Kenetrek Boots

Nevada 111-115

Super happy for you, Nick. That is a heck of a bull. Also, it should be noted that having one friend to go the distance with you is a truly special thing.
 
Congrats on your bull! Posse hunting needs to go away. I respect your bull more than any 390 that was brought down by large posse of people.
 
Nicely done Nick! I've seen videos of those November bugling bulls and had the same reaction as you.

Do you think having a pack horse in that country could navigate the long way around cliffs like you encountered or was it the Canyon of no return?
 
Nicely done Nick! I've seen videos of those November bugling bulls and had the same reaction as you.

Do you think having a pack horse in that country could navigate the long way around cliffs like you encountered or was it the Canyon of no return?
Some areas a horse would help. Others not so much. I think horses would help in some places where you get get deep in the wilderness that cannot be glassed anywhere except in there.
 
I wanted to follow up on this tag as several Hunt-Talkers were kind enough to share information. I tried to reach out individually to those who I was able to chat with about the hunt. Thank you again.

This is a good tag but it is not an easy tag. The trophy quality is there, the concentrations are unreal, but the country is big and the pinon/juniper makes for challenging hunting and long-range shooting. A lot of people do not end up killing and not all the bulls that are killed are mature. There is a lot of competition because almost no one hunts this alone.

If getting the maximum trophy potential in inches for this tag is important to you, hire an outfitter or bring 6-8 friends with their own rigs who are good on the glass and good at scoring elk. NV residents bring their friends and family and spread them all over the place looking for bulls. It is an effective way to hunt, but I don't have that many friends who will freeze their butt off for a week or two to maybe get a chance to pack a bull off the mountain. I may not even have that many friends period :) I have one friend who will and he joined me. My goal was a mature bull that looked good to me.

On our hunt my friend and I saw 70 bulls. Interestingly, quite a few bulls were still bugling in late November. Weird. I usually hear one or two bugles a week when I hunt Colorado 3rd season elk, usually in the dark, but this was nuts. On the opener we made a several-hour climb in the dark and 10 minutes before light a herd with 60 elk and 9 bulls started sounding off every 15-30 seconds for the next 30 minutes. The biggest ones were small sixes but it was neat watching them run around screaming a couple hundred yards away. We only saw one mature bull with cows. The older bulls were alone or in small groups.

We saw a giant on opening evening. We could have gotten into range we think, especially because we were above him when we saw him and needed to go less than a mile all downhill from where we would shoot, but he was in legit mountain goat country and inaccessible if I had dropped him. We looked the ridge he was on over multiple times and without ropes and a pair bigger than mine, getting to the elk was not safe. That was new for me, for elk.

I've been blessed and have managed to draw a deer, antelope and elk tag in NV in 14 years of apps. Not everyone who puts in will. When I started putting in, I almost didn't get elk points because I thought the tag was too expensive. I originally put in with a focus on drawing a sheep tag in the next 50 years. I am happy I put in for elk too.

My elk was a busted up bull missing pieces on 7 of his 12 antler points. I could not be happier with him.
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Congrats! I'm actually headed to Units 114-115 for a late season cow tag in 2 days. Have scouted 114 Mid-November and the dry conditions have made finding the elk hard. Any direction is greatly appreciated.
 
Fantastic tag and you made the most of it. Awesome you got to hear them sounding off. I hope they are still doing that next weekend when we are in there for our spike tags. There are certainly some sketchy places in there that makes you question how the heck the elk get in and out of the cliffs. Glad your friend was along to enjoy a fun hunt like that.
 
I drew this tag 111-115 for this year, late season. Lived out there years ago, before the Park was created. Am wondering how the South Side below the Park would be in Late Nov? Anyone hunt up near Goshute either? Or No side of Moriah? Thanks
 
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