SchillerTime
FNG
Mostly read the forums, I don’t do much writing or posting. I appreciate all those who do and I love to read the experiences of others. I’ve had a few people ask if I would share my 2016 archery elk experience…so here it goes. One heck of an adverse year for me. I drew a LE Utah archery Elk tag. Only my second year bow hunting but have shared the outdoor passion since I was a kid. I killed a mule deer last year with my bow and helped me build up the confidence needed to click the archery box instead of rifle for my 2016 application. I had been shooting my bow daily for several hours and three days before the opener, I had an arrow shatter leaving part of the shaft and fletching in my hand (flex your arrows often, you never know). Carbon fragments embedded deep into my left thumb and my hand was a bloody mess. After two hours of digging deep to remove the large fragments, I had removed most of the stuff I could see. No way I could have ever removed the small stuff and had no idea an arrow could break and make such a mess. Went to the doctor and determined I nicked the nerve in addition to the mess and he was eager to perform surgery which would require cutting my hand open and digging deep. This meant no chance at hunting for me. I was torn, I thought about it long and hard and felt I did a pretty good job at cleaning things out, I removed 20+ carbon fiber chunks. Oh yeah, it was very painful! I lost some thumb control but got x rays and no broken bones meant I had a shot at healing enough to hunt. I went and saw a hand specialist the next morning to determine the risk and made the decision to pack up and get on the mountain. I was prescribed a strong antibiotic to prevent infection. The biggest concern I had would be pulling back my bow. I was all sighted in at 70lbs and I couldn’t risk changing everything last minute. As soon as I got home from my Dr. visit, I tried to pull my bow back and almost got it, but the sharp pain running up my arm (assume it was the nerve) forced me to let off. At that point I knew I had to give it some time so I packed up my gear and headed South. It was only my hand and that wasn’t going to stop my boots from hitting the dirt. I had waited far too long to draw an elk tag and couldn’t accept that my hunt may be over before it started. Spent five days really getting after it and hiking in every direction when I located an area where the bulls had been tearing up tree after tree. After five days, I knew it was time to try shooting again so I set up my target and effectively shot four arrows. Although it was painful and I didn’t want to push it, I needed to know I could pull it back and still be accurate. At that point I made the decision it was good enough to hunt. Feeling very blessed, I grabbed my bow and made it official. At this time, I was confident I had located an area I wanted to focus my efforts so I moved my camp 1.5 hours further south after my original location didn’t produce the activity I was expecting.
The opener was very nice and then the weather took a turn for the worse, I had no idea how crazy the weather would get. I had rain, hail, and snow for three days straight and the wind never stopped blowing. Even though I had located plenty of sign, the animals were very quiet and I only heard one bugle in 7 days. Friday night as the storm moved out, the temperatures dropped and we located a giant bull just before dark. There wasn’t enough light to make a stalk and the winds were howling. I backed off the mountain and after arriving at camp near midnight, I had a sleepless night trying to strategize how I would get back in position Saturday morning and was optimistic the bull would still be in the same area. I made an aggressive plan and hiked in early Saturday morning. The morning seemed perfect with the storm moving out, it brought some cold temperatures and there was hardly any wind. Must have reached the low 30’s as everything was frosted over. The forest was also very quiet from 3 days of down pour. As I reached mid mountain, I knew it was time to bugle so I let one rip and finally got an answer! Not an aggressive or mature bull but I got an answer. I shut up for 20 minutes and again there was complete silence. Being all alone, I didn’t want to give away my location but I had to bugle again. I kept climbing higher and moving in the direction of the bugle. Finally, I decided I would bugle one last time. I let out a much less aggressive bugle and got an immediate answer from the same bull! Excited again, I went to respond and got cut off by a mature and aggressive bull!
As I moved closer... I was moving a baby step at a time not knowing where the elk were. As soon as I got some visibility, I immediately stopped behind a tree and started glassing the area to see if I could spot anything. Everything came together, I caught some movement and sure enough it was antlers, there was an elk bedded in the timber about 150 yards from me. I lifted up my optics to get a closer look and about dropped them when I saw 8 points on the right side. I could only see his rack and I'd never be able to get a shot unless I could sneak right into his bed. Again, I checked the wind and kept moving. I made up 50 yards and got within 100 yards. At this point, the timber was so thick I had lost my visual when all of a sudden I catch a glimpse of something walking through the trees, it's him! Within 15 minutes, I had closed the gap and spotted him again as he stopped to rake a tree. He was being very loud and it was the perfect setup for me to get in position. I am now at 50 yards and thinking there's no way I'm going to get closer but I had absolutely no shooting lane. Trees and branches were everywhere. I knew I had to wait for him to turn his head in the opposite direction and move closer. It took around 20 minutes to move 20 yards but the bull did not move an inch. He stood in the same place and attacked the same tree. You’d think being at 30 yards would be enough but I did not have a clear vital shot. I needed two steps to the left to get what I perceived as the best shooting lane. I waited for the bull to make his first mistake as he turned his head looking in the opposite direction and I made my first step. It took another 2 minutes before he did the same thing and I got my second step and drew my bow at the same time. It was only seconds after at full draw I saw my sight bubble level out on a clear heart shot! I clicked my release and watched the arrow fly and hit PERFECT! The speed and energy behind my bow was enough to put this 1000lb animal on the ground within 20 yards. I didn’t even feel a pain in my hand! The adrenaline took over I probably could have pulled back my bow with a broken arm. There was so much excitement and the moment was surreal. I earned my first archery bull elk on my own! I put in the time, scouted the area and did it with the help of friends and family. Harvesting a trophy animal has been a dream since I was a kid. It was very special to share with my Dad and buddy. So glad I didn't give up.
When adversity hits, you gotta strike back. Hence the name 'Strikerbull' and it helps that the bull is absolutely stunning! Taking what I have learned from this experience, if you invest the time, anything is possible.
http://i1383.photobucket.com/albums/ah293/wptechnologies/20160827_120305_zpsv9loy2bo.jpg
http://i1383.photobucket.com/albums/ah293/wptechnologies/20160827_122925_zpsnx68nb35.jpg
The opener was very nice and then the weather took a turn for the worse, I had no idea how crazy the weather would get. I had rain, hail, and snow for three days straight and the wind never stopped blowing. Even though I had located plenty of sign, the animals were very quiet and I only heard one bugle in 7 days. Friday night as the storm moved out, the temperatures dropped and we located a giant bull just before dark. There wasn’t enough light to make a stalk and the winds were howling. I backed off the mountain and after arriving at camp near midnight, I had a sleepless night trying to strategize how I would get back in position Saturday morning and was optimistic the bull would still be in the same area. I made an aggressive plan and hiked in early Saturday morning. The morning seemed perfect with the storm moving out, it brought some cold temperatures and there was hardly any wind. Must have reached the low 30’s as everything was frosted over. The forest was also very quiet from 3 days of down pour. As I reached mid mountain, I knew it was time to bugle so I let one rip and finally got an answer! Not an aggressive or mature bull but I got an answer. I shut up for 20 minutes and again there was complete silence. Being all alone, I didn’t want to give away my location but I had to bugle again. I kept climbing higher and moving in the direction of the bugle. Finally, I decided I would bugle one last time. I let out a much less aggressive bugle and got an immediate answer from the same bull! Excited again, I went to respond and got cut off by a mature and aggressive bull!
As I moved closer... I was moving a baby step at a time not knowing where the elk were. As soon as I got some visibility, I immediately stopped behind a tree and started glassing the area to see if I could spot anything. Everything came together, I caught some movement and sure enough it was antlers, there was an elk bedded in the timber about 150 yards from me. I lifted up my optics to get a closer look and about dropped them when I saw 8 points on the right side. I could only see his rack and I'd never be able to get a shot unless I could sneak right into his bed. Again, I checked the wind and kept moving. I made up 50 yards and got within 100 yards. At this point, the timber was so thick I had lost my visual when all of a sudden I catch a glimpse of something walking through the trees, it's him! Within 15 minutes, I had closed the gap and spotted him again as he stopped to rake a tree. He was being very loud and it was the perfect setup for me to get in position. I am now at 50 yards and thinking there's no way I'm going to get closer but I had absolutely no shooting lane. Trees and branches were everywhere. I knew I had to wait for him to turn his head in the opposite direction and move closer. It took around 20 minutes to move 20 yards but the bull did not move an inch. He stood in the same place and attacked the same tree. You’d think being at 30 yards would be enough but I did not have a clear vital shot. I needed two steps to the left to get what I perceived as the best shooting lane. I waited for the bull to make his first mistake as he turned his head looking in the opposite direction and I made my first step. It took another 2 minutes before he did the same thing and I got my second step and drew my bow at the same time. It was only seconds after at full draw I saw my sight bubble level out on a clear heart shot! I clicked my release and watched the arrow fly and hit PERFECT! The speed and energy behind my bow was enough to put this 1000lb animal on the ground within 20 yards. I didn’t even feel a pain in my hand! The adrenaline took over I probably could have pulled back my bow with a broken arm. There was so much excitement and the moment was surreal. I earned my first archery bull elk on my own! I put in the time, scouted the area and did it with the help of friends and family. Harvesting a trophy animal has been a dream since I was a kid. It was very special to share with my Dad and buddy. So glad I didn't give up.
When adversity hits, you gotta strike back. Hence the name 'Strikerbull' and it helps that the bull is absolutely stunning! Taking what I have learned from this experience, if you invest the time, anything is possible.
http://i1383.photobucket.com/albums/ah293/wptechnologies/20160827_120305_zpsv9loy2bo.jpg
http://i1383.photobucket.com/albums/ah293/wptechnologies/20160827_122925_zpsnx68nb35.jpg
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The animals aren't safe with you running around the mountain. 
