TimeOnTarget
Well-known member
A couple other posts here inspired me to post a review of my Dad and I's hunt that resulted in dad's first elk ever.
I'm not good at writing out story's and usually don't post them but this one is extra special to me, being able to help Dad get an elk.
We got into our predetermined camping spot Tuesday night late and hit the hay with anticipation of Wednesday morning. We were inside of 100yds on elk multiple different times Wednesday but couldn't close the deal.
Thursday morning came and we hit a different ridge that I knew elk ran often. Climbing the ridge there was a bull that began screaming on the other side of the ridge and down in the bottom. The hillside leading down into the bottom was all new growth pines 8-10ft tall. fairly thick stuff with small clearings here and there. We keep working down to the south west towards this bull and he keeps screaming. I finally spot a couple cows down in the bottom so we know there are cows with. Then another bull lights up straight east of us up on the ridge. The bull to our SW is not having it and I can immediately tell he is coming towards the other bull. We get moved ahead roughly 50 yds to where I think this bull and hopefully his cows will cross in front of us. This works out perfectly they pass by at 23 yds, the bull screaming the entire time. only problem was they were just on the other side of a few jack pines. Never giving my dad a shot. The bull then proceeds to leave his cows to go confront this other bull. His cows turn and come even closer still never offering a shot in the pines. They got close enough that they knew something was up but having the wind right, they never smelled up. They ended up trotting off 80-100 yds and returned to feeding.
I decided that we should just circle back around slightly up the ridge and try again. So we did.
We got to 170yds from the herd of 15-20 cows and a couple small raghorns. Our cover ran out here to close the distance any further. Slightly more open terrain this time around and they were feeding our direction. I decided to wait them out and hope they closed the distance for us. We watched as the majority of the elk fed off to our right and into a thick patch of pines. I don't know how close they got to us as I never could see them but we could hear them breathing as they grazed, they were close!
There was one cow though, she was taking a different path than all the rest. I ranged a tree at 44yds. She walks right to this tree and keeps coming closer. My dad draws as she steps behind a couple small pines. She comes out the other side at 35yds and dad sends it. Wasn't a perfect shot but persistence in tracking and reading terrain lead us right to her.
The joy I got from helping him to his first elk was greater than any elk I've taken myself. I hope we have many more elk hunts together.
Dad has his first elk.
I'm not good at writing out story's and usually don't post them but this one is extra special to me, being able to help Dad get an elk.
We got into our predetermined camping spot Tuesday night late and hit the hay with anticipation of Wednesday morning. We were inside of 100yds on elk multiple different times Wednesday but couldn't close the deal.
Thursday morning came and we hit a different ridge that I knew elk ran often. Climbing the ridge there was a bull that began screaming on the other side of the ridge and down in the bottom. The hillside leading down into the bottom was all new growth pines 8-10ft tall. fairly thick stuff with small clearings here and there. We keep working down to the south west towards this bull and he keeps screaming. I finally spot a couple cows down in the bottom so we know there are cows with. Then another bull lights up straight east of us up on the ridge. The bull to our SW is not having it and I can immediately tell he is coming towards the other bull. We get moved ahead roughly 50 yds to where I think this bull and hopefully his cows will cross in front of us. This works out perfectly they pass by at 23 yds, the bull screaming the entire time. only problem was they were just on the other side of a few jack pines. Never giving my dad a shot. The bull then proceeds to leave his cows to go confront this other bull. His cows turn and come even closer still never offering a shot in the pines. They got close enough that they knew something was up but having the wind right, they never smelled up. They ended up trotting off 80-100 yds and returned to feeding.
I decided that we should just circle back around slightly up the ridge and try again. So we did.
We got to 170yds from the herd of 15-20 cows and a couple small raghorns. Our cover ran out here to close the distance any further. Slightly more open terrain this time around and they were feeding our direction. I decided to wait them out and hope they closed the distance for us. We watched as the majority of the elk fed off to our right and into a thick patch of pines. I don't know how close they got to us as I never could see them but we could hear them breathing as they grazed, they were close!
There was one cow though, she was taking a different path than all the rest. I ranged a tree at 44yds. She walks right to this tree and keeps coming closer. My dad draws as she steps behind a couple small pines. She comes out the other side at 35yds and dad sends it. Wasn't a perfect shot but persistence in tracking and reading terrain lead us right to her.
The joy I got from helping him to his first elk was greater than any elk I've taken myself. I hope we have many more elk hunts together.
Dad has his first elk.
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