I found my self lying awake in the early morning cold
before sunrise. Several different factors contributed to my restlessness. The
first was the fact that I was freezing, I was hunting with my wife and she had cocooned
herself within the down comforter that would normally give warmth to both of us.
Banished from warmth I suddenly heard the sound I had been wishing for the last several
months. Up the hill from our tent a soft bugle pushed all thought of sleep from my
mind.
The cold lost its nagging grip as my excitement rose. I strained hoping to hear
another bugle. I was not disappointed, a second bugle rang out only scant seconds
after the first. I suddenly realized that this second bugle had come from a
different direction and sounded much closer than the first. A third bugle came
immediately after the second and again to my amazement it was from a different
direction than the first two. I was reaching the last day of my hunting and had not
seen an elk the whole time and here I was listening to three elk bugle back and forth in
the dark around my tent. I watched my watch willing time to roll faster, I would
have reached out and raised the sun had I had the power.
When the black of night started to shift to lighter hues of gray my wife and I started up
the mountain. I was only a short ways from the tent when I decided to bugle. I
was answered immediately. I figured the bull to be about 300 yards directly up the
mountain. The wind was steady downhill, so we pushed up closer to the bull. I
bulged several more times as we moved in closer and each time I was answered
immediately. We reached a small meadow that was about 50 yards across and I sat down
in front a lark pine tree, deep within the shadows. I bugled again and the answering
bugle sent chill's of excitement through my veins. The bull was moving in.
Suddenly I saw movement through the trees on the far side of the clearing.
"He's coming", I whispered to my wife, who was sitting behind me and slightly
more downhill than I so she could not see the bull. The first thing I saw was the
tips of his antlers as he came into the clearing. I thought I was looking at the
largest bull that ever walked the earth. He came out to the center of the clearing
and stopped. I was struck dumb, I had no clue what to do. The only thing that
separated this huge animal from me was a small pine tree about 2 feet tall. I felt
very exposed and thought surely he can see me. My camo and the deep shade of the
tree were working well. I was afraid to call again being this close so I decided
patience was the key. After what seemed like an eternity the bull turned slightly,
exposing his side to me. I slowly drew the string of my bow. It was when I
reached full draw that I realized I had not thought about the distance to my target!
I quickly judged the distance to be about 25 yards. I aimed and released the
string. I watched my dreams fade and shatter as I watched my arrow fly harmlessly
over the back of the bull. I couldn't believe it, how could I miss! The bull
spun in place and started to bolt for the trees. I reacted by giving a sharp cow
call from the reed in my mouth. To my amazement the bull stopped in place than
turned
toward me. A second chance was too much to ask for but there he was standing before
me. His eyes seemed to be looking right though me. I didn't think I was going
to get another chance, but I slowly pulled another arrow from my bow. My bow was
down and I placed the arrow on the string. I held the string against my fleece
jacket to muffle the snap of the knock as it slid on the string. Hiding as best I
could behind that 2 foot tall tree I turned my bow and drew the string. I realized
that the bull was closer than I had realized on the first shot, he was now standing 30
yards away. I place my pin on his vitals and released the string. The arrow
sped across the tall grasses and I lost sight of it. The bull spun and bolted up the
clearing in the direction he had come. I was watching him hoping I would see the
arrow protruding from his side. Nothing, I saw no arrow! I was sure I
had hit him. I bugled as I watched him disappear in the trees.
"Did you hit him" my wife quietly asked.
"I'm not sure, I think so" I replied.
We decided we should wait for thirty minutes before we looked for signs of a hit.
The sun was beginning to peak above the mountains giving color back to nature. I
continued to bugle, it helped pass the time since there were still two other bulls
bugling. To our left was a clear cut awash in the early morning rays of the
sun. I knew a bull was just within the trees above the clear cut. After
several bugles he ventured out on the ridge of the clearing. To this day I wish we
would have had our camera. My wife is a photographer and had been caring her camera
every day, but I had rushed her out of camp so quickly that morning she had forgotten
it. The bull was a small spike, but he was a beautiful sight. His coat
alight in early morning rays. His movements noble and powerful. I sat and
watched him trying to memorize the moment. At that moment I realized bowhunting was
forever in my heart.
After the time had elapsed we started to look for blood sign. After several minutes
of frustrated searching my wife found a definite blood trail. Relieved and also
concerned we decided to wait another thirty minutes before following the trail.
Waiting is always difficult. Once the time again had passed we started
tracking. The trail was difficult to follow in the grass around the clearing.
Thanks to my wife's great ability to follow a blood trail we followed the signs to a well
used game trail just above the clearing. I was leaning against a stump working with
my pack when I looked to the edge of the clear cut to our left. I noticed what I
thought was a tree branch sticking up from the ground. As I looked a little
harder I realized it was antlers. It was my bull about 100 yards from where
our setup had been. I had my first trophy and a memory I will always cherish!
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Stories : First Elk >>
