Calling in a Bull

It actually works! I’m not a horrible hunter after all… Although I still haven’t shot my elk this hunting season I came heartbreakingly close this last weekend. A friend of mine and I traveled down to Avon Valley for a three-day hunt in an area that we hoped had more elk than what we’ve been hunting. (I mean, I’ve hunted hard for 10 days before this trip and have seen one elk!)

We were in exploratory mode on Friday and Sunday getting absolutely skunked: not seeing any elk or even much elk sign. But Sunday morning changed all that. About 8 am we set up about 100 yards apart and started calling like crazy, pretending to be hot, good-looking cows looking for a handsome bull. And to my absolute disbelief a bull bugled about 150 yards away and came walking in looking for some action. I don’t know how to begin to describe how I felt when he came into view. One minute I was looking at a misty early-morning forest when suddenly that bull came into view. It seemed as though the rest of the forest went blurry and this huge animal became ultra-focused, even glowing a beautiful tan. My heart was pounding in my throat and I couldn’t breathe, I can think of very few times when I had so much adrenaline in my system! He walked within 20 yards of me, stopped and looked straight at Brandon before walking right in front of me at about 17 yards, in what should have been a perfect shot. However, I couldn’t pull my bow back because he would see me. When I thought I was safe with his head behind a tree, I drew back only to have him veer back downhill and trot away. I don’t think he saw me and didn’t act all that spooked, but he may have heard me and figured something was wrong with the situation and decided to skedaddle.

I don’t know how long it’s going to take to get over the fact that I blew the only opportunity I’ve had all year at an elk, but I do know that I’ll never forget that experience. I just hope there are a lot more opportunities like that in my life.