Southern Elk
Well-known member
Due to work, I haven't had much time for elk hunting. Last weekend was the first time that I'd been able to hunt in a few weeks. My good friend and forum member El Unit, who had already killed a nice bull, was gracious enough to go with me and help. I told him that this was a meat hunt. I would shoot any legal elk, because I wasn't sure how many days I had left to hunt.
Saturday morning I went out by myself and didn't see any elk. El Unit had some things to take care of in town that morning, but had a plan for the evening hunt. We would hunt an area that was difficult to access, but he had heard that the spot was holding elk. We arrived at our spot at around 3:00 PM and we were excited to see tons of fresh elk sign in the snow. We set up in a spot where we could see a lot of country. Although it was warm that day, the wind was blowing and it was chilly sitting still all afternoon. About an hour before dark, I couldn't take it anymore. I told El Unit that I would like to get up and move to our left and then our right to see some of the country that we couldn't see from our perch.
This move was more about getting moving to warm up than a well thought out plot to find elk, but it worked. We eased down hill and to the left and peaked over the lip of the hillside. We didn't see anything. We skirted through some timber and eased into a meadow to our right. Almost immediately, I spotted an elk in the distance.A quick look with our binoculars confirmed that it was a bull and he had another bull with him. El Unit gave me a range of 220 yards, but we needed to sneak closer to get a clear shot. We belly crawled to the point that I thought the bullet would clear the grass and I fired a shot at the larger of the two bulls. He jumped and spun around, but didn't run off. I chambered another round and fired again. At this point he bolted to the edge of the hill almost out of sight and stopped. He was sky lined so I didn't fire again. After a few seconds he walked off.
We hurried to the last place that we saw him, hoping that he fell just out of sight. No luck. He was gone. We were able to pick up a very light blood trail and followed it about 400 yards. It was getting dark, so I made the decision not to push him and let him lay overnight. I was depressed because we didn't find him before dark. El Unit assured me that both shots hit him and he was sure that we would find him the next morning.
That night we looked at maps and realized that where we left him was actually closer to a trail coming in from the opposite direction. We felt that we could get horses within 300 yards of where we quit tracking. I didn't get any sleep that night. I didn't share El Unit's optimism. Daylight found us gathering horses and making our way into our spot.
We tied the horses and began making our way to the spot that we had marked from the night before. On the way there, we cut his trail again. It was more of the same. A single drop of blood every 10 yards or so. I began to think the worst. After 300-400 yards, he crossed a creek and started going uphill. He was taking us into an area with a lot of deadfall. Soon he started bleeding more. Then we found a bloody bed, then another, then another. This went on for quite a while. He bedded several times and led us in circles. Finally I spotted him dead in the timer in front of us! I don't know if I was more relieved or excited.
I looked at onX and we were only 260 yards from the horses and it was all down hill. We couldn't ask for an easier pack out. We got him quartered and to the horses. It was then another couple of miles back to the truck. El Unit and I have hunted together for a few years now and although we've both killed elk in that time frame, this was the first time that we had been hunting together when we got one. His help and horses were greatly appreciated.
Saturday morning I went out by myself and didn't see any elk. El Unit had some things to take care of in town that morning, but had a plan for the evening hunt. We would hunt an area that was difficult to access, but he had heard that the spot was holding elk. We arrived at our spot at around 3:00 PM and we were excited to see tons of fresh elk sign in the snow. We set up in a spot where we could see a lot of country. Although it was warm that day, the wind was blowing and it was chilly sitting still all afternoon. About an hour before dark, I couldn't take it anymore. I told El Unit that I would like to get up and move to our left and then our right to see some of the country that we couldn't see from our perch.
This move was more about getting moving to warm up than a well thought out plot to find elk, but it worked. We eased down hill and to the left and peaked over the lip of the hillside. We didn't see anything. We skirted through some timber and eased into a meadow to our right. Almost immediately, I spotted an elk in the distance.A quick look with our binoculars confirmed that it was a bull and he had another bull with him. El Unit gave me a range of 220 yards, but we needed to sneak closer to get a clear shot. We belly crawled to the point that I thought the bullet would clear the grass and I fired a shot at the larger of the two bulls. He jumped and spun around, but didn't run off. I chambered another round and fired again. At this point he bolted to the edge of the hill almost out of sight and stopped. He was sky lined so I didn't fire again. After a few seconds he walked off.
We hurried to the last place that we saw him, hoping that he fell just out of sight. No luck. He was gone. We were able to pick up a very light blood trail and followed it about 400 yards. It was getting dark, so I made the decision not to push him and let him lay overnight. I was depressed because we didn't find him before dark. El Unit assured me that both shots hit him and he was sure that we would find him the next morning.
That night we looked at maps and realized that where we left him was actually closer to a trail coming in from the opposite direction. We felt that we could get horses within 300 yards of where we quit tracking. I didn't get any sleep that night. I didn't share El Unit's optimism. Daylight found us gathering horses and making our way into our spot.
We tied the horses and began making our way to the spot that we had marked from the night before. On the way there, we cut his trail again. It was more of the same. A single drop of blood every 10 yards or so. I began to think the worst. After 300-400 yards, he crossed a creek and started going uphill. He was taking us into an area with a lot of deadfall. Soon he started bleeding more. Then we found a bloody bed, then another, then another. This went on for quite a while. He bedded several times and led us in circles. Finally I spotted him dead in the timer in front of us! I don't know if I was more relieved or excited.
I looked at onX and we were only 260 yards from the horses and it was all down hill. We couldn't ask for an easier pack out. We got him quartered and to the horses. It was then another couple of miles back to the truck. El Unit and I have hunted together for a few years now and although we've both killed elk in that time frame, this was the first time that we had been hunting together when we got one. His help and horses were greatly appreciated.
