Not a story about a buck, but a cow elk.
Our usual spot has become a chore to get into, so we camped a couple km away. I would walk into camp every morning to rest and have a coffee and use our facilities if you know what I mean
While I was taking my gear off, a small heard busted what sounded like 10 yards away, so loud, it made me jump. I never saw them, but had an idea where they were going.
Camp is on top of a ridge overlooking a ravine with a creek at the bottom. The beavers have been moving upstream towards camp steadily over the last few years and made a nice clearing at the top of the bank. That's where I ran, to get a look at them. Sure enough at the bottom of the ravine, chest deep in the beaver pond was a cow, staring at me, daring me to take shot, as if she knew the next 8hrs of tracking and retrieving her would be absolute hell.
While I contemplated this situation for what seemed like minutes, sure enough, she jumped into the pond, swam the other side and climbed the opposite bank.
I watched, a bit dumbfounded, it's the first time I've seen an elk do this. In the area, they always use the dams to cross, or a couple narrow spots in the bush upstream a km away.
It was neat to see though.
But it makes a great story