My hunting partner Steve and I had done our pre-season scouting two weeks
prior to the hunt and had identified some well used water tanks and tree
stand sites. The bulls had already started to bugle so we were encouraged
about the upcoming hunt. We arrived in the early afternoon the day before
opening Friday to finish setting up camp and to get ready for the hunt.
Jason had to work until 4:00 and so did not arrive until after 8:00 that
evening. Our plan was for Jason and I to set up for the morning hunt on
a knoll south of camp where I had shot two elk in previous years. In the
evening, the plan was to sit a new tank that Steve and I had discovered
using my new Magellan GPS and the TOPO! software I had installed on my
computer this year. This seemed a year destined for success.
We were up at 0-dark thirty. Steve set out for his tree stand and Jason
and I drove south to where we would hike into the secret knoll. The
bright full moon allowed walking through the dark without flashlights and
we soon found a couple spots where we could have good visibility without
being too conspicuous. As we sat there we could hear at least nine bulls
bugling all around us in the lower areas but nothing came up on top. It
was pretty easy to identify the older bulls as each has his own unique
sound. The younger bulls all sound pretty much the same. One thing is
for sure. None of them sound like the textbook calls you hear on a tape.
I knew that at least one of the older bulls had a cow with him as I could
hear her mew occasionally. Around 9:30 we ventured around the knoll a bit
but the bulls had moved on to the north taking whatever cows that were
around with them. We returned to camp to find that Steve had seen a cow
near his stand but it did not come close enough for a shot.
After a lunch of foot-long hot-dogs and beans we showered and took it
easy for the rest of the afternoon until we left for the evening hunt
on the tanks. Steve spent the time in a tree stand over what we have
named Good Tank. He shot a 4X4 bull there opening day last year.
Jason and I climbed into a ground blind next to the new tank which we
christened Good Tank 2. Neither of us had anything come in during
shooting light although Steve had a 6X6 bull come in a little after
7:00. Evidently the full moon was working to our disadvantage and elk
were watering later in the evening.
Our plan for the next morning was for Jason and I to take up spots on
either side of the knoll, down where the elk were the previous morning.
He would sit by a large tree on the east side where we hike in and I
would go over to the other side and wait for some activity. My plan
was to sneak close to the largest bull that I heard bugling and see if
he had any cows with him. I knew that if any of the bulls had cows it
would be the largest. Their bugling was mostly off to the west so I
began to still hunt in that direction. The first bull I closed in on
turned out to be a nice 4X4. Nice but evidently not nice enough to
solicit the attention of a cow. Then I heard the bellow of a monster
up on the next ridge west so off I went in pursuit. I love this part
of the hunt.
After about a half hour of sneaking I was able to catch glimpses of him
on the ridge and sure enough there was at least one cow with him. Now
I had to close the distance to the cow. They are much more wary than
the bulls who’s sole focus is the cows.
She was beginning to angle down the hill to a point about 30 yards in
front of me so I stopped, shielded by some skimpy jack-pines. Just
before she would have come into the open I drew my bow. She stopped
and looked right in my direction. Right through those trees. I had
been had. The game was up. She barked once and trotted up the ridge
to her sweetheart. So much for that one. It was certainly exciting
though and at least I now knew we had some cows in the area. That was
the first one we’d seen.
My strategy now was clear. I would continue pursuing the largest bulls
that I heard in search of their harems. I continued to hunt farther
north, following the calls of the larger bulls for the next couple hours
and then began hunting back toward where I had left Jason on the east
side of the hill. At one point I stopped to shed some clothing and sit
on a stump to eat my bagel and get a drink of water. I heard some
footsteps behind me and, even though I knew better, my curiosity got the
better of me and I turned my head around to find a cow elk, all by
herself, staring at me from about 30 yards away. We stared at each
other for a few seconds before she decided that I wasn’t her type and
trotted away. Foiled again. The temptation to look for the source of
the noise might come from all of the bears we have seen in that area.
When I arrived back at the big tree and didn’t find Jason there I sat
down to wait. It was then that I distinctly heard him yell “Dad?” I
looked around but couldn’t see him. After awhile I headed back
toward the truck figuring he might meet me there. While unloading my
bow and eccoutrement into the back of the 4Runner Jason drove up in
his usual style, at warp nine. “I’ve got one down he said”. “You
shot one?” I answered. I could hardly believe it. “Yep, but she’s a
long way from here and I didn’t know how to mark the spot on the GPS”
he said. Wow, I couldn’t believe it. This was terrific. It’s what I
had been praying for for a long time, ever since we were drawn. But
then reality set in. We still had to find the spot where he was when
he shot it, track and find it, and then get it to the truck. The real
work was about to begin.
Jason had shot the elk along an old skid trail very near where I had
been hunting that morning. In fact, we were probably less than 500
yards apart since we were both pursuing the same bunch of larger bulls
in hopes of finding some associated cows. He had marked the spot with
a white handkerchief and then, using the GPS, hiked a mile directly
back to camp, got in his truck, and drove to where I was waiting.
We drove back to camp and picked up the bone saw and some water and
then drove around to where my topo showed was the nearest road to where
he thought he had shot the elk. For some reason neither of us thought
to throw the large gambrel hook in the 4Runner. Big mistake. While
the winch on the truck does a terrific job of pulling an elk up a tree,
it needs something to attach to. The gambrel hook is home-made out of
rebar and over 30 inches wide. It’s perfect for elk. Jason had taken
distance readings with the GPS both to where we had left my truck and
to camp. So, using those measurements, we triangulated to where we
thought the shot was taken. After hiking east from the truck we found
the skid trail that he shot from and shortly afterward, the handkerchief
tied to a tree limb. We soon picked up a scant blood trail and about
20 minutes later found the elk. She was a beautiful animal that I later
aged at 5 ½ years old using the book from AZG&F. The shot had been
perfect if a little high and she went less than 100 yards.
After tagging the animal and taking a couple pictures I said a silent
prayer thanking God for providing this animal for our family and for
granting my wish that Jason tag an animal this year. He is truly a
wonderful provider giving us so much more than we deserve. We finished
cleaning the elk and then hiked back to the road and the truck, marking
our way with surveyor tape to enable us to return with the truck to
where the elk lay. Fortunately there was a large, old, dead tree near
the elk that we could tie the winch pulley to and we only had to drag
the elk a few yards to get to it. It was then that we discovered I had
forgotten the gambrel hook. Good grief! We debated skinning the elk
on the ground but were able to improvise by cutting a stout log about 4
inches in diameter and with some discarded APS fish tape fabricated one
that worked fine, although we kept a wary eye on it and the old tree
limb in case one of them decided to break.
With both of us skinning and sawing, the job was soon finished and the
four elk quarters were in the back of the air-conditioned 4Runner. I
was using a new Buck Folding Alpha Hunter knife that has an ATS-34 blade
of Rockwell 60 hardness. It sailed through the skinning job with ease
and still shaved hair off of my arm when we were done. The gut hook
also did a great job of opening up the elk for cleaning and other hide
cutting chores. We had the meat to the butcher in Payson by early
afternoon and I was back in camp that evening to prepare for another
five days of hunting.
