Elk Hunt 2008

This year I decided to hike back into the mountains & set up a tent camp, because I was going to be hunting by myself for a week before my brother Rick came up & I have always wanted to do this. Little did I know that I should have done this when I was a little younger, because with just the bare necessities I needed for the three days I wanted to stay back in the mountains was sure tough on this old man. After setting up the camper on Sunday the 7th of Sept, I grabbed my stuff & started my hike in. When I started I hoped to make it 2 miles from the road up a meadow that ended near the treeline, well old age & the thin air at 10,400 ft told me that I better stop when I reached that first mile. I set up my tent about 40 yrds back in the trees so I wouldn't disturb anything that would come out into the meadow & I was done in time to hunt that evening. The only thing that I saw that evening was a small bull moose. On Monday the 8th after a restless night of sleep & waking up a little late I rolled out of the tent for my morning hunt, the good thing is I didn't have far to walk. When I reached the edge of the trees the sun was just starting to peek over the mountain peaks, what a beautiful sight that is. I was sitting on a dirt point on the right side of the meadow. At about 6:30 am a cow & calf moose walked out of trees on the right side about 300 yrds up the meadow. Not long after that I saw my first bull elk come into the meadow in the same place as the moose, so I set up & cow called as the bull reached the trees on the left side he stopped looked my way then just kept on walking into the trees. At about 7:00 am another bull elk walked out into the meadow just about another 100 yrds up the meadow from where the last elk did, so I cow called & just before the bull reached the other side he turned & angled into the trees on the other side of the meadow. Thinking that the bull was interested in my cow calling I hurried to the left side of the meadow to another mound of dirt with some trees on it for cover. I got behind a tree on the west end of the mound, which was about 200 yrds from where the bull went into the trees, & continued to cow call. After about ten minutes the bull appeared out of the trees & headed in my direction so I nocked an arrow & waited for him to get closer. The bull finally came to within 20 yrds of me on the other side of the tree then started to angle to my left. I drew my bow & as he walked into the open, at 18 yrds, I was able to get a shot off, it was a good hit & I found the bull about 100 yrds from where I shot him. I guess it was OK that I only made that 1 mile hike. I called & told everybody that I got my elk, except my brother Rick, I wanted to surprise him. My wife came up the evening of the 12th to stay the weekend of the 13th & 14th & Rick got there that same evening & boy was he surprised!! My wife & I went back home on the the 14th & I went back up for the last week of hunting & to join my other brother Rob & Rick on the 20th to help them get their elk. Rob wasn't feeling well & didn't hunt much & finally had to go home on the 24th. Rick & I saw elk the last four days we were there & I was able to get a nice 6x6 bull close to Rick twice, but not close enough. Although one of those times the bull was about 40 yrds from Rick, but Rick got caught out in the open & was unable to get a shot, bummer. All in all it was a great elk hunt and we had fun. Check out more pics on the elk hunt 2008 slideshow, also become one of my followers so you can keep up on my blogs. Just click on the follow this blog link to the left.