more to the story
OK, it was day 2 of the hunt and we decided to take a long horseback ride to get the lay of the land and see what our eyes and ears might tell us. We'd never hunted this area before so everything was wonderful and new. As we were riding along a stretch of black timber we were treated to the screams of 3 bulls bugling their fool heads off. We guessed they were 200 yards or so into the timber. We tied off our horses and eased our way in. I put Liz out in front and I sat back with a cow call and a camcorder. We coaxed and coaxed but they would not come any closer so we decided to move in on them. We put about 50 yards between us and crept our way in. Ever sooooo slowly. A gentle cow call here and there to cover any sounds we might make. I think the cow calling coming from our 2 locations put the elk at ease a bit. In short order the cover was so thick you could hardly see 10 yards in many places and all the downed trees. Really thick, nasty stuff. At one point I knew I had a bull within 50 yards but I just couldn't see him through all the junk, then there was a cow 15 yards away and then BOOOOOMMMMMM. Liz had 2 of the bulls step out right in front of her so she picked the better of the 2 and crushed it. Never knew what hit him. I was thinking OH, S...., not in here but it was too late. I made my way over to Liz, congrats, hugs, smiles, a few photos. Now what. Liz made her way out of the timber to try bringing the horses in as far as she could while I field dressed and quartered the elk. It was getting late so we pulled the backstraps and tenders, hung the quarters and came back the next day to pack it all out. Fortunately the coyotes and bears took pity on us and left our meat alone. Maybe peeing around the area and wiping my sweaty undergarments around the area helped, maybe not. Liz gets bragging rights for the year. That's OK, I'm a big fan of hers.
