Re: Best hunting story contest.
This just happened a fewe days ago. last winter , a good friend of mine called and said she wanted to hunt elk this year . she had piled up some points, and i told her to put in for amuzzleloader l.e. hunt. Later she drew the tag and called and asked me to help her. first morn at 7:30 passed on a nice 335-340, later in day several smaller ones. all day we listedned to bulls screaming in a different drainage. next morn we were there. elk everywhere. we chased and watched and sneaked and saw and had a general blast. one bull became our focus. he was a strong 340 ish. we got into position on him several times and he always managed to just barely sneak away. we spent all midday napping and eating lunch only a 100 yards or so from him and his herd. at one point about 1:30 in afternoon he got up and circled his group and was closer so i decided we should crawl in on him. ( it was extremely thick) we crawled right up to two spikes sleeping , really they were ten feet from us. so we backed away. at 3:30 ish, he was up and herd was feeding along just down from the ridge we were on. over several hundred yards we had gotten within 20 +-, on several ocasions. he just would not show himself. by 5:30 or so he was working down the ridge away from us. we pursued as the wind would allow. at around six he was staying put it seemed so we made a quick move to close. we finally got to maybe 100 yards and saw his cows in the quakies. they were 40-60 yards and on our side, not his. It was a perfect position. i asked her to get in front of me and get ready and when she said she was ready i would bugle and he should come on a run. She got ready and i screamed at him. all the cows looked his way, ( we could not see him where he was at) and i could tell he was coming just by watching them. he screamed back and it was really obvious that he was on the way. there was a small hill that blocked him from us. a few seconds later he screamed again and was barely behind hill out of view. i whispered to her that he would step out any second and only move slowly to get on him. just as he was stepping out into view, two shots rang out several hundred yards away. the entire herd turned and ran. i walked to where he stood just as he whirled and ran and he was literally three or four steps from dying. Oh well, thats hunting. next evening we were on him again and got to 40 yards and could not move a muscle. the cows had seen something and we were pinned. after some time they all decided togo other way. ( they did not smell us as i check the wind alot) we ran to flank them and catch them moving other way. while doing this we heard a shot from where some great guys we met were at. we coveered several hundred hundred yards in our effort to get in front. as we were approaching the last hilltop. a bull screamed only a few yards away . he was screened by some brush but i could still see his legs and he was going to walk over us. we crouched down and he stopped and tormented us for what seemed like forever. finally he stepped clear at 8-9 yards. he was a nice six point and i softly said shoot. she did. it was so cool to help a gal who had wanted to kill an elk for 30 years. and noone would ever help her out. She loves to hunt and is a blast to spend time with in the woods. we took care of the bull and hiked out in the dark with the head and horns. my truck was parked right next to the fellows camp that we had talked with and he had shot the bull we were chasing after we pushed them over the hill. the whole experience was very cool and fun. Next morning as we took the horses in to pack out it was snowing and raining and we got drowning wet. MAN I LOVE ELK HUNTING.
