Third time’s a charm…..That’s what I said to myself as I headed for my third bowhunting trip to Idaho in four years. Hunting public land and high-pressured elk is tough. Then you add a bow & arrow in the mix, and your odds are again reduced. I was optimistic and excited to start a new hunt. I always had a great time during those trips even though I never pulled my bow back on a bull, and I only had one really exceptional day of elk hunting in the past two trips. It happened to be a day that I was carrying a camera instead of a bow. I was more than happy to have videoed my good buddy Erick shooting a great bull, but I still couldn’t wait until we really got into some good action this year.
My 2008 elk hunt started with some great excitement from the very beginning. Each day we would get up at 3:30, and would spend the days and evenings chasing elk. Even though we were seeing elk, we could not seem to close the deal. As each day passed we knew our luck was going to change. To quote my hunting partner, “There are too many bulls and too many bow’s for something not to happen!” Well Wednesday came and it started off the same as all the other days, a several mile hike up the hills in the dark. We found a bull first thing in the morning, but a short chase ended with us sitting on hillside thinking about our next move.
After taking a quick rest George used a hyper lip to make a cow call…almost instantly we heard a bull bugle down in the timber below. We gave each other a quick pound, and we were off. As we set up with the wind in our favor, we were right in the mix of elk. Some cows and a spike passed by me but the bull would not come. We could hear him moving down the valley but could not see him at this point. Quickly, George and I ran down behind the ridge to the base of a timber patch where we heard the bulls. We set up in the timber and started to cow call before we realized that there were two bulls ripping bugles up above us! The wind was still in our favor, and in the distance I could see a bull up ahead in the dark timber, he headed to my right following some cows and quickly was out of my view. After a few more minutes I could see another bull stalking through the trees and heading directly for George’s cow call. My heart was pounding as I was searching for a shooting lane in the thick timber! I also ran through the mental checklist, pick a spot, stay calm, make sure nothing is in my way of drawing back…. When the bull approached, I drew and released as soon as he walked through my only shooting lane at 30 yards. I heard the distinctive “whack” of my arrow tearing into the bull’s chest. The shot was directly behind the shoulder but lacked great penetration only getting one lung. I found my bull further from my shot than I originally expected. In the end I had a great 6 x6 bull on public land, it also happened to be my first elk with a bow & arrow.
The kill isn’t a great barometer for measuring the success of a hunt. If you see beautiful animals & countryside and get to have fun with some great friends and meet new people, then I consider that successful.
However, when you do get to wrap your hands around some big antlers, that’s a feeling I can’t explain.
