My name is Brent Jones and I am from a small town in southern Indiana. I was introduced to hunting at a very young age. My biggest influence into hunting was my grandpa. He was always willing to hunt and fish with me nearly everyday. We spent countless hours in the woods together with the friends that I still am fortunate enough to hunt with today. But after getting some bad news in late December 1996, that my grandpa had cancer, I was totally devastated. I felt that my hunting days would never be the same again. I spent every minute with him from that day until he passed away in February 1997. Then the spring came and fishing season was upon me and I went a few times and I was determined that I would never hunt or fish again. But just knowing that he would not accept that, I struggled and made it through a couple hunting seasons and things started getting easier. Then I made a decision that would have made him proud. I was gonna hunt something, somewhere besides in Jackson County, Indiana. After researching and looking into different species, I decided that I wanted a Rocky Mountain Elk.
Then came the long process of finding a place to go and to find an outfitter to go with. After looking and asking, the weirdest thing happened at my dentist office. I was explaining to my dentist, Don Cummings that I wanted to elk hunt and he gave me the phone number to the outfitter in Pagosa Springs, Colorado that he used. So I gave him a call and got the guy named Willie Swanda on the phone and I just started asking questions and before I knew it, I was booked to hunt the third rifle season in 2001. I found a friend named Percy Donnells to go with me. We worked hard all summer shooting rifles and getting ready. Finally the day came and we were on our way there. It was gonna be a long drive. When we finally arrived in Pagosa Springs, Colorado, it was beautiful. We were to stay at a Super 8 and were to meet our guide there. We had an awesome hunt that week. I was fortunate enough to take a nice 4×4 bull.
Then in 2003 I went back again and was again fortunate enough to take another good bull. This one was a nice 5×5 bull. It was on this hunt that my most memorable hunt took shape. My guide Willie Swanda convinced me to come back and take a bow hunt for elk. I was excited just as he was. I spent the next few months on and off the phone with Willie about bow hunting gear for elk. He said just use your normal whitetail deer equipment. So I booked the hunt for opening week of the 2005 archery season. I spent countless hours in the backyard practicing at all ranges from 10 yds to 60 yds. When I was not shooting, I was on the bike or walking. This was gonna be a totally different hunt than the last two elk hunts.
We were going to pack in to a camp and we would be hunting at high elevations at or above the tree line. The day was finally here and after checking to be sure everything was packed and that my Mathews Switchback bow was secured in its case, my wife and I headed to the airport in Indianapolis. She dropped me off and I got everything checked in and patiently waited on my flight. I was to go to Dallas then on to Albuquerque, New Mexico. Finally, I arrived in Albuquerque and got all my gear and I headed for a rental car that was waiting. After loading my gear, I headed to Pagosa Springs, Colorado. It was the most beautiful drive I had ever taken. I finally arrived and called Willie and told him I was in town. We met and had supper and went to the supermarket and got food for the week ahead. We made plans for the next morning on where to be and when. After a long, sleepless night in town, I checked over my equipment once again. The next morning I was up early and got breakfast and headed up the road to the Sportsman Campground. I met Willie here, who was already packing up gear onto the horses. He helped me load my gear into the truck and I helped load up horses and gear into the trailer. Then after we were loaded, we talked to some other hunters and before long we were on our way to the trailhead. I was getting so excited and the season did not open till the next morning. We took our time getting the pack horse loaded and we adjusted stirrups, etc, and we headed into the wilderness on horseback.
Slowly we progressed down the trail and into the meadow where I had taken my first two bulls and we crossed the meadow and then onto a rocky trail.
After a couple of hours of riding, a camp came into view and we stopped there. It was another group of hunters with Crazy Horse Outfitters that had been brought in a day earlier. Willie checked on them and gave them some advice on where to find elk on opening day, and then we saddled up and were on our way. When we were leaving that camp, Willie told them that we would see them on Sunday. I was thinking why we would see them on Sunday. Little did I know that the next morning my answer would come.
We finally made it to our camp and got our gear put up and got our beds made. We spent the evening around the fire and talked about what was going to take place on opening morning. That was a long sleepless night as I was about to hunt elk for the first time with archery equipment. Morning finally arrived and we were up way before daylight and got our packs packed and ate some breakfast. Willie was out getting horses saddled and we were off again.
We slowly left camp on horseback well before daylight. We crossed a small grassy meadow then we entered into the darkness of the woods. The pine trees blocked any light and it was total darkness. You just have to trust the horse at this point. We reached a small clearing and dismounted and tied the horses to some small trees and we got geared up and were off on foot to an area just above the tree line. Finally, daylight came and I was caught up in the beauty of this place. We were glassing and listening for any sign of elk. All we were seeing were some awesome mule deer bucks on the horizon around 400 yds away. It was an awesome sight just watching this bachelor group of bucks. While I was busy watching the deer, Willie said “ELK.” Sure enough there was a herd of elk up ahead feeding in the grass. They were making their way away from us and all we saw were cows. Then when they went over the horizon and out of sight, we got a surprise! The scream of a bull elk! Even though I could not see him, I knew he was there. Only they were heading away and then they dropped off into a very deep, large canyon.
It was getting to be mid-morning and we decided to go up and look for elk signs at the very top of the mountain. Willie was showing me different things on the mountain, and it was the most beautiful scenery I had ever seen. We made our way around the rim of the canyon and we stopped to take a rest. Willie decided to make a bold move as he removed his bugle tube from over his shoulder. He made a bugle down into that canyon and within a few seconds, the bull answered from the very bottom of the canyon. We gave him a couple more bugles and he answered every time. Finally, after listening to him answer, we realized he was closer. We were sitting on the rim of the canyon looking down into the bottom and I spotted the bull as he walked into an opening. I pointed the bull out to Willie and he said, “I think he’s going to come.” It looked like a half mile to the bottom and the bull kept walking up toward us. Willie made the decision for me to get ready while he went 20 yds behind me and started calling.
As I got an arrow nocked and the release attached to my string, I took position on my knees on a big rock. Willie was behind me and I could hear him calling and the more he called the madder the bull got. He was bellowing and moaning with every step he took.
I watched him all the way up the side of that mountain and he stopped just below me under a steep ledge and all I could see was mud and grass clumps flying into the air as the bull stopped to paw the ground. Then I saw his antlers as he was moving up toward me again. I had already visually spotted two game trails and I knew he would be on one of the other.
Then there he was at 25 yds walking right to me. He bugled and my whole body shook with excitement as he turned and started up the trail that was closest to me. My guide still could not visually see the bull, but knew he was there when I came to full draw. The bull made its way right in front of me at about 15-18 yds. I settled my pin right behind his shoulder and slowly found the trigger on my release. I slowly pulled the trigger and my arrow was on its way. I heard the smack as my 100 grain Muzzy entered the bull’s chest and buried my arrow up to the fletching.
The bull was so shocked as to what had happened that the impact of my arrow knocked him down into a small bunch of bushes.
The adrenaline was running through me like it had never before. Just then I felt a hand on my shoulder and it was Willie. We sat there together and watched my bull bed down within 40 yds. We were both so excited as to what had just happened that the emotions could not be contained. Then we noticed the bull moving around and he started sliding down the side of that very steep canyon wall until he went out of sight. I was devastated. Then Willie said, “I see your bull.” He was there by a lone pine tree that had stopped him from going to the bottom. We slowly started down to him and finally we reached him and it was high fives and hugs all around. After taking some pictures, the long hard process of getting him quartered and packed out began. It was the hardest thing I had ever done as we would tie the quarters to our packs and literally crawl on hands and knees to the top. After several hours we had the quarters and the cape and antlers to the top. We bagged up the meat and hung it in a tree away from the bears. Willie put the antlers over his back and I took the rolled up cape and we headed for the horses. Finally, we found the horses back and rode back to camp and it was well after dark by now.
The next morning we rode all the way to where the meat was hanging and loaded it into a pannier and headed
back to camp. When we reached camp we loaded up the cape and antlers and got the camp ready to leave. We would ride back in a few days and get our clothes and gear.
We rode down the trail to the camp where those other hunters were and that’s when I realized why we would see them on Sunday.
They all admired my bull and we told the whole story. They took a few pictures and we were on our way again. We finally reached the trailhead after riding for a few hours.
It was then that I realized that I had made the right choice in outfitters way back in 2001. This was my third hunt with him and my third bull and my largest bull a big 6×6 bull that I had taken with a bow. I have since then taken hunting back to the way it used to be.
I owe all of it to my guide, and personal friend, Willie Swanda. I would recommend him to anyone who wants to take an elk. He knows elk and he knows how to run a high quality operation. Thank you for the great elk hunts! Can’t wait to do it again!
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