Hail Mary Elk Hunt

[C.S.Davis]

I was at work on a Thursday when I got a call from game and fish saying someone gave their early archery bull tag back and I was next in line if I wanted it. The issue and in my opinion the part that makes the story better was that the hunt started the next day! I made some phone calls and talked it over with my dad and a few other people that knew the area pretty well and decided I'd take the tag. Due to work and the short notice, I was going to have three days the first week and four days the second to make it happen. Seven days total to kill a screaming bull sounds easy right? I was wrong. The rest of the day and the following two at work were the longest most anticipating days I've ever had. With my schedule I was zero help with getting the camping equipment together and buying last minute groceries and supplies. Not to mention I had to learn how to cow call on the clock as well. My dad took care of it all. I'm just glad I shoot my bow regularly so that was just about the only part of this hunt I had confidence in. Luckily my dad was able to get every day we needed off and he was just as motivated as I was. Finally after clocking out at 9pm Saturday I raced home, showered, grabbed any last minute supplies and my dad and I headed north to chase some elk. We were meeting my friend Colton (RackTracker) who had camp picked out. He went out the evening before and said the rutting activity was incredible and the this was going to be an epic hunt. 

The morning of my opening day came and we made a plan to climb a hill and glass and see what was out there and possibly hunt them the same way we hunt deer. The hill didn't offer the glassing opportunities we expected, luckily there were plenty of bugles to chase. The morning was great I just couldn't make it happen. I had already seen a few bulls that would make me more than happy to wrap my tag around. I specifically remember one bull that we snuck into with a heard of cows with him that winded us at 78 yards. When we watched him run away I turned and looked at Colton and he looked at me and said "shoot that one." I agreed. The evening presented a lot of distant bugles where the bulls were across the road in the neighboring unit, leaving us with no options.

Day two started way different. There were minimal bugles in the same spot and we found ourselves wandering around praying for one to sound off. At one point a small bull came in at about 80 yards but I wasn't interested at the time. That was about all the action we got for the morning. Colton went home after the morning hunt and it was my dad I for the rest of week one. That evening my dad and I tried a different spot after assuming the elk felt pressured with lots of hunters in the same spot. This spot was in an area where I guessed elk might be getting out of bed and wandering around. We jumped a lone bull close to dark but that was about it. We were going into day three without a plan. I texted a friend who had killed his bull in the same unit earlier in the week and asked if he wouldn't mind sharing some spots. He sent me a pin and we had our spot for the following morning.

Day three started off much better. My dad and I walked in just to turn right back around after hearing a bugle that sounded like the bull was standing in the bed of our truck. Next thing we know, this bull had us crossing the road three times before catching up with him. I walked into a small opening and caught a glimpse of a leg about 200 yards out. As i was looking at this elk my dad gets my attention and there was a small bull staring at us broadside. I nock an arrow and I'm convinced this bull is in range. My rangefinder reads 125 yards. My thought was cool I'll let him walk since he'll run as soon as I move closer anyway. We refocused on the other elk and at this point we could tell it was a bull. We sneak in closer and he responded but he wasn't completely bought in and wandered off without presenting a shot. We circled around and thought he was going to walk into our lap until the bull stopped bugling and disappeared. That was the end of our first week. 

Next I had 4 long days of work ahead of me but it gave my dad and I enough time to become YouTube experts and and convince ourselves we can kill a bull. My friend texted me saying his buddy had tagged out and he had some great spots for me to hunt the four days I had available. I couldn't be more thankful for his help. 

Day four started with me getting held over at work and being late to get home. We met Colton again in camp and went straight to a completely new morning spot. The forrest was silent. Late in the morning we spotted a bull on the opposite hillside but couldn't get close enough to make it matter. The evening hunt would set the tone for the rest of the hunt. We walked into a tank and decided to sit it for the last hour and a half of the day. We heard distant bugles and knew the elk were getting closer but by the time they came in it was too dark. At this point we knew the full moon was going to make the hunt tough. We had to stay at the tank for nearly an hour because we were covered in bulls and didn't want to spook anything.

Day five started with nothing. Not a single sound in the forrest. We basically went on a nice little walk and that was it. Colton had to go back home and it was my dad and I again for the rest of the hunt. We could not wait for the evening hunt so we could go to the tank. We made a plan for my dad to sit where we did the day before and I would go to the far side so the elk would get to me faster= and maybe I would get a shot. The elk were a little late to the party that evening so I decided to chase the bugles while my dad stayed at the tank and called. I got about 100 yards from a big bull we later named Big Boy without being able to get closer for a shot.   

Day six had another uneventful morning. Never in my life had I looked forward more to evening hunts than this elk hunt. My dad and I had the same plan as the day before. Around 5:15 hits and my dad started with cow calls and bugles later and all we heard were distant chuckles and nothing else. We assumed the elk knew something was up. Maybe our calls were too distinct at this point or I pushed too hard the day before but the elk didn't want to come in for a drink. I now had one day left to get it done. That night we listened to bugles from a ton of elk in a field less than 200 yards from camp. We decided we'd chase them in the morning.

Day seven came and after keeping us up all night the bulls went silent about an hour before light. We went to a spot hoping they'd be traveling to us with no luck. We bumped a small bull but that was all the action for the morning. We went back to camp, took a nap and packed up camp in anticipation for the last few hours of my elk hunt. My hunting history has shown that I'm no stranger to waiting till last minute to fill my tags and this hunt would be no different. My dad and I went in with the same plan except this time I brought my stalking shoes in case I had to sneak in on the chuckling bull from the day before that we cleverly named Chuckles. At 4:15 we hear a bugle go off close to me and shortly after my dad texted me saying well that was fast. On went my stalking shoes and I began inching closer to the sound of the bull. It felt like multiple times I was within range. I could hear his distinct chuckles and he was raking trees in response to another distant bull. I could never get close enough until about a quarter mile later I stepped into an opening to where I could finally put a face to a name. Chuckles had me pegged. I ranged him broadside. 128 yards. I backed out and tried to come around while my dad texted me saying a big bull had come into his view at the tank. I found myself in a standoff about 70 yards away from chuckles. I thought I needed him to walk out of either side of a tree and I'd have a shot. Next thing I hear is him bugling around 200 yards away with about 10 minutes left of shooting light. I left the cat and mouse game to try my hand at the bull back at the tank. I ran in my socks and thin shoes a few hundred yards in hopes of beating the dark. I get back to the general area and slowed down to sneak in. I see the bull that my dad confirmed was Big Boy go into the field toward the tank. I knew if i could get to a certain tree I'd have a shot. On the way there I discovered he had about 15 cows with him. I was sneaking through openings looking like one of the cartoons on their tippy toes going from tree to tree trying not to be seen. At this point I saw a different bull eating off a juniper and he looked like a great bull not that it mattered with 5 minutes left of light on my last day. I ranged him, 91 yards. I was in the open and drew. I decided I could get closer so I stayed at full draw trying to get to a tree for a 70 yard shot. Four steps later every elk in the unit except for my bull was staring at me. I took aim at 87 yards and let it fly. I didn't see or hear a hit and all I knew was elk scattered and I didn't see my bull leave with the rest of them. I go to where he was standing and there was zero blood and no arrow. I decided to go to my pack and get my dad and as I walked around a tree I saw my bull laying in the field taking his last breaths. What a sigh of relief. My dad saw me at full draw and walking looking like Elmer Fudd but he had no idea I shot. He got to me a minute later and gave me a giant hug after I told him there's a dead bull laying about 50 yards away from us. We snapped our pictures, started cutting him up and had the bull back to the truck and ready to go home by midnight. Just like we wrote it up.        

 

[RackTracker]

Congrats Cole! Once again you made it happen in the final minutes of a hunt! Thank you for letting me be a part of your hunt

[oz31p]

Very nice

 

never miss a chance to hunt

[AZHunter1]

Very cool good job!

[Will K]

Awesome.

[eddielasvegas]

Great, great story and congrats.

Thumps up to your support crew too. 

 

Eddie

[Big Browns]

Huge congratulations!!!!!!

[AZbowhntr]

Way to get it done.  That has to be satisfying to get it done in the last few minutes.  But stressful.

[MULEPACKHUNTER]

Very cool deal

[C.S.Davis]

1 hour ago, AZbowhntr said:

Way to get it done.  That has to be satisfying to get it done in the last few minutes.  But stressful.

Thank you. I was having a great time so I wouldn't say it was stressful but there was an inner sense of urgency that grew as time passed. Kind of a fine line type of deal for me.

[C.S.Davis]

4 hours ago, RackTracker said:

Congrats Cole! Once again you made it happen in the final minutes of a hunt! Thank you for letting me be a part of your hunt

Thanks Colton! You're always welcome to come help out

[bigbuckfever]

Congratulations on sticking with it and getting it done.  Thanks for such a detailed story, felt like I was there too.

[Chef]

A whole lot of luck and even more determination from the start of the process up until the end!

Congrats to you and your team on making the best of everything!

[Sparks]

Great bull and great story, thank you.

[CatfishKev]

Talk about down to the wire!

Congrats!