Jared Smith
FNG
Wednesday evening, October 19, 2017, my father, two brothers, and I headed west from Tennessee to the Rockies for a week of elk hunting! This would be everybody but Justin's first elk hunt. The next 9 days were nothing short of incredible!!
Saturday we got to camp and set up in the morning. We then spent the middle of the day scouting areas to start in the morning. We spotted a herd of 16 elk from about 1,000 yards. The herd consisted of 14 cows and 2 spikes, but a great sign to say the least!
Sunday was the first day of the hunt. I started my climb to 7,000 ft. for a good vantage point watching some saddles the elk were using to move from their night time feeding areas to their dark timber daytime areas. About 20 minutes before shooting time I heard a bugle from the feeding area about half of a mile away. As the sun started to shine just a little I made out a herd of around 75 elk way to my West. I could see by the way they were going that I had to make a move in the direction they were heading to head them off. Long story short, I (literally) ran down the ridge I was on up the next mountain and back down and finally caught up to the herd as they were crossing the property boundary! Around 25 cows jumped the fence at 100 yards when finally the bulls started making their way over! I cow called to a nice 6x6 and 5 other good bulls to no avail. Around 50 more cows and spikes made their way across the fence without stopping! Once the entire herd had gotten out of sight, I took running in the direction they were headed. After about a quarter mile I finally caught up to the herd which had then slowed down. I scanned the herd and there he was!! The 6x6 that had eluded me at the fence crossing was about to drop off into the dark timber! I whistled loudly, he stopped, I settled in and squeezed off the shot! He simply ran away. No flinch, no kick, just ran down the ridge out of sight! For a split second, I was crushed. I thought that I had missed. At that moment the rest of the herd, which was standing at 125 yards looking in the direction that bull had ran, spooked and ran in a different direction! At that point I knew that bull had fallen! Legal shooting time was 7:10 a.m. and I had notched the tag on my first elk at 7:25 a.m. on the first day of my hunt!!! It was a feeling that can't be explained!
I spent the next two days hunting with Brandon. He lives in Central Florida and has gained in interest an hunting over the past few years. We logged quite a few miles in the mountains in those days with a couple close encounters. I will say that for somebody that lives at sea level, he never stopped charging through those mountains! He complained a lot, but never quit! At last light on the second day, we had 2 spikes and a forked horn bull at 80 yards that he elected to pass. I was quite impressed with his ability to hold out for something a little better!
On the third evening I was hunting with Brandon, when at last light we heard a shot coming from the direction Justin was hunting! Justin’s signature text, that reads "Bingo", quickly followed on our Garmin Inreach! Justin notched his tag on a nice 5X4 for the second bull of the trip! Once we got to where Justin had shot, he relayed the story of how he first saw two bulls at 455 yards, and once they were out of sight, he aggressively made the move to get within range! He made an awesome shot at 60 yards! We made it back to camp around midnight after getting his bull quartered and packed out! His bull was actually the oldest at an estimated 6 years old!
The 4th morning I had to go to town to drop my bull off to the taxidermist to get him caped for a mount, so Justin and Brandon went to an area that was near where Justin had killed his bull the evening before. They spotted a herd of bulls early and started making the long track to get to them! After stalking around a mile and getting within range twice, they crossed a ridge and all 5 elk were at 40 yards on the other side of the property line! The elk finally jumped the fence, and as soon as they did Brandon connected on a nice 4X5 bull! I had not even made it out of camp when that text came through, so my trip to town was postponed because going to see Brandon’s bull took priority!
The 5th morning, my dad and I headed out to a meadow that he had been watching for most of the week. He is 65 years old with a recent knee replacement and recently defeated cancer in his vocal cords. Getting around in those mountains was not easy for him. At 8:30 a.m. I told him that we needed to go back to camp, eat a nice breakfast, pack some lunches, and take the Ranger all the way back to where Justin and Brandon had killed their bulls and glass until dark. He agreed. We arrived to our spot around 10:00 a.m. and glassed until 5:30 p.m. without seeing anything. All at once he grabbed his gun and rest and started getting ready for a shot! I looked down the hill and here comes a nice 6x5 bull on a ridge that I had previously ranged at 190 yards! I was looking at the bull through my binos when the bull turned broadside! Boom! The bull turned and ran. I whistled as loudly as I could and the bull stopped and turned back to look. Boom! The bull hit the ground! Turns out, dad just needed to get the nerves out with the first shot! I'm not sure who was more excited between him and me. I could not have been happier than to be there to witness him take his first bull!
The next day, we cleaned up camp. Strapped the pile of horns to a spot on the trailer that would be easily visible and made our way off the mountain. We were tired, nicked to pieces from cleaning four bull elk, and thrilled with what we had accomplished. Sharing these experiences with family is what made this trip as special to me as it is.
4 men, 4 bull elk, 5 days. One unforgettable, epic trip!
Last year I found out my wife was pregnant, got into a terrible accident, and missed my first elk hunt in the same week. This year, I get to hold my son and show him the antlers from the bull elk I was able to take. There was no greater blessing than seeing the curiosity on my son's face while looking at those antlers. I am excited to one day pass these stories to him!
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Saturday we got to camp and set up in the morning. We then spent the middle of the day scouting areas to start in the morning. We spotted a herd of 16 elk from about 1,000 yards. The herd consisted of 14 cows and 2 spikes, but a great sign to say the least!
Sunday was the first day of the hunt. I started my climb to 7,000 ft. for a good vantage point watching some saddles the elk were using to move from their night time feeding areas to their dark timber daytime areas. About 20 minutes before shooting time I heard a bugle from the feeding area about half of a mile away. As the sun started to shine just a little I made out a herd of around 75 elk way to my West. I could see by the way they were going that I had to make a move in the direction they were heading to head them off. Long story short, I (literally) ran down the ridge I was on up the next mountain and back down and finally caught up to the herd as they were crossing the property boundary! Around 25 cows jumped the fence at 100 yards when finally the bulls started making their way over! I cow called to a nice 6x6 and 5 other good bulls to no avail. Around 50 more cows and spikes made their way across the fence without stopping! Once the entire herd had gotten out of sight, I took running in the direction they were headed. After about a quarter mile I finally caught up to the herd which had then slowed down. I scanned the herd and there he was!! The 6x6 that had eluded me at the fence crossing was about to drop off into the dark timber! I whistled loudly, he stopped, I settled in and squeezed off the shot! He simply ran away. No flinch, no kick, just ran down the ridge out of sight! For a split second, I was crushed. I thought that I had missed. At that moment the rest of the herd, which was standing at 125 yards looking in the direction that bull had ran, spooked and ran in a different direction! At that point I knew that bull had fallen! Legal shooting time was 7:10 a.m. and I had notched the tag on my first elk at 7:25 a.m. on the first day of my hunt!!! It was a feeling that can't be explained!
I spent the next two days hunting with Brandon. He lives in Central Florida and has gained in interest an hunting over the past few years. We logged quite a few miles in the mountains in those days with a couple close encounters. I will say that for somebody that lives at sea level, he never stopped charging through those mountains! He complained a lot, but never quit! At last light on the second day, we had 2 spikes and a forked horn bull at 80 yards that he elected to pass. I was quite impressed with his ability to hold out for something a little better!
On the third evening I was hunting with Brandon, when at last light we heard a shot coming from the direction Justin was hunting! Justin’s signature text, that reads "Bingo", quickly followed on our Garmin Inreach! Justin notched his tag on a nice 5X4 for the second bull of the trip! Once we got to where Justin had shot, he relayed the story of how he first saw two bulls at 455 yards, and once they were out of sight, he aggressively made the move to get within range! He made an awesome shot at 60 yards! We made it back to camp around midnight after getting his bull quartered and packed out! His bull was actually the oldest at an estimated 6 years old!
The 4th morning I had to go to town to drop my bull off to the taxidermist to get him caped for a mount, so Justin and Brandon went to an area that was near where Justin had killed his bull the evening before. They spotted a herd of bulls early and started making the long track to get to them! After stalking around a mile and getting within range twice, they crossed a ridge and all 5 elk were at 40 yards on the other side of the property line! The elk finally jumped the fence, and as soon as they did Brandon connected on a nice 4X5 bull! I had not even made it out of camp when that text came through, so my trip to town was postponed because going to see Brandon’s bull took priority!
The 5th morning, my dad and I headed out to a meadow that he had been watching for most of the week. He is 65 years old with a recent knee replacement and recently defeated cancer in his vocal cords. Getting around in those mountains was not easy for him. At 8:30 a.m. I told him that we needed to go back to camp, eat a nice breakfast, pack some lunches, and take the Ranger all the way back to where Justin and Brandon had killed their bulls and glass until dark. He agreed. We arrived to our spot around 10:00 a.m. and glassed until 5:30 p.m. without seeing anything. All at once he grabbed his gun and rest and started getting ready for a shot! I looked down the hill and here comes a nice 6x5 bull on a ridge that I had previously ranged at 190 yards! I was looking at the bull through my binos when the bull turned broadside! Boom! The bull turned and ran. I whistled as loudly as I could and the bull stopped and turned back to look. Boom! The bull hit the ground! Turns out, dad just needed to get the nerves out with the first shot! I'm not sure who was more excited between him and me. I could not have been happier than to be there to witness him take his first bull!
The next day, we cleaned up camp. Strapped the pile of horns to a spot on the trailer that would be easily visible and made our way off the mountain. We were tired, nicked to pieces from cleaning four bull elk, and thrilled with what we had accomplished. Sharing these experiences with family is what made this trip as special to me as it is.
4 men, 4 bull elk, 5 days. One unforgettable, epic trip!
Last year I found out my wife was pregnant, got into a terrible accident, and missed my first elk hunt in the same week. This year, I get to hold my son and show him the antlers from the bull elk I was able to take. There was no greater blessing than seeing the curiosity on my son's face while looking at those antlers. I am excited to one day pass these stories to him!
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