AH64DMatt
Member
Ok...so here's the story on my elk that I posted on Facebook...
I've been sitting and hunting a cornfield on Ft. Riley which has had a TON of tracks, but every time I went, there were no animals seen. I knew they were there, but over the course of the last month and a half, it was either other hunters, the time of day I was there, or the Army's training in the area that played a role in not seeing anything. I found where they were crossing into the area, where they were bedding, and obviously, where they were feeding.
Fast forward to yesterday morning. As I previously stated, I couldn't sleep on Friday night, so I decided to stop trying, showered, grabbed my gear and headed out.
After getting dressed, getting all my stuff in my hunting pack, I opened up my bow case and there was NO BOW! I quickly realized that I had been shooting target practice throughout the last few days, and my bow was sitting in my garage! After about 4 minutes of cussing, calling myself a moron, I threw my backpack into my truck bed, drove the 30 minutes home, grabbed my bow, and drove the 30 minutes back to my previous spot.
I got all my stuff on, grabbed my bow, and started out for my cornfield hunting spot. There's about 200 meters of road that's in the open, then it dips down into the woods for another 200 meters until arriving at the corn field.
Once I entered the woods, I knocked an arrow and started walking very slowly, pausing every 5-6 steps to listen. 100 meters into the woods, I hear what sounds like a horse galloping, and look around the corner, and here she comes! She was at a dead sprint up the road right at me. I about messed my pants. Once she realized I wasn't a tree, she immediately made a right hand turn, then cut through the woods paralleling the road. I gave a loud "MEH!!!" and she slid to a stop, about 15 yards away, a perfect broadside shot. I drew and shot the arrow right into her left shoulder. It sounded like I hit a tree.
Well, she ran off, over a little knoll and down into the creek. I lost sight of her over the knoll, and was so worried I didn't have a good shot, or that the arrow might have ricochet'd off a tree branch or something. I gave her about 3 minutes, then I eased over the small knoll, and there she was...she was standing about 70 yards up a hill on the other side of the creek.
For those of you who don't know much about hunting, especially archery hunting, my personal observation is that it's the most humane way to take an animal. Once the arrow hits, the animal may jump, but they usually run a little bit, then start to get tired, lay down, and quietly expire. Less stress, no adrenaline of a loud gun shot, and they generally quietly go. This was the case with my cow. She laid down, put her head down, and that was it.
Then the work began. Now, with all my physical conditions, I worked as long as I could, then I called in a hunting buddy, Adam, who I had met at the parking spot. I can honestly say, without him, I would probably still be out there. He helped finish up the field dressing, and was so incredibly helpful in getting her out to the truck. He'll be getting some delicious elk meat coming his way when she's all butchered up.
When I dropped her off at the meat processor, they started skinning her, and the meat looked great. Like I said before, she's about 2 years old, and I'm betting the meat will be pretty close to veal-like taste and consistency. She wasn't the biggest elk, but she'll definitely be my favorite.
So, as I write the ending to the story, I'm laying on the couch in a whole heaping handful of pain. My whole body hurts from head to toe, and I couldn't be happier for it. I said before and I'll say it again, God has truly blessed me with such a beautiful animal.
I'm off to the medicine cabinet for some more help with the pain...and I'm still smiling! Have a great day everyone...
Matt
I've been sitting and hunting a cornfield on Ft. Riley which has had a TON of tracks, but every time I went, there were no animals seen. I knew they were there, but over the course of the last month and a half, it was either other hunters, the time of day I was there, or the Army's training in the area that played a role in not seeing anything. I found where they were crossing into the area, where they were bedding, and obviously, where they were feeding.
Fast forward to yesterday morning. As I previously stated, I couldn't sleep on Friday night, so I decided to stop trying, showered, grabbed my gear and headed out.
After getting dressed, getting all my stuff in my hunting pack, I opened up my bow case and there was NO BOW! I quickly realized that I had been shooting target practice throughout the last few days, and my bow was sitting in my garage! After about 4 minutes of cussing, calling myself a moron, I threw my backpack into my truck bed, drove the 30 minutes home, grabbed my bow, and drove the 30 minutes back to my previous spot.
I got all my stuff on, grabbed my bow, and started out for my cornfield hunting spot. There's about 200 meters of road that's in the open, then it dips down into the woods for another 200 meters until arriving at the corn field.
Once I entered the woods, I knocked an arrow and started walking very slowly, pausing every 5-6 steps to listen. 100 meters into the woods, I hear what sounds like a horse galloping, and look around the corner, and here she comes! She was at a dead sprint up the road right at me. I about messed my pants. Once she realized I wasn't a tree, she immediately made a right hand turn, then cut through the woods paralleling the road. I gave a loud "MEH!!!" and she slid to a stop, about 15 yards away, a perfect broadside shot. I drew and shot the arrow right into her left shoulder. It sounded like I hit a tree.
Well, she ran off, over a little knoll and down into the creek. I lost sight of her over the knoll, and was so worried I didn't have a good shot, or that the arrow might have ricochet'd off a tree branch or something. I gave her about 3 minutes, then I eased over the small knoll, and there she was...she was standing about 70 yards up a hill on the other side of the creek.
For those of you who don't know much about hunting, especially archery hunting, my personal observation is that it's the most humane way to take an animal. Once the arrow hits, the animal may jump, but they usually run a little bit, then start to get tired, lay down, and quietly expire. Less stress, no adrenaline of a loud gun shot, and they generally quietly go. This was the case with my cow. She laid down, put her head down, and that was it.
Then the work began. Now, with all my physical conditions, I worked as long as I could, then I called in a hunting buddy, Adam, who I had met at the parking spot. I can honestly say, without him, I would probably still be out there. He helped finish up the field dressing, and was so incredibly helpful in getting her out to the truck. He'll be getting some delicious elk meat coming his way when she's all butchered up.
When I dropped her off at the meat processor, they started skinning her, and the meat looked great. Like I said before, she's about 2 years old, and I'm betting the meat will be pretty close to veal-like taste and consistency. She wasn't the biggest elk, but she'll definitely be my favorite.
So, as I write the ending to the story, I'm laying on the couch in a whole heaping handful of pain. My whole body hurts from head to toe, and I couldn't be happier for it. I said before and I'll say it again, God has truly blessed me with such a beautiful animal.
I'm off to the medicine cabinet for some more help with the pain...and I'm still smiling! Have a great day everyone...
Matt
