The archery season came and i was ready.
I headed out opening day, kids at the grandparents, so i had the whole day to myself to hunt. I met up with my friend James and his boy to hunt in the morning. We seen 2 cows and a calf first thing in the morning, they were pretty spooked but i figured i would try anyway. I knew where they would pop out of the trees and i already knew which cow had the calf. I set off and as i came around the treeline to the opening i was stopped dead in my tracks. There was a guy walking slowly down the treeline towards where they would pop out and i was frozen with disbelief. At first i thought maybe he didn't know i was there so i stood there contemplating what to do next. While lost in thought he stopped and turned around. Noticing me standing there he came walking over to me. It didn't take long of talking to him and the hunt was ruined for both of us and I discovered he was well aware that i was chasing them. I left the clearing fuming. That was the first time I've ever had another hunter deliberately ruin my hunt.
The rest of my archery season go by at a fast pace. We managed to make a trip to visit and Hunt with Kyle's cousin Randy in the next valley over for a couple days. We seen lots of bulls and some were calling but nothing managed to come together for us. Out of the archery season i only missed 1 or 2 days of hunting, i didn't see elk every day but I did see some decent whitetail bucks that I was able to attempt a stalk on.
The archery season passed and although I was feeling slightly defeated, I was looking forward to rifle season-sort of. This year rifle opener fell on a Saturday, which meant the amount of people in the bush was going to increase big time, more so then if it fell on a weekday. While archery season I can shoot any bull and below 1100m a cow as well, come rifle season its 6 point or better unless you stay below 1100m then spike is open as well. My chances were narrowed down significantly, but at the same time increased. Getting into range of a bull with my rifle would be much easier than with my bow but it was finding a 6 that was the hard part. Last year we had elk everyday of season (except in archery, we seen nothing) but none were legal.
The day before opener, September 9th, still during archery season and Kyle was on days off. So his parents took the dogs and kids for us and we headed up the valley. The plan was to get up to where Kyle wanted to hunt for the morning of rifle opener and we would hunt our way up with our bows. On our way up we seen a nice black bear but no elk. We got up into the mountains and it was full of people ready for opening morning. Every corner we turned held a new camp, some with multiple trailers, ATVs and trucks. We did see a cow and calf moose. Kyle was frustrated. We glassed until dark and without seeing anything Kyle decided he would rather sleep in our own bed for the night. So we started the long drive home. On the way home I suggested going up to where we had our trail camera in the morning, traffic in there was pretty limited and I just had a good feeling about the area this year, even though we hadn't seen a 6 point in there. He hummed and hawed but i insisted. So in the morning, that was the plan.
We were up early even after a late night, all the gear was still in the jeep so we just had to get dressed and grab the guns then go. It was a closer drive then where we went the night before but difficult to get into with the jeep. We managed to get in with it still dark out and parked down below. The plan was to walk the 2 kms in then go sit where we could see the trail that cut through the clearing and where the camera was set up. The wind was perfect and it was still fairly dark when we started walking up the road but light enough for me to see the rocks on the road so i didn't kick any. We got up to where the trail cuts through the clearing but it was still too dark for me to walk up it without scaring everything in the valley ( I cant see very good in low light and usually end up kicking something, tripping or falling). As we waited for it to lighten up more I scanned the clearing with my binoculars. I was really happy I had my Minox binos because they work awesome in the limelight. After about 10 minutes of glassing on and off, I found 2 elk. I quietly said Kyle there are a couple of elk on the landing, which was about 500 yards in front of us, but I cant tell if any are bulls. We stayed rooted to the spot, we were in the wide open and didn't want the elk to notice our presence. I watched them through my binos, as it lightened up a little bit more I could tell one was a bull and now Kyle could see through his binos as well. He confirmed the bottom elk was a bull but couldn't get a count on him. We watched until they disappeared around the ridge and we started hiking up to the landing- abandoning our original plan. We got up to the landing and it was finally light enough to see around us without issue, so headed up and followed the ridge. On the other side of the ridge it dropped down into a small clearing without any type of road or trail access. Just as we crested the ridge to see down into the clearing we caught them heading into the trees on the other side- we were too late.
We backed away and went to the landing and decided to go back to plan A, the wind was still good and we had time to get up there before it got too late in the morning. We went up and sat for a couple hours until the wind started to change and swirl. So we backed out.
We backed away and went to the landing and decided to go back to plan A, the wind was still good and we had time to get up there before it got too late in the morning. We went up and sat for a couple hours until the wind started to change and swirl. So we backed out.
We decided to go into town to get some gas and a snack. We tried to decide what to do for the afternoon/evening. I suggested going back to the same area and having an afternoon nap until it was time to go again for the evening. So we did. After a late night and early morning I was tired, the jeep isn't the most comfortable thing to sleep in but i still managed to get a couple hours in. Once it was time to go, we got ready and checked the wind-it was blowing all wrong. It was a huge dampener on our evening..now what to do? We took a chance and left the area for another one, we didn't want to stir the area up with our scent and I was dead set on being back in there for the morning. So we drove around, glassing trying to find something but we had no luck at all. After dark Kyle wanted to go all the way back home to sleep but I didn't want to, I wanted to go back up to where we had been that morning and sleep in there, i mean we had the tent and our sleeping gear along with the stove and mountain houses- we were set up to stay on the mountain. So much to Kyles dismay and my persistence and stubbornness- we slept on the mountain. I wanted to be the first ones in there just in-case that bull was a 6. We parked farther down then we had parked that morning and Kyle in all his grumpiness said he didn't want to have to mess around with the tent in the dark or in the morning so I suggested we sleep in the jeep, that didn't make his mood any better. I grabbed my sleeping bag and put my seat all the way back and settled in for the night. It wasn't the best night sleep, my knees disagreed with this sleeping arrangement immensely.
In the morning we didn't even bother eating, we just put our gear on and went up to where we had parked last time. Kyle was concerned we weren't going to see anything, and i was worried as well but didn't want to divert from our course. The night was a very bright night, it was like daylight- you could see everything.We were worried they would leave the clearing earlier and we would miss them again. As we hiked up to the same spot as before we stopped to glass the clearings, there was nothing. So we continued to the clearing he had disappeared to the morning before. We came up to the ridge and with Kyle being over a foot taller than me, he could see much more than me. We didn't get to far up the ridge when Kyle grabbed my arm and said the bull was bedded in the middle of the clearing.I quickly got my rifle ready while he counted his tines. I got up to a spindly little Christmas tree and used it as a rest...it wasn't the best rest. Kyle said he is a six, take him when you are ready. It took my a few seconds to feel like I could take a good shot off that spindly thing. Once I felt a little more comfortable i squeezed my trigger on my new Browning x-bolt 300wsm. After I shot I quickly reloaded, and Kyle was already celebrating. My bullet hit him and he didn't even move, his head just dropped. I instantly started shaking so bad from the adrenaline and cold, I was in shock- I finally after all these years got my elk!!
Kyle said he would go back the 2 kms to the jeep and bring it up to the landing and grab our packs. I stayed with my rifle ready for either a bear to come in or for the bull to jump up and run (it has happened before to people we know!). I was still shaking pretty badly and I thought I had seen his head move. So I tried my best to look through my binos and keep still to watch him. Sure enough he moved his head again! I got back behind my rifle and tried as hard as I could to stop shaking. I wasn't succeeding very well. One I felt somewhat better I tried to put another in him- and missed. After hearing my gun shot Kyle rushed a little more to get back to me, not knowing if a bear came in or my bull got up. Once he got to me I told him the bull was still alive and to please put a bullet in it to end its suffering- I tried but was shaking to badly. So he did and with that the bull expired right away.
As we got our packs on and loaded up to hike down to retrieve him, I had a mixture of emotions. I was excited to see my bull but it was now overshadowed by this guilt and doubt. If my shot didn't kill the bull right away, but Kyles did- was it really my bull? Did I just wound him superficially? If I did, how could I claim the bull as mine when it wasn't a killing shot? Was it my fault that the bullet strayed from where I wanted it to go? Did my rifle somehow get knocked out? All these questions would be answered once I got my hands on that bull.
I desperately needed the answers and I was trying to rush down to my elk, but Kyle wouldn't allow it- he wanted pictures of me when I lay my hands on him. I was impatient. When I finally got to him, I was in awe of his beauty and strength. My shot was a killing shot, it would have just been a longer death and for that I was racked with guilt. I was thankful that Kyle had been with me and was able to make death quicker for him, I didn't expect to have quite that strong of a reaction after shooting him. I always shake a little after I pull the trigger but never so much as to render me useless if I needed to take another shot. My only guess is after trying so hard, doubting myself, working myself up every season, excitement, disappointment...10 years of all these emotions built up, and in that moment of celebration it came out all at once.
After we got some photos, i started to field dress him but I was going to slow for Kyle and he soon took over. So I got all the bags out and the tarp out to put the meat on and held legs when he needed. Once one of the hind quarters were freed from the bulls body I put it on my pack and strapped it down. I managed to get my pack on and get up without any help, the pack didn't feel too bad (Thank you Crossfit!) and I made my way up to the ridge and dropped down to the jeep. By the time I got to the jeep, unloaded the quarter into the jeep and made my way back to Kyle he had the bull pretty well done. He was just working on the head but all the meat was separated. This round I was taking a front quarter, backstrap, tenderloin and the head as well as my rifle- it was much heavier than my first pack. Kyle, being the giant he is, decided to take both quarters, tenderloins and backstraps in one trip. Needless to say I had to help him up off the ground, but he still beat me to the jeep.
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