the thick trees. I had gone too far forward, and the cows that
got behind me had caught my wind.
Lesson Number Three: Always monitor the wind and the
location of the cow elk during your stalks, so they don’t get
downwind before you’re able to get a shot off.
A couple of days later, while glassing from one of our van-
tage points, we saw the same bull and his cows enter a block of
timber. After a short drive and hike to follow, we were unable
to get in front of the herd, so we had to rely on calling the bull
back to us. The wind was in our favor, and it wasn’t long before
Ron had the bull fired up. In fact, by my count, he had four
bulls answering him. We cautiously pressed forward, but after
my last blunder, I was mindful about not getting too far out in
front of Ron.
We slowly pressed on until I could hear the brush breaking
directly in front of me. I stopped and waited with an arrow
nocked. Soon, I was staring at a raghorn bull at less than 20
yards. After a short staredown, the bull ran off and the timber
grew silent. The herd must have smelled us or saw us, and qui-
etly slipped away.
Lesson Number Four: When a bull is thrashing a tree, get
aggressive and head directly at him, only stopping when the
noise stops.
Another great hunt had come to an end. It would be two
years before I could return to hunt for one of Teddy’s elk with
Ron. I was determined to learn from my past failures and
make my third time a charm.
During the first afternoon of my 2018 hunt, Ron called a
spike bull to within 40 yards of us.
The next morning, we awoke to rain and fog. The fog was
slow to lift, so Ron decided we should check some trail cam-
eras before stopping to eat lunch. He had built a few food plots
in some areas that the elk liked to frequent, and he had placed
some trail cameras in each of the plots. When we checked the
cameras in the first plot, they revealed that a good 6x6 along
with several cow elk were frequently enjoying the chicory and
brassicas that Ron had planted. After a short truck ride to the
next plot, Ron got out and walked over to one of the cameras.
This plot was in another great location at the base of a small
mountain covered in thick timber. However, the cattle were
competing with the elk for the lush, green growth in the plot.
I was standing near the truck watching Ron check his
camera, when a loud bugle broke the silence. Ron hollered,
“Get your bow!”
Soon we were wending our way into the timber in the di-
rection of the bugle. To say that it was thick would be a gross
understatement. The timber consisted of a mixture of large fir
trees, poison oak brush, waist-high ferns, Spanish moss, and
blowdowns. We entered the timber on a well-used elk trail
that facilitated quiet navigation through the thick mess. Ron
pointed to a high spot in the trail and told me to set up there.
He walked several yards behind me to a point where I could no
longer see him. I nocked an arrow and looked for a shooting
lane. It was so thick, the elk would have to run past me on the
trail that we walked in on in order for me to get a shot.
The bull was above us on the mountain, and he answered
every one of Ron’s bugles. After a few minutes, the bull moved
closer, but it was evident that he wasn't not going to come
down that trail. I could not see Ron, but I decided to be ag-
gressive and move in the direction of the bull. Ron followed
TEDDY’S ELK
psearchery.com
COMPOUND CROSSBOW
380 FPS
19702019
FANG™ HD
405 FPS
THE COALITION PACKAGE INCLUDES:
- 4X32 illuminated reticle scope
- Dual string stops
- 4-Bolt quiver
- Anti-Dry fire & auto safety trigger
- 3-20” carbon bolts with field points
- Foot stirrup
- Adjustable butt stock
- Limb dampers & string silencers
- Cocking rope
- Cocking winch device compatible
- Rail lube
THE FANG HD PACKAGE INCLUDES:
- HDV-425 1.5-5X32 variable zoom
illuminated reticle scope
- 5-Bolt quiver
- Anti-Dry fire & auto safety trigger
- 3-22” carbon bolts with bullet points
- Adjustable buttstock
- Foot stirrup
- Limb dampers & string silencers
- Cocking rope
- Dual string stops
- Cocking winch device compatible
