FINALLY got my first elk!

[trophyhill]

Congrats! The first one is the hardest. Relive it as often as you want. You earned it! And look forward to your future successes!

 

[Jauwater]

first off, huge congrats! first elk and you were solo when it happened, i can appreciate that. i am the first hunter in my family, and had to piece things together myself... it took me 4 years to kill my first as well, but after that first one, i went 15 more in a row (last year the recurve messed that up, haha... missing 4 point blank, this year back on track with the compound) that first one is the hardest, it's the culmination of the steep learning curve, and i think this is the beginning of full freezers in your future..... i think the first one, getting the monkey off your back introduces a confidence you never had before, and that confidence is bad news for elk, and only grows.... look forward to your future recaps!

the one part of the story that raised an eyebrow a bit, and needs to be thought of is after you shot, when you saw them again, and were going to shoot again when yours fell over.... this is a mistake that repeats itself in the elk woods and can turn your excitement into a bad scenario. i assume in the heat of things you could not tell which cow was the one you had shot at, so shooting again turns into a 50-50 chance of shooting both.... when hunting cows, this only amplifies because there are often many of them. once you take a shot at a cow, you have to let time pass and let things cool down and follow up on that shot before taking another one.... elk can soak up bullets and act not hit, this is something you need to be aware of to keep you out of trouble.

never shoot again unless you KNOW it's the same elk, or you have made sure the first shot was a miss. i have heard way too many stories of people shooting 2 thinking they missed the first, only to find out they now have 2 dead elk on the ground, and only one tag.... it can make for a bad day, it happens more than you could imagine.

maybe you confirmed what elk you had shot, and if you had, i apologize, but if not, it's a common screw up elk hunting with rifles. i have seen plenty of elk not react to a perfect rifle shot, they are big animals that don't just flop over when they are shot..... it's a difficulty of cow hunting, but something you have to 100% consider shooting cows.

again, huge congrats! sorry you lost some meat, but i bet you learned more on this hunt than several others combined. when stalking elk, don't get tunnel vision, take your time and use your binos, even and especially in thicker country. it's easy to get tunnel vision on the elk you know about and get busted by elk you didn't know were there.... sometimes glassing up a patch of tan through the brush, or an ear can save your situation. i used to get tunnel vision bad, and got busted a lot.... that doesn't happen much anymore, i learned that lesson.

well done on your first elk, to many more!

I've never hunted big game with a rifle in my life. I'd like too, but I am just now starting to buy rifles, and learning to shoot well. I've always hunted with a bow. Everything you just described, knowing how I am, I would definitely get caught up in. That's good information for someone like me, and thanks for posting that. I have plans to eventually make it out west for some rifle hunts, and I'll let this soak in.

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[bsnedeker]

first off, huge congrats! first elk and you were solo when it happened, i can appreciate that. i am the first hunter in my family, and had to piece things together myself... it took me 4 years to kill my first as well, but after that first one, i went 15 more in a row (last year the recurve messed that up, haha... missing 4 point blank, this year back on track with the compound) that first one is the hardest, it's the culmination of the steep learning curve, and i think this is the beginning of full freezers in your future..... i think the first one, getting the monkey off your back introduces a confidence you never had before, and that confidence is bad news for elk, and only grows.... look forward to your future recaps!

the one part of the story that raised an eyebrow a bit, and needs to be thought of is after you shot, when you saw them again, and were going to shoot again when yours fell over.... this is a mistake that repeats itself in the elk woods and can turn your excitement into a bad scenario. i assume in the heat of things you could not tell which cow was the one you had shot at, so shooting again turns into a 50-50 chance of shooting both.... when hunting cows, this only amplifies because there are often many of them. once you take a shot at a cow, you have to let time pass and let things cool down and follow up on that shot before taking another one.... elk can soak up bullets and act not hit, this is something you need to be aware of to keep you out of trouble.

never shoot again unless you KNOW it's the same elk, or you have made sure the first shot was a miss. i have heard way too many stories of people shooting 2 thinking they missed the first, only to find out they now have 2 dead elk on the ground, and only one tag.... it can make for a bad day, it happens more than you could imagine.

maybe you confirmed what elk you had shot, and if you had, i apologize, but if not, it's a common screw up elk hunting with rifles. i have seen plenty of elk not react to a perfect rifle shot, they are big animals that don't just flop over when they are shot..... it's a difficulty of cow hunting, but something you have to 100% consider shooting cows.

again, huge congrats! sorry you lost some meat, but i bet you learned more on this hunt than several others combined. when stalking elk, don't get tunnel vision, take your time and use your binos, even and especially in thicker country. it's easy to get tunnel vision on the elk you know about and get busted by elk you didn't know were there.... sometimes glassing up a patch of tan through the brush, or an ear can save your situation. i used to get tunnel vision bad, and got busted a lot.... that doesn't happen much anymore, i learned that lesson.

well done on your first elk, to many more!

Thanks for the feedback, I'm hoping you are correct on this being the start of something cool for me! I feel like I'm really figuring things out the last couple of years.

To clarify a couple of things: When I saw the two elk standing side by side I did see a big bubble of blood coming out of the side of the one on the right, but the thought crossed my mind that I might shoot the other elk instead of the one I put the first shot on. One thing I didn't mention is that I had two tags that were both good for cows in that unit so at the time I was 90% sure I was drawing on the correct one, but if not and I ended up killing two elk I would have been good legally...it still probably wouldn't have been a good idea though for a lot of reasons so I'm glad I didn't.

 

[Dirty Mike]

That's awesome! This season will be my 5th with nothing on the elk side. Getting some muley bucks last season and this year are keeping morale from tanking. Next week 4th season cow tag, Im staying hopeful.

 

[Firewillie77]

Congrats man


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[AaronPage]

Been hunting elk for 5 years total, 4 years hunting them seriously, the last two years hunting them hard since I relocated to MT. I've had opportunities during both archery season and firearms season every year and I've been consistently getting closer and closer, and I finally connected last weekend on one of my B tags in central MT on a chunk of MT state land! I've still got my general tag and a few weeks left so I still have a chance of getting a bull but I gotta say it just feels good to finally get one!

Story: I had been sitting in a glassing spot where I knew elk funneled most evenings for a few hours before I spot some walking along the next ridgeline over (a few cows, spikes, and a raghorn)...about 450 yards away in some light timber. No shot for me so I make a move to get closer and end up busting them. At this point I have about 1 hour of shooting light so I start hunting my way back towards the truck. I'm walking up to a bend in the a trail and two cows pop out in front of me and run across the trail. They turned and started walking parallel to the trail, but in my direction. I get a shot at about 80 yards and pull the trigger, see the elks back legs kick and they both run off. I head after them and I see them both standing about 100 yards from where I shot and I'm getting ready to shoot again when one of them flops over. I got excited at first...but then she got up and started walking slowly away. I trail her...GREAT blood trail for about 200 yards, where I bump her and she runs off. At this point it's almost dark so no chance of me getting another round in her so I decide to leave her for the night. Come back in the morning, keep following blood for another 400 yards and find her dead in a creek bottom. Took me about 4 hours to cut her up solo, and the rest of the day to pack her out of there (about 3 miles each way)...luckily I've got a buddy who lives a couple hours away and he came and helped with the last load.

Only bummer is one of her back hams had spoiled from leaving her overnight so I lost that entire ham (saved the shank, but that's it). I tried really hard to salvage something from that ham but it just smelled rotten all the way through. I still have a TON of meat though so I'm pretty stoked!

Congrats!

 

[Hoosker Doo]

Congrats! That's what it's all about. Good times and good meat

 

[Disco14]

Congrats on your first!

 

[raskgc]

Congrats

 

[MNElk33]

Congrats! After 5 years that had to be super exciting.

 

[AaronMColeman]

2 dead elk solo is a tough day!

We shot 2 cows a couple days ago with 3 of us and it was still a ton of work. Great job and enjoy the meat!

 

[PCamacho]

Congrats!

 

[bz_711]

You'll never forget your first...

Congrats!

 

[icampbell87]

Congratulations

 

[MammalHammer]

Congrats ! I’m learning about the discipline and hard work it takes to kill your first elk . I hope to accomplish it myself this archery season . Respect for all your dedication

 

[Bigcat_hunter]

Isn’t a “Texas heart shot” when you shoot through the butthole to reach the heart? I don’t see how that could ever be a good idea lol.

 

[Bigcat_hunter]

Oh and congratulations

 

[bsnedeker]

Isn’t a “Texas heart shot” when you shoot through the butthole to reach the heart? I don’t see how that could ever be a good idea lol.

The goal isn't to hit the heart per se, it is to put the animal down as quickly as possible. It is not a good idea in general (small target = little room for error, destroys a lot of meat), but there are no absolutes in hunting.

 

[rodray12]

Awesome!

 

[MammalHammer]

Wow that gives a new meaning to rump roast