I (Micah) spent September 15th and 16th in the Gravellys hunting elk with my good friend Brian Staley. At about 3:30 pm on the 15th we called in a five point bull but couldn' t get a shot. However, our calling set off a different bull that was hanging out in the draw below us. We moved toward him and Brian gave a bugle. The bull's answer was immediate and very close. Brian backed up behind me about 30 yards and gave a few cow calls. The bull, a five point, appeared behind some deadfall and began working his way up the hill toward us. I didn't have time to pull out my rangefinder, but I guessed the distance from me to the end of the deadfall to be about 40 yards. As he approached the end of the dead timber, I drew my bow. He stepped out below me, and I gave a short cow call. He stopped, and I zeroed in with my 40 yard pin. I released the arrow and watched it hit. I knew immediately that the shot was good. I watched the bull run down hill about 100 yards and then stop. I could tell that he was struggling, and it took less than a minute for him to topple over. I recorded our walk down to the elk after I shot him.

We spent the remainder of the afternoon getting him cut up. It's grizzly country, so we hung the meat from a tree for the evening and packed it out the next day. The hunt was one that we will not soon forget.