I went to an elk camp in the White River National Forest this week. Opening day was Saturday. I sat all day at one end of a meadow that separated two large tracts of dark timber. The wind was blowing hard and I didn't see anything in the morning or over lunchtime. An hour after lunch, I changed position to the other side of the meadow. I was hoping an elk would walk out of one tract of timber and cross that meadow to the other large tract of timber. At about 5:00 pm, a nice bull elk appeared - out of one side of the timber, trotting along and looking around. I was sitting in a grove of aspen trees and he was about 100 yards away.
I instantly raised my rifle and acquired him in the scope. I could see 4 points on one side, but I couldn't see the other side of his rack, but he had really long tines. At that point, he was trotting hard across the meadow. I carefully tracked him through the scope, put the crosshairs behind the shoulder, and squeezed the trigger.
The instant that round went off, the elk stopped for just an instant, and then started running directly toward me. I racked the bolt and got him back in the crosshairs. He then broke left and started running back to the tract of timber he'd emerged from. That gave me a broadside shot. He was running full tilt and only 30 yards away from that big, dark nightmare of black timber and thick brush. I kept the crosshairs behind his shoulder the best that I could and squeezed the trigger again. The elk instantly piled up hard on the ground and he was down.
He was a beautiful, 5x4 bull elk with a nice, wide body, full of muscle. We skinned and quartered him in the field, and it took 2 long hikes in the dark with gusting wind up a trail covered in rocks and fallen timber to get him back to camp. The front quarters were so big that we had to drag them out on a tarp. It took hours to lug that meat and the head back to camp, and we didn't get back to camp until almost midnight.
The first shot went between the ribs on each side and shredded both lungs. The second shot entered high on the side above the shoulder and severed the spine. The first shot would have killed the elk eventually, but I didn't want to have to find him and drag him out of that thick timber, and the spine shot stopped him in his tracks, DRT.
A friend also got a big, fat cow; it was interesting how much fat there was on the cow compared to my bull, who was almost all lean muscle. At 11:00 pm, I got to help gut her while it was snowing. The next morning, we used an ATV to drag her out, around logs, rocks, and trees, and out of the timber.
It was the best hunting experience I've ever had, and also the most exhausting. The guys at the camp were great and really helped out. I got to learn how to skin, quarter, and debone/butcher an elk. I have a freezer full of meat and memories that'll last a lifetime! Elk are really tough; ya gotta respect an animal tough enough to run hard with shredded lungs. They are magnificent animals.
I instantly raised my rifle and acquired him in the scope. I could see 4 points on one side, but I couldn't see the other side of his rack, but he had really long tines. At that point, he was trotting hard across the meadow. I carefully tracked him through the scope, put the crosshairs behind the shoulder, and squeezed the trigger.
The instant that round went off, the elk stopped for just an instant, and then started running directly toward me. I racked the bolt and got him back in the crosshairs. He then broke left and started running back to the tract of timber he'd emerged from. That gave me a broadside shot. He was running full tilt and only 30 yards away from that big, dark nightmare of black timber and thick brush. I kept the crosshairs behind his shoulder the best that I could and squeezed the trigger again. The elk instantly piled up hard on the ground and he was down.
He was a beautiful, 5x4 bull elk with a nice, wide body, full of muscle. We skinned and quartered him in the field, and it took 2 long hikes in the dark with gusting wind up a trail covered in rocks and fallen timber to get him back to camp. The front quarters were so big that we had to drag them out on a tarp. It took hours to lug that meat and the head back to camp, and we didn't get back to camp until almost midnight.
The first shot went between the ribs on each side and shredded both lungs. The second shot entered high on the side above the shoulder and severed the spine. The first shot would have killed the elk eventually, but I didn't want to have to find him and drag him out of that thick timber, and the spine shot stopped him in his tracks, DRT.
A friend also got a big, fat cow; it was interesting how much fat there was on the cow compared to my bull, who was almost all lean muscle. At 11:00 pm, I got to help gut her while it was snowing. The next morning, we used an ATV to drag her out, around logs, rocks, and trees, and out of the timber.
It was the best hunting experience I've ever had, and also the most exhausting. The guys at the camp were great and really helped out. I got to learn how to skin, quarter, and debone/butcher an elk. I have a freezer full of meat and memories that'll last a lifetime! Elk are really tough; ya gotta respect an animal tough enough to run hard with shredded lungs. They are magnificent animals.
