rclouse79
WKR
- Joined
- Dec 10, 2019
- Messages
- 1,742
I was fortunate enough to have three stalks last weekend where I was in bow range of an elk. The first one I got busted by a cow I didn’t see at 50 yards. The second one involved being 38 yards from a feeding spike for a few minutes, waiting for a gap in the trees before the wind swirled. The last one was bumping a cow from her bed at 20 yards while focusing on another elk. I usually have a couple encounters a year from calling but no stalks. The first thing I noticed during each stalk is my knees were weak. If I didn’t plan ahead to space my feet out I found I would easily lose my balance. The second thing I noticed was my mouth got extremely dry to the point it was uncomfortable. If it weren’t for a cinnamon jolly ranger in my pocket I think I would have turned around to where I dropped my pack to chug water. In addition to physical challenges I also found my brain short circuiting. Literally the last thing that went through my head before blowing my first stalk was “man this ground is quiet”. After three quick steps I looked up to see a cow staring at me from 50 yards.
I guess if it weren’t exciting I wouldn’t do it. I have come to the conclusion that I am too high strung to ever be a good archery hunter. I struggle with trying to force things instead of letting them happen in the heat of the moment. I was encouraged by the fact I was able to take some deep breaths on my last stalk and gain some calm and focus. Maybe with some more experiences I will be able to pull off my first archery elk someday. I imagine by the time I think I have my nerves figured out I will get close to a giant bull and my head will start spinning while I blow chunks. I was interested to hear if there are any other people out there like me that turn into a puddle of goo when they get within 50 yards of an elk.
I guess if it weren’t exciting I wouldn’t do it. I have come to the conclusion that I am too high strung to ever be a good archery hunter. I struggle with trying to force things instead of letting them happen in the heat of the moment. I was encouraged by the fact I was able to take some deep breaths on my last stalk and gain some calm and focus. Maybe with some more experiences I will be able to pull off my first archery elk someday. I imagine by the time I think I have my nerves figured out I will get close to a giant bull and my head will start spinning while I blow chunks. I was interested to hear if there are any other people out there like me that turn into a puddle of goo when they get within 50 yards of an elk.