cnelk\'s 2014 Archery Elk Hunt - Story & Pic Heavy

[cnelk]

Wednesday morning found the 3 of us having a bit of stomach troubles. Musta been something we all ate. No heavy lifting and could trust a fart...

But that didnt stop us from going out chasing elk. We were slipping along a trail to get to another area when 4 cow crossed the trail about 60 yards in front of us. The wind was wrong and they smelled us.

About 100 yards further down the trail, we see a hunter pop out and start walking away from us, using the same trail. He was about 75 away and didnt even see us. We hung out for a bit and continued the same way.
When we got to about where the hunter was, I saw movement 10 yards off the trail in some thick stuff. I stopped and motioned Calvin up as I could see it was an elk.
We all three stood there looking at this cow elk that was 10 yard away. She would turn this way, Calving would draw and wait for a shot.
No shot. She would turn back again, and still no shot!
The fickle wind did us in and she drifted away...
So close!

We went back to camp and headed to town to get more ice and make some phone calls during the mid-day.

 

[cnelk]

I posted earlier that I missed...

And I did just that.

Wednesday night found me at the bear stand since it had been a couple days for the carcasses to start smelling in hopes the bears had found it.
Nothing had disturbed the carcasses.
On this night, I carried my recurve. The shots would be close so I figured what the heck!
This was against the advice of Calvin and Matt

So I made a few mews every now and then and then from the tree stand. About a half hour later, I heard a noise behind me.
I leaned around the tree to see a BIG 5x5 bull making his way to me...
Oh boy,,,,

I positioned my feet so I could shoot. He was coming closer.
I practiced out to 20 yds with my recurve but the bull was coming into range that was just beyond that
He came into the shooting lane and I stopped him with a grunt.
I drew and held a tad high to compensate for the longer distance

And the arrow went right over his back... 28yards... and into the base of a tree

I accomplished a goal this year tho and that was to carry my recurve to my tree stand and hopefully get a shot.

The decision hasnt been made if I will do that again tho

The other guys saw zippo that night

 

[bnsafe]

great stories an times brad, tahnks for sharing

 

[bowhunter]

Thats one fine looking pine you harvested Brad........I see you didn\'t get a pass through. You better up your poundage.......

Have you practiced with the recurve from the tree stand? I bet you would have hit that bull if you was on the ground. At least it was a clean miss.

 

[razorback]

That\'s a nice looking bow. One of these days I think I\'m going to try hunting with a recurve. Not for elk though, I don\'t think I\'ll live long enough to be a good elk hunter with a compound :haha:

 

[Stringunner]

How do you like the kelty Hualer? Contemplating picking one up this off season.

 

[cnelk]

String gunner
I have two of the Kelty Cache Haulers.
They are a great addition to my gear.
I use them to haul tree stands and other gear along with meat.
I purchased them for a few reasons.

1) I was tired of my back getting tore up by using cheap packs
2) I plan on using them when I go to AK
3) They are rugged as hell. Also come with a blaze orange rain cover in a zipper pocket on the shelf
4) They won\'t break your budget

 

[Ol' Arky]

What happened to ya game cart Brad?????

 

[Deertick]

Is there more \"story\" to go here? Let\'s go, Brad ... inquiring minds want to know!

 

[razorback]

Kelty Hauler??? I\'m going to need something different for hauling quarters, a Molle Pack sucks and I like my X2 for just hunting. I may have to check into that.

 

[bowhunter]

Is there more \"story\" to go here? Let\'s go, Brad ... inquiring minds want to know!

X2

 

[Stringunner]

Thanks Brad for the info on the kelty cache hauler. They come highly recommended on several forums. I noticed them in some of your pics. I think I will pick one up....

now back to your story...

 

[mtnmuzzy]

Congratulations on an exciting hunt. Good to see that hard work pays off.

 

[cnelk]

Sorry for the delay everyone.

Thursday morning found us doing a series of cold call setups but we only bumped one elk that morning.
Looking back on what was happening, it should have been apparent to us that most of the elk had relocated.
When truck camping for elk, you should also have Plan A B C for this exact reason.
We stuck with plan A for another day or so and it wasnt the correct plan.

So with the elk encounters dwindling, we still hunted hard.

Since the bears had started hitting the carcasses, I dedicated my evening there in hopes of filling my bear tag.

A sow with 2 cubs had claimed the carcasses. They were fun to watch, only 8-10 yards away

I also set up a trail camera over the carcasses to see what else was in the area

 

[cnelk]

Boy was I surprised to see all the bear activity!

Here are a few pics of bears - Still Hunter should enjoy this!

 

[cnelk]

More

 

[cnelk]

Another

 

[cnelk]

We finished our week long hunt with no more elk.
Calvin ended up taking back 75lbs of elk meat from my freezer
We went 3 for 4 and had a grand time, with son, and good friends in the elk woods

Just cant wait til next year

 

[F M]

Great story and pics Brad. Thanks for sharing it with us.

 

[cohunter14]

Brad, didn\'t you go back up after that for a bulls-only hunt? Never heard how that went...