I hate when this happens...I went through a spate of bad luck a few years back where I would run into elk, but it would be either the wrong unit, or wrong gender or outside of legal hunting hours...I think Murphy may be back...

I hunted infrequently, but hard for a few days towards the end of this years' Colorado archery season which just ended this past Sunday. Well, Sunday AM, I got stuck in between 2 herd bulls just raising Hell with each other as their respective Harems ascended from some pasture land 1/2 a mile below up to their bedding area at the foot of the Anthracites a mile above me. The bull below was completely out of view, but his bugle will stay with me forever...It was a sloppy spitting scream followed by a hoarse roar more typical of a rutting bull elephant. The bull above was obviously smaller and more timid as his bugle sounded more like a hysterical woman with a sore throat.

At any rate, only the animals in the herd above were partially visible. 10 or 12 cows streaming away at a good trot 120 yds away through thick aspens, and ascending fast. Then... Heavy footfalls below to my left. I hunker, and an elk comes into view just 40 feet away. the wind is in my favor, an arrow nocked, and the meat is all but in the freezer...

It' s a 3X4 raghorn with a bad nose, and here I am with a cow tag. The herd above vacates at another threat from the Uber-bull below, and both sets of critters head in opposite directions...and both away from me. Except for Bucky the dumbass, with whom I decide to play a little hide and seek until I' m about 25 ft. away. I tire of the game and emerge full-on in his face, quietly saying.." boo" . He rolls his eyes back to nothing but the whites and takes off like a bee found his family jewels. 6 miles out from the truck, and with still enough time to play some street hockey with the kids back home, I bid the elk and Murphy adieu, and conclude elk hunt #1 of 2003.

Sorry about your luck, that seems to happen alot it seems like, my first year of deer hunting i only had a doe tag and the first day we had 3 mice 4x4' s and 3x3' s come out of a grove of trees and just stand there not more than 20 ft away, but no does, and we were standing there and the darn bucks wouldn' t leave. seems to be like that alot

[>:]Murphy does seem to be elk' s best friend! I can' t count the times things go just wrong enough at the last minute to screw the whole thing up!
Beans, you tell a good story---your descriptions and analogies crack me up!