The Blue Mountain eagle., August 29, 2018, Page 6, Image 22

Ol’ Ornery
CALLING IN AN 8X8, 380-CLASS BULL
Story by Greg Dyson for the Blue Mountain Eagle
chance to steal a few cows from younger bulls who
t was early in the third week of
forget their age and their rank in the pecking order.
a rainy elk season. We always
It didn’t take but a minute to hear Ornery had
get wet in September, but this
stepped up his game, as his bugles were now
year was extremely wet.
mostly warnings to any other bulls that might dare
Obviously, elk breed no
to bugle, grunt or chuckle on his watch.
matter what the weather holds.
I had harvested seven Pope & Young Club
It just seems to be crazier and
book bulls at this point of my bow-hunting career
louder when the elk days are
and made a commitment to shoot a bull that was at
hot, dusty and dry. Wet seems to suppress the rut
least a 340-class Wapiti.
to a wet blanket feel.
As I stayed within bugle screams of Ornery, I
A couple “out of staters” were fortunate,
just really wanted to put eyes on him, as I was
though, just a few days in the season, to tag out on
pretty sure he would cover the 340-class minimum.
a couple of not-so-cautious branch bulls. The
After crossing the third cold creek in the last
excitement in new elk hunters returning their first
quarter mile, I was pretty much praying for
branch bulls is a great and exciting time.
daylight so I could see Ornery for the first time.
It was the third week, and usually by that time,
Every once in a while, you get lucky and your
I have located a couple bulls in the 350 class.
soaking wet trail somehow pays off, and this was
One extremely rut-crazed bull had shown some
the case because right at
interest in loud and
first light I got to witness
lonesome cow calls, but
Ornery chasing off a
showed no interest
Every once in a while,
320-class bull from his
when chuckled and
you get lucky and your
own cows.
grunted at. This bull we
A couple cow elk
named “Ornery” because
soaking wet trail somehow
were not too happy with
of the no-tolerance
pays off, and this was the
their new herd master,
attitude and the torn up
but after Ornery hooked
young re-prod he
case because right at first
a couple new members
enjoyed shredding with
light I got to witness Ornery
of his harem, the cows
his not-yet-seen eight-
by-eight 380-class rack.
stopped squealing and
chasing off a 320-class bull
Plenty of elk hunters
realized they had a brand
from his own cows.
are quick to point out the
new leader.
10- to 12-foot rake
I kept looking and
marks on trees, but
counting tines because
usually a bull elk that is really a raker and lives up
an eight-by-eight, over-360-class public land bull
to the name can bend a three- to five-year old re-
elk doesn’t come along every day!
prod pine over, and that accounts for the 12-foot
After 10 minutes of researching Ornery, he and
high rake marks we see.
his couple dozen cows disappeared over the ridge
Either way, most September bow hunters are
and were headed for the north face and their elk-
easily and readily hunting that adrenaline rush that
bed haven for the day.
keeps us all looking to the heavens and asking, is
A great advantage to hunting the same area for
it September yet?
years is the ability to draw off past hunts and
I had been on the hunt for Ornery for the last
knowledge of the different ridges, and know how
couple days with no luck. It’s not uncommon to
the elk use them for their advantage. Wind
lose herd bulls from time to time, as they can cover
direction and air thermals change with the
5 to 7 miles like we go check the mail.
temperatures throughout the day.
I had not yet put eyes on Ornery, but had had
It was 6:40 a.m., and I had been up and tagging
him under a hundred yards a couple times.
along with the elk for over three and a half hours.
My luck was fixing to change, though.
I was soaking wet, and the temperature when I
I like to get out early, 3 a.m. some mornings,
parked my truck that morning was 28 degrees.
and head for the big meadows, as later in the month
I knew I couldn’t get ahead of 20-plus elk
more of the big boys turn up there, looking for a
hellbent on getting to bed, but I had just sized up
I
6 • GRANT COUNTY HUNTING JOURNAL 2018
Greg Dyson poses with
Ornery, a 380-class bull elk.
the biggest bull I had ever laid eyes on, and
adrenaline is a bow hunter’s best friend.
I made good time back to my truck, and with a
change of socks and my dry bag, I was a new man
and getting closer every half-mile to where I hoped
and prayed my elk herd was heading for their
daytime bedding area.
Fresh rain made my hurrying less noisy, but
when I arrived Ornery and his cows were not
exactly where I was hoping to find them. However,
being aggressive and extra loud with my cow
sounds finally made Ol’ Ornery let out a raging
warning bugle and step away from his herd to
round up whatever cow was wandering around.
As soon as the mountain monarch came into
sight, this old bow hunter’s heart skipped a beat at
the sight of the largest bull I had ever called in.
He came cruising through a small meadow and
paused at around 42 yards. As I hit the record
button on my camera, things were looking pretty
good.
Like all big bulls, you could sense his
nervousness as he was staring right at the spot
where he had expected to see at least one cow elk.
His luck and good fortune must have been
screaming at him to run because something wasn’t
right with this situation, but as he turned to leave,
he paused once more for a last look, and that’s
when I aimed at his chest and touched my three-
finger thumb release.
The arrow flew as perfectly as it could have and
made a hollow sound as it cut through both lungs.
Old Ornery ran about 50 yards before nearly
falling but made it another 70 yards before finally
toppling.
I made my way to the ridgetop to get a good
vantage point and watch this monarch take his last
breath.
My camera had caught all the action, and I was
very pleased at what had transpired, allowing me to
walk up on an eight-by-eight 380-class mountain
monarch we called Ol’ Ornery.
I’ve been most fortunate to harvest two 380-
class bull elk along with my P&Y book bulls. To
walk up on such a massive animal is humbling, to
say the least.
Greg Dyson is in his 14th year of being an
ambassador and pro-staffer of Bowtech Archery.
MyEagleNews.com