idelkhntr
New member
I hunted my arse off during this archery Elk season. I got into a ton of Elk early then every hunter in the northern hemisphere showed up and finding Elk became difficult. In fact there was a two week period where I saw more hunters than Elk. I even ran into the same two guys four times in one day even after asking them which direction they were going so I could go in the opposite direction. The last week I started getting into Elk again and passed on a shot at a nice 6x6 at last light of the last day because I didn't have a clear shot at the vitals. But I still learned a lot so it's not all bad.
Here's how it goes sometimes. I have a moose tag too. So I go out October 2nd two days after Elk ended. I start hiking in and notice something out of the corner of my eye. I turn to look, a 5x5 Elk about 60 yards away. Then a spike goes by right behind him. I laugh and continue hiking. I get higher up the hill and hear an Elk bugle. I figure I'd head that way because I saw a moose close to Elk a few days early. I walk over a ridge and see five cow Elk and hear the bull bugle. I sit down and watch them. I see the bull and he's the 6x6 from the last night of the season. They walk to within 40 yards and I decide to sneak out because I don't want to spook them.
I head back down the hill to a good moose spot. I sit until it gets close to dark and then start heading to my pickup. As I'm hiking I hear a cow Elk. I stop by a tree and she walks over the ridge towards me and stops at 15 yards. She looks at me and continues walking around. From my right come a couple more cows. Right behind them comes a big 6x7 bull and a few more cows. The bull stops perfect broadside at 20 yards, turns and looks at me for a few seconds and then just continues to walk by out of site. By now I'm laughing my butt off and start hiking out again. As I'm hiking I'm talking out loud about why this experience didn't happen two days earlier. The I see a 4x4 and a cow running in front of me. When I get to my truck I'm beside myself over the experience. For me, whether I'm able to hunt them or not, having close encounters with Elk is amazing. And to have this many in one evening is even more amazing. I laugh again because I thought to myself if it had been two nights earlier I'd have shot the cow at 15 yards when I saw it just to get some meat for the freezer then the 6x7 would have walked out.
Great experience anyway and I can't wait until next year to apply what I learned in hopes it will increase my odds. In the mean time I'm trying to fill my moose tag.
Here's how it goes sometimes. I have a moose tag too. So I go out October 2nd two days after Elk ended. I start hiking in and notice something out of the corner of my eye. I turn to look, a 5x5 Elk about 60 yards away. Then a spike goes by right behind him. I laugh and continue hiking. I get higher up the hill and hear an Elk bugle. I figure I'd head that way because I saw a moose close to Elk a few days early. I walk over a ridge and see five cow Elk and hear the bull bugle. I sit down and watch them. I see the bull and he's the 6x6 from the last night of the season. They walk to within 40 yards and I decide to sneak out because I don't want to spook them.
I head back down the hill to a good moose spot. I sit until it gets close to dark and then start heading to my pickup. As I'm hiking I hear a cow Elk. I stop by a tree and she walks over the ridge towards me and stops at 15 yards. She looks at me and continues walking around. From my right come a couple more cows. Right behind them comes a big 6x7 bull and a few more cows. The bull stops perfect broadside at 20 yards, turns and looks at me for a few seconds and then just continues to walk by out of site. By now I'm laughing my butt off and start hiking out again. As I'm hiking I'm talking out loud about why this experience didn't happen two days earlier. The I see a 4x4 and a cow running in front of me. When I get to my truck I'm beside myself over the experience. For me, whether I'm able to hunt them or not, having close encounters with Elk is amazing. And to have this many in one evening is even more amazing. I laugh again because I thought to myself if it had been two nights earlier I'd have shot the cow at 15 yards when I saw it just to get some meat for the freezer then the 6x7 would have walked out.
Great experience anyway and I can't wait until next year to apply what I learned in hopes it will increase my odds. In the mean time I'm trying to fill my moose tag.
