ELK UTOPIA
By Tom Nelson

The weather had surely completed its 360 degree change. Twenty-four hours ago the mercury was hovering in the low 80's, now I was witnessing specks of snow falling from an ominous sky. Every piece of available clothing was now donned and I was searching my day pack for any forgotten article of clothing. It would not have been so bad had I not worked up a lather of sweat during the arduous climb to reach this far away tree stand. The stand was located high on the apex of the mountain where a well worn elk trail led to an open park below. This very morning we had watched from afar with our optics as a herd of 20 or so cows and a dandy herd bull exited the meadow via the before mentioned trail.

Anticipating that the elk would return by way of the same trail come late afternoon, we elected to make a midday climb and place a couple tree stands. One stand was for me and another for my cameraman, Evan Pittman. Evan had the hard job, he had to try and capture the hunt on tape for a future episode of The American Archer TV Show as seen on The Outdoor Channel. My duty was business as usual; tag a bull elk with a bow and arrow. No big deal right?

The climb up to the top of the mountain was demanding to say the least. In order not to disturb the herd of elk we were sure had bedded down for the day somewhere nearby, we climbed up the almost vertical side of the mountain. This was no easy task. Most of the time when we were not slipping and sliding down hill, we were clinging to the abundant lodge pole pines for support. More than once while attempting to catch my breath, I wondered silently to myself, "is this worth the effort?"

I had bowhunted elk with Sage Mountain Outfitters before. Taking a bull each of the previous years hunts. A dandy 6x6 in 2004 and a big 5x5 herd bull in 2005. Both of the preceding bulls had been taken by bugling them in close and personal. This is my preferred method for bowhunting elk. It offers heart pounding action and tests a hunter both physically and mentally. For the ultimate adrenaline rush, nothing quite equals that of a bugling bull at twenty yards. So, it was with a bit of reservation that I climbed to the summit of this almost sheer wall.

Once the stands were in place, my friend and outfitter Cal Stucky, gave the thumbs up and like a ghost, departed. It was still early afternoon and I knew it would be awhile until the elk would rise from their daytime beds and begin to move towards the meadow below. I slid my hands into my jacket pockets and pressed against the big yellow pine as if to gather some heat from it. The chilly weather felt more like November than mid September.

A couple hours later I was daydreaming about elk hunts gone by, when an elks bugled snapping me back to reality. The bull had bugled close by, very close by. I turned to Evan and whispered, "show time". Slowly I grabbed hold of my Martin Razor bow and readied myself for the possible upcoming shot. Then I spied an elk cow and calf approaching perhaps 50 yards away. Then another cow and another. They were meandering towards our position some 20 feet up the giant conifer. This is perfect I told myself. The trail they were on would lead them past us at a mere 20 yards.

When the elk were some 30 or so yards away the lead cow decided to go cross country and began to veer off the trail. "Oh no" I thought. This would direct them towards the heavier timber where a bow shot would be difficult to say the least. By now there were some dozen or more cows and calves passing by our setup. But where was the bull? He had not bugled again since he first alerted us to the herds arrival some minutes earlier. As the herd wandered by, I was troubled by the fact that most of the passing elk were covered up by the dense stand of pines offering no shot opportunities. Then movement to my right mustered my attention. There he was, my adversary. The big herd bull glided effortlessly through the forest. His sweeping rack looked imposing as he neared. Like the others he was ignoring the elk trail and following the herd. As he was about to enter the dark timber and vanish, I gave a loud cow call with my voice stopping the bull in his tracks.

I was at full draw and through my bow sight I could see nothing but limbs covering the bulls vitals. Slowly I began to squat, trying to gain an open shooting lane. As my crouch was about to come to an end, there it was, an opening. Albeit not large, the small opening gave me a chance. Placing my 30 yard pin on the quartering away bull I squeezed the trigger of my release. The bull exploded, heading directly downhill  covering ground rapidly with some amazing leaps. Then he was gone and the pines fell silent. The shot looked good and Evan confirmed the arrow placement was perfect on the quartering away bull.

We waited some twenty or so minutes in the stand before we took up the trail which proved to be a short one. Following the bulls hoof prints in the torn up turf as he bounded down the mountain was easy. Traveling less than 100 yards we found the large 6x6 piled up alongside a tree. What a fitting end to a demanding day. As I sat next to the bull admiring his wide and heavy rack, I thought to myself, "it doesn't get any better than this. This treestand hunt had proved to be as demanding as any elk hunt before. Perhaps in some ways even more so. This elk had been hard earned, as any bull should be.