Photo by John Malison, Jr.
I
felt like, and I’m sure I looked
like, Elmer Fudd as I tip toed
behind this elk as he worked
his way across a sagebrush flat. I
thought no way was I going to get
close enough for a shot, not to
mention actually kill him. But, here
I was, full draw and 10 yards away
listening to him stomp around in
the mud, raking his antlers on the
shrub between him and me.
15 years of preparation had gone
into this moment. Hours of annoying
my mother, driving my friends mad
and getting weird looks as I made
turkey noises with my mouth call on
campus. I thought everything weird
was accepted in Missoula, MT? I
hear it all the time from hunters
across the spectrum, “I just can’t
get use to that thing” or, “I’ll never
really need it”. In this situation, one
sound was all the difference in the
world and if you can call in a turkey
with a mouth call you can probably
call in an elk with one too.