Elk Season 2006 began, as all my seasons do, with a year of anticipation. It seems at times that I live from one Elk season to the next with the planning and dreaming of each one beginning as the last one ends. I am Terry and I am an Elkoholic.

I found out in August that I had drawn my 5th AZ Elk tag in 6 years and it was a cow tag. I have been trying to get my first legit Self bow kill the last few years but this year I would be taking a pair of favorite Fred Hermann Glass Longbows into the field with me. Next year I am going on a guided Elk hunt in Colorado, a gift given to me by my wonderful wife for my 50th Birthday and I have a bit more confidence shooting the glass bows so I am shaking the dust off them for this hunt and rekindling an old friendship.

As I left work on Thursday afternoon, the day before the season opened, expectations were high…I couldn’t wait to get up to my spot and get camp set up, sit back soaking in the high country I love so much, and waiting to hear the first bugle of the year drift out of the trees at sunset. I arrived at camp with no issues and soon was relaxing as planned. I sat sharpening broadheads for the umpteenth time as the sun set but instead of the usual fading light reverie there was silence…. Hmmmm that’s a bit unusual but the elk do cycle in and out of the area for a day or two sometimes. I went to sleep with a game plan firmly in mind……

I awoke several times during the night and listened for bugles but the camp was silent until 3:00am when I heard the first bugle… It sounded like a loner bull looking for company but it put a grin on my face and I drifted back to sleep for a bit…… at 3:45am I awoke to the alarm and was quickly dressed and putting down a pop tart to get the day started…… by 4:00am I was in the truck headed across a draw to an intercept point a mile or so away…. I got to my parking spot and walked a half mile or so with a pitch black no moon sky guided by my GPS to a spot down a bit from the edge of the draw in a small meadow the elk liked to feed through on their way to the bedding area……As I settled in to wait for daylight I looked up to see Orion directly above me and my thoughts drifted to hunters past who had seen the same stars on hunts with equipment not too different from what I carry today and felt a oneness with those who have been here before and everything around me….. I call my annual pilgrimage to the High Country recharging my batteries and I could feel it talking place already…… As the sun rose I was ready and waiting….. The Elk usually moved from their feeding area around Camp through this area a half an hour to an hour after sunrise……..I waited….. and waited….. and waited…… 2 hours after sunrise it was evident the Elk and I were reading from different scripts and I moved further in towards the bedding areas…… I will hunt up to the bedding areas but do not push into them…… I’ve found as long as the elk have this sanctuary where they feel safe they will keep in the area and stick to some basic movement patterns…… But there were no Elk to be found……..By noon I hit the truck and headed back to camp to regroup for the evening hunt…….

The evening hunt was uneventful and I hit the sack with high hopes for success the next day…….Around 11:00pm I awoke to several Bulls bugling out in the burn. Things were looking up.

This evening I headed out to a spot out of the tall pines and onto the Pinyon/ Juniper area several miles west of camp….. I had scouted out this area a few weeks earlier and knew Elk had been in there at that time……Debi and I had taken a quad ride down the roads here and learned the lay of the land and had smelled Elk strong down in one draw area….. That coupled with extensive sessions with my topo maps led me to have high hopes for this area….. I always try to have one new spot to go to each year when I head out and build on previous years efforts to create as many opportunities for success as I can….. as I saw this year with my favorite area even the best of spots may have a dry year from time to time…….. When I got to the new area I parked and set out down a ridge with a canyon to my left and the draw ¾ of a mile to my right….. I slipped along slowly and as I got 100 yards or so into the PJs’ I bumped a nice Coues Deer buck out of his bed…. It was a gentle bump and he walked off slowly… no brush busting or blowing and I watched him through my glasses for a bit as he drifted out of site and into the canyon…….. As I slipped along the ridge I let out a locator bugle every 150 yards or so to see who was hanging out in the area…… There was lots of fresh sign but no responses….. I had a wind tonight and it was severely limiting my calling range……. I hit the end of the ridge and saw a meadow down towards the Canyon bottom and made a mental note that it looked real Elky……. I dropped off the right side of the ridge and started working the edge of the draw the same way…… 20 minutes after I started working the draw I heard a bugle…… It was coming from the top of the ridge just above the meadow……. I kicked it into high gear and made my way across a PJ flat and over to the tree line and let out a couple of soft cow calls…… The bull answered but was moving down the ridge line back towards the truck……. I paralleled him until I ran out of shooting light and watched as the shadowy silhouettes of the Bull and 8 cows crossed in front of me 100 yards out and down into the draw……. Very cool…..

I now had Elk located and had an idea where they were bedding and coming out……. Tomorrow looked bright……

The Burn was quiet around camp again tonight…. All night.... and I heard no bulls….

I awoke at 3:00 this morning and headed out to the PJ ridge……. I was set up on the edge of the ridge and could hear Elk across the draw and out in the flats….. The wind was all wrong to hunt this area today and I slipped out and moved to a Mesa a couple of miles east that I had been wanting to hunt…….. It proved to have a lot of Elk sign and I found a couple of tanks and a big wallow….. WOW!!..... I rarely find wallows here in AZ but this year we had a great Monsoon season and they were here…… I started working the area and soon ran into two other hunters…… They were obviously in here first and I slipped back out and left the area and headed back to camp……. A little public land courtesy……

This evening I headed again back to the PJ area and the wind was great for the evening hunt and I headed down the ridge and set up above the meadow at the head of a draw I believed the Elk had come up the previous evening……. As the long shadows settled over the view in front of me I heard the herd bull bugle from down below….. His next call was much closer and I could hear the sound of cracking branches and cow mews as the herd headed right up to me…… Things were looking good……. I nocked an arrow stood up, double checked my set up and got ready for action……15 minutes later the first cow popped into view on the far side of the draw…. 80 yards out from my setup…… I watched as all 8 cows filed past and headed down the ridge … I caught glimpses of the 6x6 herd bull in tow…… Picking a set up sometimes feels like finding a needle in a haystack….. It’s a bit of a chess match and I’d been checked tonight……… The best you can hope to do when Elk hunting is hone your techniques to a point where you don’t make mistakes and hope the Elk slip up…Know when to move in and know when to back off… It takes a dose of patience but if you keep putting yourself in good situations and make good decisions long enough with out goofing up you will be successful……. Boy is that ever easier to write than do….. :-)

Next morning found me parking an hour before light at the end of the ridge and slipping out onto the PJ flats to listen for Elk……There was no breeze to speak of here today and I could hear cows mewing below me down close to the draw…….. As shooting light started to break I let out a couple of soft cow calls and immediately had a Bull bugle back at less than 100 yards to my left……. I tucked into a juniper cluster and shut up…… I could hear the bull getting closer and closer until he popped out from a row of trees 15 yards in front of me….. Stopped….. and let out a bugle that blew my hair straight back…Buddy if that doesn’t get your blood racing there’s something wrong with you…This is what I dream about all year but darn if this bull wasn’t keeping me from my cows…… he stuck around for 15 minutes or so showing broadside a time or two before moving off…. How do they know when you have a cow tag??????........ I slipped down towards the draw and had some cows talking to me when I saw something out of the corner of my left eye…… It was a spike coming in…….. Pinned again….. darn …….. It took 15 minutes or so for him to get bored and wander off but not before offering me several broadside ,Left and right and quartering away shots well within my shooting range……. I swear that little fella was thumbing his nose at me…….He too finally moved off into the draw as the herd moved towards their bedding area….. I followed them until I knew they had bedded down….. Made a note of the spot and backed off…..

I use two different strategies when hunting cows…… They both start first by listening or doing a locator bugle to find a herd…Sometimes this involves a lot of walking… Once the herd is located I move in to within 100 yards or so keeping the wind in my face….. In the Elk woods wind is king lose the wind advantage and you’ve just lost the game….. The first technique I use is to sound like a lost cow and often times I can get a cow to break away from the herd and come back offering up a shot…The problem with this technique is that sometimes you will attract either satellite bulls or the herd bull and wind up boogering the setup… The other is to hang out silent at the fringes of the herd and wait for an opportunity to offer itself up…… I adopt the mind set of a satellite bull, after all they are the best cow hunters out there and like me, when I’m packing a cow tag, really don’t want to bring any attention from the herd bull……In any elk calling I don’t just make a cow sound or a Bull sound….. I usually have a picture in my mind of the story as it is unfolding and adapt my sounds to match the story….. If you are around Elk long enough you will notice cow talk has many variations depending on the situation. Tonights hunt was a prime example of that……..

I parked again at the edge of the ridge with the intent of trying to ambush the canyon herd as they came up……But as soon as I got out of the truck I heard a bugle down in the draw and my plans changed……. I quickly got my gear together strung my bow and headed down towards the draw….. The wind was quartering a bit to my left and I targeted an intercept point behind the moving herd where they wouldn’t cross my scent path….. Using the PJs’ for cover I made it to the draw about 20 minutes later…. The herd was 100 yards or so to my right as I slipped into the draw…… I let out a lost cow call…. my mental picture was one of a cow who had been bumped from another herd and was looking to join up with new friends……The call was a bit tentative just as you would be if you were approaching strangers in the woods after being lost…… The bull answered immediately…… he was telling me here we are come on in…… There’s room for one more…….. I closed the gap to 40 yards……. I could hear the elk in front of me as I chose a set up in a group of junipers……. I let out another cow call…… A little less tentative but still nervous as if asking….Is it still OK to come on in? …… The Bull answered almost before I finished…. Saying… Oh Yeah Baby come on in……I could also hear some cows talking to me now as well…….. I held my ground calling as if to say you come here first ….. For the next 15 minutes I Played a bit hard to get, calling from my location but not coming in……. I was throwing my calls to the left and right to give the impression I was pacing back and forth……The bull started getting a bit agitated with me…Actually at the end of the 15 minutes he was very agitated….. He thought he was running the show and was telling me to get the heck over there……. The cows started moving up the draw towards their targeted nighttime feeding area and the bull soon followed suit.... as soon as I realized they were moving I too followed being careful not to trip up a straggler……. As we moved up the draw another bull bugled several hundred yards behind me and up the other side of the draw….. I was in the middle of two herds……… Now for you guys new to Elk hunting if you find your self in this position it is what I call the perfect situation …….. I now started cow calling back to the other Bull with a bit of excitement added to the calling……. I was the flirty tart playing both sides now……. The first bull went nuts….. I could hear branches busting as he raked a tree just ahead of me and the other bull kicked his calling up a notch trying to get me to join him…….. The cows in both herds were also being very vocal……. There must have been a recruiting bonus offer floating around because both herds really wanted me with them………. I was grinning from ear to ear……. The long shadows were dropping and time was running out………. The herd in front of me started to move ahead as the second herd came even on the flats left of the draw……. They then headed up a smaller draw up onto the flats themselves……… I followed but hung back a bit and set up 15 yards below the lip of the flats in a small blow down that formed a perfect ground blind hoping to coax a cow back in to me…….. I kept cow calling a little more relaxed now saying…… I’m still here ….. I like you guys best can I come up??...... The bull was bugling and I could tell he was coming my way……. He silhouetted himself on the edge of the draw slightly behind a juniper ….. It was a front row view of a beautiful 6x6……..After a few minutes he drifted back onto the flats and I heard a branch break 30 yards to my right……. I was strung tight and sitting on ready as a cow came out and started feeding up towards me……… She passed in front of me at 25 yards but some small brush prevented a shot……. As she cleared the brush she was quartering away sharply and 30 yards away…… Man soooooooooo close………. But wait it’s not over yet……. With about 15 minutes of shooting light left the lead cow comes to the edge of the draw 15 yards away in my shooting lane…….. But…….. She’s facing me head on…… I’m very selective on my shots and will only take broadside or slightly quartering away shots……. She looked down the hill right through me trying to see the new girl……. When you have animals looking right through you, like your invisible, you know your set up is perfect…….. after 10 minutes she turned and walked away without offering a shot…….. Check again……. I slipped quietly out of the area knowing I had once again left without making a mistake and had come very close to earning a shot opportunity……. Life is good in the Elk woods tonight……….

I awoke at the usual Ohdarkthirty and was on the road to my PJ area to see if I could intercept the herd again as they moved from the flats to their bedding area……. The wind was still quartering down the draw and I could hear some Elk out on the open on my side of the draw….. I moved up a bit on the ridge to keep the wind favorable and looped around to the downwind side……. As light broke I could hear two herds coming my way and I slipped down the steep bank of the draw and after a couple hundred yards found myself in a perfect little meadow……. Every now and then you find yourself in a spot in the woods that just feels magical and this was one of them……..I looked it over carefully and set up in a small cluster of Junipers and waited…….. I was going silent this morning and letting the Elk come to me with no calling….. about 15 minutes later one of the herds came down the draw and a couple hundred yards before the meadow they moved halfway up the other side of the draw and bedded down……. I waited hoping that after they settled down a bit a cow or two might get up and wander down the hill a couple hundred yards and into my meadow…….. I would stay as long as the wind was favorable……… 20 minutes later I saw movement 90 yards up the draw heading my way……. I soon could see a nice 330 class 6x6 bull coming my way his rack swaying and twisting side to side as he made his way silently through the trees and into the meadow…….. The sunlight was just starting to filter through the trees and he made a grand sight……… He stopped for half a minute and looked up to where the now bedded herd bull was letting out occasional grunts……. It’s funny but anywhere else I’ve Elk hunted this Bull in front of me could have been the big boy of the woods….. Only here in AZ will you find a bull of this caliber sneaking around to avoid the big boy….. he started moving again in my direction…… 30 yards……… 20 yards……… 15 yards……… Holy cow!!! I thought,he’s gonna run right through me…….just as I got ready to wiggle my bow to detour him he veered slightly to my right and passed at 5 paces…… He then stopped behind my juniper and looked around before moving on to his bed somewhere down the draw………. Guys….. I’ve said it before but I live for this stuff………..There’s nothing that will get your heart pumping and make you feel more alive than an encounter up close and personal like this……… When the woods settled down I backed out and went back to camp....

At camp I wound up calling and meeting up with one of my HOAL youngsters who was down from Colorado on his Archery Elk hunt and hunting with him and his dad this evening…… A couple of other calls I received required my immediate attention and I broke camp the next day a bit early and headed back down the hill to my wonderful wife who I miss very much while I am out on these expeditions…… I just thank God for blessing me with a wonderful woman who understands what these trips mean and that I return each year a better man for the experiences I have………

I return to life below the pines with another pocketful of memories to sustain me until next year and the confidence gained from the encounters I’ve had ……. I also possess a great deal of personal satisfaction in knowing I had gone into the Elk woods to match wits with the wiley Wapiti and not made any mistakes this year…….. That doesn’t happen often……… My sights are set on my next years Colorado hunt………. This will be the best shot I’ll probably ever have at harvesting the bull of my dreams and I will be ready………….Good hunting……… Terry