My first elk with a bow!

[IdahoD]

I've been a member here for a while but after changing jobs my contribution has been next to nothing, though I do lurk and smile at all the dead elk pictures. I just wanted to share my first archery elk.
I shot this bull on saturday the 26th in southeast Idaho. With my new job, I was limited to weekends as I didn't have any vacation time stored up. I'd been hunting a few times this year with some limited elk encounters. Well saturday was my last day out, and it had to be a morning hunt at that, and my buddy's wife was due to deliver their 4th child on wednesday so he had to stay in cell service. The only place I could think of to fit the bill was an area I'd hunted with my cousin, he'd shot 4 elk, I shot 1 with my rifle, and another friend killed a cow in this same area in years past but the last 2 years it hadn't really held many elk. I thought we'd try it, this area was either on and was loaded with elk, or it wasn't, and it was a day to day change. It's a strange spot.
We got out of the truck and I let out a bugle and was instantly answered about 400 yards away. We climbed up the ridge and started heading towards them but they were headed down the hillside, which is what they've always done, the problem was that the wind was also headed downhill. I knew where they were headed and we had to hurry. They were going to go downhill and make a left turn and drop into a canyon we call "the big nasty". Once they hit that, your morning hunt is over, if you have all day you can follow them.
These bulls were hot! Bugles every few seconds and lots of commotion going on as we tried to slip around them to get the wind and cut them off. It was one of those mornings that when you go to bed that night, the bulls are still bugling in your head and you lay awake and re-live all the bugling and commotion. It was incredible and it was also helping us out quite a bit as the elk were fairly preoccupied.
As we were close to getting around this moving and bugling blob of elk, my buddy throws on the brakes and points across the little draw to a smaller bull about 200 yards away that's looking our way. We stopped and he moved back into the timber. I dont think he ever got a good look at us. We held still and cow called a bit and a cow and calf came out of the timber on the other side of the little draw where that bull was and were heading right for us in the big clearing in front of us. Just then a smaller 6x6 came bugling out of the timber and rounded them up and pushed them back into the timber. Then the whole mountain lit up! Cows were chirping behind us and bulls were bugling all around us. We had walked right into the middle of this herd. Luckily we had finally gotten the wind. So we got on the cow calls a little more excitedly, trying to get a quick response (on a side note, I bought a Mellow Yellow diaphram call from Bugling Bull calls on the recommendation of many folks on this forum, I was super impressed with it. Easy to use and I can get excited with it and also calm and soft. I'll always have one in my pack from now on!). We'd already nocked our arrows and were ready for anything as this was a crazy situation we'd gotten ourselves into. The cow and calf came back out, chirping back at us the whole way and the same bull came after them but this time another small 6x6 came down from our left, bugling and charging in towards that bull. They were screaming at eachother 50 yards in front of us! I see my friend draw his bow and he let one fly on this bull and the arrow literally skipped it off the elks back, it didn't even phase him. The bull turned and headed straight toward us then turned broadside in front of us. He was walking toward a scrubby pine tree that was about 30 yards in front of me. I thought if he walks on the other side of the tree I'd wait until he got his head behind it and I would draw without him seeing me, if he walked on my side of the tree I would take my chances and draw anyway, this opportunity could be over as fast as it began. He walked on my side of the tree and I drew back as he slowed to a stiff-legged, posturing walk looking at the other bull, he never saw me draw. I let the arrow fly and watched the arrow bury behind the shoulder but it looked a little high to me, but definitely a double lung shot though. I watched him run to my right and out of my narrow field of view and I heard a crash, but I brushed it off as not being my elk falling because the shot was too high for a super quick kill. I thought it was another elk being spooked by the commotion. We saw the other bull and two cows trot out of the bottom of the clearing and we sat still for a minute. My buddy turned and gave me a thumbs up, I smiled nervously and gave him a thumbs up back. He whispered to me, "lets go down there!" pointing in the direction my bull went.
"No!" I said, "lets give him a while".
He looked at me confused "Your bull's dead right there" he said.
"No it's not!" I replied.
He smiled and said "come down here and look". Then I heard that distinctive coughing wheezing sound I've heard when I have shot deer with my bow as they were grabbing at their last breaths.
I stepped over to where he was and he pointed me to the tines laying in the grass to our right, only 40 yards from where I shot him. I had my bull. We let him expire, then headed down there.

elk1.jpg (339.73 KiB) Viewed 4925 times

elk4.jpg (225.43 KiB) Viewed 4925 times

My shot was a little high and forward, but not as high as I thought I was, he was slightly downhill, so it hit the other side about halfway up. It passed through both lungs and buried just below the skin on the other side. My arrow was broken into 3 pieces. I found the top of my arrow while walking toward my bull, you can see it in the quiver. Then a piece of arrow shaft inside the bull when I put my fingers into the entrance hole looking for the rest of my arrow, then a small piece of arrow and my slick trick on the other side. The slick trick I could wash up and give it a little sharpening and it would be ready to go again. It's in perfect shape. I was really impressed with it. I'm pulling 65 lbs. and it went through the meat of both shoulders and did some serious damage.
As we were quarting this bull, we didn't gut it, I said "this is gonna suck to pack out, we got in here farther than I thought we did".
"Oh no, we're not packing him out" he replied. 3 phone calls later we had horses being loaded in the trailer and headed our way. That's the way to pack an elk out!!
It was a truly incredible experience. I've had so many close calls with archery elk in the past, I'm excited and blessed to finally get one on the ground.

[WapitiTalk1]

Yes!!! Nicely done Austin. That'll be some great eating over the next year as you plan and gear up for next year. Congrats on a great hunt and fine bull mister. RJ

[Wapiti]

Great elk and thanks for a great right up on your hunt !! I love the smile as your holding your elk !! Nothing worse then guys not smiling for the photo we work so hard to get !! Great job and please chime in and share more with any post's you feel like chiming in on.

[one_elk]

congrats on your first elk kill and thanks for the write up....

[IdahoD]

Thanks guys. I'll be more of a regular now that things have settled down. I still have that stupid smile on my face that's getting bigger with every bite of elk steak...

[ElkNut1]

Austin, well done big guy! Great story & bull!!

ElkNut1

[Lefty]

Nice!!
thanks for the story and pics

[MTLongdraw]

Great story and great bull. Congratulations! That's good clean living!

[JimKirk]

thats a lifetime memory there. sounds like things happened fast!!

[ishy]

nice job!

[Toothy]

sounds like a helluva experience..nice bull.

[elkaholic]

Awesome! Thanks for the story and pics.

[BRazz]

Congrats Austin! Great story and what an encounter...!

[Mike_Parson]

congrats on a nice bull and a great write up. loved reading it.

[wunder6]

Heck of story. Congrats on the bull. One of these years I will be able to tell a story like that. Just keep doing what you love.