11 Year Old's Quest For Her First Elk

[lancetkenyon]

Well, I am 85% packed in the truck. I have a half day at work, then home by 10:00AM to load the expensive stuff, take a shower, grab some ice and pack the remaining food and hit the road. Should be up in time to unload some stuff and get to some scouting this afternoon. A huge thanks go out to a good friend who is letting me use his cabin up there. And he also might be able to come up early next week to help on the hunt. Plus, my brother just found out he will be able to head up on Friday too. Should be a fantastic time no matter what happens.

 

Good luck to all of the hunters out in the field this week. If you are in 7W, and see a big black F250 crew cab, say "hi". I am hoping to have internet connection up there, so if I get a chance in the evenings, I will keep you posted.

[IA Born]

Good luck! Can't wait to see the results. I'm sure you have it all dialed in, but if you end up needing any help, give me a shout. If I'm around (in Flag) and can get away, I'll be there.

[AZHog]

Best of success to your daughter! Looking forward to the rest of the story!

[lancetkenyon]

Wednesday, 11-26-14:

 

Here is a day-by-day update to this long saga that has filled my time over the past months.

 

Got off work at 10:00AM, get home, load the rest of the expensive stuff in the truck and hit the road by noon for the adventure that would bring laughs, bonding time, utter exhaustion, family get-togethers and eventual tears....

 

 

Up to the cabin of a good friend in Williams by 3:00PM, dropped off some of the gear and hit the area in time to hike into a lick we have before sunset.

 

[lancetkenyon]

Thursday (Thanksgiving Day), 11-27-14:

 

 

Work up at 4:00AM to a cool (16°F) mountain morning.

 

 

Off for a day of scouting and squirrel hunting all bundled up.

 

 

One of 5 squirrels my daughter got on Thursday.

 

 

From 16° to 66°, big temp swings had the elk holding tight to the beds during any semblance of light in the sky.

 

 

After not seeing an elk the ENTIRE day of hiking, driving, glassing, we finally saw 3 bulls at end of legal shooting light, which got hopes up a bit. Plus, hard not to appreciate a beautiful sunset at the end of a long, tiring day.

 

 

We went to bed with high hopes for opening day, alarms set, clothes ready, hot showers taken, and full bellies. In bed by 7:30PM....

[lancetkenyon]

Friday, 11-28-14:

 

4:00AM.....alarm does not go off.....still sleeping.....

 

6:00AM My worst nightmare comes true as my second watch alarm goes off....we have overslept on opening morning!!! Jump out of bed with some words I should not say in front of my 12 year old daughter and wake her up and rush to get ready. Didn't even brush our teeth!!! Out the door by 6:15, thank God we got everything ready the night before. Still with high hopes.

 

Plan A is shot, so we head for an area I can glass some big open areas that usually hold elk near bedding areas. Make is there by 6:45AM right at legal shooting light. Hike to the ridge and glass for 4 hours with nothing spotted. I mean NOTHING. No elk, deer, antelope, coyotes, nothing. Head over to another area and put some serious boot leather down to the tune of 7 miles by dark. We jumped a buck, and two unknowns in some thick PJs. Heard definite antlers on branches on one though. About 30' away. We saw a bald eagle, golden eagle, and some amazing country. Got to teach my daughter about the importance of watching landmarks and not relying on GPS. Also showed her how to pick up game trails, and found a lion kill doe buried under a juniper. Good day al around spent with my daughter, Taylor.

 

 

Head back to the cabin exhausted and starving. My wife, brother and his wife have all come up to spend the weekend with us. So dinner is waiting and dang my sister-in-law can cook! Hit the rack by 8:00 to get some rest for the upcoming day.

[WampusCat]

I cant believe you left us hanging like this...

[Hoss50]

and then.......

[lancetkenyon]

Sorry. Story to continue soon, I promise.

[lancetkenyon]

Saturday, 11-29-14

 

4:30AM Alarm goes off and out of bed to get headed to our spot we want to hunt.

 

Off go the Three Amigos (or the 3 Stooges if you ask my wife).

 

 

Get to the hill I almost ALWAYS see elk on by 6:00AM, about 42 minutes before legal shooting light, so we take our time getting loaded up, and hit the hill by 6:20AM. At 6:30, 1/4 up the hill, here comes 3 trucks. Two stop within 100 yards and guys get out and start hiking. Perturbed, I am not paying attention to what I should be, and bump a bull about 50 yards above us. I had been proceeding slowly while glassing at first, but the momentary lack of concentration made me miss this bull, blowing a good chance to have waited him out until shooting light and ending the hunt early.

 

Anyway, we skirted the hill and glasses below us for a couple hours, then headed across the road up into the big canyons to bedding areas we have always found elk in as well. Hiked in about 3 miles of uphill slow moving and glassing without seeing a single elk. Very frustrating and started getting me worried.

 

Taylor glassing canyons while my brother checks his GPS.

 

 

I got to teach Taylor about landmarks, and use of a compass, a dying art. Made her get us back to the truck all by herself. She came out pretty close, about 100 yards off. Not bad for 3 miles and several canyons that split further down the mountain.

 

Taylor leading the way down.

 

 

Went back and ate a quick lunch with the women and headed back out to try and cut off any elk between bedding areas and feeding/water. There were only two tanks that had water for miles around in this area, one already had hunters, the other was out in the open. We opted to sit a gas line cut between bedding areas and the water. We had views in both directions for about 650 yards.

 

 

Right as the sun went down, the road hunters all decided to drive down the cut....of course. We packed it up with about 10 minutes of legal light left after the third truck went by and stopped and decided to talk to us out of his truck window from 30 yards away......

 

My brother got this cool shot of us as he went to get the truck.

 

 

We met the wives in Williams for the Light Parade and dinner at the Route 66 Grill.

 

 

My wife and daughter (she is in there, just good camo) in front of the Williams Christmas Tree

 

 

Got back to the cabin and played Uno until 11:00PM.....went to bed whooped.

[IA Born]

You're killing me, Smalls!!!

[cramerhunts]

Man a great read so far that has me desperately wanting more! I'm pulling for you guys!

[Flatlander]

And then. . .

[lancetkenyon]

I have been typing for an hour...and my laptop died. Starting over.

[lancetkenyon]

Sunday, 11-30-14 (My wife's birthday)

 

4:30AM Alarm goes off, and I get a text from my brother in the next bedroom saying he is going to sleep in on his last day of a 4 day weekend....what a lazy bum.

 

Taylor the Trooper and I get up and hit the road by 5:00AM.

 

5:00AM We discuss the day's plans, and come to a compromise of sitting a tank and regaining some rest of both mind and body that has been stripped from us over the past 3 days of hiking, early mornings, and late nights. We have put over 20 miles of boot leather down, and the legs are tired, backs and shoulders aching from heavy packs, and minds weary from very little game seen, plus fighting the crowds.

The ride to the tank had Taylor catching a few extra winks.

 

 

6:15AM Arrive at the tank and check it out by flashlight to see if it held water (it did), and check for tracks. Plenty of trails leading into a section of fence that was lower than others. We decided to sit a hill about 150 yards away, with trails on both sides leading from a hill behind us to the tank.

 

6:30AM All set up on the hill, with Taylor ready behind the gun, and me glassing the hillside behind us, and the area around the tank looking for any movement. Hear some coyotes about 200-300 yards off in a canyon, and hoping to give one a fatal case of lead poisoning, but none showed up.

 

8:30AM I am going stir crazy sitting at the tank, Taylor has been reading a book for school for a couple hours, and NOTHING is moving. I tell Taylor I am going to hike to the top of the nearest ridge to check out the area and see what it looks like.

 

8:45AM Head back and tell Taylor I am breaking our deal, and we are going hiking. I can't stand sitting on a tank waiting for a non-existent elk to maybe show up when I really don't think that will happen. Grudgingly, she agrees to go for a hike.

 

8:50AM My wife and brother are heading back to Phoenix at noon, so we have to head back to the cabin by 11:00AM to eat lunch and see them off. So, we hit the hills for a short hike.

 

9:00AM I swear, for such a big animal, a bull elk can sure blend in and be quiet when the leave an area in a hurry....we spot two bulls heading out quickly about 30 yards away. I never even saw them, and here goes a missed opportunity...again. They were smallish bulls, a couple raghorns. But not seeing hardly any elk, it was exciting nonetheless. We tried to get another look at them, but they flat disappeared.

 

9:10AM Spot a herd of mule deer, all does, but fun to watch.

 

9:50AM Decide to start heading back to the truck by making a big loop to the south where the elk had headed in hopes of finding them. Yeah right.

 

10:15AM We have covered about 500-600 yards downhill and start the trek back to the truck. Now, we are not really expecting to see anything, and are having a good time just being out in God's country, and watching the squirrels. We cross a small 5' wide ravine and helping Taylor up the other side, we are laughing. As we top out a small knife-ridge, I instantly see a patch of cream across a 150 yard canyon. Duck down and tell Taylor there is an elk bedded directly in front of us. Now, we can't even tell what it is as the head and front shoulders are behind two huge Ponderosa Pines, but we get Taylor set up just in case. For God to put us through that opening in the trees still boggles my mind. We had seen some bones and had been checking them out, and that is what made us go the extra 30 yards down the canyon to this point.

 

10:18AM I glass another elk just downhill from the elk we first spotted. It is behind a grove of pines like jail bars, but all I can see is the rear end. I start to slide over to my right to check out the other elk, but I am dangerously close to getting in the first elks field of vision. So we have to wait.

 

10:20AM The first elk gets an itch, and scratches his ear with a hind hoof. This gives us a view of antlers, the first confirmation it is a bull. I tell Taylor I think it is at least a 5 point, as I see what appears to be 3rd, 4th and main beam. We discuss lowering our goal of a 6x6, and decide this bull would be a fantastic first elk in ANYONE's book. Taylor decides she will take it and we get serious about getting a clean, ethical shot.

 

10:21AM Taylor slides to her right about 12" to clear a large hanging branch that was covering the perfect spot for a shot. But now, there is a small pine trunk in the way, plus a bunch of small hanging branches from a tree on the right.

 

10:22AM Slide back to the left by about 6", and double check that the pine trunk in front will not be an issue. This entire time, the winds are swirling, and I am terrified the elk will either wind us, see us moving, hear us whispering or getting into position.

 

10:23AM Finally in position for a good shot, and discussing shot placement. Bull is bedded slightly elevated above us, leaning on his uphill side. Tell her to hold middle of body up and down, and just behind his tucked elbow on the front leg. Start preparations for the shot.

 

Now, I have told Taylor a white lie for the past months since I decided she would be shooting my .300RUM vs. the .270 Win that I had upgraded for her. I told her she had shot it before, and the recoil did not bother her. In reality, I have not let her shoot it for fear she would become recoil shy of it and make her nervous about shooting it again. I figured that she would not think about it if she had not felt it, and make her more relaxed on game. I know I have not felt recoil on any game I have shot at in the moment, and hoped it would be the same for Taylor. You might have read earlier that she shot it, but it was my .25-06 Ackley that she shot. This was in case she read the thread.

 

10:24AM I am watching the bull through my binos, and actually hear her breathing slowing from rapid to relaxed. Amazing the calm that can come over a 12 year old girl with her first elk in the scope. I don't know if I have ever had that happen so naturally. I talk her through the process, "are you steady?", "squeeze slow", "relax", "squeeze slow".

 

10:25AM She actually asks me, "Are you ready?" I tell her I am, and reassure her to squeeze slow when she is ready. Breathing slows even more, and stops.....

 

10:25:30AM BOOM!!!

 

10:25:31AM The bedded elk lays over on his uphill side without a single kick, twitch, jump...nothing. One and done, DRT.

 

10:25:35AM Taylor says in a not too quiet voice, "My ears are ringing!" (The .300RUM has a muzzle brake)

 

10:25:40AM The other bull, and a third we never saw, are on their feet and looking around to see where the bolt of lightning that just killed their friend came from.

 

10:26AM The other two bulls, a 4x4 raghorn and a broken up 6x6 about the same size slowly get out of Dodge looking for what they should be afraid of.

 

10:27AM I text my wife, brother and sister-in-law, "Elk DOWN!!!"

 

If you look closely, you can see the small pine stump sticking up in front of the gun, and at the top of that, the bull's cream body on the other ridge. And the smile says it all.

 

 

 

10:28AM Here is where the tears start...my tears. Months of anticipation after learning Taylor had drawn her first elk tag, practice, planning, scouting, more practice, buying equipment, reloading, and more practice are over. The stress of finding my daughter a good bull are over. My pride in my daughter, and the tears in my eyes both swell.

 

My brother texts back and asks if I want him to come and help...DUH! My reply was something along the lines of, "heck yeah!"

 

10:30AM After watching the bull for 5 minutes without a single movement, we head over to check her bull.

 

10:35AM I saw a photo in Cabela's of a hunter walking up to a deer, and wanted the same photo of Taylor doing the same with her first elk. I hurried over and checked the elk with the stick in the eye trick. Done. Here are the photos.

 

 

 

And here is the long awaited and anticipated photo of Taylor with her first elk, a nice 5x5 bull!

 

 

Celebrating!