Written in October, 2019, this story is based upon a true incident experienced by a close friend of mine. He actually did make a bow hunting trip into the mountains of southwestern Montana in search of an elk to fill up his freezer.
“The freezer will be full of meat this winter,” Pete tells his skeptical wife as he heads to the mountains for his annual elk hunting trip.
Montana’s Big Hole Valley offers some of the best elk habitat in America. Pete has been preparing for his fall elk hunting trip over the summer, and he plans to bag a large bull elk this fall to fill up the home’s deep freeze with delicious and tasty elk meat.
In scouting the mountains, Pete knows exactly where the elk will be when he returns for bow hunting season. Armed with his very effective and precise compound bow, he knows success is just one accurate shot away.
Hiking into the mountains, Pete stakes out a familiar area and waits quietly in the tall grass and brush. The anticipation builds as his body stays on high alert. The nervous tension only adds to the anxiousness of the hunt.
Suddenly, an enormous bull elk wanders through the trail, just as Pete expects. His position provides a nearly perfect angle and distance. He takes careful aim with his bow, pulling it back with careful precision.
Plummeting to the ground with a groaning thud goes Pete!
The arrow flies harmlessly into the trees. Pete’s shoulder has popped out, and the throbbing sting is excruciating. He rolls around on the ground in acute pain.
Deliberately and triumphantly walking past the stricken bow hunter, the elk looks down at him with a slightly confident look as if to say, “I guess your freezer will be empty again this winter.”
Big Sky Buckeye 
Another one bites the dust.
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Great comeback Kathy! I am laughing, but my good friend wasn’t laughing. I taught with him years ago in western Montana.
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Always a joy to read your stories. It was a nice twist at the end. 🙏
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Thanks Suzette. While the incident is true, I enjoyed taking a bit of my writer’s license in adding just a wee bit more. The hunter was a good friend of mine when we were teaching in western Montana many years ago.
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My pleasure. Stay safe and peace be with you!.
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Ouch. Well like I said in a recent post… And some days the Antelope gets you, or Elk in this case, lol
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Well, I am thankful my friend wasn’t hunting bear with his bow. When he described this misfortune, I could feel my shoulder beginning to hurt.
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Oh my! No fun!! I hope the shoulder was an easy fix.
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My good friend healed up, but I am not sure if he went on many hunts after this one. We taught together in the Bitterroot Valley many years ago.
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I guess I shouldn’t laugh. I hope he’s ok. I’m sure that was a very happy day for the elk though.
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My good friend survived. We taught together in western Montana several years ago.
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Poor Pete! I was an archery coach as a MS Principal (myself and another gal) and I can tell you that I have no strength to pull more than 20lbs on a bow. The elk are safe around me. Thank you for sharing this memory!
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Thanks Karla for sharing some of your memories. The story is a true event. One of my teaching colleagues was hunting in Montana’s Big Hole area in the mountains. Fortunately, he wasn’t badly injured, and the elk was definitely safe.
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poor Pete, all that build-up and it comes crashing down. there’s always next year…
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The story is based on a true incident with one of my teaching colleagues. Fortunately, he turned out okay (just some bruised pride).
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the poor guy; I ‘m guessing he laughed about it later…
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A very Montana style short story!
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Indeed! Jim, thanks for reading and sharing. I need to continue sprinkling a bit of the Big Sky.
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Looking forward to Montana stories!
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Love the story. Poor Pete.
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Crissy, thanks for reading. Yes, poor Pete! Even though the story is based upon a true incident, I enjoy using “Pete” as a character’s name. It was a nickname of my Father.
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