Days of past with this hunt outside of Pilot Rock, Oregon up East Birch Creek and up near Little Pearson Creek and Foggy Knob. Yes these were famous places of days past for elk and deer hunting. I once wrote a short story about “Wild Bill Campbell” and what it was like hunting his ranch. Well this short story was an interesting one that left many people wondering about each other.
I had invited my taxidermist Jim August, Richard Shipe (S&H Green Stamp Regional V.P.), Doc, Ben Olson on this hunt. Richard and I knew each other via Burns Bros., Inc. with him taking care of our company on the S & H Green Stamps, an item that we gave out to truck drivers that bought fuel. His brother-in-law DOC was always invited on hunts.
It was a crazy hunt with Jim August trying to slip in Rocky Mtn. Oysters at dinner one night and me going ballistic with him. Richard a once professional big league ball player grabbed Jim’s arm at the table. All ended up well on the hunt.
Doc, what a shot he was on this hunt, with him emptying his BAR 270 twice on branch bulls that came up out of the bottom of Little Pearson Creek. Missing all of the bulls at 150 yards, I am sure that he thought his hunt was over! How ironic that another branch bull came up and he made this shot.
On the way back to camp one evening with Richard I had made a comment that I had never ever had a bull run across the road in front of me. Ben had been in the bottom of Dark Canyon and had driven a small herd from out of the bottom. This Dark Canyon really was dark, with old growth timber that was dense. Elk would hold up in here when the pressure got strong. Most elk hunters that ventured into Dark Canyon would start from the top and come out on Pearson Creek Road. It has since been clear cut-ted and just not the same.
Anyway with Ben pushing the herd out of the timber they cut right across our path at about 100 yards. We were on an old logging road. The truck had come to a stop with the emergency brake, but I was already on one knee after running a short distance to get a clear shot. As I pulled down I could see horns and pulled the trigger hitting the only bull in the herd with a 210gr. Nosler Partition from my trusty Weatherby 340 Custom. That trusty Weatherby 340 had taken a great number of bulls from Pilot Rock. A number of bulls were seen by all of the hunters and we should have tagged out on the trip. Some need to learn to shoot and not count points first. The Hurly group that camped this trip at 4 Corners did tag out. If I remember they made the trip every elk hunting year and came from Merlin, OR. They were always successful and I know that Bill Campbell enjoyed their company during the season.
I love to hunt the whole Pearson Creek Drainage and do miss the area.
