Hunting Journal

Dad went out with me today, and we sat in the area where we got all of the trail-camera pictures. Although there was one that was bugling in the area, it never showed itself. We sat until around 10 o’clock. After getting up, we hunted our way back to camp, but we didn’t see anything.

Dave hunted near us this morning, but he didn’t see anything. It warmed up quickly after the sun got up in the sky. I thought we were going to get through a full day without rain, but shortly before dark, the skies let loose, and it poured. It might have been the worst storm we have been struck with since we got out here. Luckily, it has passed, and we are in the tent getting ready to head home tomorrow.

Brian hunted by himself today. He went on an exploring mission, and the mission didn’t disappoint. He found a lot of sign, wounded a cow elk that didn’t bleed at all, and found and outfitter’s tent with four clients in it.

Two of the guys killed elk on the opening day of the muzzleloader season, but they said they hadn’t seen many animals. They were highly disappointed. One killed a 6×6, and the other killed a cow, which a bear claimed as its own.

Brian looked for the cow for seven hours and never found a spot of blood. He ranged her at 49 yards and made a good shot. When she ran, the arrow was mid-body and behind the shoulder, maybe a hair toward the stomach.

When he gave up and headed back to camp, the afternoon storm hit with fury. It dumped a lot of rain in a short amount of time and became scary at times. As he made his way up the trail, he decided to let some of his aggravation out by blowing on his bugle tube.

Instantly, a bull started running up the hill toward him. He found an opening and took a shot, but the arrow didn’t find its mark. The bull ran down the hill but came back as soon as Brian hit the call again.

Brian settled in and took another shot. In the downpour, his rangefinder didn’t work at all. The arrow harmlessly missed the bull once again. Usually, the third time is the charm, but this time that was not the case. He launched a third arrow, and it took its place in the tall grass with the other two.

Before we head for home, Brian is going to look for his arrows, and I’m going to go sit for an hour or two. I packed all of my gear today, so I’ll be ready to hit the road as soon as I get back to camp in the morning.

It has been a great trip with a lot of memorable experiences. It’s not often that a trip goes like this one did. I feel very fortunate about all of the animals I saw this week. Unfortunately, I never drew my bow. It has been 11 years since I’ve killed an elk, but it’s not for a lack of trying. I’ve been in amongst them every year. Now, I have a much better understanding for how hard it is to put an elk on the ground. I never fully appreciated it when I was younger because it always seemed so easy, especially when I was successful every year.

 

 

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