Last year, I went on my 4th elk hunt. I was hopeful this would be the year that I
filled my freezer with tasty elk meat, provided by my hard work and experience
of a lifetime … however, once again, it didn’t work out as planned. I came home
without any elk meat. So, my score so
far: Elk – 4, Butler – 0.
Or, is it?
I am a big proponent of the experience of the hunt, but this
year before I departed I was more concerned with the outcome. Success, this hunt,
would be an elk, and the experience would only be “worth it” if I achieved that
goal. This feeling I had as I prepared
and began my hunt was contrary to everything that I talk to people, particularly
women, about. I will tell ladies that
although cliché, the experience of hunting is cathartic, and the peace and
strength you find in yourself while hunting is as rewarding as the
harvest. I know, my newly found attitude
this year was quite hypocritical, but in being honest, it is exactly how I felt
going into day one of the hunt.
On day 1 of a 5-day hunt, after climbing to nearly 7,000
feet on extremely steep grade, seeing deer and elk without them seeing me, it
occurred to me, I wanted an elk, but the experience was pretty awesome. I struggled
in an internal battle with myself to stay focused on the outcome, while my
definition of success was being tested.
Webster’s defines success as the “correct or desired result of an
attempt.” However, what exactly was I
attempting? “To get an elk with my bow,
yes, that is what success was,” is what I kept telling myself. However, the more accomplished I felt, the
more I started thinking about the … well, you know … “experience”.
The experience won, and although I still wanted an elk, it
was not my definition of success. Success
would be measured in the experience of the attempt. I learned this trip, hunting is the attempt, and success for me was measured in seeing
animals, and they not see us; in climbing and hiking to breath taking views; in
the experience of opportunity; in the quiet time for self-reflection; in
friendships; and in the ability to give Glory to God for all that He provides.
My “Super Guide,” Miranda Browne, from Upper Canyon
Outfitter’s, will tell you, “To get an elk, you have to go where they
are.” In Montana, in the Ruby Valley,
that means you are hiking – up steep, rugged and rocky terrain high into the
mountains. Day 1 out of the gate, I did
that. As a result of my hard work, every
day I was treated to views! I took video
and pictures of the scenery, each day we climbed a bit higher, and a bit farther. Totaling the entire week’s hikes, we hiked
about 8,000 feet (1,500 to 2,000 feet a day), and hiked a total of about 45
miles on a maximum grade of 37 degrees (according to my range finder).
This hunt had one of those amazing days of opportunity, a
day you read about in magazines, a day that creates that addiction to continue
to hunt, no matter how extreme the conditions and regardless of a harvest. Miranda and I set out on an easy hike, as we
were walking in, we smelled it, “Elk!”
She gave me the motion, and we quickly set up. Now this was only a ½ hour into our day, she
cow called and the bull started bugling.
I quickly nocked an arrow, and was ready. We saw the bull moving around, but he didn’t
look like a shooter. We waited for a
while, and then continued our hike. Not
more than another hour into our hike, we saw three cow elk, moving through the
woods. We froze, and they didn’t see
us. As we moved on, Miranda gave a bugle,
and you guessed it, a bull bugled back.
We could not believe our luck, and we hiked to the top of the hill, and
found a place to set up. We had two
bulls calling from different directions.
The excitement was intense. We
set up for a while, no luck. As a side
bar, during this day, while crawling under a fence…I learned that even if your
phone is on silent, Siri still talks…and she suddenly said, “I’m sorry I can’t
help you with that, let me connect you to the internet,” “Yikes!
Shut up Siri”, of course “Super Guide” was just taking notes for things
clients do… I digress, back to the
hunt! We met up with my good friend
Donna McDonald after lunch. Donna owns
Upper Canyon Outfitters, and she is a story all her own given her accomplishments. We started walking through the mountains, and
guess what…Cows! Have you ever had some
one yell at you in a complete whisper…I have, and it was the loudest most intense
yell (without sound) I have ever heard, “Nock an Arrow, NOCK an arrow, NOCK AN
ARROW!” Donna whisper-yelled at me, from the trail in front of me where she had
dropped to the ground. There was one
cow, and she was about 60 yards from me.
Too far for my comfort of a hunting shot with my bow, so Miranda and
Donna were calling her in. …then guess what, a bull bugled from the opposite
direction. “Oh Yeah” I thought. The bull came charging up the ridge, and
stopped in his tracks. He sniffed a bit,
and then turned on a dime, and left. I
still had chance at the cow, who was now on alert. We were quiet, but she busted us (too) and
left. We move on. No kidding, we heard another bull bugle. So if you’re counting, that is 5 bulls heard,
2 seen (so far), and 4 cows seen in one day.
The day however was not over and we would see one more bull up close. We kept moving towards the bull that was
bugling. Donna and Miranda decided that
he was not going to leave his cows, so we moved to him. When we got to him, we set up. This set up was perfect, except we thought he
would come from below to the left, and instead he came up and over the ridge
directly in front of me. I stood in
complete motionless panic, as the bull walked directly towards me. I had no idea what to do in this
situation….”move”, no he would see me, “draw my bow”, no he would see me, “I
know, I’ll suck my stomach in”, and that is exactly what I did, I got as close as
I could to the tree I was standing by, and tipped my hat down, ever so
slightly, so he would not see my eyes, and prayed that I would not get gored by
this bull! He came within 5 feet of me
before he turned around, ran a bit, and stopped. Here is where I really wanted to scream, he
stopped, and there was a tree directly in front of half of his kill zone. When he turned around, I was able to get to
full draw, but only after stepping away from the tree, moving around a bit, and
then settling into my shot. So, I
thought to myself, BRASS (Breath, Relax, Aim, Stop, Squeeze), as I settled into
that shot, I had him at 35 yards, with half of his kill zone showing, I
thought, “I can make this shot, I can make this shot”….then I thought, you can
make that shot in perfect conditions of practice, you have adjusted your anchor
several times, and the elk is behind a tree…I let down, so sad that I did not
have what I considered an ethical shot, but excited that I just had an elk come
5 feet from me! Seriously, 5 feet! There is a video at http://youtu.be/Jj2Z3zGsoQ0
Don’t get me wrong, I felt disappointed that a clear and
ethical shot eluded me this trip, but if I could repeat the entire experience,
even knowing the outcome, I would. Next time, though, I plan to return to
Montana and get an elk!
Karen Butler is the President of SLG2, Inc, DBA: Shoot Like a Girl, a company dedicated to
growing the number of women who confidently participate in shooting
sports. For more information about
Karen, visit www.shootlikeagirl.com.
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