DBLAARCHERY
Well-Known Member
Sleeping With the Elk
Now I know what you are thinking�Let me assure you its not�My wife has an uncle, Jerry, that lived in Montana, now lives in Idaho, that I visit and elk hunt with�Now keep in mind that this is the second time I have ever met the man�I arrive in Spokane Washington and meet up with Jerry�We head out on a 5 hour drive to A little resort town in Idaho�I won�t name due to a big elk I saw and I am going back to get him�We arrive and camp in a guys driveway by the name of Milan�Keep in mind this is all new to me�We sleep and in the morning meet with Milan and he gives direction on where to start our hunt�We start the first day with me looking at the back of Jerry 95% of the time and if I ever get in front, its because he stopped to water the weeds�We hike approximately 12 miles the first day in the mountains and heard one bull bugle at the end of the day�I knew right then I was hooked�We did not get on this bull but that�s ok I got to hear one in the wild and as far as I was concerned I was satisfied�
The next morning came and I would have to say a little to soon�We headed out but this time we came in the back side of the mountain we were hunting�We skirted the mountain around and came up on a herd of elk and I just knew this was it�Let me tell you we walked right through the middle of them and never even knew it�They busted out of there like a herd of cattle stampeding�Jerry mewed a couple of times and stopped a spike with 24� antlers 15 yards out�I drawled my Mathews bow and let one go�Jerry busted out laughing couldn�t hold it in�I got so nerved I put my 40 yard pin on him and shot 2 foot over his back and whacked a big old aspen�After that we sat and pondered awhile until we heard another bull bugle in the area�Bam game on�
We knew where this bull was and could see him several hundred yards up the ridge�We crawled hands and knees as far as we could but never could get close enough�We split up so that if the elk spooked to the right Jerry would cut them off and maybe I would get a shot�They spooked and went to the right just like we thought but when Jerry stepped out they split and several went around him and the others headed straight up the mountain�At this point I couldn�t do anything because there was a 300+ bull standing 65-75 yards looking at me�Needless to say he hauled butt out of there�All I can say is wow�In all the commotion me and Jerry got split up and when I turned there was 3 cows grazing the mountain side about 60 yards away�I closed the distance to 35 yards and drew my bow�Just like rehearsed I let it fly and the arrow found one of the cows heart�She ran 30 yards and crashed�My first elk on the ground�I was very excited but no Jerry to be found�
Me and Jerry finally met up and laughed and talked about the hunt so far and all the while elk were bugling all around us�We had to make a decision to hike out or stay�Keep in mind it is getting dark quick�Regardless we either sleep or hike9 miles in the dark�We stayed�We were so tired we fell asleep right where we were sitting gear and all thrown about�If you haven�t been to the big mountains let me tell you something�Just because it gets up to 60-65 degrees in the day�Don�t let it full you�It got down to 35 that night�No sleeping gear at all� I started getting cold so I knew no one was looking so I slipped over and laid down between the elk�s legs�I knew I could get out of the wind this way�Who cares no one could see me�I slept between that cows legs long into the night�I started getting cold and when I looked up I could see something shinning�I investigated further and Jerry had an ER blanket and looked very warm�Needless to say We ended up snuggling that night and made it through the night�My first elk�I will never forget this story for as long Jerry lives���He won�t let me�
I left out a lot of this story so if we are ever sharing a fire ask me about it I will be glad to feel in the details�Its worth it�
Now I know what you are thinking�Let me assure you its not�My wife has an uncle, Jerry, that lived in Montana, now lives in Idaho, that I visit and elk hunt with�Now keep in mind that this is the second time I have ever met the man�I arrive in Spokane Washington and meet up with Jerry�We head out on a 5 hour drive to A little resort town in Idaho�I won�t name due to a big elk I saw and I am going back to get him�We arrive and camp in a guys driveway by the name of Milan�Keep in mind this is all new to me�We sleep and in the morning meet with Milan and he gives direction on where to start our hunt�We start the first day with me looking at the back of Jerry 95% of the time and if I ever get in front, its because he stopped to water the weeds�We hike approximately 12 miles the first day in the mountains and heard one bull bugle at the end of the day�I knew right then I was hooked�We did not get on this bull but that�s ok I got to hear one in the wild and as far as I was concerned I was satisfied�
The next morning came and I would have to say a little to soon�We headed out but this time we came in the back side of the mountain we were hunting�We skirted the mountain around and came up on a herd of elk and I just knew this was it�Let me tell you we walked right through the middle of them and never even knew it�They busted out of there like a herd of cattle stampeding�Jerry mewed a couple of times and stopped a spike with 24� antlers 15 yards out�I drawled my Mathews bow and let one go�Jerry busted out laughing couldn�t hold it in�I got so nerved I put my 40 yard pin on him and shot 2 foot over his back and whacked a big old aspen�After that we sat and pondered awhile until we heard another bull bugle in the area�Bam game on�
We knew where this bull was and could see him several hundred yards up the ridge�We crawled hands and knees as far as we could but never could get close enough�We split up so that if the elk spooked to the right Jerry would cut them off and maybe I would get a shot�They spooked and went to the right just like we thought but when Jerry stepped out they split and several went around him and the others headed straight up the mountain�At this point I couldn�t do anything because there was a 300+ bull standing 65-75 yards looking at me�Needless to say he hauled butt out of there�All I can say is wow�In all the commotion me and Jerry got split up and when I turned there was 3 cows grazing the mountain side about 60 yards away�I closed the distance to 35 yards and drew my bow�Just like rehearsed I let it fly and the arrow found one of the cows heart�She ran 30 yards and crashed�My first elk on the ground�I was very excited but no Jerry to be found�
Me and Jerry finally met up and laughed and talked about the hunt so far and all the while elk were bugling all around us�We had to make a decision to hike out or stay�Keep in mind it is getting dark quick�Regardless we either sleep or hike9 miles in the dark�We stayed�We were so tired we fell asleep right where we were sitting gear and all thrown about�If you haven�t been to the big mountains let me tell you something�Just because it gets up to 60-65 degrees in the day�Don�t let it full you�It got down to 35 that night�No sleeping gear at all� I started getting cold so I knew no one was looking so I slipped over and laid down between the elk�s legs�I knew I could get out of the wind this way�Who cares no one could see me�I slept between that cows legs long into the night�I started getting cold and when I looked up I could see something shinning�I investigated further and Jerry had an ER blanket and looked very warm�Needless to say We ended up snuggling that night and made it through the night�My first elk�I will never forget this story for as long Jerry lives���He won�t let me�
I left out a lot of this story so if we are ever sharing a fire ask me about it I will be glad to feel in the details�Its worth it�
