NW_Hunter
New member
I posted a short story about my elk hunt this past October. But I decided to send it to Extreme Elk Magazine as a longer version. If you guys could read it and let me know what you think and what should be changed, it would be greatly appreciated! Thank you and God Bless!
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No Bull, But Lots Of Memories.
It all started in August of 2014. When we found out that we drew the, bull elk only five day tag, we were speechless. We had been waiting to go hunting here for many years now. I for one, only 15 years old, was the most excited one out of everyone. Because this was gonna be my first time going on an elk hunting trip! We started planning right away. We planned out the camp spot, driving rout, food and water etc. Our friend Gary, who is our pastor, owned a very big elk tent that we were going to stay in. It had a wood stove and all kinds of good stuff! Once October got here we had pretty much everything planned out. This meant we had about three weeks to relax and do any last minute planning before we left to go hunting.
When the day before we left got here we were all very excited! We were packing up the trailer, trucks and bags. We all the knew that the eight hour drive was not going to be a fun one. The moment finally came to say our goodbyes, because no one will be up when we leave tomorrow morning. I told my brothers and sisters goodbye, but most importantly my mom. I knew she worried about our safety but I reminded her that the good Lord above is always in control. My older brother Jacob was wanting to come very badly, but he could not. He had his final high school football game for the Lebanon Warriors that Friday night. I knew my dad was going to have a hard time missing his last game, but I told him that I know there is bull out there with our name written on him, just waiting for us! When I went to bed that night and layed there feeling bad that I had to leave my family behind and couldn’t bring them all along. I reminded myself I am going elk hunting with a 2 missions: 1. kill a bull 2. make my family proud.
I woke up the next morning at 4 a.m. with my dad shoving me trying to get me to wake up. Me, being a hard sleeper, it is almost impossible to wake me up. I then went and took my last shower for the next eight days, I threw on some clothes and then ate a granola bar. We then threw our bags and pillows in the truck and away we went. As soon as I got in the truck I was starting to drift off to sleep and by the time we got out of the drive-way I was already asleep. The next thing I knew, I was waking up in Sisters, Oregon just outside of this awesome breakfast restaurant. We went in, had a quick breakfast with our hunting group, there were only 4 of us and all of us had tags except my father. Once we were done eating. We were back on the road by 9:15.
We arrived at base camp at about 3 p.m. to a warm sunny day, odd for a day in October! I was super excited we were right next to a pond, I checked and there were no frogs, what a bummer. Right after that we set up camp. We got the tent up, chopped the fire wood and of course got Ken’s RV set up. Before we knew it, Gary had dinner set up for us. We all decided after a long day on the road and tiring day setting up camp we should get some sleep for the next day. I crawled in bed under my sleeping bag, listening to the coyotes howl, I was pretty sure I was the happiest person on earth!
We woke up the next morning with turkeys gobbling right outside our tent. I quickly realized its opening day and I am sitting here doing nothing. So as fast as I could I ate a protein bar, filled up my hunting pack’s water bladder, and grabbed my gun. Then me and dad started hiking to one of the canyons not too far from camp. We followed a gated off road to the top of a canyon that we wanted to be on. The road was only a couple miles long,. On our way we saw lots of elk, cougar and coyote tracks. When we got to the rocky, wooded hill side we were stunned with an amazing view, being able to see miles was amazing. Immediately we took off our packs sat down and started glassing the other side of the canyon. The terrain was beautiful. Lots of open fields and meadows, not too thick of brush and lots of trees! My dad right away spotted two bulls feeding on the open hill side on the other canyon. One of the bulls was a monster bull, he had to be at least an 8x9. The other bull was a 6x5 but he was dwarfed standing next to this big old bull. It was kind of odd tho not seeing any cows with those two bachelors. But then again it is October and the rut ended a while ago. I begged my dad to let me take the shot with my rifle. So he ranged it with his rangefinder and they were over 800 yards away. Dad immediately told me no after that. Obviously if you were a hunter you knew that the shot was a highly impossible one. We did not hesitate to come up with a plan. We decided that we were going to try to make a stalk on them. With it only being 8 a.m. we had plenty of time. So we got up, put our packs on, and very quietly headed around the canyon so we could drop down on top of them. When we were closing in on them. We got a call over the radio that Ken (57 years old, with diabetes) got a bull down. It was a Old 6x6 bull. I have never been so happy before. Hearing Ken say he got a bull I was smiling ear to ear. So was my dad. We had to make a decision real quick. We could either go and help Ken get his bull out before dark. Or leave it and go chase these bulls. Being the good friends that we are, me
and dad decided to go help Ken. As a eagle flies Ken was over 3 miles away. So that meant a lot of hiking. We started the hike back to camp to get the truck and four wheeler. We got back to camp loaded everything in the truck then took off to go find Ken and his bull. We found kens truck unloaded the four wheeler, I hopped on it and we took off to go get Ken. We eventually found him with his bull already quartering it out at about 1 p.m.. So he stopped and we were all excited and started taking pictures. Then we realized we still had a bull to pack out. We loaded him up on the four wheeler, then we started the trek back to the truck in the mid day sun. It was a warmer day but it was better than too cold! Once we got back to the truck around 8 p.m. we were all exhausted and ready to get back to camp. So we unloaded the big bull into the back of Kens truck and took a couple more pictures, then headed back to camp. Once we got back to camp we unloaded the bull and hung him up on the meat poles. After that we were all exhausted. I had a huge appetite that night so we decided to make some dinner and go to bed.
The next day, dad and I woke up with it snowing side ways and very cold. We decided to go where Ken shot his bull and hike in. Once we got there in the truck we hiked about 4 miles in. Then around 12 p.m. we decided to head back to the truck. On our way back we jumped a small herd of elk. I don’t know about you but the sound of a herd of elk running through the woods was a huge adrenaline rush! We tried to track them down but knowing elk dad said: they could be in the next county in 3 minutes. So we decided to head back to camp. When we got back to camp we had some lunch. While we were having lunch a herd of mule deer came right through camp very calmly. As they were going through camp, probably headed for the pond right behind camp, they knocked over a few things. They were only 20 yards away and I sure did want to put a bullet through one of them. After that we decided to go on a night hunt that night. So we left at 3 p.m.. We did not see or hear anything. It was very depressing but we needed to keep our heads up. We went back to camp had some dinner. Then somehow a call came through from my mom on the cell phone and she said that Jake tore his ACL that night at his football game. I felt so sorry for him that that had to happen to him. I talked to him and told him about our hunt then said I’m going to bring home elk for him. I'm not going to stop hunting until I kill one. Once we got off the phone we all decided to go to bed to recharge our batteries
We hiked all over the country side the next few days. Saw some amazing views. Few coyotes hear and there but not much else. We ended up not seeing any more elk the rest of the week. We put so much time planning, prepping and working so hard for this hunt , but we came up empty, except our hunting buddy! I had the best time I have ever had doing anything. I love being out in the wilderness camping out. It is impossible for me to not be happy while I’m hunting! God sure has made a beautiful country. When we had to pack up camp and leave. I was very sad and disappointed that I did not kill anything. I have been dreading this day for many months because, its the day I had to leave. I am truly blessed to be able to hunt like this. Not very many kids get this chance to go elk hunting with their best friends and dad. The time I spent with my dad was priceless. He is the best hunter I know. He is also my role model. I love him very much and hope we get to go on one of these adventures very soon.
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No Bull, But Lots Of Memories.
It all started in August of 2014. When we found out that we drew the, bull elk only five day tag, we were speechless. We had been waiting to go hunting here for many years now. I for one, only 15 years old, was the most excited one out of everyone. Because this was gonna be my first time going on an elk hunting trip! We started planning right away. We planned out the camp spot, driving rout, food and water etc. Our friend Gary, who is our pastor, owned a very big elk tent that we were going to stay in. It had a wood stove and all kinds of good stuff! Once October got here we had pretty much everything planned out. This meant we had about three weeks to relax and do any last minute planning before we left to go hunting.
When the day before we left got here we were all very excited! We were packing up the trailer, trucks and bags. We all the knew that the eight hour drive was not going to be a fun one. The moment finally came to say our goodbyes, because no one will be up when we leave tomorrow morning. I told my brothers and sisters goodbye, but most importantly my mom. I knew she worried about our safety but I reminded her that the good Lord above is always in control. My older brother Jacob was wanting to come very badly, but he could not. He had his final high school football game for the Lebanon Warriors that Friday night. I knew my dad was going to have a hard time missing his last game, but I told him that I know there is bull out there with our name written on him, just waiting for us! When I went to bed that night and layed there feeling bad that I had to leave my family behind and couldn’t bring them all along. I reminded myself I am going elk hunting with a 2 missions: 1. kill a bull 2. make my family proud.
I woke up the next morning at 4 a.m. with my dad shoving me trying to get me to wake up. Me, being a hard sleeper, it is almost impossible to wake me up. I then went and took my last shower for the next eight days, I threw on some clothes and then ate a granola bar. We then threw our bags and pillows in the truck and away we went. As soon as I got in the truck I was starting to drift off to sleep and by the time we got out of the drive-way I was already asleep. The next thing I knew, I was waking up in Sisters, Oregon just outside of this awesome breakfast restaurant. We went in, had a quick breakfast with our hunting group, there were only 4 of us and all of us had tags except my father. Once we were done eating. We were back on the road by 9:15.
We arrived at base camp at about 3 p.m. to a warm sunny day, odd for a day in October! I was super excited we were right next to a pond, I checked and there were no frogs, what a bummer. Right after that we set up camp. We got the tent up, chopped the fire wood and of course got Ken’s RV set up. Before we knew it, Gary had dinner set up for us. We all decided after a long day on the road and tiring day setting up camp we should get some sleep for the next day. I crawled in bed under my sleeping bag, listening to the coyotes howl, I was pretty sure I was the happiest person on earth!
We woke up the next morning with turkeys gobbling right outside our tent. I quickly realized its opening day and I am sitting here doing nothing. So as fast as I could I ate a protein bar, filled up my hunting pack’s water bladder, and grabbed my gun. Then me and dad started hiking to one of the canyons not too far from camp. We followed a gated off road to the top of a canyon that we wanted to be on. The road was only a couple miles long,. On our way we saw lots of elk, cougar and coyote tracks. When we got to the rocky, wooded hill side we were stunned with an amazing view, being able to see miles was amazing. Immediately we took off our packs sat down and started glassing the other side of the canyon. The terrain was beautiful. Lots of open fields and meadows, not too thick of brush and lots of trees! My dad right away spotted two bulls feeding on the open hill side on the other canyon. One of the bulls was a monster bull, he had to be at least an 8x9. The other bull was a 6x5 but he was dwarfed standing next to this big old bull. It was kind of odd tho not seeing any cows with those two bachelors. But then again it is October and the rut ended a while ago. I begged my dad to let me take the shot with my rifle. So he ranged it with his rangefinder and they were over 800 yards away. Dad immediately told me no after that. Obviously if you were a hunter you knew that the shot was a highly impossible one. We did not hesitate to come up with a plan. We decided that we were going to try to make a stalk on them. With it only being 8 a.m. we had plenty of time. So we got up, put our packs on, and very quietly headed around the canyon so we could drop down on top of them. When we were closing in on them. We got a call over the radio that Ken (57 years old, with diabetes) got a bull down. It was a Old 6x6 bull. I have never been so happy before. Hearing Ken say he got a bull I was smiling ear to ear. So was my dad. We had to make a decision real quick. We could either go and help Ken get his bull out before dark. Or leave it and go chase these bulls. Being the good friends that we are, me
and dad decided to go help Ken. As a eagle flies Ken was over 3 miles away. So that meant a lot of hiking. We started the hike back to camp to get the truck and four wheeler. We got back to camp loaded everything in the truck then took off to go find Ken and his bull. We found kens truck unloaded the four wheeler, I hopped on it and we took off to go get Ken. We eventually found him with his bull already quartering it out at about 1 p.m.. So he stopped and we were all excited and started taking pictures. Then we realized we still had a bull to pack out. We loaded him up on the four wheeler, then we started the trek back to the truck in the mid day sun. It was a warmer day but it was better than too cold! Once we got back to the truck around 8 p.m. we were all exhausted and ready to get back to camp. So we unloaded the big bull into the back of Kens truck and took a couple more pictures, then headed back to camp. Once we got back to camp we unloaded the bull and hung him up on the meat poles. After that we were all exhausted. I had a huge appetite that night so we decided to make some dinner and go to bed.
The next day, dad and I woke up with it snowing side ways and very cold. We decided to go where Ken shot his bull and hike in. Once we got there in the truck we hiked about 4 miles in. Then around 12 p.m. we decided to head back to the truck. On our way back we jumped a small herd of elk. I don’t know about you but the sound of a herd of elk running through the woods was a huge adrenaline rush! We tried to track them down but knowing elk dad said: they could be in the next county in 3 minutes. So we decided to head back to camp. When we got back to camp we had some lunch. While we were having lunch a herd of mule deer came right through camp very calmly. As they were going through camp, probably headed for the pond right behind camp, they knocked over a few things. They were only 20 yards away and I sure did want to put a bullet through one of them. After that we decided to go on a night hunt that night. So we left at 3 p.m.. We did not see or hear anything. It was very depressing but we needed to keep our heads up. We went back to camp had some dinner. Then somehow a call came through from my mom on the cell phone and she said that Jake tore his ACL that night at his football game. I felt so sorry for him that that had to happen to him. I talked to him and told him about our hunt then said I’m going to bring home elk for him. I'm not going to stop hunting until I kill one. Once we got off the phone we all decided to go to bed to recharge our batteries
We hiked all over the country side the next few days. Saw some amazing views. Few coyotes hear and there but not much else. We ended up not seeing any more elk the rest of the week. We put so much time planning, prepping and working so hard for this hunt , but we came up empty, except our hunting buddy! I had the best time I have ever had doing anything. I love being out in the wilderness camping out. It is impossible for me to not be happy while I’m hunting! God sure has made a beautiful country. When we had to pack up camp and leave. I was very sad and disappointed that I did not kill anything. I have been dreading this day for many months because, its the day I had to leave. I am truly blessed to be able to hunt like this. Not very many kids get this chance to go elk hunting with their best friends and dad. The time I spent with my dad was priceless. He is the best hunter I know. He is also my role model. I love him very much and hope we get to go on one of these adventures very soon.
