cooperjd
WKR
4 weekend trips
30+ miles under my boots
Totally silent elk. I never heard a single bugle (from an elk) or so much as a chirp from a cow.
The area I hunt is OTC, and gets a lot of pressure, both hunting and hiking. I had to put miles in to piece together bedding, feeding, and travel corridors, and was finally able to put enough together to find a bull. I saw a few bulls total, and last sunday just after first light i saw this little guy trying to sneak through the timber. When he got out of sight i gave him a few soft cow calls from my Phelps diaphram.
He sprinted in to 12 steps and stopped broadside behind a little clump of trees. There was a little opening where I could see his shoulder, so i threaded the needle a bit and put a 642gr iron will tipped arrow through him. He was down in a few seconds about 75 yards away. The arrow stopped around 40+ yards behind him.
Packing him out solo kinda sucked, but did it in 3 trips. It feels great to be able to put something together and get my first solo diy otc bull. I'll get pics in a few. His antlers do not line up right, I'll get a better pic of his antlers when i finish the euro this week.
edit: I should add, I've killed 2 other archery elk prior to this on guided hunts. One big bull back in '07 and a little 4 point last year (though we didnt find the 4 point in time to recover the meat and i fed the very healthy bear population). This is the first diy elk I've taken; and it really means a lot to me to diy it. The only thing missing on this hunt was the camaraderie of fellow hunters. The pain, bruises, exhaustion, sore muscles were well worth it!
30+ miles under my boots
Totally silent elk. I never heard a single bugle (from an elk) or so much as a chirp from a cow.
The area I hunt is OTC, and gets a lot of pressure, both hunting and hiking. I had to put miles in to piece together bedding, feeding, and travel corridors, and was finally able to put enough together to find a bull. I saw a few bulls total, and last sunday just after first light i saw this little guy trying to sneak through the timber. When he got out of sight i gave him a few soft cow calls from my Phelps diaphram.
He sprinted in to 12 steps and stopped broadside behind a little clump of trees. There was a little opening where I could see his shoulder, so i threaded the needle a bit and put a 642gr iron will tipped arrow through him. He was down in a few seconds about 75 yards away. The arrow stopped around 40+ yards behind him.
Packing him out solo kinda sucked, but did it in 3 trips. It feels great to be able to put something together and get my first solo diy otc bull. I'll get pics in a few. His antlers do not line up right, I'll get a better pic of his antlers when i finish the euro this week.
edit: I should add, I've killed 2 other archery elk prior to this on guided hunts. One big bull back in '07 and a little 4 point last year (though we didnt find the 4 point in time to recover the meat and i fed the very healthy bear population). This is the first diy elk I've taken; and it really means a lot to me to diy it. The only thing missing on this hunt was the camaraderie of fellow hunters. The pain, bruises, exhaustion, sore muscles were well worth it!
Last edited:
