I just returned from a quasi-successful elk hunt and there were parts of it that were absolutely horrid.
Father and son as my hunting partners. Father has NEVER hunted big game until now and the son is the world's greatest shot and hunter extraordinaire (I found out last week that this was the first animal he has ever shot).
Neither had time to sight in rifles, so I did it for them. Then the Dad went to the range with me and fired 2 boxes of bullets to familiarize himself with the .30-06 rifle again. The son decided to go to a gravel pit and shoot at junk at unknown distances with his new .300WM. He actually fired 8 rounds!!
Preparation for the hunt:
Everyone had a seat, a bi-pod or mono-pod, a rifle and a range finder. Also everyone had various calls and scent covers/ attractants.
First evening of hunting, landowner pointed out where he had seen animals and that another area held great bunches of tracks. Right off, the son decides that I should take the area where there were tracks so that he and his dad could take the oat-field where elk had been seen each night.
Everyone gets set up. The father gets set up, rifle resting on bi-pod, binos searching the field. The son sets up, mono-pod collapsed on the ground, rifle laying on the ground beside him, rangefinder in his pack, calls around his neck, smartphone in his hand playing games.
Father sees an elk, starts to call it in with a hoochie mama. Elk looks at the noise (apparently, that means he saw the hunters who were buried in a copse of tress 300yds away) and turns to continue to the oats in the field. Father calls again, elk turns and walks toward the sound, browsing as he moves. Calls stop and he loses interest and turns (to run away in absolute fright). Son picks up rifle from ground, sitting, fires off-hand at the elk 250yds away on a perfect broadside shot. Elk jumps, lands, not really upset so Father throws one at him. Elk turns to leave field, son fires one at the back of his head. Father sees Blood fly and tells him he had blown his brains out. Elk picks up speed and Dad throws another one in his direction.
8 hours of tracking later (4 that night and 4 the next morning), found a dying elk. Son shoots it from 20feet and blows its lower jaw off, elk uses that momentum to get up and try to run, son fires another round into the neck, elk is down. one more for good measure to the back of the head puts it out.
The consummate hunter then has no idea how to gut or quarter the animal. I am in HELL!
Check the bullet wounds. There is one in the shoulder (shoulder is broken) but no similar damage on the opposite one. Bullet exited in front of the breastbone at the bottom of the body. A hand-full of clotted blood in the body cavity and a slightly nicked lung. Called him on the broadside shot, he said it was and then I told him that the wound channel doesn't lie. Quartering away and you shot too far forward. Tore off the hair between the antlers. No evidence that the dad even hit it. Not sure they will be speaking to me again.
Worst hunting trip I have been on, and that included the time I gutshot a fawn when I shot her mother (she was on the opposite side and slightly higher).
