elkantlers
Well-known member
I posted on the day of the Wyoming draw results that I had drawn an elk tag with max points and incredibly my daughter drew the same tag in the random pool with only a .33% chance. What a great experience this has turned out to be.
We spent a lot of time going over maps and talking to people that had knowledge of this area, many from Hunttalk. I want to thank all those that shared information with us, it was a great help. Here's our story, hope you enjoy...
We started out the end of July on a scouting trip. We found a few elk, but they weren't everywhere like I had heard. We covered a bunch of ground and found a couple of good areas and a couple areas that we could check off.
We were back up for the opener of the Archery Hunt. I was mostly planning on using this for a second scouting trip, but we had two encounters with bugling bulls that almost resulted in a shot, but that open desert country is pretty tough to get within bow range. It was both fun and frustrating trying to get within bow range of an elk in ankle high cover. We spotted several good bulls, and it ramped up our excitement. We made a second trip during the archery hunt; we saw lots of elk but didn't get anywhere close that trip. We found several water holes that I think would be the ticket for archery, but that wasn't really what we were after.
I was able to go up on the Friday and set up camp before the Monday opening day of Rifle season. I was hoping that a couple days of pre-scouting would pay off. We hit several different areas and zeroed in on one particular area that seemed to hold good numbers of elk and two of the best bulls we had seen. We also found a bull moose that must have been lost.
On the day before the opener, we found one of the big bulls going across a ridge and dropping into a canyon that held one of the Sage Brush jungles. This sage brush is 8' tall and can hide a herd of elk the minute they enter it. We made our way closer and from a high spot we were able to see the big bull in the shadow of the ridge just before he bedded for the day.
We decided that the best plan for opening morning would to be to go to the area we had seen the bull the morning before and get on it before someone else found them. We were up on a high spot at daylight overlooking the area we figured the bull could be. It didn't take long to find the big bodied bull from the previous morning. he was doing the same thing as the previous morning other than he had some cows with him. we figured he was going to go to the big sage canyon, so we hustled to get around in front of them and get close enough for a shot as they started dropping off the ridge. Well, we were quick enough, but the distance was way deceiving and they were over 800yds away when they dropped into the sage. we went back to the truck and drove to a different high spot and after about 15 minutes I was able to locate the bull in the sage brush by seeing one antler. I got the spotting scope on him and had my son stay there to keep an eye on him while me and my daughter looped way around the head one canyon to get closer. I told my son to signal me when the bull was directly in between us. as we got around the other side and made our way down the ridge he signaled us. we made our way to the edge and my daughter set up on the rifle. I ranged where I thought the bull might be and it was 350yds. She adjusted her scope for the range, and we waited. It was only about 10 minutes when we saw the bull stand up and start following some cows through the sage. I ranged again and it was 340yds. I stopped the bull with a cow call as he hit an open spot. He turned broadside and looked back at us. At her shot I heard that classic "whoomp" sound, but he didn't act hit. she racked in another round and as he slowed down to look back, she shot again. This was a clean miss as the Adrenaline and taken hold, lol. a second shot wasn't needed as the bull spun 180degrees, collapsed and disappeared. We sat there for a little bit just to make sure he didn't get back up. we made our way down ridge and into the tall sage.
Is it really a hunt without finding a ballon?
We made our way to the bulls location. My daughters first shot was perfect and it hadn't gone 20 yards. We were very pleased with the bull. It was bigger than I thought which is always a nice surprise, especially the body, it was bigger than any I have been a part of. We waited for the rest of the family to make their way to us and just enjoyed the moment.
It was a great time and ny daughter couldn't have been happier with the bull. We broke the bull down and packed it back to the truck. The packout was only 500yds to a two track, but the deep sand and steep incline made it feel like 600. lol
We got the elk back to camp and on Ice and enjoyed the evening.
As we got to looking at pictures that evening, we realized that the big bodied bull we had pictures of from the end of July scouting trip was the same bull that she had shot. He was six miles from where the picture was taken to where she got him.
I'll finish with my portion of the elk hunt later. My fingers are tired.
We spent a lot of time going over maps and talking to people that had knowledge of this area, many from Hunttalk. I want to thank all those that shared information with us, it was a great help. Here's our story, hope you enjoy...
We started out the end of July on a scouting trip. We found a few elk, but they weren't everywhere like I had heard. We covered a bunch of ground and found a couple of good areas and a couple areas that we could check off.
We were back up for the opener of the Archery Hunt. I was mostly planning on using this for a second scouting trip, but we had two encounters with bugling bulls that almost resulted in a shot, but that open desert country is pretty tough to get within bow range. It was both fun and frustrating trying to get within bow range of an elk in ankle high cover. We spotted several good bulls, and it ramped up our excitement. We made a second trip during the archery hunt; we saw lots of elk but didn't get anywhere close that trip. We found several water holes that I think would be the ticket for archery, but that wasn't really what we were after.
I was able to go up on the Friday and set up camp before the Monday opening day of Rifle season. I was hoping that a couple days of pre-scouting would pay off. We hit several different areas and zeroed in on one particular area that seemed to hold good numbers of elk and two of the best bulls we had seen. We also found a bull moose that must have been lost.
On the day before the opener, we found one of the big bulls going across a ridge and dropping into a canyon that held one of the Sage Brush jungles. This sage brush is 8' tall and can hide a herd of elk the minute they enter it. We made our way closer and from a high spot we were able to see the big bull in the shadow of the ridge just before he bedded for the day.
We decided that the best plan for opening morning would to be to go to the area we had seen the bull the morning before and get on it before someone else found them. We were up on a high spot at daylight overlooking the area we figured the bull could be. It didn't take long to find the big bodied bull from the previous morning. he was doing the same thing as the previous morning other than he had some cows with him. we figured he was going to go to the big sage canyon, so we hustled to get around in front of them and get close enough for a shot as they started dropping off the ridge. Well, we were quick enough, but the distance was way deceiving and they were over 800yds away when they dropped into the sage. we went back to the truck and drove to a different high spot and after about 15 minutes I was able to locate the bull in the sage brush by seeing one antler. I got the spotting scope on him and had my son stay there to keep an eye on him while me and my daughter looped way around the head one canyon to get closer. I told my son to signal me when the bull was directly in between us. as we got around the other side and made our way down the ridge he signaled us. we made our way to the edge and my daughter set up on the rifle. I ranged where I thought the bull might be and it was 350yds. She adjusted her scope for the range, and we waited. It was only about 10 minutes when we saw the bull stand up and start following some cows through the sage. I ranged again and it was 340yds. I stopped the bull with a cow call as he hit an open spot. He turned broadside and looked back at us. At her shot I heard that classic "whoomp" sound, but he didn't act hit. she racked in another round and as he slowed down to look back, she shot again. This was a clean miss as the Adrenaline and taken hold, lol. a second shot wasn't needed as the bull spun 180degrees, collapsed and disappeared. We sat there for a little bit just to make sure he didn't get back up. we made our way down ridge and into the tall sage.
Is it really a hunt without finding a ballon?
We made our way to the bulls location. My daughters first shot was perfect and it hadn't gone 20 yards. We were very pleased with the bull. It was bigger than I thought which is always a nice surprise, especially the body, it was bigger than any I have been a part of. We waited for the rest of the family to make their way to us and just enjoyed the moment.
It was a great time and ny daughter couldn't have been happier with the bull. We broke the bull down and packed it back to the truck. The packout was only 500yds to a two track, but the deep sand and steep incline made it feel like 600. lol
We got the elk back to camp and on Ice and enjoyed the evening.
As we got to looking at pictures that evening, we realized that the big bodied bull we had pictures of from the end of July scouting trip was the same bull that she had shot. He was six miles from where the picture was taken to where she got him.
I'll finish with my portion of the elk hunt later. My fingers are tired.
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