The Big Hunt

Like I've said before, I drew a bull elk tag in 45! So we were really excited when October 1st came around-opening morning! We got up at like 1am and headed to the mountains! Got to the mountain around like 4am, I think, hiked in to our spot and waited until it got light.

When it finally got light we saw a big heard of elk come up over the mountain with probably like 30-40 head of cows with 9-10 bulls! And man were there some nice ones!! They were all on private property though and the two nicest bulls were probably about 100 yards away from the fence that separated the private from the public. Through out the day a few elk here and there would cross the fence and come up right by us into some quakies, but those big ones I had my eye on weren't budging. I figured that they would all eventually cross the fence and come up into the quakies where I could get a shot about 40 yards away... but of course they didn't. :(

Later on in the morning there was a shot on the other side of the hill the elk were on... Perfect! Or so I thought. Usually if a shot is fired behind the herd, as it was, it would push the herd the other way-which would have been right up to me! But just our luck-seriously we have such bad luck- the shot was fired and the elk went toward it!! So that was that! I couldn't believe it and was totally confused as to what the heck possessed them to go Toward the shot! But none the less the biggest elk we had ever seen in our lives were pushing the cows toward the shot :( They were so giant I can't even describe how big they were.. but when the herd elk was pushing the cows he would throw back his head and his antlers would reach all the way to his butt-he sure was a beaut! And that was from 500 yards away.

So enough of the pitty party... on with the rest of the story. We went out every single morning we could to that same spot and saw elk every single time but I was really good at holding out for a big one... I was actually really really hoping that I would see those giants again!

One of the mornings

A different morning

But on Monday October 12th we went out and were on the hill for about an hour when Ted spotted a nice sized elk, all by himself, making his way up the hill. Tommy and I made our way down the hill where we could be just about even with him. We watched him cross the fence to where he was on public and Tommy started calling him in! We could hear him making his way through the trees so I was getting ready to shoot him as soon as I saw him. Pretty soon we say his antlers coming through the trees so I crouched down to look through my scope and the instant he came out the trees I shot! Tommy called him right to us! I shot him at about 20 yards away! I shot Tommy's 300 which is loud and has a good kick-but I didn't hear it or feel it! It was so fast I don't even remember it! I could have steadied myself a little more and got a better shot but I didn't want to risk the chance of him getting away! Needless to say I was tired of driving that horrible road every morning that was so bumpy it made me sick! 

I did not feel good at all this day! And the bumpy road didn't help either!

But I got him right in the lungs and he ran about 10 yards into the trees and went down.

Ted gutted it out and cut it all up for me and he and Tommy started packing it out! I didn't pack any of the quarters out... they were as big as me! But I packed the head out!!.. Half way anyways haha. The antlers were too wide I couldn't get my arms around them to hold on to them... but hey I'm alright with that! ;) So that was the big hunt for the year! And since this post is so late, we have eaten some of the plethera of meat we got off him and it is yummy!!

Just some bonus pictures of the fog one of the mornings. It was sooo cold but it was pretty!