SDBugler
Very Active Member
- Messages
- 1,097
I am pretty proud of my son. He is attending college at Montana State University but this year he decided to try getting in a little hunting between studies and work.
He was originally going to focus on deer hunting on Montana?s opener Saturday but Thursday night he was out looking for grouse with his dog when he located a herd of 25 ? 30 elk with a 280? herd bull and a few satellite bulls. He soon changed his mind and decided to go after those elk opening day. After a phone call to dad and some sharing of google earth images he had a strategy in place to hunt that herd on opening morning.
He located the herd opening morning but as suspected there were other hunters chasing the same herd. With 4 other hunters chasing the same herd his plans didn't quite work out. He had the herd bull coming to him at 80 yards before the herd was spooked by one of the other hunters and he ended up just following the herd until they bedded for the day. A mid-day call to dad to re-strategize and he was off again for the evening hunt. He was in place between the herd and their feeding area before they rose from their beds and started calling and moving. He had the herd bull coming in but scent from two of the other hunters busted the herd and they moved off the ridgeline. My son guessed where the herd would head to and made a big circle around and ahead of the herd and just before dark he had the group of elk moving toward him again. He managed to call in this satellite bull to 40 yards before putting an arrow through both lungs.
This was only his second elk hunt and his first time chasing them with a bow. He did this all solo and DIY including the pack out.
Not only did he harvest his first archery elk on his first day archery elk hunting, but it is even more impressive considering that he has now harvested two elk after only hunting for a total of 2.5 days!!!
Here is his first archery elk harvested on opening day of his first archery elk hunt.
Here is his first elk harvested with a rifle in 2008 when he was 14. He shot this bull the second morning after passing up several bulls opening day.
Congratulations Braden!!!!
He was originally going to focus on deer hunting on Montana?s opener Saturday but Thursday night he was out looking for grouse with his dog when he located a herd of 25 ? 30 elk with a 280? herd bull and a few satellite bulls. He soon changed his mind and decided to go after those elk opening day. After a phone call to dad and some sharing of google earth images he had a strategy in place to hunt that herd on opening morning.
He located the herd opening morning but as suspected there were other hunters chasing the same herd. With 4 other hunters chasing the same herd his plans didn't quite work out. He had the herd bull coming to him at 80 yards before the herd was spooked by one of the other hunters and he ended up just following the herd until they bedded for the day. A mid-day call to dad to re-strategize and he was off again for the evening hunt. He was in place between the herd and their feeding area before they rose from their beds and started calling and moving. He had the herd bull coming in but scent from two of the other hunters busted the herd and they moved off the ridgeline. My son guessed where the herd would head to and made a big circle around and ahead of the herd and just before dark he had the group of elk moving toward him again. He managed to call in this satellite bull to 40 yards before putting an arrow through both lungs.
This was only his second elk hunt and his first time chasing them with a bow. He did this all solo and DIY including the pack out.
Not only did he harvest his first archery elk on his first day archery elk hunting, but it is even more impressive considering that he has now harvested two elk after only hunting for a total of 2.5 days!!!
Here is his first archery elk harvested on opening day of his first archery elk hunt.
Here is his first elk harvested with a rifle in 2008 when he was 14. He shot this bull the second morning after passing up several bulls opening day.
Congratulations Braden!!!!
