Since we met, I've been slowly introducing Jerome to the wonders of hunting. This fall, he passed his hunter's safety class and was "officially" able to hunt. Dad and I had already drawn for our tags, so Friday we sent Jerome to the DOW to get a leftover tag. A leftover tag is literally whatever tags are leftover after everyone puts in for the drawing. This year, the only tag available was for a bull elk. We hadn't seen elk in our hunting spot for about ten years. But, just for the experience, Jerome went ahead and bought one.
We spent the night at my parents' house, so the girls could hang out with Grandma for the day. We got up at 5 AM, got our lunches packed, then got in the truck for the drive to our hunting area. 5 minutes later, we were there. I know, rough. We waited for it to be light enough to see, then unloaded the 4-wheelers and headed in.
Dad and I have discovered a "sweet" spot. We've got a natural hide (an area where you can sit and watch for game, while being hidden from sight) that is just great. Every year, we see game in this draw. So, we settled in for the wait.
Jerome dozed off for a while (poor baby did not sleep well the night before).
It never fails. We can almost guarantee that, about 9 AM, some out-of-stater is going to push game over the ridge, right in our line of site. We were enjoying a cup of coffee (yes, I take powdered mocha mix hunting. I'm spoiled) when a group of three bull elk ran across the ridge in front of us. The lead bull was HUGE - easily 7 or 8 points. By far, the biggest bull I have ever seen. And the other two were nothing to sneeze at either.
Jerome grabbed his gun to shoot. And forgot how to cock it. You see, we hadn't had a chance to sight in his new rifle (which he carried to the car from the store, but that's another story), so he wasn't as comfortable as he could have been. And, he had been shooting a regular bolt action. His new rifle is a lever action. And he forgot how to cock it. We're standing there, watching three beautiful bulls run in front of us, and he's fighting the gun. Needless to say, this is one that he will never live down.
So, those bulls lived to see another day. We had a great laugh about it, and practiced loading his gun a few times, just in case :). We thought that maybe more game might come our way, so we settled down to wait a while longer.
About 30 minutes later, I saw a herd of bulls and cows cut across the draw below us. Because Dad and I have hunted this ridge a lot, we know the game trails. We got Jerome set up, and waited for them to come out from behind the trees. A group of cows came first, then a beautiful bull. Dad was standing right behind Jerome, reminding him to breathe, then shoot. When Jerome shot, he put down the bull with one shot.
The bull fell is really the perfect location - a small meadow, clear and level, with easy 4-wheeler access. Because my dad is now the bionic man (too many surgeries to count), we have to be picky about where we shoot our game. We simply cannot pack out animals like some of the study.
Here's my great white hunter with his catch. He was so excited, he was shaking.
It really was a beautiful animal. The rack was very even, the mouth healthy, the coat smooth and shiny. I must say, he picked a great animal.
Jerome had no idea just how big a bull elk is. He had trouble picking up the head for this shot.
We gutted the bull, sawed off the head, then split the body in half to take it back to the truck. We loaded the head, all of our stuff, and Jerome and I on one 4-wheeler. The front and back halves went onto Dad's. Here we are, ready to head back to the truck.
We discovered the limit to Dad's ATV on Saturday. There were a few times that Jerome had to walk alongside the ATV, putting his weight onto different parts to keep the ATV from tipping over. It was interesting, but we made it back to the truck safely. Before we loaded the trailer, we sat and ate some well-deserved lunch. This photo is horrible (taken from my cell into the sunlight - of course I forgot my camera), but it shows you just what Dad's ATV looked like. The steering was limited because of all the weight, the tires were almost flat from the weight. Poor
guy was exhausted when we got done. But I think the joy of sharing his son-in-law's first kill outweighed any fatigue. Until this morning, when I'm sure he was feeling it.
The rest history. We got the ATVs loaded, got back to the ranch, made Grandma's day by giving her the liver and the heart (yes, my grandma eats heart. yes, it's nasty), and got the elk skinned, cut up, and hung up in the garage. Even though I'm totally jealous because I have NEVER shot an elk, I am totally excited for my hubby. And for all the elk meat that is going to go in my freezer.
