Ron G. Report post Posted October 25, 2008 2008 is a year I won’t soon forget. My wife, Karly, decided to put in for elk this year. We put her in for early rifle bull first choice, and rifle cow second choice. When the elk draw results came out, my sorrow at not getting drawn was overruled by joy for my wife getting drawn for her very first elk tag. She was drawn for the October antlerless elk hunt. The work then began. I took her out shooting every chance we got, and an informal education on hunting began. This was to be her first big game hunt, and in actuality it was pretty much her first real hunt except for accompanying me on a couple of duck or turkey hunts. Practicing for the hunt… We didn’t go up until Friday night, as much as it killed me to skip opening day it worked out better time wise for us. We also figured we’d only have to deal with the crowds in the woods Saturday and Sunday am before the majority of the people tagged out or went home. Saturday am found us near where I was archery deer hunting earlier in the year. Many of you may remember the some of the elk pictures I posted after that hunt. I figured it would be a good starting point. After sitting and hiking around some, we were getting ready to take a break and I saw an elk running on the opposite ridge. I pulled out the cow call and gave a couple of ‘mews’. Before I could react, what I now realized was a cow elk came running at full bore right for us. Karly and I looked at each other and she asked me if she should shoot it. I said it was her decision and she said on her first day of hunting she didn’t want to shoot a calf. The calf came over to within 40 yds of us before finally realizing mommy wasn’t over there and wandered off to bed down further up the ridge. The rest of the day was pretty uneventful. We did see one bull that night on a waterhole as we were heading back to the truck. Excited anticipation… Glassing… More glassing… And even more glassing… The next morning found us in an area recommended by my dad and another friend who has a place near my parents. After passing a couple of trucks along the road, we parked where we thought we could intercept the elk that travel back and forth across a couple of ridges. As we were getting out of the truck I heard a bugle. Then another, and another. I mentioned to Karly while sitting in the truck with the doors open that it must be a couple of ‘yahoos’ back up the road a ½ mile and that they must be screwing around with a bugle while waiting for it to get light. As soon as I stepped out of the truck I realized that the bugles were coming from different directions. Hot darn! The bulls were still fired up, probably hot with the ‘second’ rut. Karly and I got on our way and had bugles and cow calls within a 100 yds of us, but it was still too dark to see well enough to shoot. We ended up seeing 3 different bulls that morning ranging from a 3x3 to a 6x6. We did kick up some elk out of their bedding area around 8am. They only offered a quick glimpse and were gone. So close, but no cows seen and no shot opportunities. That afternoon my dad wanted to show us a trail in the area so the whole family loaded up and went out hunting. The kids were pretty good sports and walked a little ways down this trail before wanting a break. They also got to play in the dirt for a while. Papa helping out with the kids… My family… Ryan showing his mommy how the shooting sticks work… Playing in the dirt… We walked with Papa and the kids back to the truck and then saw them off. Karly and I hunted the rest of the evening and didn’t see anything except a beautiful sunset. We’d hiked way too much on Sunday, so I was hoping the elk would be just as fired up on Monday am, and we’d hopefully be in a better position to cut them off at daylight instead of before light. We got out a little earlier on Monday to hopefully allow us a chance to locate the bugles and position ourselves to intercept them. We stopped where we parked the day before and got out to hear bugles 100-200 yds behind us, with cow mews just out of sight. Further up the road we went. I think we went too far though, as when we got out of the truck and started making our way back to the elk all we could hear was very faint bugles, and by sunrise the bugles tapered off to nothing. After crunching our way through the woods for a while, we decided to circle around and possibly get back to the truck a little earlier since we found the elk bedded so early the day before. I suddenly looked up and saw a cow standing broadside about 80 yds from us. I put up the shooting sticks and stepped aside so Karly could get set up for a shot. It was a little comical as the sticks fell to the ground and we fumbled around to get a shot off at the elk. As soon as Karly got all set up for a shot the cow walked off into the surrounding cover. It was only after she was out of sight that I remembered the cow call. We snuck through the trees trying to intercept the cow and saw a flash of movement ahead of us. Once again we got set up and this time I stopped the second cow with a ‘mew’ from the cow call. She was behind two layers of trees and didn’t provide a clear shot. She walked off and the next cow stepped into view. Once again I stopped her with a cow call. Still no clear shot. This happened one more time before we decided to move and try to catch them in a more open area. During this time we could hear weak bugles, more like grunts coming from behind the cows. It seemed like the elk were reacting to the shots and pressure from the last few days and once the sun came up they were quieting down significantly. We moved up a bit and we saw a lone cow behind a clump of bushes. Karly got set up on her shooting sticks and as the cow stepped into the open I stopped her with a cow call. Her vitals exposed, I told Karly to shoot when she was ready. Next thing I hear is the click of the safety and BOOM! The cow dropped in her tracks. She kicked and moved around so we sat and watched her. After a couple of minutes she struggled to get up so I told Karly, “Shoot her again! Shoot her in the neck!” BOOM! She was down for good then. Karly’s first shot hit the cow high in the shoulder, and the second right in the neck. I had ranged the cow at 96 yards. Karly keeping an eye on the downed cow (out of sight)... The view of the opening the cow was standing in... Karly's excited smile after the shot(s)... We walked up on her and found out that Karly dropped her right in the middle of a quad trail that intersected two roads on parallel ridges. It would make for an easy pack out. We tagged the elk and I left to get the kids and my dad for pictures and help get the elk back to the house. I was very proud of my wife and happy to be there with her. She was super excited and can’t wait to get drawn again! The kids were excited to be a part of it and were excited to see Karly’s elk. As we found her... Me bringing the kids... The kids checking out Karly's elk... Karly with her elk... The kids and Karly with her elk... The family with Karly's elk... One proud and happy hunter! Sorry for the length and thanks for reading… Ron Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AzHunt Report post Posted October 25, 2008 Now that is an awesome hunt, story, and pics. CONGRATS to you, your wife, and family!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lucky2hunt Report post Posted October 25, 2008 Congrats! Nicely done, and great pictures too! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SilentButDeadly Report post Posted October 25, 2008 way to get it done! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cramerhunts Report post Posted October 25, 2008 Awesome job Ron. A huge congrats to you and your whole family. Phil Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fudipena Report post Posted October 25, 2008 awesone job, congrats to you and your wife. great story and pictures. great to see the young one being involved. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ultramag Report post Posted October 25, 2008 awesome hunt. thats looks like a big cow!!!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
flagpknmule Report post Posted October 26, 2008 WOW!! nice job greta story and pics.CONGRATS!!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AllBoutHuntn Report post Posted October 26, 2008 Great job Karly, love to see the whole family involved in the hunt!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ron G. Report post Posted October 27, 2008 Thanks everyone! My wife and I both had a great time and look forward to her having another tag. Maybe next time a bull tag??? My wife also says thanks for all the kind comments! Ron Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Coues Archer Report post Posted October 27, 2008 Congrats. on a great cow. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Elkaddict Report post Posted October 27, 2008 Congrats to Karly!! She's surely hooked now. Glad to see the kids could get involved too. your dad told me about the hunt yesterday, exciting. Now you'll have the both of you sitting around chewing fingernails awaiting draw results. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Red Rabbit Report post Posted October 27, 2008 Congrats to you Karly on your first elk. Sounds like you had a great hunt, and had your kids involved sharing the experience. Looks like they enjoyed it a bunch also. Ron, Thanks for taking the time to post a long and good tale of thehunt. I know the effort is a lot more than a one-liner. Looks like you have some new hunting partners for the years to come. Doug~RR Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tucson John Report post Posted October 27, 2008 That is so awesome Ron! You are a lucky man! You have a beautiful family and it's so nice to see you all together enjoying a hunt. Great story and pictures, Congratulations to you all! TJ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tommat Report post Posted October 28, 2008 Great job...thanks for the post. Enjoyed it! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
