life of an elk hunter

Aiden s.

We were pulling up to our campsite and we already had high hopes for shooting an elk. Are campsite was really nice, it was on the corner of the lake and at the base of a Mountain. We had seen lots of sign, mainly tracks last year and elk on the way up to the reservoir this year. That night we had steak with mashed potatoes. We usually eat something really good the friday night. The year before we had salmon and bread rolls. We also talk about years past hunting trips by the campfire.  This is one of my favorite parts of elk hunting like the calm before the storm.

The next day we start by going this bare side of a hill that has had elk on it for years. The bare side is kinda hidden from view so it not a lot of people hunt it. This mountain is mainly covered in pine. Last year there was no elk on the hill. This year we were really hoping that there will be but Nothing. After the hill we moved areas and sat for a little bit then walked again and then sat again all day. That night I fell asleep instantly after a long day hunting hoping the next going to a new area would be better.

That morning at 3:40 we got into the car and drove to electric mountain. Electric mountain is a mountain that has a lot of power lines going up it so everybody just calls it electric mountain. The mountain also has a lot of aspens on it. A lot of people hunt that mountain so we tend to stay away from it but today were going to try it. That morning we decide that half of us will go up to the trail that goes around and up the mountain. The other half will go to a saddle that ⅓ the way up the mountain. I was in the group that goes into the saddle. Our group consisted of me and my dad. We split off at a very steep hill that we had to walk up. It took us 15 minutes to walk 301 yards up hill. We got to the saddle 15 minutes after shooting light.  We had been sitting there for a while and then I got really bored looking at the aspens and all the leaves on the ground so I started talking to my dad. “Hey Dad

“Yeah”

“Do crows Migrate”

“I Don’t know”

“Where do they migrate too”

“I Don’t know. Be quiet” he said still talking in a whisper.

I shut up after that. I was watching my shooting lanes in the aspens because they were so dense you had to sit where you had a couple of shooting lanes. I thought I heard someone walking behind me but when I looked back I saw a big 6x5 walking towards me and I panicked. I started saying “ Dad, dad, dad, dad, dad, dad, dad, dad,”. He looks at me and goes “what, do you want now?”

He looks where I’m looking and stands up. The bull walks out in front of us maybe 40 yards away. He pulled up his gun and started scoping out the elk the elk was a very dark and had very white ends. The elk had was now looking at us trying to figure out what we were. Standing there. Then boom! The elk crumpled and ran down hill where he came from. We can here trees snapping from where we were as he ran downhill. Then the sound stopped and a ;;very loud moo from a ranching cow. We sat for a few minutes to make sure the elk had died. On our way down there we followed a blood trail and then we found him not even 100 yards away.  After that we got pictures and then the real work began. Gutting, dressing and hiking the 4 miles back with a 600 pound animal on your backs. After the grunting and exhausting work. We went back to camp and took a nice nap. That was one of the best time hunting ever, even though I didn’t shoot my gun. That’s because hunting is about the adventure, taking apart in nature, and being with friends and family. That's why hunting is fun and why I do it.