Sunday morning, before daylight, my buddy Leigh drove me to another spot we had spotted a bull and his harem Friday morning. We never got to the turn off. We had a confused elk calf crossing the road, so we stopped and shut off the headlights to let her calm down and find her way and we had bugles all around us.
I bailed out of the Jeep and headed for the action. A pair of bulls were trading insults with a herd bull and I dogged them across the flat undwer the cover of darkness until shooting light. I cow called, and the two good sized satellites were closer and hotter than I anticipated and they caught me on open ground and came into 25 yds as I tried to look like a rabbit hiding under a sage brush. They spooked out of there following a herd and I trailed the procession of mews, whines bugles and barks for 2 miles (straight line) until they kegged up on the river just near where we had the herd bull and his harem located Friday. at 8 am I hiked back out to Leigh and the Jeep, drank some water and moved down the river to try an end around on the still vocal group.
I worked in to 150 yards from where I was hearing bugles and caught glimpses of elk through the trees and grass. I settled in to wait ‘em out, as the action quieted down. I stayed quiet and sat there for 3 hours while they bedded in the tules. I decided to try back in the evening and began to walk out towards where my crew was. On the way I spotted a sleeping bull and stalked into 30 yards. When he woke up, he spotted me, flew out of his bed and never gave me a chance to draw. Moments later a couple of Mexican Vaqueros came riding through on horseback. We chatted and they said “Maybe we rope one for you!”
I met up with my crew who had a cheese burger and water refills for me and went to another spot where we had seen elk coming into some pastures in the evening. I set up there and caught my midday nap in the 90 degree shade instead of the nice swamp cooled trailer. The elk never came in that night until after dark. We ordered a pizza and called it a night.
At this point I was kinda stressing out. Opening day had been elk action like I had never seen, and I didn’t kill a bull yet. I knew another hunter had connected from other hunters I’d talked to who had a bull dead also. My buddy Ed Fanchin killed on Opening day a few years ago, my buddy Cindy had killed on opening day in 2008. My support crew was going home in the morning. I was on my own. I got a lil emotional….
My dad counseled me as we drove back to the house and said “John I think you are being too hard on yourself. You are gonna kill a bull. You have been on hunts when you didn’t even see a bull or buck until the 3rd day or later and you were enjoying the experience. Quit talking about how this is the once in a lifetime tag. You will keep having chances to succeed. you don’t have to run after elk in 100 degree heat ”
I agreed that I was a lil high strung. I also promised him I would chill out at mid-day. Monday at 4:00 am I headed out to hunt by myself….
