If you're a bow hunter and have never bow hunted elk during the rut, you're missing out. It is the most intense hunting you'll ever experience!
I chase a lot of animals during hunting season (deer, ducks, hogs, and you name it) but hunting elk with a bow when they're screaming (bugling) in your face is the most exciting, bar none…
I'm going to try and give a really quick backstory but first I'll lead with a teaser picture or two:
2017:
First hunt for elk with a bow on about one month notice. We were ultimately unsuccessful but I learned a lot; including how physically and mentally deficient I was for a hunt like this.
2019:
I used this board for a lead to hunt somewhere in CO or NM and received a tip from a poster that altered my future. He referred me to a ranch in CO that I would've never been able to get on without his help. I'm still not sure why he did it but I am forever grateful to him and this board of great posters/people.
It was absolutely the most intense week of hunting in my life. Bulls were screaming everywhere and I was able to sling one arrow on a bull but incorrectly judged the distance (he moved at full draw and I couldn't range). I learned a lot, saw a lot, but most importantly, I was hooked for life.
Important side note - while acclimating for a day and a half, I helped another hunter on the ranch pack out his bull and sort of kicked off a friendship with a guy I just met. I took a bunch of his pack out photos and carried out a hind quarter and a little more of his elk. I was on cloud nine just to do that but he was very appreciative of my help.
2020:
Ranch changed hunting approach and one individual has rights to hunting. No elk hunting for me…
2021:
Ranch manager calls me in August telling me to apply for a leftover 4th season rifle tag. I did and was ultimately successful on the first morning of the hunt:
He was a great first bull and scored around 310"
2022:
I get a call from the ranch manager on 8/15 (about 15 days before season) with an invite to hunt during the pre-rut with a bow. Turns out, the guy I helped pack his elk out with in 2019, had an opening and asked the ranch manager to reach out to me. I guess I made a good impression but the ranch manager also knew I was one of the few crazy SOBs willing and able to take a last second hunt like this.
I hunted with the original TexAg poster that referred me to this ranch and had an absolute blast! Never connected with a bull but we got really close on two separate occasions, including once on a good 315-320" bull.
2023:
Being frustrated with all of my previous archery "failures", I was hellbent on making this a successful outing. I worked on the things I could control and trained like a mad man. I've never been so in tune with my bow like I am now. Numbering arrows, shooting out long distance, and really trying to emphasize my physical abilities/fitness. This was the year to finally stick the elusive wapiti…
My "new" truck went into the shop the day before we left. My buddy that was tagging along as a bystander had his truck already in the shop, and it just felt like this hunt was going to be cursed. We figured out a way to commandeer a fleet truck from a guy at his company and headed out west last week.
We got into the mountains on Friday and started hunting on Saturday morning. Early season was a little slow and we didn't even hear a bugle the first day.
Second day we got on bugling bulls but couldn't provoke one to show their face. Random pictures of the first couple
of hunts:
We were grinding to get on bulls. Early season yielded a lot tentative bugles and bulls reluctant to come challenge another bull for "love".
3rd day I was greeted by the poster that made the referral for me to get out to the ranch in the first place, for our second year in a row to hunt together. He was my guide but it felt like hunting with an old friend. Couldn't of been happier!
We finally pulled a pissed off bull in on day 3. Not sure exactly what happened but between a swirling wind and perhaps me drawing without enough cover, I got busted. Wouldn't have mattered too much as the bull was about 10 yards off the property line, and only about 15 yards from me. He was an absolute shooter…
Day 4 we have some close encounters with 3 smaller bulls but never afforded a shot opportunity. Had one 6x6 at about 10 yards but he never stopped chasing a cow for a shot. Glad he didn't…
Day 5 we go back to where I almost shot that one and get on 4-5 bugling bulls first thing in the morning. We can't get one to come across property line and he sounds like he starts to bed so we make a move on one of the bulls bugling below us and perhaps get a little bit too aggressive and get spotted from 150-200 yards out. We call another bull below that one to about 80 yards but then the wind shifts and he boogies out of there. Time to make a plan for the afternoon and come back with a full proof plan for drawing blood.
Confident in the location, we make our way back out to the spot. It would be my last afternoon hunting…
It was a mix of recently cleared timber with groves of aspen and dark timber for cover. It was damn near impossible to quietly sneak through - except for the roads.
We stopped that afternoon to glass the clear cuts and were met with a bugling bull at about 3:50-4:00pm. We let him bugle on for about an hour before deciding to pursue.
We made our way about 3/4 mile down the road as the wind remained favorable to our pursuit. As we reached the beginning of the clearings, I happened to catch something out of the corner of my eye at about 80-100 yards above us. It was 2 cows feeding in the opening… they were above us on a ridge that paralleled the road we were walking on.
I calmly yet firmly yelled for everyone (2 others) to freeze, as one cow was looking our way. We stopped and once she went back to grazing, the wind it was still favorable for us, we slowly backed up about 5 yards into cover on the road.
We decided to cow call and see if a bull was in the group. Ripped off a few mews and was only met with the cows mewing back at us… crap - no bull with them. Wrong….
We started plan an escape without them spotting us and spooking any other elk in the area, but we decided to go ahead and setup as if a bull was with them and bugle. Thank god for that decision!
I setup here:
And had an opening to my left where it was clear cut and the cows were located. Below me was my two compadres as the setup to bugle.
First bugle went off around 5:30 by my friend below and it was IMMEDIATELY met by a bugling bull no more than 150 yards away. We had no idea he was above us and he was certainly not happy with us being near his cows.
Bugles back and forth we're escalated to raking by the bull… I turned to the guys below and signaled to rake back. Boy, did that piss him off. Coupled with the cutting his bugles off, he was absolutely HOT!
I still haven't laid eyes on the bull but based on his bugles, chuckles, and raking - I assumed he was no slouch. I was correct…
After what seemed like 1 hr of calling back and forth, he aggressively came down to us to about 80 yards. That's when I got the first glimpse of his tips or swords and he was a no doubt shooter. I quietly prayed for god to help me not mess this opportunity up and if I were to fail get a shot off, it was not because of my incompetence.
Having assessed the entire landscape around me for ranges, I decided to go ahead and draw back anticipating a quick closing move by the bull. This was paramount, as I had been hesitant to draw during previous hunts, something many whitetail hunters seem to have problems with on elk hunts.
I drew and held as he made his way to 70… 60…. 50. Then, crap - he was moving to my left behind the tree I was using for cover.
I had to manipulate my feet, while at full draw, to get around the aspen. Somehow I managed to get around the tree and he stopped between my 30 and 40 yard bushes. Having lobbed an arrow too short before, I opted to use my 40 yard pin.
Calm, steady, and relaxed, I found my orange 40 yard pin, my anchor points, and his lungs, and I slowly engaged my release. The arrow found both of his lungs at about 35-38 yards and it was a clean pass through. I confirmed this 5 seconds after hearing the "thwack", when I saw him turn to the other side and laid eyes on the pass through, perfectly placed on his lungs.
He let out one last bugle and then started coughing up blood almost instantly. I absolutely lost my mind and set my bow to ground overwhelmed with emotion. How the hell did I pull this off?
He wobbled only 20 yards from where I shot him and you could tell he wasn't running anywhere. Despite that reality, I lobbed another arrow at him without assessing the range and sailed it over his back. I regrouped, ranged the distance, and flung another arrow at him while he was hard cornering away. Second arrow wasn't needed but it was an impact. He went down and never got up…
This was my view from 40-50 yards away:
This was me 2 minutes after I shot him (notice the ear to ear grin):
This was the bull:
One of the best things of where he fell, despite being 20 yards from the POI, was he was 10' off the road.
Now I had no idea what he scored at the time when I released the arrow. I thought he might go 310-320" if I was lucky. When I walked up to him, I still thought he was a great bull but didn't think he would sniff anything higher than that. I was wrong…
He was an absolute unit and his body was one of the biggest bulls taken on the ranch. The picture is slightly exaggerated as someone was tugging on the hide while he was on the scale but he settled in at a measly 858lbs
Not sure what else to type after this other than I am still on cloud 9… my family is going to eat extremely well for the next 1.5-2 years or so and I'm going to be struggling to figure out where I am going to hang another shoulder elk mount in my house.
By the way, he looked smaller because of how big his body was… he scored 345", which I am damn happy with for a first bull with bow on a free range place.
I'm sure I am failing to do this story justice by typing it out on my cell phone (please excuse grammar for now) but I wanted to share my experience before the memory fades, although I doubt this experience will ever be forgotten.
One last thing - to the poster that got me out here to begin with - thank you! You're the absolute MVP and I cannot thank you enough for your referral, you guiding me, and ultimately our friendship and bonding over this successful hunt! Thank you!
I chase a lot of animals during hunting season (deer, ducks, hogs, and you name it) but hunting elk with a bow when they're screaming (bugling) in your face is the most exciting, bar none…
I'm going to try and give a really quick backstory but first I'll lead with a teaser picture or two:
2017:
First hunt for elk with a bow on about one month notice. We were ultimately unsuccessful but I learned a lot; including how physically and mentally deficient I was for a hunt like this.
2019:
I used this board for a lead to hunt somewhere in CO or NM and received a tip from a poster that altered my future. He referred me to a ranch in CO that I would've never been able to get on without his help. I'm still not sure why he did it but I am forever grateful to him and this board of great posters/people.
It was absolutely the most intense week of hunting in my life. Bulls were screaming everywhere and I was able to sling one arrow on a bull but incorrectly judged the distance (he moved at full draw and I couldn't range). I learned a lot, saw a lot, but most importantly, I was hooked for life.
Important side note - while acclimating for a day and a half, I helped another hunter on the ranch pack out his bull and sort of kicked off a friendship with a guy I just met. I took a bunch of his pack out photos and carried out a hind quarter and a little more of his elk. I was on cloud nine just to do that but he was very appreciative of my help.
2020:
Ranch changed hunting approach and one individual has rights to hunting. No elk hunting for me…
2021:
Ranch manager calls me in August telling me to apply for a leftover 4th season rifle tag. I did and was ultimately successful on the first morning of the hunt:
He was a great first bull and scored around 310"
2022:
I get a call from the ranch manager on 8/15 (about 15 days before season) with an invite to hunt during the pre-rut with a bow. Turns out, the guy I helped pack his elk out with in 2019, had an opening and asked the ranch manager to reach out to me. I guess I made a good impression but the ranch manager also knew I was one of the few crazy SOBs willing and able to take a last second hunt like this.
I hunted with the original TexAg poster that referred me to this ranch and had an absolute blast! Never connected with a bull but we got really close on two separate occasions, including once on a good 315-320" bull.
2023:
Being frustrated with all of my previous archery "failures", I was hellbent on making this a successful outing. I worked on the things I could control and trained like a mad man. I've never been so in tune with my bow like I am now. Numbering arrows, shooting out long distance, and really trying to emphasize my physical abilities/fitness. This was the year to finally stick the elusive wapiti…
My "new" truck went into the shop the day before we left. My buddy that was tagging along as a bystander had his truck already in the shop, and it just felt like this hunt was going to be cursed. We figured out a way to commandeer a fleet truck from a guy at his company and headed out west last week.
We got into the mountains on Friday and started hunting on Saturday morning. Early season was a little slow and we didn't even hear a bugle the first day.
Second day we got on bugling bulls but couldn't provoke one to show their face. Random pictures of the first couple
of hunts:
We were grinding to get on bulls. Early season yielded a lot tentative bugles and bulls reluctant to come challenge another bull for "love".
3rd day I was greeted by the poster that made the referral for me to get out to the ranch in the first place, for our second year in a row to hunt together. He was my guide but it felt like hunting with an old friend. Couldn't of been happier!
We finally pulled a pissed off bull in on day 3. Not sure exactly what happened but between a swirling wind and perhaps me drawing without enough cover, I got busted. Wouldn't have mattered too much as the bull was about 10 yards off the property line, and only about 15 yards from me. He was an absolute shooter…
Day 4 we have some close encounters with 3 smaller bulls but never afforded a shot opportunity. Had one 6x6 at about 10 yards but he never stopped chasing a cow for a shot. Glad he didn't…
Day 5 we go back to where I almost shot that one and get on 4-5 bugling bulls first thing in the morning. We can't get one to come across property line and he sounds like he starts to bed so we make a move on one of the bulls bugling below us and perhaps get a little bit too aggressive and get spotted from 150-200 yards out. We call another bull below that one to about 80 yards but then the wind shifts and he boogies out of there. Time to make a plan for the afternoon and come back with a full proof plan for drawing blood.
Confident in the location, we make our way back out to the spot. It would be my last afternoon hunting…
It was a mix of recently cleared timber with groves of aspen and dark timber for cover. It was damn near impossible to quietly sneak through - except for the roads.
We stopped that afternoon to glass the clear cuts and were met with a bugling bull at about 3:50-4:00pm. We let him bugle on for about an hour before deciding to pursue.
We made our way about 3/4 mile down the road as the wind remained favorable to our pursuit. As we reached the beginning of the clearings, I happened to catch something out of the corner of my eye at about 80-100 yards above us. It was 2 cows feeding in the opening… they were above us on a ridge that paralleled the road we were walking on.
I calmly yet firmly yelled for everyone (2 others) to freeze, as one cow was looking our way. We stopped and once she went back to grazing, the wind it was still favorable for us, we slowly backed up about 5 yards into cover on the road.
We decided to cow call and see if a bull was in the group. Ripped off a few mews and was only met with the cows mewing back at us… crap - no bull with them. Wrong….
We started plan an escape without them spotting us and spooking any other elk in the area, but we decided to go ahead and setup as if a bull was with them and bugle. Thank god for that decision!
I setup here:
And had an opening to my left where it was clear cut and the cows were located. Below me was my two compadres as the setup to bugle.
First bugle went off around 5:30 by my friend below and it was IMMEDIATELY met by a bugling bull no more than 150 yards away. We had no idea he was above us and he was certainly not happy with us being near his cows.
Bugles back and forth we're escalated to raking by the bull… I turned to the guys below and signaled to rake back. Boy, did that piss him off. Coupled with the cutting his bugles off, he was absolutely HOT!
I still haven't laid eyes on the bull but based on his bugles, chuckles, and raking - I assumed he was no slouch. I was correct…
After what seemed like 1 hr of calling back and forth, he aggressively came down to us to about 80 yards. That's when I got the first glimpse of his tips or swords and he was a no doubt shooter. I quietly prayed for god to help me not mess this opportunity up and if I were to fail get a shot off, it was not because of my incompetence.
Having assessed the entire landscape around me for ranges, I decided to go ahead and draw back anticipating a quick closing move by the bull. This was paramount, as I had been hesitant to draw during previous hunts, something many whitetail hunters seem to have problems with on elk hunts.
I drew and held as he made his way to 70… 60…. 50. Then, crap - he was moving to my left behind the tree I was using for cover.
I had to manipulate my feet, while at full draw, to get around the aspen. Somehow I managed to get around the tree and he stopped between my 30 and 40 yard bushes. Having lobbed an arrow too short before, I opted to use my 40 yard pin.
Calm, steady, and relaxed, I found my orange 40 yard pin, my anchor points, and his lungs, and I slowly engaged my release. The arrow found both of his lungs at about 35-38 yards and it was a clean pass through. I confirmed this 5 seconds after hearing the "thwack", when I saw him turn to the other side and laid eyes on the pass through, perfectly placed on his lungs.
He let out one last bugle and then started coughing up blood almost instantly. I absolutely lost my mind and set my bow to ground overwhelmed with emotion. How the hell did I pull this off?
He wobbled only 20 yards from where I shot him and you could tell he wasn't running anywhere. Despite that reality, I lobbed another arrow at him without assessing the range and sailed it over his back. I regrouped, ranged the distance, and flung another arrow at him while he was hard cornering away. Second arrow wasn't needed but it was an impact. He went down and never got up…
This was my view from 40-50 yards away:
This was me 2 minutes after I shot him (notice the ear to ear grin):
This was the bull:
One of the best things of where he fell, despite being 20 yards from the POI, was he was 10' off the road.
Now I had no idea what he scored at the time when I released the arrow. I thought he might go 310-320" if I was lucky. When I walked up to him, I still thought he was a great bull but didn't think he would sniff anything higher than that. I was wrong…
He was an absolute unit and his body was one of the biggest bulls taken on the ranch. The picture is slightly exaggerated as someone was tugging on the hide while he was on the scale but he settled in at a measly 858lbs
Not sure what else to type after this other than I am still on cloud 9… my family is going to eat extremely well for the next 1.5-2 years or so and I'm going to be struggling to figure out where I am going to hang another shoulder elk mount in my house.
By the way, he looked smaller because of how big his body was… he scored 345", which I am damn happy with for a first bull with bow on a free range place.
I'm sure I am failing to do this story justice by typing it out on my cell phone (please excuse grammar for now) but I wanted to share my experience before the memory fades, although I doubt this experience will ever be forgotten.
One last thing - to the poster that got me out here to begin with - thank you! You're the absolute MVP and I cannot thank you enough for your referral, you guiding me, and ultimately our friendship and bonding over this successful hunt! Thank you!
