First archery elk hunt.

[Felton]

I just finished up my first elk hunt, run and gun style. What an amazing experience. We had 6 guys shot 5 bulls but lost one. Called 18 bulls into bow range. One of the first couple days we had 20 different bulls bugling back at us. Of course we were split up into smaller groups.

First off I’d like to thank the guys that took me under their wing and show me the ropes. I’d also like to thank all WKRs for helping me make decisions over the last couple years in gear and equipment.

I knew I wasn’t going to be in mountain shape being from South Georgia, but man is that style of hunting taxing on the body. Next time I’ll be in better shape.

Ultimately I was ecstatic to be with friends and family in the mountains and elk hunting. The highs were really high and lows were heartbreaking. From having my first bull called into archery range be a nice 6x6 broadside at 45 yards and watching him run away because I was too winded to hold steady for a clean shot, to loosing my bow and not able to find another guys bull. Then all of a sudden stacking up the bulls in back to back to back days.

If anyone knows Dave drives a white jeep rubicon license plate number dav441, member of the Boone and Crocker club. Send him my way and I’ll tell him thank you for finding my bow where we parked and leaning it up against a tree for me to find the next day.

Here’s a picture of the bull my brother called in for me. I wasn’t expecting anything this big. What an unbelievable experience.

Scroll down for more stories.

 

[Jaym0000]

Heck ya that’s awesome man! Congratulations!

 

[mcdil]

Awesome bull! Way to go. In my opinion, I think archery hunting elk in the rut is the ultimate of ultimates. It's the only time I've ever gotten buck fever. Kind of hard to control yourself hanging on to a little stick and string when Godzilla is making his way to you through the ferns and all you see is the top of his antlers through the morning fog and hear the pounding foot steps. Deer hunting just isn't the same. Love it too, but it never will be. Congrats again!

 

[Nogudpup]

Sounds like an amazing trip for any level of experience, and congrats to a fellow Georgian! Living in north GA I say the same thing every year when we get back from opening archery (elk) season… should have done more hilly pack trainings. The former grunt in me says I’ll complain when I get back to GA because nobody cares. Seems to keep me moving till I can get back and lick my wounds till the next year to do it all over again!

 

[ElkNut1]

Now that's a heck of a trip for sure! Well done guys!

ElkNut

 

[cuerro viejo]

Congrats!!! Beautiful bull

 

[Felton]

Thanks guys. I have all sorts of little stories I may add later. One that includes tomahawk chopping a flying ruffed grouse out of mid air with my bugle tube.

…In my opinion, I think archery hunting elk in the rut is the ultimate of ultimates. It's the only time I've ever gotten buck fever. Kind of hard to control yourself hanging on to a little stick and string when Godzilla is making his way to you through the ferns and all you see is the top of his antlers through the morning fog and hear the pounding foot steps….

I agree, it’s such a thrill and adrenaline rush, I was impressed at the whole process.

 

[Warrior27]

Congrats on your bull!!

 

[TradArcher]

Wow that sounds like a really great time, congrats on your bull!!

 

[elkguide]

Elk hunting is awesome!

 

[jbhairston1]

Congrats! Sounds a great archery hunt!

Sent from my SM-S908U using Tapatalk

 

[Read1t48]

Congrats! Sounds like a very successful trip with a lot of experience to carry into future seasons.

 

[LostArra]

Congratulations! I hope the 6th elk-less guy at least had a shot encounter and got a share of meat.

It is much more acceptable to lose your bow than to lose your elk (assuming you have already killed your elk)

One of my hunting buddies made the logistical error of dropping his pack on a final positioning change to get a rifle shot. He killed the elk but it took two days to find his pack.

 

[twdjr]

Congrats!

 

[Felton]

Congratulations! I hope the 6th elk-less guy at least had a shot encounter and got a share of meat.

It is much more acceptable to lose your bow than to lose your elk (assuming you have already killed your elk)

One of my hunting buddies made the logistical error of dropping his pack on a final positioning change to get a rifle shot. He killed the elk but it took two days to find his pack.

Thanks you!

My dad was the 6th shooter and was either calling for me or backup shooter for me. It was the first time he and I have ever hunted together. He’s killed several elk and would rather see me shoot my first bull than him shoot his umpteenth. That being said I offered to let him be 1st shooter and he took the opportunity shortly and then put me back up front. I gave him all the meat I couldn’t take back on the plane. Pretty sure he got more meat than I did.

When I lost my bow I had not killed yet. We ended up cutting that morning hunt short because of other guys hunting in the area. I was frustrated bc for several different reasons we had missed or cut short 3 out of the last 4 morning hunts, and when I got back to the truck I laid my bow down and apparently never picked it back up. I didn’t realized it until the next morning which ruined another morning hunt.

Dropping a pack has gone through my mind several times. I understand the risk and hope to not need to do it. Two days would be awful looking for all your gear.

 

[Felton]

Story time…. Day 3

The morning was unproductive for my dad and I, we located a few bulls but nothing really fired off. For the evening hunt we wanted to hunt a canyon but 2-3 camps were set up where the canyon met the road. So we decided to go up and over the top from another direction following the ridge past where we assumed the other hunters were.

Once we were on top we heard a distant bugle. My dad and I started working towards the locate, being cautious that another hunter may be present. As we get closer another bull sounds off and then another and another. Before I know it we had 7 bulls bugling back and forth. Everything from the most perfect sounding bugle you’ve ever heard to the worst, only half chuckle immature bull. We start making our way down the steep embankment calling back and forth to all the bulls. My dad staying 70-80 yards back gave a few cow calls. All of a sudden the whole mountainside started chirping with cows. There was at least three herds up that canyon. A small group of cows were just below me and to the right. A larger group of cows were 90-100 yards to my left and their bull was down in the bottom, I believe fending off another bull. We heard him crash the water a couple times as well as the other bull sounding off not far from him. My dad wasn’t in a position to proceed any further without the cows seeing him and I didn’t have a bugle. So there we stayed. The heard cow eventually gave out a loud chirp/not bark and all the cows went silent. The bull bugled back at her. My dad mewed a few times and all the cows started talking again the herd cow chirped again, bull bugled back at her again and the herd went quiet and then proceeded to go up and over the top while the bull caught back up with them.

I probably should have struck off without my dad/caller and tried to get between the bull and his cows. I even knew at the time I should do it I was just too worried about blowing the cows out.

 

[SloppyJ]

Congrats man that sounds like an extremely successful hunt. As another southern dude gathering gear and planning his first trip, I hope to share a success story one day.

 

[Hipaitz]

Awesome bull. Sounds like a trip of a lifetime.

 

[Felton]

Awesome bull. Sounds like a trip of a lifetime.

Ya know, I was kinda thinking it was too except my brother seems to get on elk like this every year. I’m hopeful that when I go back next year it will be a similar experience. I don’t think my wife is going to let me go for 2 weeks again. She was 7 month pregnant when went this year and took care of two kids, so at least I won’t have to contend with that. Haha.

 

[Felton]

Day 7: moving day

We got up that morning knowing we were going to move after the morning hunt and maybe some mid day madness. There was a bull we had heard on the top of the mountain we were camped on that we hadn’t gone after yet. Our camp was on one end of the mountain the bull was in the middle of the mounting. We located him early that morning and started in on him just before daybreak. He wasn’t far from the main logging road so we parked on it and walked in on a spur road. As we dropped down into the bottom where the elk was bugling from we stumble upon a camp. This bull was less than 100 yards from these guys camp. We let out another bugle as we leave the guys camp. I was tickled thinking someone was trying to sleep and there we were screaming at a bull through their camp. We chase the bull to the top. 1600 foot up in less than 3/4 of mile. Actually lost him on the way up but found the herds track and got back on him. We had to do some side hilling before our final approach to get the wind right as we start to make that push I can hear the bull turn and face me as he’s bugling. “He’s close” I think to myself. But I have this line of small pines in the shape of a horseshoe 10 yards in front of me. I need to get in front of the pines I kind of circle around them and as I’m making my way out I hear a foot stomp, I froze in the most awkward unbalanced position looking toward where I heard the stomp. As I wait, this stud of a 6x6 bull pushes it’s head down out of the tall brush and looks at me from the other side of the small pines… Here I am unbalanced with an arrow nocked in between these small pines trying to balance my self with a bull looking me dead in the eyes for what seemed like minutes, probably only 10-15 seconds. Of course he bolts. My brother being the incredible caller he is calls him right back to me this time closer but stops in another thicket and does the same head lower move and looks me dead in the eyes again. My mistake was not moving from the spot he saw me the first time. We end up bumping him again on the other side of the plato and chase him down the mountain in the process 3 more bills fire off. We then get caught in a spot where we have to wait for the thermals to change to proceed. Once the thermals get right we push on only to find the elk had moved and stoped talking. We then took the long walk back to camp to pack up and move.

The day before I got on my plane to head back to ga we stopped at my uncles house. Low and behold his biggest bull came off that very same mountain. It was a giant 6x6 mounted right there in his den.