October 2021 - 22

A bull elk is partially obscured by
a tree. Although a lethal shot is
possible, it's best for hunters to
wait until an animal has moved to
a location where a shot won't be
blocked. Hurrying the shot might
leave a bullet hole in a tree, not
the animal. (Photo by Tim Christie)
I didn't have a mentor to teach me the ins
and outs of hunting elk. Years passed and I
struggled to figure it out. In the 12th season of
futility I was hunting down a timbered ridge and
came into a small meadow. Rutting bulls had
ripped up the ground and shredded trees. The
air hung heavy with the pungent, unmistakable
scent of elk. Skirting the edge of the meadow
downwind I sensed movement. An elk stood up
behind a big tree, 25 yards away. With a bullonly
tag I needed to see its head. The elk's body
was exposed; everything but its head.
Impatiently, I waited for it to move. Finally,
the elk took two steps and looked directly at me
- it was a bull. Now his body was behind the
tree. He took another step, still not exposing his
shoulder. I had a shot at his neck. How could I
miss? I could have rested on the tree next to me,
but I didn't. Instead I took a standing, off-hand
shot. The bullet tore a huge chunk of bark off
the tree the bull was behind. The animal stutter-stepped,
stopped and stood broadside. I shot
and missed him completely, then again. Three
shots at 25 yards. Trust me, elk camp for the
next five days was miserable. Thirty years later,
recalling the moment makes my stomach churn.
Such failures seem impossible to mentally
erase. One minute of adrenaline-fueled anticipation
cascades into spasms of disappointment.
Inevitably the questions come. What happened?
Some answers come easily. Simple, really. Others
force a personal reckoning. Those that make
you question yourself are bitter pills to swallow.
Whatever the answers, regret lives on.
Spend enough time hunting and you'll miss.
The whys are many. Most misses are preventable,
but they still happen. Understanding why they
occur and doing everything to avoid them makes
you a better hunter, a safer hunter and someone
who finds more success afield filling freezers.
Many blame the why on their equipment.
A potential source, for sure. Another painful
experience illustrates it.
Jarring a miss
My pre-1964 Winchester Model 70 in .264
Winchester Magnum was a consistent performer
through rain, snow and everything I exposed
it to - until that fateful morning. I'd left the
pickup in the dark to sit below the crest of a
ridge above a timber-dotted sagebrush meadow
at sunrise. Two days before I'd seen a terrific
mule deer buck courting a doe just as they
melted into dark timber coulees. I hoped to
see them again.
I guessed right. In the milky-gray light
of predawn there he was. Two does had him
22 | October 2021

October 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of October 2021

October 2021 - 1
October 2021 - 2
October 2021 - 3
October 2021 - 4
October 2021 - 5
October 2021 - 6
October 2021 - 7
October 2021 - 8
October 2021 - 9
October 2021 - 10
October 2021 - 11
October 2021 - 12
October 2021 - 13
October 2021 - 14
October 2021 - 15
October 2021 - 16
October 2021 - 17
October 2021 - 18
October 2021 - 19
October 2021 - 20
October 2021 - 21
October 2021 - 22
October 2021 - 23
October 2021 - 24
October 2021 - 25
October 2021 - 26
October 2021 - 27
October 2021 - 28
October 2021 - 29
October 2021 - 30
October 2021 - 31
October 2021 - 32
October 2021 - 33
October 2021 - 34
October 2021 - 35
October 2021 - 36
October 2021 - 37
October 2021 - 38
October 2021 - 39
October 2021 - 40
October 2021 - 41
October 2021 - 42
October 2021 - 43
October 2021 - 44
October 2021 - 45
October 2021 - 46
October 2021 - 47
October 2021 - 48
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