Bugling bulls, broken hearts, and a short, short, blood trail(pics now on page 5)

[Trumpkin the Dwarf]

Right about now is when the whole shebang started to get real western. The wind started swirling and shifting on a minute to minute basis. Elk were sounding off in all directions, and me and Wheels were into separate groups of bulls. I had six bulls in front of me, from 15-30 yards, but no shots. Four of them were spikes, which are safe in most of Montana. I was trying desperately to make a spike sprout brow tines, but to no avail. Meanwhile, I had dropped my pack to cut down on noise, and I was trying to get a shooting lane on one of the brow tine bulls. Both of us were hitting cow calls pretty frequently, trying to convince the elk that the strange flickers of movement stemmed from some cow elk wanting to join the party. As this was going down, one of the bulls from another corner of the triangle started moving in on us from behind. No matter which direction the wind was blowing elk were getting nostrils full of our scent.

However, not a single elk spooked out from smelling us. The bulls I was into, decided I was one cow they didn't want to hang out with so the moseyed over the edge and into the bowl. They didn't spook, just moseyed on over. Meanwhile, Wheels was having the same experience. We met back up and realized there was a bull crashing down on us from behind pretty fast. We scooted back out of the thicket to the edge of an aspen filled meadow, and emerged some fifteen to twenty yards apart. It was quickly apparent we had gotten back just in time.    

[Trumpkin the Dwarf]

The time we spent in the thicket with the bulls was somewhere between forty minutes and an hour. Time flies when you're having fun, and we were just getting started!

Now, before I get into the broken hearts part of the story, I need to mention that in Montana you can(almost always) shoot a cow or a bull on your general tag during the archery season. Additionally, we had an extra cow tag for the specific unit.

With that out of the way, lets get back to the action. When I hit the edge of the timber, it was just in time to freeze as a large cow came walking through the aspens, heading directly towards my buddy, which would bring her broadside just past me.  I glanced to my left, and saw a shooting lane if I slid forward. Next I glanced back at her, waited till her head was behind a tree, and... slid forward, obviously.      


On she came, like a scene from the perfect dream hunt. She even went so far as to stop, broadside, right in my shooting lane. I canted the bow over, to avoid hitting the ground (I was kneeling at this point), and slowly drew the arrow back and snugged into my anchor point...

[gringol]

You're cruel!

[Gen273]

This is the never ending story  

[Ray Lyon]

Hmmmm, must be Professor Lamb kept him after class today?!            :rolleyes:      

[Dirtybird]

This is getting good fellas.      

[Cyclic-Rivers]

I am liking this Trumkin, Keep it up!

[Cookus]

[Knawbone]

Every good story should have suspense, very nice. And Hey Malachi, what's the big idea using scent control to bag an Elk anyway?    

[Trumpkin the Dwarf]

Hang in there folks. I have bloody hands right now.

[wooddamon1]

[LittleBen]

I'm dying here .... shoot me not the elk and put me out of the misery of waiting!

[TJK68]

I am liking it, good stuff.....

[Pokerdaddy]

Great writing!  Now bring it home!

[Gator1]

I'm getting old I have to go to bed

Ill bet your grilling elk tenderloins and washing it down with a moose drool  

[dhermon85]

 
This is fun, your makin me hungry too

[Trumpkin the Dwarf]

I love the simplicity and of instinctive archery. If you asked me to guess the range to the big fat cow standing there, I'd have said 20 yards. My subconscious mind is a devilishly brilliant blighter though, and aimed for 30. The shot was perfect, and I watched the fletching fly right where I was looking; right where the elk had been before ducking the string. I could only watch in horror as the big snuffer slammed into her elbow with a resounding crack. The arrow was almost parallel to the body by the time of impact, and the broad head snapped off at the insert. I was halfway home to broken hearted by now.
  :(  


She wheeled around and trotted out to 60 or 70 yards, and just stood there looking back at me. I was praying to see a sign of sickness, wobbling, anything to indicate it was more than a busted off arrow in the ball joint. Sadly, she seemed to be perfectly all right as she stood there staring us down (I bet you forgot about Wheels, didn't you?). The next four or five minutes, I spent just watching her. Meanwhile, the bugling bull was getting closer and closer. I suspect she didn't leave because he was coming in.

[Trumpkin the Dwarf]

I'm kinda tired...you think I should finish this over the weekend?    

             

[Gen273]

I think this thread should be locked for lack of progress    


I am just kidding, it is your story, tell however you want.

[Trumpkin the Dwarf]

Lack of progress? I loosed an arrow didn't I?

I digress. As I watched the cow stand there, more elk began materializing in the meadow. I suddenly saw ivory colored tips on what seemed to be a high, narrow 5x5. Another cow moved in to 40 yards, and I was waiting to see what would happen next. The 5x5 (I never got a great look, but I am assuming he was 5x5) was about 60 yards out and coming in cautiously when movement caught my eye.