king' s outdoor world - Index

king' s outdoor world - Hunting Illustrated April/May 2008 - Index

I shoot again if I can’t see what to
shoot at? My contact has fl own out
and is on the ground somewhere!”
We both began digging at the
ground, searching for the contact
but knowing that we were fi ghting a
losing battle. The bull, meanwhile,
was still oblivious as to what was
going on. He never budged and was
intent on eating everything that bush
had to offer. After what seemed like
forever, I fi nally convinced her to
take aim and shoot again. This time I
was watching through my binoculars
to see where she was hitting. The
gun cracked again and she shot a
branch off the bush right between the
bull’s horns. The branch fell to the
ground in front of the bull. By now
he should have left, but nope. The
bull bent down and began feeding on
the branch that Rena had so nicely
put in front of him. Both of us had
no idea why her gun was shooting
off – it was a mystery. Rena had just
shot it at home and was driving nails
with it. Well big nails, like railroad
spikes. Close enough anyway. The
next shot was to be held a little lower
and back. By now I don’t think she
was listening to a word I was saying.
If this next shot didn’t connect, the
bull was going free. Rena shot a lot
and was pretty good with a fi re arm,
but something wasn’t working out
here. The shot rang out across the
canyon and the bull fi nally buckled.
Now my part of the hunt was
beginning. Skinning and packing
was my expertise when I was on the
hunt with her, although I have seen
the times when she has had to gut
some on her own. How many bulls
will stick around thatlong for the
hunter to get everything together?
The last few years, I
haven’t been able to fi nd the time
to take Rena out elk hunting like
she would like. I am involved with
the TV show, “The Explorer’s Big
Game Journal,” and it takes a lot of
time to produce enough shows to fi ll
the bill. I am gone a lot. This year
she asked me if we could plan an elk
hunt with just the two of us and no
cameras around. After making our plans
of where and how we were going to hunt
this time, we loaded up the horses and
packed in to where other hunters might
not be. This particular spot was another
of Rena’s favorites. She had taken other
bulls in this same area, and she was sure
she could do it again. We loaded the
horses with enough gear to stay a few
days. We walked in about three and a
half miles, leading our pack animals,
to where we made camp and got ready
for the short evening hunt we had left
before dark. We decided to hunt the
clearing next to camp, since we didn’t
have time enough to go anywhere else.
This area is one of the few areas I know
of where we have never seen or run into
any other hunters. So far, it was a good
secret place. Most of the time when you
fi nd a secret spot like this one, even the
elk don’t know about it; however, this
place was different. Rena and I headed
down a little ridge and were just going to
check it out for sign. I was in front as we
came around a corner and there, right in
front of me, was a huge 6x6 bull - only
20 yards in front of us. I instantly
assumed my role and quietly let her
know of the situation. I looked back
at her to make sure she saw the bull.
Her gloves were already coming off,
and her gun was up and as steady as
a rock. She was preparing for the
shot off-hand. For some odd reason,
that bull will probably be bigger
next year. Heading back to camp,
we talked about how easy that one
would have been to get out and about
how big he was. This had been one
of those times when you wished that
you could do it all over again.
The next morning, Rena
and I left camp a little later than
normal and arrived at our spot only
to fi nd that the elk had already had
breakfast without us and left for their
midday nap. So, we also went back
to camp, had our midday nap and
waited for the evening hunt. While
we were waiting, we saddled up the
horses and rode down the canyon
two miles to another good area to sit
and watch. Elk sign was everywhere
5ELK5 April/May 25