Millsworks
Active member
- Joined
- Feb 6, 2017
- Messages
- 854
Got my gear and my elk, deer and antelope doe tags on the road the last Thursday in September.
Had an exhaust gasket blow in Ohio. It fixed relatively easy after getting the bolts loose and pushed on to Gellette.
Bought some groceries, and headed for my Antelope area. But, had sudden rattle and then power loss. Engine was still running though. So turned back to Gellette.
Unfortunately a valve had burnt at the stem and broke off. It fell into the cumbustion chamber and knocked a hole into the piston. Very unpleasant to say the least. But I luckily found a local willing to let me use his tools to work on it and got some used parts.
After a day and a half of elbow deep mechanical engineering and a lot of talking to myself, I some how managed to get it fixed.
At close to midnight Sunday, I got back down the road to my Antelope area 22 and pulled off for some rest. Morning came with heavy rain ,but it slacked up to a drizzle. So I figured I would head out to see what I could.
At less than 50 yards from my vehicle I jumped three antelope does on BLM. Shot one at about 75yrds. The rest kicked in the turbo and made 180yrds. before I could get a good squeeze on the trigger to drop the second doe in a flipping flop.
Filled those two tags in less than 5 minutes.
So dressed and boned out, I loaded up and headed for northwest WY to try and find some elk and deer.
Found a good camping spot for base camp and slept well.
Next morning I ground and steaked my antelope meat, set up a rouph camp, cut some wood , and then headed out to get some fuel .
Got about 4-5 miles from camp on the Beartooth Highway and the engine died.
After checking and rechecking, found no fuel pressure. Fuel pump had quit me.
Luckily, some guys in the area working for the power company clearing trees gave me a tow back to camp. I ran into a local that was nice enough to call a friend of mine and have him bring a pump out to me when he and another friend came out to hunt with me. They weren't coming out for at least a week though.
So, I hunted out as far as I could from base camp. Sometimes bivy camping in the mountains.
Saw lots of deer, but few truly good bucks. And little fresh elk sighn. So I opted to eat my deer tag and focus on elk.
Eight days later my buddies got there and I replaced my fuel pump after dropping the tank and removing the old one ,it went back together pretty quickly.
Up until this point I had covered lots of miles in the high country and hadn't seen a single elk. So I moved out more and more, searching farther and lower in elivations. The lower I got the fresher the elk sighn was. I saw some great bulls in the adjoining elk unit to mine. But after 22 days I never found a bull in my unit.
My buddies and I headed back to antelope 22 and they filled their doe tags in a half days hunting. We shot a pile of prairie dogs and then headed back to West Virginia.
I would have liked to keep looking for elk but after all the mechanical trouble I had, it seemed wise to head home with an escort.
If persiverense , pain,and hard work were all it took to get a bull elk , it would have been a slam dunk.
Apparently it wasn't in the cards this trip.
Learned alot about the area and the snow and tree rubs showed me alot of good hunting areas for elk. Saw lots of bucks that will be great trophies in a couple years if they can make it. My buddies each took small bucks to fill their freezers and they we're happy with them.
We all enjoyed being there. Even after all the trials I had, it was the most fun I have ever had being miserable in my life. And definitely the most beautiful place I have ever been.
I will be back as soon as I can.Quitting isn't in my area of expertise.
Had an exhaust gasket blow in Ohio. It fixed relatively easy after getting the bolts loose and pushed on to Gellette.
Bought some groceries, and headed for my Antelope area. But, had sudden rattle and then power loss. Engine was still running though. So turned back to Gellette.
Unfortunately a valve had burnt at the stem and broke off. It fell into the cumbustion chamber and knocked a hole into the piston. Very unpleasant to say the least. But I luckily found a local willing to let me use his tools to work on it and got some used parts.
After a day and a half of elbow deep mechanical engineering and a lot of talking to myself, I some how managed to get it fixed.
At close to midnight Sunday, I got back down the road to my Antelope area 22 and pulled off for some rest. Morning came with heavy rain ,but it slacked up to a drizzle. So I figured I would head out to see what I could.
At less than 50 yards from my vehicle I jumped three antelope does on BLM. Shot one at about 75yrds. The rest kicked in the turbo and made 180yrds. before I could get a good squeeze on the trigger to drop the second doe in a flipping flop.
Filled those two tags in less than 5 minutes.
So dressed and boned out, I loaded up and headed for northwest WY to try and find some elk and deer.
Found a good camping spot for base camp and slept well.
Next morning I ground and steaked my antelope meat, set up a rouph camp, cut some wood , and then headed out to get some fuel .
Got about 4-5 miles from camp on the Beartooth Highway and the engine died.
After checking and rechecking, found no fuel pressure. Fuel pump had quit me.
Luckily, some guys in the area working for the power company clearing trees gave me a tow back to camp. I ran into a local that was nice enough to call a friend of mine and have him bring a pump out to me when he and another friend came out to hunt with me. They weren't coming out for at least a week though.
So, I hunted out as far as I could from base camp. Sometimes bivy camping in the mountains.
Saw lots of deer, but few truly good bucks. And little fresh elk sighn. So I opted to eat my deer tag and focus on elk.
Eight days later my buddies got there and I replaced my fuel pump after dropping the tank and removing the old one ,it went back together pretty quickly.
Up until this point I had covered lots of miles in the high country and hadn't seen a single elk. So I moved out more and more, searching farther and lower in elivations. The lower I got the fresher the elk sighn was. I saw some great bulls in the adjoining elk unit to mine. But after 22 days I never found a bull in my unit.
My buddies and I headed back to antelope 22 and they filled their doe tags in a half days hunting. We shot a pile of prairie dogs and then headed back to West Virginia.
I would have liked to keep looking for elk but after all the mechanical trouble I had, it seemed wise to head home with an escort.
If persiverense , pain,and hard work were all it took to get a bull elk , it would have been a slam dunk.
Apparently it wasn't in the cards this trip.
Learned alot about the area and the snow and tree rubs showed me alot of good hunting areas for elk. Saw lots of bucks that will be great trophies in a couple years if they can make it. My buddies each took small bucks to fill their freezers and they we're happy with them.
We all enjoyed being there. Even after all the trials I had, it was the most fun I have ever had being miserable in my life. And definitely the most beautiful place I have ever been.
I will be back as soon as I can.Quitting isn't in my area of expertise.
