Wileycoyote
Lil-Rokslider
This year started with great expectations this guy was on my camera when I check them at the end of August
Just what every hunter wants to see. A summer of no rain since May has left the countryside parched, my plan was to hunt water. Problem was no elk or big bucks were on my cams on any water but that was my only plan. After setting up camp
the opener was over 90° the first three days of the season. It was miserable, sweaty all the time. All I saw were does and fawns and a couple of small bucks. No elk at all or even a squeak. On the afternoon of the third day I hiked to get phone service and got the message that no one wants to get. My grandma was in her final stages of 92 years of life. I packed up and headed out, it ended up she was responsive the day before, but when I finally got it to civilization she was in hospice care and unresponsive. I got to remember all the great boyhood memories and being spoiled, needless to say the next seven days were tough ones.
Life goes on but it sure reminded me to appreciate everything I take for granted.
I had to return to work the following week. But as every hunter knows the mountains keep calling you back in September. I got in the elk the following week but the high temps and harvest moon brought things to a standstill. All action stopped by 8:30am. The timber they bedded in had horrible thermals but it was the best habitat I'd seen all year. No wonder they were here. The Equinox, or peak of the rut fell on the great washout as the weather man called it. We got over 2 1/2 inches of rain in three days. I was glad I stayed home and not in the tipi.
The rain was the game changer I was hoping for. I headed out again to the same sound no bugles. It froze over night and conditions were perfect, the hours and miles were rolling by and nothing. Doesn't anything have testicles out here any more? I'm heading up to a nice basin the winds in my face and a cow barks, what? I proceed on up to a meadow and bugle instant response, I keep pouring it on and pissing him off. Just a small 6 point, I call him in but decided to pass. I then hear big John across the meadow with all the cows. I bust through another 1/2 mile of pucker brush to catch up to him and he's pissed tearing trees apart. I closed the distance to 42 yards a true giant, looks to be the one on my game cam! I draw he's just standing there I think I see an opening in the brambles and punch my release.. Whack and he's gone, I bugle he stops at 90 yards and trots away. I go search for my arrow, it looks like a porcupine and the broad head is demolished. No blood on my arrow a clean miss. It's 11am now and he's taken his cows to bed and I blew it. I just educated the bull of a lifetime being impatient.
I headed out of there knowing the three opportunities you get a season were dwindling fast. Passing on the rag horn strike one, educating big John strike 2, I have one left. It was a long demoralizing afternoon and evening with no more bugles, I was pretty down. I called my wife and told her my great flub, she said don't worry he'll come back but I knew better. I called my dad to check in, and told him too. They both said you just keep trying.
The next morning it froze again. I'm off starting to make my walk about and I start hearing bugles, yes the switch has flipped and somebody's got testicles today!
I start seeing elk on the opposite mountain a half a mile away just stepping into the morning sun cows and what? Two six-point bulls 50 yards from each other. I know I need to get over there and now, they are heading up to the canyon to bed again where the thermals are horrible. I cross the canyon and get up the other ridge as quick as I can. There are bulls bugling above me and at least four more sounding off below me. I stopped to get rid of my jacket and 80 yards right above me a bull bugles, then he starts glunking.
Game on I know this is a big boy and I am right by him, I ditch my pack and grab my bull rush,and my bugle. Let the pissing match begin, I bugle and keep cutting him off he keeps glunking I do to on my bull rush call. He is so mad you can hear it in his tone I keep expecting him to step out at any second. I'm within 50 yards, I kneel down and can see elk legs moving right above me through the trees. He's huffing just right there but I can't see him. I want to press forward but I'm so close he has to come to me. The elk just keep moving and he keeps following his cows each step closer to the dreaded bedding area. I trail him bugling and he bugles back further away. Soon he answers clear over the top of the ridge. All is quiet again. I think to myself there you have it you can't chase down an elk. Game over. I start walking back to retrieve my EMR 2 backpack. I thought to myself screw you I'm going to make you think I got one of you're cows, so I use the cow call on my neck for two sultry sounding cow calls. A little bull bugled back somewhere over by my pack so I thought you are in trouble. Then the big guy answers back it's Jimmy and he's thinking with his dipstick! I hurry up the trail 80 yards and two more I'm alone and I'm cute calls, and all hell breaks loose. I hear branches smashing him glunking and coming down the ravine from the top. I hurry up 50 yards and duck in behind a pine tree and start knocking an arrow, here he is that quick right in front of me at 32 yards. He's huffing and making contact mews and smelling the air looking right past me down where I called from last. Perfect! I draw and oh yes the dreaded brambles, no shot or porcupine arrow again. Two minutes later he moves forward 15 yards he's about to go below me, I start to let my bow down but tell myself no just be patient. He turns and heads right to me at 9 steps he stops now or never he knows I'm here. I take the frontal shot and see my arrow go in to the fletchings I know he's done. I know I'll be criticized for the frontal shot but 10 yards or less is my rule, if I hadn't taken the shot in two seconds he would've been gone as quick as he got there. I hiked back to get my pack, I was high enough on the mountain to get cell phone service so I called my wife to tell her the good news I had to ask what day it was because I lost track when she said the 26th it was even more special because I shot my biggest buck in 2012 on the 26th. I call my dad to tell him the great news in the whirlwind of events that just happened. I grabbed my pack and headed back I wasn't sure what I had done. I walked the trail I cow called on and
HOMERUN! Big Jimmy right there.
The season of unfortunate events just turned into the best day I've ever had hunting. I guess you just keep trying!
Then the work began!
I'm still thanking my lucky stars today! What an experience!
Sorry I got so long winded but I wanted to share the lows and the highs we all love about hunting.
Just what every hunter wants to see. A summer of no rain since May has left the countryside parched, my plan was to hunt water. Problem was no elk or big bucks were on my cams on any water but that was my only plan. After setting up camp
Life goes on but it sure reminded me to appreciate everything I take for granted.
I had to return to work the following week. But as every hunter knows the mountains keep calling you back in September. I got in the elk the following week but the high temps and harvest moon brought things to a standstill. All action stopped by 8:30am. The timber they bedded in had horrible thermals but it was the best habitat I'd seen all year. No wonder they were here. The Equinox, or peak of the rut fell on the great washout as the weather man called it. We got over 2 1/2 inches of rain in three days. I was glad I stayed home and not in the tipi.
The rain was the game changer I was hoping for. I headed out again to the same sound no bugles. It froze over night and conditions were perfect, the hours and miles were rolling by and nothing. Doesn't anything have testicles out here any more? I'm heading up to a nice basin the winds in my face and a cow barks, what? I proceed on up to a meadow and bugle instant response, I keep pouring it on and pissing him off. Just a small 6 point, I call him in but decided to pass. I then hear big John across the meadow with all the cows. I bust through another 1/2 mile of pucker brush to catch up to him and he's pissed tearing trees apart. I closed the distance to 42 yards a true giant, looks to be the one on my game cam! I draw he's just standing there I think I see an opening in the brambles and punch my release.. Whack and he's gone, I bugle he stops at 90 yards and trots away. I go search for my arrow, it looks like a porcupine and the broad head is demolished. No blood on my arrow a clean miss. It's 11am now and he's taken his cows to bed and I blew it. I just educated the bull of a lifetime being impatient.
I headed out of there knowing the three opportunities you get a season were dwindling fast. Passing on the rag horn strike one, educating big John strike 2, I have one left. It was a long demoralizing afternoon and evening with no more bugles, I was pretty down. I called my wife and told her my great flub, she said don't worry he'll come back but I knew better. I called my dad to check in, and told him too. They both said you just keep trying.
The next morning it froze again. I'm off starting to make my walk about and I start hearing bugles, yes the switch has flipped and somebody's got testicles today!
I start seeing elk on the opposite mountain a half a mile away just stepping into the morning sun cows and what? Two six-point bulls 50 yards from each other. I know I need to get over there and now, they are heading up to the canyon to bed again where the thermals are horrible. I cross the canyon and get up the other ridge as quick as I can. There are bulls bugling above me and at least four more sounding off below me. I stopped to get rid of my jacket and 80 yards right above me a bull bugles, then he starts glunking.
Game on I know this is a big boy and I am right by him, I ditch my pack and grab my bull rush,and my bugle. Let the pissing match begin, I bugle and keep cutting him off he keeps glunking I do to on my bull rush call. He is so mad you can hear it in his tone I keep expecting him to step out at any second. I'm within 50 yards, I kneel down and can see elk legs moving right above me through the trees. He's huffing just right there but I can't see him. I want to press forward but I'm so close he has to come to me. The elk just keep moving and he keeps following his cows each step closer to the dreaded bedding area. I trail him bugling and he bugles back further away. Soon he answers clear over the top of the ridge. All is quiet again. I think to myself there you have it you can't chase down an elk. Game over. I start walking back to retrieve my EMR 2 backpack. I thought to myself screw you I'm going to make you think I got one of you're cows, so I use the cow call on my neck for two sultry sounding cow calls. A little bull bugled back somewhere over by my pack so I thought you are in trouble. Then the big guy answers back it's Jimmy and he's thinking with his dipstick! I hurry up the trail 80 yards and two more I'm alone and I'm cute calls, and all hell breaks loose. I hear branches smashing him glunking and coming down the ravine from the top. I hurry up 50 yards and duck in behind a pine tree and start knocking an arrow, here he is that quick right in front of me at 32 yards. He's huffing and making contact mews and smelling the air looking right past me down where I called from last. Perfect! I draw and oh yes the dreaded brambles, no shot or porcupine arrow again. Two minutes later he moves forward 15 yards he's about to go below me, I start to let my bow down but tell myself no just be patient. He turns and heads right to me at 9 steps he stops now or never he knows I'm here. I take the frontal shot and see my arrow go in to the fletchings I know he's done. I know I'll be criticized for the frontal shot but 10 yards or less is my rule, if I hadn't taken the shot in two seconds he would've been gone as quick as he got there. I hiked back to get my pack, I was high enough on the mountain to get cell phone service so I called my wife to tell her the good news I had to ask what day it was because I lost track when she said the 26th it was even more special because I shot my biggest buck in 2012 on the 26th. I call my dad to tell him the great news in the whirlwind of events that just happened. I grabbed my pack and headed back I wasn't sure what I had done. I walked the trail I cow called on and
HOMERUN! Big Jimmy right there.
The season of unfortunate events just turned into the best day I've ever had hunting. I guess you just keep trying!
Then the work began!
I'm still thanking my lucky stars today! What an experience!
Sorry I got so long winded but I wanted to share the lows and the highs we all love about hunting.
Last edited:
