Heres the whole story..
We headed out for opener in sw montana and got there two days early. Thursday afternoon we found a herd with two good bulls. The next afternoon we went in and found them again in the next draw. Needless to say I was pretty pumped! So opening morning comes and I start hunting, with the elk nowhere to be found. So im thinking I'll find them the next day.. Next day comes and we end up having to leave because of family issues!! Needless to say, it was pretty disheartening.
Fast foward to this wednesday. I leave at 4:00 a.m. and get to my hunting spot at 2:30 and hike back to where i hunted before. Nothing around, not even a track. So I hike out, and a half mile from my truck, I spot elk up on a ridge!!! My heart just starts racing!! After a ten minute stalk on my knees and belly crawl I get into position.
I ranged them at 350 yds
Mind you, my adrenaline is just racing and I'm out of breath! So I pick out a young cow without a calf, settle in and squeeze. And miss!!!! The elk had no idea where the shot came from so i quickly settled back in and touched another one off, and hit her! And she ran a ways where i couldnt see her.The rest of the herd bunched up and went to the top of the ridge while she stayed behind. So I ran up the hill to a spot where i could see her again. Laid down and took a rest aim over a snow drift and fired and missed again!! Fired three more times and missed. Finally, I load last round and pull myself together settle in and let fly. Direct hit through the goodies and she goes down!
Total of seven shots! Good grief!! I' m a way better shot than that. I can bust milk jugs at 400 yds all day! I guess between being excited and out of breath, that'll happen!! LOL!! I can honestly say that I'm not proud of my shoot performance, but I am very proud of my first elk!!
Having elk fajitas tonight for supper!! Mmmm. Cant wait!
We headed out for opener in sw montana and got there two days early. Thursday afternoon we found a herd with two good bulls. The next afternoon we went in and found them again in the next draw. Needless to say I was pretty pumped! So opening morning comes and I start hunting, with the elk nowhere to be found. So im thinking I'll find them the next day.. Next day comes and we end up having to leave because of family issues!! Needless to say, it was pretty disheartening.
Fast foward to this wednesday. I leave at 4:00 a.m. and get to my hunting spot at 2:30 and hike back to where i hunted before. Nothing around, not even a track. So I hike out, and a half mile from my truck, I spot elk up on a ridge!!! My heart just starts racing!! After a ten minute stalk on my knees and belly crawl I get into position.
I ranged them at 350 yds
Mind you, my adrenaline is just racing and I'm out of breath! So I pick out a young cow without a calf, settle in and squeeze. And miss!!!! The elk had no idea where the shot came from so i quickly settled back in and touched another one off, and hit her! And she ran a ways where i couldnt see her.The rest of the herd bunched up and went to the top of the ridge while she stayed behind. So I ran up the hill to a spot where i could see her again. Laid down and took a rest aim over a snow drift and fired and missed again!! Fired three more times and missed. Finally, I load last round and pull myself together settle in and let fly. Direct hit through the goodies and she goes down!
Total of seven shots! Good grief!! I' m a way better shot than that. I can bust milk jugs at 400 yds all day! I guess between being excited and out of breath, that'll happen!! LOL!! I can honestly say that I'm not proud of my shoot performance, but I am very proud of my first elk!!
Having elk fajitas tonight for supper!! Mmmm. Cant wait!
