behindme,andkeptcallingto keepthebullinterested.I kept
checkingthewind.The brushwasstillwetfromtherain,and
al thoughthesunwasstartingtoshine,thethermalshadnot
st artedtoblowourscentupthemountain.The bullwasnot
movingcloser,butit wasobviousfromhisbuglesthathe was
comingdownthemountain—probablyin an effortto getour
wind.We keptmovingtowardhim.
Afterwe hadadvancedto a locationabout 100 yardsfrom
the bull,he startedthrashingtreesandreallyscreaming.Fi-
nally,we breachedthebull’scomfortzone.The bullcouldno
lo ngertolerateRon’sdisrespect,andhe startedcomingin our
direction.I wasstandingon a gametrail,andI beganto scour
the timberaheadof me fora glimpseof thebull.No luck.I had
moveda coupleof stepscloser,whenI caughtmovementin the
ti mber.Therewasa muddybullelkstaringdirectlyat me.I did
not move,butevidentlythebullhadalreadyseenme moving
and turnedaroundandstartedto headdownthemountain.I
hadbl ownmy chance!
AsI lostsightof thatbull,I suddenlycaughtmovementabove
him.It wasanother,muchbiggerbull,andhe washeadingmy
way!I slowlyliftedmy rangefinderandrangedan openarea 30
yardsawaythatwouldprovideme witha goodshootinglane.
Therewasa hugefir treebetweenme andthebull.I thought
tomyself,Whenhe passesbehindthattree,I willdrawand
wait forhimto walkintotheshootinglane.Itworkedper-
fectly,andI wasat fulldrawwhenhe passedbehindthebigtree.
But insteadof walkingintotheshootinglane30 yardsaway,he
turnedandstartedwalkingup themountain.I hadno shot.The
brushwastoothick.As he keptwalking,I lookedforan open-
ing ahead of him and found one the size of a football. He walked
into the opening and stopped, slightly quartering to me. I could
see his muddy hide through that small window in the brush. I
had no time to range him, so I guessed the range to be 45 yards,
steadied my pin on the muddy hide, and triggered the release.
I heard the arrow hit as the bull bolted and crashed through
the brush. Ron was several yards behind me and couldn't
see the hit. The shot felt good, but I wasn't certain. As I was
whispering my observations to Ron, we heard a loud crash...
then silence...then another loud crash. “He’s down!” Ron pro-
claimed. But until I found the bloody arrow, I still wasn’t sure.
After a short wait while Ron retrieved our packs, we walked
over to where the bull had stood and found the top half of my
arrow covered in blood. The bull had gone only 50 yards be-
fore crashing to the ground.
I'm thankful to Mr. Roosevelt for his forethought and cour-
age to take the steps necessary to preserve this great species of
elk. It's hard to believe that these wonderful animals live and
thrive in these rainforest areas. I had learned many lessons over
the course of three hunts that ultimately led to my success. If you
get a chance, I highly recommend hunting one of Teddy’s elk in
the Oregon rainforests, and you'll be participating in one of the
greatest conservation achievements in North America.AUTHOR’S NOTES:
On this hunt, I was shooting a PSE Carbon Air 34 set at 66 pounds with Easton
Full Metal Jacket arrows tipped with 100-grain G5 Striker broadheads. My bow
was equipped with a Hamskea rest and a Spot Hogg sight. I used a Nock On
release manufactured by Carter Enterprises. If you want to hunt Roosevelt’s elk
in Oregon, contact Ron Hofsess at Avery Mountain Ranches at: (541) 404-7207,
[email protected].