Hello from Oregon!

[Jigs]

Hello everyone! To start off my name is Wilson (insert Castaway reference here) and I've been lurking the forums for a year or more now and decided it was time to introduce myself. I've been tagging along on hunts with my dad for as long as I can remember and he had me shooting bow as soon as I was big enough. I first started chasing them when I was of the legal age of 12 and have been at it for eight years now. Elk hunting was always a very frustrating thing and the best we could ever do was just guess what we did wrong and another reason to our ever growing list of why things did not work out, however the year before I found this site I was lucky enough to kill my first bull when everything seemed to work perfectly for once! After I found this site I realized that these creatures habits and language can be learned and overcome! It was from that realization on that I have become a true elknut, it seems to be all I can ever think about (and I know my fiance gets a little annoyed with it lol) is either elk, bows or new calls and gear. I've still got a lot to learn and I know I've come to the right place for it because I've learned more from these forums and Paul's videos and playbook than I had the previous 7 years of hunting them! But I absolutely love doing it and will continue to learn as much as I can to get that edge on the animal we all know and love (If any Oregon guys want to take a "grasshopper" out sometime I'm always open to that too!) Well anyways I thought you might want to hear the story about my bull so I'm going to include a paper I had to write for a writing 121 class. The point of the paper was to pick out one moment in time and really elaborate on it in every detail, "to bring the reader with you" I think is how my instructor described it. If I remember right I got an A so I hope you enjoy!

I was standing completely still in the shade of a dead ponderosa pine tree, as not give away my position, while my father was going back and forth with this rutting bull. With the wind in our faces I could hear the bull raking his antlers on a little tree to show his dominance and my dad's calling moving in closer to get the bull to commit and come down the hill. Our two weeks of hunting was down to the final days. My father, my uncle and I were at it again, working through the sweat and the sore to try and kill our first bull.
I looked to my left and I could see my dad was in line with my position only about 50 yards away. On a whim I decided to move up as the bull bugled to mask my sounds and put myself in a better position. I couldn't yet see the bugling bull, but his smell was thick in the air. A smell partially musty and natural, yet so indescribable I could recognize it anywhere. Without as much as a warning the bull lets out a deep throaty chuckle down the hill taunting my father, whom the bull sees as one of his own. I can feel the connection we have with this elk, as my dad is communicating with him and I feel as if I can understand what he's saying. I feel one with Mother Nature, the ultimate stock between predator and prey.
My father and the bull both fall silent and a few moments later my dad picks up a branch and starts beating it against a tree to mimic another bull, a challenge to the bull. The bull didn't wait three seconds to start silently coming closer. The entire time I could hear my heart pounding in my ears and my hands shaking, but as his massive body suddenly comes into full view I become unusually calm. I can see the drool coming from his mouth and his tongue while he was panting. He has to tilt his head back and forth to allow his antlers to pass underneath the trees. I've never seen anything quite this majestic and beautiful. In this moment it felt completely surreal and I couldn't believe what was happening. As he walked closer and closer I began to realize my biggest dream is slowly falling into place.
I had an arrow knocked and ready for when this moment came, I brought my fine-tuned Mathews bow to full draw right as he walked behind a tree and before I thought he would walk in an opening and stop. I put my kisser button in between my lips and set the string against my nose, the form I had been practicing for over ten years. Trying to control my breathing I could smell the pine needles I was standing on, the dampness in the air and the overwhelming smell of elk. One more step and he would be right where I wanted him, he took that step but didn't stop instead kept walking almost straight at me. I had no choice but to keep holding my bow back, or else he would see my movement and everything would be ruined. Everything had been tuned out except the bull and my arrow, all I knew was not to move.
Within the next few steps he veered to one side of a tree and that made him walk a little to my left, perfect. He just kept walking always keeping at least one tree between him and I. Suddenly he stopped, 23 yards and I could see him in his entirety. Instinct took over me and my sight pins fell onto his vitals, I let my arrow fly. The razor sharp Muzzy Brodhead ripping through air on its path to claim its kill, the bull hunched as he jumped from the impact, he had no idea what hit him. I could instantly see the fletching of my arrow barely sticking out of his side and blood surrounding the entry hole. All senses started to rush back into me; I could hear him crashing through the forest and running out of sight, I could see my dad and uncle start moving, I could taste success and I could feel the excitement, the discipline paying off, I could feel the kill.
The woods suddenly lit up with excitement, cheers and hugs from my dad and I, no one could believe what just happened. This is the first time any one of us has successfully connected on a bull elk and it's something not many people now can say they have done. We talked everything over about twenty times during the half hour we decided to wait before beginning our tracking.
The kill is not complete until the animal is found and recovered, fortunately we could easily follow his heavy tracks imprinted in the pine needle floor. My father and uncle went up ahead to try and follow those tracks as I followed the blood trail. We tracked him across a creek and onto a game trail, I was only a few feet behind the guys when my dad started yelling all over again. We found him exactly .33 miles from where I made the shot. The feeling of success overwhelmed me and appeared to be in the hearts of everyone else too. Six years of hard work, patience, practice, and perseverance had lead up to this moment and made everything worthwhile.
Fair chase archery elk hunting at its very nature teaches discipline, patience and is arguably the most difficult feat to accomplish. Hunting isn't the inhumane killing of animals but it truly serves a purpose. It provides for the hunter and his family and it creates a bond unlike any other between the woods, the animals and the soul. It's also not just a sport; it becomes a way of life. It's a way of life that I will forever cherish and enjoy but most importantly never take advantage of.

Bull.jpg (72.34 KiB) Viewed 2824 times

[mtnmutt]

Thank you for sharing.

Consider sending your story to Bugle (Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation's magazine), so others may read it.

[Swede]

From one Oregon hunter to another, welcome, and congrats on a great bull.

[WapitiTalk1]

Great story and nice bull buddy.. Welcome to "the" elk forum. RJ

[ElkNut1]

Wilson, great story & outcome bud! Welcome to the Forum, feel free to chime in anytime!

ElkNut1

[Yogi]

Great Story. I too am from Oregon and got my first bull with a bow. Nice when all the hard work and help from this site make everything work out.

[bnsafe]

hello and welcome to the op and yogi. the only thing is why isnt your name on here castaway

[Jigs]

hello and welcome to the op and yogi. the only thing is why isnt your name on here castaway

You know...I honestly never even thought about that! That would be pretty witty...

[WapitiTalk1]

WILSON! Sorry, had to be done. Again, welcome friend.

Cast_Away_Wilson_face.jpg (69.18 KiB) Viewed 2778 times

[Jigs]

WILSON! Sorry, had to be done. Again, welcome friend.

Cast_Away_Wilson_face.jpg

The sad thing is... I actually have a volley ball just like that someone gifted me lol!