smile on my face, good luck to your son, thanks!

ElkNut1

[eriks.]

Couldn't be happier for you! How exciting is that?!

[Vanish]

Good story! Congrats!

[BRazz]

Excellent work!!! Congratulations on that awesome bull!!!

I have a tough time trusting my distance judging in the heat of the moment... I practice all the time but elk are so big that during close encounters I get thrown off pretty easily. Or maybe that's the buck fever.

[BROKECARPENTER]

Great story! Great bull! Congratulations

[ishy]

Way to go, but good luck toppin that one.

[montanabrown]

awesome. the first one is something special, especially withba bow.

[MTLongdraw]

Congratulations Jerinmn. Awesome bull and great job on your first. Doing it solo! Best of luck getting your son one.

[JJ Overkill]

well im not hunting with david this weekend, he sealed the deal the day after we left im sure his story is to come

[JJ Overkill]

thanks to everyone for the kind words. im still living on cloud nine. its still feels almost as if its a dream. ive wanted this for some time now and for it to be true seems surreal.

[Trophyhill]

I just want to congratulate and thank Jeremy for coming out to my camp. After hunting alone for the first 5 years other than a couple weekends with a couple others, it sure was nice to sit around the camp fire at night and talk elk. And eat his wife's home cookin. I'll tell you all one thing, this man can call and sounds great! Sound cloud doesn't do him justice at all. He's worked very hard and learned to call and also done his homework on elk behavior. Jeremy? You have a bright elk killing future ahead of you. You've made a lot of people proud bro! Again great job and relive the moment as often as you want my friend. You earned it!

[ABQ_Chica]

Congratulations! Great bull and great story! Enjoy Cloud Nine...you've earned it.

[twinkieman]

Great story! Congratulations, and welcome to the club. That is a pretty awesome bull for your first elk, and hopefully you will be able to help your two partners to the same success.

[mtnmutt]

Thank you for sharing your great story. Congratulations!

[Buglemaster]

Congrats on a nice bull Jeremy! That story got me all kinds of fired up also. Well done my friend.

[JJ Overkill]

hey guys and gals im finished with the second step of my euro mount. ill post pics when im done

[WapitiTalk1]

Nicely done Jeremy. Great tale of the tape buddy.