With Elk, it' s just that, isn' t it?...Hunting I live in an area that is infested with elk. Most of you guys probably think that those of us who are blessed to live in such an area get to watch them all the time, learn their daily habits, and just go out on opening day and fill our tags. NOT!!! With jobs, spouses, kids we don' t get to spend that much time looking for them. Besides. If I' ve learned even 1 thing about them, its' that you can rarely count on them to stay in one specific place much more than 24 hours, and if they decide to move, it can be many miles in less than an hour. And then, even if you are among them, nothing is certain:

Case in point. 5 years ago during the 3rd season, I was climbing a very steep ridge to position myself on its' face between 2 migration trails. I knew they would be moving across it to a wintering area 2 miles to the south at some point in the next few days. As I climbed, nearly crawling, snow began to fall in great thick potato chip sized flakes. Not a minute later, shots rang out to the North. Within a minute after that, a herd of about 100 elk came thundering across the ridge above me. I felt and heard them coming before I ever saw them. I was left exposed in the grass and sagebrush as they poured in above me, and stopped. 200 black eyes peering down at me through the snow 150 yards away. I raised my rifle to look for bulls and saw several dispersed in the back and end of the group. But...I couldn' t shoot.

My heart was hammering from the climb,and the angle of the slope so steep that my scope lens was caking with the wet flakes. I couldn' t shoot...They watched only momentarily, and then were off at a run to the south, high above me. I continued to climb. and eventually reached my goal; a stand of junipers half way up the ridge between the 2 trails. After sitting and continuously shaking my head for ten minutes, I heard more elk coming. this time, below me.
In my fatigue and frustration I had placed myself in the middle of the stand of trees, not the edge as intended. ...and here they came. The same herd, and heading back in the direction from which they originally came!!! Now I had but a small gap in the trees just below me as they passed single-file at a full trot. Like looking at a closely passing train through a keyhole. Again, no way to get a shot. No meat for the freezer, no antlers for the wall...that, strangely enough, is what I have at times, come to know as Elk Hunting.