The reason I shot a calf is that I have been hunting elk for 7 years and never taken one home. I don't personally know anyone who has taken an elk home from a do it yourself public land hunt. I guess you can say I am very inexperienced in elk hunting. Our hunt was about 10 days this season. We had an excellent areascouted that was an 8 mile backpack trip in. After the 4th day, we ditched that area because there wasn't any fresh sign. We went to a roadside hunting area that gets high pressure. Supposedly no one that week had taken anything off the mountain or even seen much, but we knew the land. I was down to one full day left before I had to go home for the season. I had been stalking since sunup and when I jumped that calf it looked like a P&Y bull to me. I did see it had a small limp before I shot, but that didn't bother me. I have shot deer with broken legs before. While practicing with broadheads, I can hit a 50 cent piece up to 40 yards and a softball up to 60. I had a rangefinder and knew the exact distance. It appeared that she ducked the string. I have never heard of an elk doing that, but deer do it all the time. The second shot, she was quartering towards me and I ranged the tree in front of her at 30 yards. The blood trail started about 10 yards past that tree, so I assume she was at 40. I don't know if my sights were bumped or if I was just that excited and pulled the shot. Both shots were perfect left and right. The shot entered at the corner of the shoulder and was a complete pass through. I have taken this shot on many whitetail and it has always made for a quick recovery as it did this time. When I was coming out of the woods with my first elk, I felt like a champ. Everyone I saw was so excited. I even ran into a guide who was excited. Those are the real hunters. The guys who work their butt off for one chance in 7 years. Not a single one of them had anything negative to say. They all wished they were in my shoes.

Boy named sue: I have two posts about my elk because I was requesting help from the Big Game post and I wanted to brag about my first elk to the bowhunters.

Also, this calf was twice the size of a normal adult Texas whitetail.