Oh I need one of those turkey calls. Thanks Chad! I haven't seen them before.

I had a busy weekend. No deer yet...still pounding the dirt. But,...

I finally one up-ed my younger sister (I still feel puny when I compare all of her elk to mine. But, I got her this year)!

I spent this past weekend glassing for Mt. goats and chasing bear and elk. After two days of pounding the dirt at timberline, this old tire body was reluctant to “rise and shine” Monday morning (Labor Day), but I forced myself out the door. The self inflected pressure paid off! Since I was running late, instead of doing my normal routine, I parked along the highway. I grabbed my bow and pack. I shot straight into the woods. I had seen about 12 elk the night before. I didn't spook them (it was getting dark), but decided to leave them alone for the evening. I had hopes of finding them bedded down Monday morning somewhere in this area. Long story short, the plan paid off.

I was less than 200 yards from where I parked, I had heard crashing down below me. It was just crashing. It didn't sound like elk departing for the next county. I slowly moved down to investigate. It wasn’t long before I spied elk right below me! There were six to seven cows and a bull feeding from the trees and into a small sage meadow. I was 70 yards away and had about twenty yards of thinly spaced pines in front of me. They were right out in the open. I closed the gap. I ranged the bull, he was feeding and quartering away, at 53 yards. I eased forward two steps and came to full draw. The bull turned and presented me with a perfect broadside shot. Unfortunately, my peep did not rotate correctly. I stood there biting at my peep until it was in the right position. I remained undetected through the whole ordeal. Finally, the peep and I were ready to go. My heart was racing like crazy. I kept telling myself "it's just an elk"! Slowly my heart rate and blood pressure became manageable. I focused and tripped the trigger. The arrow impacted and blood began gushing everywhere! The bull was painting a roadmap as he departed-taking the cows with him. I was amazed! The bull lost a ton of blood but still managed to cover 3/8 of a mile. I found him dirt napping with all four legs pointing straight out. He must have died standing up. His legs could not carry the weight of his enormous body. He simply collapsed.

I stood admiring one of God's best accomplishments. I noticed the bull was missing his right eye. I had visions of another bull running through the woods with three eyes-one stuck on an antler point. Upon closer examination, the wound was healed. The injury must have occurred the year before. This bull was not smelly stinky-like they normally are during rut. I really believe he was hanging with the cows because of the “safety in numbers” factor. He would surly have been run off by a bigger bull once the rut hits full swing.

So, I get the bull out of the woods and back to camp. My sister threatens to call the "EDA" (ELK with Disabilities Administration). She threatens to file formal discrimination charges against me unless I concede her elk was harder to hunt. I gave in...us old guys need to take everything we get!

Here's a link:

http://hunting.sendphotos.com/storage/shared.aspx

Enjoy! As Always, Best of luck to everyone!