Great Northern Rod and Reel >> GNRRA News and Stories >> A Saskatchewan Elk Hunt

I've just completed a week with three friends archery hunting Elk in the Northern Forest of Saskatchewan. This season the forest is extremely wet with even the smallest creek still running and previously dry beaver floods now reallly flooded. One morning my friend and I worked our way accross a drainedge which meant walking through waist high grass, ankle deep water over three small beaver dams just to get a hundred yards. We set up and I called for a hour and got no response. The next plan was to follow a game trail up out of the creek bank , this led up up onto a 45x80 yard meadow. As the trail dispearse in this meadow I picked on of the solo trails and slowly followed it into the bush. We has only gone about 80 yards when I bumped a cow. I immediately froze and cow called to settle her down. My friend was about 15 yards behind me and while he heard the animal run he couldn't see it for the trees. We stood motionless and I made about three more calls in the next three or four minutes. All of a sudden I saw an elk moving towards me from my fiends right, I saw him draw his bow but not shoot, I cow called to get the elk to move towards me and open up a shot oppourtunity for him, the Elk moved and I saw it was at least a 4X4 Bull Elk, he stopped no shot, I called he moved closer, still no shot ,I called again this time he stepped out and I could see his head and front legs just then I head my friends bow fire, two quick snaps as the arrow bounced off limbs and heard the arrow smack a tree. The Bull wheeled back about 60 yards, I called him back into 30 and then he circled, winded us and the jig was up.

Now all we were left with was some fine track soup and a memory to last a life time. By the way this gets my other friend off the hook for missing a 12 yd broadside shot a few years ago, we now have fresher story to question, with an opening line of " How the heck could you ever miss that ". If your a bow hunter you know the answer.