My First Elk!

Normally, it's not easy to get me out of bed early, however, this time was different. I have spent a fair amount of time going out hunting with my brother and boyfriend. Hiking up steep slopes in the wee hours of the morning when all I can see is my breathe as it hits the cold air and the stars in the sky as they fade away with the rising sun. Though it is peaceful, it is not my ideal outdoor pursuit. If it were up to me, I would sleep in longer and wait for that sun to heat the air a bit. I quickly learned though that if I wanted to see wildlife moving, I needed to get up much earlier than what I wanted.

After seeing my boyfriend get a good sized buck my hesitations about shooting an animal that large dissipated. I didn't know how I would react to such a large and beautiful creature being killed. I handled it better than I thought I would. My hesitation was filled with a surge of excitement and curiosity. What did the animal look like up close? What did he smell like? Was he really dead? How do you even begin to gut it? Will I be able to handle the smells and the blood? I kept reminding myself that it is no different than my high school biology class. It is just a much larger animal. After watching all that went into hunting for your own food, I knew I was ready to find my own.

After several weeks passed, I asked my boyfriend if he would go out with me the next morning to look for my elk. It was in an area where he didn't have a license for and he would have to help me cross a river in a canoe to get to an island where several large bulls lived.

Needless to say, I owed him considering he was doing all of this to help me get an elk. The following morning we set out with the canoe in tow. I was nervous about crossing the river in the canoe. The area where we had to cross was deep and swift moving water. And I did not want to fall in! As we drove up to the hunting area, we stopped the truck and I grabbed my boyfriends arm. "Right there! There is a huge bull right there!" We were still in the comfort of the truck as we watched him meander through the field. I couldn't believe it! After hiking all around, here was a huge bull just standing there! And the best part was he was on the right side of the river which meant we didn't have to brave crossing the river in my canoe. Could this be? Is this even considered a hunt? I sat there watching him walk proudly around his harem of cows as they grazed. We stepped out of the truck and admired. Then I heard him bugle which sent chills down my spine. I began to doubt myself. Maybe I am not cut out for this. He is so beautiful. My adrenaline was racing though. Then I remembered why I had come this far to begin with. I eat meat almost everyday and not once besides birds, have I ever worked to get my meat other than going to the grocery store. Then I thought of how my sister had been in this same position as me and she had been able to do it. She was a big inspiration for hunting elk as was my brother Bob. They had both been successful elk hunters. This is my chance and what a chance he was! He turned his head and began rubbing it on the trunk of a tree and on its branches and we both noticed a huge plastic fencing that was tangled on his six by six rack. It was tangled all around his antlers and there was no way he could get it off without some type of aid. He could seriously become injured or even die a slow painful and scary death if he got this fencing caught on something. It was almost as if God was telling me that this was the elk I was supposed to take. So, with that I took my safety off on my gun, pulled the scope up to my eye and aimed. Nervous and excited I was shaking. My boyfriend prompted me to use a post that was standing next to me to stabilize myself. Once I was stabilized I fired! The elk just stood there, frozen. All of the cows and calfs ran but he just stood still. "Did I hit him?" I asked my boyfriend. He instructed me to reload and take another shot. Just as I went to chamber my bullet, it jammed. I quickly handed my 7mm rifle over to him and he chambered it. Once I got it back, I aimed again and fired for a second time. The elk then ran for a few steps and fell over. I just stood there taking in what had just happened. After the reality had set in and I began swiftly walking up the animal to make sure it was indeed dead, the tears began to well up. They were tears of excitement, exhilaration, pride, and in some ways a tinge of sadness that I had taken the life of such an amazing animal. No regrets though. I have been dreaming about this moment and now I had accomplished it!

As much as I had felt I had already been through, I knew the real work was about to begin. I called my brother to let him know what happened and I began the gutting as I awaited his arrival so I could show him my accomplishment. Adrenaline took over again as I looked over it. His fur was still wet from crossing the river. I took in the smell of his fur and I looked into his one eye that was facing me. I saw the two bullet holes that took his life and I reached for my knife. With my boyfriends verbal directions, I managed to gut the elk myself. Just before my brother arrived, I cut my index finger while cleaning the elk. "This can't be good," I said to my boyfriend. I ran over to the river to clean it off but it would not stop bleeding. At this point my brother arrived and I told him about my finger. "There's not much that you can do," he said. "Just finish it up." So I did. Bleeding and all. The elk got the last laugh in a way. The smells from gutting him out were ones that I will never forget, however, it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. I am just happy that I didn't puncture his intestines at all! I have learned from previous hunts with others that doing that is something you really want to avoid because that smell is something fierce. When I completed my task my brother and boyfriend helped me to cape it (remove it's fur from its head so that you can get it mounted) and helped to load it into the truck which we were able to pull right up to the elk (another perk about the location of this elk). This whole experience was one of the most memorable and amazing moments of my life! And I have to thank both my boyfriend for going with me and directing me what to do and for my brother Bob who dropped everything to help his little sister with her first elk. Thanks guys!