'bnsafe' connected!!!

[cnelk]

This just in!!!
I got a txt message from a forum member [bnsafe]
Soon there will be a story posted on here from a rookie that took his first elk!!!

This is gonna be good....

updated 840pm 9/25/13

[ElkNut1]

Sweet!!! Who is it? (grin) I'm sure time will tell. Thanks for the anticipation!

ElkNut1

[Broken arrow]

Can't wait for pics and a story!

[bnsafe]

its me, bnsafe. I tried to get pics posted but cant get them from the computer to the site. not sure what im doin wrong. I will tell the story tomorrow as carrying out a 5x5 by myself has me whipped out.
there will be a lot of lessons on what not to do in it, so somebody will hopefully learn.
also, I am very humbled and appreciated for everybody on here who took the time to help me out. killing an elk has always been a dream for me, and now I have. I ml hunted 5 days last year but this was my first real season, it was a wild ride.
again I will tell the story tomorrow an if somebody can tell me how to get pics from my computer to this site I will post some.

[cnelk]

There is the man of the day!

Congrats Scott!!!

You will need to upload the pics to Photobucket or another web pic hosting site.
If you dont have a photobucket account, send me a couple to my phone and I will post them for you

[bnsafe]

its been a day for sure. wish I had the energy to type the story up but will tomorrow. I could not have done it without your help brad. I really think the raking and stomping brought him in. I will try to get you a pic shortly. thanks

[ElkNut1]

Scott, sweeeeet!!!! Nice work my friend, you are definitely the man of the day! A huge congrats! Can't wait for the story!

ElkNut1

[bnsafe]

thanks paul, without your site I would not have killed one. cant wait to tell the story. folks will learn a lot about what not to do. lol. I got lucky

[cnelk]

And here he is!!!!

Congrats again!!!

[Trophyhill]

Great job! Can't wait to hear what not to do

[Indian Summer]

Nice Scott! Man things are really coming together around here. Lots of firsts which I just LOVE!

Packed it solo... this will be a good story.

[ShowMeElk]

Awesome!!!

I bet you gained some character packing that thing out solo!

[diggerson]

Great job, Scott! Way to stick it out through a tough season! Can't wait to hear the story! Gives me some extra motivation for my ninth inning, two-out hunts tomorrow (half day) and Sat afternoon/Sun morning. I'm discouraged (as you were) by the way things have (or haven't) fallen into place this season and getting limited time afield, but your success gives me some hope. That, and Brad's roll-into-camp-and-shoot-a-bull story

[Mojostylee24]

Way to go!

[Trophyhill]

Just goes to show..... Never give up. Ever!

[bnsafe]

wow, I just typed the whole story and it disappeared before I posted, crap. ok I tell this story not to tell you how inept I am but to hopefully encourage an keep folks from doing some of the dumb things I did. I have been bowhunting for 28 yrs but never for elk. I will tell you that without the encouragement and advice from folks on here I would not be typing this success story. im gonna tell the whole hunt cause I think it will help.

im getting ready to leave Monday morning and my wife comes up an says "you excited". I said "no". I didn't believe I would kill an elk and wasn't looking forward to the work involved. lesson 1, if your gonna hunt have a good attitude, but don't quit no matter what.

I get up to where im goin driving thru ice and snow a lot of the way. start to set up the tent and on the third stake it must have hit a rock or something underground. lesson 2 don't use the backside of a axe to drive stakes and if you do don't be leaning over it. that thing bounced off the stake and the blade hit me right in the knee. before I even get the tent up ive got blood everywhere. get camp set up an decide to head out even though its only 2 pm. I decided to go scout an area to see if there was any elk sign there. none. I went a little farther and started cow calling an walked about 20 yds calling. lesson 3, if your gonna elk hunt then elk hunt. im standing in the middle of the logging road, no arrow nocked, no facemask on, daydreaming about how the stl cards are playing. 15 minutes later I look up and here comes an elk 75 yds an I see bone, a bull. I kinda freak out cause I didn't prepare. i backed up about 10 yds an nocked an arrow. lesson 4 don't back up. i could not shoot so i had to move forward again wth the bull closing. at 30 he stopps an stands there, i make a cow call. lesson 5 he ran right at me. it was a spike and illegal but i coudnt have shot after he came right at me. shoulda let him keep coming until he turned a different direction. i am pumped at this point cause i actually called one in. i moved an called for four more hours an never saw another elk. day one ends with a little disappointment the elk wasn't legal but excited cause i feel like i can call one in.

day two finds me in the same area. i cold call, wait, move, cold call, wait, move. nothing lower so i started to climb. 3/4 up the mnt i see two elk, a cow an calf, 125 yds. shocked because i was expecting a herd or bull with a cow but that was it. never the less its legal an game on. i cow call, she stops, looks for 5 seconds, then bolts of the mnt. im thinking what the world, check the wind, its perfect. i have no idea what happened or why, but my confidence in calling or killing is gone. nothing the rest of the morning.

after two hard hunts i have seen 3 elk but havnt heard a single bugle. its like looking for a needle in a haystack and i have lost all confidence. i drive to a near by town to catch my breath. honestly i just wanted to pack up and call it quits. as im sittin at a gas station eating i get a text from cnelk. we talk a lot about whats going on, should i move cause i havnt heard bugles, why cow ran off, climb or sit on lower trails, etc. most importantly he says "don't quit, a raghorn will just come in when you least expect it". turned out to be prophetic. it rejuvenated me.

that afternoon armed with a little new knowledge i go back, i have to stop for a minute to tell you i get out of my car and a cow moose is standing 40 yds from me. took a few pics then started getting ready. i hear a huff behind me and turn around an shes at 20 looking at me. i take some more pics, with a tree between us btw, and finish getting ready. as im leaving i range her at 13 yds. they are really big. but awesome.

back to elk, i headed up the mnt, and almost ignored brads advice (just being honest here to help others) cause i was so tired and didn't wanna climb. but, i decided to climb anyway cause i was told to. lesson 6, don't quit don't quit don't quit, and hunt the right way. i was almost to the top when i found a little bowl, about 30x30 on the steep mnt side. elk poop, winds in my favor, my spirits soared. i have confidence in this new place. i sit there til dark and don't see a thing. a little disheartened i head back.

day 3, no sleep, tired, legs wore out, long season, im beat mentally an physically. i get to parking area an try to decide where to go. wind is blowing wrong for my "honey hole" but i could hunt the lower trails then move up. or just stay on the lower trails an not climb. i decided, after i got back there, lol, to go all the way to my hole even though the wind wasn't blowing quite right. i figure when the thermals change i will be where i want to be. at 641 am i get to the tree i want to stand at. im sweating, cold, tired. i decided to RAKE A TREE like cnelk suggested. i grab a baseballs size deadfall an start scraping tree, breaking branches, stomping, etc. then, I PULL MY PACK UP AND SIT DOWN ON IT. i was tired and wanted to sit down. lesson 7,DUH. at 710 i look over my left shoulder an there he stands, behind me, at 15 yds, an im sitting down facing the wrong direction. just out of reaction i reach for my bow laying on the ground beside me. he sees me move an stares at me for like seemed like 5 minutes, was prob a minute or two. i can only tell you how mad i was at myself for getting caught like that, making a stupid move like sitting down esp after i just raked a tree, having a bad attitude, etc. i really gave it to myself for being at idiot. if he walks 10 more yds he winds me, i cannot stand up when hes 15 yds, and i cant shoot left handed anyway. all the sudden, for no reason, he turns and takes 2 steps back the way he came. i come to full draw sitting on my butt turned as far as i poss can behind me. he takes another couple steps, i whistle to stop him an he stops with his head behind a tree and a evergreen covering his guts, but vitals are wide open at 20 yds even if i am in a bind. i wish i could tell you i picked a perfect spot and had great form shooting. in reality i settle the pin on his vitals and released. i HEAR a pumpkin spitting an he takes off. im sure i can see my arrow sticking out right behind his front leg as he runs UP the mnt. calmly looked at my watch, 714. ok gonna give him 30 minutes then track. 15 minutes later i decide to find where i hit him so i can start in another 15. NO BLOOD, ANYWHERE. i went back to my tree 3 times to check angle of where he was at. new where i shot. i checked all the trees in case i hit one of them. nothing, no arrow, no blood, nothing. all the sudden a bull starts bugling 200 yds from me. great, now what to do. i looked for blood for another 15 minutes then decide to follow his tracks in the mud. i went about 50 yds an found a speck of blood. great i hit him but musta not been good for a speck 50 yds later. i start trailing him, found a half dollar size spot with bubbles, great lung but why no blood. bout every five yds i find a drop or two. a full hour after the shot i get to a crest, turns out he went down hill and if i hadn't found a few specks of blood i woulda been looking the wrong direction cause i swore i saw him go up, but i was wrong. he was just over the crest about 125 yds from where i shot him. turns out, cause im a treestand whitetail hunter, i shot high an he was above me anyway so my angle wasn't good. arrow hit far side shoulder so even tho i double lunged him entry was high and no exit so he bled out internally with very little blood trail.

as i walked up to him i realized a bucket list dream had just come true. 'i killed an elk, i just killed an elk, an a bull". that's all i had in my mind. i took several pics then started the dressing. i havnt watched the dressing videos since last year cause i never really believed i would kill one. lesson whatever number, believe an be prepared for the after. for lack of knowledge i just started cutting off meat. the processor was not impressed.

i would have loved to tell a story of great calling an bugling, perfect shot, etc. alas mine wasn't. i made a lot of mental mistakes we all know not to do and got lucky an got away with it. i only tell the truth to hopefully inspire you guys to keep at it, don't take that lazy 10 minutes, and if you do don't do it after you just called, raked, etc.

good luck and thankyou my friends.

scott

[bnsafe]

i had some questions about the pack out. first i was using a badlands 2200 pack, Alaskan game bags, cutco knife, and no knowledge of what i was doing. i was around 750 feet, i don't know my incline for sure but i work out at a 25 degree incline and it was a lot steeper than that so im guessin 35-40 but maybe wrong. an was 2 miles back in. i had 160 lbs of meat (did a lousy job butchering him, but best i could) plus his head which im pretty sure weighed another 200, lol, not sure but it was HEAVY. i took 2 bags the first load and almost couldn't get my pack up an on. dropped all my gear an meat at car an went back. put the biggest bag in my pack, strapped head to pack, and literally picked up other big bag and carried it down in my arms so i wouldn't have to climb again. even going down hill was AWFUL, and with sliding rocks, deadfall, 2 big bags of meat and a head im lucky i didn't fall. when i got to the bottom i dropped the one bag and took rest back then came back after it. it was the hardest thing i have ever done hunting. i wanted to go back an sit for a bear or a cow as i have tags for both but i hurt. cnelk told me i would be sore for a couple days, boy was he right.

[pointysticks]

i'm dang proud!! well done.

[Mojostylee24]

Great hunt! Thanks for some real world lessons.

-JIm

[Norrec]

congratulations man! Thats one on my bucket is Bull elk with bow! Any pictures?

[Norrec]

Oops scratch the photo, my work computer dosn't like showing some pictures haha

[Broken arrow]

Awesome job! Congrats!!!!

[kjv1959]

All I can say is AWESOME CONGRATS!

[JGH]

[bnsafe]

thanks guys, I know it wasn't much of a story but im guessin its the way a lot of elk are really killed. I got lucky an I know it, but not completely, I found the bowl myself, made myself walk up to it, made the shot from a very awkward position, stuck with a lousy trail and little to no blood. I just wanted to be honest with guys so when they are on the mnt but there mind is elsewhere just like cnelk told me less than 24 hours before, "don't give up, a raghorn will just come walking in when you least expect it".
if I didn't have family obligations I would be back up there tomorrow. I love living out west, and so thankful for all you guys for advice, knowledge, encouragement, and putting up with my stupid questions.

[MontBison]

That's a great story! Congrats man!

[GetemDuck]

Congrats Scott, way to beat the odds by not giving up.

[otcWill]

Great job, Scott! Congratulations!

[bnsafe]

thanks again guys, would not have happened without all of you, and you will never know how much I appreciate it.

[fm]

Nice job Scott. It pays to keep after it even when things are not going good. Every time we go out we learn a little more that helps the next time we go out.
Congrats on a well earned bull.

[Huntography]

Congrats Scott!!!! You rock!!!

I've got a story to share too next week. Still filming/hunting since August.

Rudy

[bnsafe]

cant wait to hear it

[WindedBowhunter]

Scott, congratulations and well done!

[ORelksniper]

Scott, congratulations on the first of many.

[Elkaddict]

Congrats!!

[Firemedicbkelly]

Congrats Scott very nice bull.

[mtnmutt]

Congratulations! Great job til the end.

[BRazz]

Nice bull!!! Congratulations!!!

[Vanish]

Way to go man! I've been rooting for you!