This story is a lesson in the saying everyone around me gets tired of hearing me say which is "always expect the unexpected". I've learned the hard way that this is especially true when hunting. I've also learned that Murphy's law always bares it's ugly head at the most un-opportune times and that too especially applies to hunting. Two years ago when going out the door for my morning elk hunt here locally I dropped my 375JDJ Contender so I had planned to check the sight in of the gun during my lunch break after the morning hunt. My plans went out the window as a bull committed suicide by walking out in front of me while I was carrying my Marlin 45-70. This time had a good outcome but it goes to show how a couple minor mistakes can rattle even experienced hunters and overlooking simple details and poor preparation can cost you the animal your after. First let me say that I love elk hunting because unlike deer it still sends waves of adrenaline through my body and for those of you that have never hunted them there is a reason they call them the Monarchs of the forest. To me they are by far the most majestic of all game animals on any continent, there may be those more dangerous or larger or more exotic but for me at least there is none that have earned my respect and admiration as that of the elk. I've Killed three of the four species of elk including the Roosevelt, Rocky Mountain and Cascade which is a Roosevelt/Rocky mtn hybrid. The only one I haven't yet taken and at this time have no plans to is the Tule and that is mostly because I hate california with a passion.

We arrived in elk camp with three days to spend scouting and sight seeing. During our trips I was priveliged to see Bighorn sheep, mass amounts of turkeys, both whitetails and muleys in large numbers and even the largest herd of Bison I've seened to date. The Bison were on a massive ranch the was in the tens of thousands of acres and herd numbered in the hundreds if not thousands. The one thing we didn't see were elk. The first day of the season was dismal as far as elk hunting went but pretty cool in general. During the morning hunt I decided to sit behind a big pine in a large meadow of about three or four acres. When I first approached the meadow a coyote blew out across the far end of the meadow but was moving too fast to get a shot. A little while after that and off to my north a small pack of coyotes started yipping and howling and immediately the hair on the back of my neck went up as a larger pack replied to my south less than a hundred yards away. Where I was sitting I was only about 50yds from where the ridge broke over and the tree line started and the dogs were just over the break. The howling went on for what seemed like forever but in actuallity was less than a minute. This was compounded by thoughts of the fact that this area is home to Oregons largest and most established pack of wolves and although I knew they were coyotes there is that little part of your brain that says "what if?". That was the end of the excitement for day one as we say no animals and really no fresh sign to speak of.

Day two, this day started out more interesting as my wife and I walked out to a rock bluff where we could see the opposite sides of three draws leading into the canyon and the entire opposite side of the canyon. We got in and got settled and shortly after arriving we started hearing cows chirping back and fourth and the grunt of a bull. The elk were at the mouth of draw where it met the canyon. The elk seemed to be moving our way but were still four or five hundred yards away but I decided we would sit tight. I would have used my cow call but this is where the details come in, unfortunately I had left it in camp so we just sat. When the elk had reached roughly two hundred yards we still couldn't see them but all at once everything went quiet and then I realized the wind had start swirling and was taking our sent right down into the the canyon. It was just a few minutes after this that there were shots fired a ways back up the canyon where the elk had retreated. At this point I should mention that I had a bull tag and my wife a cow tag. The afternoon was uneventfull and that evening my wife and I decided to move up the same canyon and I would watch a meadow on top and she would break over the side to where she could watch the bottom. With less than an hour of daylight left two other hunters in our party showed up so we walked back out to the rig and debated what to do. I was not very optomistic and was ready to head for camp but my wife was not yet ready to call it a day and suggested we drive up the road to where another group of hunters were camped to see what kind of luck they'd had. We had gone about two miles or two thirds of the way to the other camp when my wife slugged me in the arm and yelled "ELK". I promptly stopped the rig figuring I had just got bruised for a tree stump and my wife jumped out with her rifle in hand. While I was still sitting there stunned she started waving at me and mouthing at me "it's a bull". I clamoured for my Encore and shooting sticks and jumped out. Here is where I should explain a couple of other things. As some of you know I really pushed it at the last minute to get the 300 mag barrel ready to go and I only had time to get it sighted in before leaving. The day before the season started it was in the 20's and it was then I realized I had forgotten my Thinsulate gloves I use for hunting in cold weather as they are very light and thin yet warm. I had to improvise and found my leather gloves I use when I work with my horses and since they fit my hands tight I decided to wear them as I rechecked sight in since I had gone from sea level to 5000 feet. Everything went fine at the bench so the Encore was my gun of choice. Back to my wife and the elk. I got out of the truck and moved down to where my wife was and I saw the bull on the hillside across the canyon. I kneeled down, set up my sticks and rested the big gun and took aim. The cross hairs were just coming across the bull who was now walking when unexpectedly there was a boom and recoil. It seems I didn't take into consideration getting excited and the thicker gloves not allowing me to be able to feel the 1.75lb trigger. I knew from his reaction he was hit but I didn't know where so I went to reload when I realized I had taken my wrist band ammo carrier off and left it in the truck. Panic started to set in as the bull made is way to the top of the ridge so I dropped the Encore and yelled at my wife for her rifle. I rushed the first shot but the bull again flinched but was almost to the top of the ridge. This is where more explaining comes in. As most of you know I'm pretty busted up and can't get up the mountains like I used too and like many of you know an elk is one animal that can pack some lead. There is one other thing though. I don't know about other states but here in Oregon there are stories every year about guys tracking their bulls only to find that someone else has hung their tag on it and for this reason and ethical reasons I keep shooting until it's down because I want it down in sight. I had time for one more shot and the bull was now going straight away from me and only about ten yards from topping the ridge. I knew the only shot I had and the only way to drop in for sure was a spine shot. I finally got my self settled and rested the horizontal cross hair on his nose and the vertical cross hair right down his spine. I saw the bull drop in my scope. I had to wait for the rest of the members of our camp and my wife to get up to the bull to even be sure of what I had shot. I then had to wait for them to drag it down the mountain which fortunately was pretty steep and then we ran two hundred yards of rope and cable and pulled him through the bottom and back up my side before I could even touch him. When we finally got him hung up I found my 300 round had gone through the rear leg severing his artery which would have caused him to bleed out shortly but of the two insurance shots the one I rushed went right below his spine missing all vitals and the last one was right on the mark breaking his neck at the fourth vertebrate. I will never again forget my own advice and I will never again be caught without extra ammo and I will never again go into the field with a gun I haven't been able to spend more time with or using or wearing equipment that I have not spent alot of time with pre seasons.
While this seems like a comedy of errors it was actually caused by a sense of complacency since this was an animal I had hunted so many times before. As a side note all three shots were fired between 200 and 240yds with the last two being off hand. One other thing the 300 barrel I put together is a tack driver so the poor shot all lays on me.




This picture of the bull hanging gives you a good idea of his size, he was estimated to 1000 lbs + on the hoof. I stopped at a fish and wildlife check station and they estimated him to only be two or three years old but with our mild winter and wet spring they said the growth rate of both the deer and elk had been greatly increased. Remember I'm 6'3" @ 250#.



This is a pic of the 300 mag Encore I used. Once I receive more pics from our hunting partners I will post them too.

Congratulations Rod on the elk!!!!! That's a lot of winter fair for the table. Great story.

Congrats on the elk!

Glad you got him.
Stuff does happen, and it is not always pretty compared to the way some "Web Hunters" describe themselves.
Good thing is, you got your bull, had a good time with your wife and friends, and were reminded of some lessons as well.

Great story, great bull elk, Rod!

NIce work. It might seem like a mess of mistakes, but it was "skill from practice" that brought it down at 240yds offhand. Pat yourself on the back, that's a nice bull.

Rod,

Congrats on your bull!

great story and bull i could read this stuff all day !!!!!!

Congrats on your bull Rod!
Glad it all worked out in the end & the meat's headed for the freezer.

well done,
nmhunter

Thanks for the great lessons learned story and congrats on your Elk!

Congrats, Rod! Hunting is not alway glamour and lights; as some may think.

I finely got a chance to read it in its entirety. Good story and congrats!

Rod, There were a couple of times in my life where I`ve had almost the same experience with my shooting. When you said you hit the main artery in the back leg is what I did in reverse on a Texas aoudad, hitting in the fleshey part of the neck but catching a artery. I , like you, were lucky, but the end result is still the same. You did what you had to to take a beautiful elk. Congratulations, James

It isn't always pretty,you got it done,congrats on your elk.

Congrats on your bull. And thanks for sharing a great story.

[quote=wapitirod] I've also learned that Murphy's law always bares it's ugly head at the most un-opportune times and that too especially applies to hunting.... While this seems like a comedy of errors it was actually caused by a sense of complacency since this was an animal I had hunted so many times before. [img]http://www.handgunhunt.com/[/img]

Glad murphs law hits others, too, not just me.

and Rod, thanks for such an honest post. you are tops in my book.

Thank you especially to your wife for spotting the bull originally!!!

Good bull, Rod, and story to go with...

Congrats Rod!

Thanks for sharing your story with us. Great story and more importantly great elk. Congrats!!!

Congrats Rod.

I read your story with great interest, well said and seems very honest and off the cuff. Thanks for sharing, and congrats on getting your bull, and thanks to youir good wife for being sujchj a good "guide."

300 WIn mag, no wonder you are beatup...LOL

Great story and proud it was a success for you.