Shane Ullrich
This year’s elk hunt was, for me, one I will never forget. After a tough decision, as I’m a businessman, I closed the doors of the barbershop for a week to head to the great outdoors in search of America’s favoite big game animal, the might elk.
My first attempt to fill my elk tag was an upsetting event that left me quite frustrated in the high elevation of the Cascades. I was constantly one step behind the animal, seeing a lot of sign but no fur.
Midway through the season, I decided to head back to the local area to hunt.
I began hunting right of way, feeling that I’d been through the ringer and back again. My vacation was all work and not much play.
I know most hunters who work and hunt on their days off can relate that it is not much of a day off if you’re out there hitting it real hard in the morning and staying out most of the day.
Once I was seeing fresh sign, I began to wake up a little and was on the hunt. I went into an area that looked like it was great for bedding and saw some deer, one of them a real nice buck. While being disracted by the deer, I noticed a bull elk running out on his escape route to my right.
With no shot possible, I immediately started to feel frustration coming back. I left the area to hunt another meadow that had a great ridge above it and saw nothing. After about two hours, I circled back to where I’d seen that bull elk and though “let’s mix it up a little.”
So I stopped my four-wheeler, revved the motor, and shut it off. Then I tok out a Hoochie Mama Cow Call and gave it a couple of squeezes, wasting 10 minutes.
Then I started the motor and shut if off, cow called again and began creeping into the hayfield-style meadow. Once into the top opening, I didn’t even look at anything that wasn’t in the direction of where I’d seen that bull before. To my surprise, an animal was standing in the bottom of the clearing. I took a look through my binoculars and, sure enough, another bull elk was there – darker and harder to see.
This time I put the animal in the crosshairs and squeezed one of my 7 mm-08 rounds off. His head turned right, so I aimed on the left side of his head and squeezed another round off. Down, backwards, he went. I chambered another round, just in case, as I ran down to see the animal. He’d fallen so that his rack was stuck upside down in the dirt.
I rode my quad back to my Suburban and trailer and was able to drive to about five yards from where the 4 by 4 elk was down and was able to get some better light for field dressing him, as night was coming on fast.
I was beginning to understand how awesome this animal was when we were moving him around – I had to call in reinforcements to help me pull him onto the trailer.
Once he was loaded, I looked at my cousins Chuck and Jusin Riggs and close friend, Jesse McDougal, and said, “It don’t get much easier than that.”
I took that elk down to Shari’s in Lebanon, where my sons were havnig dinner with their mom. They were extremely excited to see him, especially once we got him around the corner where the light was better.
“He’s huge,” Peyton said.
I felt pretty proud. The boys and Jeana were pretty impressed.
With less than a week of deer season left as I write this, it’s now time for a buck. I hope to get a hunt in after work, at least, one night this week.
I have to say that the boys’ excitement over Daddy getting an elk is more gratifying than I could ever have imagined. I have heard of some hunters coming home emptyhanded and heard of some success from others.
To those who were unable to fill their tag, there is always next year.
If you’re still hunting, good luck to you.
Shane Ullrich writes about the outdoors every other week in The New Era. Contact him at the American Barber Shop at 1121 Main St., or call 367-8086.