I have been looking forward to the day to go on an elk hunt with my son and that time finally arrived. It has been difficult to plan anything since he has been in school and now lives and teaches in North Carolina. In a way, this hunt began back 5 years ago. I drew the same tag and since I had the 5 year waiting period, I started applying my son for bonus points in Utah.
At the beginning of the year, we planned a Wyoming elk hunt but didn’t draw the tags, so I suggested he apply for Utah know that he stood a chance of drawing. Although it seemed a long shot, he drew the same hunt I did 5 years earlier. So plans were made and arrangements were verified. He was able to get a week off and would fly to Salt Lake City and I would pick him up at the airport.
I left Missouri on Friday after work and drove halfway across Nebraska, stopping to stay the night. In the morning on Saturday, I left early enough to make Salt Lake City by the time his flight arrived. After picking him up from the airport, we went on and set up camp giving us Sunday to scout and contemplate the prospects of the opening morning on Monday. However, we had to watch the Chiefs game, so we drove into Heber City and found a sports bar to eat and enjoy the game.
Scouting did provide some optimism. We saw one nice bull around 4:00 in the afternoon, heard one bugle close to dark, and watched a nice bull follow 3 cows out into the open sage by camp at dark.
Opening morning came with optimism, but the day turned out to provide nothing except a lot of mule deer sightings. No bugles and no elk seen. The hunt looked like it was going to be tougher than expected. I am guessing the warm temperatures were slowing activity. When I hunted the area 5 years earlier, they bugled like crazy which was a big key to success when trying to locate the elk in the thick aspens.
So the 2nd morning we went back to the area where we heard the bugle on Sunday evening. It was an easy hike in down a well used horse trail. We made our way to where it opened up so we could glass a wide open face along the drainage. As it got light, nothing was moving or talking. Prospects looked difficult. I suggested we hike up a steep hill behind us and then hunting the ridge back down. So we started up. About halfway, I was ready to turn around, but we kept going. After about an hour, we were on top looking into a small bowl where we jumped a dozen mule deer. We found a good trail and eased along it to a saddle in the ridge. Along the way, we found an aspen with a name carved in from 2008. Apparently, this was a good sign. As we got 30 yards from the saddle, a bull bugled on the other side. We continued along the trail easing over the saddle. The bull bugled again. I was able to locate him across a small drainage about 150 yards out. My son was then able to ease down our side about 30 yards behind a tree to give him a better view of the bull. Finally the bull moved into an opening and 125 yard shot from the muzzleloader sent him tumbling down the side he was on.
I was so excited and so relieved, but knew our work was not done. We spent the rest of the morning quartering, caping, and boning. The first load, I took the boned front quarters and backstraps. Levi carried the cape, head, and antlers. The hind quarters were hung in a tree which we returned to get after the 1st load was back at camp. Upon our return, my son carved his name in an aspen to mark the location should someone venture through the area in the future letting them know that they are in an area elk have been taken.
Although the bull was not one of the bigger bulls the area produces, he was well earned and worth the memories we created together.
At the beginning of the year, we planned a Wyoming elk hunt but didn’t draw the tags, so I suggested he apply for Utah know that he stood a chance of drawing. Although it seemed a long shot, he drew the same hunt I did 5 years earlier. So plans were made and arrangements were verified. He was able to get a week off and would fly to Salt Lake City and I would pick him up at the airport.
I left Missouri on Friday after work and drove halfway across Nebraska, stopping to stay the night. In the morning on Saturday, I left early enough to make Salt Lake City by the time his flight arrived. After picking him up from the airport, we went on and set up camp giving us Sunday to scout and contemplate the prospects of the opening morning on Monday. However, we had to watch the Chiefs game, so we drove into Heber City and found a sports bar to eat and enjoy the game.
Scouting did provide some optimism. We saw one nice bull around 4:00 in the afternoon, heard one bugle close to dark, and watched a nice bull follow 3 cows out into the open sage by camp at dark.
Opening morning came with optimism, but the day turned out to provide nothing except a lot of mule deer sightings. No bugles and no elk seen. The hunt looked like it was going to be tougher than expected. I am guessing the warm temperatures were slowing activity. When I hunted the area 5 years earlier, they bugled like crazy which was a big key to success when trying to locate the elk in the thick aspens.
So the 2nd morning we went back to the area where we heard the bugle on Sunday evening. It was an easy hike in down a well used horse trail. We made our way to where it opened up so we could glass a wide open face along the drainage. As it got light, nothing was moving or talking. Prospects looked difficult. I suggested we hike up a steep hill behind us and then hunting the ridge back down. So we started up. About halfway, I was ready to turn around, but we kept going. After about an hour, we were on top looking into a small bowl where we jumped a dozen mule deer. We found a good trail and eased along it to a saddle in the ridge. Along the way, we found an aspen with a name carved in from 2008. Apparently, this was a good sign. As we got 30 yards from the saddle, a bull bugled on the other side. We continued along the trail easing over the saddle. The bull bugled again. I was able to locate him across a small drainage about 150 yards out. My son was then able to ease down our side about 30 yards behind a tree to give him a better view of the bull. Finally the bull moved into an opening and 125 yard shot from the muzzleloader sent him tumbling down the side he was on.
I was so excited and so relieved, but knew our work was not done. We spent the rest of the morning quartering, caping, and boning. The first load, I took the boned front quarters and backstraps. Levi carried the cape, head, and antlers. The hind quarters were hung in a tree which we returned to get after the 1st load was back at camp. Upon our return, my son carved his name in an aspen to mark the location should someone venture through the area in the future letting them know that they are in an area elk have been taken.
Although the bull was not one of the bigger bulls the area produces, he was well earned and worth the memories we created together.
