Kathleen Love

Oct 8, 2022

Big Bull Down

Oregon Archery Elk 2022

After 11 days of hiking through Wyoming, we had to start heading to Oregon for my tag. We did not want to leave the beautiful mountains and I knew leaving meant that the pressure was on.

This was going to be my second year archery hunting elk and I had counted down the days until I could be out in the elk woods chasing them and never in my wildest dreams did I think I would be taking home this trophy. Since my last time holding a tag, I have put in a lot of time preparing. As a female in the hunting world everything seems harder. Between getting stronger in the gym, increasing my poundage and practicing with my bow, mentally preparing myself for the grind that archery hunting can be, and the list goes on, I finally felt ready. I have hunted elk for four seasons with others and could tell Austin and I were getting better at finding elk and navigating the backcountry. Now, it just came down to getting close enough to a bull to get a lethal shot off.

We arrived in Oregon a day early and camped overnight as a big rain and lightning storm passed through. Austin and I laughed to each other that we brought the rain with us from Wyoming. I didn’t want to be in bad spirits but rain seems to make elk hunting a bit more difficult and I did not want any extra challenges. I shot my bow a few times and fell asleep early because I was so exhausted from the endless miles hiking and traveling over the past week and a half.

Since we were parking our camper near a ranch house where some other hunters were staying in our group we decided to split up the meals and we were put in charge of breakfast for the upcoming week. We headed into town and hit the grocery store to make our breakfast burritos in bulk so they would just need warmed up each morning. The others had divided up lunches and dinners so we didn’t have to worry about that which was a nice change. After we got all the groceries we headed to the ranch house and cooked everything up.

Once we got to the house we spotted some elk hanging out on a ridge nearby.

As we were finishing the burritos, the other hunters arrived. After a while we headed out to scout the area. On the way back to the ranch house we stopped and glassed a hill side until dark and saw multiple elk in different locations on this hill. Just as the sun was setting someone spotted a large bull elk on top of the ridge.

His silhouette was outlined on top of the ridge by this amazing sunset, a sight we were extremely lucky to witness. We all made comments about how the "big bulls come out at night" and how lucky we were to even see one of that caliber. One guy was able to get this photo of him through his spotter. I sat there thinking, "I hope I get an opportunity on ANY bull elk". We got back and all pitched in and made a quick dinner.

Day 1

I could hardly sleep, I was so excited to get out on the mountain and come up with a plan to hunt for the day. Just as the sun was coming out I was glassing from the top of the mountain. I looked down and glassed the openings all around and didn’t see any elk. A few minutes later I started from my right again for another sweep and about 9 o clock I spotted a big bull. I tell Austin that I see a big bull and he sees him. Austin was convinced that this had to be the elk from the sunset picture the night before. Moments later we started hearing bugles from him and watched as he walked towards us bugling. He crossed a ridge behind us and all we could hear was intermittent bugles which eventually faded away. After spotting another few bulls off in the distance, nothing interested us more than making a play to the big bull we had seen at first light.

We made a long trek across the top of the mountain and dropped in way below him to get the wind right and side hilled up towards the last ridge we had heard him bugle from. As we were doing this, we spotted a rag horn coming down the ridge across the drainage from us with a couple cows following him. Austin and I decided to change the plan and to go after him now. We quickly made our way to the bottom of the drainage to hopefully beat him to the creek and intersect his path of travel to his bed for the day As this was happening, a bugle sounds off from above in the exact direction we had just came from. We could only imagine it was the “big bull” from this morning. We look at each other and change directions again. I run up the hill about 40 yards and Austin dropped down the hill to be my caller maybe some 100 yards away.

I got set up and started ranging stumps and trees with hopes the bugling bull would show himself. I just didn’t like my placement and saw too many obstacles depending on if or where the elk walked out so I worked up the hill a little further and towards my right anticipating the wind would still be at my face. I started ranging things again and had some 40 yard shots and 30 yard shots. I listened as Austin bugled and cow calledfrom below and I started seeing movement above. I drew back my bow and stood there, chest pounding, waiting to see what it was. Just above at the top of the hillside I am on, I see an elk ear in the bush slowly moving across. Turns out it was just a cow elk but at this point, I am still hopeful the bull is following closely behind. I had ranged it and knew it was 80 yards. Knowing I don’t feel comfortable shooting an elk with my poundage over 40 yards I knew I had to make a move and change locations if I wanted an opportunity at the bull if he came through. As the cow elk fed through the top and between the timber down the other side out of sight, I slowly let down my bow and moved further up and over to my right even more, making sure to not let a cow elk see any movement. At one point, I thought they might have seen me since one looked down towards me, but they kept going on with their business and didn’t appear startled. After the next bugle Austin made, I heard the bull bugle back, I could tell he was getting closer. I figured the bull would take the round-a-bout way and drop down and come out on my right side because of the way the wind was and where Austin was located. I started ranging a few things to my right and crept over even more. I stopped moving when I saw the white tips of his horns in the timber at my 11 o clock. The last area I had ranged was a small opening about 40 yards away and still out in front of where he was walking. I drew back and slowly shifted my aim to my right, waiting for him to cross that 40 yard opening. He continued forward but was not offering a clear shot. Still drawn back, I watched his direction and I see his legs through thick brush and timber and he gives out one more short bugle. I watched as his lower belly moved as he made noise.

Thoughts were running through my head. I hoped that Austin had heard him and would stay in his position and continue calling. If Austin decided to come up and check on me, thinking there was no bull to pursue and bust him, the entire hunt would be over.

The opening was below me and where I anticipated him coming out at this point. I see him walk out into the opening but I needed him to keep walking to give me a shot. Sure enough, he keeps walking very slowly, each step he took felt like eternity but really just gave him a few seconds to look around and then take his next step. He continued to walk past some dead limbs and stands in a perfect opening, broadside with his front leg forward. I set my 40 yard pin in his pocket behind the shoulder and release the arrow. As I release, I see my arrow penetrate perfectly and buried into him all except the last 6 inches. He takes a jolting step and then runs straight downhill from me. I take a deep breath and start cow calling to Austin and running in his direction in disbelief. Austin comes running to me and as we meet on the hillside I get the biggest hug ever as he’s telling me “you did it! You freaking did it, I heard the arrow hit”.

We stood on the hillside, adrenaline running and I review the entire situation with Austin. Every step and detail that happened. As the caller, I could only imagine how hard it is to continue to call when you have no idea what is really going on in the shooters view. Do I keep calling? Do I move forward? Have the elk spooked? What’s going on? I am so thankful that he continued calling for over 20 minutes while this bull worked his way to me. Austin asks me right away about my shot placement and I was 100% confident in where I hit him and I even saw the knock of my arrow barely sticking out as he ran away. Austin then asks me how big he was, and all I could tell him was that there were a lot of horns and white ivory tips. Once I could see his body in the last opening I rested my site pin on his body and waited for my perfect shot, never again looking at his horns. I had to of been drawn back for almost 2 minutes waiting for him to come around and then work his way through the opening. The spot he came out below me was not an area I had ranged but I estimated 40 yards and when we retraced my steps and looked at his tracks he was standing 38 yards. We waited over an hour, the longest hour of my life. So many thoughts were racing through my brain but knowing my shot and distance were on point I knew this bull was down and we were going to find him.

At this point it has been about an hour and it’s 8:43 a.m. so we start following his tracks that he left as he ran away. Then we started searching for blood.

We started finding small drops of blood, however, the blood trail never got bigger than a few drops. At one point we couldn’t find any more blood and the tracks left us to an open area with tracks all over it. On our hands and knees we searched this opening for a few hours and no blood to be found. At this point Austin wanted to call the other hunters to see if they weren’t on elk if they wanted to come help us track the bull. Once they heard I had a bull down they were all wishing they had known sooner and told us they are on their way. As we waited for them to make their way to us we started gridding directly below knowing we didn’t see any blood there. As we made it back to meet the other guys they followed the tracks we had found and then also came to the dead end at the field where they searched for further blood or a sign of what direction he went. Everyone always tells you that a hurt animal will run downhill. At this point we all start gridding the area. Up and down we went looking in every timber patch and covering a radius of 700 yards. After a couple hours I could tell people were feeling less than optimistic but didn’t want to say that to me. They started working their way off to hunt the evening. At this point, I am at an all time low. Questioning everything but my shot placement. Frustrated, sad, confused, and mostly upset that we had not found him yet. Austin and I sat down and I couldn’t do anything except wipe the tears as they ran down my face. Hunting is something I have become passionate about in my adult years after meeting Austin and wounding an animal is not something I take lightly.

Austin didn't know exactly what to do or how to make me feel better. I will never forget what he said, "Kat, we will find this bull. I believe your shot was perfect, and we will look today and tomorrow and the next day, whatever we need to do until we find this bull". We decided to compare our tracks and find some spots we had not covered yet. We started with getting all the way to the bottom of this very long drainage and walk it out further than we had gone. As we are walking, not many words are being said and the daylight is dwindling. After we made it to the furthest point possible for that day we started walking back uphill. There was an area near the top that I had jumped some cow elk earlier and wanted to make sure he wasn’t laying near there. We sidehilled about 20 yards apart searching as we worked our way up the ridge. Austin took a steeper route above me and I got on a cow trail and started working my way up. I had ran out of water hours prior and was trying to pace myself on the uphill so I wouldn’t get as thirsty. As I stopped and leaned over to take some breaths I scan around me and see something that doesn’t look right. I look back to my left a little uphill and see a color that looked like a dark, dirty elk coat. I pull up my binoculars even though it can’t be further than 60 yards and take a look. Shocked, I step back and look again. I call to Austin to come here beside me. He doesn’t question, and comes running to me. I point and he looks, his reply “that’s a dead elk”. It doesn’t even feel real, it can’t be him. We walk towards the dark timber and I was confused why this elk didn’t get up and run away, it couldn’t possibly be my elk. We got up to it and I see horns. It’s my elk!!!! After TEN hours of searching for him and almost 8 miles of solely gridding the area we found him! I felt scared as I walked up to him, nervous, and in disbelief that we found him and that I did this.

He had made it almost 750 yards as the crow flies from where I shot him and only about 200 feet drop in elevation. The bull was in a dark patch of timber tucked away with multiple bedding areas around him. So many questions I would love to ask him, even just to see the route he took. I believe he passed away peacefully in his bedding area hours and hours prior. The random tracks we decided to take to luckily come up on him and for me to spot him feels like a miracle. Since, he had been laying in the timber his meat had stayed cool enough that it didn’t spoil. We spent some time with him taking in the entire days memories and thanking him for his life. From extreme highs to the lowest lows and back to the relief of finding him I still didn't feel like it could be real. I never once doubted my shot, but so many other thoughts crossed my mind. Why wasn’t there hardly any blood? How did he travel so far? Why wasn’t my shot placement enough to drop him sooner? After the shock of finding him and sorting through all the emotions of the day we sat with him in disbelief of what we had accomplished together!

Next, we needed to start quartering him out so we could pack him off the mountain. We decided to walk up the hill to get service so we could let the others know that we had found him. After we sent out a few texts and sent our location so they wouldn’t worry about us we got back down to start quartering. After starting on him, we hear two people walking up. It was a couple of the hunters that had come to help and share the experience with us!

As we kept working on him we got his front and back shoulder in the game bags and started working on the backstrap and neck meat. Next thing we knew, the other two hunters from base camp had walked down bringing waters and helping hands! They had found a skid road and drove their side by side about 100 yards above us and started making trips with gear and the meat we had already gotten in game bags. We got the bull turned over and now the entrance wound of my arrow was visible. Just as I remembered, just behind the shoulder.

Austin and I were so perplexed, he wasn’t even laying in a pile of blood. He just didn’t bleed externally hardly at all, it was all inside of him. As we worked on the other side we found the rest of my arrow in his cavity and finished harvesting the rest of the meat. The last haul up the hill in the dark was a heavy one but luckily rather short! We got everything strapped in and then got the side by side to the other hunters truck and drove back to the ranch house.

No photo of my stumbling up the hill with this guy on my back but I wish there was!

We love these EXO packs! Worth every penny!

(The whole gang! These men astonish me. The fact that they were willing to help me track during the day and spend their evening helping me, a stranger they just met, pack out my elk is incredible. We live in a crazy world and I see a lot of the bad in my job as an ER nurse. Its refreshing to know that there are still amazing people out there and I love that these people exist in the hunting world and I am sooo glad to be apart of it!)

Once we got back, we hung the meat and celebrated the victory of the day! It was getting late and we were all starving so the others helped get dinner ready as Austin and I finished up with the elk and the hide. We all finished up dinner around midnight and headed for bed to start hunting again the next day! Their were three more tags to fill and Austin and I were so grateful for all of their help we wanted to give back and help hunt with them!

The next morning came quick and after 4 more days of hunting we were able to fill one more tag for another hunter. We all hunted hard, waking up at 0400 every day and getting out there by first light and home by dark was tough there is no other way I would have wanted to spend those days.

Paul was able to harvest his first bull elk and with a bow! This was his third year hunting elk and I am so excited for him! Austin and I were with him for the entire experience and even the tracking!

Having the opportunity of being the one with the tag and tagging out for the first time was exciting. However, being apart of his stalk and execution and harvest was absolutely amazing and such a great experience!

I hope I'm still hitting the mountains when I am 65+ years old and marking things off my bucket list! Happy tears every time I watch this video seeing the excitement that Paul has! The entire week was full of laughs and memories running around the mountains with these new friends.

Elk hunting is not for the faint of heart, especially archery. I have had to toughen up a lot and learn so much. It is amazing to see how far I have come in just a few years and I don't know if I would be where I am today in the hunting world if it weren't for my husband, Austin. He pushes me, teaches me, sacrifices for me, and has shown me how to be an ethical hunter and pursue my dreams. Elk season is so much more than September. From nonstop Youtube videos like Born and Raised Outdoors , work outs, gear reviews, mental toughness, chasing Austin up the mountains. I couldn't imagine a better hunting partner!