On and on about bullets and distances and elk are targets.
Still nothing about hunting.
A herd of elk standing around a saddle maybe a little out of range, man that is the kind of rare opportunity I wait years for.
Not because there is an easy kill there, just the opposite.
It is because it provides the opportunity to hunt.
If I can somehow find an approach, solve the terrain puzzle, use the wind, or think a few moves ahead, then that becomes an animal that I've earned. My definition of fair chase. That is beating them at their own game. That is a story worth telling.
If I can't outsmart an elk I don't deserve an elk.
Risking a long shot at first the sighting? I can understand that if it is your first or second elk. If you have traveled across the country and your only chance � I get that. Local, experienced, private ranch, WTF?
Novices chase bulls for antlers, but the real thing that is so enticing and so much fun about hunting bulls is they understand, they know the score, and they are good at it. I'm getting better at it.
That goes to the heart of the game. Reach the stage where it's not much about meat or antlers.
Hunt for the hunt itself.
That encounter with elk on their own terrain, in a place of their choosing, that is where the real hunt begins.
I can't imagine throwing that away on buck fever.
I'd never waste that great opportunity on a long shot.
It's not about what your rifle can do - hunt using your mind.
It's a lot more enjoyable stalking the quarry than trying to clean up a mess.
Don�t bother to try to notify a ranch you�ve hit an elk there? I couldn�t carry that on my conscience. Keep hunting? Not the sort of example I would want to set.
Want to see what kind of experience someone has? Pay attention to what they do and the choices they make - beware what they claim to have done.
