Nikis Elk Story

First Archery Elk

It was the first time I put in for archery elk. The day finally came to check the draw results. I checked the computer and couldn't believe my eyes= I got drawn. And I know there's some of you out th= ere saying I can't believe she got drawn, I had more bonus points. But I did an= d it was one of the most exciting times in my life. I was parading around at work telling everyone I got drawn for elk. The majority of them didn't even know what I was talking about, but it didn't matter I told them anyway. I knew t= his hunt would be a challenge especially with a bow, and it definitely proved to be. It was a few weeks before and I was already getting things packed, I ju= st couldn't wait. The day finally came for us to head up the mountain. We left= two days before opening morning to make sure we got our camping spot. The drive= up flew by before I knew it we were already at camp. All I could think about w= as pictures of these monster bulls and I get to not only hunt them, but I get = to with my bow. We finished setting up camp and made it our home away from hom= e. It was the best feeling; I was going to be camping in the mountains for ten days. Getting out of the city was great already. We spent the next couple of days checking out some hunting spots. It was the night before opening morni= ng and we made a fire, and set up our game plan for the next morning. We could hear the elk bugling that night. I was thinking,= how the heck am I going to sleep tonight? Well I didn't, and opening morning was here.
The hunt started out a little rough. Although we were getting into bulls ev= ery day, and not just any bulls but big bulls, it seemed like they were getting smarter every time I had a chance at one. I kept thinking I should have don= e it this way or that way, and I would of got him. I = mean who would of thought a 6x7 could just walk up on you, and your standing in = the wide open so you can't even drawn your bow back. Or that one would walk rig= ht behind your blind instead of in the front. I admit it that really happened.= But I guess you learn from your mistakes and that's why they call it hunting, n= ot killing. I thought I would finally had my chance= . My Dad and I started chasing a herd of elk. We ended up two miles in before we spotted the herd. It was a massive 6x6 tearing up every tree in his way and bugling like he meant business. One of his cows decided to walk right towar= ds us. And when I say right towards us I mean she got within five feet from us= and stopped. I thought for sure she was going to smell us. As she's standing th= ere I couldn't help it, I was thinking in my head how funny it would be to just jump at her and watch her freak out. I almost started laughing out loud as I pictured her turning so fast she would hit a tree or something. But she fin= ally ended up walking right behind us. So we started stalking the herd bull as he was racking a tree. I got within 40 yards and stopped behind a tree. All I = had to do was draw back and step out from the tree. Unfortunately, he caught my= dad stepping forward out of the corner of his eye and that's all it took. He was gone. After hunting from morning till night stalking and sitting a blind, n= ine days straight I had enough lessons. It was time to get one.
The night before my boyfriend and I sat a blind at a wa= ter tank. We waited for about three hours and nothing was coming in. The= sun was finally setting and I was thinking something has to come in. I could he= ar a couple of bulls near so I new something had to be close. My boyfriend final= ly saw a bull coming in from the side. He sure took his sweet time and moseyed= on to the water hole. I was thinking would you hurry up already shooting light= is going to be gone before you get here. I waited for him to stop and drew my = bow back. I miss-herd my boyfriend tell me 40 yards and I shot for 50. Needless= to say it went over. The only shot I've had the whole week and I missed. I was feeling so disappointed I didn't even want to talk about it. All I was thin= king was I only have one morning left and I can't believe I missed. I was getting discouraged and worried that I wouldn't get another chance. Sunday morning = came and I rolled out of bed feeling like the hunt was over. All I could think a= bout was going home with out a bull, and how long I would have to wait for this opportunity again. That's when it hit me and I was going to do everything I could to get one. I didn't spend all this time and energy to go home empty handed. We herd a bull bugle near camp and decided to begin our chase. We started up the hillside and learned he decided he didn't want to bugle anym= ore. We had trouble locating the herd. My Dad finally spotted them on another hillside. It was so thick you could hardly see them. This was my last chanc= e. Garrett, a friend of my Dad, had a cow tag so we both decided to make a pla= n. We looped around and started up the hillside they were on. Garrett spotted = them once we got on top. He spotted a small rag horn that had just bedded down. = We decided to stalk him. We got about 60 yards and a cow stood up and started feeding to the right. We put our bino's up and = took a peak. Garrett said you wont believe this, look b= ehind the rag horn. I really couldn't believe it, it was the herd bull bedded dow= n. He was enormous. There was only one problem. The wind was blowing to the ri= ght and the cow got anxious. She wasn't spooked but it was enough to make the h= erd bull stand up. Little did we know there were also about twenty more elk bed= ded down in this area. There were twenty sets of eye= s just watching us. We remained still as he began herding up his cows. In the mean time there was a forked horn spike that was off to the left about 50 yards. Garrett asked, "How bad do you want to shot one?" My response was, "really bad". He said the spike was walking right towards us. I located him and watched him come right to us. He got about 40 yards and I d= rew my bow back. He stopped, and bless his little he= art he stopped right in front of a tree. My arms started to shake as I was holding= my bow on him. It seemed like forever, but he finally stepped out. I put my si= ght on and let the arrow fly. I herd it hit and Garrett say, "you got it." He said it looks like you double lun= ged him and I watched him run about 50 yards from where I shot as he went down.= I couldn't believe it, it was one of the greatest feelings. I worked so hard = and it finally paid off. We waited about 45 minutes and claimed my prize. Even though it had small antlers, it was still a trophy in my eyes.

This hunt definitely proved to be a challenge and a hunt to remember especi= ally when I found out that Garrett was able to fill his cow tag while walking ba= ck to camp. It was as if he had been rewarded for his selfless generosity by helping me get my bull. Talk about a perfect ending. I learned a lot of les= sons that I will use for future hunts. Thanks to everyone that helped, I couldn't have done it without you.