2018 Recap,
This year I took off September 7-23rd which is the last two weeks of the season here in Oregon. Prior to my vacation I hunted the first two weekends, opening weekend I took my wife out and sat a pond I had been watching all summer, I checked the cam and had a pictures of a Monster 7x8 bull on my camera about 2 hours before we got there. We could hear elk in the nearby meadow and after a few soft cow calls we were able to get a small bull and a couple cows to come in, the cows came into just under 20 yards but the bull never presented a shot except at 40 yards which is too far for my wife to shoot. It was getting dark so we decided to head back out since we were about a mile from the closest road. We made it about 200 yards from the pond when we spotted a spike feeding in the meadow, we walked up the edge of the meadow to try to get closer and when we got to about 40 yards we spotted a big 6x6 feeding with two cows in the meadow the spike had been in. The elk never saw us, I ranged the bull at 45 yards and the closest cow at 30, I drew back and settled into my anchor on the bull, I was trying to get my site to align with my peep but there wasn’t quite enough light to feel confident in my shot. My wife was standing 2 feet from me and was asking why I wasn’t shooting, she was very frustrated when I decided to let down and let him walk out of that meadow I may have been able to pull off that shot since I have a pretty consistent anchor but it was early in the season and I really didn’t want to make a poor shot on the bull so I passed.
Here is a picture of the bull I passed on.
Fast forward My hunting partner showed up on the evening of the 6th and we made a quick evening hunt and as soon as we got to our glassing spot we looked down the hill and saw a big 6 x 6 bull feeding in the clearing below us about 200 yards away. It was the first night and was getting dark so we decided not to make a play on the bull that night. They next day we just checked all 4 of my remaining trail cameras to see what was in the area and we ended up putting in about 7 miles, that night we were trying to locate bugle some bulls and my buddy suggested that we play a game where whoever got the next bugle would be shooter on the next setup We agreed and the very next stop I was able to get a bull to answer just above us! The next day we decided to go hunt an area that my buddy has hunted for several years but one I had only been to once and never really hunted much. We were able to get 2 bulls fired up just after daylight but they were moving down into the drainage. Well about 1.5 miles and 1000 vertical feet later we ended up in the bottom of a giant windblown hell hole that had been torn up by elk!! We were getting close and so my buddy hung back about 40 yards and I got setup on a nice open bench with a large cliff above me and a hog back rock cropping below me about 100’ up off of the river bottom. A couple bugles back and forth followed by some raking set the hook and the bull started up trail on the bench that I was standing on, I had several windows ranged from 20-45 yards and was ready for the bull to walk into view. Well he did indeed, he let out one last bugle and then stepped out of the timber at about 40 yards at a steady pace headed and looking straight at me He continued on his path until he got 10 feed down the trail from me where he stopped and stared at me for the next 5 minutes, he couldn’t tell what was going on but knew I was out of place in his home. He kept putting his head slightly behind a tree moving to his right and every time I would tense up to shoot then he would yank his head back and look at me for another minute. Finally after a few times he took a step behind the tree and I drew, he spooked from the sound and circled behind some dead bushy trees to my left, he was only about 15 yards away and I had a very small window to shoot through so I took the shoot. That arrow hit a branch and never touched the bull, (later we found it stuck into a tree with the broad head stuck 3” to the right of it sideways) the bull circled below the hogs back and I took a few steps ahead to get another window. This time there were no obstructions and the bull stepped into the window at 27 yards and my arrow hit home. I didn’t know it at the time but my buddy who had been calling was also at full draw and all the bull had to do is take about 1 more step and he would have had a clear shot as well We watched as the bull slowly walked off and out of site, we gave a few silent high fives and were both pretty excited about the experience. We waited about 30 minutes and decided to look for my arrow but could not locate it? The ground was soft and covered with years of deadfall and needles so it is possible it went under the ground? Anyway not knowing we decided to give the bull another hour just to be safe, I shot the bull just before 9am, around 10:20 we headed down to look for blood, we found ok blood but not great blood, we made it about 30 yards from where I shot just about to the last place we could see him and we could see antlers sticking up above the deadfall below. After a few more high fives and some man hugs we walked down to retrieve the bull, his neck was very stiff already so he expired quickly, the hit was further back than I would have liked but never hit guts and was very lethal.
Pic of my buddy standing where the bull was when we had the stare down.
Once we took a couple picks the work started, we made a makeshift meat pole and started boning out the elk, the meat pole made it very easy to keep the meat clean, my buddy would work on quartering the bull while I worked on cleaning and bagging the deboned meat. We also took the jaw and hide off of the skull to lighten the load for the pack out, we leap frogged the meat out making one trip with packs each with a front and a hind quarter in them and then we would go back where my buddy would carry the 60lb meat bag and I would carry the head and my bow. The trip out was grueling, it was about very steep with lots of blow down and reprod, the first 1/3 of a mile we gained about 900’ of elevation and then once to the ridge top we had just under a mile of decent walking to make it back to the jeep, there was one thick nasty creek crossing on the top but other than that it was nice walking. So in total we ended up packing the bull close to 2000’ uphill and right under 3 miles. That put our total miles for the day to about 5 miles and about 4000’ total feet of elevation if you count making the two trips downhill. We made it back to the jeep right as it was getting dark, had a nice cold diet Pepsi and shared a victory cigar. My buddy is an animal and it would have been a nearly impossible task getting that elk broken down and out of there on my own, i was really hoping to repay the favor but i guess it will have to wait until next year!
Pictures of the break down!!
We arrived at my house, put the meat bags in the shop fridge, through the head in the garage, showered and headed back to camp. We hunted very hard for the next few days, my buddy had to go back to work on Tue & Wed so I was able to make it to town and get all of the meat cut up, wrapped and in the freezer and get the skull boiled out for a euro. We got into bulls every day and ended up getting into bow range of a good six point bull every day for the last 6 days we hunted but even though he got to draw his bow several times he couldn’t get a shot off. Over all it was a great season, my buddys boy ended up coming out for a couple days and hunting and got to see elk, I got to get my wife on elk three times but she couldn’t get close enough or it was too thick to shoot and I got to take my two boys out a couple times, the last time we went out they both got to use the bugle tube and had a nice six point screaming back at them while my wife tried to put a stalk on it!! Now we it’s time to focus on my boys rifle buck tags 9yr & 12yr and then its off to ID in November to hunt mule deer again with my bow!! Next September can’t get here fast enough!!
Pictures of the Packout!
Coming out Heavy!
Reached the Top!
Finally back at the Jeep right at Dark!!
Back at the House
This year I took off September 7-23rd which is the last two weeks of the season here in Oregon. Prior to my vacation I hunted the first two weekends, opening weekend I took my wife out and sat a pond I had been watching all summer, I checked the cam and had a pictures of a Monster 7x8 bull on my camera about 2 hours before we got there. We could hear elk in the nearby meadow and after a few soft cow calls we were able to get a small bull and a couple cows to come in, the cows came into just under 20 yards but the bull never presented a shot except at 40 yards which is too far for my wife to shoot. It was getting dark so we decided to head back out since we were about a mile from the closest road. We made it about 200 yards from the pond when we spotted a spike feeding in the meadow, we walked up the edge of the meadow to try to get closer and when we got to about 40 yards we spotted a big 6x6 feeding with two cows in the meadow the spike had been in. The elk never saw us, I ranged the bull at 45 yards and the closest cow at 30, I drew back and settled into my anchor on the bull, I was trying to get my site to align with my peep but there wasn’t quite enough light to feel confident in my shot. My wife was standing 2 feet from me and was asking why I wasn’t shooting, she was very frustrated when I decided to let down and let him walk out of that meadow I may have been able to pull off that shot since I have a pretty consistent anchor but it was early in the season and I really didn’t want to make a poor shot on the bull so I passed.
Here is a picture of the bull I passed on.
Fast forward My hunting partner showed up on the evening of the 6th and we made a quick evening hunt and as soon as we got to our glassing spot we looked down the hill and saw a big 6 x 6 bull feeding in the clearing below us about 200 yards away. It was the first night and was getting dark so we decided not to make a play on the bull that night. They next day we just checked all 4 of my remaining trail cameras to see what was in the area and we ended up putting in about 7 miles, that night we were trying to locate bugle some bulls and my buddy suggested that we play a game where whoever got the next bugle would be shooter on the next setup We agreed and the very next stop I was able to get a bull to answer just above us! The next day we decided to go hunt an area that my buddy has hunted for several years but one I had only been to once and never really hunted much. We were able to get 2 bulls fired up just after daylight but they were moving down into the drainage. Well about 1.5 miles and 1000 vertical feet later we ended up in the bottom of a giant windblown hell hole that had been torn up by elk!! We were getting close and so my buddy hung back about 40 yards and I got setup on a nice open bench with a large cliff above me and a hog back rock cropping below me about 100’ up off of the river bottom. A couple bugles back and forth followed by some raking set the hook and the bull started up trail on the bench that I was standing on, I had several windows ranged from 20-45 yards and was ready for the bull to walk into view. Well he did indeed, he let out one last bugle and then stepped out of the timber at about 40 yards at a steady pace headed and looking straight at me He continued on his path until he got 10 feed down the trail from me where he stopped and stared at me for the next 5 minutes, he couldn’t tell what was going on but knew I was out of place in his home. He kept putting his head slightly behind a tree moving to his right and every time I would tense up to shoot then he would yank his head back and look at me for another minute. Finally after a few times he took a step behind the tree and I drew, he spooked from the sound and circled behind some dead bushy trees to my left, he was only about 15 yards away and I had a very small window to shoot through so I took the shoot. That arrow hit a branch and never touched the bull, (later we found it stuck into a tree with the broad head stuck 3” to the right of it sideways) the bull circled below the hogs back and I took a few steps ahead to get another window. This time there were no obstructions and the bull stepped into the window at 27 yards and my arrow hit home. I didn’t know it at the time but my buddy who had been calling was also at full draw and all the bull had to do is take about 1 more step and he would have had a clear shot as well We watched as the bull slowly walked off and out of site, we gave a few silent high fives and were both pretty excited about the experience. We waited about 30 minutes and decided to look for my arrow but could not locate it? The ground was soft and covered with years of deadfall and needles so it is possible it went under the ground? Anyway not knowing we decided to give the bull another hour just to be safe, I shot the bull just before 9am, around 10:20 we headed down to look for blood, we found ok blood but not great blood, we made it about 30 yards from where I shot just about to the last place we could see him and we could see antlers sticking up above the deadfall below. After a few more high fives and some man hugs we walked down to retrieve the bull, his neck was very stiff already so he expired quickly, the hit was further back than I would have liked but never hit guts and was very lethal.
Pic of my buddy standing where the bull was when we had the stare down.
Once we took a couple picks the work started, we made a makeshift meat pole and started boning out the elk, the meat pole made it very easy to keep the meat clean, my buddy would work on quartering the bull while I worked on cleaning and bagging the deboned meat. We also took the jaw and hide off of the skull to lighten the load for the pack out, we leap frogged the meat out making one trip with packs each with a front and a hind quarter in them and then we would go back where my buddy would carry the 60lb meat bag and I would carry the head and my bow. The trip out was grueling, it was about very steep with lots of blow down and reprod, the first 1/3 of a mile we gained about 900’ of elevation and then once to the ridge top we had just under a mile of decent walking to make it back to the jeep, there was one thick nasty creek crossing on the top but other than that it was nice walking. So in total we ended up packing the bull close to 2000’ uphill and right under 3 miles. That put our total miles for the day to about 5 miles and about 4000’ total feet of elevation if you count making the two trips downhill. We made it back to the jeep right as it was getting dark, had a nice cold diet Pepsi and shared a victory cigar. My buddy is an animal and it would have been a nearly impossible task getting that elk broken down and out of there on my own, i was really hoping to repay the favor but i guess it will have to wait until next year!
Pictures of the break down!!
We arrived at my house, put the meat bags in the shop fridge, through the head in the garage, showered and headed back to camp. We hunted very hard for the next few days, my buddy had to go back to work on Tue & Wed so I was able to make it to town and get all of the meat cut up, wrapped and in the freezer and get the skull boiled out for a euro. We got into bulls every day and ended up getting into bow range of a good six point bull every day for the last 6 days we hunted but even though he got to draw his bow several times he couldn’t get a shot off. Over all it was a great season, my buddys boy ended up coming out for a couple days and hunting and got to see elk, I got to get my wife on elk three times but she couldn’t get close enough or it was too thick to shoot and I got to take my two boys out a couple times, the last time we went out they both got to use the bugle tube and had a nice six point screaming back at them while my wife tried to put a stalk on it!! Now we it’s time to focus on my boys rifle buck tags 9yr & 12yr and then its off to ID in November to hunt mule deer again with my bow!! Next September can’t get here fast enough!!
Pictures of the Packout!
Coming out Heavy!
Reached the Top!
Finally back at the Jeep right at Dark!!
Back at the House
Last edited:
