Elk Hunting Stories

My 1999 Elk Hunt With My Son Travis.
I'd just returned yesterday and no luck with the hunting trip, we were close.
We Saw alot of Elk and had a good time but it was too dry and warm
this year 70s in the day time and 11 degrees
at night was the coldest I heard.
I use a Marlin 45-70 lever action in thick brush
and timber. It was noisy walking although I was very close to the Elk.
Only 30 yards to the cows and calves but couldn't see any bulls.
My son Travis saw 3 bulls and alot of cows but they were all running
from him and disappeared before he could get a shot at them.
One day we were really in to them.

I came to the top of a hill and there was a road all the way around the top
of a small hill. It's steep sides maybe 200 ft tall, a 3/4 mile long
thick pines , Jackpine, and Ponderosa and alot of sage brush,
200 yards wide at the widest point.
I walked up the very end on the north side so the wind was in my face.
It was steep there too so I figured it was a good spot to sneak up.
I started walking south, down the left side of the ridge.
I was startled when jumped a deer. Crash! through the dry brush It ran.
Scared the stuffin out of me. It ran to the right so I decided to go that way
and follow it to see if it was a Buck or a Doe.
I had just came around the corner,
when she jumped off the road across to the right and was gone.
Well I just kept walking slow and quiet,
I rounded the next corner and there was a
Cow Elk walking up the hill away from me.
She didn't know I was there and i was so busy looking at her,
hoping a bull would walk out from behind her that I didn't notice
an elk on my left. It just snuck away and all I saw was the rear end.
I didn't want to move to scare the others, so I held there.
It must have seen me i guess because it made a snort sound
and ran in the trees and stopped
which scared the other one. I waited for a long time before I moved.
Nothing happened so I walked on real slow.
When I was too close they all ran.
Not seeing what the other Elk was,
I ran around the next bend in the road to get a look.
Well i didn't see anything so I walked on slow again
which my old carcass needs at my age after all that excitment.
Just when i thought i could breath again just to my left
all of a sudden a whole bunch 7 or 8 elk took off!
Let me tell you they can make some noise in thick dry brush.
Breaking trees and dead branches it scares
the bejesus out of you when your only 75 feet
away or less away from them and your heart is already pounding.
Well i ran around the next corner
and didn't see anything there so i ran down a long strait stretch
of the old logging road for a while hoping to see them.
When i thought I'd missed them I started walking again and then stopped to rest.
(which I for some reason must do quite frequently anymore ha)
When another Cow Elk stepped out on the road in front of me
not 50 yards down the road. I brought my gun up
and she stopped, but her head was over the edge of the road
and a bush was in her way so she couldn't see me.
I was able to check her out real good with my scope.
I was hidden from her view I was hoping a bull
would step out of the brush so I held still for 10 minutes.
I had my gun in position and it was getting heavy and
hard to hold still. Finally she walked off the trail in the bushes.
I was about to drop down to rest when her calf stepped out behind her.
So I had to hold some more ha.
By now my arms are shaking from holding the rifle up
trying to hold it still not to spook them.
Then to make it worse the calf started walking towards me!
Gees I didn't know what to do but stay still
in case a bull stepped out.
Then the calf noticed me about 20 yards away.
They knew something was wrong there because a Pine Squirrel
was barking at me the whole time. The little stinker
was really annoying!
So then the Cow, wondering what the calf was looking at,
stepped up on the road again and looked right at me.
But being very still, and their eyesight must not be too good,
they couldn't see me. The cow came up the road further
then and kinda cocked her head,
thinking I guess, and decided I wasn't a piece of the forest
and jumped off the road with the calf in tow ha.
Pretty exciting stuff! good for the heart muscle!
Really makes it pound.

She was very pretty, her coat was as red as a sorrel mare
(that’s a horse for you city slickers ha).
It's been so warm this fall in the 70's
over in Central Oregon and they don't have their
winter coat yet. Short, slick, shiny fur, beautiful.
They just hopped away and didn't even look back.
That was just one of many of my experiences this trip,
We sure have a fun time. I can't wait till next year,
what fun, who cares if you get one when you have these memories
to think about in your old age!!!
We also found an elk scrape in the woods.
This Ponderosa Pine tree was about 6 inches in diameter
and 20 foot tall. The scrape marks were 8 or 9 feet high.
I'd like to see the old boy who rubbed his horns on that tree.
If we get back over there
i'm going to bring it home with me
and put a coat of varnish on it
and maybe make a corner lamp out of it...
Larry Pruitt

Well Let me tell you, I went over again
and drove out to the tree scrape.
What I didn't realize after closer look
was the old Bull that scraped his horns
on that tree did things to it besides scrape it PEWWWWW !!!
I don't think my wife will let me make a bedroom lamp out of that
stinking tree unless i am out side sleeping with it!!!
1-26-99

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Larry Pruitt
Sweet Home, Oregon

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