stories of your first archery elk kill?

[sundance1]

How about some fun memories. How many of you can remember your first archery elk kill? Mine goes way back to 1986, I think. Back then it was army surplus camo, a hooky fanny pack, army surplus canteen that leaked, and a Martin Cougar Magnum that was like bending a cedar post to shoot, a Wayne Carlton blue diaphram, and vacuum hose cut and covered with camo, There wasn't all the jargon back then of deciphering what a bull meant with his different vocalizations, you just did back to him what he was doing to you. I'd called in a nice 6 point a day earlier and he came in through the pine trees with his horns laid back, mouth dripping and moaning as he weaved his way towards me. I never did get a good shot, but when I finally got a one foot wondow, I let her fly. It was the first time i magically witnessed my bow being pulled back and not even remembering doing it, and also learning how much noise an arrow can make bouncing off of limbs, and how fast a bull can grab gears.
The next day, at sunrise, I was on a point where I had glassed a bull the prior evening. I ripped off one of my expert bugles, was gagging and repositioning the diaphram, when a bull bugled about 100 yards away. So i backed up against some oak brush and nocked an arrow. Back then, more time than not, bulls would come a running, and this one did. He busted through a big, thick area of oak brush into a pretty good sized open area about 40 yards in front of me. As I had moved, he was going to where i had bugled and gave me a perfect broadside shot. But, like i said, was a lot of learning to be had in the early days. I didn't try to stop him and i had to set my 40 yard pin on him and follow him as he trotted...the 40 yards was a guess cuz weren't any range finders back then. I let her fly, remembering yesterday when that bull blew my every nerve up. I will never forget the suprise when i looked after my shot and there was arrow fletching stickng out right behind his shoulder. Holy ### i hit him. There was a bench below me and he disappeared over it. I'm regaling in my shot when i hear a noise and that bull has turned around and is heading right at me. Oh shit...I grab an arrow, try to nock it and drop it....grab another and miss the string and drop it...remember the flipper arrow rests? All this commotion from me caught the eye of the bull and he veered away from me making the damndest wheezing noise with every breath, sounded like an old coal fired train. I watched him disappear through the oak, looked at my half empty quiver, looked down to the ground strewn by my dropped arrows....and I was hooked, for about 37 years worth so far.

 

[ELKhunter60]

My buddy called me two weeks before it was time to go to Colorado and backed out. I had picked a place to hunt based on internet scouting and Google Earth. We were going to hunt in a wilderness area. I am comfortable hunting on my own, so my buddy backing out was not a show stopper for me.

When I got to the trail head it was raining. I got out of my car and nodded at a couple of other out of state hunters who had arrived just ahead of me. They, like I, were just waiting for the downpour to lighten up. I went over and shot the breeze with them for a while. Nice guys. They had hunted this area before and told me there were a few elk in the area I was planning to hunt. After the rain let up I grabbed my gear and headed in. I set up camp about 4 miles from the trailhead. The next morning I got up early and went in further to hunt. About a mile from camp I started smelling elk. I let out a few cow calls and a bull responded. Wind was all wrong so I circled up above the bull but by the time I had made it to a safe location to approach, they had shut down for the morning. So, I found a comfortable place in the sun, took a nap and ate some lunch. About 3:30 p.m. I started slowly working my way toward the last place I heard the bull with the wind in my face. At about 4:00 p.m. I blew on my cow call and the bull answered from about 400 yards away. I went about another 50 yards and the bull went off again. This time 200 yards away. Then a calve started mewing and another (different bull) bugled! They were all headed right toward me. I set up and soon saw rag horn antlers above some brush. While looking at the rag horn, I heard a bull slightly to my front right bugle at probably 70 yards away. I had never killed a bull at this point and WAS NOT going to be choosey! This rag horn needed to die! When the rag horn cleared the bushes at 40 yards I let one go right over his back. He jumped forward, ran about 30 yards and stopped, and began looking around. In the mean time I had grabbed another arrow and nocked it. The rag horn bull eventually settled down as the calve continued to mew. The bull eventually turned and started walking toward me. At 25 yards he turned slightly - giving me an opportunity to see some ribs. I drew, picked a spot and let it go. This time I hit home!

The bull ran down the mountain about 80 yards and stopped next to a tree. I watched him as he acted sick - just standing there. Then I proceeded to watch the calve walk past him, then a cow, and then the other bull I had heard which ended up being a tall 6x6 bull! Right at dark the bull I shot got a burst of energy and ran down the mountain disappearing in the cover.. What the.............

I went and looked for a blood trail after he ran off but did not find much. I decided to go back to camp and try looking for him the next morning. I did not sleep well that night and got up early. I left camp before first light and was within 300 yards of the last place I saw the bull when daylight hit the mountain. As luck would have it, I found the bull as I was walking up to start my tracking job! I was so flippin happy!! Finally after 10 years of DIY archery elk hunting I scored! I did end up packing that bull out myself and loved every minute of it - but it did take me 1.5 days. Luckily the weather was good for packing - no issues with meat spoilage.

The next year I drew my Wyoming elk tag with 10 points and ended up killing a 300" 6x6 with my rifle. I had a blast on that hunt as well - but as I look back on both of those hunts I'm not sure which one I enjoyed more. They both required a lot of work and and planning - which makes it even better when you score. Each has a special place in my heart. I guess my point is I have no regrets that I didn't wait for that 6x6 bull when I was archery hunting Colorado. At that point in my elk hunting journey, breaking the ice and getting my first bull under my belt was the priority. I have not regrets It was soo flippin awesome!

 

[mslater]

Haha, this is a great story. None of my own, yet.... yet.

 

[WAKAN]

Good stories!! Here is mine...1991 finds us heading for Colorado after 2 prior seasons of chasing elk with no punched tags but learning many things not to do! Had ordered a new call through a magazine called a hyper hot with an instructional cassette tape.
Wore out both call and cassette for 12 hours. We were all confident of tagging out in a couple days after 12 hours of listening to instruction of how easy it was to call in elk! First morning we ease into a basin with multiple bulls bugling and 30 some cows. Instruct my friends to get ready cause we will blow this call once like the tape said and most likely all those bulls will come a running. One call and they running alright but all out of the basin...might have overdid the intensity a bit for the situation . That hyper hot call is still laying somewhere over a cliff in an CO basin!
At the end of the trip after 10 days of hard hunting, we are back in same basin and work in close to a herd with a fired up bull. I can still visualize him stepping out in a frost covered meadow, ivory tips gleaming in morning sunlight, and watching my xx75 disappear in the crease. The rest of our group had left for home a few days prior, so it was a couple teenagers breaking down and packing out a big bull for a hooked for life experience!
Then as now the lesson is there is no shortcuts to this game. It is usually lots of hard work and dogged determination that gets it done. Plus a bit of learning what and when say to the elk ...thanks @ElkNut1

 

[sundance1]

My buddy called me two weeks before it was time to go to Colorado and backed out. I had picked a place to hunt based on internet scouting and Google Earth. We were going to hunt in a wilderness area. I am comfortable hunting on my own, so my buddy backing out was not a show stopper for me.

When I got to the trail head it was raining. I got out of my car and nodded at a couple of other out of state hunters who had arrived just ahead of me. They, like I, were just waiting for the downpour to lighten up. I went over and shot the breeze with them for a while. Nice guys. They had hunted this area before and told me there were a few elk in the area I was planning to hunt. After the rain let up I grabbed my gear and headed in. I set up camp about 4 miles from the trailhead. The next morning I got up early and went in further to hunt. About a mile from camp I started smelling elk. I let out a few cow calls and a bull responded. Wind was all wrong so I circled up above the bull but by the time I had made it to a safe location to approach, they had shut down for the morning. So, I found a comfortable place in the sun, took a nap and ate some lunch. About 3:30 p.m. I started slowly working my way toward the last place I heard the bull with the wind in my face. At about 4:00 p.m. I blew on my cow call and the bull answered from about 400 yards away. I went about another 50 yards and the bull went off again. This time 200 yards away. Then a calve started mewing and another (different bull) bugled! They were all headed right toward me. I set up and soon saw rag horn antlers above some brush. While looking at the rag horn, I heard a bull slightly to my front right bugle at probably 70 yards away. I had never killed a bull at this point and WAS NOT going to be choosey! This rag horn needed to die! When the rag horn cleared the bushes at 40 yards I let one go right over his back. He jumped forward, ran about 30 yards and stopped, and began looking around. In the mean time I had grabbed another arrow and nocked it. The rag horn bull eventually settled down as the calve continued to mew. The bull eventually turned and started walking toward me. At 25 yards he turned slightly - giving me an opportunity to see some ribs. I drew, picked a spot and let it go. This time I hit home!

The bull ran down the mountain about 80 yards and stopped next to a tree. I watched him as he acted sick - just standing there. Then I proceeded to watch the calve walk past him, then a cow, and then the other bull I had heard which ended up being a tall 6x6 bull! Right at dark the bull I shot got a burst of energy and ran down the mountain disappearing in the cover.. What the.............

I went and looked for a blood trail after he ran off but did not find much. I decided to go back to camp and try looking for him the next morning. I did not sleep well that night and got up early. I left camp before first light and was within 300 yards of the last place I saw the bull when daylight hit the mountain. As luck would have it, I found the bull as I was walking up to start my tracking job! I was so flippin happy!! Finally after 10 years of DIY archery elk hunting I scored! I did end up packing that bull out myself and loved every minute of it - but it did take me 1.5 days. Luckily the weather was good for packing - no issues with meat spoilage.

The next year I drew my Wyoming elk tag with 10 points and ended up killing a 300" 6x6 with my rifle. I had a blast on that hunt as well - but as I look back on both of those hunts I'm not sure which one I enjoyed more. They both required a lot of work and and planning - which makes it even better when you score. Each has a special place in my heart. I guess my point is I have no regrets that I didn't wait for that 6x6 bull when I was archery hunting Colorado. At that point in my elk hunting journey, breaking the ice and getting my first bull under my belt was the priority. I have not regrets It was soo flippin awesome!

Good story. The first seems so long ago. Still get excited but u learn over time how to put a lid on the nerves. One thing that has changed is that in my day the term " dude" was not invented. Now, younger generation is dude this, dude that. I"m too old to be a dude or say "dude".

 

[BBob]

NM in one of the 16's back when it wasn't anything special to hunt there (it was but it wasn't popular yet). Low cedar run and gun country. Morning hunt didn't pan out so I'm up on a glassing ridge by 11ish. Glassing (Zeiss 15x60's) and nap a bit. Afternoon 2-2:30ish I glass a herd way off coming out of the higher country and slowly headed down. I knew exactly where they were going at that time of day. Pack the pack and bail. Run down the canyon loop around and head up the next canyon until I get close to the tank. Listen, glass and nothing yet. I have beat them to the punch. Slip in behind the berm right where the top of the bank has an eroded slit that I can shoot through. Sit and wait. After some time I hear them coming down the canyon. When they were within sight of the tank they all broke into a run and headed right into the tank. Bull as typical waited till last and until the cows were done. Cows wandering around feeding the bull finally comes in to wallow. Also typical he's eying that berm hard and not giving me a shot. Finally he's done and starts to move out. I get a 30 ish yard shot at hard quartering away. Hit where it counts and it doesn't take long. He wobbles and flops. I sit and wait. Two rag horns go check him out and figure he's dead, they nail him a few times with their eye guards and then go follow the cows. I'm figuring done deal. Wait! His head pops up! WTF??? He gets to his feet, takes a few steps and wobbles. Bam, falls over again. This time it's all she wrote. Waited till the cows and little bulls wander off before I go check him. Check, he's dead. Gut him and head for the truck which is a couple of miles away. It's dusk and by the time I get back it's dark. Break him down, crash in back of the truck and head for AZ the next morning as I've got an active tag over there and another bull to kill

Oh, 5x6 270 and change bull. Had seen him before and almost shot him a few days earlier on a morning run and gun attempt.

 

[Speck1]

Idaho public years ago. First 10 days of the season and it was hot. Elk sightings were few and far between. I had zero prior experience with elk but was a lifelong bowhunter. On day 8 I found a couple bulls together but had no way to close the distance as it was completely open for several hundred yards. On day nine I set up where I thought they might cross below me. Closest bull was 91 yards straight down hill. I had told myself 80 yards was the max distance I would shoot but I decided to try anyway. When I let it go I could tell it was high and left. It looked to me like it went straight over his head and stuck in the ground. He moved about 15 yards farther away and just stood there. Way too far to attempt another shot and no way to get closer. He stumbled slightly as he started to walk off so I got my binos out of my pack to take a look. He was blowing blood everywhere and I started to shake thinking I just killed my first bull. I couldn’t see a mark on him anywhere. He walked about 20 yards and piled up dead. I was in shock as I saw the arrow go over his head. When I got down to him he had a hole under his offside jaw. I then realized my iron will went in his left eye socket and out under his jaw on the opposite side. The arrow went thru clean and stuck in the ground. One in a million shot. I had My first bull. I have never attempted a shot over 60 since. How I was that high and left I will never know but it was meant to be I guess.

 

[sundance1]

Good stories!! Here is mine...1991 finds us heading for Colorado after 2 prior seasons of chasing elk with no punched tags but learning many things not to do! Had ordered a new call through a magazine called a hyper hot with an instructional cassette tape.
Wore out both call and cassette for 12 hours. We were all confident of tagging out in a couple days after 12 hours of listening to instruction of how easy it was to call in elk! First morning we ease into a basin with multiple bulls bugling and 30 some cows. Instruct my friends to get ready cause we will blow this call once like the tape said and most likely all those bulls will come a running. One call and they running alright but all out of the basin...might have overdid the intensity a bit for the situation . That hyper hot call is still laying somewhere over a cliff in an CO basin!
At the end of the trip after 10 days of hard hunting, we are back in same basin and work in close to a herd with a fired up bull. I can still visualize him stepping out in a frost covered meadow, ivory tips gleaming in morning sunlight, and watching my xx75 disappear in the crease. The rest of our group had left for home a few days prior, so it was a couple teenagers breaking down and packing out a big bull for a hooked for life experience!
Then as now the lesson is there is no shortcuts to this game. It is usually lots of hard work and dogged determination that gets it done. Plus a bit of learning what and when say to the elk ...thanks @ElkNut1

Hoochie Mama. First squeak and 5x loads his suitcase and adios. Throw it in box, up yours. Wife grabs it and off we go on an evening walk. No elk, walking a two track out and she's squawking away on it. All of a sudden she whispers, " honey there's a bull following us". I turn around and about 75 yards behind us on road is a rag bull standing there looking at us. WTF. She eoows that damn rubber overgrown dropper and here he comes, close enough that she handed it to me, got behind me, and said, " you do it, thats too close for me". Play with him for 5 minutes, he'd bust, I'd meeooow him, back he'd come, So I tried it one more time on a walk. Same suitcase packing. Threw it away right there. Decided it wasm't the call on that raggy, he was trying to cut my wife away from me.

 

[mtnrunner260]

First elk was with dad and bro. We were all split up and I was sitting a saddle on top of a ridge. Fell asleep and branches breaking from an elk running away woke me up.
Stayed awake for another hour and 2 spikes walk through. Shot was 40 paces and he went 10 yards. Used mom's 7 Mauser with 140 partitions and fixed 4 power cheapo scope.
Gutted and quartered then we packed out with bones still in on frame packs.
About 25 years ago.
Sure have learned a lot since then!

 

[JustCortisol]

How about some fun memories. How many of you can remember your first archery elk kill? Mine goes way back to 1986, I think. Back then it was army surplus camo, a hooky fanny pack, army surplus canteen that leaked, and a Martin Cougar Magnum that was like bending a cedar post to shoot, a Wayne Carlton blue diaphram, and vacuum hose cut and covered with camo, There wasn't all the jargon back then of deciphering what a bull meant with his different vocalizations, you just did back to him what he was doing to you. I'd called in a nice 6 point a day earlier and he came in through the pine trees with his horns laid back, mouth dripping and moaning as he weaved his way towards me. I never did get a good shot, but when I finally got a one foot wondow, I let her fly. It was the first time i magically witnessed my bow being pulled back and not even remembering doing it, and also learning how much noise an arrow can make bouncing off of limbs, and how fast a bull can grab gears.
The next day, at sunrise, I was on a point where I had glassed a bull the prior evening. I ripped off one of my expert bugles, was gagging and repositioning the diaphram, when a bull bugled about 100 yards away. So i backed up against some oak brush and nocked an arrow. Back then, more time than not, bulls would come a running, and this one did. He busted through a big, thick area of oak brush into a pretty good sized open area about 40 yards in front of me. As I had moved, he was going to where i had bugled and gave me a perfect broadside shot. But, like i said, was a lot of learning to be had in the early days. I didn't try to stop him and i had to set my 40 yard pin on him and follow him as he trotted...the 40 yards was a guess cuz weren't any range finders back then. I let her fly, remembering yesterday when that bull blew my every nerve up. I will never forget the suprise when i looked after my shot and there was arrow fletching stickng out right behind his shoulder. Holy ### i hit him. There was a bench below me and he disappeared over it. I'm regaling in my shot when i hear a noise and that bull has turned around and is heading right at me. Oh shit...I grab an arrow, try to nock it and drop it....grab another and miss the string and drop it...remember the flipper arrow rests? All this commotion from me caught the eye of the bull and he veered away from me making the damndest wheezing noise with every breath, sounded like an old coal fired train. I watched him disappear through the oak, looked at my half empty quiver, looked down to the ground strewn by my dropped arrows....and I was hooked, for about 37 years worth so far.

Haha very entertaining, thanks for sharing

 

[Marble]

My first archery elk was just after screwing up on a bull. Idaho, solo about 3 miles in. I had multiple bulls for two days. I kept working them and kept screwing stuff up.

I had a bull at the very top of a basin just piping off over and over again. I snuck and snuck until I was 180 yards from the little sliver of timber he was in. I was trying to actually see him so I could plan my next move, but it wasn't happening...I moved closer as the terrain I was in was super steep and I doubted he would come across to me for a shot. Then...I got picked off by his cow... he ran off to Jesus, and I never saw him again.

I decided to go check out the area he was hanging out in for future knowledge. I kept side hilling and going through small dry creeks until I reached the timber patch. Before I entered, I stopped, and cow called over my shoulder. I heard an animal stand up and shuffle around less than 20 yards from me. It was really thick, and after 30 seconds, I finally saw it. But I couldn't tell if it was a bull or cow. I used my range finder and scanned the thick pine to see if I could tell. Well, I figured out it was a cow, and there was about an 8" opening right in the crease of the shoulder. I had to stand on my tip toes, and I snuck an arrow right through that little hole. She ran less than 30 yards (I couldn't see her run but could hear her) and stopped, bled for a moment and rolled down the hill dead.

Sent from my SM-S918U using Tapatalk

 

[I90west]

Northern Idaho - 2013

My Dad and I had cut our teeth on our first elk hunt the season prior in 2012. Going into our first elk season, killing an elk seemed like it would be such a far out dream. We had no idea if it was a realistic expectation to hear a single during our week long trip. After flying out from Pennsylvania, driving up a sketchy mountain road and pulling off at the first suitable spot to pitch a tent, we were greeted by a bugle cutting through the darkest of the night. I will never forget that first bugle or the look of disbelief on my dads face.

For the rest of that week in 2012, my dad and I got a crash course in elk hunting. We were on elk every day and had some incredible encounters. It even resulted in an arrow sailing over the back of a 6 point. That week changed my life at the age of 16 and the next year we were going to be back for vengeance.

In September of 2013, we picked things up were we left off. We found elk and made a lot more mistakes. Towards the end of the trip, we heard a fired up bull on the far side of the canyon at first light. We dropped down into the hole and climbed up the steep hillside without making a peep. As we got close to the bulls location, we broke a stick which solicited an immediate response from the bull. We answered with a cow call and sticks began popping below us. Rather than the magnificent herd bull appearing, a fuzzy spike appeared only 30 yards below me.

The size of his antlers didn’t suppress my shaking legs. I drew and at 25 yards his vitals stopped in a rare shooting window among the north Idaho brush. I released and watch my arrow bury behind his shoulder as he crashed out of sight. He was hardly out of sight before I was embracing my dad with a hug.

An hour later, we were standing over what was the first elk either of us had ever killed. It was a special moment between father and son. Since then, we have packed quite a few bulls out of the north Idaho mountains, and Lord willing, we will pack a few more out this year.