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A friends first elk

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A friends first elk

Postby 7mmfan » 04 06, 2020 •  [Post 1]

Lefty lit a small but hot fire under my behind with his call to action about putting stories into writing and sharing peoples hunting tales. I was talking with my friend Alex the other day about past hunts and this one was fondly remembered.

Alex and I met in high school chemistry. He was a junior, in the class on schedule. I was a senior, taking it to make sure I graduated :lol: (spent to much time fishing instead of going to class). That spring of 2003, I took him on his first steelhead fishing trip and he caught 2, what a jerk. Him and I have been buddies ever since, including being each others best men in our weddings, introducing him to his wife, and sharing innumerable hunting and fishing trips together. He came from a no-gun/non-hunting family. This was all new territory for him.

He started hunting a couple years after highschool. We were fishing for separate charter companies in Sitka AK at the time, and he bought a rifle to have on board his boat for opportunistic Blacktail hunting trips and to scare... away pesky sea lions. I believe it was fall 2005 when we first elk hunted. In 2009 he drew a late season cow tag in the Teanaway unit in WA. To this date, he had never fired a shot at an elk, and had maybe only seen a handful in the woods. I lived just a short drive from the unit at the time, so I was able to scout for him. My dog Chloe, who was just a pup at that time, and I logged a lot of miles that winter break from college looking at elk, shooting grouse, and tracking turkerys.

The day before his hunt started, he showed up and we did the 3 mile hike up into the area I'd been seeing the most sign and animals. We had barely made it to the basin and came over a slight rise and there was a herd of 20 bedded down right in the old road bed, 40 yards away. We slowly backed out and left them be, optimistic that tomorrow morning would bring quick success. That night, weather rolled in and the 12" of light fluffy snow that was on the ground turned into 6" of soup. Fog was thick and we could only see about 50 yards for most of the morning. As we slogged along the old decommissioned road, I caught movement below us in the timber. A flash of tan and dark legs confirmed an elk was moving from left to right below us about 40 yards. I got Alex stopped and settled on the shooting sticks in the only opening available to us. I was going to cow call when the animal stepped into the opening. Right on que, the elk stepped out and I stopped it on a dime. The only problem was that it had a gigantic set of 6x6 antlers attached to it's head. We watched in awe as this massive bull stood below us for nearly a minute, before wandering off. I'd like to say we were bummed, but man we were over the moon getting to be that close to a bull of that caliber.

We continued our slog for most of the day. The ground covered in elk sign, but no elk to be found. Sometime after lunch, the sun broke through and burned most of the fog off. We ate our lunch and then began the loop back towards the truck. At this point, we had let our guard down, as often happens in the doldrums of the afternoon when not much is happening. Suddenly Alex screeches to a halt in front of me and asks, "How far away are they?". I had to ease my 5' 8" 150# frame around his towering 6' 2" 220 frame to see the lead cow of the herd staring at us broadside and in the open from about 65 yards away. I said, "CLOSE. SHOOT!" BOOM! his Kimber 325 WSM roared and the herd took off thundering across the creek bottom and across the next hill. As I glassed the herd, I noticed one cow with a crease across her brisket. She slowed and turned just enough for me to get a good look and confirm that he had given her a close haircut, and nothing more. We moved up to the spot where she'd been standing and the evidence was clear in the snow. A line of hair about 6' long beyond where she'd been standing and a small piece of skin here and there with a couple pin pricks of blood. Alex said that he was anticipating her running forward and subconsciously lead the shot. Being the first game animal he'd ever shot at, it was totally understandable.

We continued our hunt and ended up back at the truck right at dark. I did my best to consul and reassure him that it happens to everyone, me in particular, a lot, and that he'd have another chance. The following morning was cold and foggy. The soup from the day before was now unbelievably loud crunchy snow. We were making fast time getting back towards the area where we had seen the most sign from the day before. Alex was walking with his head down, an inexperienced move, and I was walking with my head on a swivel. I caught movement to our right and managed to get Alex to stop. 4 cows stood in the timber 75 yards away. Again his question, "How a far away are they?" I just said, "SHOOT", but they were already on the move. We got on the tracks and followed them to a clearcut where we encountered the rest of the herd. He had the wind, and were able to sneak through some saplings into a good shooting location, but the herd bunched up and wouldn't offer a shot. Eventually they got tired of the game and left out the far side into the timber. Alex, once again beaten down started crunching up the road with his head down. I stopped him and we had a quick talk about a couple key items. 1: Always walk with your head up. This accomplishes two things, it keeps your mind in a positive state by looking at scenery and for animals instead of your cold feet, and it allows you to see animals instead of walking by them. #2: You are shooting a small cannon. If the animal is inside 300 yards it is point and shoot. Stop asking how far away they are if they look closer than two football fields away. He was a football player, so this struck home.

We made it to the end of the clearcut and I was able to clearly see where they herd had gone in the snow. They were working up a small canyon, and the road paralleled it on the ridge. I told him if we were fast, we might be able to catch them and have a good shooting position from above on the road. We had gone maybe 1/4 mile and I peaked over the edge of the canyon and there they were, lined out on the opposite side, 250 yards away. They had slowed and some were feeding. I got Alex up to the edge, told him my estimated distance (no range finder, poor college student), and told him to take a few deep breaths and calm his nerves. We had all the time in the world. BOOM! the 325 barked. All the elk lifted their heads, but none appeared hit. A couple went back to feeding. I remember clearly saying, "Ok, you got the first miss out of the way, now you can get down to business." He took a deep breath, and BOOM.... THWACK! The resounding impact reported back as I watched the yearling cow in the middle of the group drop and begin sliding down the hill. She came to rest as all the other elk vacated the hillside. "Good shooting Tex!" I exclaimed and patted him on the back. I could hear him shaking in his breath, but he maintained his stoic attitude. We gathered our things and made our way across the canyon to his kill. I beat feet to get up there ahead of him, and set up to take some pictures of him walking up on his first animal.

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We shook hands and talked about the hunt and the shot, and everything that we all do after the hunt is done and the work is about to start. At this point in my hunting career, I'd killed many animals, but we had always field dressed and drug or carted our animals out. I knew how to break an animal down, I had just never done it in the field. I had been carrying a game cart around on pack frame for the last 2 days so we could easily move the animal out. My how times have changed! We field dressed the cow, and then started the skinning and quartering process. Thank goodness for clean snow. It took us a couple of hours, but we had her completely broken down and bagged up. We then loaded her up onto the cart, tied a long stick across the handle bar, and off we went. We towed the cart through frozen crunchy snow for nearly 4 miles back to the truck.

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As we set the last bag of meat into the truck bed, the sigh of relief and satisfaction that comes with a successful hunt caught up to Alex finally. We sat on the tailgate in the cold and freezing rain that was now falling, and had a beer, laughed and recounted the hunt all over again, and then hit the road headed for my college shanty. We hung his elk in the shed in the backyard, and had tenderloins for dinner.

For me, this hunt achieved a couple of milestones. It was the first animal I'd broken down in the woods. Was definitely the farthest from truck animal I'd ever been a part of, and what got the ball rolling for improving my pack situation and ability to hunt further and lighter. More importantly, it was my first time helping another get their first animal. I learned a lot about communication, expectations, and coaching a new hunter. I often think of specific instances from this hunt when I find myself coaching a new hunter again, and the mistakes I made then so that I don't make them again. Probably most importantly, I gained a steadfast hunting partner. We have each helped each other pack numerous animals out of distant locations and deep canyons, sometimes well into the night by head lamp. We've shared successes, defeats, and many good fires and bourbons. I'm looking forward to many more.
I hunt therefore I am. I fish therefore I lie.
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7mmfan
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Re: A friends first elk

Postby Lefty » 04 06, 2020 •  [Post 2]

Glad I provided the tinder!

Fantastic story

Put more of the pictures together ,.. and give a printed copy to his family for Christmas ( and the digital)

I put a story together years back for my oldest daughter,.. And sold it to Wildfowl for $500. Im not a great writer and a worse speaker.
And an observation. Sleds pull easier than wheeled cars in the snow
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Re: A friends first elk

Postby Swede » 04 06, 2020 •  [Post 3]

Great story 7. You must have a good butchering kit. I see you saws off the legs at the knee joint. The good times with friends are some of the greatest part of hunting. I often go it alone, but would prefer to have someone with me for butchering and packing.
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Re: A friends first elk

Postby 7mmfan » 04 06, 2020 •  [Post 4]

Swede wrote:Great story 7. You must have a good butchering kit. I see you saws off the legs at the knee joint. The good times with friends are some of the greatest part of hunting. I often go it alone, but would prefer to have someone with me for butchering and packing.


I used to carry a Wyoming saw with me, as that is what dad always did. Since then, I have learned how to break animals down with only a knife and lightened my pack by a couple pounds.

I prefer hunting alone usually. I like the autonomy, and not needing to report to anyone. Boy howdy is it nice to have company and backup when meat hits the dirt though. Our group has worked a pretty good balance of hunting on our own or in pairs with distant meet ups and ability to communicate so if someone does knock one down everyone in the vicnity can convene.
I hunt therefore I am. I fish therefore I lie.
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Re: A friends first elk

Postby Swede » 04 06, 2020 •  [Post 5]

I usually don't have that far to pack out so I have a pack kit in the truck with a pack frame. The kit includes a Wyoming saw. I still use it often. I cut the head off or the legs, or the spine for easy access into the tenderloins. The saw is not necessary, but it is easy to work with.
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Re: A friends first elk

Postby wawhitey » 04 06, 2020 •  [Post 6]

7mmfan wrote:
Swede wrote:Great story 7. You must have a good butchering kit. I see you saws off the legs at the knee joint. The good times with friends are some of the greatest part of hunting. I often go it alone, but would prefer to have someone with me for butchering and packing.


I used to carry a Wyoming saw with, as that is what dad always did. Since then, I have learned how to break animals down with only a knife and lightened my pack by a couple pounds.

I prefer hunting alone usually. I like the autonomy, and not needing to report to anyone. Boy howdy is it nice to have company and backup when most hits the dirt though. Our group and worked a pretty good balance or hunting on our own or in pairs with distant meet ups and ability to communicate so if someone does knock one down everyone in the vicnity can convene.


I prefer hunting solo too. Until i kill something. But everybody is always busy then, go figure.
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