The Katana That Wasn't Meant for Elk

Arrow Number One

I set out on a 9-day solo elk hunt up in northern Alberta. Being the newest, that replacement Katana went right on arrow number 1 in the quiver. I didn't think twice about it at the time.

Day 4 came quick and I was beat. Solo hunts have a way of grinding you down; nobody to split the pack weight with, nobody to talk you out of bad decisions. I decided to ditch everything for the morning hunt, and that included leaving behind my secondary weapon: a short 12 gauge I kept strapped to the bag in case I came up on a grizz... hindsight, dumb. I figured, hell, the sun's already coming up and I'm not gonna go far. It'll be a quick hunt. My body was sore and I was already ready for a nap.

Fast forward 3 hours and 3.5 km. After chasing some elk for a little while through filthy thick Alberta bush, I found a small opening and a log to sit on. After a short rest I stood up, threw the bag on and picked the bow back up. Feeling good, I turned around to head back to the truck.

15 Feet

In that instant my heart sank into my stomach and a wave of dread swept through my body. A cougar was crouched and creeping toward me, less than 15 feet away. I hadn't heard a thing. And even as I stood there in that split second, standing tall, that cat took one more step.

With nothing to immediately defend myself with at that distance, I yelled at the top of my lungs, "GET THE F*** OUT OF HERE."

He barely gave a single s***. He moved back about 20 feet and I lost visual as he disappeared behind a bush. I knew he hadn't left. So I got the safety off my pepper spray.

Backing out through that bush with a cougar still stalking me wasn't a realistic option. Turning my back on him was the one thing I knew I couldn't do. I needed to regain visual. So I closed the distance, sidestepping toward his last known location. Almost immediately, I could see just his head.

His body was covered by deadfall, and the only lane I could see him through was about a foot wide between two trees, with branches, leaves and weeds filling the space. It was a lane pepper spray wouldn't reach, and it was definitely a lane I would never, ever typically try to put an arrow through.

Out of Options

So I screamed again. And man, if I wasn't already shaking before, when that cat stood its ground, opened its mouth and bared its teeth at me in response, I must have been like a leaf in the wind.

That's when it sank in. He wasn't leaving, and I was running out of ways to make him.

I figured to hell with it. The arrow probably wouldn't make it, but damned if I wasn't going to send it like I would a rock. If nothing else, it would make enough noise to hopefully startle him.

So I nocked that first Katana in my quiver. I ranged. 5 yards. 8. 10. 8. 20. The laser was bouncing off every twig between us. I was 50/50 on 20 yards. Not confident. So I yelled one more time.

What did I get? Another mouthful of teeth and a cat that still didn't give a s***.

Suddenly that replacement Katana sitting on arrow #1 wasn't an elk broadhead anymore. It was the only immediately usable lethal option I had.

Despite the adrenaline and my hands shaking, that 20-yard pin floated onto his head and stayed there. I let out a breath... and I sent that Katana on a mission.

Thwack

A tree, I think. The cougar jumps. Perfect... scared it.

Nope.

He violently dropped into the most aggressive roll I've ever seen, then just as suddenly ran into the bush. Then silence.

It took me about another 10 minutes to find that arrow buried in the dirt. As I bent over and pulled it out, I found it bloody from Katana to fletching. And as I stood back up, I spotted a tail.

Behind a log, I found the cougar with a hole through the neck and out the throat.

It was f***ing over.

No Business Making It Through

When Annihilator replaced that Katana, I never imagined where it would end up. The first animal it was ever sent at turned out to be a cougar that stalked to within 15 feet of me, stood its ground when confronted, and left me with very few good options.

That arrow had absolutely no business making it through the garbage I sent it through. Branches, weeds, deadfall and about a one-foot-wide shooting lane. But when I needed it to do its job, it did.

I'm grateful they replaced the original broadhead without giving me any grief. More than that, I'm grateful they built something I had enough confidence in to nock when things went very sideways.

That replacement Katana has earned its retirement.

Jake @huntingcrown