Voices of Prois...Equipment May Fail, But Camo Won't!
By: Prois Staffer and Montana State Coordinator, Kim Waverek
It was a perfect September evening during the height of the rut in elk country in Montana. Where we hunt is a small slice of heaven which until recently we had pretty much to ourselves. Covid and Yellowstone definitely wreaked havoc on our secret places as out-of-staters flooded to Montana. For some reason we were alone in “our spot”.
We had gone in early, mountain biking in with our bows on our back. We ditched the bikes for the final quiet hike into elk country. Slowly hiking in, listening, bear spray and pistols on our hips as this is also grizzly country, it seemed eerily quiet. We decided to hike up into the trees that overlook an open spot where elk were moving toward the evening prior. We heard a bugle and spotted a herd of elk with a big 6 point hiding in the treeline. We set up and started cow calling. He did not care about us and was not enticed to leave his cows. We had the time to set up decoy cow elk up in the trees while cow calling him. Suddenly another 6 point broke away from the group and ran toward us but coming in way below us. We were hidden in the trees up above.
As he moved off I had the ability with good tree coverage to move way down in closer. I didn’t know if he had left the area as I couldn’t see him or hear him. As I was moving lower I checked my arrow and bow. I got behind a spruce tree and stopped and waited. Suddenly I heard a stifled bugle from him. My husband started using his estrus cow call urgently. This definitely got his attention. But suddenly he was directly below me coming up the hill while “glucking” the whole way up right at me. I did not see him coming from down below and had not pulled back my bow but I was locked in with my release.
He started coming up the hill in an open spot right at me front on. In hind sight if I had my bow already pulled back this would have to be a throat shot. But being my first experience with a bull within shooting range to me this is not how it went down. He kept moving closer while “glunk, glunk, glunking” with his throaty sounds. He was coming in hot. I froze in position as I did not want him to see me. The wind was perfect as he did not smell me. My Prois camo hid me so perfectly I dare not blink. As he passed by me (yes, within 5 yards?) I thought, "I’ll wait until he moves past me and then I’ll pull back. " Which is what I attempted to do and then my nock popped off my string. He heard this tiny motion and wheeled away from me instantly. I connected the nock back onto the string as quietly as I could. Before I could think of drawing my bow back he was moving to a safe distance quickly through the trees. He stopped at 50 plus yards below me which is beyond my shooting distance with my bow.
He gave me one last look before he barked at me and then slowly wandered back to the herd. Of course I knew that was my best chance ever at being so close to an elk that I should’ve had. After licking my wounds I reviewed the nock that I had chosen and realized it was bigger than all my other arrow’s nocks. It wasn’t fitting as tightly as the others. I did remove that and will never use one of those again. But the thing I was most amazed with after replaying it in my mind over and over and all the things I should’ve done or where I should’ve set up, I couldn’t believe that my Prois camo was truly that concealing. It was truly incredible how close I got and almost had my first bow success.
Lessons learned, check your equipment over and over but you will never have to doubt your Prois camo. And for all those “pros” who have their ideas of what I should’ve done, you too have your stories. As a professional bow hunter friend of mine says “Keep practicing”.
