Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Best Elk Hunting Method

There is always a better idea when it comes to elk hunting, but I found it best just to shoot a bull on the opening day.

Rarely do you hear consistent bugling on the opener, but this bull was talking like it was the third week. I called and sat just listening to see if anything would answer my first bugle. It was a few minutes, but he bugled back. Rather than step on him and call right back, I waited a couple minutes and bugled again. He responded the same way, but this time he had moved closer and to the East.

This sounded hopeful, so I rigged up all my gear and went slowly into the forest toward where I last heard him. He bugled and was close this time. I proceeded slowly without calling and I saw him first at about 45 yards, behind some trees that wouldn't allow a shot. I didn't think my son would believe I actually saw and heard a bull this early in the season, so I took my phone out and took a picture of him.

He gave a short chuckle and started raking the grass. I had a can of "Elk Bomb" in my pocket with about 1 small squirt in it, and pulled it out and sprayed it into the air, hoping he would smell it before he smelled me.

I managed a short chortle with my bugle and he came around the trees between us and walked straight at me. I was in the open, and couldn't move. He stared right at me. Thankfully, he put his head down and raked the grass, and when he was raking, I pulled my bow up and drew it back. I aimed right at him, but the peep on the string was turned 90 degrees and I couldn't see my pins. How I was able to put the sight into my teeth and try to turn it so I could shoot without him catching my movement, I will never know, but he stood there looking at me almost broadside.

I could barely make out the pins, but I put the 30 yard pin in the center of his chest and knew I would hit him well regardless of the distance, he wasn't that far. I pulled the trigger and could hear the sound of the arrow hitting something hard. There were no branches between us and I knew I wasn't over or under him. With cautious optimism, I walked over to where he was standing when I shot, but saw no sign of blood.

I went back to camp with the optimism of the sound of the arrow was deep inside him and he wouldn't last long.

I called my son and his friend and told them I had shot a bull and we should give him some time and then go look for blood. We had breakfast and got our packs, knives and cleaning gear together and headed back into the woods. I marked it on my ONX map, good thing too, as the light had changed so much since I shot, I could hardly recognize the area.

We started looking where he was and not a drop of blood anywhere. A few yards later Jesse found the back half of the arrow with blood most of the way up the shaft. I was more hopeful that we would find him sooner than later. The 2 boys kept looking for sign of blood and I started walking in a direction I figured he would have run to. Within about 60 yards, I found him piled up and already starting to bloat. He had obviously run to that spot and fallen over dead, as he was laying with is head under him.

Cutting the tag is always the scariest part of a hunt, so I had to check and double check I did it right.

We quartered and skinned it and put it into game bags and I then headed to Belgrade to get it into a cooler and had it skinned and hanging in a cooler by 3:30 in the afternoon...